Its been a while...

So, its been a while since I have written anything. Chinese is kicking my butt and I have little time. Yesterday our business class took a field trip to Sun Microsystems and Lenovo. This is a pic of us at Lenovo holding one of the Olympic torches.

About that torch...

Its designed to look like an old fashioned paper scroll. The scroll is divided equally into two parts; earth and sky, symbolizing harmony (yin yang). The bottom (red) is earth, and the upper (squiggly lines) are 'lucky clouds'. Main color is red, symbolizing strength.

Also, the upper portion (cloud area) is some sort of metal, while the lower is some polymer based something or another. Anyways, my point is that the bottom is actually warm to the touch, unlike the metal on the top. It symbolizes peace through the shaking of warm hands.

Ok, back to my presentation which i have to give tomorrow.

Dune Jumping, Gobi Desert

Dunhuang, China

A bad essay

我的辅导

My Fudao (tutor) realizing how bad my written Chinese really is. She wouldn't let me snap a pic of her so set the camera up on the table next to us. Don't tell her...

My Ride

I believe it was the second weekend that IES announced a Hutong Tour via bicycle. Approximately 50 students showed up and we each rented bikes for roughly $1.50. Fifty white people biking through the Hutong’s of Beijing in one massive group was, I’m sure, quite a site to see.

Anyways, the tour was awesome. First because you really feel like a local when you’re on a bike. Second, well, there’s nothing quite like trying to share the road with buses, cars, buses, food carts, buses, other bikers, buses, and people. And by share I mean fight.

So the Hutong’s were cool, no one died, and it was 10RMB well spent. But it got me thinking…. I should do this every day….

Let me back up a bit. My homestay, which I should have put in the last post, is right down the street from The Birds Nest (Olympics…). Every morning when I leave for school I can see it; which is pretty awesome. The not-so-awesome part about it is the distance from school. Every morning I have a 30-45 minute bus ride. On this bus I fight for around 100 others for a seat or standing space. Throughout the process, there is a tiny TV on the bus running Chinese propaganda, bad commercials, and last night’s game show highlights.

I don’t like the bus.

So back to the Hutong-bike-tour-day. When I returned the bike I decided it was time to purchase my own. I went home and checked out Google maps to see if the ride would be worth it. When I discovered it was 6 miles (6.02 to be exact) I was sold. I could definitely beat the bus…

I dropped almost 400RMB (around $58) on the sucker, but it does me well. The only thing I don’t like about it is the name; “Gaiety”…. All it needs now are some pink streamers…

My first ride home was just over 35 minutes. The next day I peddled hard and made it in 30:47; so close to sub-30!! Each subsequent time since, I keep hitting 31:00, 33:00, and even 38:00 when I don’t hit the lights. Another contributing factor is that twice the amount of cars are back on the road since the Olympics are over. During the games, only odd numbered licensed plate cars could drive on odd number days, and likewise for even numbered cars. Therefore- half the cars, and faster bike times. Now all the cars are on the road, as well as all the street vendors and their carts (those were outlawed as well). If I have ever had any goal in life… this is it.

Riding my bike to school is like playing a video game. Think of Frogger and Jet Slalom combined. It really is a lot of fun. Having to dodge buses, cars, taxis, the black taxis, street carts, bicycles, and people, I believe there is an average of 3 potential accidents each time I ride. I am happy with this number as it keeps things exciting. I have never looked so forward to going to school before…

A bit about the fam...

Other than the massive language barrier that exists between my host parents and me, I haven’t written too much about the fam.

<-- (Me and mom at a park)

Mom and Dad, or Mama he Baba, or 妈妈和爸爸 are really awesome. Our personalities are really similar in that we are all pretty goofy. Conversations are always tough because I simply don’t understand what they are trying to say, but whenever I do get it, there is usually a laugh that follows.

My Mom works at some sort of supermarket or store and she sells things. I know that sounds pretty vague, but between their accent, no annunciation, and my massive vocabulary – I was pretty excited when I figured it out. Mom leaves the house at 5:30, and Dad wakes up and starts cooking my breakfast.

Breakfast in China sucks.

My dad cooks my breakfast for me every morning and walks around the table while I eat it to make sure it tastes good.

Dad: Hao Chi ma?好吃吗？Taste good?

Me: Hao Chi. 好吃。Tastes good.

Dad: Chi le!吃了！Eat

Dad: Duo Chi Le!多吃了！Eat it all

Dad: Chi! Chi! Chi! 吃吃吃！Eat Eat Eat

Dad: Hao Chi ma?好吃吗？Taste Good?

Me: Hao Chi….好吃。。。(you get the idea…)

This is my typical breakfast routine each morning. When I am done eating, he takes my dishes into the kitchen, washes them for me, and then leaves to go exercise. Speaking of, I’m not allowed in the kitchen. IES told us that we should not enter the kitchen until our family invites us. I didn’t think much of it until I saw how my parents would always close the door to the kitchen when they were done using it, especially when I was in the room. But back to my dad.

Dad is a retired GE employee whose life consists of cooking me food, doing my laundry, and watching TV all day. He discovered my laundry pile on day 3 of being in the house and when I got back from school my clothes were folded neatly in my cabinet (this man is a machine). I really want to help them out with chores (such as laundry) but both of my parents have such a servant attitude towards me and refuse to let me do anything. I am more like an honorary house guest. I tried to help clear the table the other night and my mom told me to go study. (Xuexi!) 学习！

I have hidden my laundry in two other places and he still manages to find it. I can just imagine him going through my room when I leave for school hunting for my clothes; it’s awesome.

When I come back from school there are more failed attempts at conversation while they cook dinner. Dinner is, for the most part, pretty good. There have only been a couple of dishes that I didn’t like; lotus stem/root being one of them. I have also consumed roughly 2 plantations worth of green tea in my stay. Ironically, my family drinks nothing at dinner, but at every other moment green tea is available. While I am studying in my room they constantly come in to refill my glass. All in all, great family!

VEEERY NIIICE!

Today we leave for our extended travel!

IES Beijing hosts 3 trips for students. Two into Yunnan province, and one through the northern route of the Silk Road. I had picked the Yunan province since one of the groups down there visits Tibetan peoples and hikes through Himalayas.... but I wasn't selected in the raffle.. ohh well.

Today we fly to Xinjiang province and over the course of two weeks make our way back east towards Xi'an. Xinjiang is on the far northwest corner of China. Kazakastan, Russia, and Mongolia surround it's northern borders. GREAT SUCCESS!

The silk road trip is divided into two groups; english speaking and chinese speaking. Lucky for me I am in the 'you can only speak Chinese on this trip or we will deport you' group.

For a quick refresher on The Silk Road, see the link;

Wikipedia - Silk Road Info

“Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world, can write anything they want about any subject. So you know you are getting the best possible information.” - Michael Scott

No internet for two weeks. I'll catch up on all the posts I should have already written when I get back.

Big Body Avalon

I found Lindsey's car on campus today. Just thought it was worth mentioning...