The bets are off!

So for all of you Beaufortonians that had money riding on it, you can pay up. It took exactly 2 weeks and 5 days for me to find my way to a Chinese hospital. The fourth...and hopefully final one. Don't get your feathers ruffled though, there is no surgery this time! I am actually mostly recovered now, just had a bacteria or virus thing. With a no-food diet, some antibiotics and some good roommates...I'm back in classes this Monday. I'm quite the model student...dropping down a year's level and missing two days all in the first five days of class.

Last night a group of Beaufortonians (for those of you that don't know, that is Beaufort, SC) met in Beijing at a duck restaurant. Thirteen were there: students, teachers, kids, travelers...all initiated by Mr. Cato. I was extremely impressed with one woman who has been here for 12 years, owns her own consulting firm with an all-Chinese staff, stayed through SARS with the staff, and speaks so fluently that she understands all of the political humor in a comedy routine. What?! Needless to say, there was good conversation. I am also impressed with the international school system that many were affiliated with. Apparently Beijing has suburbs that look like American suburbs, with real houses instead of apartments and a bunch of foreigners running around. One exception: these teachers have their housing paid for and drivers to take them everywhere. A pretty sweet deal.

I also learned about Beijing and cloud seeding last night. It is a modern-day rain dance. Aircraft shoot chemicals into the clouds, making them heavy and forcing rain. This will most likely be used to prevent it from raining during the opening of the Olympics, as it has been used in the past for other important events. For some people at the table, this was common knowledge...but I'm still in shock of the fact that they can control the weather.

I love Beijing bicycles...


and fruit markets...

Classes....AAHH.

The honeymoon is over. Our relaxing yet busy week and a half without classes is gone and we're up at 6:30 every morning! We thoroughly enjoyed taking our time, playing in Beijing, getting stuff we needed. Now our nights are spent doing late night homework...(with slight blog interruptions, of course.) I tested into the most advanced section of the third year...business chinese...but seem to just be a good test-taker. I wish I could blame it on the fact that there is no heat in the classrooms! There are five classes and six different books. Although we speak about the same, my classmates are much more advanced in terms of character recognition and writing. Of course, they are mostly Japanese and Korean with the exception of a Russian...so that doesn't hurt their ability. Needless to say, after two days, I think these classes will certainly murder me and am considering dropping down a level. One of my teachers agreed...so we'll see on Thursday when I go to the office...

A Weird Food Weekend!

This weekend Sarah's friend Barbara came from Korea to visit and was excited about trying every type of food she could! We went to the Wangfujing snack street and ordered everything from cricket to scorpion to locust to seahorse to sea urchin. Barbara ate everything, of course!...but I only ate locust and cricket. That was a huuuge start for me. Nothing surprising, really. Everything is fried so there is not much taste, but the locust shell was too chewy!


We also went to see the Temple of Heaven (Tiantan) and this was a corridor that was particularly lively!

A few pictures that I couldn't get to upload earlier!

At the Temple of Heaven...


The Pearl Market!


And a video from the bday party...sometimes the Chinese eat foods in odd combinations!

Videos, Temple of Heaven and Violin!

This is an older video from when we first moved into our apartment and had to pay four months of rent in cash!

And from the YaShow market:

And from my birthday party at our house!

It is pretty difficult to upload videos with the slow internet, so apologies if they are a little late sometimes!

Yesterday we went to see the Temple of Heaven and spent an hour and a half in the pearl market before going home. I love this pearl market, despite it's fishy smell (because there is a fish market in the basement) but the other five floors are full of goodies at very low prices! It is sooo cold that being a tourist is almost unbearable. We decided that we definitely have to come back in warmer weather to enjoy the park.

Another great accomplishment of the weekend was purchasing a violin! We actually went on a search for someone else's hookah, which was surprising hard to find, and stumbled upon all kinds of great spots in the meantime. I met a nice old man with a handful of old violins, and asked him if I could play some. I got the violin, bow, case and rosin for a total of $100. For the quality of violin, this was a amazing deal that I would never find in the states. My guess is that the equivalent set is worth about $1000 in the states.

Internet! and Chinese tests...

This morning I took a Chinese level test with hundreds of other international students, to put me in the correct class. There was probably only 3-5% Westerners. Almost everyone was from Asia...Korea and Japan mostly. These will be my classmates, and that I a super thing, because our common language will be Chinese, and I won't speak so much English. The test was crazy hard...10 pages of Chinese characters..and it even had an essay at the end. I'll find out in two days where they placed me.

We FINALLY got internet today...as Adrian said, "This is sucking the life out of me." In today's world, we can't go for more than one or two days or even hours without email until we are in withdrawal. Thankfully we already had bought a wireless router. Adrian and I went to a hugeungeous five-story electronic market and I now can say "tv cable" "wireless/wired router" and "electric outlet" in Chinese. These experiences are always good for one's vocabulary. There were sooo many products there, and all bargainable. The vendors interact, share inventory, etc. When one doesn't have something, he runs down the hall and gets it from someone else. It makes you wonder how this retail system works. But back to my internet story: The router is in my room near the plug, so we spent the first hour or two on my bed...all three of us with our laptops...soaking it up. THEN I had the wonderful experience of calling the apartment manager and telling him our toilet was stopped up in Chinese. (I won't mention which roommate was the source of this problem.) It was pretty embarrasing, not to mention that I didn't know how to say "stopped up" on the phone...so who knows what I ended up saying. At one point there were four or five Chinese people standing in the bathroom all looking at the toilet!

Yesterday I took them to a market that I used to go to in 2004. We had our very first public bus experience together. A little crowded...but only costs us a nickel! We got off at the wrong place, but eventually got there. We bought fake bags, games, tea, etc. We had some interesting bargaining lessons, and I think everyone was surprised with the forceful sales tactics of the vendors. The weirdest thing we saw there was this tour group of Westerners that all had strollers with Chinese babies. It must have been an adoption agency that gets you your child and then shows you some of China before you leave.

Oh, and the other day I had to translate for a haircut for Adrian. Terrifying, really. A Chinese haircut is scary enough, but then to have to translate for someone else is even scarier. They barber that washes hair is different from the barber that cuts hair...and they all have crazy/funky hair styles and perms. All in all, it was a good first experience. Maybe a little too short for Adrian's taste...but you can ask him!

A Chinese Birthday and some thoughts...

It was a wonderful birthday in China! On the way back from this beautiful three-story tea house the night before, Adrian, Sarah and Adam sang happy birthday at exactly 12:00 AM. During the night we had our very first party in our new apartment! China Abroad brought a signed card and birthday cake and we made a very eclectic mix of food. We saw Chinese people eat birthday cake with chopsticks and then combine the cake with sausage and dumplings. What?!

China has been truly wonderful since I got here. I know a lot of the IMBAs think we're crazy, but we are living like kings...and on a student budget. We may even have the other tracks beat! A beautiful apartment, crazy new experiences,
fascinating challenges, so much good food...we really think we are a little spoiled. We are very fortunate to have made some local friends already. They are making the experience that much better, and are showing us a true side of Beijing. Also, for most Westerners, I think it is hard to imagine a society in which everything is so completely different from what you are used to. The language, society, procedures, mannerisms, logistics, relationships, habits, etc. The polar differences is what creates such curiousity in us and enhances the experience. For people that love to learn, it is an ideal local. If you want to order tea, you have to learn something. If you want to go to the bathroom, you need to know how to get there or how to use it. If you need to find internet, watch TV, meet a new person, or even walk down the street, you will have to learn something and do something differently. I find the challenge motivating, but have also loved seeing everyone else experience it for the first time. They get so excited...and every single thing is new and beautiful for them....that it reminds me of the beauty I might have overlooked. I am truly thankful for the opportunity to be around them and help them get through these first few weeks without being able to speak Chinese. I am learning as much as they are...

Check out our apartment!!






Yay! For new photos!:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbrown3585/sets/72157594573403618/

Restaurants, "Face" and Landlords!

Thursday, March 1

For dinner, we were taken to a welcome banquet at HuaJian YiYuan, a very good restaurant that had already been recommended to us from a native Beijinger in the states. We ate everything from pork to beef to chicken with cashews to Beijing duck to a crazy fish dish. When we ordered it, the guy returned in a little while with a live fish flopping around in a bucket. After our table approved it, he went off and prepared the dish. This is pretty standard and you can always see many fish tanks near the entrance of most restaurants that serve seafood. This was also the group’s first experience with Baijiu or China’s white liquor. It is between 50 and 60% alcohol and, in my opinion, should only be used as a disinfectant. The dinner was altogether amazing with great conversation and a very fun crowd. The funny thing is, that whole meal, with all of those different kinds of meat, probably only cost $5.00 per person, and that is pricey for China! We can’t wait to go back to that restaurant again…
The way home was a great example of the Chinese concept of “face.” After we ate at the restaurant, Claudia fully described the location of our apartment to the taxi driver and he verified that he knew where it was…only for us to get down the road and he had no idea where he was going. I asked him, “So do you know where it is,” and he emphatically said, “No.” But he had previously nodded and agreed…not wanted to lose face with Claudia. This was funny because we had been warned about this very thing only a couple of hours before during orientation. I think the lack of the “I don’t know” phrase might prove to be a little frustrating for us, but at least we understand where it comes from culturally. Knowing is half the battle…

Saturday March 3

This morning was the craziest morning yet. We had all been sound asleep late into the morning because we had stayed up late the night before. I woke up to hearing Sarah and Adrian sounding confused with a random Chinese voice. I ran out of my bedroom to find them at the door with about five people all very confused and about to walk into our apartment. It turns out that it was our landlord from Guangzhou and she had come to visit us. But she had knocked so many times that it disturbed all the doormen and neighbors, so they came too. We were all looking bad, only dressed in pajamas, but she came in and made herself at home. She was such a character. She arrived and it took us a few minutes to even figure out who she was. I might have understood a lot of her meaning, but only about 40% of what she said. We talked some business, but she constantly went off on tangents. Her tangents involved things like taiji demonstrations, philosophical comments about fate and friendship, information about herself, the importance of exercise, reflexology, and demonstrations of all of the above. Within the first 15 minutes of knowing her, we knew that she was almost 70 and she did a split on the floor followed by a yoga position where she held her foot up by her head! We couldn’t believe what we were seeing. I waded through the difficulties with the Chinese while Sarah and Adrian just tried to figure out what was going on, but we truly soaked up this Chinese experience. She ended up leaving us three hours later with an invitation for lunch tomorrow, the possibility of finding Olympic tickets for 2008, all the information we ever needed about Chinese exercise, and some good bus routes and names of restaurants and good dishes. As she left, I expressed that we were extremely happy to meet her, etc. and she said that it was fate that brought us together and we were all good friends. There is no need for such gratitude between friends! When we closed the door, we were starving for some lunch or breakfast, (because it was now 1:30PM) but we took a few minutes to sit and digest what we had just experienced. How random and cool can you get during your first week in Beijing?...
We finally recovered and got ready and made our way to Carrefour to buy some stuff for the house around 3PM. The store was jam-packed with Chinese people shopping on a Saturday afternoon and people were yelling promotions on every aisle adding to the noise. We bought everything we needed including cell phones, irons, pans, food, tea kettles, etc and only ended up spending about $35 each. Amazing. Getting back in the cabs was complicated with all of the stuff so we had to take two. This was the first time that I left anyone that didn’t speak Chinese by themselves, but Adrian and Sarah actually beat Adam and me back to the apartments with his GPS thing and even taught the driver how to use the defrost on his car!
For dinner we all went out to eat Hotpot at this place that Adam had seen in passing. It was a little showy, since the restaurant was in the bottom of a hotel, and the service was definitely the worst we have had thus far in China, but at least the idea of what Hotpot is and how you eat it was conveyed to the first-timers. We had lamb, beef, some weird stuff from the sea, veggies, tofu and seasonings to put in our pots with different sauces. Very tasty, but also our most expensive meal yet.

We're here!

We arrived in China! We're actually here, and I don't think it has set in yet. Despite some cancelled flights, we got here on Monday or Tuesday and were moved into an apartment by Thursday. Adrian, Sarah and I are living in the most beautiful apartment I have ever lived in. We have already done so much! We've been house shopping, taken a bunch of taxis, gone dancing, visited Ikea, Carrefour, the Chinese 'Wu Mart' and many more places. Our internet connection is very poor at the moment, so I can't post any videos or pictures from the past week, but here are a couple of excerpts from the journal if you care to see what's up with us!

Wednesday February 28, 2007

Today was apartment shopping day. Shirley came with two apartment brokers and we set off to see their apartments. We started out with a dirty apartment that stunk and was seriously lacking in furnishings. We got slightly depressed and moved on to the second one. This one had a lot of interesting furnishings but we were worried about it being too far from the school. An interesting cultural difference arose as negotiations got a little tight and both sides became frustrated. The Americans had some doubts and questions because the Chinese had not put all of the information and variables up front. We didn’t understand, so we were pressuring for answers, angering the Chinese because we were so direct. Our first cultural frustration…but it quickly passed, we expressed our appreciation for their services, and we were back to joking and laughing by the next apartment.
We ended up seeing all of the three bedrooms for the three of us that wanted to live together, and we also saw one and two bedrooms for a guy that wanted his own apartment. We went to lunch with the single person decided and the three of us still in the air. Lunch was excellent, but I was praying under my breath for this apartment thing to be settled. I really wanted a close, convenient place that was also comfortable and ready-to-live. Amazingly, the brokers got a call right as we were leaving, saying that another 3 bedroom was available to look at, but it was our very last option. It turned out to be the MOST beautiful apartment we had seen, and better than all of the apartments we had ever lived in. It had never been lived in, had beautiful wood floors and doors, two bathrooms, three different sized bedrooms, an excellent kitchen, furnishings and décor. We all very excitedly decided to take it, paying a deposit and signing a lease and being thankful that the grueling (although only one day) apartment search was over.
The signing and discussions went on pretty late until the brokers went home and we went to find cell phones for the others. This was another interesting experience. There are many different cell phones and several types of Sim cards and distinguishing between them was so complicated that you had to just take your best guess. After a while, Adam decided and bought a phone while Sarah decided, tried to pay with a credit card, and quickly learned that cash is king in China.
We decided to walk back to the hotel with minimal directions and Adrian’s GPS. We walked for a long time having a good conversation and getting stared at by every bicycler that passed. Stumbling upon an interesting tea house, we decided to go in and it was a wonderful experience. The décor was beautiful and they sat us at a large driftwood table and handed us a menu written on a fan. I didn’t understand all of the vocab for a tea menu, so I asked her to bring her favorite kind and she did a whole show. The actual tea-making and tea-serving process is very complex and we had to video it to make sure that we got all of the steps.
A good ending to the day… We got back to our hotel for our last night there, as we would be moving into the apartments in the morning.

Five days in Mexico...

I had a BLAST in Guadalajara visiting the Mexican Trackers for a few days. We did everything from hiking in el Bosque de Primavera, to swimming in hot springs, to seeing ruins at Guachimontones, to dancing all night at La Mutualista, to spending all day in the cute Tlaquepaque suburb, going to Spanish class at Tec with the IMBAs and eating AMAZING food the whole time. It was my very first time in Mexico and I was amazed at how kind the people were. There was never a rude person...you could go on for hours with the taxi drivers, and they constantly encourage people learning Spanish, no matter what the level.

I bought two oranges from this guy just so I could film him doing his sales pitch in the fruit market! The market and the plaza in the centro of Guadalajara were gorgeous.
This next video is the second part of Casa Bariachi's birthday routine. We told them that it was Anand's birthday and they did everything they could to "shake him up" a little bit.

This is the picture that some Mexican trackers hope will win the photo contest! I got the honors of yelling "1,2,3,Jump!" and taking the picture.

A night out at Dali:

I once read that every person is a new door to a different world. I am thankful for so many different and wonderful friends that can teach me so much. I am going to miss those Mexican trackers! Thanks to you all for being such great hosts...I enjoyed every minute!

Sidenotes:
- Heading to China in exactly 29 hours!!!
- If you didn't get enough and need just a little more to waste your time, you can always check out more photos on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbrown3585/

Just a little side-trip...

I know that I am leaving in 9 days for Beijing, but I couldn't help stopping by Guadalajara, Mexico for one last hoo-rah with the Spanish Trackers. It's Alex's fault. He made me start thinking about this a while ago and I decided that I simply must hang out with them one more time before I go to China and they graduate before I get back! [Most of my classmates (everyone except Chinese and Japanese track students) graduate in May 2008, but I don't even come back from China until August 2008 to begin my final two semesters. ]
So I am now in the Charlotte airport waiting for my flight. When I show up in Guadalajara, everyone will be at a corporate visit and unable to come to the airport. It will be an adventure! I am excited to buy a phone card, figure out how to use it, grab a taxi, find a Starbucks in the middle of the city, meet Paco's sister for a chat and await their arrival. What a day it will be. As you know, there will be many photos and videos to come! :-)

More "Last" Events

My parents came up this afternoon to help me move out. Only 6 months in this apartment...3 weeks in the last one...one month in the one before that. Does anyone hate moving more than me? I think Beijing will be my longest time in an apartment since I started this program! Looking forward to it :-)

All of the Asian trackers went out last week with a couple of friends and some 3rd year Chinese track friends. The advice was great, laughs were many, and the Thai food delicious. We are already plotting how to get the authentic made-in-Thailand food while we are in Asia!After Thai food came Goat Feathers...a plush little hang-out in Five Points. It was the last visit to Five Points on a Thursday night...Last, but not least...last Friday was our last trip to Salsa Cabana! Indeed the saddest "Last." We danced until we couldn't move anymore and it was a good send-off. Hopefully the dance floor will still be there when we get back!

Emotions Building...

There have been soooo many conversations about China between us and it is so neat to see all of the different thoughts racing through everyone's heads. It is such a mixture of excitement, expectations, nervousness, anticipation, and even a little anxiety. Technically, out of everyone going from USC, I should have the best idea of what to expect because I'm the only one that's been there before. But my two trips were only 6 weeks and 4 months long and I still find myself wondering what 18 whole months will feel like. How will we all be different? How deep will we sink our teeth into the culture? Will I uncover so many cultural nuances that I overlooked last time? I hope so. I look forward to being stretched and challenged beyond expectations and to coming back different from the person that left. I think our challenge is to follow the advice of Confucius: "Wherever you go, go with all your heart."

Last China Track Meeting

Today we had a conference call with Janet, a woman from the company that will be helping get settled in, find an apartment, secure an internship, etc. Everything is a little vague right now, especially because we are arriving in the middle of Chinese New Year. Who knows if we will be able to find our ideal living situation. All I want is internet and a Western toilet, S'il vous plaît!

My fellow Chinese trackers are, from left to right: Adam, Sarah, Brock, Shaun (actually a global tracker doing his internship in Shanghai), Adrian and Malte.

Farewell Weekends

This weekend was one of two "farewell" weekends where I got to see close friends before I go to China. Jessica and Josh came all the way from Clemson to spend the weekend in Columbia. We had some great times and took thousands of pictures! We had fajita night on Friday with a few other IMBAs, ate brunch at Panera's on Saturday and then went shopping in all the cute stores on Devine street!

We might have had too much fun with the hats. Saturday night was a fun suprise when someone gave us three tickets to the ballet in Columbia. After the ballet, we spent the night in British accents and ate fabulous dessert and coffee at Nonnah's in the Vista. I will miss them terribly, but am so glad that I got a chance to see them again before they left!

Also, two weeks ago was my visit to DC to see Courtey, Jason and the new baby. Aunt Stephanie couldn't go two years without seeing Jac! We spent a lot of quality time hanging out, went to the Smithsonian, and hung out with Jason's family. Courtney is such a good Mom. I can't wait to visit again after China!