China Trip: Day 9

Today is our last day in China, and I know that I am really going to miss it here. Today we did get to go to Victoria's peak, and we also got to swim in Repulse Bay. It made up for the terrible experiences yesterday, and made me see just how amazing Hong Kong can be.
All of my experiences and moments on this trip have been unforgettable, but some stand out more than others. Here are my Top 10 experiences, learning moments, funny moments, and realizations on this trip.


Top 10 Experiences:
1. Jumping in the fountain our last night in Xian
2. Visiting the school our second day in Beijing
3. Going to the Great Wall our third day in Beijing
4. Our (possibly) illegal taxi ride the last night in Xian
5. Swimming in Repulse bay today
6. Learning to haggle in the markets of Shanghai
7. Learning about family life by visiting a home our first day in Shanghai
8. The hot plate dinner we ate our second day in Xian
9. Taking pictures with all the people who approached us
10. Learning true stories about the Forbidden City while visiting there

Top 10 Learning Moments:
1. Talking to the students at the school
2. Communicating with people in limited English/Mandarin
3. Learning a bit of the Chinese language
4. Interviewing the family in Shanghai
5. Learning how to haggle well
6. Finding out that China views itself as capitalistic
7. Facts about the Great Wall
8. Learning how to use chopsticks on the plane to Beijing
9. Trying to blend in with blond hair
10. Seeing the industry in all 4 cities, but especially while riding the subways and buses in Hong Kong

Top 10 Funny Moments:
1. Jumping in the fountain in Xian
2. Our shower mishap the first night in Beijing
3. Finding out what the balloon-things on our table were in Shanghai (It was tree fungus)
4. Singing karaoke on the bus
5. Haggling in Shanghai
6. The taxi ride after the fountain in Xian
7. Taking pictures of people taking pictures of us
8. The party in Shanghai
9. Basically all the stuff we did on the bus rides
10. Being slap happy after the dance show in Shanghai

Top 10 Realizations:
1. China views itself as capitalistic
2. Many people use squatting potties because it is culture, not because they don't have the money for a western toilet.
3. Students cannot date until they are in a university
4. They don't see a lot of people with blonde hair in Beijing, Xian, and Shanghai
5. People love their daughters in the cities- no effects from the one-child policy anymore
6. Gas is $8 a gallon in Hong Kong
7. We are representative of our country, and have the power to correct stereotypes about our country or follow them
8. There aren't any arranged marriages anymore
9. When haggling in Beijing, if the price isn't 15-30% of the original, you are getting ripped off
10. Monks can be funny (Shanghai)

China Trip: Day 8

Our first day in Hong Kong turned out to be a big disappointment. In the morning we woke up late as usual. I was pretty stressed because I had gone through every object I had brought with me and still couldn't find my departure card. After breakfast we had a tai-chi exercise in the parking lot of our hotel, where the teachers told me that they had another departure card. Relieved, I got to enjoy the exercise and all the people in the hotel windows laughing at us. At the airport in Shanghai, we went to Burger King. Right before we went into the restaurant, we saw this military guy with this giant gun who walked by us, just tapping his gun. It was the first person like that that we had seen, and I was intrigued. People at home who had been to China in the 90s had told me how intimidating customs was, so when it turned out to be no big deal, I though that they were just messing with me. Anyway, we ate Burger King, which actually hurt everyone’s stomach because we had gotten used to the food here. While waiting to start boarding, we played blackjack- one of the games that we had taught David. At this moment David was running around, getting through customs a different way because he didn't have a visa for Hong Kong. Just as they were about to close the gate on the plane, David arrived- just in time. When we land in Hong Kong, this lady, our local guide, had us board this nasty coach bus and tried to sell us phone cards and exchange money- trying to make some extra money on the side. Behind her, we saw our teachers miming "NO!!" When we got off the bus, a wall of heat and humidity hit us- it was like trying to swim in air! This tour guide brought us to some place in the mall and bought us this really nasty dish that was cold when we got it. Lovely! Even though she was scamming us, we needed her because they only spoke Cantonese in Hong Kong, and David could only speak Mandarin. Right after we finished, we found out that the light show we were supposed to see in Hong Kong was across the city and we only had an hour to get there. The lady made us board this public bus- one we have to pay a fare for- instead of our coach. Not only that, but she had us pay for her fare too. We got off at the wrong stop, and never made it to Victoria's Peak. We saw the light show from this platform crowded with other people. The light show was ok; it was actually all of the buildings of Hong Kong lighting up in different ways to make a show across the whole skyline of the city. The teachers were very stressed by now, and when this lady started leading us all over Hong Kong on foot aimlessly, they let her go. They basically fired her in the street. We finally got back to the hotel, tired and unhappy that Hong Kong hadn’t been the place that we thought it would be.

Chian Trip: Day 7

Today Shelby and I woke up really late and had to choke down breakfast in 5 minutes. First we went to these beautiful gardens that used to be owned by a government official. The Yu Yuan Gardens were so interesting because there were these little cave tunnels everywhere that connected different courtyards. The architecture was also different from Beijing- the roofs weren’t yellow! It had a lot of fountains and streams, and whenever you went to the edge of a pond, hoards of koi fish would come right up to you. Our tour guide told us that koi fish could live to be 200 years old, and that we would see one of the oldest koi fish later today at the temple. The gardens also had a lot of rocks that had been shaped by the water- each rock had thousands of round holes all over. Everywhere we went, we saw this really interesting wall that was curvy on top. Later we found out that it was a dragon wall when we saw its head on top. The dragon actually wasn't a dragon, because that was reserved for the emperors, but it did look like one. It had the skin of a shrimp, the claws of a rooster, the head of a horse, the antlers of a deer, the teeth of a tiger, the body of a serpent, and the tail of a fish. In its mouth was a pearl, and below its head was a frog. It was interesting to learn the symbolism of the relationship between these two animals. The frog lived off of the saliva of the dragon, and scratched the dragons back for compensation. In this way it was representative of the government and the people; each needed the other to survive. After the gardens, we got to experience a different part of Chinese culture that we hadn't even touched on before- the Buddhist Temple. As we entered the outer courtyard, there were these two large containers where a bunch of incense was burning. Music was playing, and people were praying in the temple. As we were walking around, we saw a lot of red ribbons tied onto the trees, and even glimpsed a few monks! We got to see the sitting and reclining jade buddha, which they didn't want anyone to take pictures of. When we entered into the place where the sitting jade buddha was, this European couple was standing there furtively taking a photo. I thought this was a little disrespectful, until we went downstairs and saw a bunch of posters with the jade buddha on them. Before leaving, we met this one man who wrote our names on this gold-flecked piece of parchment paper. Each symbol had a meaning. Mine meant “beautiful, special" and then he wished me love and a lucky life. Shelby's was "Today, tomorrow, and forever." He was very funny, and got us all to laugh as he tried to pronounce our names. After lunch we did some hard core shopping at the big market in Shanghai. This one was indoors, and had a lot of knockoff designer things. I was getting pretty good at haggling. I got a Jimmy Choo bag for 15 U.S. dollars by pretending that it was all that I had. I played this part so convincingly that when the lady’s back was turned the rest of my group asked if I just wanted to borrow money from them. I had to quickly explain to them what I was doing before the shopkeeper turned around! While I was haggling for this really nice dress, I offered a price more acceptable in Beijing than in Shanghai. In Beijing, the people inflate the price of their goods, so there is more room to haggle, but in Shanghai the price is much closer to the base price than in Beijing. I guess the offer was way too low, because they had me leave the store! I went back later and bought it for a more acceptable price, but I learned the hard way how haggling changes between cities! Finally, I argued for a good 10 minutes over a Dolce and Gabana bag, eventually getting a really good price. Every person I haggled with was really mad when I finally bought what I wanted, so you could tell that I was doing well. Haggling in a group is a really good idea because if you start going too high, the rest of the group just pulls you away from the store until the store owner shouts out lower and lower prices. Haggling is really infused into Chinese culture in a way that I haven’t ever seen before. In the U.S, there is a set price and you have to go store to store to find the best price, but here you can haggle down to a satisfactory price. After dinner we dropped by a convenience store, before heading for the hotel with some free time. We eventually crammed 12 people into a tiny hotel room for a party. Some people wore what they had bought earlier today, and everyone brought food. We ate grapes and cherries from the market yesterday, played games, talked, and just relaxed! Every day so far had been so crammed with things to see, people to talk to, and stuff to buy that just hanging out was really fun. Tomorrow we are going to fly to our last city: Hong Kong! I really enjoyed my time in Shanghai, and I wish we could have gone to the Expo, but hopefully Hong Kong will make up for that!

China Trip: Day 6

Today we got up early, leaving our hotel in Xian at 6AM. In the airport, we taught David some American card games while we waited for our flight to Shanghai. When we touched down in Shanghai, we went and walked around the Bund, a place by the water where a lot of colonial style houses were. It was weird, seeing houses that looked more like they should be in Europe than Asia, but that wasn’t the highlight of this stop. Here, swarms of people took our photo, so we did exactly what we did yesterday- took their photo too. Most people thought it was hilarious, while others didn’t even notice. In about a half and hour I got 20 pictures of people with cameras pointed at us, Afterwards, we went to visit a local family that lived in the area. We split into two groups, one group visiting one family and the other group visiting another family. I was a little nervous to meet this family because I thought that my interview questions would offend them in some way, but I didn’t have to worry. The woman was very nice, letting us sit in her kitchen and look around her house. At first it was awkward, but after the teachers started her off with a few questions the students joined in. I learned that she has a daughter that is in a university nearby learning to teach children. She is also retired from working at a textile factory, and the government gives her a lot of money to live on in retirement. Her parents live nearby, and she plans on taking care of them in their old age. Contrary to popular belief, these families do love their daughters, and their children are free to marry whomever they want. She also talked about their holidays, like the dragon boat festival, which coincidentally began today! During this festival, they eat rice and ham wrapped in bamboo leaves, and they swim in the ocean to be in the same waters as the dragon boats for good luck. The one thing that sounded odd was that she had no criticisms for the government- in the States, almost everyone has some sort criticism for the government, and is willing to voice it. Not so much here. After learning about her lifestyle, we looked around the house. The place had two bedrooms, a small eating area, and a tiny kitchen and bathroom. It was very small in American standards, but actually it was a very spacious house compared to a couple decades ago in Shanghai. We went outside to meet up with the other group and see what was going on outside. There were these colorful exercise machines, and a table where a bunch of people were crowded around. They were playing this crazy card game there, and they got into a lot of fights about it. An older man stood to the side of the chaos with closed eyes, moving his arms slowly. He was practicing his daily tai-chi exercises. After leaving the community, we went to a market. As we got out, it looked a lot like the farmers market that we have in the summer, but this one was much bigger, and sold some pretty strange things! We walked down one side of the market, where live fish swam in shallow buckets. We saw eels and frogs and shrimp, along with flounder and leeches-all still alive. As we continued down the aisle, people began chopping up the fish, with blood and guts flying everywhere- now I know why the floor was wet. This one lady put down sections of a fish for sale, but its head and tail were still moving! I think we just chose the unlucky place to start, because as we continued to look around, we saw fruit stands and clothing areas. I saw the biggest cucumber I had ever seen, if it even was a cucumber, and the fruit that we had our first night- dragon fruit! I was going to buy the dragon fruit, but the man said it wasn’t in season so I bought some cherries instead. We continued exploring, and found this stand with all sorts of eggs. One egg that looked like a normal chicken egg turned out to be black and solid inside. People had gotten those on the plane ride to Xian- they were pretty nasty. We learned that they were preserved eggs- that was why they were black! The market was really cool- there was such a variety of things to buy there, and I was sad that we didn’t have more time to look around. We also got to see an acrobatic show that day. It wasn’t amazing, but I did like the contortionist act. We went to dinner, but everyone was getting sick of eating the same basic food at each restaurant. The only thing that every table ran out of was the watermelon!
Initially, I had expected Shanghai to be more like Xian- smaller in size but still industrialized. I was definitely wrong. Yes, there were more buildings for industry, but they also had some major companies in buildings there. The World Expo had brought in a ton of business- and people. The place was insanely crowded, even though we never even went to the Expo. Instead of a little farmland like there was in Xian, Shanghai was all cities. Their architecture was a big example of western influences on the country: Because some European countries (France and Germany) had control of certain districts in Shanghai for some time, the architecture was very western. An example of this was the buildings that lined the Bund- almost every single one had some sort of pillar, or window shape, or other aspect of European architecture. I had to look really hard to find that signature sloping roof on a building in Shanghai.

China Trip: Day 5

Honestly, today topped the Great Wall, the school encounter, and every funny moment on that first night in Beijing. I will never forget how fun today was, and how many amazing experiences I had tonight in Xian. This morning we saw the Banpo ruins, a matriarchal community that existed over six thousand years ago. The walls of their homes had been demolished, but the foundations of their home stood the test of time. The other thing that had been preserved well was the human remains. There were 8 or 9 there, and it was very interesting because you could get right next to the glass casing to view each skeleton. I was still having waves of nausea in the morning, but honestly I knew that nothing anyone did was going to help if I told them so I just sat down when they were bad, and caught up with the group when I was better. After seeing the ruins, we went to the Huaqing Hot Springs. The place also used to be a palace for the emperor in the Tang Dynasty. We spotted some koi fish in the many ponds there, and even got to feel the hot spring water! After checking out all of the buildings, we explored behind the buildings, finding old carts and some costumes that were laid out to dry. As we walked through the crowds, people kept taking pictures of us because most of the group had blond hair. Today we decided to fight back, and started taking picture of everyone taking pictures of us! Some people were confused, wondering why we wanted photos of them, while others put their cameras down after getting a shot of us and actually posed for us! While at the springs, I got to use my first squatting potty, or pop-a-squat, as Megan calls it. It was probably the nicest squatting potty ever: Each stall is made of this beautiful dark wood, and the actual door is really expensive stained glass, but when you open the stall door instead of a toilet there is this lovely porcelain hole. Anyway, after the springs we went to lunch, where another person in our group began to throw up. My nausea had gone away with the morning, but I felt really bad for Scott since he would only be able to glimpse the Terra Cotta Warriors before going back to the hotel. After lunch was the big event of the day: the Terra Cotta Warriors! Right before we went into the first pit, I dropped my camera. That was no big deal- until I found out it broke! Everyone in my group promised to send me pictures so it was fine, but now I had to figure out what to do for the rest of the trip. The warriors were amazing- every face was different- even their body shapes were unique. Some footmen were very large while all of the archers looked starved. Tyler haggled for this case of mini terra cotta warriors and got it down to 10RNB- less than $2! We all bought a case for that price and headed on our way. The next pit had these horses in them, but the lighting was so low that everyone was having trouble taking photos. I helped Lexa get a few shots with my limited knowledge of photography while we explored the second pit. My nose and throat were getting pretty dry from the dust in the air, and they began to burn. We all went outside, where we bought Magnum bars from the gift store. They are just like Dove chocolate bars, but even better! Ana, a girl from Boston also on our tour had told us about them. When we finally got to the hotel, we went to different restaurants based on what we wanted to try. I ended up going to the same restaurant that Schags and Ewen had gone to the day before for lunch, and we ordered something new. It was called a hot pot, and was this pot full of boiling sauces. There were two separated sides, each filled with a different colored boiling sauce. You would dip your chopsticks into some spices and put a few pieces of raw meat or vegetables into either the spicy or mild sauce and let it cook. Then you would take it out and put it into your bowl of spices. It was really good, something I hope to try again one day. That night I had planned on catching up on my journal entries, but instead I got the chance to go see the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and a fountain show. Schags, Ms.Tomasello, David, Shelby, Megan, Lexa, Brandon, and I all took two taxis to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. We had to cross the street to get to the fountain show, which was like playing Frogger but in real life! The fountain was this giant black tiled floor with holes where water would squirt up in different heights to make designs that went along to music. There were these dry areas within the fountain that people would run out to and have their picture taken. We all got our photo taken between two streams of water without getting a drop on us. Instead of being content with just a dry photo, we decide to take off our bags and watches and jump into the streams of water! Everyone in our group ran out into the middle of the giant fountain onto this one area where water didn’t spray. While they just stood there, I started jumping through the sprays of water, getting drenched. Soon everyone was getting wet too! It was really funny how all the bystanders reacted- either they joined in, gave us the weirdest look, or took a picture of us. Let’s just say that we got a lot of weird looks that night. It was only when we got out of the fountain that we realized how bad the water smelled. It definitely wasn’t sewage water, but we did smell pretty bad for the rest of the night! Once we had had our fun and walked around, it was time to head back to the hotel. The only problem was that every taxi was filled! This white van pulled up right next to us, and within a second had its back door and front row of seats down, but we said no immediately. That van looked really shady, like it was going to take us into a back alley and beat us instead of dropping us off at our hotel. Ten minutes later, we were still on the street corner failing miserably at getting a taxi when a different van pulls up. This one is a bit more respectable, and the guy even put a meter on the dash. It could have been an illegal taxi, but we were not sure. On the ride back we shared stories and started belting out songs, but the driver didn’t mind. I’m pretty sure he actually enjoyed our excited energy. We get back to the hotel safely but after curfew, and fell into bed exhausted. This was the best day yet on this trip- an amazing experience!
Although I think that the culture is richer and livelier in Beijing, Xian is an older city with more tradition. The food was better in Xian, although the lunch that second day in Beijing was really good too. The history is very well preserved in Xian, better than in Beijing because they have spent the past 20 or so years digging and restoring all of the Terra Cotta warriors. The one thing that Beijing has really done better with their history is the preservation of their architecture. In Beijing you could see a lot of slanting yellow roofs all throughout the city, while in Xian there are more office buildings than buildings with more of a traditional architecture. All in all, that one afternoon in Xian made up for everything that had gone wrong on the fourth day. Tomorrow I can only hope that Shanghai is even better!

China Trip: Day 4

Today was a little disappointing for me. I wasn't disappointed in what I saw, or the country itself, but I was disappointed in myself. I felt absolutely terrible all day, and I was only able to sleep for 4 hours the whole night. I kept having these waves of nausea and dizziness. I was tired, irritable, my stomach was queasy, and my hands kept shaking all day. I was in no state to fly to Xian this morning, but I still didn’t know what was causing it, so I didn’t think that telling the teachers would help. Shelby told them for me in Beijing’s airport, and when they came over I just collapsed and burst into tears because I really didn’t know what was wrong. They had me drink a lot of water and eat a power bar, but I almost threw it all up later. Mercifully, I slept on the plane so I didn’t feel too bad on the plane ride, but when we were in the airport the nausea was coming in waves again. It was really frustrating having those waves of nausea because just as I told them I was feeling better, I would feel worse. But whenever I told them it was getting worse, soon I would be feeling better. We went to see Xian’s city wall, which was much flatter than the Great Wall- you could actually ride a bike on it. I was only able to snap a few photos before I felt even worse. Schags and Ewen decided to just bring me to the hotel. I was really disappointed that I would not be able to see the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, or go to the jade store. We went out in front of the wall to get a taxi, but every one we saw was full. It was taking a while, so I eventually sat down on the sidewalk. A few minutes later, we crossed the street, managing to not get hit and finally finding an empty taxi. I was the first student in a taxi on the trip, but I was not exactly in a state to enjoy this fact. We drove right past the city wall, which was cool because every couple of meters or so there were these tiny steps going up the wall. When we got to the hotel I sat down on the marble floor while they checked in. The doorman and the maid cleaning the lobby were really nice- both smiled at me even though I could have been throwing up all over their floor at any moment. I went to my hotel room and slept while Schags and Ewen went out to bring back lunch. They came back with food and a story of their food adventure. They had to go to three different restaurants before finding one that spoke some form of English. Even then they just pointed to the pictures on the menu, choosing anything that looked like chicken. I guess they were a pretty big hit there, because right as they were about to pay for their food, the lady offered them some random dishes that turned out to be pigs feet. Ewen was the only one to try them, and we threw them out right after he tried them. After lunch, I slept until Shelby, my roommate, came in with stories of the afternoon. It was hard, having to miss out on seeing the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, but it was probably better that way. I was feeling ok so I went down to the hotel lobby to eat dinner with everyone else. It was so nice that everyone was concerned- this whole trip has brought everyone so much closer. Afterwards, we went to see this singing and dancing show based on the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty was when women had a lot more influence compared to later dynasties. They also saw being plump as beautiful, and had not started to bind their feet yet. The dancers were skinny, but the show was still beautiful. This whole day had been wearing on everyone, and half of the group had trouble trying not to fall asleep to the lull of the music. We were tired during the show, but on the bus ride back to the hotel, we were absolutely hyper. The burst of energy didn’t last- we crashed almost immediately after entering our hotel room, only waking up enough to shower and answer the teachers for room check. Today I did not do as much as I wanted to, but hopefully tomorrow I can enjoy seeing the Terra Cotta warriors!

China Trip: Day 3

Today was absolutely splendiferous! I don't even know what that word means but I am running out of adjectives. it was a really good day though, probably one of the most memorable. We went to see the Great Wall today- absolutely amazing. As we walked on the path to the wall, you could see the mountains and jungles surrounding you, shrouded in mist. The first hundred steps or so up the Wall, the whole group was just running up the steps, and soon everyone was out of breath. It was really strenuous work, and so at the first tower everyone took about 5-10 minutes just to catch their breath. Once we learned to pace ourselves, going up all those uneven steps turned out to be easy. Shelby, Claudia and I took a bunch of pictures at each tower, exploring the little hallways and areas. In one of the towers we found this tiny secret tunnel that went to the other side of the tower. It was pretty cool, and so was learning that the Great Wall was made with sticky rice! A sad fact about the wall was that as workers died from building conditions, the other workers couldn't do anything but throw the bodies into the wall and continue building. If coming up seemed hard, going down was a breeze. Someone told me later that I practically flew down those steps- faster than almost anyone else! Getting my heart rate up had left me in a great mood, and what really made my day was when this Italian guy came up to me saying "Bella, take a photo with me!" And I thought that only Chinese people wanted photos with blondies! My overall experience in the capital of China has been unique, and something I hope I never forget. After the wall, we ate dinner and went to the Ming tombs. My hands were still shaking, but I assumed it was because of the great Wall adventure. The really cool thing about the tombs was that the buildings were made out of wooden pieces fitted together- no nails, no glue. Then we went to the Pearl Market, a place to buy knockoff designer brands at insanely low prices. I was still getting the hang of haggling, and I really wasn't feeling great, so I got an ok deal on a purse for my sister. The room started spinning, so I drank some water and the teachers had me eat a power bar. I got over it, but I was really afraid that I would get sick in China because that was one of my worst fears.
I think that the people of China have preserved their history well. Considering that they have a whole city preserved to celebrate their history, I would also agree that they are proud of their ancestry. This is something that you don't really see in America, where tradition is thrown out the window after each generation. We may keep some traditions that our parents or grandparents did, but not what our ancestors from 1000 years ago celebrated! This may be because we are a newer country, but the fact still holds true that ancestry and culture is held in higher respects here than in America. My most memorable food in Beijing was probably the sweetheart fruit that I had on my very first night here. It was so different from any other fruit I had ever tasted- I'm still trying to find some more somewhere! I have too many memorable funny moments to choose my favorite, but one that I haven't told yet was on our first night here. We were walking in Wangfujing street in one of the alleys completely lined with kiosks. We saw this American trying to get away from a shopkeeper, who was trying to make him buy something at her store. Eventually he took her hand and shook it vigorously, saying "Ni Hao! Ni hao! I love you to but I have to go ! Bye!" it was such a weird outburst, and left us laughing at the whole situation. Another funny moment I haven't told yet was also on that first night in the street. This guy was at his kiosk playing with a puppet and trying to get my attention, trying to sell me the puppet. I walked by without even looking and I heard him say as I walked away; "Aww, come on!!" Maybe it was just the strange way he said it, but that made everyone in my group crack up. Then again, today on the bus we were singing karaoke on the bus, even me! You would put you iPod earphone on the tour guide's microphone at the front of the bus, and would just sing along. It is just too hard to choose the funniest moment in Beijing, but I know exactly what my favorite piece of history was. In the Forbidden city, David told us a story about one of the Emperor's concubines. She was beautiful, but poor and couldn't bribe the painter who painted her portrait for the emperor. The painter painted two moles on her face where there were none, but despite those flaws, the emperor still made her one of the lowest concubines, one her never saw. A important official saw her and asked the emperor for her hand. Thinking she was flawed, the emperor gave her away. When her saw her with his own eyes, he realized his mistake but stuck to his word. The woman was married to the official and lived happily, while the painter was killed by the emperor. This was a true story, and really jumped out at me. Maybe it stood out because it sounded like a fairytale come true or maybe because the story was just absolutely adorable the way our tour guide told it, but I really loved that story.