Day 3: the Footsteps of a Stranger
"But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger you'll learn things you never knew you never knew."
Today was a quick Beijing tour on a tour bus. It was less than picturesque. But, today, I've made some strides in thought. I've moved from shock to sympathy and perhaps some bit of new understanding about how others view America: both as a land of opportunity and a place taken for granted. This is very true. We Americans will complain about the littlest thing, like how much time we have to stand spending in lines or if something is a bit tedious or any number of little grievances. And even though we have our problems, we don't know hardships per say. I wanted to cry today so many times. I had to remind myself that this is a China that is making strides of progress. And you can see it in a lot of places. Old Soviet model buildings are being torn down and modern architecture dominates the skyline now. I kept thinking about how blessed I am to live in a place where we can live cheaply in the "American" version of poverty-stricken areas. I live in paradise!
The other thing that caught my attention is how the negative western media doesn't really capture the true nature of the Chinese. As a people, they have some pretty good ideas and techniques that have worked for thousands of years. They don't waste anything. I honestly think if we could do the same, we could nix a lot of the problems with overflowing landfills, and it would WORK to the benefit of our environment. Beijing is a dirty urban center with bad air quality and pollution, but has areas of beauty that would take your breath away. The parks are beautiful! I think if I lived here, I would spend the bulk majority of my time there. And the way they eat/what they eat is extremely logical and filling. Using chopsticks is efficient because that the food is already cut and prepared and is in bite size pieces that keeps one from eating too much by allowing the stomach to fill up slowly. Plus there's the whole taste/texture complimentary system to the food dishes. I have to admit, most of the food is pretty good. Much MUCH better than the so-called "Chinese" food in the United States. By the way, the Chinese don't have an equivalent to things like Sesame Chicken and General Tso's Chicken. Tang Laoshi informed us that those were made up in America. The breads here are just about delicacies within themselves. Many of them combine a slight sweetness with the grain taste. Chinese food is not usually very heavy, so its easier to digest, I think. (Even though this is a sort of tangent, I wanted to add that in our dorm rooms they have someone who comes in to make the beds each morning.)
Today, we also went to a hutong (a traditional Chinese complex were one family used to live but about seven or eight live now) via a rickshaw. I felt so bad for our driver, that he had to carry around my fat carcass. I wanted to offer to let him ride and I would pedal. That was probably the worst moment of my day. We also headed to Tianamen Square. I have to say, the most interesting thing there were the extremely good looking guards in formation. :-) (Although they would immediately drop formation whenever you pointed a camera in their direction-but I can't pass up a chance to ogle a man in uniform!) And we got mobbed by people selling mao watches and kites the entire time. And although I wasn't there for this, I heard that Jenny was ripped off by a lady selling postcards and Tang Laoshi got into a yelling match with her and neither would back down so as to lose face and then the guard came and everyone just broke up quietly and went on their way. I love my laoshi's (Tang, Sun, Cheng...and soon to be Wang 1 & Wang 2 and Ma Laoshi) and I'm glad they take such good care of us! I don't know what we would do without their guiding influence and occassional English translation.
I also had my very first Beijing roast duck today. (very famous!) It was absolutely more than delicious. (And it only costed us about $8 per whole duck in an upscale restaurant. (LOL. On another note, I'm getting pretty adept with chopsticks already).
I think that's about it. Tomorrow we head to Badaling, a restored section of the Great Wall. (Toward the end of the tour, we will be going to a section that is completely unrestored!) and Monday starts classes.
I hope all is well at home. For those who would care to know, I will be online usually around 6am (your time) to around 10 or 11 am (again, your time) and from around 6-8pm (your time) although you'd be more likely to catch me at night. Until then, Wan An!
Today was a quick Beijing tour on a tour bus. It was less than picturesque. But, today, I've made some strides in thought. I've moved from shock to sympathy and perhaps some bit of new understanding about how others view America: both as a land of opportunity and a place taken for granted. This is very true. We Americans will complain about the littlest thing, like how much time we have to stand spending in lines or if something is a bit tedious or any number of little grievances. And even though we have our problems, we don't know hardships per say. I wanted to cry today so many times. I had to remind myself that this is a China that is making strides of progress. And you can see it in a lot of places. Old Soviet model buildings are being torn down and modern architecture dominates the skyline now. I kept thinking about how blessed I am to live in a place where we can live cheaply in the "American" version of poverty-stricken areas. I live in paradise!
The other thing that caught my attention is how the negative western media doesn't really capture the true nature of the Chinese. As a people, they have some pretty good ideas and techniques that have worked for thousands of years. They don't waste anything. I honestly think if we could do the same, we could nix a lot of the problems with overflowing landfills, and it would WORK to the benefit of our environment. Beijing is a dirty urban center with bad air quality and pollution, but has areas of beauty that would take your breath away. The parks are beautiful! I think if I lived here, I would spend the bulk majority of my time there. And the way they eat/what they eat is extremely logical and filling. Using chopsticks is efficient because that the food is already cut and prepared and is in bite size pieces that keeps one from eating too much by allowing the stomach to fill up slowly. Plus there's the whole taste/texture complimentary system to the food dishes. I have to admit, most of the food is pretty good. Much MUCH better than the so-called "Chinese" food in the United States. By the way, the Chinese don't have an equivalent to things like Sesame Chicken and General Tso's Chicken. Tang Laoshi informed us that those were made up in America. The breads here are just about delicacies within themselves. Many of them combine a slight sweetness with the grain taste. Chinese food is not usually very heavy, so its easier to digest, I think. (Even though this is a sort of tangent, I wanted to add that in our dorm rooms they have someone who comes in to make the beds each morning.)
Today, we also went to a hutong (a traditional Chinese complex were one family used to live but about seven or eight live now) via a rickshaw. I felt so bad for our driver, that he had to carry around my fat carcass. I wanted to offer to let him ride and I would pedal. That was probably the worst moment of my day. We also headed to Tianamen Square. I have to say, the most interesting thing there were the extremely good looking guards in formation. :-) (Although they would immediately drop formation whenever you pointed a camera in their direction-but I can't pass up a chance to ogle a man in uniform!) And we got mobbed by people selling mao watches and kites the entire time. And although I wasn't there for this, I heard that Jenny was ripped off by a lady selling postcards and Tang Laoshi got into a yelling match with her and neither would back down so as to lose face and then the guard came and everyone just broke up quietly and went on their way. I love my laoshi's (Tang, Sun, Cheng...and soon to be Wang 1 & Wang 2 and Ma Laoshi) and I'm glad they take such good care of us! I don't know what we would do without their guiding influence and occassional English translation.
I also had my very first Beijing roast duck today. (very famous!) It was absolutely more than delicious. (And it only costed us about $8 per whole duck in an upscale restaurant. (LOL. On another note, I'm getting pretty adept with chopsticks already).
I think that's about it. Tomorrow we head to Badaling, a restored section of the Great Wall. (Toward the end of the tour, we will be going to a section that is completely unrestored!) and Monday starts classes.
I hope all is well at home. For those who would care to know, I will be online usually around 6am (your time) to around 10 or 11 am (again, your time) and from around 6-8pm (your time) although you'd be more likely to catch me at night. Until then, Wan An!