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