photo by the lovely Morgan Welch. watch out Laurie and Charles :)
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Silk Market!
美国的市场跟中国的市场不一样。一般来说中国的东西很便宜。我对中国的降价知
道的很少。这是我第一次到北京来，我有点紧张。 好在第一次去中国的市场我是
跟我的老师一起去的。
北京的市场给我的 一个印象是老板又能说又聪明。不但有很多商店还有很多中国
人。有很多中国人去那些商店. 我没看见别的外国人。我知道老板给外国人的价钱
比给中国人的价钱贵。很多东西看起来很便宜所以我能用中文降价。中国的老板简
直是固执。我说"太贵了，太贵了！我的钱不够。我是穷学生。我得走了。再见！"
他们就说，"来来来来来来，我能便宜一点。"一方面中国的东西很便宜， 另一方
面却很劣质。老板常常说， "这是价钱去开玩笑。" 我恐怕他们让我上当。
在美国，我们不降价。要是我们看到一个人降价我们觉得"他是个怪人。"我真不习
惯。来中国以前我从来没降价过。我的爸爸教过我一点。在中国降价是一个复习中
文的好法子。在美国我能退换买到的东西，可是在中国我不能退换买到的东西。这
是因为中国的商店很小。美国的商店更大。
道的很少。这是我第一次到北京来，我有点紧张。 好在第一次去中国的市场我是
跟我的老师一起去的。
北京的市场给我的 一个印象是老板又能说又聪明。不但有很多商店还有很多中国
人。有很多中国人去那些商店. 我没看见别的外国人。我知道老板给外国人的价钱
比给中国人的价钱贵。很多东西看起来很便宜所以我能用中文降价。中国的老板简
直是固执。我说"太贵了，太贵了！我的钱不够。我是穷学生。我得走了。再见！"
他们就说，"来来来来来来，我能便宜一点。"一方面中国的东西很便宜， 另一方
面却很劣质。老板常常说， "这是价钱去开玩笑。" 我恐怕他们让我上当。
在美国，我们不降价。要是我们看到一个人降价我们觉得"他是个怪人。"我真不习
惯。来中国以前我从来没降价过。我的爸爸教过我一点。在中国降价是一个复习中
文的好法子。在美国我能退换买到的东西，可是在中国我不能退换买到的东西。这
是因为中国的商店很小。美国的商店更大。
Saturday, June 27, 2009
It's the weekend!
watch the sun rise. Few famous sites have lived up to the hype but the
Great Wall more than exceeded my expectations. It was definitely a
physical challenge. I have a newfound respect for my expat friend here
who's run the Great Wall marathon three times!! I can't believe it was
built by humans that long ago (with many of their bodies buried inside
the wall...) This is the old China that I'm interested in. It's 5:30 am
here right now...yeah I have a weird sleep schedule... At 10 we're
meeting up with some friends from PIB to head to the Silk Market for
some haggling. I better look up how to decide whether pearls are
authentic or not... 对不起我得走了！
Thursday, June 25, 2009
看起来便宜东西
Tai gui le! Tai gui le!
Today we went to a famous marketplace for everything cheap made in China. Dad, you would be proud of my bargaining skills. I'm getting good at pretending to walk away and make the laoban come running after me "lai lai lai lai lai." You also have to be dramatic e.g. "Wo shi qiong xuesheng" or "I am an impoverished student." It's actually pretty fun even if you don't buy anything.
Part of maturity is learning your limits and when to say no. Last night my pengyoumen talked me into seeing a midnight premier of Transformers at the IMAX. Uggh I knew it was a bad idea but how could I say no when I have class at 8 and characters to memorize? We met up with Sophia and hailed taxi's back to the sushe (dorms) at 3.... Jasmine and I (my tongwu/roommate got up at 6 to finish memorizing characters)... Let's just say this morning I had 三杯子咖啡。
Tomorrow after Zhongwen Zhouzi (Chinese lunch table with our teachers) we're headed to the Great Wall for the weekend. That's after the weekly written and oral exam. YAY.
My language partner Ju1tian2tian2 (I can't find the correct character on the computer) is the sweetest human being ever! She's met with me everyday and answered my every question. We went out for a fabulous dinner today where she introduced me to a gulao (ancient) Beijing traditional pork dish among three others. She's helping me improve my speaking just by talking to her so much-- it's amazing! She's extremely patient and eager to answer my questions. We've even been able to talk about history and politics with my limited vocabulary. She told me at dinner today she secretly wants to be a teacher but her parents want her to go into medicine. More later!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
We didn't start the fire...
So the teenage years were hard.
Everyday I feel like I’m becoming more comfortable and confident in my own skin as I approach twenty. I think I started studying Chinese for the all too typical but wrong reasons. When you’re working this hard I’ve discovered you have to have some sort of concrete internal motivation. I decided to take Chinese at Yale because I read a lot about China in The Economist in high school and thought looking from this detached perspective that it would be useful to know in the coming years with this much-publicized geopolitical shift. I think I even took Chinese because it was hard. Taking notoriously hard courses is trendy at Yale and gives you bragging rights. When someone starts complaining about their Italian homework you can look up from your characters with a simple facial expression and the contest is over. I never thought Chinese was a language, which I could fall in love with the way one can with e.g. Spanish or French but it would be “useful.” My motivations were purely practical and utilitarian. Then I went from usefulness to “this is interesting.” I started reading up on Daoism and other Chinese philosophers and thought it would be cool to read them in their raw format like I did with The Aeneid, The Iliad, Catullus, etc… in high school. This was all still the “high schooler” in me. You learn so much about life in your first year of college (especially at Yale) and I know each year will bring more experiences. I’ve learned to prioritize. I’ve realized my time on earth is much more finite than I once thought—certainly too short to waste time with something you don’t love.
At the point that I come to China I think it’s a possibly interesting place from what I’ve read but really, I don’t know anything about it. In the next two weeks I decide Chinese people are rude. That this is a culture I can’t deal with. There’s no concept of chivalry— people spit and urinate in front of you on the street let alone hold the door or help you carry a heavy box. People quickly run away rather than waste two seconds of their time helping you start the washing machine on their dormitory floor, which they obviously know how to use. China is full of people trying to rip you off—sell you cheap and sometimes harmful products under false pretenses. Not to mention the pollution is horrendous and the toilets are literally holes in the ground, never accompanied with toilet paper. Chinese people are rude and only concerned with self-advancement. That’s the mental place I’ve been at for about the last week or two.
Yesterday I started moving into a new phase. Right now I want to help China. I want to learn the language such that I can speak it seamlessly: so that I can integrate. I want to research the effects of the Cultural Revolution— I want my language to be at the level at which I can have a meaningful discussion about this. The Cultural Revolution was literally Mao Zedong bringing everyone down to the lowest level, lowest common denominator, by forbidding education. He tried to create a working class country. The intellectual in me screams that this is some grossly inhumane injustice. That knowledge is a prerogative that makes us human beings. Maybe this is part of what I’m supposed to experience living in a Communist country for a summer? So many in this Cultural Revolution generation are uneducated and I think this has a lot to do with a palpable cultural gap in China right now. I’m no expert but it feels tangible. I keep asking myself what is inherently Chinese? What is this country’s culture? I’m getting a better idea everyday but I believe China in its search for rapid development has let go of its culture. China has cut corners and I think lost some of its identity along the way. As US diplomat and secretary of state Chester Bowles said in 1946, “There can be no real individual freedom in the presence of economic insecurity.” Disturbingly, clubs like “Mix” in Beijing or the Starbucks on every (other) corner could easily be found in New York or any other western city. It’s mere mimicry. Even the DJ’s are American. China is like the younger sister looking up to the cool, older and more experienced West. However, that’s wrong on so many levels! China’s culture is so deep and so rich (and older…hello!!). What happened to ancient China?? What happened to Confucius and the literati? Right now China seems like a soul-less vacuum of materialism. "China is a place to have fun, to buy cheap goods but not to fall in love with or change you. It’s America’s back office." 好在(“Haozai,” means “fortunately”) if you look hard enough you can see residue of the old China. And there are good people, people interested in other human beings. After also visiting Russia and Japan I think this may be an East-West difference. In the East you don’t give strangers the time of day but you more than make of for it in your close personal relationships. I’ve made meaningful connections with the some of the people selling street food (I’m a regular but don’t worry Aunt Betty it’s hot food so the heat kills bacteria). My language partner is amazing. Last night she had seven hours of homework ahead of her (we’re exactly the same age so it makes for great comparisons) and she still fit in THREE hours with me talking about Chinese family life over green tea. Ahem, all in Chinese. Not to mention the Zhongguo ren Dahlia and I met on Saturday who has offered to introduce us to her friends and show us the trendy art district of Beijing, 798.
This culture of not respecting strangers, however, I see is having a very noticeable effect of the environment. It’s a collective responsibility problem though the West can’t claim to have it figured out either. But last night after running, my lungs actually hurt. It’s something I’ve never felt before and I have asthma.
Everyday I feel like I’m becoming more comfortable and confident in my own skin as I approach twenty. I think I started studying Chinese for the all too typical but wrong reasons. When you’re working this hard I’ve discovered you have to have some sort of concrete internal motivation. I decided to take Chinese at Yale because I read a lot about China in The Economist in high school and thought looking from this detached perspective that it would be useful to know in the coming years with this much-publicized geopolitical shift. I think I even took Chinese because it was hard. Taking notoriously hard courses is trendy at Yale and gives you bragging rights. When someone starts complaining about their Italian homework you can look up from your characters with a simple facial expression and the contest is over. I never thought Chinese was a language, which I could fall in love with the way one can with e.g. Spanish or French but it would be “useful.” My motivations were purely practical and utilitarian. Then I went from usefulness to “this is interesting.” I started reading up on Daoism and other Chinese philosophers and thought it would be cool to read them in their raw format like I did with The Aeneid, The Iliad, Catullus, etc… in high school. This was all still the “high schooler” in me. You learn so much about life in your first year of college (especially at Yale) and I know each year will bring more experiences. I’ve learned to prioritize. I’ve realized my time on earth is much more finite than I once thought—certainly too short to waste time with something you don’t love.
At the point that I come to China I think it’s a possibly interesting place from what I’ve read but really, I don’t know anything about it. In the next two weeks I decide Chinese people are rude. That this is a culture I can’t deal with. There’s no concept of chivalry— people spit and urinate in front of you on the street let alone hold the door or help you carry a heavy box. People quickly run away rather than waste two seconds of their time helping you start the washing machine on their dormitory floor, which they obviously know how to use. China is full of people trying to rip you off—sell you cheap and sometimes harmful products under false pretenses. Not to mention the pollution is horrendous and the toilets are literally holes in the ground, never accompanied with toilet paper. Chinese people are rude and only concerned with self-advancement. That’s the mental place I’ve been at for about the last week or two.
Yesterday I started moving into a new phase. Right now I want to help China. I want to learn the language such that I can speak it seamlessly: so that I can integrate. I want to research the effects of the Cultural Revolution— I want my language to be at the level at which I can have a meaningful discussion about this. The Cultural Revolution was literally Mao Zedong bringing everyone down to the lowest level, lowest common denominator, by forbidding education. He tried to create a working class country. The intellectual in me screams that this is some grossly inhumane injustice. That knowledge is a prerogative that makes us human beings. Maybe this is part of what I’m supposed to experience living in a Communist country for a summer? So many in this Cultural Revolution generation are uneducated and I think this has a lot to do with a palpable cultural gap in China right now. I’m no expert but it feels tangible. I keep asking myself what is inherently Chinese? What is this country’s culture? I’m getting a better idea everyday but I believe China in its search for rapid development has let go of its culture. China has cut corners and I think lost some of its identity along the way. As US diplomat and secretary of state Chester Bowles said in 1946, “There can be no real individual freedom in the presence of economic insecurity.” Disturbingly, clubs like “Mix” in Beijing or the Starbucks on every (other) corner could easily be found in New York or any other western city. It’s mere mimicry. Even the DJ’s are American. China is like the younger sister looking up to the cool, older and more experienced West. However, that’s wrong on so many levels! China’s culture is so deep and so rich (and older…hello!!). What happened to ancient China?? What happened to Confucius and the literati? Right now China seems like a soul-less vacuum of materialism. "China is a place to have fun, to buy cheap goods but not to fall in love with or change you. It’s America’s back office." 好在(“Haozai,” means “fortunately”) if you look hard enough you can see residue of the old China. And there are good people, people interested in other human beings. After also visiting Russia and Japan I think this may be an East-West difference. In the East you don’t give strangers the time of day but you more than make of for it in your close personal relationships. I’ve made meaningful connections with the some of the people selling street food (I’m a regular but don’t worry Aunt Betty it’s hot food so the heat kills bacteria). My language partner is amazing. Last night she had seven hours of homework ahead of her (we’re exactly the same age so it makes for great comparisons) and she still fit in THREE hours with me talking about Chinese family life over green tea. Ahem, all in Chinese. Not to mention the Zhongguo ren Dahlia and I met on Saturday who has offered to introduce us to her friends and show us the trendy art district of Beijing, 798.
This culture of not respecting strangers, however, I see is having a very noticeable effect of the environment. It’s a collective responsibility problem though the West can’t claim to have it figured out either. But last night after running, my lungs actually hurt. It’s something I’ve never felt before and I have asthma.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Getting into a rhythm...
Unfortunately I haven't figured out how to post pictures through the proxy I'm using to blog. Hmm. I've been working at a Chinese gym near Duke. I really want to take pictures of the gym-- it's not exactly the LifetimeFitness experience I'm used to in 美国. Americans live so comfortably! I wonder if the 中国 人 think we're all wusses. Haha. Like everything else in China, the gym is full of altered reality. First, when you walk up to the floor the gym is located on everyone looks like they went shopping at an 80's thrift store (maybe going to Tokyo first spoiled me)... The weights aren't as heavy as they say they are on the tag and there is no air conditioning. Oh, and the treadmills sporadically stop and slow down while you're using them. The Expat gym rats have decided after careful deliberation that this is meant to make customers think they're working out harder than they really are. I love the looks I get from Chinese men when I bench press more than their load. We often start up a silent and unacknowledged competition. In addition, I've discovered a new favorite treat- hard boiled eggs bought from the college convenience store (they're hot so that's a good sign and they're cheap! 6 kuai for 8). And I thought lean protein was going to be a problem! Dahlia and I have had lots of fun trying all of the different fruits and vegetables-- I wish I could post pictures since I don't know their names... The teachers here are very helpful and sweet! They're young so I could see myself possibly making friendships with a few of them. Nothing else is new... just lots of characters! And our first test tomorrow....
:)
:)
Monday, June 15, 2009
Because 茶 puts me in a reflective mood...
So this is hard, really hard.
I'm from Nebraska, my parents are also from Nebraska. I didn't grow up bilingual and I didn't really learn language in school. It was a pretty homogenous place. I feel like I'm catching up with the brain machinery and wiring. After this experience, I think I want my kids to go to Chinese school on Saturdays from first grade on. Haha. I'm working very hard, harder than during the school year but I'm still struggling. I have the most trouble with listening and comprehending, especially if the laoshi is speaking fast or with an accent I'm less familiar with. I guess I just keep watching Chinese TV and talking and thinking in Chinese as much as I can. Last night in my quest for resources I stumbled across mandarintube.com which has videos and news stories in Chinese. It's pretty helpful! It's the constant conversion between languages that I'm not used to. I have confidence that I can learn Chinese but I feel like it's going to take me a while longer. I need a lot of drilling and practice. On another note, Dahlia and I have been sick the last few days possibly from questionable street food or not boiling our water for long enough. Hmm. What I would give for western cereal and milk at this point (This is already my fourth week abroad). Even Chinese packaged foods seem to have a lot of chemicals and additives that don't sit well with me. Everything is heavily sweetened. I definitely don't have a "Chinese stomach." I find it interesting that Chinese food is so greasy and yet the people are so thin! I asked my laoshi this question and she laughed and said their portions were 很 小。 Back to the grind stone.
再见！
I'm from Nebraska, my parents are also from Nebraska. I didn't grow up bilingual and I didn't really learn language in school. It was a pretty homogenous place. I feel like I'm catching up with the brain machinery and wiring. After this experience, I think I want my kids to go to Chinese school on Saturdays from first grade on. Haha. I'm working very hard, harder than during the school year but I'm still struggling. I have the most trouble with listening and comprehending, especially if the laoshi is speaking fast or with an accent I'm less familiar with. I guess I just keep watching Chinese TV and talking and thinking in Chinese as much as I can. Last night in my quest for resources I stumbled across mandarintube.com which has videos and news stories in Chinese. It's pretty helpful! It's the constant conversion between languages that I'm not used to. I have confidence that I can learn Chinese but I feel like it's going to take me a while longer. I need a lot of drilling and practice. On another note, Dahlia and I have been sick the last few days possibly from questionable street food or not boiling our water for long enough. Hmm. What I would give for western cereal and milk at this point (This is already my fourth week abroad). Even Chinese packaged foods seem to have a lot of chemicals and additives that don't sit well with me. Everything is heavily sweetened. I definitely don't have a "Chinese stomach." I find it interesting that Chinese food is so greasy and yet the people are so thin! I asked my laoshi this question and she laughed and said their portions were 很 小。 Back to the grind stone.
再见！
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Conglomeration of Possibly Entertaining Experiences Thus far
1. The expat venture-capitalists I met running today telling me their creative answers to the frequent "Ni jiehun le ma?" question (Are you married?)
2. People taking surreptitious pictures of Dahlia and I. They think they're so sneaky. Dahlia definitely won the most exotic person in the auditorium contest today.
3. The children walking around with holes in their pants so they can do their business on the street-- if it's not raining watch out!
4. Bargaining down a price for a xiaojie (concubine, prostitute-- whichever you prefer) on the Shanghai trip for kicks. No, we did not end up purchasing.
5. Deciding as long as I see bacteria-killing steam I'm eating it and no longer asking "Zhei zhong rou?" (What kind of meat is this?)
6. Chatting up the taxi cab drivers even if they're grumpy, asking for life stories.
7. Singing "Wo zuo chuan" (I'm on a boat, older generation check out youtube if you haven't seen it. We translated it into Chinese.)
8. Dr. Fish! aka a bath I had where these little fish eat off all your dead skin. My skin is quite soft. No need to waste studying time exfoliating anymore!
2. People taking surreptitious pictures of Dahlia and I. They think they're so sneaky. Dahlia definitely won the most exotic person in the auditorium contest today.
3. The children walking around with holes in their pants so they can do their business on the street-- if it's not raining watch out!
4. Bargaining down a price for a xiaojie (concubine, prostitute-- whichever you prefer) on the Shanghai trip for kicks. No, we did not end up purchasing.
5. Deciding as long as I see bacteria-killing steam I'm eating it and no longer asking "Zhei zhong rou?" (What kind of meat is this?)
6. Chatting up the taxi cab drivers even if they're grumpy, asking for life stories.
7. Singing "Wo zuo chuan" (I'm on a boat, older generation check out youtube if you haven't seen it. We translated it into Chinese.)
8. Dr. Fish! aka a bath I had where these little fish eat off all your dead skin. My skin is quite soft. No need to waste studying time exfoliating anymore!
What Beijing Expats Do on the Weekends
I signed up and committed to the Cape Cod Marathon on October 25th. I figured I should look for people to run with in Beijing-- to get in shape and also to meet people. Plus, I needed to escape from the Swine Flu quarantine. So I attended my first Hash. That is-- The Beijing Hash House Harriers. It's definitely not going to be my last Hash. It's a sort of scavenger hunt where other runners ("The Hares") mark the trail with different chalk symbols and directions that lead you to interesting places. It's a game-- 3 Km in we got a circle with x's in it which means "turn around" or "wrong way." I'm sure the Zhongguo ren (Chinese people) were wondering what was going on with all the waiguo ren (foreigners). A few times I asked "Ni kanjian paoguo de ren ma?" (Have you seen people run past?) Haha. We ran under and over bridges, through alleyways, through stores, through underground tunnels and markets with live chickens. It was definitely a great way to begin getting acquainted with Beijing and see places I would've have seen otherwise. My lungs are really feeling it. Apparently last year the pollution was so bad that you couldn't see certain buildings only maybe 200 yards in front of you. There's even a website people use that rates pollution to decide whether or not to run outside. It was interesting hearing about what people are doing working in Beijing. I even made a connection that brought me to a Yale viola concert tonight with my friend, Dahlia. We found out from Grace Hsieh about a Yale benefit coming up on the 20th and made plans to attend. A former light fellow herself, she said she'd help us keep our language pledge. Being in Beijing and seeing the applicability of my language skills has really fired my motivation. Talking to these Expats today really makes me think I want to come back and work here at least for a few years. I feel like there's so much I can help with. :)
再见！ Dahlia and I are off to drink tea and study at a 24 hour tea house.
再见！ Dahlia and I are off to drink tea and study at a 24 hour tea house.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Where do I begin?
I spent the last week in Shanghai with four boys: Jack, Sebastian, Rewon and John. I guess I became one of the bros. We all managed to meet up in the Beijing airport on June 6th (I flew in from Tokyo). It’s a massive airport, which I am sitting in now at the Haggen Dazs where I’m eating my new favorite treat, Green Tea ice cream, as I wait for the Duke shuttle to the Capital Normal campus. I feel like there’s the China for foreigners meant to be on display and the authentic-baoziguan-stand China with all of its greasy unruliness. Amidst the obvious political control (I can’t access blogger here without a proxy), there’s a sense that you can do whatever you want. China seems to parallel my Russian adventure in that money can buy anything. Last night our newfound couch surfing friend (couchsurfing.com) Manuel, a business student, dress shirt manufacturing coordinator, and European party boy extraordinaire sent us a text telling us that he could get us into the most exclusive club in Shanghai (or at least something to that effect). He forgot to tell us that flip flops would not be allowed in by the bouncer so Jack had to find some new shoes at a very late hour. As the story goes, the boys went into a restaurant with Manuel tapping a spoon against a glass, asking the diners for assistance in our hour of need. Many enthusiastic employees offered to help but Jack ended up buying the shoes for 100 kaui (expensive, over $14 USD) off of a man with feet many times smaller than his. It’s China; everybody is an entrepreneur. This whole week, living the high life-- eating out and staying in hotels-- I still spent less than $300 US dollars. As Manuel so aptly put, it’s “monopoly money.” But I can’t think like that otherwise I’ll buy everything. Yesterday I got an amazing head to toe exfoliating coconut scrub, an hour oil massage that even included the ears and toes and a pedicure for under $60 USD total. And then $11 USD for an extravagant dinner at a Korean barbeque. Most days I can eat baozi for .8 kuai or like 10 cents USD at a Baozi stand. I’m loving the food in China. The qingcai (veggie and tofu) baozi is my favorite. Jaozi are a little greasy but they’re good once in a while. I want to come back to Shanghai and study at Fudan University; I decided this during my massage. But don’t worry, we haven’t just been going out and getting massages. We paid homage to Sun Yatsen at his old residence and later toasted to his leadership of our beloved Zhongguo (Chinese word for China). We also went to an urban development museum in Shanghai where we looked at China’s back-breaking pace of development. None of this was here in ’98 let alone 1990. It’s truly incredible and has reminded me why I was so awestruck by China in the first place. Ironically, it’s the capitalist’s playground. Shanghai is really doing a lot to get ready for the 2010 World Expo. Many places in Shanghai I could’ve sworn I was in Western Europe. But just when you start to think that, a man wheels by pedaling a couch on his bike.
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