Somebody who lives near me has a rooster.
Two notes on this: 1) To the owners of said rooster: You live in an urban area. I can see several 20+ story buildings from my apartment. Roosters and skyscrapers do not go together. 2) To the rooster himself: it is now 11:20 p.m. I repeat, p.m. The appropriate time for crowing loudly is, I believe, confined to about 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. I will thank you to please STOP the incessant crowing immediately, if not sooner, so that I may sleep.
FURTHERMORE, dear rooster, sir, if you do not stop in the next, oh, 3 and a half minutes, I will personally hunt you down, kill you, and make a soup out of you. It would certainly be better than the "pasta" I had for dinner.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Hangzhou, Huangshan, and Wuyuan
Last week we had off so I went with two friends to southern(ish) China. We flew to Hangzhou, a beautiful city south of Shanghai where I was living two years ago. It was really much prettier than I remembered it. When i told this to Eunjee, she suggested it is because I am not miserable this time around. Anyway, the city is centered around West Lake, a beautiful lake with many temples and islands, where Mao once had a residence (where did Mao NOT have a residence, though, really?). There is a saying in Chinese, "above us, there is heaven; on Earth, there is Hangzhou and Suzhou" [Suzhou is another city nearby renowned for its beautiful Chinese gardens]. Pictures of the lake at sunset.
From Hangzhou, we took a five hour-bus NW to Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) in Anhui province. This is one of the most famous mountains in all of China, and as such is a major tourist attraction. Luckily it's the off-season now, and kind of cold, so we didn't run into TOO many people (just a few thousand, as opposed to about a million on the mountain all at once). We spent one day climbing ("mountain climbing" in China actually means climbing hundreds and hundreds of stairs. There is no path, just stone steps--I guess this is to keep the hordes under control; you can't just let people roam free). The we spent a night at the top and got up at about 4 am the next day to watch the sunrise. It was really incredible, except for the fact that the mountain side was FULL of people. How tranquil. Anyway, the views were awesome. After sunrise, we spent the next 6 hours descending 16 km worth of stairs. The next day I felt like I was about 100 years old, my legs hurt so much. Pictures.
From there, we next took a bus south to Jiangxi Province, to a county in the north called Wuyuan. This is a very historic area, with the villages we saw having been constructed in the Ming dynasty (~1500s-1600s). The area was at one time an extraordinarily prosperous merchant base, so most of the homes were very large and beautiful and could rightfully be called mansions. The problem now is that the area has lost its prosperity; the region relies entirely on subsistence agriculture. So actually it's a little ghostly; these huge old homes are still inhabited, but families use only a few rooms and the rest of the house is deserted or used as storage space. In addition, the residents of this area (as in many rural areas in China) are all small children and old people. Very few young people are to be seen, as they all have left to find work in the cities. So the old people raise a second generation of children, and tend the fields, and keep life going, and wait for their children's income to come in.
Some really cool things we did while there: eat alot of pumpkin; get sick from the food; ride motorcycles between the villages--funnest thing ever; see a traditional funeral, complete with corpse; and go to a psychedelic cave. Scope the pictures for proof.
We spent three days in the rural area and then took an overnight train back to BJ.
From Hangzhou, we took a five hour-bus NW to Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) in Anhui province. This is one of the most famous mountains in all of China, and as such is a major tourist attraction. Luckily it's the off-season now, and kind of cold, so we didn't run into TOO many people (just a few thousand, as opposed to about a million on the mountain all at once). We spent one day climbing ("mountain climbing" in China actually means climbing hundreds and hundreds of stairs. There is no path, just stone steps--I guess this is to keep the hordes under control; you can't just let people roam free). The we spent a night at the top and got up at about 4 am the next day to watch the sunrise. It was really incredible, except for the fact that the mountain side was FULL of people. How tranquil. Anyway, the views were awesome. After sunrise, we spent the next 6 hours descending 16 km worth of stairs. The next day I felt like I was about 100 years old, my legs hurt so much. Pictures.
From there, we next took a bus south to Jiangxi Province, to a county in the north called Wuyuan. This is a very historic area, with the villages we saw having been constructed in the Ming dynasty (~1500s-1600s). The area was at one time an extraordinarily prosperous merchant base, so most of the homes were very large and beautiful and could rightfully be called mansions. The problem now is that the area has lost its prosperity; the region relies entirely on subsistence agriculture. So actually it's a little ghostly; these huge old homes are still inhabited, but families use only a few rooms and the rest of the house is deserted or used as storage space. In addition, the residents of this area (as in many rural areas in China) are all small children and old people. Very few young people are to be seen, as they all have left to find work in the cities. So the old people raise a second generation of children, and tend the fields, and keep life going, and wait for their children's income to come in.
Some really cool things we did while there: eat alot of pumpkin; get sick from the food; ride motorcycles between the villages--funnest thing ever; see a traditional funeral, complete with corpse; and go to a psychedelic cave. Scope the pictures for proof.
We spent three days in the rural area and then took an overnight train back to BJ.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Bird's Nest-a-biggle
Leah was just here, for work, which was exciting! So of course we had to go to the Olympic park, which I actually hadn't been to yet. You've all seen the pictures on TV, but it was really neat to see the Bird's Nest and Water Cube up close. This, at least, is one thing that China's really done right.
There was some sort of event going on at the Water Cube, so it was all lit up, and then people poured out around 9 pm.
There was some sort of event going on at the Water Cube, so it was all lit up, and then people poured out around 9 pm.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
OBAMA!!!
For the election results on our Wednesday morning, almost all of the Americans in my "neighborhood" gathered at an American-run cafe to watch the coverage. There had to be at least 200 of us, and not a single McCain fan in the crowd.
After he won, we went into the street and were cheering and waving signs, etc, and all the Chinese people where baffled. A few asked, "what's going on?" "what are you so happy about?" and when we replied that Obama had won, etc etc, they gave us lackluster, oh, ok's. I guess you can't expect people who have never had a single experience in a participatory governance system of any type on any scale to really understand why this is such an important event.
A few photos of us celebrating.
After he won, we went into the street and were cheering and waving signs, etc, and all the Chinese people where baffled. A few asked, "what's going on?" "what are you so happy about?" and when we replied that Obama had won, etc etc, they gave us lackluster, oh, ok's. I guess you can't expect people who have never had a single experience in a participatory governance system of any type on any scale to really understand why this is such an important event.
A few photos of us celebrating.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
"Fragrant Mountain"
Two weekends ago, one of Eunjee's English-language students took us to Xiang Shan, or "Fragrant Mountain." He had a CAR, so we could go to one of the spots that only people with cars can get too, and thus enjoy a (relatively) uncrowded experience. Hills ring Beijing on the north and west sides, so this mountain was part of that chain of foothills. From the top, it was possible to see all of BJ spread out below. As far as the eye could see to the east and west, and to the south, the city stretched out, low concrete buildings marching forward into the pollution at the edges of the flat plain. There really are not many "skyscrapers" in Beijing; the tallest building is about 70 stories, but ones like this are few and far between. Most are 10-25 story high-rise apartment buildings in concrete, giving the city a uniform and dreary character.
Monday, November 3, 2008
I'm cold!
It would be great if they could turn on the heat here, please! There is no heat that's not central heating, so the government decides when it comes on and off, and it doesn't get turned on in Beijing til November 15th!! Our shower also stopped making hot water today--not sure what that's all about, but perhaps we need to pay our gas bill? unclear.
* * * * *
Today in a restaurant bathroom i saw the BEST SIGN EVER (well, really, Eunjee saw it, so credit must go to her).
It said:
请勿大便
which means, "please dont poop" [in the toilet, because it will clog]
BUT underneath, in English it said:
NO SHIT!
* * * * *
Today in a restaurant bathroom i saw the BEST SIGN EVER (well, really, Eunjee saw it, so credit must go to her).
It said:
请勿大便
which means, "please dont poop" [in the toilet, because it will clog]
BUT underneath, in English it said:
NO SHIT!
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