Houhi

Warning: This is not a "parent friendly" blog entry. Skip if you are not comfortable with discussion of young people partying if China.


A few thoughts about Houhi (pronounced Ho-Hi):
It is what I imagine Donkey Island from Pinnochio to be like. Disneyland for "grown-ups", it is built like Epcot around a lake. Instead of different stops for countries, the lake is surrounded by bars, clubs, restaurants, and shops. My favorite is this strip club called "Sex and Da' City". At night it is magical all lit up.


We went there the first night for Joe's birthday. None of us were that enthusiastic about going out, but 4 cabs worth made the trek out to celebrate with him. The cab ride was 20 min long and around 20 yuan (about 3 dollars). In Boston it costs that much just to get in the cab.
3 cabs met up, 1 did not. Long story short-we lost the birthday boy. We never found him and the other people he was with until we came back to the dorm that night, but judging from their stories, they had a good time too.
We stepped into some bars with live music, but after cringing at the prices of everything (which was still cheap by US standards, but crazy for China) we saw a man who was holding cheap beer and I found out he got it in a store in a shady alley. We got 6 yuan (one dollar) half liter beers and walked around watching the nightlife.


I found some pop art that I went back and got the next day. Only people on the trip will understand my "NEED TO GET ART!"
One of the kids I was with always drinks this awful cheap Chinese liquor. It smells like nail polish remover and the smell makes me want to vomit.
"Hey can you help me drink this?"
"Oh, I don't like that. No thanks."
"No I mean, can you pour it into my mouth? My hands are full."
He woke up still drunk which made for a hilarious 8 am. Chinese class the next day. I can barely do Chinese sober. More about Chinese later.

Last night we went out again. A bunch of us went this time including my TA and our 70-80 year old friend Ma. It was awesome. We went to a club called "Club". On a Tuesday night at 9 p.m. the place was bumping. Live music turned into a DJ and we danced. Even Ma danced and our TA had drinks with us. It was a good time and some really fun bonding.
Highlights: Someone drank something called the "Screaming Orgasm" that tasted like chocolate milk. Ma dancing on the floor to our cheers. Dancing with old Asian men and teaching them moves such as the shopping cart, the snorkel, the twist, and the sprinkler. Dancing on a platform with Dave. Watching Joe dance. Apologizing to Edek for being white. Going to buy art with Alex and getting really lost after buying 50 cent bubble tea. Every time a select member of our group danced on the stripper pole.


It was a funny time. I'm the worst dancer ever (think epilepsy) and even I was on the dance floor.

I FINALLY got to see how the Chinese dance-something I was curious about.
I consider going out doing research.

I leave you with these signs found on the street yesterday:
(One of the only signs I've seen with no spelling errors)

MTV Cribs Emperor Edition

9:02 p.m. China time


We went to visit the Summer Palace on Monday afternoon. It was the emperor's (empress's?) home to escape the city. I could be okay living in a home away from home on the water. The house was opulent like all the other buildings we've seen, but it was even better because it was on a giant lake. Someone said that the lake in the middle of the city blew Central Park away and it was true. We didn't see inside the palace, we just walked around the grounds and took a lovely boat ride. We were with the Chinese students again and we each took turns singing songs in our native language. Theirs were pretty and about being in a boat, so we sang "Row Your Boat" and then some other favorites including "Sweet Caroline."


I love casual cultural interactions like that-something as simple as singing to each other can be educational. I found a common bond with one of the girls in our love for the Backstreet Boys. At dinner I talked to two of the students, Amanda and the girl next to me-whose name I cannot recall right now, about life in China. I asked about the college party scene (they claim they don't), strict parents (apparently some were hit when young but their parents are pretty cool), homosexuality (they are accepting, but not everywhere) and other social issues. I am lucky to have friends in countries all over the world and I enjoy talking to them about their everyday life. These things are more relateable (is that a word?) to my life.

Here is a squat toilet. The same is self explanatory-a hole in the ground that requires one to squat. My calves are looking good. There is no toilet paper in the bathrooms. Invest in Kleenex as tourism in China increases.
People keep saying so much has changed since the Olympics. I would have enjoyed seeing the before and after especially the toilets. There are some Western toilets but mostly not.


The novelty of being white has not yet worn off. I am still getting picture requests, which I am happy to accept.


Dinner was at a Shanghaiese restaurant. I'm surprised by a few things in China cuisine which I will discuss here.
1. There is a lot of corn. We always seem to have dishes with corn, there was the horrific aforementioned corn ice cream, and corn is sold on the street as a snack.
2. Cherry tomatoes are served as dessert. Tomatoes are a fruit I guess, but I never thought of them this way.
3. Contrary to Western belief, rice is NOT served with every meal. In fact, you have to ask for it, and it is served later on in the meal and not with the meal, vegetable, etc.
4. I am not surprised by this one, but merely pointing it out: All meals are served family style with a lazy susan. This way we all share dishes and try everything. This makes sense. I am going to start a round table movement in America.
5. Eggplant is more popular than I thought.

There are more, but I can't think of any now.



It was Joe's 20th birthday, so we all chipped in and got him a giant cake. I can't stress how big this cake was except for with a picture.

How to Use a Chinese Shower

At 5'2" even I am too big for the showers here.

My first Chinese class

sounded like a chorus practice.

China time: 10:36 a.m.

We split into groups based on ability and clearly I was in one of the lowest groups. When I went to "test out" for my level the teachers (who are young students) laughed at me when I said "Ne hao ma".

"Do you think Chinese is difficult?"
"YES!"


All of us (about 8 in my class) have had no experience with Chinese so I didn't feel stupid. The teacher kept making noises that I had a tough time repeating. There's this one damn sound that sounds like "Doa" to me but Edek claims sounds like "Dghua" or something. I feel like I probably inherited tone deafness from my parents.
Thanks Mom and Dad.
We all repeated the tones and it sounded like we were an a capella band. "La la la la la" "Bao Boa Boa". The teacher laughed at us a lot. She told Spencer to stop making noises. I laughed-don't judge me. Dujan has a fierce "BA!" sound that left me laughing as well. He's from Philly so I already adore him because we can discuss Wawa and Cheeesteaks together. Chinese sounds like two things to me: Questioning and Yelling. Like German I find it harsh. If I wasn't singing the words I was screaming them. As if I don't offend the Chinese enough with my loud voice.
I think that the class will be entertaining, but difficult. The teacher may quit before the end. Poor Erlinda looked like she was about to cry so I hugged her afterward.

I wish life had subtitles that scrolled across the bottom of my line of vision so that I could understand what is going on. I find it more and more frustrating not being able to speak Chinese. I am the ignorant American that I always hate.

In the classroom there are these straight chairs that reflect the seriousness and obedience that I've noticed in the students I've met. These kids don't even go party on the weekends-they go to dinner and watch movies. So different. I even feel wild in comparison, even though I rarely go out.

This is technically journal writing time, but as I am updated already this is short. I am a night owl blogger anyway.
We are going to a lecture and the Summer Palace today.
I am behind on my reading and work, ugh.

Also I haven't watched CNN or read the paper in days, though I heard we can access The New York Times online. Is anything important going on? Let me know. I feel disconnected.

I leave you with something fun.
Hopefully I haven't told this story already..I always repeat them.
"Woo" means 5 in Chinese so Tom and I "High Five" and yell "WOOO".
I think it's fun.

Hana

So there's this wall in China...

called the Great Wall. You may have heard of it.

China time: 10:27 p.m.

Today we climbed the Great Wall of China. I am incredibly out of shape. I wheezed and sweated my way up, but when I reached the "top" I felt I had earned the view. Some of our friends took up the cable car-cheaters. Again, it amazes me that the wall was built before modern technology. I climbed up with Anne and we were accosted by hawkers on the way up. The start of the path, and again on the top, is filled with people trying to sell all sorts of product, prompting me to nickname the area "The Great Mall of China." I am constantly aware of the globalization and westernization occurring over here, and was again reminded of it when I saw that Oreos and Chips Ahoy were for sale on top of the wall. Good job Nabisco.
Living in the city for the past eight months has made me forget how much I like being in the country. It was great to look out and see mountains, and GREEN. I imagine if I was religious or spiritual I would find the view a work of God, but I'll just attest it to Mother Nature. I could have hung up there for a while and wouldn't have gotten sick or just staring out. I can cross another wonder of the world off my list, and hopefully one day I'll make it to all of them.
I feel like one of the most frequent questions I'll get is, "How was the Great Wall?" Unreal. It's one of those things you have to see in real life to grasp the size, and even then you can't really understand how large it truly is because it disappears behind mountains.

More people wanted to take pictures with me today. One family even handed me their baby to hold. Of course I was thrilled. The baby even kissed/slobbered on my cheek. Shut up Becki-I gave it back.

Even cooler than walking up the Wall is how we got down. I don't know who, but some genius had the idea that a great way to get down would be to luge. Is this a good idea? Obviously. We basically sledded down on individual little luges at full speed and were yelled at to "SLOW DOWN" by men along the way. Despite the no camera rule, I was able to both steer and take pictures and videos. It's strange to notice how quiet Asians are compared to Americans. I was shouting "WOOOO!" the entire way down while the Asians I saw made no noise. We are shushed a lot. The luge was so fun I later took the chairlift back up and did it again.

Lunch was a picnic of sandwiches and American snacks. It was incredibly hot and the bus ride to our next destination, The Ming Tombs left me sitting in a puddle of my own sweat. It was interesting to drive through the country and see how rural people lived. I would enjoy (and will enjoy when we do it later on) spending time in a small village.
We didn't actually see the Ming Tombs, instead we just walked through the Spiritual Way which was essentially just a trail filled with Weeping Willows and animal statues.

Professor Gilmartin went to dinner with Ma (If I haven't talked about her yet, Ma is an ADORABLE woman in her 70s who is a friend of Gilmartin's and who is a large help with our group. She is basically the group grandma and everyone wants to take her home.) The University students were left to take us out to dinner. I am amazed by their patience in dealing with our group which is rather rambunctious.
We ate at a place called "Grandma's Kitchen" which was fantastic.
I ate a lot of tofu in spicy sauces, chicken in a green tea sauce, these awesome chicken wings with yolk, and a bunch of dishes that I didn't know. The problem with writing about food here is that i often have NO idea what I'm eating and therefore can't explain it. Hopefully as I pick up some Chinese it will help. The funniest part of the meal is that Northeastern actually paid for everything-including beer (I tried another one called tsing tsao today). Well I guess we actually paid for tuition.
Also I used my first squat toilet today. For those of you who are lucky enough to be ignorant to squat toilets, they are essentially just a hole in the ground that forces you to squat. Also, another note about toilets in China: they are not meant to have toilet paper put in them. You are supposed to put the paper in the trash. I already clogged our toilet doing this in my room. I will post picture of the toilets as well as the tiny shower that I am still crouching in. I have not had a hot shower since I've been here.

We had big plans again to go for kareoke, but we have our first class tomorrow at 8 a.m. so we are postponing it. Tomorrow is Joe's birthday, so maybe we will go out.

Last word: The grammar on Chinese signs annoys me. The "Engrish" is entertaining but I just want to red pen the entire country's misspelled signs. I know I probably have many gramatical errors in this entry, but I am incredibly exhausted.

I have more, but can't remember.

Hana

I feel like I've been for for weeks....

but it's only been one day.

10:30 p.m. China time


I woke up without an alarm at 5:40 a.m. and went to the optional Purple Bamboo Park trip. We didn't find a group doing Tai Chi but we walked around the park which was gorgeous. The weather was that perfect temperature where shorts and a hoodie are appropriate and there is a slight breeze. The park had ponds, walking paths, gardens, boats, and even an "amusement park" playground.



We went back to breakfast which was dumplings, buns, rice cakes, plum juice, and more. It was my kind of breakfast. I could be happy eating that every morning. We'll see if that claim still stands after a month of eating it.





Everytime I see a Chinese baby I get so excited, and we played with the cutest one this morning in the lobby. He was a huge fan of Keith's cookies and was happy to pose for pictures with us.


We left and took an incredibly crowded and long bus ride to the Forbidden City. Walking in was insanity. It was so packed that I feared getting lost. We actually lost two people and waited 50 minutes for them, but didn't find them until hours later. Luckily they were both Chinese and one was fluent, so they were okay.





While waiting, our group was accosted by Asian to take pictures with them. The black people of the group got it the worst. They were blatantly stared and and people took pictures of them without permission. Many asked to pose with them. They also wanted pictures of us white kids and I was grabbed for dozens of pictures with young Asian men. Spencer said, "You're everyone's American girlfriend." I don't know why I was so popular, but some said it was because of the bangs and Wensess said it's because I look like "The girl next door." Either way, it was entertaining but chaotic as the constant stream of paparazzi attacked us. I never want to be famous. Josh was even handed a baby to hold for one picture.



We tried to get ice cream to deal with the rising heat, but all of our ice pops were terrible. My "grape" one was really filled with raisins, another apparently tasted like dirty water, and one was shaped and tasted exactly like corn. It was one of the most bizarre things I've ever tasted.






The Forbidden City and Temple were absolutely incredible. I am always impressed by architecture that it done without the use of modern tools. I need to watch a History Channel special on Chinese architecture so I can see how these were built. Everything is so symmetrical, grand, and opulent. The grounds went on forever and just when I thought I was so impressed that I couldn't be more, I would go through another gate. Some girls from the University showed us around and told us what the buildings were for. The emperor apparently needed one building to get dressed, one to make decisions, one to make announcements, and one each for every other task in his life.

We had lunch at the Forbidden City-nothing memorable so I'll skip it. (Seaweed, meat and rice if you really care).

We were supposed to hail taxis to our next stop, but after a half an hour of taxis driving right by us, we realized that it wasn't going to happen. Our group leaders (and a few students) had already gotten in a taxi, so we were on our own. Luckily, the University students were able to help us 20 of us squeezed onto an already crowded bus and after about an hour got to where we needed to be: The Temple of Heaven.


We were all thirsty and exhausted, and upon arrival needed beverages. I hate beer, but tried my first Chinese beer which was 5 yuan-less than a dollar. It's tagline is"Inspire the World. Taste the dream." It was awful. Here I am with Thomas-a HILARIOUS kid on the trip. Apparently the temple was BYOB as we were allowed to walk around with beers. China is a bizzare place.



While waiting to leave, we saw a large group dancing to traditional music. We joined in and Joe did an entertaining dance with a red fan. We then taught the crowd the macarena. They enjoyed it.





After the temple we went to the Pearl Market. Anne and I forgot the Joan Reil guide to the market, so we're going to return to shop. It was 5 floors full of people screaming to you in broken English about what a great deal they want to give you. Some of the other people on the trip bought phones, i-pods, and cameras for cheap. Others bought pearls, clothes, and jewelry. I got postcards and a sweet Mao watch for Kyle.



Dinner was at a loud place with waiters who kept yelling at each other. I had no idea what I was eating, and my camera died mid meal so I can't even show a visual. A lot of noodle with black bean sauce, some kind of soup, a cold beef dish, a spicy tofu, and a smattering of other dishes. My table was falling asleep while the other table was somehow lively and doing shots of something that apparently only cost 15 yuan a bottle. I'm still baffled by the exchange rate.

The bus ride home was almost an hour-and again Professor Gilmartin was not with us. I slept the entire ride home.


The smog is finally affecting me-or it may just be allergies. Either way I feel dirt in my nose and my eyes are a little itchy. China is cleaner and less congested than I've heard, but I feel dirty still. I CANNOT wait to shower.
It's 11:50 p.m. We were going to go to kareoke tonight, but we have to leave at 6 a.m. for the Great Wall.
I cannot believe I am going to the Great Wall.

I hate when people tell me I don't know how lucky I am to travel as much as I do. I do know how lucky I am. I hope all of you are able to live vicariously through me as I go through the rest of this trip and hopefully some of you (BECKI) will travel with me in the future. I sometimes doubt my choice of a major, but I really know I want to do something that involves travel and people and i think International Affairs-Anthropology is a good place to start.


On Day 1 our group is already clicking. There are a lot of really fun and funny people here, though I admit we are LOUD wherever we go.



I wish I knew how to say goodnight in Chinese, but I don't.
Well-actually good morning to all you Americans.

I remember one time when I was young my dad put me to bed and told me that in China people were just waking up. That blew my mind and stuck with me. Now I am in Asia and I am going to bed as you are all waking up. That's so strange.
Goodnight, Good morning, whatever
Hana

"I don't think China is a Real Place"

I found internet access today, so here are the updates from the last two days and then I will go back and write about today:

April 30

“Ladies and Gentlemen, the Captain has turned on the Seatbelt Sign...”
5: 58 p.m. NJ time/ 5:58 a.m Beijing time


Location: approximately above the North Pole (Dave shouted out Santa! when it was announced we would be flying above here.)

I am trying to set myself on China time, so the 12-hour difference means it’s currently 6:00 a.m. My body is protesting as I’m trying to reset my clock. I’ve been on a plane for 6 hours now and according to the television screen in front of me, I have over eight hours left. Dave and I are eagerly awaiting the halfway point.

The television has 329 movies and 165 TV hows to watch, a though that initially thrilled me, but so far I have only made it through half of Four Christmases and a third of Chocolat before passing out.

I promised everyone I’d keep them updated on the food I am eating overseas, and I expect the general theme of this blog will be “Here’s what I did today, but more importantly-here’s what I ate.”

Airplane food isn’t something that excites sane people, but after a hot towel and a menu were handed out, Dave (who is luckily sitting right next to me) and I were pysched to eat.



Appetizer Salad: Fresh lettuce mix with cucumber, tomato, and shrimp
Main Course: Salmon with soy sauce, green onion rice, carrots, and red bell pepper
Dessert: Cookies and cream brownie and a fortune cookie whose fortune read: You like Chinese Food
We had a random snack later on that included a turkey BBQ bun and ice cream.
Later we get fruit, a Swiss cheese omelet with potato gratin, and DIM SUM: an assortment of Chinese dumplings and pot stickers with chow mein noodles, and an almond cookie

Okay-this may not seem exciting to you who are not miles above ground, but for those of us with no snacks left in our carry-ons, anything edible at 31,000 feet is thrilling.

My mom and Aunt Robin dropped me off at the airport today. My mom cried and her parting words were, “Don’t chew gum in Singapore.” Apparently she cried so much on the way home that she missed her exit and got lost. She warned me that I better not do anything that would require her to get on a plane and come to Asia as she fears flying.
Robin and I waited for Dave, and she and his mom waved as we stumbled through security (you would think for people who travel so much we would be more competent) and out of their sight.
We found others from our trip in the airport, grabbed our course packs, and boarded. There is a large team of Chinese teams in matching track suits and two giant trophies onboard, but a language barrier prevents us from finding out who they are, what they play, and why they were in the States.


The fact that in eight more hours I will be on the other side of the world is incomprehensible. I am amazed by air travel the same way I am still amazed my elevators. You get in, the door closes, and in a short (or painstakingly long) amount of time, you are somewhere else.

I am already feeling like a minority. The plane is appropriately filled with Asians, and except for that time I went to an Asian frat party with one of my best friends Pam, I have never been a minority in a group of Asians. I am trying to multiply this feeling by millions to prepare myself for Beijing, but am having no luck.

Hana






Friday May 1, 2009
9:00 p.m. China/9:00 a.m NJ time

I would love to say the last eight hours of the flight went quickly, but that would be a lie. I watched a few movies, did some reading, and had short naps. We landed in Beijing and got yelled at before we officially entered the country, at customs. We were told to “BE QUIET!” Damn loud Americans.
Members of our group wasted no time-they found a vending machine in the airport that dispensed soda and beer.


We took a bus to our dorms and along the way I watched the passing architecture. I kept saying, “I don’t feel like I’m in China” because the skyline wasn’t as I expected. The apartment buildings in the suburbs surrounding Beijing are more remniscent of Ft. Lauderdale than an Asian country. There are bright coral colored towers that look like my grandmother would live there. One guy described it as looking “like a place on the West Coast that I haven’t visited yet”.

I find it ironic that my first sight out of customs was a Starbucks and KFC. Damn globalization and westernization. I hope to someday go somewhere where McDonalds doesn’t exist yet.


We arrived at Minda University where we are staying. We are staying in the guest house which is a mixture of dorm/hotel accomidations. My roommate is Jane who is very sweet and seems like she will be easy to room with. Don’t worry Veronica-you will always be my favorite roommate.
We each have a bed, desk, and half of an armoire which allots more than enough space for the contents of my backpack. We even have a t.v. which I doubt we will ever use.

We had an hour between arrival and dinner so I took a necessary shower. There is only hot water for a few hours a day-between 6-8 in the morning and 8-12 at night. I sucked it up and took a cold shower. The shower is so short that even at 5’2” I have to crouch to use it. I am the shortest one on the trip and can only assume that my taller classmates will have a difficult time. I literally had to hold a limbo position to rinse out my hair. It is comical, though inconvenient.


Before dinner we walked around campus. It is a gorgeous bustling area with trees and green as well as a post office, supermarket, and other convenience stores. The supermarket, which we went to after dinner, is very cool and VERY cheap. Cheers for exchange rates. I got a HUGE bottled water (we’re talking so big I had to use two hands to carry it) for less than a dollar. Oddly, the water is produced by Pabst Blue Ribbon-the beer company. You have to use bottled water to do everything including brushing your teeth in China. It’s annoying and when I first got here I was halfway through brushing when I realized I had used the tap water. I rinsed out with bottled water and have been cautious since.



Dinner was at a restuaraunt on campus. We sat at 3 round tables of 8 and shared dishes via a lazy susan. There were a slew of dishes including chicken with cashew, a sour/sweet beef dish, two eggplant dishes, a tofu dish, a corn and pine nut dish that everyone fell in love with (but I didn’t really understand why). I am WAY too tired to write about dinner, but I will post some pictures and just leave you with “It was delicious.”

It’s 9:15 now and I need to sleep. I’ve been strong fighting off jet lag, but all of us seemed to start to crash around 8.

Tai Chi at 6 in the park tomorrow and then off to the Forbidden City.

Dave and I wanted to go out on the town tonight, but clearly we are too tired, so maybe tomorrow.
JACKIE CHAN was playing tonight too-but we had NO energy.

Hana