Snapshots

Lyndsey’s Strange but True Sightings:

1. I have officially seen six people pee on the street now. That, plus fact that spitting everywhere is acceptable, means the five second rule definitely does NOT apply to China. If it falls on the ground, leave it. It’s not worth it, man.
2. I have now seen my fair share of Land Rovers and Jeeps cruising through the city. I have no idea why on earth someone from Beijing would feel the need to buy that kind of car. No Hummer sightings yet, but I’m still hoping.
3. My apartment building doesn’t have a 4th or 14th floor. That’s because the word for “four” sounds the same as the word for “death,” so the number four is considered unlucky.
   If someone is getting married, you don’t give them pears. The word for “pear” sounds like the word for “divorce.” Similarly, you never give an older person a watch or a clock. The phrase “to give a clock” has the same pronunciation for the phrase “to prepare a funeral.”
4. Out of all of the fast food companies that have based themselves in China, KFC has had the most success. For some reason, it has been able to adapt its menu to Chinese tastes, and so draw a bigger audience than other fast food chains. You can order things like egg tarts, Peking duck wraps, and fried chicken with Chinese spices. For this reason, KFC is everywhere. No, seriously. It seems that every block boasts its own Kendeji. Everyone loves KFC, especially children. For this reason, it shouldn’t be surprising that one in every four Chinese children is obese.

I know I have a wide range of readers who are in tune with this blog. Some of you may not know what it’s like to live abroad, or perhaps even travel outside the country. Others may be interested in studying abroad or leaving the US, but may be unsure what to expect. With this in mind, I thought it might be useful to describe one of my past, average weekends. By catching a small glimpse of my daily life in Beijing, maybe you can see what it’s like to live in a different environment and culture and how, after a while, you yourself become part of it. So, without further adieu, take a glimpse of what it’s like to be one of Beijing’s many “expats” (expatriots):

Friday:

Friday is always a fun day because I get out of class around noon. With most of the day free, it’s a great opportunity to explore Beijing or go to some sort of event. After meeting with my Chinese tutor, I went to a nearby café to power through the weekend’s homework and kill time. Once early evening hit, I went back to campus and met up with a friend, Elise, and the two of us went to see a Peking opera. We hopped in a cab and drove to Beijing’s Poly theatre across town in order to see a performance titled Romance of the West Chamber.

Romance of the West Chamber is by far one of the more famous Peking operas performed. It is an extremely old opera since it is an adaptation off of a classical Yuan Dynasty piece of literature. In the story, the daughter of a wealthy family falls in love with the poor scholar employed by her father. With the help of a crafty maid, the two fall in love and have a secret romance without their parents’ approval. However, soon the mother discovers their relationship. Because the two have had premarital relations, she agrees to let them marry, but only if the scholar passes the service exams. The scholar is forced to travel to Beijing, and the daughter has to stay behind waiting for him to return. The play is regarded as a romantic comedy and is known as the “lovers’ Bible.” While it has been generally popular with younger people, many also see it as improper and lewd. And, of course, the story is in sharp contrast with filial piety, which is a no-no.

For those of you who don’t know, Peking opera is nothing at all like Western opera. The sound is completely different. While Western opera has long, lengthy arias, Peking opera sounds much more nasal and high-pitched. The style of singing also more closely resembles chanting than what many would call music. As for the acting, Peking opera relies more on facial expressions and exaggerated body movements. The actors’ movement is especially interesting, since they have learned to walk in a way that almost makes them seem like they are floating. The costumes are almost always very elaborate, and of course there is the famous face painting. Usually each opera has very stereotypical characters (ie: the profound scholar, the corrupt king, the beautiful maiden, etc.) and each has a unique face-paint pattern. By looking at how their face is painted, you can immediately tell what character they represent. Each style of face is different, but usually all have a white base and red or pink flushed eyes. This version of Dream of the West Chamber was a little less traditional. Instead of having a small band of musicians with traditional Chinese instruments, there was a pit orchestra. The stage was also elaborately done, which is unusual since usually there are very little props or scenery. In this case, the whole floor was glass and you could see flowers trapped underneath. Also, like most Peking operas, it was loooooong. Two and a half hours with no intermission and desperately trying to read the Chinese subtitles flashing on a screen can result in a major headache, but also a great cultural experience.

Saturday:

Every day when I walk to my home stay, I see something strange. I live next to high rise apartment complexes and the largest mall in all of Asia, yet tucked away amongst the buildings is a small Buddhist temple. Finally curiosity got the better of me and Saturday morning I decided to go in and explore. After talking with the caretakers, I found out the temple was actually around 400 years old, which explains why the government hasn’t been able to demolish it and use the extremely valuable property to build another apartment building. I was allowed to explore the whole area, talking with the incense sellers and guards along the way. I was given a crash course on the history of the temple, the backgrounds of all of the gods represented inside, and the nature of Buddhism in general. The most fascinating building was a small temple full of sixty medium-sized statues. In China, years are traditionally represented in lunar years, and sixty lunar years is considered one life cycle. So, each statue represented a god presiding over a specific year in the sixty lunar year cycle. Once you go through all sixty, you go back to the first god and start over. In essence, each year has a god watching over it, and if that specific god happened to also preside over the year you were born, you can pray to him for luck and protection. One of the caretakers was nice enough to explain all of this to me and show me to my personal god, the one who took care of 1988. I have to say, I rather liked him. He had a really cool blue armored suit, a very respectable mustache, and held a dragon in his arms. You wouldn’t want to mess with my god.

After the visit, I met back up with Elise, stopped and had one of the new Christmas-flavored coffees at the nearby Starbucks, and saw the new 007 movie…for the third time. Hey, don’t criticize me for needing just a small taste of America.

For the rest of the day, I spent time browsing around the Lama Temple area. The Lama Temple is the second most famous temple in all of Beijing, the Temple of Heaven being the first. Unfortunately, I arrived too late and the temple was closed, but that didn’t stop me from exploring the area. Lama Street (yes, the street right by the Lama Temple), is a great place to cruise around. Because the Lama Temple belongs to Tibetan Buddhism, the whole street is lined with small little Buddhist stores. You can buy incense, prayer beads, statues, idols, candles, spirit money, etc. There are also lots of handcrafts and art stores, and some neat clothing stores as well. I like the area because it’s a good break from the ethnic homogeny you usually see in Beijing. Something I really miss about the US is the fact that when you walk down the street, you will usually see people of all kinds of ethnic backgrounds. In China, big cities especially, you primarily see Han Chinese. Because of the proximity of the Lama Temple, the Lama Street and neighboring hutong (traditional, old Chinese courtyard homes) areas are filled with Tibetans.
One of my favorite games to play in China is the “Check it out!” game. The rules are simple: if you see something relatively interesting, no matter how random or strange, you stop immediately, swerve over, and go see it. When I was cruising down Lama Street, I saw this potentially interesting looking ally. I walked down, rounded the corner, and saw this shop tucked away in a corner. I didn’t know what it was, but it had a big ying yang on it and I could read the words “feng shui.” I tried talking to the store owner to find out what it was, but unfortunately I couldn’t understand much. I took the store’s card, and when I arrived back home later that night I had my host family help me translate. Turns out it’s a name-giving store. The owner will help you choose a name for your company, product, child, etc. that has good feng shui and will bring you success and luck. Such stores can be very popular, although I was warned that you have to make sure you find one that is actually authentic. My former Chinese teacher’s parents actually went to such a store. The owner told them that she lacked the element wood in her body, and so they gave her a name that used the character “lin,” which has two radicals symbolizing wood.

Also while at Lama Street, I stopped into a potentially interesting store. It sold a special type of dried caterpillar used in traditional medicine. The caterpillar is especially rare and can only be found in cold, mountainous areas in Tibet. While I refrained from buying any caterpillars, I did have a great time sitting and chatting with the two owners. Both were from Tibet, but had moved to Beijing for jobs. I mostly talked to them about Chinese New Year and how they celebrated it; they asked me about Christmas. As we sipped tea, they recommended that I stay at the hostel close their store for New Year’s. They were friends with the owner, and the hostel was located in the hutong area. Since it was in a more local location, it would be a great place to see the holiday celebrations. I think I’ll follow their suggestion.

Sunday:

Sundays are usually my work days, which usually means I have a 12-hour period of solid productivity. Unfortunately, it also means that my day is usually very, very boring. I decided to mix it up a bit and make my Sunday more eventful, and so I went to Beijing’s Beihai Park to do my studying. Beihai Park is without a doubt one of Beijing’s most scenic spots. Located not too far away from the Forbidden City, the Park hosts a small lake, a large Buddhist white pagoda and other temple structures, large ponds full of golden carp and koi fish, and beautiful woods and greenery. Sunday was a great day to go since the park wasn’t too crowded. Although, of course, the cold weather might have also had something to do with it. A lot of Chinese dislike the cold because it is bad for your health. I’ve been told many times by my host family to always wear slippers in the house since walking on the cold linoleum floor can make me sick.

One of the most impressive aspects of China’s parks is that they’re always being used. Whenever I’m home, I always become so depressed when I pass the local parks and don’t see a soul in them. I know that especially in my home town, you never see anyone using the park facilities, making the whole place just seem sad and lonely. In China, the parks are always used and full of activity. Public exercise machines line the sidewalks, couples walk their dogs and chat, elderly groups meet to practice tai chi, breathing exercises, or traditional dance, and younger couples go on dates or bring their children to socialize. Point being, parks are always bustling with a healthy amount of activity, and on Sunday Beihai Park was no exception. I ran across a ballroom dance class and watched older couples tango and waltz across the old cobblestone lanes; groups of friends had taken over small pagoda pavilions to play cards, practice their singing (some even brought portable karaoke machines), or form mini-string quartets consisting of traditional Chinese instruments. There were also a handful of calligraphy artists practicing their handwriting. I always love watching the calligraphy artists. They use large brushes, which are often four feet tall, and write on the sidewalks. No, it’s not a case of vandalism. They use water instead of ink, so after a couple of minutes their scripts evaporate off the pavement. Other places in the park boasted more lively affairs, such as an adult choir complete with a small accompanying orchestra.

In the end, I spent the whole day at Beihai Park. I hopped from one scenic spot to the next studying, reading, and practicing my vocabulary for Monday’s quiz. Of course I also explored the park itself, too, and took the opportunity to visit many of the temple facilities and explore the park’s caves. The caves were fascinating. They weren’t too big and only were probably 20-30 yards long, but they were absolutely beautiful. Before they had been used as part of the Buddhist temple facilities, so as you descended you could see all sorts of carvings and paintings etched into the stone. There were also tons of small statues and idols of gods stationed protectively amongst the crags and grottos. I had a great time, especially since the caves made me feel oddly nostalgic. When I was little, I always imagined having my own secret cave full of treasures and ancient carvings. Exploring the caves of Beihai made me feel like I was walking through one of the fantasy games I created as a child, since the caves looked exactly like those I had visualized when playing with friends. How strange that I should actually find what I had imagined years later in China.

Well, you can only take so much nature in one day, and after a while I decided it was time to find a new spot. I decided to go to Houhai, an area right behind Beihai Park. So far this semester I’ve deliberately avoided the area. While the area is beautiful (it lines parallel to a river feeding into Beihai’s lake) and certainly worth seeing, many Chinese tease that all you see there is foreigners. Since the whole area is pretty much lined with cafes and bars, it really is no surprise that Houhai is so popular with tourists. I rather despise tourist-heavy areas in Beijing since I find them to be very showy, overpriced, and fake, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to take a look at Houhai and see what the big fuss was.

I really was pleasantly surprised in Houhai. While the streets parallel to the river literally were nothing but bars and coffee shops, the lanes behind them were full of fun, funky shops. They were still a bit overpriced, but that didn’t stop me from walking away with some very artsy, new clothes. I also discovered that around the area is a huge hutong district, meaning that when you turned down the alleys you got to see some of Beijing’s oldest, most traditional homes. My favorite part of the visit, though, was making friends with Guo Shujun, a local artist working in Houhai.


My encounter with Guo was completely spontaneous and a result of the “Check it out!” game. While walking down a street in Houhai, I noticed a rather interesting little shop nudged between two Western-style bars. To be honest, the place was so small I wouldn’t have even noticed it if I hadn’t seen two women walking out beforehand. The door was set back into the building, meaning you had to walk down a little ally about five feet long before you actually got to the entrance, and overall the entire storefront was no bigger than a closet. It looked a little out of place, especially since on the left was a big poster advocating “NFL Sundays!!” and on the right was a large picture of a sombrero and the Chivas whiskey logo. I figured it was worth a shot, and walked into the little store. The whole store was probably the size of a classroom. In one corner was a rather discombobulated desk covered with scrap pieces of cloth and a sewing machine, and the rest of the store was lined with everyday piece of clothing. However, on each article was a beautiful picture or design of some sort. They were stunning – pairs of jeans sporting large, elaborate phoenixes, blouses with red and blue dragons swirling around the sleeves, what would otherwise be plain dresses covered in murals of peacocks and flowers, etc. When the store owner, a gentleman in his late 50s shuffled out to greet me, he told me that he was an artist and had hand painted everything himself. We quickly hit it off, and he invited me to sit and have some tea. We chatted for a bit about current events, my life in Beijing and back home, and his work (yes, all in Chinese!) and in the end we ended up swapping cell phone numbers. I promised that after returning back to Beijing from winter break, I would bring back a ton of my old clothes for him to paint.

Well, that was my weekend. I hope it gives you a glimpse of what life can be like here once you get settled in. Just because you’re not in your home country doesn’t mean you still can’t make it your home.

In case you haven’t noticed, my updates are going to be a little more sporadic in the next coming weeks. The semester is quickly coming to a close, which means...yes, you guessed it…FINALS. Woohoo. Next week I literally have a test or a paper due every day. So, until things start to calm down a bit I’m going to have to take a break from the blog so I can, well, study. However, please stay tuned! Until next time.

Hail to the Chief

Lyndsey’s Strange but True Sightings:

1. After the Olympics ended, all of Beijing’s street vendors came back. Most of these vendors sell fruit, snacks, maybe some odds and ends like socks and seat covers. Not too long ago I saw one selling goldfish and baby turtles. During a weekend trip I also saw one selling puppies.
2. I ate a chicken head.
3. Let’s talk about touchie feelie. Generally speaking, the older generations are very distant in terms of physical contact, but the younger generations are certainly not. It’s very for women to walk down the street linking arms or holding hands, and guys seem to be more open with each other as well in terms of dancing and hugging. As an American, this was very strange for me to see. After all, in the US if you saw people acting that way, you would assume they were a homosexual couple. Not so here. The concept of “personal space bubble” and displays of friendship are different here. However, this doesn’t seem to apply to relationships between different sexes. Now, I have seen some couples all…over…each other, but when I’ve talked to some younger Chinese people, they’ve told me they wouldn’t consider kissing their boyfriend until maybe three months into the relationship. Interesting…

During the spring 2008 semester, I remember sitting in a dorm room at Carnegie Mellon, friends huddled around biology text books strewn all over the floor, listening vaguely to the presidential primary debates sounding through the TV. While trying to study, it suddenly occurred to me that this would be my first year voting. However, there was one slight problem. When everyone would be casting their ballots, I would be in China, an ocean away from any voting booth. What could I do? I feel very strongly about voting and so wanted to make sure my voice was heard, especially since this was my first opportunity to raise it. Thankfully, the US lets foreigners and soldiers abroad vote through an absentee ballot system. By contacting my state representative and filling out specific forms, I was mailed a ballot, which I then returned to Indiana. Although I was relieved that my study abroad experience didn’t interfere with what I consider to be an American duty, I will admit the whole process was very strange. As the months rolled by, it really struck me how eerily quiet everything was. I heard no TV advertisements, no media hype, no red-faced reporters screaming and bickering about who was better: Obama or McCain. It was just me and my other students discussing amongst ourselves over oolong tea and dumplings and reading online coverage. However, despite the more peaceful environment, as November approached, we could all feel the anxiety and all of our focus turned towards Election Day.

November 4th was on a Wednesday, which is everyone’s favorite day here in the IES program. There’s no Chinese class on Wednesdays, so we have the whole morning free and don’t have to wake up at the normal early hour, which is usually around 6:30 or 7:00. However, this week no one slept in. Instead, we all huddled into the small IES library and, as we loaded our systems with coffee, dumplings, and what the Chinese claim to be orange juice, watched a live streaming of the election results from CNN.com. That’s right. Thousands of miles away (and technically, in the future), I watched the election the same time as all of you. I saw Indiana do the unthinkable and turn blue; I saw McCain bow out of the elections for good; I saw Obama’s speech to the people after it was declared he would be our next president. I witnessed the first African-American become a US president, a turning point in American history, and I did it all from China.

When I returned home that night, I was surprised to see my host parents watching the tail end of China’s coverage of the election. I didn’t expect them to be so involved in the results, but I soon found out otherwise. They told me that, in fact, they were very concerned with the American presidential election since the results would not only affect Chinese-American relations, but world politics as well. Upon some further inquiring, though, I think my host parents’ attitude is an exception, not the norm. Coverage of the American election has been relatively small, and the Chinese seem to know little about McCain or Obama. Considering the knowledge the average American has on foreign politics, though, I’m in no position to criticize. However, what I found to be particularly interesting was China’s depiction of the elections, particularly the election results, in the media.

Between my own observations and a discussion with one of my teachers, I realized China took a very politically oriented approach in handling the US elections. Relatively little coverage was given to the race itself prior to November 4th. The only newspaper articles my teacher ever encountered were a couple of editorials that popped up every once in a while concerning Obama. In these articles, it was said subtly, but very clearly, that should Obama win, it was by no means an indicator of American democracy at work. After all, Obama’s half white, meaning (a) Americans wouldn’t really be electing a minority and (b) in the end, he was just another product of the capitalist regime. During the actual election, coverage given to Obama was pitifully little. About 20 seconds of TV time were dedicated to the main points of his speech, but strangely enough, quite a bit of time was spent reflecting on the 2004 elections. Coincidence? I think not.

Here I should I explain a bit about Chinese media. All media is controlled by the government. Newspapers, magazines, TV shows and news channels, everything has to report to the CCP in one form or another. The only slight exception is the Internet, but that is only because it’s so difficult to handle and the government hasn’t exactly been able to properly manage it yet. There have been a lot of improvements in Chinese media and it’s not just a government mouthpiece any more. The government no longer directly funds media organizations; instead these companies have to find their own funds or use private industries to support them financially. While this is a step towards following the West’s example, the government’s role in media control is still strong, something that was evident in the US political elections coverage. But if you’re like me, you may wonder, “What’s the point? Why the slanted coverage on the US elections?” Well, think about this: when do you think China will elect its first Uyghur, Mongolian, or Tibetan president? How might these minority groups react if they were to be told that, yes, America did in fact elect a minority member as its next leader? What might that do to the CCP and its legitimacy, especially since their relationship with certain minority groups is shaky enough? And what kind of message might it send to the average Chinese, especially the up and coming youth, about the Western multi-party, democratic system? After all, if you really do regard Obama as a minority, might that indicate that, yes, the American dream really does work and truly anyone can become president? How might people react to that, especially since in China if you want to advance politically you absolutely have to be a CCP party member and adhere to party ideology? In the eyes of the CCP, a party that has sole control over China’s government, the possible “what ifs” left in the wake of America’s 2008 elections are better left unanswered. The best way to ensure this situation is, of course, to make sure the questions themselves never arise in the minds of the people. This is where the media comes in.

Now, I know as a foreigner I don’t understand everything about the media situation, but I’ve seen my fair share. When visiting an exhibit on the Sichuan earthquake, there were very few photos or facts given to document the actual destructive damage of the earthquake itself and the effect it had and continues to have on people living in effective areas. Instead, it only showed People’s Liberation Army soldiers rescuing refugees from the rubble and political officials posing with refugees. Coincidence? I think not. There is also a reason why every Chinese person you talk to says they only rely on the Internet for their news coverage. I’ve been told more than once that I shouldn’t read newspapers or watch TV news broadcasts while I’m here because I won’t be receiving accurate information. I guess the point is, when in China listen to everything with a touch of salt.