Ni Hao- First Impressions
Trip Start
Jun 18, 2008
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2
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Trip End
Sep 04, 2008
Beijing,
China
Friday, June 20, 2008
Once in Beijing, it was 9PM local time and completely dark. Since China operates on only one time zone for the whole country (it would be 4 if they divided it up, according to Adam), the sun rises and sets very early here in Beijing. Customs took no time at all and the airport is brand new and very beautiful. High ceilings with skylights and moving sidewalks galore! Plus, it's supposedly now the largest building in the world. I'm not sure if this is true, and I don't care to research it, but if it is, it's due to square footage.
Adam's friend John, who is coordinating our stay, picked us up and we went directly to where we are staying here temporarily. The area is residential and it's a newer building that is very nice for Beijing standards. Because of our jet lag, we have been waking up with the sun at about 5 AM, and then you can also hear some faint Chinese music. In the park across the street, there is a large number of elderly people who gather to do morning exercises and tai chi. I'd like to join them, but there doesn't appear to be a leader-- as if every morning they are doing the same choreographed routine. Throughout the day, they will stay there and play ping pong, dance and watch over grandchildren. Adam told me that there is no government social security, Medicaid, etc. so it is the son's responsibility to look after his parents as well as his wife's parents, and they typically all live together. Though it is very different from how we do things in the US, it seems to be a preferable arrangement over nursing homes.
So, I was talking about culture shock before I left, and I wouldn't say that I am in shock. Luckily, I have Adam with me, and he is doing all the work to get us around and speak to people. I bought a phrasebook, but really haven't used it much. I know that we'll be doing things more independently eventually but for now it's been very easy to rely on him. Adam says that he's exhausted of thinking in a foreign language, but I am very grateful to have him with me.
So far, we have toured around the neighborhood and visited Bei Wai, which is the university Adam attended when he studied abroad. The apartment we'll be living in happens to be literally across the street from where Adam used to stay, so it's a bizarre sort of homecoming for him. I'm looking forward to moving there because it'll be closer to things I can walk to or if/when I get a bike, I can easily get around. Plus, it's a more central, common place for cabs to get to without much dialogue exchange.
Yesterday we had lunch with Adam's former GW roommate, Thev, who's been living here since he graduated last December. He took us to a restaurant that had delicious Sichuan food. He tried to order us bullfrog and ostrich in the same meal, but I requested he go easy on us. Thev also gave us the welcome gifts of travel size chopsticks. Apparently, disposable chopsticks are really adversely affecting the environment because a pair per person per meal becomes extremely wasteful-- not to mention the deforestation problems.
I also tried new food at a Uygur (Wee-gur) restaurant. The Uygur ethnic group is Muslim, so all the food was Halal and well cooked. I tried chuar for the first time, which is basically meat on a stick, but this particular chuar was well above the standard street food. Interestingly, all of the meat I've had so far has been very fatty. Chinese cuisine keeps the fat for taste, though as an American, I prefer my meat to be more lean so it's a little icky to me. And we've had all kinds of things for breakfast: dumplings, fried dough, and a crepe thing that tasted nothing at all like a crepe.
Today Adam and I went to a temple called Wanshou first thing in the morning. It's directly off a large highway but it's very serene once you go inside. The Buddhist temple was recently renovated and restored, so it was very beautiful to walk around. Though it was restored, some parts were still very dilapidated, which I guess surprised me. I think a good way of describing Beijing is that every building needs to be seriously pressure washed. And for the open air temples, this means inside and out. Most of the attendants ignored us, but one woman explained to Adam some of the rituals for visiting the Buddhist temple. Adam translated for me about the different types of offerings people bring, and I recognized one of the words: bei shui. It means a drink of water, and at one point I had wanted that to be my name before I realized I was grossly mispronouncing it and had misunderstood the person who recommended it to me.
Also, Adam and I went to a mall that was so Western, you could have easily convinced me we were back in America. We were looking for phones and got a great deal at 340 RMB. Adam and I bought identical phones so I bought a decorative doodad to differentiate mine. I chose Pucca, who is a little character that allegedly resembles the Beijing Olympics mascot. Even if we were duped, she is pretty cool looking.
Next came a trip on the brand spanking newly refurbished subway. At first, it's terribly confusing and crowded. However, once we boarded the train, I was pleasantly surprised at how English-friendly it is. It's British English, e.g. "Way Out" and "Mind the Gap," but it was still so helpful. I think that even if I hadn't had Adam with me, I could have figured it out, which is saying a lot.
We took the subway to Tiananmen Square, the largest public square in the world. First we visited the National Gate, which is a remnant of a wall that used to completely surround the area. There's also a building that Adam called the Mao-soleum because that is where Mao's embalmed body rests. Not sure what the building's real name is, but Mao-soleum is pretty funny to me. We walked on to the gate of the Forbidden City, which is where the iconic giant Mao portrait hangs. I of course had Adam take a picture of me and I of course held up a peace sign so that I could pretend to be Asian. There were a ton of people milling around but not that many Westerners... yet. Sometimes I get the feeling people are looking at us and thinking to themselves, "Ahh, it's started. The inundation of white people." We walked further and further inside towards the Forbidden City, passing through huge gates, but we stopped just before you had to pay admission to enter.
A couple of observations...
1. Fashion: Adam says that Chinese fashion is essentially 20 years behind whatever Japan is doing. Most people wear dull monochromatic clothes that look fairly comfortable.
a.) Some of the women like to dress up, and a lot of them wear pantyhose socks with high heel sandals. Very unattractive. I don't feel judged for how I dress-- I figure they assume I look like the average American.
b.) It's summer, muggy, and 90 degrees and yet most of the Chinese people are not wearing clothes suitable for the heat. Jeans, sweaters, long sleeve shirts. It makes me hotter even just to look at them.
2. Olympics: signs, banners, taxis and even info booths represent the rush to prepare for the Olympics. Adam can notice the changes and it's sort of cute all the effort the city is going through to get ready. Cleaning and beautification of buildings and public spaces is very evident.
3. Currency Exchange: right now, RMB is 6.9 to $1. That's down from 8RMB to $1 when Adam was here a year and a half ago. However, purchasing power can often be 1 to 1. Our money definitely goes further here than anywhere outside the US I've ever been, so I'm pleased about that. Especially after spending five months in England last year. A good meal has cost us anywhere from 50 RMB to 120 RMB. Pennies compared to the US. I want to go on a grand shopping spree, but I am reminding myself I currently have no income...
4. One thing that is unavoidable to notice is the SMOG. It's unbelievable. I thought that everyone was exaggerating about how bad it is until I saw it for myself. Visibility is under a 1/2 mile. The sky is completely gray and, early in the morning, you don't know if you are looking at the sun or the moon. My eyes are burning and I will have to forgo wearing my contacts if I can't adjust.
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It's taken me a while to write this so I applaud you if you made it to the end. Stay tuned for future posts and pictures. And there is a guestbook feature if you're interested in leaving comments. Hope you look forward to hearing more!
