There is too much to be blogged, so I will only summarize the past week. I went to four cities in one week, including Beijing, Taian, Jinan, and Qingdao, which is pretty much the same route I take every time I visit China. I visited many relatives (OMG I have A LOT of relatives) and found that even though we're a world apart, we're still very close. I've travelled through the still very under developed parts of China, lived in less than glamourous conditions, eaten (and spit out) too many cow stomachs, pigs ears, chicken livers, frogs legs, cried at many hellos and goodbyes. I'm now feeling absolutely exhausted and overwhelmed with mixed emotions. I can't help but wonder what my life would have been like if I stayed in China...I guess I'll never know.
My flight to DC is in a few hours, I'm killing time in the premier lounge at the Beijing airport. I'm also thinking of ways to spend my last 500 RMB...I'm sure I won't have any problems with that! :)
I didn't take that many pictures, can you believe it? They're mostly of family. Do check back in a few days, I'll post some great ones of the Forbidden City and the Great Wall.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Mission accomplished!
Next to work, there were three things I wanted to do while in Beijing...1) visit family 2) visit The Great Wall of China, and 3) eat Peking duck......MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
I got up early yesterday and took a (very shady) "cab" to the Great Wall, which is about 1 hour and 1/2 outside of Beijing. It was a hot and steamy day and extremely crowded at the Great Wall. Not that it was a surprise, I am in China after all. The Great Wall was built 2,000 years ago by the first emperor of China during the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC). It is about 5,000 km or 3,100 miles long. Good Lord, I just realized that it's longer than the US from east to west coast! Damn the Chinese are awesome! I went to the very top of Badaling, which is 888 meters above ground. It was a great feeling to be there, I felt very proud of my Chinese heritage. Chairman Mao once said that you're not a good man until you've been to the Great Wall, I guess the trip to the Great Wall just made me a pretty awesome person! :)
My family took me to a local restaurant to have Peking duck for dinner! The only place I ever eat duck is in Beijing, there is none like it elsewhere. It's cooked tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, wrapped in a flour wrap, with plum sauce and fresh green onions...mmmm, sinfully good! We had other typical Beijing dishes along with the duck, I just about ate myself sick! In a good way of course! The meal for four was only 113 RMB or $14....I still haven't forgotten about the $6 Evian....GRRRRR!
The most exciting part of the last couple of days is that my uncle bought a new car! He worked in New Guinea in the 80's where he learned how to drive, and it has been his dream to own a vehicle for 20 years and now, it is finally possible to do so in China. He bought a Nissan Livina and has spent the last two days sitting in the car with the manual, learning all of its features. He signed up for a driving class that starts in a couple of weeks. He'll be picking me up from the airport the next time I visit! My cousin is driving the car in the mean time. They are just so excited and I'm thrilled for them!
My journey in Beijing ends today. I will be leaving in a few minutes to take a train to my hometown of Taian, which is a little bit south of Beijing. TBH, I'm not really looking forward to the 8 hour train ride.
From Beijing, zai jian!
I got up early yesterday and took a (very shady) "cab" to the Great Wall, which is about 1 hour and 1/2 outside of Beijing. It was a hot and steamy day and extremely crowded at the Great Wall. Not that it was a surprise, I am in China after all. The Great Wall was built 2,000 years ago by the first emperor of China during the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC). It is about 5,000 km or 3,100 miles long. Good Lord, I just realized that it's longer than the US from east to west coast! Damn the Chinese are awesome! I went to the very top of Badaling, which is 888 meters above ground. It was a great feeling to be there, I felt very proud of my Chinese heritage. Chairman Mao once said that you're not a good man until you've been to the Great Wall, I guess the trip to the Great Wall just made me a pretty awesome person! :)
My family took me to a local restaurant to have Peking duck for dinner! The only place I ever eat duck is in Beijing, there is none like it elsewhere. It's cooked tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, wrapped in a flour wrap, with plum sauce and fresh green onions...mmmm, sinfully good! We had other typical Beijing dishes along with the duck, I just about ate myself sick! In a good way of course! The meal for four was only 113 RMB or $14....I still haven't forgotten about the $6 Evian....GRRRRR!
The most exciting part of the last couple of days is that my uncle bought a new car! He worked in New Guinea in the 80's where he learned how to drive, and it has been his dream to own a vehicle for 20 years and now, it is finally possible to do so in China. He bought a Nissan Livina and has spent the last two days sitting in the car with the manual, learning all of its features. He signed up for a driving class that starts in a couple of weeks. He'll be picking me up from the airport the next time I visit! My cousin is driving the car in the mean time. They are just so excited and I'm thrilled for them!
My journey in Beijing ends today. I will be leaving in a few minutes to take a train to my hometown of Taian, which is a little bit south of Beijing. TBH, I'm not really looking forward to the 8 hour train ride.
From Beijing, zai jian!
Saturday, September 8, 2007
How much?
I had a final meal before leaving the fancy hotel, which consisted of a club sandwich and a bottle of water. I noticed that my bill was much higher than expected. Puzzled, I took a closer look at the description on the check and found that the bottle of Evian was 45 RMB. If you do the math, that equates to $6!!! OMGWTFBBQ?!!! My meal was 75 RMB, that should give you some perspective on how much the water is.
I took the Beijing subway to Tianmen Square after paying for the $6 water. The subway is fairly new and very clean, and it only costs 3 RMB per trip, that's less than $.40. I hadn't planned to tour the Forbidden City since I've seen it a few times but couldn't help myself when I got there. The Forbidden City was the home to 24 emperors and is the largest and most complete imperial palace and ancient building complex in the world. It extends 753 meters from east to west, and 961 meters from north to south, and covers a total area of 720,000 square meters. Obviously, I didn't see the whole thing but did feel like I needed new feet by the end of the day.
I took a very long cab ride to where my family lives near the northern border of Beijing, and I'm now in "real China" where not everything is so fancy, not everywhere is so clean, and not everyone is so friendly...ahhhh, it's good to be home :) I'm with my aunt and uncle, who are always great to me, and my cousin, whom I haven't seen in 11 years. I played a trick on him by pretending to ask for directions and he didn't recognize me until I followed him all the way to his house!
The rest of the week has been planned out and it will begin with The Great Wall of China! I am ever so excited!
I took the Beijing subway to Tianmen Square after paying for the $6 water. The subway is fairly new and very clean, and it only costs 3 RMB per trip, that's less than $.40. I hadn't planned to tour the Forbidden City since I've seen it a few times but couldn't help myself when I got there. The Forbidden City was the home to 24 emperors and is the largest and most complete imperial palace and ancient building complex in the world. It extends 753 meters from east to west, and 961 meters from north to south, and covers a total area of 720,000 square meters. Obviously, I didn't see the whole thing but did feel like I needed new feet by the end of the day.
I took a very long cab ride to where my family lives near the northern border of Beijing, and I'm now in "real China" where not everything is so fancy, not everywhere is so clean, and not everyone is so friendly...ahhhh, it's good to be home :) I'm with my aunt and uncle, who are always great to me, and my cousin, whom I haven't seen in 11 years. I played a trick on him by pretending to ask for directions and he didn't recognize me until I followed him all the way to his house!
The rest of the week has been planned out and it will begin with The Great Wall of China! I am ever so excited!
Friday, September 7, 2007
Me likey Beijing!
I was asked to call a manager in Chicago about a project last Tuesday, and when I did, he told me I needed to be in China by Monday morning...like I'd argue with that! So I quickly read up on the background of the project, put a rush service on my visa application, threw some clothes in a suitcase, and flew to Beijing on Saturday. I'd always wanted to travel to China for work where I can apply my language skills, and after five long years, the opportunity finally came. In a way, I guess it's like a dream come true!
I remembered Beijing as this big, crowded, stinky and polluted city with rude people. Boy, have things changed since 2004, and I have the upcoming Olympic Games to thank! Skyscrapers dominate the city and there are countless new ones under construction. Everything you see and touch is high tech, I feel like a dummy taking ages to figure things out. The city is clean and you can tell that the sky is still blue. Everyone is fashionably dressed, well mostly the women, the men still have a ways to go. Everything is written in English, and properly spelled, and most people at least speak basic English. I worked in the Beijing office today and the Chinese people even speak to each other in English! The most noticeable difference is the quality of customer service. Who'd thunked, Beijingers, nice? Everything here is just so fancy and I'm treated like a VIP everywhere I go. I do remind myself that I am in the expat district, so things might be different elsewhere. For now, i'm soaking it up!
The food is to die for! No, not bugs and worms! Maggie - I had A&J for lunch on my first day, but of course they don't call it A&J here. Beijing is only the tip of the iceberg, wait till I go to my hometown for some real deliciousness! I'm just thankful that there is a state of the art fitness center in the hotel! I swam in the big fancy schmancy 35 meter pool, even had to buy a swim cap because everyone is required to wear one...so fancy!
The best part about this trip, so far, is finding that my business Chinese is more than adequate! I was concerned over nothing. This is such a high!
I'm done with work and will be on vacation beginning Friday. Aside from visiting family in Shandong, I haven't planned my route for the upcoming week. Really, who needs an agenda, I'm in friggin' China! I'm so proud of the progress this country has made, and it's great to be home. I might just stay here, marry a well-dressed Chinese dude, have ONE Chinese baby, and live happily Chinese after.
I will try to blog during my trip but wouldn't die if I didn't look at a computer for a week. At least you now know why I suddenly disappeared.
As they now say in Beijing, bye-bye!
Btw - I think "Everybody loves Raymond" is one of the funniest shows...dubbed in Chinese...not so much!
I remembered Beijing as this big, crowded, stinky and polluted city with rude people. Boy, have things changed since 2004, and I have the upcoming Olympic Games to thank! Skyscrapers dominate the city and there are countless new ones under construction. Everything you see and touch is high tech, I feel like a dummy taking ages to figure things out. The city is clean and you can tell that the sky is still blue. Everyone is fashionably dressed, well mostly the women, the men still have a ways to go. Everything is written in English, and properly spelled, and most people at least speak basic English. I worked in the Beijing office today and the Chinese people even speak to each other in English! The most noticeable difference is the quality of customer service. Who'd thunked, Beijingers, nice? Everything here is just so fancy and I'm treated like a VIP everywhere I go. I do remind myself that I am in the expat district, so things might be different elsewhere. For now, i'm soaking it up!
The food is to die for! No, not bugs and worms! Maggie - I had A&J for lunch on my first day, but of course they don't call it A&J here. Beijing is only the tip of the iceberg, wait till I go to my hometown for some real deliciousness! I'm just thankful that there is a state of the art fitness center in the hotel! I swam in the big fancy schmancy 35 meter pool, even had to buy a swim cap because everyone is required to wear one...so fancy!
The best part about this trip, so far, is finding that my business Chinese is more than adequate! I was concerned over nothing. This is such a high!
I'm done with work and will be on vacation beginning Friday. Aside from visiting family in Shandong, I haven't planned my route for the upcoming week. Really, who needs an agenda, I'm in friggin' China! I'm so proud of the progress this country has made, and it's great to be home. I might just stay here, marry a well-dressed Chinese dude, have ONE Chinese baby, and live happily Chinese after.
I will try to blog during my trip but wouldn't die if I didn't look at a computer for a week. At least you now know why I suddenly disappeared.
As they now say in Beijing, bye-bye!
Btw - I think "Everybody loves Raymond" is one of the funniest shows...dubbed in Chinese...not so much!
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