The Great Wall Story

"He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man." Mao Zedong

Well, I guess that means I'm a true man now. It was hot the day we
climbed the Great Wall, somewhere around 40 degrees… Celsius (that's
nearing 100 degrees Fahrenheit for those who still use that system). The
climb to the Great Wall was long and sweaty, nearly a half an hour
straight up awkwardly spaced stone steps. We climbed the Great Wall
section at Mutianyu, a less traveled section restored during the Ming
Dynasty. The entire way up weary sightseers wished us well with shouts
of 慢慢走 (man man zou, go slowly) 加油 (jia you, lit. "add oil" but
really more like a you can do it!) and 很近 (hen jin, very close!). My
incredibly wise, farsighted roommate brought multiple bottles of water
and a shady umbrella. I brought my camera, a half empty bottle of
pomegranate juice, and hopes to look glamorous at the end of our climb,
obviously a Great Wall novice. Atop the Great Wall, I realized my wish
to look glamorous for posterity was not a possibility, but these
pictures are definitely a testament to heat of Chinese summers outside
of Beijing and the unexpected length of the climb. I appear sweaty and
triumphant against the amazing backdrop that only a world wonder can
provide. They don't call it the Great Wall for nothing, I mean you can
see this thing from space. I might be indulging in a romantic view of
the Great Wall that was mostly constructed by hard labor performed by
political prisoners, but once put into perspective, the Great Wall
really dazzles. The Wall has a history over 2000 years long, initially
started during the Qin dynasty. Large sections returned to dust after
Manchu armies stormed the Middle Kingdom, but eventually large sections
were rebuilt to salvage this wonder for the tourist industry. Set off by
clear blue skies and deep green foliage, the Great Wall provided also a
beautiful view of the country side below. Lined with watch towers every
200 meters or so, we only made it through three before we had to call it
a day. In the distance, winding about through craggy mountain passes,
one could see the Wall, dotted with the occasional watch tower, for what
seemed to be miles. Had you asked my fifteen years ago if I would one
day be standing on top of one of the world's most famous locations, half
way across the world from my home nonetheless, I would have told you to
get lost and let me learn to tie my shoes. I know this post is a little
cliché, EVERYONE writes about the Great Wall, but I feel like I would be
neglecting a huge part of my China experience if I did not talk about
the Great Wall.

Descending the Great Wall is another story all together. We decided to
use a more relaxing (this is questionable) mode of transportation: chair
lift. Now this is not one of those plush, enclosed, air-conditioned
contraptions. We rode down the Great Wall in something that looked fit
for an elementary school playground. This chairlift was merely a wooden
bench with a lap bar suspended by a suspicious look wire 200 feet above
the ground. Don't worry Mom, I'm still alive. My other choice was a
luge-like slide down the Great Wall. Both looked equally perilous, but I
actually got compensation from my academic program for using the chair
lift. I guess they thought the chair lift was less of a risk. If I ever
get back to the Great Wall (for those glamour shots?), chairlift is
definitely the way to go. Less sweat and more excitement. At the bottom,
we were assaulted by hawkers that lined the streets with Great Wall
memorabilia for "best price". I did buy myself a wonderfully campy "I
Climbed the Great Wall" t-shirt, but at a different location at a
different time. It is now my favorite sleeping shirt. My experience on
the Great Wall was not as glamorous as expected, but it was definitely
worth the hike. Taking in the view from a giant wall with a history that
is older than the Common Era is pretty amazing.

Best, Kelsey

Sorry for the delay....

Here are a few pictures from the Summer Palace mentioned below. Coming
soon... a new blog post from the Great Wall!

Learning to Live Life Like a Beijinger

Speaking Chinese all day, every day is no easy feat. I feel like I am
currently working with the vocabulary of a four year old and I
constantly feel illiterate. My Chinese spoken grammar is generally
horrible. I do have accidental flashes of genius when I can hold
conversation for more than two minutes without whipping out my Chinese
dictionary on my iTouch. My program here in Beijing requires that I
adhere to a language pledge, so I technically cannot speak English at
all. I've had some slips, but generally I try to use my limited Chinese.
The first few days were so frustrating, I felt like I had mental
constipation. I know this is a pretty graphic image, but it is the best
way to describe that horrible feeling of being unable to communicate. I
know a lot of Chinese words, but sometimes I just can't get them to come
out of my mouth.
My Chinese roommate has been awesome. Her name is Xiao Qing (晓清)and
she is adorable. Our initial conversations have been pretty awkward due
to my limited Chinese vocabulary and listening comprehension, but she
has been super patient with me. Often we just laugh about the way I
misuse Chinese words or the crazy charades I have to use to communicate.
Lately, I have been explaining Carolina college life to Xiao Qing. I
have been finding that a lot of our traditions don't really translate.
Try explaining the origin of a fight song or a mascot or Carolina Blue
in English. Now fly half way across the world and try explaining all
this in Chinese. It's not too easy. For those who are fans of Old Crow
Medicine Show, she loved the song Wagon Wheel. For those who don't know
the song Wagon Wheel, it is a folksy song, heavy on the banjo, about
Raleigh, North Carolina. If you are from Raleigh, it is definitely worth
a listen!
My classes here are super intense. I learn in a day what would take a
week or a week and a half of classes at UNC. We studying four lessons
per week, covering a month of college material. Every Friday, we take a
comprehensive test and then write an essay about a topic of our choice
over the weekend. Obviously, my free time is limited and some of it is
spent napping. It is crazy how physically tired I am after only sitting
in class all day. I think there is something about learning Chinese and
immersing myself in language that really takes it out of me. Still, I
try to have fun. This weekend, we went to the Summer Palace. This place
was HUGE. Chinese Royalty used to take refuge in the Summer Palace to
escape the sweltering heat of summer in the Forbidden City. Opulently
decorated bridges, pagodas, and houses lined the banks of the glittering
Kunming Lake. It was a little bit overcast and hazy on the day we
visited the Summer Palace, but despite the less than ideal weather it
was still beautiful (see pictures above). While walking through the
grounds, I was asked more than one time to take pictures with random
Chinese people. It is kind of interesting being a rarity here (white)
because sometimes it feels like I'm famous. I'm obviously not famous,
but I really enjoy surprising these people with my Chinese and making
funny faces in their pictures. I always take pictures with the curious
few who ask to take my picture, so the cultural exchange is a two way
street (see pictures above). Traversing the grounds was more of a
pilgrimage than a relaxing stroll, especially when we hiked up steep
stairs and rockeries to get to a few Buddhist temples adorning the
slopes of Longevity Hill. The hike was worth the view (see pictures
above), and it was my favorite part of the entire visit to the summer
palace.
Sorry it has been so long since my last post, I have been trying to get
accustomed to life here in Beijing. I feel like if I'm not studying or
attempting to make conversation in Chinese, I need to be sleeping so I'm
not an angry, culturally frustrated American. I will try to post more
often, but it seems like I will only have time on the weekend to write
blog posts. I miss all y'all in America!

Best, Kelsey

Here are some pictures...

of me eating scorpions on a stick!!

Wild China

So, this has been the craziest week ever.

On Friday (the 18th), we went to the World Expo. I kind of mentioned it
in my last blog post, but it was so incredible. The vastness and the
obvious amount of money put into the Expo was amazing. Nearly every
country had a pavilion filled with information about business, culture
and technology organized in the most ingenious ways. Wealthier
countries with business interest in China built the larger, more
impressive pavilions. The lines to get into the pavilions seemed to
follow the money because the more impressive the pavilion the longer
the wait. While waiting in line, everyone seemed to be in this
ridiculous competition to push their way to the front. It was hectic
and hot and at times really frustrating. The line for Saudi Arabia was
nine hours! Because we were only in Shanghai for a day, we decided to
skip the longer lines and see as many smaller pavilions as possible. I
was able to see a few bigger pavilions: Iceland, Turkey, Switzerland,
and Morocco. Switzerland was by far the longest wait of the day. We
stood in line for four hours, but it was definitely worth the wait.
There was a chair lift that took you on a ride above the pavilion and
gave a great view of the Expo and Shanghai. We also used Chinese to
make friends with this little old lady who spent the entirety of the
four hours in the Switzerland line trying to push past us in line. She
said she was at the Expo alone, but I think it might have been a ploy
to jump to the front of the line. Iceland was nice, its pavilion
contained a giant room with images projected on the ceiling and the
walls to create the illusion of actually being in Iceland. Argentina
was cool because we got to watch the World Cup on a huge screen while
sitting on a lawn with a huge crowd of mixed nationalities. Everyone
was so excited when N.Korea beat Greece. Somehow, my friend Mary
Catherine figured out you can jump the line at Morocco by saying hello
in Arabic. The guy at the front of the line literally said nothing and
opened the gate with that one word. It was awesome! We really wanted to
see the China pavilion (it is a HUGE pagoda in the middle of the Expo),
but they give away all of the tickets at a random gate in the morning.
If anyone reading my blog is going to the Expo and wants to see the
China pavilion, go to the information desk near the China pavilion and
tell them you are only in Shanghai for one day and you leave for
America the next day. They apparently give tickets to people who depart
the next day. Wish I would've known that little fact!

As we talked with people in the crowd at the Expo, I noticed that these
people came from all over China. In fact, while we were in Shanghai we
saw more tourists than actual Shanghai residents. It seemed like
tourists outnumbered the people who actually live in Shanghai.
Robert,our guide, explained how it is incredibly expensive to buy real
estate in China. It is about 1.5 to 2 million RMB (approx. 200,000 to
300,000 USD) to buy even the smallest apartment in Shanghai. Young
people in Shanghai can only make about 18,000 RMB per year
(approx.2,571 USD), so buying real estate is nearly impossible. It
makes me wonder who can live here and how people make ends meet. Robert
said there is a saying in Chinese about an old Chinese woman and an old
American woman. When the Chinese woman dies, she says she is happy she
finally saved enough money to buy a house. When the old American woman
dies, she says she is happy she got to buy the house. The saying
doesn't make perfect sense in translation, but it is a good way to
illustrate a difference between China and the United States. For the
most part, Chinese real estate is owned by the government. A person can
pay to live on the land, but when they want to move on or they die, the
government repossesses the land. The government then sells it to the
next "owner". Robert explained that a person can technically own the
land, but that person cannot sell the real estate when he moves. I'm
not sure if Chinese people sell back their land to the government or
merely give it back, but either way their is no appreciation and no
built up equity. That is why it becomes difficult to purchase housing.
Life in Shanghai seems very high stress because the cost of living is
so high compared to individual income. People seemed obsessed with
saving money, buying property and staying in the city. When we traveled
to Hangzhou and Suzhou, life seemed a little more relaxed and more
enjoyable even though the cities were a little bit sleepier. People
still have to save money to buy property, but cost of living is much
lower.

Suzhou is a hub for famous Chinese art. Along with the famous gardens,
Suzhou is the center for famous Chinese painting, silk embroidery, and
all other forms Chinese art. People travel from all over China to learn
from the masters in this area and be in the creative center of China.
The gardens in Suzhou were so beautiful. We visited two different
gardens. One was the Master of the Nets garden, a smaller garden on the
interior of the house meant to look like a mountainside lake in rural
China. The use of space was amazing, making a small interior courtyard
feel like a completely different location. We also saw the Humble
Administrator's Garden which was a sprawling labyrinth of flowers,
trees, bridges, pagodas and water features. We got to see paintings by
local artists while visiting the Master of the Nets garden. Chinese
traditional painting is so delicate and beautiful, inspired by Chinese
calligraphy and natural world so integral to life in China. We also got
to see a working silk factory and trace the production of silk from
worm to finished product. Did you know: silk worm poop is used to fill
special inserts that can be put in pillows to lessen back and neck
stress from spending lots of time on the computer? Really. They were in
our pillows in the hotel in Hangzhou. They are hard and tiny and not
gross at all, but just knowing I was sleeping on worm poop was kind of
awkward. I opted for the other pillow.

So all of the hotels where we stayed had Chinese breakfast buffets. A
hot porridge with little bits of meat and veggies to mix in, boiled
eggs, steamed buns, fried rice, a vegetable dish etc... I walked into
the breakfast buffet in Suzhou and they approached me at the front of
the buffet line with a "Western" breakfast plate. A fried egg, bacon,
fake ham (spam?), a club sandwich, coconut cake, a muffin, and Nescafe.
They looked at me like I was crazy when I got up and poured myself some
tea. The sentiment behind the breakfast was nice, but I thought their
conception of an American breakfast was pretty funny.

Hangzhou is the tea capital of China. Supposedly, Dragon Well tea is
the best green tea in all of China. I thought tea was just tea, but
man! this tea is strong! I drank just a little bit before this blog
post because I was dead tired and I am typing about a mile a minute.
Hangzhou is a beautiful city with many shady, tree lined streets and
old architecture. We visited a very old traditional medicine hospital
in the middle of Hangzhou. This place was so cool! When I walked in, I
swear my lungs felt better. Chinese traditional medicine has been
curing people for over 5,000 years. Some people don't believe in its
curative properties, but I think I might give it a try in Beijing. I
have problems with asthma, and I would love to find a way to breath
easier in Beijing. The hospital was a beautiful place, filled with
specimens used to cure anything from bad skin to heart problems.
Hangzhou was beautiful and I really hope to return in the future!

From Hangzhou, we took an overnight train ride to Beijing. Let me tell
you, trying to fit two months of luggage for three girls into one
overnight train compartment was not easy. Somehow we managed to shove
all the luggage into the cracks and corners of the car, and I still
don't know how it happened. I felt like I was on Platform Nine and
Three Quarters because I was taking the train to school. Surprisingly,
I really liked the train ride! It was really relaxing to sleep on the
train, so much better than a bus or a plane. It was sad to see our
guide Robert go, he was so helpful and such a good friend by the end of
our trip. He is a tour guide now, but he told us that he might open a
restaurant business with his friends from back home in the next year.
When I return to China, I can't wait to visit his restaurant!

I feel like I am getting less awkward in Chinese, so that is definitely
a great development. Right now I am staying at the Beijing Institute
for Education. We got here around 7 am. I have managed to pick up a
better Chinese accent and now more people respond to me immediately
when I start to speak Chinese. It's so awesome!! Today I ordered food
at a restaurant for the first time by myself in China. It was great and
spicy and so wonderful because I ordered it myself! Also, whoever
invented the Chinese dictionary for the iPod=genius/my hero. It has
helped me SO much on this trip. Every day here is so novel right now, I
feel like I am in a constant dream. The concept of being on the other
side of the world makes everything seem so unreal, especially with the
constant travel over the past seven days. Now that I am in Beijing, I
will be able to set up a schedule. I feel like it will be easier to
settle into life, Chinese style.

Shout out to my brothers Chad and Ty: they have individually wrapped
hot dogs for snacks here! I saw so many people eat them in line at the
World Expo, so you guys would fit right in here in China. I thought the
solo hot dogs were funny, so I bought a couple to take home for you
guys.(See picture above)

Hopefully my next posts will be a little bit shorter than this one now
that I have consistent wireless. Feel free to post comments, because
all comments are all emailed to me, It's like getting mail from back
home,and it's so nice to hear from you all! Welcome to Beijing!

Best, Kelsey

Weekend Update

Hey everyone!

Internet is kind of a problem here...like it is almost impossible to find. Luckily, Mary Catherine Beck is a genius and set up some sort of VPN crazy proxy thing and now we can get internet access with no problem. Awesome!

The past couple days have been crazy! I have seen and learned so much about Shanghai. We went all around the city and then to the World Expo. That place was ridiculous. There were so many people and so many things to see. Each country has a pavilion at the World Expo, and to get into the coolest pavilions the wait can be anywhere from three to nine hours. The longest wait of the day was at Saudi Arabia (9 hours), so I decided not to waste my time in that line. My favorite pavilion was Switzerland, with a chairlift ride that showcased their ingenuity and gave a great aerial view of both the Expo and Shanghai. Unfortunately, all my pictures are gone. Yep, all of them from Shanghai. I decided it would be a great idea to change my camera's language to Chinese. As soon as I did that, all of my pictures were gone. I really don't know how it happened (it was probably my fault), but at least McKay and Mary Catherine (the other girls on the trip) have pictures I can steal.

Shanghai was an interesting city. Our tour guide Robert has been so helpful with cultural ideas and insight about the city. He told us about Shanghai Girls, the giant real estate bubble in China, the interesting origin of city names in China, and the one word we have to know to understand Chinese people (mianzi, face). I have so much to blog about and so much more to say, but I don't have enough time to write it all down. Once I get to Beijing, I will do a comprehensive update with all the funny and interesting situations I have encountered. For now, know that I am having a great time and learning so much about China.

Best, Kelsey

Welcome to Shanghai, 别放味精 (don't add MSG)!

So, I made it to China!

The plane trip was pretty uneventful. My phone was stolen. Fortunately, due
to heavy water damage that rendered it almost impossible to use about four
months ago (it was dropped in a toilet), my phone was found abandoned on a
tram at the San Francisco airport(it is now being shipped to my parents).
The last text message I sent was "I joined the circus", so not only did I
learn a lesson about responsibility today but I also learned that sarcasm
is not the best mode of humor via text message and water damage is the best
insurance.

My seat mates for the thirteen hour leg of my trip were Craig and Sue and
they introduced themselves two lovers/folk dancers from the West coast. I
think they were around 50-60ish. They were headed to Shanghai to take a
"folk dancing river cruise" down the Yangtze River. Sue claimed to have
been a former actress/world traveler who dated Dennis Hopper sometime
around 1969. I suspect she was a little bit senile, but in the most
endearing way. Her lover was Craig the weatherman, a seemingly stoic figure
until he started talking about the forecast or folk dancing. He had been on
about ten other folk dancing cruises around the world before this cruise on
the Yangtze. The pair actually met at a folk dancing festival in Arizona.
Sue told me that I should find a mate who was kind and boring, not fun and
exciting like her ex-husband. Craig did not seem to like that insight at
all. So these folk dancing lovers entertained me for the entire thirteen
hours.

So after twenty-five hours of travel I finally arrived in Shanghai! Flying
into Pudong International Airport, one could only see partitioned fields
and wind power turbines through the dense fog (smog?). The airport was
actually about forty minutes from the heart of Shanghai, so there was not
great aerial view of Shanghai during our descent.

Getting through baggage and customs was pretty simple, and we were met by
Peggy, a girl filling in for our CET guide. Peggy is studying to become an
English language tour guide, and was very cheerful and helpful. We had to
wait an hour in the airport for the last member of our group. So there I
was, in the middle of a whirl of Chinese language, the signs , the chatter
of the crowds, the overhead pages...everything. The cool thing is I can
understand a lot of what I am seeing and hearing! Peggy called our driver
and took us to this Sichuan restaurant near the hotel (which is really nice
BTW). In the car and at the restaurant I finally broke the ice with my
limited Chinese conversational skills. I talked about family, my major, and
food. Basic stuff really. The Chinese in the title of the post is
pronounced "bie fang wei jing" and means don't add MSG. While the group was
trying to figure out how to convey this wish in Chinese, the owner/waitress
of the restaurant heard us and feigned anger as she yelled "bie fang wei
jing" back at the kitchen. I laughed out of surprise due to her blatant
sarcasm, she laughed at she realized I understood what she was saying and
the driver decided to ask the waitress to not add MSG with every dish she
brought out. It was the first time I have really ever experienced humor in
Chinese. It so nice that this is my first time in China, because I have so
many questions and I am actually good at asking questions in Chinese.
Question asking really takes the pressure off of me because I can ask a
question, and while the Chinese speaker is answering I can think of another
question. Communication is not too hard. If everyone continues to be
patient with me like they were today, I really think that I have a good
change for workable fluency by the end of the summer.

Okay, now I need to sleep and get rid of these giant, water retentive
kancles. So excited to be in China!

Best, Kelsey