Beijing

Last weekend a group of students from my university, including myself, took an overnight train up to Beijing.  The train was very nice and elegant.  I rode in a lot of sleeper cars in Europe this summer and none of them were half as nice as this Chinese bullet train. I was pleasantly surprised. I even had my own TV!

When we got to Beijing, we went to Tienanmen Square, where the Chinese military massacred many unarmed students during a protest in 1989. We were told not to talk aloud about the massacre because most of the Chinese don't know what happened there. The government denies that it ever happened and it's been kept out of their history books. We were also able to go into the Mausoleum where Mao's body is preserved. It was a bazaar experience.  Mao is solely responsible for the widespread famine, over-population of China that began during his administration.  He was also their first communist leader.  Members of the communist party would buy flowers outside the Mausoleum to lay next to Mao's body.  Conversely, those who hold Mao responsible for the detriment of the country were having their lighters and other destructive objects confiscated at the door.  Personally, I thought his body looked fake.  It wouldn't surprise me one bit if it was just a wax figure they're trying to pass off as the real guy.

Just across the road from there is the Forbidden City, which was at one time the Chinese imperial palace.  The people who lived there were either a part of the imperial family or servants of the emperor. All men living within the gates were castrated and all the women would sleep with the emperor and bear his children. Supposedly, if you watch "The Last Emperor" it'll tell you all about it. Today, only a small portion of the city is open to the public and many areas have yet to be discovered.  The architecture within the city is gorgeous and many of the rooms remain untouched.  The furniture is dusty, but exquisite.



Later, we went to the US Embassy. It was totally boring. Apparently, it's the largest embassy in China and the largest embassy the US has anywhere in the world.  I didn't think it was all that great.  We were given a presentation on working in foreign affairs by a woman who clearly hated her job. I thought I might want to work in public diplomacy, but I was wrong.

That night we went to a street market with one of the most eclectic food selections in the world. I ATE A SCORPION! And it wasn't bad. It tasted like shrimp, and I love shrimp! I did get the stinger stuck in my tongue though. Many of my friends tried different foods like tarantula, crocodile, snake, and gecko. I'm not quite as brave.

After that fun and filling dinner, I went to the Chinese opera.  It is unlike any other opera I've seen. The songs were incredibly high-pitched and squeaky. Thankfully, they didn't sing all that much.  It also included acrobatics, which made it the most exciting opera I've ever seen.

The next morning we all went to the Great Wall.  We took a ski-lift up and it was absolutely breathtaking!  I've never seen anything so beautiful and my pictures definitely don't do it justice.  The best part was the toboggan-slide that we all got to ride down the mountain!

That was by far the best part of the trip. We had a chance to see the Olympic Stadium later that day, but it really wasn't all that exciting. They don't use it for anything anymore. We had a traditional Peking duck dinner in a private room as a group at a beautiful market downtown. It was completely lit up with Christmas lights for the holidays. There was a Starbucks there too! The menu was different though, do I couldn't get my chai tea.

 

Our last day in Beijing, we went to Summer Palace and the zoo.  The palace is almost as beautiful as the great wall. Apparently it burned down once and the empress used the money that had been set aside to build a navy to rebuild the palace. Then Japan invaded.


The Beijing Zoo is one of the largest zoos in the world. We saw a dolphin show and a huge tank of dancing whales! They also have one of the nicest panda reserves in the world, so we got to see baby pandas play on a playground. It was so cute!


Before we got on the train back to Nanjing, we went to the Silk Street Market where we bartered for pearls and bags. It is a lot of fun to barter with the Chinese and it gave me a chance to practice my Mandarin.
Now I'm back home and have a few tests next week. Hopefully school will die down soon.

Happenings in Nanjing

The past few weeks haven't been all that interesting. I've been so busy with school that I've hardly had time to leave my apartment! But we did have a holiday break of four days so I was able to get out and experience some of the city.

beautiful lake

The zoo was a bitter-sweet experience.  It was nice because there's a lake at the front where children fish with makeshift fishing poles. It's so cute! A people camp out there and picnic.  The zoo is an all-day event in China.
The animals here are held in cages, not habitats, so it's more like a prison of animals than anything else.  It was very sad to see these grand, beautiful animals sulking behind bars.  The zoo also wasn't very safe. There are no rules in China.  My friend Katie and I were actually able to walk into the elephant cage through a hole in the fence and pet it.  It probably wasn't my brightest idea, but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity so I couldn't pass it up! The elephant slobbered all over me, but it was fun and I survived!  There is also a theme park in the middle of the zoo, where I went on the sketchiest roller-coaster of my life.  It was basically four chairs tied together on wheels and they strapped us in with a seat belt. I saw my life flash before my eyes every time it spun around!

I also went dragon boat racing with a group of my fellow Arizona students and some local high school Chinese kids.  Dragon boats are long and seat about twelve people.  There is a drummer at the front of the boat who keeps the rhythm and the rest of us paddle in tandem.  It was a ton of fun! We separated into four teams and raced each other across the lake. My team lost horribly, but it was a learning experience. And then we went out for pizza!

our dragon boat racing team

I am going to Beijing this week. Hopefully I will have more to write about when I get back!

SHANGHAI

Parents, you'd better save up those airline miles, because I've fallen in love and I may not be coming home.  The past two weekends I have spent in Shanghai and I can say with much confidence that it's my favorite city in the world!  It's basically NYC, but way prettier and with taller buildings.

Two weeks ago, I ventured over to Shanghai by train to meet Andy and Jackie Brassington for dinner.  Greg Merrell is currently living very close to Nanjing, so we met up and he headed over there with me.  Thank goodness Greg speaks Chinese! Without him I would definitely have gotten lost and probably ordered a train ticket to who-knows-where.
When we arrived in Shanghai, we went to the Yu Yuan Gardens in "Old Shanghai".  It was lovely to walk through.  There were a lot of fish-filled ponds, beautiful greenery, and many antique structures.  The weather was incredible, so it was the perfect day to go!

Later that evening, Greg and I met the Brassingtons and a few of their friends at the Shangri La Hotel.  We all went out to a nice dinner and had a lot of fun! It was so wonderful to be around close friends again :)
The Brassingtons and their friend John were kind enough to put me up for the evening.  John lives in what must be the most fabulous apartment in Shanghai! We spent the evening taking in the view from the deck, watching boats light up as they passed by on the river. The room I stayed in had the best view in the entire apartment and when I woke up in the morning, I had to pinch myself to know I wasn't still dreaming!

at night

in the morning

I spent a great day at the markets with Andy and Jackie.  They have to be the best barterers I have ever seen. It was tough to say goodbye at the end of the day, but I had to return to school in Nanjing and catch up on all the homework I didn't do that weekend.

No worries though, because I went back the next weekend!  This time, with a group of 40 students. We did all of the touristy stuff we could fit into one weekend.  Our first stop was Super Brands Mall (one of the largest malls in the world), where we ate lunch. From there, we took a glass shuttle under the river that runs through a tunnel with a light show.  It was like going to Disneyland for 15 minutes.  Then we went to "The Bund" (which I had a chance to do both weekends) to take photos.  It's basically just a boardwalk that runs in front of the skyline, but it is absolutely GORGEOUS!!

We did some shopping on Nanjing Road, where all the creepy alleys with fake goods are. That's also where all of the American food is, so I treated myself to Pizza Hut.  It was the best pizza I've ever had.
That night, the university treated us to a Chinese Acrobatics Show.  It was by far the coolest thing I have EVER seen!!!  It was better than Cirque Du Soleil, if you can believe it. There was fire, motorcycles, 5 Asians in a barrel, and the craziest acrobatics I have ever witnessed. I couldn't even believe what I was seeing!  Unfortunately, I couldn't take photos or video, so you'll just have to use your imagination.
On Saturday, we attended the World Expo, which was pretty spectacular.  The lines there are longer than they are at any American theme park.  However, we found that if you pretend to be from a country, you can get into their exhibit through the VIP entrance.  I was Dominican, Argentinean, Mexican, Peruvian, Italian, you name it!  If they are a dark complected people with a Latin accent, I could pull it off.  Every country had a unique way of expressing itself, from short films to fake rain forests.  Unfortunately, the USA exhibit was kind of a disappointment. We didn't get to see every country, but like I said before, I will be back.

Dominican Exhibit

My friend Griz and I with the Expo mascot

This is the squid that predicted the outcome of the World Cup!

 Today (Sunday), we went to the City Planning Center and learned about the vast economic growth of Shanghai over the past 13 years.  It was very informative and we all learned a lot.  It was also cool to see the model of the entire city, which takes up most of the third floor.
Now I'm back home in Nanjing, preparing for tomorrow's classes.  It was an awesome weekend.  I can't wait to get back to Shanghai.

Purple Mountain

Friends,

I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post! School has been totally overwhelming. Right about now, I really wish I wasn't taking 20 units. I find myself so exhausted by the end of the day that I can barely keep my eyes open long enough to finish all my homework! All of my Chinese explorations and adventures are going to have to wait until the weekend.

the tomb of Sun Yat-sen

Last weekend we went up to Purple Mountain as a group. It was terribly unorganized, which most of you know drives me absolutely insane! I will most likely not be participating in future group activities. However, despite the insanity, we managed to have a pretty exciting trip! Purple Mountain is on the outskirts of Nanjing and is where the tombs of China's most important political leaders are. We were able to go into the tomb of China's first president, as well as the memorial palace of the Ming Dynasty. Every monument was further and further up the mountain. It was tiring and my legs were jello by the end, but it was totally worth it!

there he lies

memorial of the Ming Dynasty (tombs are blocked within the mountain)

After exploring the tombs, everyone was pretty hot and tired so most people went home. A group of about 10 of us, along with our two professors, went on a hike through the woods (we saw tons of crazy bugs) and found a lake where people were swimming. It was absolutely beautiful!! I wish I had better pictures, but you just had to be there. So we all stripped down (we had our suits, just in case) and jumped in! We swam around with the fishes for a bit and then headed home. It was a wonderful way to end the day :)

men in speedos congregate in the middle of the lake

the sign we didn't see until after we jumped in

One of the most interesting things about Nanjing is that no one uses diapers for their babies. They think it's expensive and wasteful. Instead, they cut a hole in the butt of their child's clothes so that they can just go potty wherever/whenever they want. THIS IS NOT A JOKE! It's totally serious and everyone does it! I took the liberty of taking a photograph (discreetly) as proof for all of you back home that this really is happening. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, I was just caught so off guard and wanted to share this experience with you all.














I am looking forward to another fun weekend, so I should have plenty to share with you all next week! Love and miss you terribly!!


Zaijian,
Crystal


P.S. I getting really good at Mandarin! Someone actually understood me yesterday!

Hello Everybody!!

Hi friends! I'm so excited to tell you all that I am having a terrific time in Nanjing. When I got to Hong Kong I was met by a group of my fellow UA students and we flew over to Nanjing together. I had a little trouble getting through customs (I'm a suspicious looking person) and my roommate, Nicole, had her luggage lost. Other than that, it was a successful trip! I am now happily settled in my tiny roach-infested apartment with three great roommates. We took a long trip to IKEA yesterday and bought some bedding and decorations to liven the place up a bit. We may not have a light in our bathroom and the floor may be completely warped from water damage, but at least we all have designer comforters :) my room is actually one of the nicest. I got lucky!

my room post-IKEA

Our first day, we all went to Walmart as a group. China-Walmart is kind of like USA-Walmart, except that everything is pretty much useless. They sell flat pillows, hair dryers with one setting, and meat that I really hope people don't actually eat. It was interesting! That night, we all went out to a night club together and had a really great time. They don't have the same cocktails here that we do at home. Your only option is pretty much whiskey with your choice of tea. It's actually really good!

the temple

Our group of about 40 students has really bonded over the past three days. We all went to a Buddhist temple together on our second day and partook in most of the traditions, incense prayers were my favorite. We climbed to the top of the temple where you can see the entire city. Nanjing is a beautiful place! There is a wall all the way around the city because it was the capitol before Beijing, so we climbed up and walked around it for a while. 

making my incense prayer for good health :)

on the city wall

 It is very very VERY humid here. I've pretty much been sweating since I got off the plane! It's gross, I know. Luckily, I have my own a/c in my room. Actually, when my a/c broke the other night, I called maintenance and since everyone went home for the evening, they sent the police to my apartment to fix it. I almost died laughing as two police officers sat in my room fiddling with the a/c remote for an hour. It just seems silly that this is what the police are for here. There really isn't any violent crime in Nanjing, so the cops don't even carry weapons.
I can't wait to start classes on Monday! I've decided to take a conversational Chinese course, because no one here speaks English and I would like to be able to tell the cab driver that I know he's ripping me off when the meter says 10 and he takes my 20.
Love and miss you all very much!
Skype or email me anytime:
crystal_gamache (skype)
cgamache@email.arizona.edu
I also have pictures up on my facebook page.