Week one is off to a start!
SUNDAY - Tian'anmen Square
John had warned us that the chinese would want to take pictures with us, and Sunday was the first day we experienced that! Jasmine was the first victim, and after that it was nonstop. Some would try to be sneaky and snap photos of us while they pretended to look around the square. This was the most fun because when we saw it happening, some of us would give a cheesy smile and throw a thumbs up their way. That made them laugh, and they'd rush over to take an actual picture with us... or two... or three...
MONDAY - Our first "real" day
Got up at 6:45 and hopped in the shower. We're all so tuckered out by 9:00pm, so 6:45 seems late! Language class is from 8:10 to 11:30. It's a bit tough, but we're managing. Mostly it's just nice to be able to say a few things... or try to at least. The tones are the hardest part, and when we don't get the tones right, the Chinese can't understand what we're trying to say. I'm sure we'll get better, though! Lunch was held in the First Restaurant, which is right across the street from our hotel. We ate with BJUT's administration. The food was delicious (again), and it was nice to meet the administration - all of whom are so eager to help.
That afternoon John helped us become more familiar to the city, which basically means we walked around a lot and observed people, noises, smells, sights, tastes, and feelings--all senses were on overload. It was fun, though. After walking down a prime, more upper-class shopping street, we took a left turn and visited the night market (although it was still daylight... around dinnertime). Mmmm mmm good..... squid, octopus, fish (whole fish), fruit, dumplings, chicken, other questionable meat.... Some of the guys got really into it and ate scorpion on a stick, then washed it down with maggots. They said the scorpions kinda tasted like potato chips, but the maggots (silkworms??) were pretty disgusting. I guess they weren't fans of a crunchy outside with a gooey center :)
TUESDAY - Observatory, Silk Road, Japanese food
Regular morning routine. Lunch at the First Restaurant.
After lunch, we travelled by bus and subway to an old observatory. Inside, I felt like I was really in China... you know, it looked "Chinese" with the old architecture, vibrant colors, tall trees, stone statues, etc. There was a nice exhibit on ground level with many buildings and pathways to meander through. Taking a stone stairway, we climbed to the top of the observatory, where there were large metal sculptures - aka astronomy equipment. Although we were definitely not as high as you can go in Beijing, we got a nice view of the city. A cute older gentlemen happened to come up at the same time, and he was happy to take a group picture for us.
Leaving the observatory, we navigated through a confusing and very busy intersection, then walked a few blocks until we reached the Silk Road. This place used to be a street lined with vendors selling goods. Now, it is in a 4-story building. When I entered the building, it was a bit of a shock. Rows and rows of booths full of merchandise filled each floor. The salespeople were generally young and female (kind of like me, except Chinese of course). I couldn't walk quickly because the aisles were so packed, which meant every few steps I was "greeted" with a salesperson grabbing my arm and saying "Pretty lady! Come into my shop! You need a new jacket? One for your boyfriend? Mother? Father?" At first I wanted to be friendly and say no with a smile, but I quickly learned to yank my arm away and keep my eyes away from the salespeople. I did end up purchasing a winter coat, which I've needed. She started at 1550 yuan... and I bargained down to 275. Maybe not the best price I could have gotten, but it's still only about $39 and now I am warm :)
Part of our group met up at the entrance, and we decided to hunt for food. We first tried to figure out where we were in relation to Xi Yuan, then started walking. We ended up coming across a nice Japanese food restaurant that didn't seem too expensive for our budget. Stacy was with us, and she helped decipher the menu, although it did have some English descriptions. I had noodles with abalone and mushrooms and a Coke. Delicious! I think we were all very pleased :)
To bed at 9:00 again!
WEDNESDAY - Tai Chi (almost), Temple, Park, Indian food
Well, we met up for some tai chi action at 7:00am.... Unfortunately, our instructor didn't. Apparently, there was a mistake in communication. Oh well, even though it was a bit of a bummer, this lack of early morning class meant we had time for a nice breakfast. There was a group of guys going to McDonald's, and I decided to join them. Now, I'm not a huge fan of having American food while abroad, especially not during the first couple of days, but it wasn't so bad. The breakfast (though expensive) turned out to be pretty good, and I was grateful to spend some time with this group of guys who I hadn't gotten to know so well. Anyway, we had class at 8:10, went to the bakery during break, and had lunch at First Restaurant again.
In the afternoon, we headed to a new part of Beijing where there was a Taoist temple. This temple depicts the many (and boy do I mean it when I say "many") versions of Hell. Each description is accompanied by a visual representation--lifesize figures within each cell. There are prayer books - little red 2" wooden squares with a tassle - available for purchase, which are to be tied to the gate at the front of the cell. By placing a book in front of a version of Hell, the person is sending a prayer in hopes that he or she will not have to endure it. Also, there are boxes at each stop where visitors may donate money (somewhat similar to the books). It was a pretty neat place, I must admit, with many good moral lessons.
After our temple visit, we headed across the street and down a ways to reach a city park. In one part of the park, there is a square altar surrounded by a circular wall (religious meaning: square = Earth, circle = Heaven). The acoustics of this place were spectacular. You can stand on one side and whisper, and someone on the opposite side can hear you :) After having fun with that and watching people fly kites, John invited the girls to dinner. Though we were aiming for some cool pizza place (while walking through the embassy district), we ended up at this Thai/Indian restaurant (pizza place was boarded up). John treated us to a great dinner! I had sauteed asparagus with fresh shrimp and split some naan with Megan. Coming home was a bit crazy. The subway was PACKED, and the bus was even worse. It was sure nice to get back to the hotel and crawl into bed!
THURSDAY - Free day! Party at Coldstone and Chinese Acrobats
We had our first Tai Chi lesson at 7:00 am. Our instructor doesn't speak much English, but we manage to follow well. I find it much easier than language class J After ending our lesson with wall sits, we continued with the regular morning routine of Mandarin class from 8:10am to 11:30 and lunch at noon. John had said there would be a possible optional adventure to the PLA (People's Liberation Army) Museum, but that did not occur. Hopefully another day! The afternoon ended up being free until 6:30 that evening (and consisted of a group of us stumbling upon a party for the BJUT international students at Coldstone) when we climbed on a small bus and headed to see the Chinese Acrobats!
Although I could easily go to see a similar show in Branson, this performance was quite spectacular. There were a variety of talents displayed, but I came away with two favorites: a men's acrobatic trio and a bunch of men running, flipping, jumping, handspringing, rolling, and flying over, under, and through different obstacles (sometimes with props). The female contortionists were also quite awesome as they balanced their entire body weight including props... using only their mouths. Picture these women biting the edge of a table with the rest of their bodies perfectly balanced above their heads. Amazing!
After the show, we got a special treat. No, not ice cream (which is DELICIOUS here). We got to drive past the Olympic village. It was dark, but the Natatorium and the Olympic Stadium were both lit. The Bird's Nest was there, too, but that was difficult to make out. Dodging the many police cars and security vehicles, we jumped out of our bus to take a few pictures from a nearby bridge. The whole area is protected by a high fence, and the bridge, which was right next to the fence, provided a great view.
FRIDAY - Llama Temple; Confucian Temples; Drum and Bell Towers
Today is the Qing Ming holiday in China, which means we must honor those who have gone before us. It also means no school. We took advantage of this day by meeting at 9:00 am and navigating over to the Lama Temple. [If you would like more information on this site and others, visit our abroad website at http://www.prin.edu/college/academics/abroads/2007-2008/china/]. At Yong He Gong (Chinese name for the Lama Temple), Justin gave us a brief introduction to the site (significance, special facts, etc.) before we were set free to wander and muse about the temple. Here I felt like I was really in China-even more than when we visited the Taoist Temple because here there were lots and lots of people. Although it is controlled by the government now, it is still a working temple. There was quite an assortment of people there, burning incense and praying at each altar throughout the temple. Pictures were allowed outside, but when I went into a hall I had to put my camera away. This is because different Buddha statues are inside these halls, each adorned with gifts such as flowers, tapestries, and fruits. The monks ensure these areas are kept sacred, so I was able to catch a glimpse of a few of them. The same fire altars and incense burning that was going on outside was happening inside in front of the statues. FYI: It costs 3 incense to send a prayer to Buddha.
After Yong He Gong, we visited several Confucian Temples nearby. One temple had a large hall filled with huge stones. I learned that novels were carved onto these stones, as well as figures such as the dragon and phoenix (signs of the emperor and empress, respectively). Even though I could not read the tiny, perfectly chiseled characters on each stone tablet, I was in awe as I ventured down this long hall. In other news, I was excited to find a western toilet there! Still no TP provided, and flushing my own TP was still prohibited here, but it was a fun moment! After this temple, we climbed a large hill in Jingshan park (at the top is a place of worship with a large Buddha). I was starving.
Lunchtime came, and we found a restaurant just outside of the hutongs, or the old part of China inside the second ring road. I'm proud to say that I tried everything put in front of me, as usual. Only after the meal did I discover that we were given dog... (see Mom, I TOLD you that I might eat some of Snowy's friends!).
After that scrumptious meal, we walked through the old streets in search of the drum and bell towers. These huge towers soar above the hutongs, whose buildings are restricted to being just one-story tall in order to preserve the history of old Beijing. These enormous edifices were once used for announcing the time of day, as well as depicting the solar calendar for the many farmers who used to inhabit that area. Each tower is very tall, but the bell tower is just a bit taller. I thought of my brother while on top of the drum tower because there was a small crew there shooting a film... turns out that this "film" is going to be for the Olympics! I only hope they weren't shooting out over the city. It was a bit overcast, which made the pollution seem quite thick from that high up. I wish my pictures would've turned out better.
That evening was free (like always) and I came back to BJUT for dinner at the First Restaurant with a group of friends. After a delicious meal, I hit the hay around 9:00 pm. My body is so tired by 9:00 pm that it is hard to fathom how I ever stayed up so late back at school. I'm also starting to feel my pants getting bigger. Eating with chopsticks means you don't put as much food down per bite. Also, a large group of people shares different dishes that are placed in the middle of the table on a lazy suzan type thing (it spins so everyone can reach the food). Because of this, you have to fight for your bits of food, and it's hard to tell how much you've eaten. Anyway, none of us feel full at the end of any meal-even after they've brought out the mifan (rice) that is supposed to fill you up in case you haven't eaten enough by this point. Ah well... it's still quite delicious :)
SATURDAY - Forbidden City and Beihai Park
Met at 9:00 am again today. I still woke up at 6:00 am, and that was nice because it gave me some time to reflect on my experiences here as well as catch up on some things. Then we were off to the Forbidden City! I tried to read a bit about it on the ride over to gain a better understanding beyond the briefing Matt would provide once we were there. There is so much to tell, and I know I only skimmed the surface. Here are a few things:
a. The Forbidden City is constructed of wood, so fire was the biggest fear. Therefore, huge urns can be found throughout the city. When a fire would start, the eunichs would use these urns to fill their buckets with water to douse the fires. At one point, the emperor suspected that the eunichs were stealing from the royalty and ordered inventories to be taken. Fearful of the consequences, the eunichs began setting fire to their warehouses. The problem was solved when the emperor fired all of the eunichs, forcing them to leave the city.
b. The emperor had over 400 concubines. Though these concubines led leisurely lifes (sounds boring to me, but was better than the alternative), they could never be seen by anyone outside of the immediate family. Therefore, their chambers are clustered together and protected by many walls.
c. Starbucks used to be inside the Forbidden City until a group of people protested its presence, feeling that it took away from the history and culture. In its place now is a coffee and tea shop, with prices about the same as Starbucks. [Even though that is more relevant to today, I still find the politics interesting].
d. The entire outlay of the Forbidden City has meaning because it was not meant to be a home for a mortal king but for the Son of Heaven. It would take ages to describe this sacred geometry, so just know that it exists.
Beihai Park was food for the eyes. I'd been missing the greenery that is so easy to find in the midwest, and Beihai Park filled that void. There was lots of activity throughout the park [by the way, the park is enormous, and it is still always packed]. The group had lunch in a small restaurant overlooking the large lake, and afterwards we were free. Christy, Megan, and I met up with Wes and Kenny and took pictures under a blossoming cherry tree before heading down to the water for a boat ride. Wes was enjoying taking creative pictures with his camera, so he opted to stay on shore while the four of us went out on the water. There was an interesting incident with a dead fish named "Nemo"... basically he got caught in our propellor. It was hilarious. And I happened to capture it on video. Oh, and Christy (you know, the responsible chaparone adult person?) was sitting on the back ledge of our little boat when a fast motor boat with a man screaming in Chinese headed straight for us... Christy's response was "oh... maybe THAT'S what those characters back there are saying..." Anyway, it was good fun before the long walk to the subway... then to the bus... then to dinner... and then to (you guessed it) bed!
