The March of the Herrons

Marvelling at the Ming Tombs

Mom hiding at the Great Wall

Tian An Men Square

Eating out with Aunty Nancy

My parents and sister arrived this Wednesday in Beijing, and it has been go, go, go ever since. In fact, it is only as my family is falling asleep, after another very full day, that I sit here writing this blog. I'll give just a brief replay of our time here so far.



Wednesday, the family arrived in Beijing right on time and I was waiting with a taxi ready. They were impressed not only by the size of Beijing, but also the incredible traffic. I gave them a little dinner and put them right to bed. Thursday, we wasted no time in taking in the sights. I arranged a private van and English-speaking tour guide to take us to the Ming Tombs and Great Wall. I think everybody thoroughly enjoyed our first day.



Friday, we started out early by walking from our hotel to Tian An Men square. It was quite hot, even though it was only nine in the morning. Dad, of course, was very happy to be in such an historically significant place. Next, we crossed the street and walked through the gates of Tian An Men into the Forbidden City. We spent more than several hours there, and besides the incredible heat it was very fun. In the afternoon we took a brief rest, and then we got ready to go see Beijing Opera courtesy of my good friend Nan Sheng (Aunty Nancy) and her husband. It was an eye and ear-opening experience...



Today we toned it down a little. In the morning we all went for massages. And in the early afternoon I showed the family around the embassy district and took them out for a good lunch at one of my favorite Italian restaurants in Beijing. In the evening, we met Aunty Nancy and her husband at a Peking Duck restaurant on Wangfujin Street. It was a wonderful dinner. However, my family can't speak any Chinese and Aunty Nancy and her husband have extremely limited English. So I spent most of dinnertime translating, but it was a successful outing. Everyone had fun, and I was able to convince my parents that sending me to Beijing was not a waste of energy ;)

4 Days Until Reunion

The Flag and I

Wang Hui taking the final...

Me with my beloved Jiao Laoshi; she reminds me of my Nana.

Slightly awkward class photo, but really we are all quite good looking.

As most of you already know, my parents and Josefina are coming to visit me in China! Woot. The countdown has officially begun! I am so excited to see them, I am hiring someone to videotape the teary and ridiculously dramatic reunion. But let me tell you what has been going on recently....



My first posted picture is from the morning flag raising at Tian An Men. Last Sunday a few of us decided it would be fun to roll out of bed at 3:50AM and make our way to Tian An Men to see the fabled raising of the red flag. Guess what? Even at 4AM there are hundreds of people in the square...Go figure. In any case, it was really cool, and I just started to get a little worried that I may actually miss China quite a bit.



This week of course was absolutely crazy owing to finals and graduation. Lots of studying got done, and I feel like I really have a good grip on what I learned here. The final wasn't bad and the day before the test two friends and I went for massages...we are in Asia after all. Graduation was tons of fun, and I will be the first to admit that I started crying when saying goodbye to my teachers. I wish I wasn't so darn emotional.



So my life here is rapidly coming to a close. Yesterday my roommate moved out, and today is laundry and readying things for the parent visit. We will of course be updating the blog with our tales of our journeys together so stay tuned.

The Past Two Weekends

What can I say? Exactly four weeks left in the most populated country on the face of the earth. Describing how I feel is a little tricky. I am just starting to get truly comfortable with everyday Chinese, and my tones have improved greatly in the past three weeks. I will definitely miss some parts of Beijing life. However, if somebody offered me an opportunity to stay for a few more months, I just don't know if I could bring myself to accept it.

The thought of going back sort of gripped me as scary for the first time this weekend. I realized that it is hard for me to think of life in the states as normal anymore. All thoughts and feeling connected with it seem so detached. None of this is to say that I won't be very happy to return. Dorothy was right, folks, there is no place like home.

This weekend was fun. My class put on the funniest play in Chinese (see above). The weekend in general was just great and by the end of it I began thinking that there are people I am truly going to miss after I get home. The person I will miss the most being my roommate, but also my teachers and friends. Without their support and love, none of what I have accomplished here would have been possible, none of it would have mattered. Oh shoot, starting to get a little sappy here.

The last two weekends, weeks really, have been great. I am finally at that level where I can comfortably joke with people in Chinese. And in a mental space where I am enjoying the ride. Study-wise things are getting a little intense as the finals approach, but I feel completely up to the challenge and am trying to cram in everything I possibly can. The family is due here in exactly two weeks and we are going to have the best tour of China ever. I will not only take them to sites of historic importance, but also jam them into overcrowded subways and hole in the wall Sichuan restaurants.

Think that's all for now, but one last thing before I sign off. Did you know in Chinese instead of saying "There are plenty of other fish in the sea" they say "Three legged frogs are hard to find, but two legged men are everywhere?" You really have to love those Chinese turns of phrase.


PS Wanted to add that I did go into the STARBUCKS that is located inside the Forbidden City(pictured above), and I ordered a giant cup of imperialism. It tasted so darn good.

He Who Climbs the Great Wall is a Hero...Seriously

Well, I am happy to report that I survived a six mile hike along one of the most rigorous stretches of the Great Wall. There was danger abound from the dilapidated uneven stone stairs to the persistent harassment of postcard sellers and their borken English, from the high winds and sandstorms to the scorching midday sun. None of this is to suggest that this was not one of the most amazing experiences of my entire life!

Our group took a day hike from Simatai villiage to the Ji Shan Ling part of the wall. Most people hike it the other way since it is easier to do it in that manner, but what's the fun of doing something the easy way. The climb was difficult but the views were all worth it. I think for the first time I really realized why this wall is so important, it is probably the greatest architectural achievement I have ever seen. When I consider the incredible planning and excecution of constructing such a thing it makes my head hurt.

Li Na and I made the hike in about three hours, with a half hour stop for lunch. I should say that's pretty good, we were quite proud of ourselves. We had a really good time along the way, and walked with several different people. Navigating some of the steeper slopes and the loose stones was difficult at times, but we lived. Eventually, our whole group made it to base camp safely.

We actually made camp at the Ji Shan Ling Hotel, where we showered off and put our things down. Every seven people ended up sharing one room, but for our purposes it worked out perfectly. We spent the remainder of our afternoon reading and relaxing before dinner. After dinner we had a bonfire, which was good old fashioned fun.

The night sky out there in the countryside was absolutely breathtaking. We were able to pick out constellations and I think we may have seen Mars as well. After our fire died down we prepared to hike back up to the wall to camp out. This was not an easy task by the dark of night, I almost ate it climbing up without a flashlight. But all was well when we got our bags rolled out and tents set up for the whimps who insisted they could not sleep outside ;)

I must say that sleeping on a stone wall is definitely not the most comfortable way to spend the night, but AnJie and I did see several shooting stars so it was well worth it. I probably got a total of two and a half hours of sleep all total due to some of the loudest snoring I have ever heard in my entire life (thanks, Chris). But at least I woke up in time to hike to a high point and watch the sun rise over the wall. It was the most amazing thing, and standing there I realized how much I have missed nature these past few months. As a Coloradan it is something I have taken for granted, but this trip reminded me how important it is to appreciate it.

So all in all, I would say that this was one experience that I will never forget. From my great friends, Chinese and American alike, to the personal pysical and mental journey I made myself, it was worth every mile. If you ever get the chance, I suggest you hike the Great Wall...

Wo de jiao zi bi ni de hao chi! (My dumplings are better than yours!)

It has been a good week. But there are two events that definitely top everything off. The first was seeing my dear Zhang Lao Shi, as well as Amy and Tien. Every other year Colorado College sends a Chinese Art Class to China. So Hai Ling and I met up with the group to have dinner in a part of town we had never ventured into, of course it was tons of fun! I am not going to lie, having people impressed with what I consider my rather rudimentary Mandarin felt pretty good. I guess I remembered how far I have come from day one. Anyways, it was nice to reconnect with home if only for a few hours.

Great event number two was making jiao zi (dumplings) with my class today. Our teachers showed us how to do everything, from preparing the filling to rolling out the wrappers. Not surprisingly, after years of watching my grandmother making tortillas and attempting to make my own, rolling out jiao zi dough came pretty naturally, people were impressed. Our teachers told us with a little practice we could open our own jiao zi restaurant :) I love my teachers, they have done everything in their power to make our time here mean so much more than just learning Chinese. And did I mention they cancelled our test so we could make the jiao zi? Oh yeah, my life here is so sweet.

So only four weeks left until the end of my program, then the family will arrive for a week and half tour. Guess who gets to be the tour guide? I should be back stateside in about six weeks. Sometimes this thought is exciting, sometimes it's just sad. There are certainly people and places that will be missed. I am just starting realize how much this experience has really meant and continues to mean to me. So I just have to focus on having six more amazing weeks!

The Gate of Heavenly Peace By Night

So last night, I was in the mood to get out and see some city lights. I had heard that Tian An Men was very beautiful on clear spring nights, so I grabbed AnJie and her roommate and we crammed into the subway.

This week Beijing has been especially crowded, because most people get the week off, due to May 1 being International Labor Day. Many countries, the US of course excepted, celebrate their labor day at this time. So as you can imagine, letting everyone in China have a week off can wreak all kinds of havoc on traffic, the grocery store and most certainly any sightseeing destinations. We have felt the frustration all week as we have had to jam ourselves into all sorts of over-crowded buses and subway cars. Did I mention the weather around here is also starting to get a lot warmer?

In any event, yesterday night we went for a nice stroll through Tian An Men square. It was actually a very interesting experience. I am so glad AnJie's roommate, Cheng Jian, came along with us. She gave us some very enlightening insights into a Chinese person's view of the place. We spent time discussing everything from Mao to the Ming Dynasty. Just fascinating to get her take on everything. She said as a young girl, coming to Tian An Men and the Forbidden City was quite a different experience, mostly other Chinese tourists, nothing built up or protected the way it is now.

We also had fun discussing with her the ambiguity of the Chinese language versus English. Their word for beard and mustache are the same, no differentiation. This is also true for escalators and elevators both called dian ti, directly translated meaning electric stairway. She told us that maybe English had too many words. I am tempted to agree as I have gotten to the point where I will use Chinese over English because it's just more simple.

So we did walking in both Tian An Men Square and the corridor between Tian An Men and the entrance to the Forbidden City. I have to tell you the weather was just perfect and though it was a little more crowded than I would have liked, it wasn't too bad. I think we were some of the only foreigners who ventured out to see the sights, but it was definitely worth the surprised looks that we got from people as we spoke Chinese with Cheng Jian. (The underlying assumption here is that if you are a foreigner you most likely do not speak or understand Chinese).

It was a good night, and the Olympic countdown clock was all the way down to 460 days, the first time I ventured into Tian An Men square it was still at 527 days. I've come a long way...

May!

Yesterday afternoon my Chinese teacher's good friend took me out to see Spiderman 3. Yes, it was released in Asia first. The funny thing is that the entire movie was dubbed in Chinese, and I could still understand it all. This either says something great about my Chinese or something really bad about the nature of the dialogue.

Spring time round here is in full bloom. It is a nice change after the cold and windy winter time. Long afternoons and nice walks around the park have ensued. Only 40 days until the parents arrive in Beijing. And so life moves forward...