Yummy!!

The Modern Toilet Restaurant

Just take a moment to soak this in....notice the urinal lighting on the walls, the giant pink "poop" statue, the toilet seats, the food and drinks are all served in ceramic urinals, in toilets, in bathtubs, on ceramic toilet seats. The employees were all dressed in their Halloween best to top off the experience. Only in China, folks. Hahaha and I guess Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea....

A Little Taste

Well we found the small world park in Beijing...it only took us three hours and we got their right at closing. I plan on going back to this park so there will be more pictures next week. Since we put so much time and effort into finding it we at least had to take some pictures outside the gates. It really looks like a Chinese Disney World.

Great Wall Adventure

Ok so here are some of the last pictures of the Great Wall. The Great Wall trip was an optional over-night excursion with only 35 of the 70 IES students. We took a bus from campus at 11:30 Saturday morning and headed over to the wall for an excruciatingly long 10km hike (about 6 miles I believe). I was not prepared for the physical activity on so many different levels. First of all we were told it would be cold on the wall so I was wearing winter boots and flannel. I was really hot and I should have worn tennis shoes. I was also carrying a purse when I should have brought a backpack. In addition to all that I was dumb enough to think one bottle of water would suffice for an afternoon of really intense climbing. Parts of the wall are really poorly maintained and bricks of falling of all over the place. You also have to be really careful where you step because some of the bricks slide even though they look like they are firmly set in place. I just had no idea how steep sections of the wall are either. Most of the time you were either climbing straight up or climbing (falling) straight down. Just imagine trying to walk up stairs that are so steep your stomach is touching the stairs in front of you.... yeah. Then "walk" like that for 6 miles. It was rough to say the least. We had beautiful weather (would have been nicer if I was properly dressed), and luckily the wall was basically empty the weekend we chose to visit. Basically this experience was about accepting the good with the bad. The wall was indeed beautiful and breath taking, but 5km in I was ready to keel over and die. We also had to maintain a hardy pace so we could catch a bus to a village before nightfall. More on the village later :)

Shopping!

Recently bought a winter wardrobe at Forever21 and the underground market. The Forever21 is located in the Wangfujing district right between the Gucci store and Burberry....yeah. I must admit I felt like the richest person in the world shopping there. The prices are really comparable to the United States Forever stores, but compared to Chinese clothing Forever is super swanky. No wonder a lot of Chinese assume that Americans are all really wealthy because we can afford to drop a couple hundred kuai at Wangfujing.

Interesting Tidbit

While reading our lesson text the other day the American students came across an interesting paragraph explaining why Chinese youth will give up their seat to an elderly person on the bus, but Americans will not. The next day in class we talked about this with our teacher who explained the Chinese tradition of respecting the elderly and caring for the young. Our teacher explained how important it was for the Chinese to take care of the elderly, but when we told her that in the United States people also give up their seats on the bus/subway she was shocked. She said Chinese people know how important equality is to Americans, so they were under the impression that American youth do not surrender their seats to pregnant women or those older than them because they believe they are equals. We tried to explain how equality in the States usually refers to the equality between men and women or the equality between different races or religions, however we still have something called courtesy which usually applies in the situation she was talking about. It was a really interesting moment when two cultures came together and talked about misunderstandings and cultural norms. I was so intrigued because the Chinese (at least our teacher) completely misinterpreted how we apply the concept of equality in our everyday lives. Oh, and a little side note: the Chinese have two words that mean "to respect" one of them has a stronger connotation that is only used when you are talking about respecting the elderly, teachers, or national leaders. The word used to respect your friends and peers is completely different.

Dairy Queen in the Land of Chicken Feet

Empress Dowager Cixi's Marble Boat

The infamous marble boat built by the equally infamous Cixi. The funds used to build this useless vessel were supposed to be used to modernize the royal navy, but Cixi felt this little beauty was more...useful? Marble boat, navy...chabuduo (close enough). The boat is actually made of wood and painted to look like marble, but now a lot of the pain is peeling and you can see the wood underneath.

THIS CHILD

So one of the highlights of going to the Summer Palace was getting to take pictures with the absolute most adorable baby on the PLANET. Feast your eyes on his cuteness, but be warned that it might be hard to look away. I wanted to steal this baby. No joke. We were admiring him from afar and when his mommy noticed she immediately handed him to Leslie and started taking pictures. I really wanted to hold him too, but I didn't get the chance to :( he was just a giggling ball of baby pudge and happiness wrapped in layers of fluffy cuteness. This just reinforces the fact that I want to adopt a hoard of fat, Asian children when I grow up.

Summer Palace

Leslie, Caroline and I chose a really terrible day to explore the Summer Palace. Although the temperature was nice the pollution was particularly lihai (potent). The air just felt thick and my throat got really irritated. Leslie and I often wore our scarves over our mouths...it hadn't rained in a while which always makes the pollution worse. These pictures were literally taken in the middle of the afternoon. There weren't any clouds in the sky, but you still couldn't see the sun. From now on I am always going to carry my face mask in my purse so I don't get stuck unprepared again. The Summer Palace was an absolute blast!! We had a TON of fun running around and taking ridiculous posed pictures. These girls are just great. After the Summer Palace we went shopping at the underground market near the Beijing Zoo. You can't bargain there but the prices are really fair and it is only locals, we didn't see any other waiguoren (foreigners). I finally feel prepared for winter weather!!!! I did not bring enough clothes to China and now the evenings are really cold. Anyways the shopping at the underground market was just amazing the the selection was so impressive. Then we stopped at DQ for a quick afternoon snack. Yes. Dairy Queen. We found them in China and they have BLIZZARDS!!!! Different flavors from the ones in the States, but they still do the thing were they serve it upsidedown and if it falls out then you get it free. That evening we went to Wudaokou to party it up for Halloween. We ended the night at a great club. It was a successful end to a very successful (and tiring) day.

The Great Wall of Pain and Suffering

I will have to explain the title of this post in great detail later :)

Great Wall

Some pictures from the Great Wall trip. There is so much to say and I am tired now, so I will get back to this later. I am just trying to get some new stuff up on the blog :)

Waterfalllllll

Grasslands

Inside a Yurt

Welcome to my humble abode. If someone were trying to sell a yurt there is a lot they could say. For instance, they could mention that these yurts come equipped with electric lights and outlets for heating pads (non of which are functioning properly). Or you could mention that each yurt also has a bathroom (with a freestanding toilet not connected to any sort of plumbing system). It would be wise to point out the design of a yurt is meant to keep its inhabitant cozy warm during any season on the grasslands (but fail to mention that actual Mongolian yurts were covered inside and out in insulating fur, something that these yurts lacked). The yurts also have doors (that only open when coaxed--except in the middle of the night when they will open without the slightest touch, and only close when firmly kicked)! And if you purchase your yurt now we can guarantee that it won't be built on a sloping hill so you surely will not slowly slide off your cot and onto a concrete floor at 3:00am (oh, wait those are not available). Basically a yurt is the perfect home for any family, so you should totally look into buying one right now.

My Little Yurt

My Little Yurt should be a TV show, it could be just like My Little Ponies but it would feature these adorable things. Seriously, everybody loves yurts...its just fun to say "yurt" and they are round. Round things are cute, that is a scientific fact (babies are cute and babies are basically round, point proven).

Yurts here, Yurts there, Yurts EVERYWHERE!

And that is the way it should be.

Pretty Waterfall

Mongol Yurt Village Thingy

Russian Border

This is as close as we could get to the Russian border. Only Chinese and Russians are allowed to cross this gate even though they are still technically in China for several hundred more feet. If the land had been flat we would have been able to see the opposing Russian gate, but the area was really hilly so the landscape blocked our view of Mother Russia unfortunately.

Say Eggplant!

This is one of my favorite pictures from the Dongbei trip because I look like such a world traveler :) sorry to toot my own horn, but I was just really excited when Jayson took this pic (especially because most of the pictures he takes are out of focus...I still love you to death Jayson!!!) Also, you know how Americans say "cheese" for pictures? Well Chinese people say "eggplant" (qiezi) because it sort of sounds like cheese..... haha. I was really confused for a long time, but I just figured this out!

How are these so cute?

I think I need one of these...possibly in the foyer of my first house, or maybe just sitting in the front lawn ready to greet guests as they arrive? It would be great for storage, image how many bags of Butter Lovers popcorn would fit inside!!! Just add a door and its a second pantry...the possibilities are limitless.

Giant Russian Nesting Dolls!

Press 1 for English, Press 2 for Mongolian

In the United States there is this idea that if anyone comes to "our" country they need to be able to speak "our" language. This is a very complex, and often political, issue and I couldn't help but compare the American perspective with the Chinese perspective when touring Dongbei. Throughout the Northeast there is an abundance of ethnic minorities that may be politically Chinese, but they speak a variety of languages and sometimes practice very different lifestyles from the typical Han Chinese. In most towns you don't even have to look at the people to know there is a diverse population in the area, just look at the shop signs. This shop sign has Mongolian, Chinese, and Russian. If people in this area had the same attitude as some Americans they would never be able to communicate with their neighbors and local dialects along with minority customs would be at risk. America is certainly a melting pot, but there is another term, "salad bowl," that is used to describe places where multiple cultures come together but they maintain their distinctiveness rather than adapt to the majority culture. I think China may be somewhere in the middle.

Gotta Love Locals!

This is the group of locals in Erdao Baihe that we taught how to play frisbee. We basically invited anyone who was in the vicinity to join us and after several declined we got this group together. This is one of my favorite memories from the Dongbei trip because even though we could barely communicate with these people we were able to play and laugh together. It may be cliche but smiles really are universal, and they probably bring people closer than using a common language.

Sorry Guys :(

I know posts have been light (well, non existent) the last couple days. I've caught a nasty cold that is really disrupting my life right now. I went to the doctor on Sunday so everything should be cleared up soon, but I probably won't be posting until I feel better. Peace.

More Zoo Pics

I really got some nice photos today, surprisingly the animals were always right up near the glass or fence. I think it might be because they know they can get food that way. Unfortunate, but did make for some nice photo ops.

Beijing Zoo

Today I went to the Beijing Zoo after doing some homework in the morning. I primarily wanted to go see the pandas, but it turned out to be a bit of a let-down. People had told me the zoo was going to be depressing, so I kind of expected what I saw. The habitats in general were pretty terrible, but I was actually more irritated by the visitors than the zoo itself. People knocked on every glass surface they saw, threw food and trash into the enclosures, yelled at the animals, and generally were very unconcerned with the whole situation. I suppose there is some cultural difference here...I am glad that I saw the pandas, but I have very mixed feelings regarding the experience. Except for this one ring-tailed lemur who was all like "talk to the hand." He was pretty cool :)

KFC Fun Time

All adventurers need some KFC every now and then. Lets face it, eating all that steamed stuff and veggies can get exhausting after a while. It is just courteous to give your digestive system a little fried treat to remind it of what its missing back in the States. Don't worry I have kept my diet sufficiently balanced here in China. I make sure all major food groups are covered on a daily basis, including rice, green stuff, meat-like substances, ice cream, and oil. The Chinese sure do love oil.

Temple of Heaven

It is said when you stand on this stone and shout to the heavens God can hear you :)