Quick Recap

If you're walking around China today, you'll see red flags on taxis, storefronts, outside apartments, etc. National week has begun. Starting on Friday, everyone in China will be on vacation, which means that most people will be traveling to some hot spot destination. Imagine the entire US moving, then double that number, and then put yourself in the mix. That is what my vacation is going to be like. Hopefully some adventure stories come out of it.

Before that happens, here's a quick update on what I've been doing...
Things have been super busy between booking hotels, purchasing bus & train tickets, socializing with my host family and trying to get some work done. My host sister and I have been getting along really well. Last Thursday she took me and her 19-year-old cousin to a trendy, inexpensive mall (where I bought the dress in the picture below). We've gotten into a routine of helping each other with language homework -- which usually brings us to interesting conversations about why American girls wear short outfits on Halloween, what it means to be "tolerant" of others, and why you won't often see Americans walk arm in arm with their best friends like you do in China.

So on Friday, I went and saw a Greek play in Chinese. The play was very well done - not a lot of scene changes because their basic set worked well with the darkness of the play -- they utilized the line of perspective and contrasted between light and dark to really capture the good & bad dichotomy of the play. I could understand about 50% of the play because they talked really clearly, so from what I could gather, it was about a wife who killed her husband (who just got back from war) so she could run off with her lover, her daughter already hated her before this fiasco but then convinced her brother to hate her too, they kill the lover, the mom commits suicide, and then the daughter becomes just as bad as the mom...until she drives her brother insane (I think they had a thing going on together a for a while there too...) and then he kills himself too. Quite uplifting. Can anyone name the play? I couldn't translate the title...

On Saturday we took a day trip to Suzhou, the "Venice of China." I've never been to Venice, but I doubt Suzhou comes close, despite it being beautiful. Suzhou is also the silk capital so before taking a quick boat cruise around the town, we stopped in the museum and learned how silkworms produce then. After lunch, we visited one of many gardens in the area before heading back to the city.

Sunday was a relaxing day - I did work in the Euro cafe where I spent 32 kuai on an americano. That wouldn't be too bad, but when you compare it to the 2 kuai it costs me to take the bus, 8 kuai to eat lunch at my "favorite" restaurant, and 32 kuai for my bus to XiTang (the first place I'll be heading to on Saturday). But I guess the $5 americano paid for the experience. The staff was really friendly, the restaurant was really comfortable, and I felt like I stepped into a foreign European world. The fact that you can do that in Shanghai is amazing - there are traces of it's history as a foreign port everywhere you go, allowing you to engage in the cultural experience of China or the foreign travel experience your study abroad friends in Europe are having (not quite the same, but you get the point...)

As for the rest of this week - after one of my friends saw a biker get hit by a car, and my other friend got his bike stolen (and then bought another...), I've decided against becoming a part of the biking culture. I'll watch from the sidelines for now.

Two days until vacation --

Until then,
再见

Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival, "Mooncake Festival" or "Lantern Festival" takes place on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar. A well-known Chinese poem captures the essence of this holiday: "Though far apart, we are still able to share the beauty of the moon together." Thus, this holiday is one of family reunion 团员. While we gather at the Thanksgiving table, the Chinese gather under the moon and eat mooncakes together.

The designs are very impressive, but if you haven't tasted one before, you're not missing much.

According to tradition, this day is the exact midst of autumn, when the moon is the most vibrant. Back in the day, emperors worshiped/praised/offered sacrifices to the moon. That's not quite what I did, but it was definitely a distinctly cultural day...

We didn't have classes on Wednesday, so after partaking in festivities with friends the night before, I dragged myself up at what at felt like the crack-of-dawn and went to say hello to Buddah...all 10 statues of him.

My host parents and me at the Jade Buddah Temple

I'm still trying to figure out the relationship between Buddah and the Mid-Autumn festival - afterall, we don't go to church on Thanksgiving. China isn't religious in the same way that the United States is. In fact, a Chinese student in my Comparative Culture class once asked if religion dominates US life as much as he's heard before - the way people in the US practice religion is a new concept for him. My host family opened this secret cabinet on their back porch to reveal Buddah, who was surrounded by "sacrifices" in the form of watermelon, grapes, and incense. I'd say China is more superstitious than anything else, but there aren't many outward displays of worship. Except of course, at the Jade Buddah Temple on Wednesday.

What I gathered from my experience was that people first bought sticks of incense and bowed in all our directions as the incense slowly burned away (when I did this, I figured I'd make a few wishes too), went to bow at three times at each of the statues, and then they threw a bunch of money on the stairs, around the Buddah statues, into statues way too high to reach, into iron bowls in an attempt to throw a large coin into a rather small hole for good luck (To anyone from CT, it's kind of like the game at the Stew Leonard fountain) -- money was everywhere. This temple was making bank today.

The lady in the picture is not trying to steal money, but rather, she believes that if she rubs the iron then touches a strained muscle, Buddah will heal it, or if she touches her face she will become more beautiful. Buddah is pretty powerful.

I was the only foreigner where on other days this would be tourist destination (it's even in my guidebook). No admission today though. Woo!

Another way to get people to give money to the temple

That is not a special/trick surface, and it doesn't work just because Chinese coins are lighter than those in the US. I happened to have some US change with me back at the house, so I tried this again on a marble surface and the magic still happened. Cool, right?

The rest of my holiday is detailed in the last post. We didn't light any lanterns, and the weather wasn't good for moon watching, but I did finally find a mooncake flavor that I liked.

Bad Translation of the Day

Meet the Fockers

Today was the celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a mix between a family holiday and a Buddah holiday, and thus, I think it's appropriate to introduce you to my 中国 Chinese family (more on the holiday in the next post).

Meet the Ni's.Host dad, 45 - host mom, 41 - older sister 姐姐 21, and younger brother 弟弟 16

Cultural note: The Chinese have different names for family members whether they are older or younger, mom's parents or dad's parents, mom's younger sister's daughter, dad's older brother's wife's daughter's first cousin once removed -- the list goes on. I have only gone so far as being able to distinguish between older/younger brother & sister.

So this was my first time going out to dinner with my host family. Despite hearing from other homestay students that they've gone out to restaurants a few times, my family has always eaten together at home. So when they first told me we were eating out, I couldn't decide whether or not that translated into eating outsidse (part of the Mid-Autumn Festival is to eat mooncakes and watch the moon...exciting, no?) or venturing into the city -- so I was pretty excited when we I saw the cab pull up.

And then, surprise -- everyone was there. I didn't even realize my host family had this big of an extended family...and there's more of them I have yet to meet. Apparently, the Ni family is one where the one-child policy simply doesn't apply. My host dad has two older sisters (one pictured here with her husband and daughter). And then, of course my host family has two children. Not sure what is in store on my host mom's side of the family... There was a LOT of food. Most of which I don't eat...and most of which I would prefer not to. But I'll give you a quick taste of what was on the menu this evening:

We started with some radishes, sweet/sticky lotus flower with rice inside, 2 kinds of snails (because you can never have enough), mussels, another shellfish like that but with little squirters, 100 different types of meat (no, but it seemed like there were that many and they all looked very Asian so I won't detail them all), some long fish we probably don't have in the states, crab legs, chicken feet, fried pig feet, probably another animal's foot or two, "baby" bamboo, steamed buns you stuff with cucumber and meat, "vegetable duck" which is basically what we would call fake meat or tofu, and this thing called toro that we don't have in the US (you can find it in Ecuador though!) - it's basically a gray potato and has become one of my favorite things to eat, probably because it's familiar...in comparison to what else is on the table.

If I've mentioned it before, I have to emphasize it again: my host dad is my absolute favorite (no comparison to you, dad, stop sweating). We'll sit and drink tea in the morning, he'll say a lot of things I don't understand but can laugh at, and at other times he'll say things that are legitimately funny that I do understand. When I've felt upset before, he knows what to say to cheer me up (even if he doesn't realize I'm upset, he's just that cool that he'll make me feel better). I can sit here and try to explain how awesome he is, but I think this picture can sum it up the best:

"Really, China" (Mr. Ni is cool enough to make it into this category today)

And this is how my host dad plays with the restauraunt's fish tank.

Until Next Time,

再见

Peace.

Alyxie

*I'm working on making my pictures larger but haven't had any luck yet, so bear with me.

Opposing Forces, or, Back to the Future

Friday Night we went to on a river cruise along The Bund.Back when the foreigners were in control, the Bund was at the heart of colonial Shanghai - flanked on one side by the Huangpu River and on the other by the hotels, banks, offices, and clubs that were the grandiose symbols of western commercial power.
If you've seen pictures of Shanghai, they were probably of The Bund. I find this area most interesting because it displays an obvious contrast between the “Old Colonial (but still modern) China” and the “Futuristic China” -- where China came from, and where it's going. And you can see both sides at the same time. Fascinating...

Me,1842

Me, 2050

After cruising along the river, we went to the Puxi “future” side of the river via the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel. How can I describe this?? Imagine the creepiness and cheesiness of Willy Wonka's River Cruise (watch starting at 00:35 seconds), but instead of a boat we got this:

To the future we go...

Over on the Puxi side of the river, we went for some conveyor belt sushi. This place was great and we made it just in time before it closed...and in time to watch them save the unpurchased sushi for the next day. The verdict is still out on whether I'll return.

To end our night on the Bund, we traveled to our new favorite place to go: Paramount. Mix some Europeans, Americans and Asians with a fog machine, fabulous mash-up techno music, and a ton of smoke and you're at Paramount. With the V.I.P. cards we've managed to snag, you can also add in a private table, some snacks, and great service by Mark, my new Canadian-born Asian buddy.

Until Next Time,
再见
Peace.

"Bad Translation of the Day"

Finding the 心Heart Where the 家 Home Is

I’ve been in China for two weeks now, and I’m finally starting to feel settled. Although I’m not completely oriented, I can tell a cab driver where my house is…and in a country as big as China, that’s a good start.

I’ve mentioned before that I live far from the school – about 30 minutes from my house to my class. To be honest, I was initially disappointed that I am the only student this far from school (the other 10 home stay students live in apartments right outside the campus gates). Meeting my language tutor, attending club activities, or even just meeting my friends for the day takes significantly more planning and time. This is my apartment building. It has lights that outline the building that turn on at night--way to conserve energy, China.

But I’ve come to appreciate my walk to school. Every day, I get a cultural experience – seeing people bike and talk on their cell phones, seeing little kids stand in between dad’s legs as he drives the motor bike, holding my nose as I pass the sketchy outdoor market, chatting with the banana lady as I get my .15 cent snack, smiling at the street vendors (street food = off limits…at least until I give in), passing an array of stores (including an “adult” store if you catch my drift…I guess the government doesn’t control everything here, eh?), and watching several about-to-be accidents (did I mention I’m thinking of joining this biking culture? Bike to be purchased next week. Just wait for THOSE stories…). I wouldn’t trade in any of it to live closer to campus. This is the grand banana store, and below are some street vendors.

The key to adjusting is to feel like you can do/see everything in a new city that you would usually do/see at home. Shanghai is the most modern city in China, so I've had some luck:

...My bedroom has exactly enough room to do yoga (if you’re doing Bikram, or hot yoga, this is about the amount of space you have before the next person’s mat)…I've found my very own D.C. reflection pool (ehh, close enough.)...They sell ORGANIC food - whoaaa...You can find western influenced statues

…And today, I found a park. As some of you may know, I’ve just recently started running for the first time in four years, so finding a place where I can practice running is important. What better place than these little oases? (P.S. I have yet to see anyone else running around here so me running plus being American probably makes for a funny sight)

For those learners out there: the Chinese Garden developed as a synthesis of two concepts linked in Daoist philosophy: scenery and serenity – the contemplation of nature in isolated meditation leads to enlightenment. Therefore, the educated and wealthy built natural-looking retreats for themselves with an urban environment, and the tradition has continued.

And for any of you interested, this is the rest of my house...

Fun Fact: The Chinese don't believe in central air -- that means neither heat nor air conditioning -- they believe it's bad for your "Ch'i" or "Qi" Luckily, my bedroom has both, but my host dad will often blame the air conditioner if I have a headache or feel dizzy and often comes in and advises me to turn it down.

If you've been dying to meet my family, you'll meet them soon. I've already told them we're going to have a photo shoot tomorrow.

Until next time,
再见
Peace.

"Really, China?"

China is growing at an annual rate of 8% - Shanghai is growing at 10%...and yes, this is how they cut grass