Epic Beach Adventure, with culinary tidbits

So I should be working on my final report that’s due next week, but there’s this little thing called procrastination…we all know how that goes. To fill you in on my current progress in the lab, I still haven’t been able to synthesize much more besides borax and table salt. If I never actually told you any details about my experiment and the compound I’m looking to produce, all you need to know is that I have no use for borax and salt. I have about a week left in the lab, so we’ll see if I hit the jackpot.

In other news, this weekend was our epic beach weekend, and I think I’ve finally recovered from the lack of sleep and excitement of the ocean. I really could go on and on about my satisfaction in sitting by the ocean and having a horizon to stare at, but I won’t bore you.

Our beach adventure really started early last week when Nebromaha and I went to purchase the train tickets for everyone with one of our grad students. To buy a train ticket you must go visit the whole in the wall counter where a lady looks up the train you want on her computer, prints the ticket, and you give her money. In the internet age, this seems pretty complex, but there’s no e-ticket option. And there is also no option to buy tickets on the fastest train that leaves at the best times when you’re a foreigner and don’t have time to go half way across the city to show your passport. We learned this only after waiting in the line for half an hour, forcing us to return to the office and look up some other potential trains. After much back and forth with the lady at the computer on round 2, we finally left with our tickets. And not just any tickets. They were the cheapest tickets, under 15 dollars round trip, and in other words, the worst seats possible. 4:50 AM Saturday departure from Beijing, arriving after 8 AM in Beidaihe, with the return train leaving Beidaihe at 11:50 PM Sunday, arriving in Beijing at 3:30 AM Monday morning. And we had no seats. These were standing room only tickets. Needless to say, we were in for quite the adventure.

After work on Friday, Nebromaha and I stocked up on food at Tsinghua for breakfast and lunch. We also stopped at the grocery store for some other supplies and I made probably the best four dollar investment I’ve made in a long time – the fold up stool. These proved to be invaluable, because no one actually stands for four hours on a train, regardless of what their ticket says. Most people come prepared with a stool so they can sit in the aisle. This was something we were alerted to ahead of time, and it made all the difference. The stools also got carried around for much of the weekend, which made for a fun game to find the most random places we could pull them out and take a seat. (I think that escalator won.)

Returning home with everything we needed, we stopped for a quick nap before heading off at 10 PM. In addition to the stool tip, we were also told that we needed to get to the station incredibly early. Our friends told us it would be easiest if we slept at the station, something that’s fairly common. Leaving at 10 allowed us the chance to catch the subway before it closed for the night. Arriving at the Beijing Railway Station, we realized we were in for quite the night. The huge square outside the station was full of people camping out for the night on a few sheets of newspaper. We found our own spot and circled up like travelers on the Oregon Trail with their Conestoga wagons. Bags in the middle, then the stools. We sat for a while, drinking our radiation grade Mountain Dew, thinking “are we really doing this right now?” (Mountain Dew comes in the most ridiculous neon green bottle here.) But this is a normal night at the Beijing Railway Station. We didn’t come prepared with newspapers and couldn’t find any place to get one, so we just slept on the ground in shifts (the surface really wasn’t too much harder than our beds at the hotel).

Next step: get on the train to Beidaihe…along with the rest of Beijing. This is where all rules are thrown out the window along with personal bubbles, and the pushing and shoving begins. Being the smallest one, I was strategically chosen to lead the group. Once through the ticket check it was a sprint to the track, and the mobs quickly grew at the car entrances. This wasn’t the first stop for the train, so it was already packed with people, many of whom had to first get off before we could shove our way on. As they literally fell out of the train one by one, we continued to push and shove along with everyone else jockeying for position. Although all of us had tickets for the train, this in no way guaranteed us a spot. This was the how-many-clowns-can-we-fit-in-a-Volkswagen-beetle game, Beijing Railroad edition. Luckily, the four of us all managed to get on safely.

I lucked out, able to squeeze myself next to a family that was lucky enough to have seats. My stool fit great right next to the small table between the seats, getting me out of the aisle. Now you might think that an aisle packed with people is pretty useless as an aisle, but every few minutes someone would come barreling through, searching out the bathroom or the food car, forcing everyone to squeeze even closer together. This got old really quickly, but amazingly everyone seemed to be in a good mood, especially considering the circumstances. There were very few eye rolls or frustrated sighs when the next person came crawling through the aisle, disturbing everyone else. In such close quarters, the stranger sidled up next to you quickly became your new best friend. After the initial angry pushing and shoving, everyone seemed to happily enjoy their journey.

The train ride really was the most exciting part of our weekend. The beach was great. Definitely busy and commercialized, but to me it didn’t much matter. It was the ocean. We caught a bit of a snag trying to find a room for the night, as most places were already full or don’t accept foreigners. But we finally lucked out with a two story bungalow for less than 20 bucks a person, which was probably the last room in town.

The highlight of the weekend, besides the ocean, was our dinner on Saturday night. I had heard that Beidaihe is famous for their fresh seafood – really fresh. I decided that my goal for the weekend was to eat a fish that I had chosen out of the tank myself, a common occurrence at high end restaurants in Beijing, but an ordinary culinary experience on the coast. However, this was no ordinary culinary experience for us! After picking our fish from the rows of tanks, the man snatched it with his net, and then “smack!” He swung the fish up over his shoulder in the net and threw it as hard as he could on the ground. And then its tail stopped flipping and it was dead. But I am confident to note that this fish did not die in vain. It was no doubt the best fish I’ve ever eaten. It was served whole, lightly fried, with some sort of sauce and spices. And in about the same amount of time it took for the fish smacker man to kill the fish, it was gone, because we devoured it! I even tried an eyeball, but it was crunchy and weird. I don’t think I’d recommend it. But all that was left of that fish was the tip of its tail, its jaw, and spine. Fish from our Gloucester fish share will just never be the same.

The rest of our time at the beach was fairly uneventful. We slept, read, played in the sand, got sunburned – typical beach activities. The train ride home was also rather uneventful, a pleasant surprise after the last trip. It was much less crowded this time around, and we managed to hit the jackpot and find a table with four seats. We arrived back at Beijing Railway Station unscathed, only to then be completely ripped off by our cab driver on the way back to the hotel. He wanted to agree to the price ahead of time (a high price) while we kept pointing at the meter. At 3 AM you don’t really have any other options, so we sucked it up and headed home for a few hours of sleep. It was back to work again on Monday morning. I learned that I have indeed inherited the Trescott sleep gene, as I pulled one of those head bob nod offs while my grad student and I were analyzing my samples using the scanning electron microscope. This, by the way, was right after my bro date with four of the guys from the lab who took me to a dumpling restaurant for lunch because I told them I like dumplings and they ordered cow intestine and chicken feet just to give me a hard time. The cow intestine was a win, but the chicken feet not so much. I decided I’m not really into eating toenails…

Betty

Climb Every Mountain

Sorry for not writing in a while. I’ve been pretty busy lately. And by busy, I mean that I’ve actually had to enter the lab a few times during the week instead of sitting at my desk all day. I still haven’t been able to synthesize the compound I’m trying to, but no real surprise there. Start praying to the chemistry gods!!!

Anyways, I’ve done lots of exciting things lately, and they all share a common theme – climbing. First was the drum and bell towers a few weeks ago. The stairs were about a foot tall each and incredibly steep, making for a fun ascent. If you think of some simple trigonometry, the taller the triangle, the larger the incline, thus the need for some incredibly steep stairs. I realized that if the empire had figured out the spiral staircase technology, life would have been a lot easier if you were in charge of sounding the drums each day. But unfortunately for the seven guys who continue the tradition and play each day on the hour for tourists like us, this was not the case. The brief performance was one of those make your heart vibrate kind of shows. Also more views of Beijing from the top. The more I see it from above, the more I realize just how big it is!

Next stop in the climbing tour – Fragrant Hill. The name comes from the fact that the peak apparently looks like an incense burner, but who knows. This hill or mountain (whatever you want to call it) is at the edge of the western edge of the city, a fairly easy bus trip from our sweet digs. (The digs are not actually all that sweet, but someone makes my bed every day, so I can’t really complain).

The park was just what I needed – some nature. I’ve been having nature withdrawals for the past few weeks. The city thing is fun, but it’s beginning to get a little old. I just want to see some birds, hear some good nature sounds, and boy what I wouldn’t do for some ocean. (More on the ocean to come. Epic beach weekend in the works!) The park was an excellent, exhausting day, and my butt muscles were certainly feeling it the next day. Most of the paths are lined with steps leading up to the top, but we also did our fair share of off-roading. Not only am I a Trescott, but I am also a recent graduate of “Adventure Club”, Malawi chapter. So, when I see a fence in the woods with a clear path on both sides, my natural instinct is obviously to take the path and jump the fence. A few of the others needed some convincing, but after a steep climb through the trees, a pee break, and some serious wrestling with the overgrowing branches, all agreed the fence hop was worth it. The climb was certainly a workout, and our picnic lunch of dumplings at the top was well deserved. More excellent views, and you could just make out the city center through the smog and haze. It was a blue sky day though on the mountain, which are a real treat here. Oh, and I forgot to mention the Party singalong that we happened upon on our hike up. I really did start to feel like I was in the Sound of Music, climbing a mountain to the voices of a few hundred people. Who knows what they were singing about, but it made for a good climbing soundtrack.

Fragrant Hill was certainly a fun adventure, but it was only just a warm-up for this past weekend’s fun. One of my neighbors was in China on business, and decided to make a stop in Beijing for the weekend. And what is the number one thing that one has to do when they come to Beijing? Hike the Great Wall. So, that’s just what we did. Well actually it was a bit more complicated than that, because first you have to get to the Great Wall. When the Beijing Bible as we call it (my awesome tour book that gets us everywhere) tells us to take the bus to Huairou where we should transfer to another bus, I don’t really question it. But, it was the first time I lost faith in the book, because when we arrived in the city of Huairou, instead of one stop, there were about ten, and instead of a second bus, there were only minibus drivers wanting to rip you off and sketchy unmarked taxis. Regardless, we did make it to the wall (by way of the sketchy unmarked taxi, of course).

The Great Wall is truly breathtaking, and for two reasons. One, the views are absolutely amazing. I scored again with an excellent blue sky day and high visibility. The mountains are similar to those on Lost, and I almost felt like I was on the Island, except there was no water. The Great Wall is also literally breathtaking. It’s a tough climb! You can opt for the gondola which will take you up to the wall, but once you make it to the wall, the fun has only just begun (and by fun, I mean hard work and lots of sweating). There were relatively few people at this section of the wall, but once we made it to a certain point, everyone hiking down would pass on some words of encouragement and let us know of the real treat waiting for us at the top – a section of the wall that hasn’t recently been restored. It’s odd, because there’s a sign which tells visitors that this area of the wall is forbidden, but then directly past it there are two vendors selling cold bottles of Coca Cola and beer. This is not the first time I have found that no entry means entry in Beijing. It seems to happen all the time in subway stations.

After hiking down to the other end of the wall, to cap off our excellent day we decided to take one of the alternative options of getting off the mountain – the toboggan. The non-Trescott grandfather instincts were making themselves known. It was certainly a this-would-never-go-over-in-America activity, with no formal signed releases or safety equipment, but I think that always adds to the fun. And the signs advising you to lean into the turn are the icing on the cake. The ride was great, and a perfect way to finish the day.

Now I just told you about my visit to the Great Wall, and you’ll say, “Oh, that’s nice, Betty went to the Great Wall.” But I really didn’t give you any idea of how great it actually was. It’s one of those you-had-to-be-there moments. The pictures might help (but the files are too big and I don’t want to screw them up trying to post them, so you can’t see them now). But it’s one of those things you really just have to see for yourself. I’m sorry. Maybe this is my excuse for being lazy and not wanting to write more, and it’s definitely a bit corny, but really, the Great Wall is pretty great.

There is one more item on my list of things I’ve climbed lately. (Cue Bob Barker voice). It’s a new bike!!! It’s been graduation at Tsinghua University, and I say it like that because for the past two weeks I have seen someone in a cap and gown every day. Regardless, this means that a few of our friends in the lab are moving on, and one was kind enough to loan me her bike for the rest of the summer. She’ll be working on the other side of the city, and I guess has no need for it. This is great for Nebromaha, as he no longer needs to drive me to work and to breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, but it’s been an adjustment for me. This is also where the climbing comes in. The bike is a bit too tall, and the mount and dismount can be challenging. I still haven’t mastered the one legged push and jump over that looks so graceful when executed correctly, but I will say that I’m getting pretty good at the dismount. This is less fun when trying to dodge vehicles in the middle of an intersection, but I guess I’m here writing this, so it’s worked out so far.

Hope you all had a good 4^th of July. Fireworks are illegal in the city, and diet soda doesn’t exist in this country so there were also no Diet Coke and Mentos explosions for us.

Betty

The Toast Of The Town

Apparently these things need titles, but I don't like titles and Papa Trescott has probably been giving them lame ones when he posts for me, so this is what I've chosen for today.

I guess it’s about time for what has become my weekly update. I’ve accepted the fact that I’m not so good at this whole blog thing and posting on a regular basis. Sorry to the loads of you who I’m sure are compulsively checking for updates. Anyways, here are a few things I have to share.

This weekend I was invited to a luncheon on Saturday to celebrate those graduating from my lab group. I brought Nebromaha along because I’ve crashed many of his lab group’s events in the past, plus I needed a mode of transportation. (Nebromaha continues to drive me around on the bike, and we’re pretty much experts at this point. He’s getting some serious Lance Armstrong thunder thighs, and I’m becoming a balancing pro—I can now pull the “look, Mom! No hands!” trick with confidence. I am also incapable of riding the bike myself because it is too big.) The lunch was held at a restaurant on campus, and it was the traditional Chinese family style with twenty different dishes squeezed onto the table’s built in Lazy Susan. These meals are excellent because there is always something new and exciting to try. This meal was especially good because of the added entertainment.

This was not the first celebratory meal that Nebromaha and I have participated in, so we thought we were prepared for the festivities. The Chinese people like to share their appreciation for one another. This makes the meal a marathon toasting session. Everyone stands up and toasts. Five minutes later three people get up and toast each other. A couple toasts a few minutes after that. Someone toasts the group. This is all well and good, and makes for an enjoyable time.

But I have forgotten one part of the equation. The alcohol. Now, it is no surprise that these students might celebrate their graduation with a few drinks at a nice luncheon with their professors. Now here’s where the real dinner entertainment comes in. In Chinese culture, when toasting someone, it is imperative that you finish everything in your glass as a way of showing your friendship and appreciation. This makes for a great drinking game! Especially when the glass is full of traditional Chinese paint thinner quality alcohol. (Needless to say, Nebromaha and I declined.) This game is particularly challenging if you are the professor or one of the graduating students, when everyone wants to show you their deep appreciation, and you the same. It was clear after the first twenty minutes of lunch that these people had no other plans for the day, and frankly, I have no idea how some of them were able to get on a bike and ride home. My professor was MIA after the first half hour, a few were passed out with their heads on the table an hour later, and at two hours, the hitting on the foreign girl game began. This behavior might be commonplace at a frat house, but at an upscale restaurant at noon with a handful of professors, this is a completely different story. But it certainly made for a fun afternoon.

Now that I’ve got the drinking out of the way, here are some random things I’ve wanted to share. And believe me, they’re random…

· In China, it is not inappropriate to spit out your guts anywhere you please while making the most disgusting noises possible. This is an aspect of Chinese culture I really can’t stand, and it usually makes me feel like puking.

· There is always something malfunctioning in one of our hotel rooms. Air conditioner, internet, toilet, electricity, you name it. But someone always magically appears to fix it right away, even at ten o’clock at night.

· Dairy products are very hard to come by, so I’ve had to satisfy my cravings with ice cream. (What a shame.) But we splurged yesterday and went for pizza. I am still basking in the glory of melted cheese.

· One night last week I visited the Olympic park. It was magical, and I just kept thinking about Bob Costas, inspirational Visa card ads, and Michael Phelps. We can’t wait to go back to enjoy the indoor water park in the Water Cube.

· This weekend at Tian’an Men Square, there were about fifteen workers scrubbing the pavement with what appeared to be toothbrushes. Wow!

· If you think low tide smells are good, come to Beijing. The smells never cease to amaze me. I’ll be walking along when all of a sudden a wall of stench will hit me. The majority of the time, the source of the stench is a mystery.

· To those of you who have expressed concern about the helmet situation, you should know that the only people in Beijing who wear helmets are the Mcdonalds, KFC, and Mr. Pizza delivery guys.

That’s all I’ve got for now. Work is picking up, so it’s time to be productive.

Betty

The Yin And Yang Of Tourist Attractions

This past weekend brought us to two of Beijing’s most famous tourist attractions—The Forbidden City, and the Silk Market. The former, a reminder of a vast and ancient empire, the latter, a slap in the face by the modern empire that is consumerism. Both sites made for an excellent weekend, giving us a better sense of Chinese history and culture.

The first thing that must be said about the Forbidden City is that it’s big. Really big. If you ever thought that Versailles was a needlessly large palace, think again. The Forbidden City goes on and on, massive gate after massive gate, plaza after plaza, you get the idea. The more you walk, the more the various buildings blur in your mind. This is where the emperor signed important documents. This is where he watched military exercises. This is where he chose his concubines. This is where he sat and picked his nose. There seemed to be a place for just about everything. And to really help you remember each and every pavilion, the names were quite original, for example, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony. There was just so much harmony in the Forbidden City!

After our trek through the grand estate, we headed for Jing Shan Park, known for its large hill that provides excellent views of Beijing. There was far less harmony here on this day as we watched a fight break out at the top of the hill and for another reason which I will get to soon. The park sits on the north side of the Forbidden City, and the large hill at the center is actually a product of the huge palace’s construction. When the protective moat was built around the palace walls, the excavated dirt was piled high in order to protect against any threats from the north. The five minute hike up the stone steps to the top was not too strenuous, but this was quite a big deal for Nebromaha, as it was his first “mountain” climb. We picked what at first appeared to be about the worst day for this activity because the infamous smog of Beijing was out in full force, completely covering the city. Visibility was low, but this did not detract from some amazing views of the city from above.

Tired from the morning, we decided to relax at the top for a while to enjoy the views. Observing the grey sky, it’s hard to tell whether you’re looking at simply storm clouds or clouds of toxic dust particles that will probably one day give you cancer. Well, on this particular day at the top of Jing Shan Hill, we were seeing both. This became clear as the lightening show began. This was incredible, and definitely worth the thirty cent admission to the park. And then the wind and rain came. (It was one of those new cutting edge 4-D viewing experiences.) Most were able to take refuge under the pavilion, but I, along with one of my fellow students who will be known as Steve for his fine Steve Irwin impressions, didn’t quite make it. With the sideways pelting rain, we figured we could hide behind the stone steps leading up to the pavilion. Unfortunately, the rain took us anyways. This had both its pros and cons. On one hand, it cooled us down. I was actually shivering, and decided that this will likely be the only time I will ever be genuinely cold in Beijing. But remember those clouds of toxic dust particles I was talking about? Well all those pollutants were now all over my skin, saturating my clothes, skin, and hair. And how did I know this? Because the apparent size of Beijing had just increased drastically as you could now see for miles. The smog was completely gone, having been washed away by the storm. This was excellent, as it made for some incredible views as the storm front moved on. I’d say it was even worth the pollutant soaked clothes! Overall, it was an excellent day!

Now to the Silk Market. The Silk Market is every girl’s dream: four floors of knock-offs. Ralph Lauren, North Face, Nike, Lacoste, Gucci, you name it, and you can find it at the Silk Market. According to my Beijing tour book, which has so far done me well, the Silk Market is the third greatest tourist attraction in the city following the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. While at the Forbidden City you might struggle to note the differences between each building, at the Silk Market there’s no distinguishing between the twenty different stalls all selling the same shirts, jeans, or purses. And then there are the sales people in their matching red vests. “Hey, pretty lady, you want silk scarf?!” “You, American girl, you need purse?!” Needless to say, I dropped some cash. But don’t worry, this is China, and China is cheap! (To give you an idea, I spent about 20 cents on breakfast this morning.) The Silk Market, being the immense tourist trap that it is, didn’t provide quite such excellent deals, but I put on the bartering game face and got to work. There’s definitely room for improvement in my game, but I’d say my parents taught me pretty well back in the day at the Cairo bazaar. My favorite strategy is the act serious, hear the price, chuckle, walk away, listen to the number plummet, turn around and buy.

It was definitely a jam packed weekend, and we’re looking forward to more adventures! I already ate chicken skin and pigs ear this week, on a Monday no less. So if this trend continues, I think it will be a pretty good week.

Betty

I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar

I don’t often like to think of myself as a woman or adult. Sure, I’m
twenty, a legal adult, but when it comes down to it, I would still
classify myself as a kid. That is, until now. I feel that I have
officially reached woman status. Here’s how it happened.

So far, the one thing I just don’t like about China is that there is
no laundry fairy. I hear that you might be able to coax her out of
hiding, but only for a lot of money. Being a Trescott, and therefore
cheap when it comes to things like this, I refuse to pay for the
laundry fairy’s services. So, I have resorted to washing my clothes
by hand. I will never complain about having to do laundry again at
school. Ever. Hand washing is really not all that bad, but the only
pro I can actually think of is that I’m saving some energy by not
using a washer and dryer and instead I get a good triceps workout.
Cons include the fact that it is very time consuming, I can never
manage to rinse out all the soap so I still use a ton of water and my
clothes are crusty when they dry, my shirts are slowly stretching from
wringing them out, and I have little confidence in their resulting
cleanliness.

Last night was yet another designated laundry night. This was all
well and good until I discovered the t-shirt I had worn running two
nights before. It had rained that day and there were still quite a
few puddles all over the track. (Stay tuned for a post on the track
soon.) This didn’t seem too bad until I got home and took my socks
off to reveal an incredible mud faux sock tan line. This was fine,
nothing the shower couldn’t fix. The shirt, however, was a different
story. The entire back of my t-shirt was covered in mud spatter. So,
when it came time for laundry, I was less than excited.

After the normal wash cycle (I picked this up in Malawi) there was no
evidence that I had even tried, as the shirt was still covered in mud.
Disappointed, I decided to leave it soaking in the sink while we went
out for our nightly run. (The track was dry, so no chance for a
repeat.) When we returned, the shirt was still just as dirty as when
I left it. This is where the entrance into womanhood comes in.
Against my will, I tore open the cellophane package of the toothbrush
provided by the hotel, slathered on some soap, and started scrubbing.
Yes, you heard that right. I caved to the toothbrush—every mother’s
secret weapon. It’s one of Mama Trescott’s favorite tricks for any
stain, and whenever I watch her in action, a little part of me thinks,
“Boy, you’re crazy.” But there I was, scrubbing away. And when I
woke up this morning after leaving the shirt soak for the night, it
was like magic. Clean! Either my work had paid off, or the laundry
fairy had made a special visit while I was asleep. Either way, I have
decided to put more effort into staying clean. We shall see. It’s
difficult when you inherit your father’s sweat genes and it’s over 85⁰
in the office.

But speaking of the office climate, they are actually installing an
air conditioner right now as I type this! I cannot begin to express
my enthusiasm. I am seriously excited to come to work on Monday.

Betty

Highlights And Lowlights

It has been a while since I last updated you on my whereabouts. I’ve
done quite a bit during my first week in Beijing, so I guess I’ll just
share some of the highlights and lowlights.

First of all, let’s talk about work, because that’s the reason I’ve
come to China in the first place. Here is a sample day in the life of
Ali at work last week.
8:30- Arrive in the office. (No one else is there).
8:30-9:00- Attempt to get on the internet/check email without success.
9:00- Someone else finally shows up.
9:30- Bathroom break.
9:45-11- Read scientific papers.
11:00- Bathroom break.
11:30- Lunch on campus.
12:45- Nap.
1:00- Bathroom break. (There are no windows or air conditioning in the
office and it’s disgustingly hot, so I drink lots and lots of water).
1:15-eternity- Read scientific papers.
5:30- Dinner on campus and return to the air conditioned paradise that
is our hotel.

So that pretty much sums up life at work. My grad student tells me
we’ll be starting work in the lab tomorrow. I’ll believe it when I
see it.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, we can talk about the fun
stuff. The Chinese were celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival this
weekend, so we had Monday off from work. In addition, my weekend
started early on Friday as I joined the other American student working
at Tsinghua and his lab group for an afternoon of Karaoke. I will
refer to this student as Nebromaha. We’ve given him this nickname
because he’s from Omaha and we like to give him a hard time. But he’s
also the one who drives me around everywhere on the bike, so I can’t
be too mean. Anyways, Nebromaha and I participated in what has got to
be one of the best aspects of Chinese culture: Karaoke!!! To warm up,
one of the Chinese students picked us some Michael Jackson (no
surprise there). Besides listening to our Professor sing his heart
out to what we decided was probably the Chinese equivalent to Justin
Beiber, the highlight of this experience was singing along to “Can you
feel the love tonight”. I know that when I hear this song all I can
think of is Simba, Nala, Timone, and Pumba. However, the Chinese
Karaoke video producer had obviously never seen The Lion King and
instead settled for the 80s bikini model at the beach. Oh, the irony.
The weekend took us to various parts of Beijing, as we are curious to
explore the city. Saturday we walked and walked and walked and
walked. (I am my father’s daughter when it comes to getting around a
city.) We discovered a great park not too far from our hotel,
complete with different sections for leisure, chess, fitness, and
discussions. But this park had far too many rules. I think the sign
had probably about 20 of those red international no symbols.
On Sunday I was invited to a Chinese cultural festival by one of the
students in my lab group. So, I dragged my friends along, having no
idea what we were getting into. After the two hour subway/bus ride we
arrived at a small park. Everyone taking part in the festival was
wearing traditional Chinese clothing. The traditional dress is being
forgotten as it was previously made illegal by You Know Who, so the
point of the event was to celebrate these traditions. This sounds
nice on paper, and it was something we wouldn’t have otherwise got the
chance to see while we were here. However, organization was greatly
lacking, and nothing really happened. This was an ideal example of
the hurry up and wait phenomenon. We all agreed that the highlight of
the event was definitely the traditional Chinese music.
By the time Monday rolled around, we were all very exhausted after the
last few busy days. There has got to be some sort of equation
relating work output, temperature, and exhaustion. It is hot! And
our bodies know it. So, we decided to take it easy in the morning,
and in the afternoon we hopped on the subway towards the other side of
the city to visit the Chinese National Art Museum. The traditional
art was absolutely gorgeous, but besides one exhibit with works from
the late 40s, all of the art was from the last few years. (You Know
Who at it again.) After this we hopped back on the subway (it’s dirt
cheap) towards another part of town to visit the markets, and by
markets I mean the you-are-a-tourist-how-else-can-I-rip-you-off
markets. Nebromaha was first to cave to the pressure but it was a
good test of the waters. We’re all ready to return to put our
bargaining skills to the test!

And now that the weekend is over, I’m back to work. But I’ve only
spent about an hour of the day so far doing work related things
because thankfully my grad student has not given me the gift of six
more scientific papers that really won’t help me understand my
research. So, I’d say it’s a good day!

Betty

Fun On Two Wheels

Sorry for the delay, but I have come to discover that Chinese censorship also includes a block on this website. My brother seemed to have no issue with this two years ago, but I guess that times have changed, so we'll just have to adapt. So, from now on Papa Trescott will be uploading my entries from back in the US.

So after 53 hours in transit we finally arrived in Beijing! I could spend a long time blabbering about my current disapproval of the airline industry, but it's really not worth it at this point. However, I must share just how in awe I was when checking in at JFK to be issued a boarding pass with my fellow traveler's name on it (he had already checked in and received his own boarding pass with the same name). How is this possible?! I suppose it was good that the TSA lady denied me for having the wrong name, forcing me to wait another 45 minutes in her line after correcting the issue, but come on!!!! Okay, I know I'm boring you at this point, we've all heard enough about the TSA with their full body scanners and whatnot. Time to move on to the fun stuff!

Today I did many things involving vehicles with two wheels that might make my mother cringe, but they would certainly have made her father proud! While in these situations when I briefly stop to think, "What on earth am I doing?!" I like to consider the second part of that statement, rather than the voices of my mother. (Sorry, Mom!)

1) I rode a bike without a helmet.
2) I rode a bike without a helmet through the busy streets of Beijing. Although the university I'm working at is not in central Beijing where I'm sure the traffic is much worse, this is still as good as any Boston traffic plus bikers, more pedestrians, rickshaws, motorbikes, etc.
3) Not only did I ride this bike on the busy streets, but when we came to an intersection (I was following one of our host grad students), his directions were to cross directly through the intersection, one corner to the other. I looked at him in absolute awe. You want me to do what!? But as the light changed, it was like the parting of the Red Sea, allowing us to go right through!
4) I rode on the back of a motorbike driven by a stranger. Well he wasn't quite a stranger, I've known him for a little over an hour, and the second I hopped on he informed me of his recent accident. Nice!
5) I rode on the back of a bicycle driven by my fellow American student. (We're not strangers so really there's no cause for alarm). But oh wait, with one bike, two people, two backpacks, and very little experience in Beijing biking, this made for quite the adventure, and we're already excited for our ride back to campus in the morning!

So there you have it, Mom. Bikes, motorbikes, no helmets, lack of experience, and busy traffic -- the perfect combination! But I have yet to get hit by a bus, so I'd say we're starting off pretty well. We'll just have to see what the future holds!

Betty