(no subject)
Hoorah, the internet works again!
Sort of. We've moved from broken cables stage to the Holy Shit the Internet is Back EVERYONE CHECK YOUR EMAIL stage, so the Tubes are overcrowded. I'm not moving at the speed of light, and certain heavy sites (suikox) are still dead to me.
In other news... classes started and raped me. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday might as well be renamed the Days of Hell, because I am very badly burned. Everything is packed into those days so that the other four can be relaxing, but last Wednesday night I had 2 reports to prepare, a skit, and an essay. Blegh. Still, this is the "Intensive" January Term, so it should slow down considerably come February.
Last week I went to see the Great Wall at Mutianyu. It was... long. It's mind boggling to stand on it and think how big it is, especially when you can only see a small fraction of it. It's also an incredibly steep climb in parts, which left me winded. Still got to the highest point in the area, after which the wall deteriorates into rubble and overgrowth. I only wish the weather had been less hazy.
Yesterday we went to the Lao She Teahouse, where we got lots of tea, and some brief highlights of Chinese performance art: acrobatics, Mask-changing, Kung Fu, singing, and Beijing Opera (Though being intended for a Western audience, they focused on the acrobatics and costuming of Opera, rather than the shrill singing).
Today I tried returning to Tiananmen to visit the Forbidden Palace, but I was quickly waylaid by a Chinese student, He Lei, wanting to practice English. We eventually wandered into a KFC where I bought him lunch, then on a pretext to try and get away to visit the palace I told him I was heading home.
I don't know what to think of He Lei, nor could I tell what he thought of me? Was I an ignorant American to grab some free food from? Was I disappointingly bland and boring since I didn't like Jay-Z? He struck me as typical of what I've heard of Chinese youth: energetic, enraptured by American culture and music, and living in Europe, rather nationalistic and still under the spell of Chairman Mao, (At least, I think so, from the sheer enthusiasm flowing from his words when spoke about him, mentioned his love of Cao Cao, whom he compared to Mao), and a deep-rooted prejudice against the Japanese.
This Japanese-Chinese relationship dynamic is really fascinating to me. Sure, the Chinese suffered greatly under the Japanese invasion, but I feel the hatred is also tied to Communist Nationalism. After all, if it weren't for the Japanese invasion, the communists likely would have never come to power, and certainly not Mao. It was the invasion that gave the communists a moral advantage and edge over the Nationalists, as they portrayed themselves as the true defenders of the nation, and also made contact with the USSR difficult, allowing Mao to exert more influence.
I spoke with my roommate, Jiayin, about this, and he seems to think the prejudice toward Japanese is rather embarrassing. He blames the pride of both countries, and pointed out that Japan and China have always shared a very similar culture in many respects, and learn many of the same principles. Ultimately, he said, had China's and Japan's roles been switched prior to World War II, China would have committed the same atrocities to the Japanese. Of course, Jiayin also appears to be a pretty big fan of anime (he just finished watching Love Hina for the 3rd time, I think), so perhaps that's had an effect on how he views things.
Anyway, after I left He Lei, I was waylaid again by two rather cute Chinese girls studying English. I ended up buying them dinner, though this time at a place considerably more expensive than KFC. I spent over 200 yuan today, which is only like 25 dollars, but still feels like 200 to me. I'm guessing these students come to the Tiananmen area half to practice English, half to bum some free food off stupid Waiguoren like myself, or maybe it's more than half. Still, I did learn a good amount of Chinese from them, so it's not a complete waste. As for my English lessons, I taught them what hypocritical meant.
I have experienced such a small fraction of this city; it's size is as bewildering as that of the Great Wall. Returning, I left the subway through the wrong exit, and wandered about Xizhimen for a half-hour before I found my way.
Sort of. We've moved from broken cables stage to the Holy Shit the Internet is Back EVERYONE CHECK YOUR EMAIL stage, so the Tubes are overcrowded. I'm not moving at the speed of light, and certain heavy sites (suikox) are still dead to me.
In other news... classes started and raped me. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday might as well be renamed the Days of Hell, because I am very badly burned. Everything is packed into those days so that the other four can be relaxing, but last Wednesday night I had 2 reports to prepare, a skit, and an essay. Blegh. Still, this is the "Intensive" January Term, so it should slow down considerably come February.
Last week I went to see the Great Wall at Mutianyu. It was... long. It's mind boggling to stand on it and think how big it is, especially when you can only see a small fraction of it. It's also an incredibly steep climb in parts, which left me winded. Still got to the highest point in the area, after which the wall deteriorates into rubble and overgrowth. I only wish the weather had been less hazy.
Yesterday we went to the Lao She Teahouse, where we got lots of tea, and some brief highlights of Chinese performance art: acrobatics, Mask-changing, Kung Fu, singing, and Beijing Opera (Though being intended for a Western audience, they focused on the acrobatics and costuming of Opera, rather than the shrill singing).
Today I tried returning to Tiananmen to visit the Forbidden Palace, but I was quickly waylaid by a Chinese student, He Lei, wanting to practice English. We eventually wandered into a KFC where I bought him lunch, then on a pretext to try and get away to visit the palace I told him I was heading home.
I don't know what to think of He Lei, nor could I tell what he thought of me? Was I an ignorant American to grab some free food from? Was I disappointingly bland and boring since I didn't like Jay-Z? He struck me as typical of what I've heard of Chinese youth: energetic, enraptured by American culture and music, and living in Europe, rather nationalistic and still under the spell of Chairman Mao, (At least, I think so, from the sheer enthusiasm flowing from his words when spoke about him, mentioned his love of Cao Cao, whom he compared to Mao), and a deep-rooted prejudice against the Japanese.
This Japanese-Chinese relationship dynamic is really fascinating to me. Sure, the Chinese suffered greatly under the Japanese invasion, but I feel the hatred is also tied to Communist Nationalism. After all, if it weren't for the Japanese invasion, the communists likely would have never come to power, and certainly not Mao. It was the invasion that gave the communists a moral advantage and edge over the Nationalists, as they portrayed themselves as the true defenders of the nation, and also made contact with the USSR difficult, allowing Mao to exert more influence.
I spoke with my roommate, Jiayin, about this, and he seems to think the prejudice toward Japanese is rather embarrassing. He blames the pride of both countries, and pointed out that Japan and China have always shared a very similar culture in many respects, and learn many of the same principles. Ultimately, he said, had China's and Japan's roles been switched prior to World War II, China would have committed the same atrocities to the Japanese. Of course, Jiayin also appears to be a pretty big fan of anime (he just finished watching Love Hina for the 3rd time, I think), so perhaps that's had an effect on how he views things.
Anyway, after I left He Lei, I was waylaid again by two rather cute Chinese girls studying English. I ended up buying them dinner, though this time at a place considerably more expensive than KFC. I spent over 200 yuan today, which is only like 25 dollars, but still feels like 200 to me. I'm guessing these students come to the Tiananmen area half to practice English, half to bum some free food off stupid Waiguoren like myself, or maybe it's more than half. Still, I did learn a good amount of Chinese from them, so it's not a complete waste. As for my English lessons, I taught them what hypocritical meant.
I have experienced such a small fraction of this city; it's size is as bewildering as that of the Great Wall. Returning, I left the subway through the wrong exit, and wandered about Xizhimen for a half-hour before I found my way.