An article in the New York Times about Chinese food (real Chinese food, not American-Chinese food) in Flushing, Queens, gives you a good idea of the tremendous variety of food found in China. Chinese cooking is both simple and complex – the ingredients are fresh and ordinary, yet the huge variety of ingredients creates complexity (menus have several pages of main dishes), and the staples are made efficiently and quickly, yet there are many ways of turning flour and water into noodles, or countless styles of dumplings.
The restaurants in Flushing seem authentic - the article could just as well be describing mhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gify neighborhood. You find similar food courts and family-owned restaurants in Beijing, where cuisines from every province can be found. Some of the foods described in the article I eat all the time here, such as the hand-pulled “Lanzhou” noodles, the cold noodles with several sauces, cucumbers and cilantro, not to mention the bubble tea. It looks just the same as the pictures and the pull noodles are made in the same way as in the video, so be sure to check out the pictures and video clips along with the article. The prices were interesting to see, too. It’s cheap food for NYC, but it’s even cheaper here (about ¼ of the price or less).
Another recent article surveyed female artists in China. I’ve heard of a couple of the artists (and a couple of the male artists mentioned) and visited the 798 art district mentioned a couple weekends ago (see my pictures here).
With all the attention on Beijing right now, it’s fun to read the media’s perspective on all the sights, foods, and culture that I am experiencing firsthand here.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Security
I’ve mentioned the high level of security in the city before. For some pictures of the thousands of police officers, security guards, and 100,000 antiterrorism soldiers (and a missile defense system around the National Stadium!), check out the Boston Globe's Big Picture blog.
There are security guards in many public places and especially at the entrances to schools, apartments, and other large buildings. Because of their ubiquity, I’ve gotten used to seeing security guards everywhere and I guess I didn’t notice the steady rise in their numbers lately. I know see teams of security gathered for a talk or marching in straight lines. There aren’t too many armed officers in this area, but they are pretty common in the city center and around the Olympic venues.
This morning on my way to class I counted the number of security guards. It’s not a very long distance - about a 15 minute walk or maybe three minutes on a bike.
I saw 57 security guards, way more than I expected. That’s at least five for every block! Granted, they tend to stand (or sit) around in groups and I did see about a dozen at once who were marching down the street. Only on the last block of the campus, while approaching my classroom building, did I not see a single security guard for a whole block, which made me wonder if I should start to worry about being in an unsafe area. I also saw 24 Olympic and Beijing Language University volunteers during my commute.
It's already feeling like a police state. Will it be any different during the Olympics?
There are security guards in many public places and especially at the entrances to schools, apartments, and other large buildings. Because of their ubiquity, I’ve gotten used to seeing security guards everywhere and I guess I didn’t notice the steady rise in their numbers lately. I know see teams of security gathered for a talk or marching in straight lines. There aren’t too many armed officers in this area, but they are pretty common in the city center and around the Olympic venues.
This morning on my way to class I counted the number of security guards. It’s not a very long distance - about a 15 minute walk or maybe three minutes on a bike.
I saw 57 security guards, way more than I expected. That’s at least five for every block! Granted, they tend to stand (or sit) around in groups and I did see about a dozen at once who were marching down the street. Only on the last block of the campus, while approaching my classroom building, did I not see a single security guard for a whole block, which made me wonder if I should start to worry about being in an unsafe area. I also saw 24 Olympic and Beijing Language University volunteers during my commute.
It's already feeling like a police state. Will it be any different during the Olympics?
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
I’m in BusinessWeek
I came across an article about Apple in China on the website for BusinessWeek magazine and found myself in a picture included in the article. Well, I’m buried deep in the background, partially obscured by raised arms and umbrellas, but at least I’m in there.
Where am I? I'm in the top right, wearing glasses, and the left side of my face is visible. Here’s a close-up to make it easier.
Basketball
The United States basketball team arrived in China yesterday.
They'll face the toughest competition in any international basketball tournament to date, but they seem better prepared and more focused than the 2004 team that finished in a disappointing third place.
LeBron is guaranteeing a gold medal.
Too bad in this basketball crazy country all of the tickets to the basketball games were quickly sold out and resales run in the high triple digits or more (US dollars). All of the Olympic tickets to events in Beijing are sold out, in fact. A few of the soccer games in other cities still have tickets available, so it may turn out to be the first Olympic Games to completely sell out.
The gymnasium on my university's campus has been closed all summer as it will be used for basketball team practices. I'll have a camera on me at all times in case I spot some NBA players.
They'll face the toughest competition in any international basketball tournament to date, but they seem better prepared and more focused than the 2004 team that finished in a disappointing third place.
LeBron is guaranteeing a gold medal.
Too bad in this basketball crazy country all of the tickets to the basketball games were quickly sold out and resales run in the high triple digits or more (US dollars). All of the Olympic tickets to events in Beijing are sold out, in fact. A few of the soccer games in other cities still have tickets available, so it may turn out to be the first Olympic Games to completely sell out.
The gymnasium on my university's campus has been closed all summer as it will be used for basketball team practices. I'll have a camera on me at all times in case I spot some NBA players.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Crowds, cigarettes and stories of young people in China
Beijing's population is roughly 15 million people, so out on the streets you never find yourself alone. It’s busy with people virtually everywhere and at all hours of the day. According to Xinhua news, it’s only going to get busier:
Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg are starting an intriguing public health initiative - a campaign to reduce smoking rates in developing countries. The pollution is bad enough in China, but then so many men smoke cigarettes as well. For whatever reason, there is a large discrepancy between men and women. It seems like roughly half of middle-aged men smoke but it is rare to see a woman smoking (it turns out my approximations were right, according to the NY Times, more than 60 percent of men smoke but only 3 percent of women do). Reducing smoking rates would have a huge effect on China, where it is so widespread.
Smoking bans are spreading in China, although compliance is pretty low. Cigarettes are deeply entrenched in the culture.
The government is limiting factory production hours, shutting down coal power plants, closing a number of restaurants and bars (ostensibly for security reasons), keeping half the cars of the roads, giving out fewer visas (and of shorter duration), kicking out transient workers who do not hold official residence in the city, and searching cars and trucks that enter the city. They now are trying to prevent embarrassing protests or civil unrest and recently announced that they will allow for limited protests in three special zones.
PBS Frontline produced another fascinating documentary on China. Young and Restless in China follows nine young working Chinese over four years. Their lives are full of unexpected obstacles and hardships, changing jobs, living far away from family, falling in love, divorce and breakups, raising children, and finding a place in a rapidly changing society. The country and the subjects of the documentary are both struggling to find a balance between tradition and modernity; the documentary tells the story of the nation’s recent history at a personal level through these nine people (well, a lot of their struggles would be familiar to most Americans, too).
I was captivated by their stories and surprised at how much I could relate to them. I have visited many of the places featured in the documentary and lived through similar experiences as they have.
I also highly recommend anther PBS documentary on China, Tank Man, which is an in-depth look at Tiananmen. I watched it a while ago but still think about it often – it’s a powerful film.
Finally, there are some more great pictures of Olympics preparations on the Boston Globe’s site.
During the Games, more than 20,000 athletes and sporting officials, 70,000 working staff, 2,200 registered reporters and 7 million spectators will descend on Beijing and other cities.
Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg are starting an intriguing public health initiative - a campaign to reduce smoking rates in developing countries. The pollution is bad enough in China, but then so many men smoke cigarettes as well. For whatever reason, there is a large discrepancy between men and women. It seems like roughly half of middle-aged men smoke but it is rare to see a woman smoking (it turns out my approximations were right, according to the NY Times, more than 60 percent of men smoke but only 3 percent of women do). Reducing smoking rates would have a huge effect on China, where it is so widespread.
The tobacco industry produces more than 5,400 billion cigarettes a year. The biggest market is China, where more than 300 million smokers consume about 2,200 billion cigarettes a year, 40 per cent of the global total.
Smoking bans are spreading in China, although compliance is pretty low. Cigarettes are deeply entrenched in the culture.
The government is limiting factory production hours, shutting down coal power plants, closing a number of restaurants and bars (ostensibly for security reasons), keeping half the cars of the roads, giving out fewer visas (and of shorter duration), kicking out transient workers who do not hold official residence in the city, and searching cars and trucks that enter the city. They now are trying to prevent embarrassing protests or civil unrest and recently announced that they will allow for limited protests in three special zones.
PBS Frontline produced another fascinating documentary on China. Young and Restless in China follows nine young working Chinese over four years. Their lives are full of unexpected obstacles and hardships, changing jobs, living far away from family, falling in love, divorce and breakups, raising children, and finding a place in a rapidly changing society. The country and the subjects of the documentary are both struggling to find a balance between tradition and modernity; the documentary tells the story of the nation’s recent history at a personal level through these nine people (well, a lot of their struggles would be familiar to most Americans, too).
I was captivated by their stories and surprised at how much I could relate to them. I have visited many of the places featured in the documentary and lived through similar experiences as they have.
I also highly recommend anther PBS documentary on China, Tank Man, which is an in-depth look at Tiananmen. I watched it a while ago but still think about it often – it’s a powerful film.
Finally, there are some more great pictures of Olympics preparations on the Boston Globe’s site.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Some good pics and insights on current events
There is a great series of articles on China in the year of the Olympics in the Financial Times. I recommend this one on the growing political activism among the middle class. The article recounts a protest against expandinghttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif the Maglev train line through some residential neighborhoods that was going on during the past school year in Shanghai.
There is also an excellent audio slideshow that accompanies the article. You can find the same sort of gated communities with large homes, multicar garages, and golf courses around Beijing. I’ve spent some time in one such place in northern Beijing through a number of sessions tutoring a young girl in her home. Going to her house feels just like stepping into an American suburb. It’s a fairly dull place but the quiet, empty streets and the smell of wet grass provide a pleasant break from the hectic and dirty urban streets that I’m used to. It also brings back memories of suburban life in the States.
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
The complex and swiftly changing economy and politics in this country are what make it so fascinating.http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif I have always felt lucky to be born at this time in history, at the inception of the technology age and during a time of relative peace, stability and accelerating globalization. Now I feel further appreciative of the chance to be living in this spot on the globe, where I am witnessing such a tumultuous charge towards modernity at an immense scale.
Finally, I recommend checking out these pictures (and more) on the Boston Globe's website. Next to being there in person, it’s the best up close look you can find on China. I also recommend these diving pictures.
There is also an excellent audio slideshow that accompanies the article. You can find the same sort of gated communities with large homes, multicar garages, and golf courses around Beijing. I’ve spent some time in one such place in northern Beijing through a number of sessions tutoring a young girl in her home. Going to her house feels just like stepping into an American suburb. It’s a fairly dull place but the quiet, empty streets and the smell of wet grass provide a pleasant break from the hectic and dirty urban streets that I’m used to. It also brings back memories of suburban life in the States.
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
The complex and swiftly changing economy and politics in this country are what make it so fascinating.http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif I have always felt lucky to be born at this time in history, at the inception of the technology age and during a time of relative peace, stability and accelerating globalization. Now I feel further appreciative of the chance to be living in this spot on the globe, where I am witnessing such a tumultuous charge towards modernity at an immense scale.
Finally, I recommend checking out these pictures (and more) on the Boston Globe's website. Next to being there in person, it’s the best up close look you can find on China. I also recommend these diving pictures.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Olympics warm-up
Just under three weeks until the Olympics begin. Advertisements that feature the Games are everywhere, obviously. For a quick description of the athletes most commonly featured and the dueling billboards between Nike and Adidas, check out this article.
For the first time, beginning this weekend, the information kiosks that have been built on many street corners are open and staffed with the official volunteers. I’ve noticed there are a lot more traffic guards, too.
There are a few inconveniences, however. Starting today half of the cars on the road will not be allowed, among other restrictions on factories and building construction. A number of bars have been shut down for a month or more and other places are forced to move their closing time to an earlier hour. I have no idea why and some people are not pleased. Students also now have to show their student IDs to enter my university's campus. I’m not happy about that. Long lines can form and I hope I don’t ever lose it or forget it at home or else I’ll be highly inconvenienced.
There was a recent article about the new face of Beijing through some examples of its modern architecture.
Finally, here is a picture of me and my snazzy new bike in front of Beijing University's main library.
For the first time, beginning this weekend, the information kiosks that have been built on many street corners are open and staffed with the official volunteers. I’ve noticed there are a lot more traffic guards, too.
There are a few inconveniences, however. Starting today half of the cars on the road will not be allowed, among other restrictions on factories and building construction. A number of bars have been shut down for a month or more and other places are forced to move their closing time to an earlier hour. I have no idea why and some people are not pleased. Students also now have to show their student IDs to enter my university's campus. I’m not happy about that. Long lines can form and I hope I don’t ever lose it or forget it at home or else I’ll be highly inconvenienced.
There was a recent article about the new face of Beijing through some examples of its modern architecture.
Finally, here is a picture of me and my snazzy new bike in front of Beijing University's main library.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Great Wall
I went to the Great Wall on Saturday through a trip organized by the university. It wasn’t very crowded and the wather was perfect. Check out the clear views and blue skies in the pictures.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Pre-Olympics
This article is a good synopsis of how far Beijing has come and how differently things are run in China.
The reporter’s observations are spot on; I’ve experienced all of the this. I’ve seen store and restaurant employees, all wearing identical uniforms, going through training sessions or pep talks, just like in the picture. The smog in the city is really bad some days. It’s become just another dimension of the weather, in a way. The contradictions between an austere, communist past and a vibrant, free-wheeling market economy are visible everywhere. And people are friendly and curious about foreigners. For better or worse, you’re never left alone.
The reporter’s observations are spot on; I’ve experienced all of the this. I’ve seen store and restaurant employees, all wearing identical uniforms, going through training sessions or pep talks, just like in the picture. The smog in the city is really bad some days. It’s become just another dimension of the weather, in a way. The contradictions between an austere, communist past and a vibrant, free-wheeling market economy are visible everywhere. And people are friendly and curious about foreigners. For better or worse, you’re never left alone.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Beijing – the first week
I’ve been here for a week already and the time flew by. I had little time to sit down and write and only just realized that I should do it soon before it becomes too much or before my days become even busier. On the first day, I moved into my place and met the first of two roommates, an American guy my age. I also got down to studying since I will take a placement exam on Thursday morning and the first class is Friday morning. My stack of flashcards on my desk is really high and I’m trying to get them all down to take stock of where I am before the course begins. On my second day I registered with the police, which is mandatory for everyone, even hotels and hostels do it for their guests, bought a metro card, and placed an ad on the Internet soliciting work as an English tutor.
I recieved about two dozen responses to my online ad in less than 48 hours, mostly from language schools who hold small classes or match tutors with students. I had also contacted a few language schools several weeks earlier, so I had a lot of leads. After turning down lots of offers and giving four free initial lessons to three people and one small group, I narrowed down the workload. I’m tutoring a nine-year girl at her home nearby everyday this weeks as she prepares for an English competition on Saturday and may tutor her on and off in August. I’m also tutoring a graduate student in electrical engineering in my apartment, and I may tutor another young girl, also in her home. It was a lot of commuting and I got all of the emails and requests mixed up, but the jobs were easy to find and the pay is really good.
I also responded to one ad for a language exchange and last Thursday I met up with a young guy who works at a telecom company. We instantly hit it off and he showed me around the upscale Chaoyang district and we spent hours in a restored hutong (one of Beijing’s old alleys), which was full of new shops and restaurants. We ate a western restaurant on that street, where I had a delicious salad and a Chinese influenced pizza – it was “gong bao ji ding,” or as Americans know it, kung pao chicken.
One of the shops we visited earlier had a lot of vintage style t-shirts, some with ironic or humorous pictures and sayings. One simply said 宫爆鸡丁 across the front, which is “gong bao ji ding” a.k.a. kung pao chicken. I chuckled when I came across it, and then realized it’s an inside joke that only Chinese-speaking Americans can really get. I’m now one of them – I get the joke! When the Chinese guy I was with saw it, he said, “Oh yeah, I’ve seen foreigners wearing that T-shirt. They must really like gong bao ji ding.”
Over the weekend, I visited the two largest malls I’ve ever been too, aside from the Mall of America. One was the Oriental Plaza, an upscale mall just east of Tianan’men Square. I had driven by it once or twice with Andy when we stayed near there, but I had no idea how big it was inside. Nearby is Wangfujing street, which is the city’s big pedestrian shopping street. It seemed like every store and advertisement had an Olympic theme. Just off of this street is a heavily trafficked street with a long line of food stalls. It was packed with camera-toting tourists sampling Chinese food that was far from their familiar kung pao chicken. Vendors dangled octopus on a stick and lamb kebabs right in my face, which was a little annoying, meanwhile much of the food looked unhealthy or down right gross, and it was overpriced. But it was worth it to see some of the more strange foods on offer, although the whole place seemed to exist more to draw attention from tourists than to win any Michelin stars. (see pictures of cicadas, kidneys, and seahorses, all grilled on wooden skewers, at gallery.mac.com/sambrummitt)
The other giant mall I went to was underneath a big plaza a couple kilometers southwest of where I live. I saw a modest sign and entrance for a Carrefour on one end of the plaza, so I decided to head inside and check out their food (they always have good bread). I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I expected to be in and out in no more than10 minutes, enough time to look around and pick up a few things. I descended into an underworld of restaurants and shops, got lost, and didn’t see the light of day for at least an hour and a half. There was a maze of chain restaurants and only a few signs to point you to one of many exits, but no map to help you find out where everything was, including the giant Carrefour. When I finally found the Carrefour, I put my bag in a locker and then wasted a ton of time finding my way around both floors of this supermarket that sells everything from food to clothes to mopeds (think Wal-Mart over two floors and entirely underground).
I got lost again trying to find the locker where I left my bag, because I entered on the first floor of the Carrefour (level B1), and exited on level B2 and had no idea where I was or how to get back because I couldn’t simply re-enter the supermarket and retrace my steps. I found myself lost in the maze of restaurants and little shops once again, but found the lockers and got out okay.
I registered for my class as soon as I possibly could early Monday morning. I paid the tuitiong, got my student ID, and scanned the a wall of papers with the students’ names to find out my exam room. There’s roughly 200 students in the six-week course, and maybe a third of them, by far the largest group, come from Korea. There were about 20 Americans on the list, a similar number of Japanese, and a sizable number from some Central Asian and Southeast Asian countries, Russia, Australia, and Canada. Then there were smaller numbers of students from some European and African countries. I couldn’t understand the Chinese names of a few countries, so I’m guessing based on the students’ names in some cases. I’ll find out after the placement test who is in my class, but I’m sure there will be at least someone with the name Park or Lee from Korea (there were at least ten of each of those two Korean names).
So far a few things have struck me. First, there is a lot of construction and it seems like it is stuff that should be finished by the Olympics, but I don’t see how it can possibly all get done within the next month (the Opening Ceremony is in exactly one month, not to mention all of the other things that could go wrong). Second, people seem to be really educated and knowledgeable. There are tons of universities around, and Beijing has one of the highest per capita income levels in the country, so I guess that means I met a lot more educated people. Interacting with people is much easier, which was not the case in Taicang, where a lot of people had limited English or little experience with foreigners. Third, the streets are really wide, the city is not very dense, and commuting is time-consuming and involves lots of walking. Finally, it’s really hot. Maybe I’m still getting used to it, and walking a few miles each day doesn’t help, but every single day I sweat a ton. There’s no way to avoid it and sometimes no relief from the heat.
I recieved about two dozen responses to my online ad in less than 48 hours, mostly from language schools who hold small classes or match tutors with students. I had also contacted a few language schools several weeks earlier, so I had a lot of leads. After turning down lots of offers and giving four free initial lessons to three people and one small group, I narrowed down the workload. I’m tutoring a nine-year girl at her home nearby everyday this weeks as she prepares for an English competition on Saturday and may tutor her on and off in August. I’m also tutoring a graduate student in electrical engineering in my apartment, and I may tutor another young girl, also in her home. It was a lot of commuting and I got all of the emails and requests mixed up, but the jobs were easy to find and the pay is really good.
I also responded to one ad for a language exchange and last Thursday I met up with a young guy who works at a telecom company. We instantly hit it off and he showed me around the upscale Chaoyang district and we spent hours in a restored hutong (one of Beijing’s old alleys), which was full of new shops and restaurants. We ate a western restaurant on that street, where I had a delicious salad and a Chinese influenced pizza – it was “gong bao ji ding,” or as Americans know it, kung pao chicken.
One of the shops we visited earlier had a lot of vintage style t-shirts, some with ironic or humorous pictures and sayings. One simply said 宫爆鸡丁 across the front, which is “gong bao ji ding” a.k.a. kung pao chicken. I chuckled when I came across it, and then realized it’s an inside joke that only Chinese-speaking Americans can really get. I’m now one of them – I get the joke! When the Chinese guy I was with saw it, he said, “Oh yeah, I’ve seen foreigners wearing that T-shirt. They must really like gong bao ji ding.”
Over the weekend, I visited the two largest malls I’ve ever been too, aside from the Mall of America. One was the Oriental Plaza, an upscale mall just east of Tianan’men Square. I had driven by it once or twice with Andy when we stayed near there, but I had no idea how big it was inside. Nearby is Wangfujing street, which is the city’s big pedestrian shopping street. It seemed like every store and advertisement had an Olympic theme. Just off of this street is a heavily trafficked street with a long line of food stalls. It was packed with camera-toting tourists sampling Chinese food that was far from their familiar kung pao chicken. Vendors dangled octopus on a stick and lamb kebabs right in my face, which was a little annoying, meanwhile much of the food looked unhealthy or down right gross, and it was overpriced. But it was worth it to see some of the more strange foods on offer, although the whole place seemed to exist more to draw attention from tourists than to win any Michelin stars. (see pictures of cicadas, kidneys, and seahorses, all grilled on wooden skewers, at gallery.mac.com/sambrummitt)
The other giant mall I went to was underneath a big plaza a couple kilometers southwest of where I live. I saw a modest sign and entrance for a Carrefour on one end of the plaza, so I decided to head inside and check out their food (they always have good bread). I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I expected to be in and out in no more than10 minutes, enough time to look around and pick up a few things. I descended into an underworld of restaurants and shops, got lost, and didn’t see the light of day for at least an hour and a half. There was a maze of chain restaurants and only a few signs to point you to one of many exits, but no map to help you find out where everything was, including the giant Carrefour. When I finally found the Carrefour, I put my bag in a locker and then wasted a ton of time finding my way around both floors of this supermarket that sells everything from food to clothes to mopeds (think Wal-Mart over two floors and entirely underground).
I got lost again trying to find the locker where I left my bag, because I entered on the first floor of the Carrefour (level B1), and exited on level B2 and had no idea where I was or how to get back because I couldn’t simply re-enter the supermarket and retrace my steps. I found myself lost in the maze of restaurants and little shops once again, but found the lockers and got out okay.
I registered for my class as soon as I possibly could early Monday morning. I paid the tuitiong, got my student ID, and scanned the a wall of papers with the students’ names to find out my exam room. There’s roughly 200 students in the six-week course, and maybe a third of them, by far the largest group, come from Korea. There were about 20 Americans on the list, a similar number of Japanese, and a sizable number from some Central Asian and Southeast Asian countries, Russia, Australia, and Canada. Then there were smaller numbers of students from some European and African countries. I couldn’t understand the Chinese names of a few countries, so I’m guessing based on the students’ names in some cases. I’ll find out after the placement test who is in my class, but I’m sure there will be at least someone with the name Park or Lee from Korea (there were at least ten of each of those two Korean names).
So far a few things have struck me. First, there is a lot of construction and it seems like it is stuff that should be finished by the Olympics, but I don’t see how it can possibly all get done within the next month (the Opening Ceremony is in exactly one month, not to mention all of the other things that could go wrong). Second, people seem to be really educated and knowledgeable. There are tons of universities around, and Beijing has one of the highest per capita income levels in the country, so I guess that means I met a lot more educated people. Interacting with people is much easier, which was not the case in Taicang, where a lot of people had limited English or little experience with foreigners. Third, the streets are really wide, the city is not very dense, and commuting is time-consuming and involves lots of walking. Finally, it’s really hot. Maybe I’m still getting used to it, and walking a few miles each day doesn’t help, but every single day I sweat a ton. There’s no way to avoid it and sometimes no relief from the heat.
Friday, July 04, 2008
Happy Fourth of July
Most of the fireworks sold in the U.S. originate in China and it turns out that a host of problems have raised prices and depressed the supply of Chinese made fireworks. I heard about this in two different podcasts - from NPR and from Bloomberg - that I happened to listen to today.
The world is closely connected in more ways than you’d expect.
The world is closely connected in more ways than you’d expect.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Darn good location
Just down the street is the Olympic Village where the athletes live and to the east is the Olympic stadium and the aquatics center.
[UPDATE] I just ran to the Olympic stadium. It took me just under an hour to reach it, even though I got a little lost and went too far south. I walked around the Olympic sites along with a handful of tourists and wandered through a few different neighborhoods. I brought a subway card along with me but ended up not using it because the station next to the Olympic stadium is not open yet and I had good time going back a different way on foot anyways.
[UPDATE] I just ran to the Olympic stadium. It took me just under an hour to reach it, even though I got a little lost and went too far south. I walked around the Olympic sites along with a handful of tourists and wandered through a few different neighborhoods. I brought a subway card along with me but ended up not using it because the station next to the Olympic stadium is not open yet and I had good time going back a different way on foot anyways.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Transition to summer
As the spring semester ends and summer begins, I move from full-time teaching to full-time studying. The best perk about teaching is that you have a summer free. Although my break is merely two months, the shortest summer break I’ve ever had, I’ll try to make the most of it and by learning as much Chinese as possible in two months. When I was reflecting upon this, I realized that I have been in the pattern of a school year followed by a summer break ever since I started kindergarten at age four, nearly 20 years ago. I don’t know how many more summer breaks I’ll have.
This past week has been packed with events and lots of goodbyes and it all went by at a dizzying pace. Last Tuesday and Wednesday students took my three exams and I took a Chinese exam in between correcting the English exams. I also watched the last Korea versus China student basketball game, which the students took so seriously that I was not allowed to play. On Thursday night we a had party for the high school students where we ate pizza, watched a slideshow of pictures that I put together, and exchanged gifts anonymously by picking numbers out of a hat.
On Friday we had a final school assembly and virtually all of the teachers went out for lunch. About 25 of use ate around a huge table in a private dining at some hotel in town. There was a torrential downpour all day long and by the time we got back to school the soccer field was underwater, the ponds were overflowing and the streets and walkways on campus had all turned into shallow rivers of swiftly moving water. I got pretty wet walking around the campus saying goodbye to everyone.
I got a ride home and quickly changed and grabbed a pair of shorts before heading out again to get a taxi and meet a student named Paul who lives in town. Paul is a really outgoing kid and a gifted athlete; at school we compete in everything from one-on-one basketball games to computer games. He has taken me out to a couple good restaurants in Taicang and we’ve played tennis at a public court in town. We had talked about going to a swimming pool near his house for weeks but never had any time until school was out.
Walking outside to catch a taxi got me wet all over again so going for a swim was only appropriate. We had the swimming pool to ourselves and spent about an hour racing each other back and forth in the pool. In between pool-length sprints we’d sit on the edge to catch our breaths and chat. We’d become pretty close after nine months so we were able to talk about a lot of personal things – joking with each other, talking about girls, deciding who has more body hair (me), who is stronger (him), and discussing our future plans.
His mom was going to take us out for dinner so after we got out of the pool I was disappointed to see that my clothes had not dried much at all in the damp locker room. I felt like I had never gotten dry all day long. Luckily, Paul had brought along a small hair dryer but when we looked around for a place to plug it in we couldn’t find one. There were no outlets in the locker room but an employee told us we could use one at the front desk. So we followed him and I found myself standing in the middle of the lobby with three women staring at my me as I stood there barefoot, with my damp clothes in hand, wearing nothing but my boxers. Paul simply burst out laughing. I sat on a stool and dried my clothes as much as I could with the little hairdryer while trying to ignore the people around me.
Paul is going to study Japanese at an international school in Tokyo for a year before going to college, so I wrote him a letter of recommendation and his mom was extremely grateful. I think she also appreciated a teacher who could keep up with her son’s athletic pursuits, too.
I got a ride to Changzhou on Saturday and spent the weekend unpacking and storing my winter clothes and other things I did not need for the summer, and then repacking a small bag and a big backpack with some clothes and books for the summer. I said goodbye to lots of teachers, including a number who are leaving China soon, and then I took a train to Beijing on Monday night.
I woke up in Beijing today and grabbed a taxi to the student apartments near the university where I will be studying. It was a surreal morning. The taxi ride took me around Tiananmen Square, where a big sign with a countdown to the opening ceremony of the Olympics read 38 days and nine hours. The taxi driver was quite talkative and asked me teach him some English phrases like “train station” and “you’re welcome.” I met the brother of the Chinese woman I am renting from and met one of my two roommates, an American guy my age who has been here for a couple weeks.
It was a nice welcome to the city and I’m already moved in so I’ve now got time to head out and explore the area around the university.
This past week has been packed with events and lots of goodbyes and it all went by at a dizzying pace. Last Tuesday and Wednesday students took my three exams and I took a Chinese exam in between correcting the English exams. I also watched the last Korea versus China student basketball game, which the students took so seriously that I was not allowed to play. On Thursday night we a had party for the high school students where we ate pizza, watched a slideshow of pictures that I put together, and exchanged gifts anonymously by picking numbers out of a hat.
On Friday we had a final school assembly and virtually all of the teachers went out for lunch. About 25 of use ate around a huge table in a private dining at some hotel in town. There was a torrential downpour all day long and by the time we got back to school the soccer field was underwater, the ponds were overflowing and the streets and walkways on campus had all turned into shallow rivers of swiftly moving water. I got pretty wet walking around the campus saying goodbye to everyone.
I got a ride home and quickly changed and grabbed a pair of shorts before heading out again to get a taxi and meet a student named Paul who lives in town. Paul is a really outgoing kid and a gifted athlete; at school we compete in everything from one-on-one basketball games to computer games. He has taken me out to a couple good restaurants in Taicang and we’ve played tennis at a public court in town. We had talked about going to a swimming pool near his house for weeks but never had any time until school was out.
Walking outside to catch a taxi got me wet all over again so going for a swim was only appropriate. We had the swimming pool to ourselves and spent about an hour racing each other back and forth in the pool. In between pool-length sprints we’d sit on the edge to catch our breaths and chat. We’d become pretty close after nine months so we were able to talk about a lot of personal things – joking with each other, talking about girls, deciding who has more body hair (me), who is stronger (him), and discussing our future plans.
His mom was going to take us out for dinner so after we got out of the pool I was disappointed to see that my clothes had not dried much at all in the damp locker room. I felt like I had never gotten dry all day long. Luckily, Paul had brought along a small hair dryer but when we looked around for a place to plug it in we couldn’t find one. There were no outlets in the locker room but an employee told us we could use one at the front desk. So we followed him and I found myself standing in the middle of the lobby with three women staring at my me as I stood there barefoot, with my damp clothes in hand, wearing nothing but my boxers. Paul simply burst out laughing. I sat on a stool and dried my clothes as much as I could with the little hairdryer while trying to ignore the people around me.
Paul is going to study Japanese at an international school in Tokyo for a year before going to college, so I wrote him a letter of recommendation and his mom was extremely grateful. I think she also appreciated a teacher who could keep up with her son’s athletic pursuits, too.
I got a ride to Changzhou on Saturday and spent the weekend unpacking and storing my winter clothes and other things I did not need for the summer, and then repacking a small bag and a big backpack with some clothes and books for the summer. I said goodbye to lots of teachers, including a number who are leaving China soon, and then I took a train to Beijing on Monday night.
I woke up in Beijing today and grabbed a taxi to the student apartments near the university where I will be studying. It was a surreal morning. The taxi ride took me around Tiananmen Square, where a big sign with a countdown to the opening ceremony of the Olympics read 38 days and nine hours. The taxi driver was quite talkative and asked me teach him some English phrases like “train station” and “you’re welcome.” I met the brother of the Chinese woman I am renting from and met one of my two roommates, an American guy my age who has been here for a couple weeks.
It was a nice welcome to the city and I’m already moved in so I’ve now got time to head out and explore the area around the university.
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