Goodbye for now Beijing

As finals arrive fast, I begin to say goodbye to this semester and to my life as an Alliance student. No longer will I walk past the women dancing on the tennis courts or the parking lot guards standing in one spot for hours. Nor will I drink endless cups of coffee in the cafe trying not to let the beautiful Italians and their muto buonas distract me from practicing my hanzi*. No longer will I fall asleep to the sound of my meimei's English recordings telling her a story about Eric and Jenny, or have my nainai telling me to eat, eat, eat.

I have learned so many things this semester.  I now know that I am capable of living in a country so different than my own; the more I experience the unknown, the less scared I am of new things. My Chinese has improved so much. Not only can  I chat about the weather, but thanks to last week's vocab, I can now talk about the economy. I have had many ups and downs— there were times when the pollution made me sad and the amount of people on the subway made me want to scream— but all in all I have really enjoyed my life here. What seemed different and a little strange when I arrived here has become normal. 

When I eventually leave Beijing, I will miss its energy. There is always something going on: art gallery openings, fashion shows, live music shows, beer and pizza festivals, Christmas markets and much more. I haven't scraped the surface of all Beijing has to offer. The one constant is that there is no constant, it is changing all the time. If  I do not want to deal with the crowds and the hustle and bustle energy of the city, I can sit and relax for hours at one of the many parks and watch retirees dance, practice Kungfu and play checkers. There is something for everyone here and I am so lucky I have had the opportunity to experience China first hand.

If you would like to see pictures and follow the rest of my trip around China and other countries follow me on Instagram: @lapidoo

*hanzi means chinese characters

How to combat culture shock

When I arrived in Beijing, I was prepared for the worst. Not only had everyone and their mother told me what to expect, but I had also done a lot of research. In a way, it made coming to China a more stressful experience, but once I was here I realized life was not as bad as the Internet or others around me had told me it would be. That said, it is good to be aware of local customs so you can mentally prepare yourself and lessen the effects of culture shock. The following is a list of things to expect when you live in China. 

1. Spitting

I cringe every time I hear someone begin to hawk a loogie, and it happens at least 50 times a day, no matter if I am walking down the street, or  riding the ditie*. One time I had to jump out of the way to avoid a loogie. That was an extreme case and of course does not happen to everyone!

2. Squatty Potty

There is probably a better term for this but I like referring to it as a squatty potty. These squat toilets are found in every establishment, from schools and museums to restaurants, and stores. It is highly unlikely you will see a western toilet. It only took me a couple weeks to get used to these squatty potties. Remember ALWAYS BRING HAND SANITIZER AND TOILET PAPER. Only in the 5 star bathrooms you will be provided with toilet paper (usually not soap)  but those are rare and glorious occasions. 

3. Private Space

What is private space? I have forgotten. Everywhere you go, there will be tons of people in your personal bubble. Once you accept this fact of Beijing life, you can move on and not let it bother you. Just like the cars (remember this post?) people will not let you pass or let you on the subway. Often the subway is so crowded people are squished up against the doors. Living here  you learn fast---- if you want to accomplish anything  push, push, push. 

4. Beds

In China it is thought that hard beds are better for the posture. In my dorm, host family and in many of the hotels (not all of them) the beds tend to consist of a wooden box and a thin mattress.  It took me just a couple weeks to get used to these box beds, but for those who cannot handle hard beds, there is a Walmart that is stocked with tons of mattress pads. 

5. Food

When I first arrived here I thought the food was delicious. Everywhere I went the food tasted like heaven. The food still tastes great, but I am getting tired of the grease. Be ready for heavily cooked food and tons of oil. Even in my host family they use a lot of oil when cooking. 

6. Warm water

In restaurants and cafes when you ask for water they will give you warm or boiling hot water in a glass. This is because warm water is considered to be better for the digestive system. At first I intensely disliked this custom, but I have gotten used to it and now I would never go back to ice cold water. 

 China is a great place to study abroad and to live, so do not let this list discourage you. I know that it helped me to know these things beforehand so I hope this list will help you too. 

A

*ditie means subway and is pronounced di-tee-eh 

An open letter/Ode to rice

Dear Rice, 

Let me begin by saying how much I owe thee. For breakfast, lunch and dinner you provide nourishment for my body and give me the energy to study Chinese. Whether I eat you in the form of soup, pancakes, or simply in a bowl, you are delicious and healthy. I love how you take at the most 20 minutes to cook in a rice cooker and you pair well with every kind of food. 

Nonetheless, we need to have a talk. I think we need a break. Although you are tasty, sometimes I just want meat and potatoes. No hard feelings. It is not you, it is me. I am not used to eating you 24/7. Rice in porridge-form,  pastries-and-candy-form, in soup, for lunch and dinner, I am kind of going crazy. 

So although  I would be happy if we could take a short break from each other, I would also like to thank you and remember, it is not you it's me. Besides there are over a billion other people that cannot imagine having a meal without you. 

Sorry not sorry, 

Sarah

My Little Apple

Happy Monday everyone! Here's a song to start of your week. It went viral here and everyone is obsessed with this song. It is called: Xiao Pinguo which means my little apple.

Enjoy!

Living with a meimei, a nainai and a Chinese mama

As I write this, my nainai is cleaning up after our typical meal of sauteed cabbage with rice. I will be sad to see her leave soon. After her surgery she will return to Gansu. She told me that she cannot wait to go back home. She says the pollution in Beijing is awful and there are too many people. She told me more, but that is about as much as I could understand. 

Dou jiang

Her accent is so strong that she may as well be speaking another language. Fortunately we have worked out a system, so it feels as though we are conversing. I ask her how her day is, she responds hen hao (meaning very good and pronounced hun how). I proceed to ask her if she needs any help and she says bu*. I then sit down to eat with her and she prods me to chi…chi…chi (pronounced chr) until I finally take a bite. Along with my nainai (Chinese for grandmother) I live with a 7-year old girl who I call meimei or little sister, and my meimei's mother.

The apartment is sparsely decorated with a couple of Chinese paintings, my meimei's art masterpieces scribbled on the walls, and red lucky charms hanging under the doorways. The couch,  across from the nicest big-screen TV I have ever seen, is also bright red, a color that is extremely important in Chinese culture----  it signifies good luck and happiness.

Split pants!

Everyday I eat breakfast, dinner, and sometimes lunch with the family. My favorite meal is definitely breakfast. Almost every morning my host mom makes me doujiang, a soybean milk drink and a sweet mibing, which is a kind of rice pancake.

An interesting pattern that I have noticed living with this family is that my 7 -year old meimei, her mother and her nainai all tend to fall asleep at around the same time. In general, children do not seem to always have bedtimes. Sometimes l come home late from studying around 9 or 10 and see children walking around outside with their parents. Speaking of children, I have seen a lot of bare bottoms here, because most babies do not wear diapers. Instead, they wear split pants and either just go to the bathroom when they feel like it or when their caretakers tell them to go to. Everyday I notice new things, it makes life here all the more interesting. Last night while walking around town I found this gem below. If only we had a Spice Girls restaurant in San Francisco! 



*bu means no

Chicken feet, a blind date, and porridge

I am making strides in becoming a little more zhongguohua, or chineseafied. Let’s take this past week as an example. In one week (and in this order) I accomplished the following: ate chicken feet without flinching, went on a blind date in a language I barely understood, and ate porridge with chopsticks… WITH CHOPSTICKS. I think the latter makes me the most proud. To tell you the truth though, it took me a good half an hour to finish my small bowl of porridge, called zhou in Chinese (pronounced like the name Joe).

Although these are a little more edible-looking than the chicken feet I ate, you get the idea

I still dread eating chicken feet not only because they look like bird talons minus the talons, but after spending countless minutes sucking the meat off the bones, I am rewarded with very little meat. Solely because this is a delicacy I will partake, but it is too much of an ordeal to actually enjoy eating them.

You see how there is a SPOON and no chopsticks?
 This is how zhou is usually eaten.

Last weekend, I told my host mom that I was having trouble finding a boyfriend good face wash due to everything being in Chinese. She then called her friend to come take me to the store and help me find one. Little did I know, she had previously told him that I was looking for a Chinese boyfriend. So, what I thought was going to be a short trip to the CVS-like store turned out to be a whole day excursion/date, ending in dinner. Like most good dates/boyfriends here in China he held my things for me, opened doors and treated me like a precious, porcelain doll. We spoke mostly Chinese with some English thrown in now and again. I did not realize until the end that it was sort of a date. The clue was when he asked if I was looking for a boyfriend, because that is what he was told. I was so surprised I had to cough to stop myself from laughing. I told him that this was news to me. He was very nice about it and now I have a new friend. He taught me  many new things like the fact that men stand on the left side of the girl in order to protect her from on coming cars, foot traffic, etc. I also learned about how fatigue affects language acquisition, because by the end of the night, my brain was so fried he may as well have been speaking martian to me. 

My last accomplishment as an adoptive Beijinger was eating zhou with chopsticks. I sat down at the table last Sunday morning,  my host sister practicing her English on my right and my nainai sitting on my left telling me to chi, chi, chi (eat, eat, eat). In front of me lay a gigantic bowl of zhou... and chopsticks. At first I thought it was a joke----eating liquid with chopsticks? But a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. My growling stomach would not have it any other way. Although it took me a good half an hour, I somehow succeeded in scarfing down every last bite of that porridge. See, everyday in China is an adventure, even breakfast.

3 Important lessons that every Beijinger learns sooner or later

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. Not only did my computer break, but since I live off campus it is difficult to borrow anyone’s computer. While going through the process of trying to buy a new computer with my limited funds I did learn some valuable lessons :

A vending machine library randomly situated in the heart of Sanlitun, a chic party and shopping district

1    1. Buy anything you need off of JD.com.

I ordered my new computer---- unfortunately not my beloved Apple because they are insanely expensive here---from JD.com. Guess when it came, just take a wild guess… IT CAME THE NEXT DAY. Let me say it again so it really sinks in: the sun went down, then it came up again and my computer arrived!!!! In less than 24 hours I was able to hold my precious new computer in my hands.

2.  Buy clothes and items  by your favorite brands in your home country.

It is true that life is cheap here: food, bus tickets, and items that you bargain for are definitely inexpensive, but famous stores like H&M, Forever 21, Apple, are more expensive than in the US. The main  places to buy cheap clothes are at bargaining markets like the Golden Towers and the website Tabao.com, a site EVERYONE uses for anything and everything. The only problem with this site is that sometimes the clothing sizes are off. So if you need to learn anything from me, it is that you are better off bringing everything you own from home to China, unless of course you are a bargaining master, then have at it!

3. Pray that your Apple products do not  break.

I LOVE Apple products. Since high school I have had various Macs and since graduating college I have fallen in love with the iPhone. Unfortunately, although Apple is expensive in the US, it is even more expensive in China. Hence, I went from having an iPhone and a Mac in the States to an Android and a PC here in Beijing. C’est la vie, right?

As these lessons show, while living in a different country, it takes time to get the hang of things. Although it was annoying to not have my convenient go-to, computer repair guy, and to have to make do with a cheaper PC, living in Beijing is worth it. The food, the people, and the Beijing life is such an adventure that everything else seems trivial. Here are some pictures of Beijing life:

This delicious feast made walking around a park during class for a couple hours in the freezing cold almost pleasurable.

So...this fox boot apparently is a thing

Home sweet home, gotta love rush hour!

I really did try to eat my Thanksgiving feast with chopsticks... I ate about 5 bites before giving up.