Well, its that time of year again. Classes started today accompanied with the usual onslaught of homework and frantic mornings. Yup, panic on the first morning. Shaping up to be a good semester so far! 

Made the prerequisite trip to the Forbidden City this past Sunday, as arranged by my program. Luckily, both the pollution and crowds were less overbearing than usual due to a rainstorm in the morning. 

 Crazy clear day at the Forbidden City

Oh my....
sometimes it really pays off to have your camera handy

 Hot pot to celebrate the start of classes!
Hot pot is kind of like Chinese fondu, only vaguely healthier and much more fun

I decided to start keeping a log of the pollution in Beijing to show everyone how bad it can really get. I use the official pollution count published by the US Embassy, which continues to exist despite the best efforts of the Chinese government. A pollution count of 0-50 is healthy, 51-100 moderate, 101-150 unhealthy for "sensitive groups" (begin to moderate outdoor exercise), 151-200 unhealthy (severely moderate outdoor exercise), 201-300 very unhealthy (don't even bother putting on your running shoes), and over 300 is classified as "crazy bad" by the US Embassy (as in go outside at your own risk). The first few days in Beijing were rather depressing, but recently we are experiencing unusually amazing weather. Needless to say, I'm not going to get used to it!

September 2, 2012: Official US Embassy Pollution Count: 6 (!!!)

Looking forward to exploring more of Beijing this weekend with my roommate and friends from my program. Lots has changed since I have been here (3 years ago) and Im looking forward to getting to know the newer Beijing. Lucky for me, the best parts of Beijing have not changed (I have already gotten a few people hooked to bubble tea :) ).

Hello everyone!

Back in China once again! I've just spent the last 4 nights at the Hilton in Wangfujing and I'm headed to my new home for the semester, Capitol Normal, this afternoon. So far, I've accomplished a failed trip to the embassy and a quick trip to 798, the art district and one of my favorite places in Beijing. I will start posting pictures and more interesting posts once I get situated in my new dorm!

-Steph

我对中国的印象

Just something I wrote for a local Chinese newspaper.

我对中国的印象

Ever since I was a small child, I was fascinated with everything Chinese: the food, the language, and the culture, so when the opportunity to live in China for nine months of high school came knocking on my door, how could I refuse? I packed up my bags, said good-bye to my friends and family, and set off to see another part of the world.

When I first arrived in China, I had no idea what I was getting myself into living with a Chinese family. I had to remember to take off my shoes at the door, how to use a Chinese washing machine, and how to make dumplings, among many other things. I also experienced the stranger, to me at least, sides of Chinese culture. My host mom insisted that I drink hot water because cold water would make me sick. At first, I resisted and snuck water bottles into the apartment, but by the end of the winter, I was drinking hot water from a glass jar along side my host family. Perhaps not the most glamorous aspects of Chinese culture, but definitely the most rewarding. I truly learned how Chinese people live their day-to-day life, not just how they celebrate holidays, although I learned that too.

At first, I was not familiar with even the basics of Chinese culture, in particular in regard to guests. I quickly discovered that in China, it is considered absolutely unacceptable for a guest (in particular) to leave the table unless doubled over in agony from eating too much food. Despite being an active part of my host family-- I lived with them, ate with them, argued with them about the day’s news, and asked them for help with my Chinese homework-- I was still treated like a guest when food involved. If my host mom thought I looked the least bit hungry, she came knocking on my door with yogurt or fruit in her hands, telling me dinner would be ready in a few minutes. During dinner, she would always encourage me to eat more until I could not possibly put another dumpling in my mouth. And then the Chinese New Year arrived. To this day, I do not know how I consumed so many dumplings, although the fact that my host mom made the best dumplings may have helped. As the year progressed, I learned new ways to politely decline more food, but my host mom was always one step ahead of me. This unspoken game between us ultimately led to my defeat, also known as consumption of way too much food.

Despite still being a guest at the dinner table, in all other respects, my Chinese family treated me like a daughter. They made sure I was home for curfew, helped me with difficult Chinese homework, and made sure they knew where I was all the time. When 猪流感 (swine flu) showed signs of emerging in China, my host family acted quickly. One night after dinner, my host mom sat me down with a map of Beijing and pointed out all the areas I was no longer allowed to go, in particular areas where potentially infected foreigners gathered in large numbers. In addition to curtailing where I was allowed to go, the night before I was to return to American, my host mom asked me to consider staying in China so I would not return home, catch the swine flu and die. I know that she was acting out of love and concern for my well being, but I had to ignore her advice and return home before my American mom flew over and escorted me home herself.

I came away from this experience having learned how to live in a new culture. The most important lesson for me was learning how to just go with the flow until I learned how I was supposed to act, for example to eat until I could not put another dumpling in my mouth or to avoid certain parts of Beijing in fear of the swine flu. In this situation, it was expected I would keep eating until I was full or there was no food left. By the end of the year, I can say that I, as well as my stomach, developed a very intense appreciation for the very different Chinese culture.

Fragrant Hills (cause I promised)

you have to admit thats really cool

The weekend before I left for my trip to Guizhou and Sichuan, I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and spend most of the weekend outside.

Friday after school, a few friends and I decided to go to Tiananmen Square to see the flag lowered. The guards have a whole ceremony that they go through every day at sundown and sunup, and since the sunrise ceremony is really early, we decided to go to the sundown ceremony. We got to Tiananmen a little early, so we ended up waiting for a long time. The whole ceremony takes a really long time to get started, so we waited even longer. The guards spent a long time preparing to take the flag down so by the time they actually lowered the flag, we were ready to go. While we were waiting, I talked to a few Chinese people who were also waiting. They were really surprised I actually spoke Chinese, like many Chinese people. I ended up having a nice conversation with them about Beijing. It was good to know my Chinese level is good enough to carry on a conversation. Very reassuring.

The next day, I got up early and went with a friend to the Fragrant Hills, a park in the hills (surprise) about an hour's bus ride outside of Beijing. We had heard that the flowers were supposed to be the best on that weekend, so we went early to avoid most of the crowds. Well, it almost worked, but not so much. We arrived at 8:30 and the park was already crowded by American standards. Unfortunately, that means it was practically empty by Chinese standards. By the time we left at 12, the park was as packed as Cedar Point on a busy day during the summer. Way too many people.

We spent most of our time just wandering around taking pictures of flowers and people. The flowers were just blooming. The park was covered with colorful flowers and blooming trees, a great recipe for many many pictures. We brought a picnic for lunch and were eating beside a man made lake when we noticed a two Chinese people taking pictures near us. One of the guys was coming closer and closer to us, and we just waved him over and posed. That was fine until he came back with 10 of his friends. Without hesitation, they threw their arms around us and took pictures. We did really know what to do other than smile and wait until they left. When they finally left, we couldn't help but burst out laughing. Only in China.

So, thats it for my last weekend in Beijing before my trip. enjoy the pictures!