November 19, 2008

祝我生日快乐! It’s my birthday and I’ll blog if I want to

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“祝我生日快乐!” That’s the birthday song in Chinese — set of course to that most international of birthday song melodies. “Zhu wo sheng ri kuai le” to be exact. I heard those words, along with the American version, in class today. There was a cake: Chinese-style with lots of fruit and whipped cream. There was an awesome pin that says, “I <3 China!” There was even a bright pink cardboard birthday crown. I shared my special day with another classmate, who just so happened to be turning 10 years younger than me. Man, I feel old.

This marks my first birthday outside of the US. And amidst the birthday calls, emails and Facebook postings — I love how the internet has helped make countless people’s special days more special because of the friendly social app birthday reminders — I took time to reflect on how lucky I am that I’m not only able to have this grand adventure, but that I have so many wonderful people in my life everywhere around the global. And more so than any certain locale, those friends and family are my “home.”

A special shoutout to my honey who surprised me not once but twice today. This is especially hard, as I use my wily ways to spoil most surprises; I’m a glutton for punishment and have little patience. I awoke to a gigantic American-style (read: fantastically fatty and of gigantic portions) breakfast and then, upon returning home, walked in to a huge bouquet of the most stunning bouquet of gorgeously fragrant roses I’ve ever seen and a set of hand picked and strung pearls (necklace, earrings and bracelet) from the Hongqiao Pearl Market. Sean researched the best places to go and bought them at a boutique known for selling to heads of state and diplomats. Apparently Condoleeza Rice also bought pearls there. Eat your heart out, Condi!

I’m off to trivia at Lush, a local bar, then perhaps KTV (karaoke) or a girls’ night out at China Doll or Bling, two clubs. But before I go, I want to give you all a birthday present: I’ll be updating every day for the next couple weeks. I’ve been chided — rightly so — for not updating more frequently. And there’s lots to tell. So it’s the least I can do to try to connect with all of you back home and abroad. So stay tuned … in the next few days I’ll recap my wild Halloween night, blog on Obama’s victory and what it was like in China, take you hiking at Xiang Shan, ask you out for a dance at Digweed and more.

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November 11, 2008

High Five: Our Five-Year Anniversary

From [08.10.25] Five Year Anniversary

Can you believe Sean and I have been together for five years? I certainly can’t.

It’s been five long and wonderful, adventurous years since Sealleen, as some of my friends have deemed us, came into being. You can read about how we met on my City Weekend blog, so I’ll spare the details and get right to how we celebrated.

Since GRE studies were consuming Sean’s life — he took the test on the morning of our anniversary — I happily made the plans. When it comes to planning, my A-type personality shines. After Sean returned home and lamented the annoying person playing guitar just outside the testing room’s window — I believe he was singing “Daisy, Daisy” — we headed into the heart of the hutongs, Nanluoguxiang. Every fall, the street hosts a festival featuring lots of handicrafts vendors, colorful red paper lanterns lining the “Lao Beijing” (Old Beijing) street and even some wilder events like a hutong catwalk put on by Plastered T-Shirts. We strolled the street for the afternoon, stopping at a tapas bar for a beer and my first Shandy (lemonade and beer).

From [08.10.25] Five Year Anniversary

While sipping our afternoon aperitifs, we were surprised by troupes of brightly-clad traditional dancers, the highlight of which was our first glimpses of the red dogs puppet-costumes usually associated with the Spring Festival (known to us as Chinese New Year). Most of the performers were rather old, leaving me to wonder if Chinese young people in my generation will one day carry on these traditions with such fervor and excitement. The China they know is quite different from the China in which these older folks came of age. It is amazing how much this country has grown and changed in just a few generations.

While lounging at the window, I also experienced another very different but distinctly Chinese occurrence: becoming a sudden celebrity. As I was drinking and gazing out the window, I started noticing people with large cameras stealthily slithering between the shadows to snap a picture of me. Eventually, the photog’s actions became more brazen, a few even expanding their tripods directly across from me. I don’t fancy myself a glamour model, and I also know that the shot must have been nicely set up, with the golden afternoon light spilling perfectly over the bar’s yellow facade, my face cocked out the window watching the passersby. But it isn’t an infrequent occurrence. Whenever I am anywhere that might attract some Chinese tourists, I get photographed. Sean, too. At first, it was odd. But, as anyone that knows me can attest, I’m a ham. So eventually, I just took it as normal. In this instance, I was so keenly aware of the photographers that I even made sure they got a clear shot. I may be a nobody back in the States, but it’s kind of fun to feel like a little bit of a star here.

From [08.10.25] Five Year Anniversary

Next up was our luxury 2.5 hours of perfectly pampering spa treatments. Massage is a big part of traditional Chinese medicine. In fact, it is believed that blind masseuses provide the best massages, and as a result there are a number of massage parlors in Beijing at which you can feel the supposedly healing touch of the blind masseuse. We went the more mainstream route, with an hour of full body Chinese massage followed by an hour of foot massage in a private room at Dragonfly, one of the nicer spas in Beijing.

For dinner, we went to a Beijing staple: The Courtyard. We indulged in three delicious courses and a nice bottle of wine — a rarity in Beijing — next to a beautiful nighttime view of the Forbidden City. We topped off the night with champagne at a beautiful new restaurant called Domus.

It was a lovely night that smacked of Beijing’s best. Cheers!

[08.10.25] Five Year Anniversary

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October 28, 2008

Women qu Yihe Yuan!: Summer Palace

From [08.10.19] Summer Palace Sunday

“Women qu Yihe Yuan!” Translation: “We’re going to the Summer Palace!” That was one of the earlier phrases I learned in Chinese so I was ecstatic to actually use it when I get into the cab. Recovered from our night of chuanr-ing, Em and I took a trip up to the Summer Palace in the Northwest of Beijing.

We couldn’t have picked a better day weather wise: The sky sparkled a beautiful cerulean and the fall color were just starting to appear. However, we should have know that everyone else would recognize that this was a perfect time to visit the Summer Palace. It was so crowded! Luckily, the park is huge, and found some tranquility once we ventured further into the area.

The Summer Palace was built as a retreat during the Jin Dynasty, but it didn’t become so grand until the Empress Dowager Cixi dumped loads of what should have been navel funds into its beatification. The grounds of the enclave encircle Kunming Lake, where you can take elaborately painted period-piece boats from one side to the other. We preferred to stroll around the grounds, enjoying this oasis in such a  big, bustling city as Beijing.

[08.10.19] Summer Palace Sunday

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October 24, 2008

Chuanr-n’t You Glad to See Me?

From [08.10.18] Tsinghua and night out

Last weekend, a bunch of went out to Sanlitun, the epicenter of Beijing’s bar scene. It’s loud, messy, crowded and, well, drunken. I’ve only been twice since being here, since it’s not really my thing.

However, in Sanlitun, one thing is as pervasive as boozy expats and semester-abroad college types: chuanr. That’s pronounced “choo-aarrrr,” a moniker with mildly onomatopoetic associations to the action you perform upon said chuanr. Chuanr is to Beijing as a 4AM slice of Rays Famous Pizza is to New York: drunk food. Instead of mozzarella and tangerine grease, Beijingers nightcrawlers devour kebab skewers of a number of delicious tidbits, including the ever popular beef and lamb varieties to some more exotic eats such as squid and vegetables (yes, vegetables are exotic in Beijing’s mainly meat-based diet).

Like the food carts that set up shop on W28th St. in NYC, chuanr vendors flock to any venue that is sure to vomit out hoards of intoxicated, and therefore hungry, patrons come closing time. For example, we live above what is probably the most pumping club in Wudaokou, Propaganda, and on any given night, chuanr vendors sling their skewers from makeshift grilled. And we’re talking MAKESHI(F)T: a long gutter-like concrete bar — like something you’d see at a construction sight — lined with hot coals and set on two work horses. Beer goggles don’t just apply to potential mates, it seems, because despite the questionable cooking methods, bargoers crowd around the vendors, ripping meat from tiny wooden sticks with gritted teeth, most often accompanied by some grunting or other animalistic behavior.

Since Sanlitun is so packed with hungry drunks, the chuanr vendors in the area come prepared to feed the masses with clean, large booths and skewers twice as long — and twice as expensive — as the small timers. Emily had never eaten chuanr before our trip to Sanlitun, and the pics document our night.

Also, there’s a few pics in the beginning of Tsinghua University. I’ll save a discussion of Chinese universities for another day, but I wanted to point ou thte pic of my in front of the domed building. Apparently, Tsinghua was modeled after MIT. I had a weird meeting of the worlds when I first saw that building.

[08.10.18] Tsinghua and night out

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October 23, 2008

Aloha!: Emily Arrives in Beijing

From [08.10.04] Emily Arrive & Mikey's at Coco Banana

Hawaiian history isn’t really peppered with invasions, but that doesn’t mean one of her daughters isn’t capable of invading Beijing. Because that’s just what my college roommate and friend Emily did on rainy day earlier this month. Em and I have been super tight for years, but haven’t lived in the same city for over five years. You can imagine how elated I was when I found out she was offered a job in Beijing.

I let her catch up on some much needed jetlag napping and we met up with Jimmy that night for drinks, dinner and dancing. Drinks were at Bed Bar (see previous post), followed by dinner at Cafe Sambal. All the guidebooks and Beijing blogs gushed praise for this hutong — yes, I’m a hooker for hutong hangouts — Malaysian spot both for food and ambiance. It lacked in both categories. Maybe when it’s full of dewy-eyed lovebirds and exotic expats it’s better. But when we arrived, we were the only party in the whole place and it felt kind of cold. Not to mention that the dirty martini Emily ordered had lemon juice in it. She had to show the bartender how to make it not once, but twice! Normally, I would chalk this up to an East-meets-West lost-in-translation issue, but this is a place known for its mojitos — which weren’t great either, by the way — so Chinese-only bar knowledge isn’t an excuse. The food was good, but not mindblowing. At least the company was spectacular.

Afterward, we stopped at a wine bar where, again, we occupied the space solo. This time it was a lot more fun though as I let loose on the playerless instruments on stage and we convinced our waitress to be an impromptu language teacher. Oh, and there was cheese! No matter how blah a place is, if there’s good cheese there, it’s a winner in my book.

We ended the night at a Beijing megaclub called Coco Banana. High end clubbing in Beijing is like that in New York: all about bottles and models. But there’s one unique twist here in the East: the guys play dice. Yep, dice. In fact, dancefloors tend to be smaller here to make room for the booths of dice. Also, there’s a lot of emphasis on private rooms, where groups can get away from the masses and indulge in KTV (that’s a fancy name for karaoke).

We didn’t have dice or karaoke, but we had one thing that probably no one else did: a friend who’s the DJ’s tour manager. My good friend Mike from NYC (now based in Chicago) tour manages for Deep Dish, the high power, high energy duo of DJs Sharam and Dubfire. Sharam was in town that night, which meant I got to catch up with one of my favorite peeps. After Emily and Jimmy pooped out, I spent the night up in the booth with Mike and Sharam, sneaking away a few times to throw down hard on the dancefloor. Can’t wait until Mike comes back in just a week with Dubfire!

[08.10.04] Emily Arrive & Mikey's at Coco Banana

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October 23, 2008

It’s Academic: Colleen Goes to School

From [08.09.09] School shots

I know, I know … it’s been a while. But, but, but … I have a good reason! Actually a few good reasons. The first is that I took the GMAT. Despite the testing room nearing 100 degrees Farenheit and the marker hardly working, I faired very well. More importantly, I’m just happy the standardized testing portion of my life has come to a complete close. Well, at least until I have to take my HSK Chinese proficiency test next July. Man, it just does not stop.

The second thing comsuming my life right now are business school applications, which are also going well but taking a lot of time and energy. I’m happy to inject my all into this process, however, because we’re not just talking about my future, we’re talking about the assumption of a ridiculous amount of debt. So, my life has been pretty boring lately.

One thing I get to see a lot of is school, so I thought I’d give you a quick glimpse into a day in the life as a Chinese language student.

I attend class 5 days per week, 4 hours a day from 8:30-12:30. There’s actually 2 full classes in that time (new lesson and review). At this point, everyday we learn about 20-30 new characters. My teachers are great and the class is well-taught and thorough. That said, we’re going really fast adn sometimes I find it hard to keep up. While the lessons are very comprehensive on reading and writing, speaking and listening are more difficult and, I feel, are not as emphasized. Mayeb it’s just my American ears having trouble reconciling this very different linguistic approach with my anglo and romance language background, but it’s hard, yo! Once I’m through this month — which I’ve dubbed “Black Hole October” — I’m getting a private tutor and a language partner.

While I’ve already mused on the bathrooms (which I’m SO OVER by now), I thought I’d show you some pictures of the campus at large. It’s actually quite beautiful, with trees sheltering quite green niches all around the grounds. There’s a few restaurants on campus that offer great food for ridiculously cheap prices. We’re taking a feast for 8 at 14 kuai/head. That’s $2!!!!

Here’s some snaps I took earlier this year. Enjoy!
http://picasaweb.google.com/nagrag44/080909SchoolShots#5245735221395899426

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October 3, 2008

Beijing Plus One: Jimmy Arrives!

From [08.10.02] Jimmy Arrives in Beijing

When I fist announced plans to come to Beijing, I expected the support of my friends and family, which I got in spades. What I didn’t expect was that a few of my very good friends, including my best friend, would be concurrently descending on China’s capital. First up is Jimmy, who arrived just a few days ago.

Jimmy and I knew each other from the way-back-when of our freshman year at college; he lived upstairs from me. He’s a lawyer now (and I’m still a student. LOL), and is here doing some lawyerly duties. It was a fluke we even learned we’d be here at the same time. When I sent out the email about my going away party, Jimmy quickly responded with a “I’m moving to Beijing, too!” This world condenses everyday.

To welcome him to the Norther Capital, we scooped him up two nights ago for a stroll along Wanfuxing pedestrian street and an evening of Sichuan hotpot. Hotpot is a favorite of China, particularly in Beijing where the frigid winter nights are made a little more bearable with a belly full of hot, juicy broth-boiled yummies.

How hotpot works: Your party orders a variety of meats (mutton is favorite here), seafood and veggies. A large bowl of flavored broth is brought to your table and put on a burner. Once the succulent broth is boiling, you drop the different fixings in to cook. When they are down, you fish them out with a ladle or chopsticks, dunk them in a tangy brown sauce, and deposit in your mouth.

The different kinds of hotpot dictate the kind of broth you receive. Based on the super spicy cuisine of the Sichuan province, Sichuan hotpot is one of the more challenging meals to eat. However, most likely because we scream “non-Chinese,” we received a milder version — a boon for me, as I don’t have the highest spiciness tolerance. The bowl was split into a spicy and non spicy side, and each was delicious.

After dinner, we ventured down into Wanfuxing alley, in search of wild edibles. Here, Jimmy and Sean deigned to try scorpions:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3551607482810059151&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2282250705416955761&hl=en

As for me, maybe next time.

[08.10.02] Jimmy Arrives in Beijing

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October 3, 2008

Going for the Gold: Golden Week and the Forbidden City

From [08.09.30] Forbidden City and Houhai

I’m drowning in a tumultuous sea of Chinese characters, application essays and math logic problems. My life is pretty lame right now. But it also explains why I want to procrastinate by adding some updates.

Which is probably why I haven’t posted in a long time despite having the week off from school. Yep, it’s Golden Week, a.k.a. the National Holiday, a.k.a the week the whole of China piles into Beijing’s city limits. October 1st marks the day modern China came into existence. In honor of the occasion, we received a week off from school. Well, in exchange for an uninterrupted week of no class, we had to attend lessons last Saturday and Sunday. Yep, we went to school on the weekend. Only in China.

As mentioned, I’ve taken advantage of the time off, but not in the usual way I would by doing cool things, taking trips, exploring hidden corners far and wide. No, I’ve been glued to my computer and books, cramming my head full of algebra and geometry, wrestling with Chinese hanzi and basic expressions, and condensing the greatest accomplishments of my life into 6 meticulously constructed essays. It’s starting to get difficult to see where my ass ends and my desk chair begins, I spend so much time sitting at my desk. It’s oppressive to the free-spirited, curiosity-driven adventurer in me. I feel trapped and tethered, at least through the beginning of November.

Not to mention that I came down with a nasty cold that kept me bedridden for the better part of the beginning of the week.

Bitching and moaning aside — but thanks for letting me get it out there; I feel a lot better — I did manage to spend one nice day out and about. On Tuesday, Sean and I — along with the whole of China, practically — ventured out to the Forbidden City. The compound was the stomping grounds for the emperors of the Qing and Ming dynasties, remaining so until the last emperor fell in the early part of the 20th century. Also ravaged during the Cultural Revolution, the complex full of winding pathways and magnificent old Chinese architecture was preserved as a museum, and remains the centerpiece of Beijing’s tourist sites (though it’s quickly losing ground to the Olympic Park). When spent the afternoon wandering through Chinese history, then capped the day with a visit to Houhai, the area around a small lake in central Beijing, now home to a plethora of trendy eateries and bars.

Take a look at the pics here:

[08.09.30] Forbidden City and Houhai

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September 23, 2008

Weekend Redux

From [09.09.20] Weekend shenanigans

Most of the weekend was spent knee deep in mathematics and Chinese characters, but I did manage to make room for after-dark fun. Read all about my nighttime shenanigans here.

And check out pics!

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September 19, 2008

Lights in the Night: Longtan Park Lantern Festival

From [08.09.15] Lantern Festival at Longtan Park

While we have done quite a bit in Beijing thus far, various studies and commitments have prevented us from exploring as much as we normally would. Therefore we were particularly happy to discover a festival at one of the downtown parks.

Festivals are one of the best times and places to see a culture and a people come alive. They usually draw on rich tradition and are a lot of fun for both locals and visitors. The Longtan Park Lantern Festival is no exception. Every year from the Mid-Autumn Festival (around the beginning of Setpember) to National Day (early October), silk lanterns spring to life all around this modest park in Southern Beijing.

Initially, I had envisioned small paper lanterns lighting secluded pathways. Of course, I underestimated the Chinese appreciation for spectacle. Small lanterns? Yeah, right. We’re talking giant displays with moving parts that shoot water and bow before your presence. Not to mention the gigantic choreographed water fountain show (video!). The park swelled with families and lovers our for a stroll under the yellow harvest moon. Ping pong enthusiasts swarmed recreational areas and vendors hawked their festive wares. We were the only Westerners we happened upon, and feel lucky to have found this gem of a celebration tucked into one this small sanctuary from the city bustle.

PICS!

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