Spring Break: Yunnan

Wednesday morning Sophie and I woke up at 5am and got ready to go to the airport. We are both embarking on separate trips to the Yunnan Province in Southern China. I am going with my program, and she is going with friends from her Beijing program. My program has planned a 9-day vacation for us, and we will be visiting 4 cities: Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, and Xishuangbanna. Although Sophie and I are both starting in Kunming, we are taking different flights (both at the crack of dawn), and we will only overlap in one city. The flight from Shanghai to Kunming was 3 hours, and we all slept through the entire thing. When we arrived in Kunming, we took a group bus to our hotel, which was located right in the center of town. Kunming is nicknamed the “Spring City,” because of its year round temperate weather. Unfortunately, it was a little chilly when we were there, but we will be returning to Kunming at the end of our trip, so hopefully the weather will be nicer.




The first thing we did was set out to explore and eat lunch. I ate at small food vendors as I walked through the streets. Because people are vacationing for New Year’s vacation, Kunming was very busy with markets and vendors everywhere. I walked around the Muslim district where there were many mosques and small eating places with interesting food. Yunnan is very interesting because it has many Chinese minorities residing within its borders. Every city that we are visiting is specific to a certain minority group, so we will be learning a lot about each group at their customs. For instance, in Lijiang we will get to see a traditional Naxi music concert. The Naxi minority is one of the most well known ethnic groups in China. In Kunming, they also have a specific bird and flower market, which was full of animals and plants as well as other wares. We decided to head back a little before dinner to nap and get ready. At dinner we got to meet the 9 students from Beijing that are studying through the same program in Beijing. We will all be traveling together for the duration of the trip, and both of our resident directors have planned full days for us the entire time. We had a Chinese meal in a restaurant that looked like it was straight out of a Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon scene. The architecture was designed in older Chinese fashion, and I could picture a sword scene happening in the midst of our meal. We would have had front row seats. After dinner, we went to the supermarket to buy snacks for the bus rides we would have the next two days, and then had orientation to go over our itinerary. Our itinerary is very extensive, and most of our days are fully booked, and even our free time is usually scheduled until dinnertime. After the orientation, I went out and explored more of Kunming at night. It is a very small city, and it combines traditional Chinese aspects with very westernized buildings such as huge supermarkets (Carrefour) and malls. Earlier that day I had purchased DVDs of movies that are theaters now, and before I went to bed I watched part of the new Confucius movie.



Day 2: We woke up at 8 and left Kunming for Dali. The bus ride took around 5 hours, and most of us caught up on sleep and then learned a little about Dali history, and the Bai Minority group that is prominent there. When we arrived we went to a little village restaurant to have Chinese food, which in this region is a lot less sweet and oily, and has more dairy in it. Directly after lunch, we went to Lake Erhai and boated to a peninsula on the other side. There we saw Buddhist temples and took part in a traditional Bai tea ceremony. During the ceremony, we tried three types of tea: bitter, sweet, and spicy, and then heard a short singing performance. We learned about the headdresses the Bai women wear, and how different characteristics display a woman’s marital status. Single women have whiter coloring on their headpieces, which is call “snow.” Later that day, we saw many women wearing these, and joked that our guy friends could only flirt with the women wearing “snow.” We had to head back fairly quickly, because the wind was picking up and our boat ride over was already less than pleasant. Our hotel was a beautiful building done in older Chinese architecture overlooking a central garden, and it was peacefully tucked away behind a long market street. A large part of Dali is walled off so that no cars can drive through the market streets. We walked through the South gate to see all of the vendors and temples throughout the city. There was a street called ‘Foreigner’s Street” with many western restaurants and bars. We ate dinner at a restaurant with every food imaginable, and later I was looking through my China travel book and found that it was one of the two recommended restaurants in Dali, so we did a good job of happening upon that restaurant. We walked around a little more at night, but then it started raining, so we went back to the hotel to get a good night’s sleep before our bus ride to Lijiang the next day.




Day 3: We woke up early in Dali to leave for a four-hour bus ride to Lijiang. The night before ten students had become seriously ill, so we all thought it had been food poisoning from lunch the day before, because it was the only common meal we shared. We made more stops along the way to Lijiang to accommodate the sick students, so we arrived later, which was fine because we did not have much planned to do that day. When we arrived, most of us rested, and then explored the part of town we were staying in. We stayed in “Old Town,” which reminded me of Venice, because there were no roads, tiny walking streets, and canals, although the canals were too small for boats. I went to a small café that looked out over the streets and read there awhile. Later, our group went to a traditional Naxi music concert. Having previewed this type of music prior to the concert, I knew I was not going to particularly enjoy it, but it was more impressive live. The orchestra including around 10 men over the age of 80 and each was recognized during the performance. In between each music piece there were long explanations of the history of Naxi music said in both Mandarin and English. The video below is a short sample of what the performance was like. I went back to the hotel afterwards, because the next day we had to wake up at 6am to go to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, where we would ascend to the 14,000ft viewing point.


Day 4: Today we woke up at 5:45am to go to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. We got to the mountain around 7 and rented extra coats, because it was very cold. All of us looked extremely cute in our huge red parkas, but we were grateful when we got to the top of the mountain. To get to the top, we rode cable cars for 20 minutes. These were not ideal for those afraid of heights, because they went very vertically at many points, and obviously you could see all 14,000ft below you. Once we got to the top, it was pretty difficult to breath. Most of the Chinese tourists bought personal cans of oxygen, and our group had some if we needed to use it. There was a ton of snow that had freshly fallen from the day before, and it was a beautiful clear day, so we could see everything below us. We walked around a little before heading back down the cable car to the lodge. The day was so sunny, and the temperature was a lot warmer, so we ate lunch outside and took naps. At 2 we went to the Lijiang Impression Show. This show is a cultural demonstration of the traditions and lifestyles of the Naxi, Yi, and Bai minorities of Yunnan. It uses the snow mountain as a backdrop and has a cast of over 500 people and many horses. Zhang Yimou, who also directed the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, directed it and I found it very interesting. After the show, we all went back to the hotel, and I rested for a little before going to a exploring a little and going to a café. Henry and I met up with Sophie and her friends from Beijing for dinner that night and we went to a Swiss restaurant that was recommended in my travel book that had traditional food as well as western food. We had a good meal, however, the power went out in the middle and so it became a little more romantic with candles as our only lighting. We went and got dessert and talked a little longer before we parted ways.




Day 5: Unfortunately this morning I woke up at 4:30am feeling very ill and got sick multiple times. Our director told me other people had been sick as well even after the original few, so we began to think it was a flu or virus going around. I was pretty much out of commission today, and luckily we only had a short bus ride to the next town, so I slept the rest of the day. We had to fly out of Lijiang at 10pm, so we got to the airport, and even though I was feeling better, I hadn’t eaten anything that day, so I was taking it very easy. However, as we were boarding I made one last bathroom trip, and before I knew it, I had fainted! Luckily I told my director my plans to use the restroom before boarding, so she came to look for me, but when I woke up, I was very disoriented and sure I had missed the plane. The flight was short and I slept through it, and as soon as I got to the hotel I fell asleep.

Day 6: This morning I felt 95% better, but decided to stick around the city instead of doing the day’s activity in the extremely warm weather. We had arrived in Xishuangbanna, which is known as China’s mini-Thailand because it is one of the southern most cities in China, so even in February the temperature was in the 80’s. I walked around and saw some of the parks and enjoyed the sunshine. I sat down at a café that was recommended in my China travel book and had some of the best food I had eaten on my vacation. They had western, Chinese, and Dai minority food, and it seemed that the crowd was mixed enough to represent all of those cuisines. I sat and read my book for a bit, and decided I would come back later to use wireless internet. I returned to my room and took a nap while I waited for everyone to return from the village they had gone to. I really wanted to go with them today, because they were hiking and boating to a village, and then eating with a host family, and playing basketball against the local villagers, but taking it easy turned out to hasten my recovery, so I can be thankful for that! I brought friends back to the café I found for a pre-dinner snack, and then later we went for Thai food. When they say that Xishuangbanna is mini-Thailand they weren’t lying. The food was spicier and more authentic than any Thai food I have had in the states. Because my stomach was still recovering, I could only stand so much of the spicy food, but it was very tasty. I went to bed early, so I could get up and be part of the group’s adventures the next day.





Day 7: Today I woke up feeling amazing. My director was worried that I still shouldn’t participate, but I had been looking forward to hiking and biking in the rainforest the whole day prior. We started early and bused to the trailhead after breakfast. The first part of the hike was about two hours long throughout the tropical mountain, and then we stopped at an Aini Minority Village for a tea break. In this village they have a tea plantation that makes tea from an 800-year-old tree, and they served us in bamboo shoot glasses that they then gifted to us. The next part of our hike was for another hour until we reached a spot for lunch. Here our tour staff, who brought us lunch, met us and we sat in the mountain and ate while we rested. Throughout the hike we saw so many rice paddies and beautiful forests, and after lunch we finished the last part of the hike to the other side of the mountain. Once we reached the road, we had the option of taking the bus back to the hotel or biking down the mountain to another bus waiting at the bottom. Most of us opted for the biking option, and everyone who did was very pleased. It was one of my favorite things I have done since I’ve been in China. We biked 8 miles mostly downhill admiring the rainforest, waterfalls, and rice paddies along the way. The weather was warm, and it was the perfect way to end our day. We got back to the hotel and everyone had to shower before dinner. Dinner was at a traditional Dai restaurant complete with Dai traditional dances and dishes. In true Chinese fashion the performance was so loud that we couldn’t even talk amongst ourselves at dinner. After dinner we went back to our favorite Meimei café to get dessert and enjoy sitting outside in the warm night air. Tomorrow we will go back to Kunming for two last days before heading back to Shanghai.



Day 8: We woke up early today and checked out of our hotel in Xishuangbanna. Our flight for Kunming left at 10:30am and we had a very turbulent 40-minute flight. Once we arrived, we went straight to lunch, which included another performance, however, they haven’t been particularly entertaining. After lunch, we went to a teahouse, where we tried 5 different types of teas and learned about their medicinal values. A lot of people bought tea as gifts, and then we left to check into our hotel. We stayed in the same hotel as our first night in Kunming, so we new what we could find in the surrounding area. We decided to explore the Green Lake area around Yunnan University. It’s a beautiful lake in the middle of the city where people fly kites, ride boats, and picnic in the park. I’ve never seen the Chinese art of kite flying. Some flyers can get the kite so high into the sky that you can barely see it floating in the far distance. I found a café that was recommended in my book and enjoyed some tasty western food and coffee. There are a lot of American students in Kunming, and I met a few at the Salvador Café I was at. I caught up with friends from home, and researched for my spring break trip to Beijing. Later that night I watched Sherlock Holmes thanks to the China DVD black market!



Day 9: Today is our last day. We got to sleep in, but I woke up early to explore more around Yunnan University. We visited many little shops and cafes, and finally sat down for brunch. I met a fellow Southern California resident, and we talked a bit about our intentions in China, and it was nice to meet other Americans in such a random place as Kunming. The University really draws a lot of nationalities to the smaller town of Kunming. Our group met up for one last dinner before the Beijing group and Shanghai group parted ways at the airport. We had a great meal and celebrated two birthdays with Chinese birthday cake. We headed to the airport and hopped on our two and a half hour flight back to Shanghai, and now I’m home and happy to see my pillow and teddy bear right where I left them. I will miss the weather in Yunnan province, as it is currently raining and thundering in Shanghai! I had a wonderful vacation, and a very authentic experience in every city. It was great to have the addition of the Beijing group, and the trip was so well organized that we got to see so much in a short period of time. Now back to a busy fun-filled weekend in Shanghai to celebrate the end of a great Spring break!


Chinese Word of the Day: 云南 (Yunnan, literally means 'South of the Clouds')

Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, Hong Kong

Thursday was a day of preparations. Sophie and I prepared to go to Hong Kong the next day, and I prepared to take my weekly Chinese test before our two week vacation. Sunday is Chinese New Year's Day, so we are traveling during a particularly busy time in China. Everyone returns to their hometowns and the airports are very busy. Luckily for us, we are technically traveling internationally, so the airport should be relatively empty. Thursday night we had one last dinner in downtown Shanghai. Henry, Sophie, and I ventured to a highly recommended Mexican restaurant called Maya. The restaurant was filled with primarily westerners, and it wasn't the typical California Mexican food I am used to, but tasty nonetheless. After my test on Friday, Sophie and I did a little last minute exploring near my school, and I took her to the food market, which was so crowded due to last minute purchases for Chinese New Year.


We got in a cab to the airport and arrived to an almost empty airport. I flight sat on the runway for over an hour, which was annoying, but we finally arrived in Hong Kong 3 hours later. Because our flights were so expensive, due to Chinese New Year, we opted for cheaper living arrangements and stayed in a hostel on Cameron Rd in Kowloon (opposite side from Central Hong Kong). We ate dinner locally, and then walked around Kowloon looking at all the shops and restaurants. I could quickly tell that Hong Kong was a shopper's paradise. There are tons of name brand stores as well as markets and boutiques. And unlike Shanghai, there are many types of restaurants in a close proximity to wherever you are, so consumerism is very accessible in Hong Kong. We weren't sure what was going to be open during the New Year Holiday, so we couldn't really plan our trip, but we figured out a few main things we wanted to do and went to bed early, so we could have a full day of exploring.



Saturday morning, we talked to a woman at our front desk, who advised us to visit the museums and markets, because they could be potentially closed for the rest of our visit. We started the morning at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, where we saw people setting up for the New Year's Day Parade. We walked along the Avenue of the Stars, which is a walkway facing the Central side of Hong Kong. The museum was very interesting, and had a lot of great exhibits, but we soon found ourselves wandering to the "Ladies Market." Although its names suggests otherwise, this market has everything anyone could want, namely clothing, jewelry, souvenirs, and electronics. Unfortunately, our bargaining skills weren't as useful as they are in China, but nonetheless we walked away with a few finds. We also picked up some street food along the way, and spoke some Mandarin. Cantonese is the primary language here, so we truly felt like tourists only being able to communicate in English, but in the markets, many of the merchants speak broken Mandarin, so we decided to practice.


We walked back down Nathan Street, the main street in Kowloon, and it started to slightly rain. We had hoped for good weather in Hong Kong, leaving a very cold Shanghai at 28 degrees, and an even colder Beijing in Sophie's case. However, even though the temperature was a little more moderate, the weekend was rainy and foggy overall. We walked up past the bar district on our way home, and sat in Kowloon park to figure out our plans for the night. A club next to our hostel was having a Chinese New Year's Eve Party, so we decided to go out to that after dinner. Upon arriving at the club, we were approached by the host, who asked us why we decided to come to such a "local" venue. We hadn't really realized how local it was, but after an hour went by, and many people approached us to offer us drinks and introduce themselves, we realized that we might be the first foreigners some of the guests had met. The host warned us that we would be popular, and later on the dance floor we were surrounded at all times by people wanting to dance with us! The club had a countdown for the new year at 1am (very weird), and also had a lion dance to accompany the countdown. We met a lot of people who were in the club business, and they invited us out to events throughout the weekend that they were putting on.


Even though we stayed out pretty late celebrating the New Year (and Valentine's Day!) Sophie and I got up early to go to a region called the New Territories to see the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas. When we got there, we realized that the 10,000 was not an overexaggeration, and was more likely and underestimation of how many Buddhas there were. The entire hike up to the temple was lined with golden Buddhas, and once we arrived each temple had miniature Buddhas lining the wall. There were a lot of people visiting for the New Year, and there were many people offering gifts and prayers at the temple. It was interesting to look out at the Hong Kong horizon stacked with buildings while standing in a completely serene temple only up a hill from the mentioned buildings. We left to eat an early dinner of yummy Chinese food in honor of the holiday, and then staked out spots for the Chinese New Year Parade that was happening that night. The parade was amazing, and it had floats from all over the world, including an extremely random one from the San Diego Charger girls :) The parade went late, and then we walked around a little before going to bed. We wanted to be well rested for our adventure in Central Hong Kong the next day.




To get to Central the next morning, we took the Star Ferry across. It takes only 6 minutes to cross the water, and it happens to be cheaper than the subway. Our first stop was "The Peak." Victoria Peak was extremely crowded today most likely because of the holiday, and we had to wait awhile to take the incredibly steep funicular up the hill. We bought extra tickets to see the highest view, but much to our disappointment it was so foggy we couldn't see past the guard rail. Although the trip seemed like somewhat of a failure, the train ride up and down was one of the coolest parts, because we had more visibility of the city. Now we have an excuse to go back, so we can see the peak for real. Next, we went to Lan Kwai Fong, which reminded me of Greece with its small streets and stairs connecting the streets above and below. There is a long escalator that you can take to get up the hill, and in the morning it is reversed for business people to get down the hill to their offices. Sophie and I had an early dinner at a little Mexican food restaurant, and then went home quickly to change and get ready for our night.


Our plan was to go back to Central to watch fireworks and then meet up with our friend Tommy from Berkeley, who is studying abroad in Hong Kong. After the most amazing fireworks show I have ever seen, Sophie and I went to meet Tommy. We walked around Wan Chai going to a couple different spots, before heading back to Lan Kwai Fong to visit some of our promoter friends we had met the night before. We made it another late night, but luckily our flight didn't leave until 3:30 the next day, and we wanted to embrace every moment of time we had in Hong Kong. The next day we headed to the airport and flew back to Shanghai. Sophie and I both had to quickly repack for a 7am flight the next day, as we are both (separately) going to Yunnan Province for the rest of our vacation. My program has scheduled a 10-day vacation in 4 cities in the Yunnan province (Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, and Xishaung Banna), and the weather is supposed to be amazing because it is further west and much more south than Shanghai. More to come on those adventures later!




Chinese Word of the Day: 香港 (Xiang gang: Hong Kong)

Adventures with Sophie

Sophie arrived on Saturday afternoon and navigated to meet me at my apartment. We hung out and caught up about our adventures in China, before planning our night out. I decided to take her to my favorite dumpling place for an afternoon snack and then we came home and rested before leaving for the night. At 8, we met up with Henry to go into town and meet up with his friends for dinner. We arrived at his apartment downtown where we were met by Ikea staff setting up his new apartment. His roommates were telling them where to put stuff, and I got extremely jealous of his summer living situation, because apartments downtown are so beautiful in that part of Shanghai. In the US, Ikea is nice, because it is so cheap, but it can be a hassle if you aren't construction savvy when it comes to actually putting the furniture together. In China, you do not have to worry about this, because you can pay someone to wait in line with your stuff, then bring it to your house, and finally set it up and arrange it how you like it. We went to get take-out to bring back to the apartment, and we had our very first dinner party in their apartment. Sophie and I said goodbye and headed to a club downtown called Soho. Upon arriving, we met up with all my friends from my program and reserved a table for the night. It was a great first night with Sophie, and we had fun dancing, drinking, and meeting other young people from all over the world. When we got home late that night, we got to video chat with Aaron, Matt, Ross, and Danielle, which was very cool seeing as they are in different places around the world, and we still get to see their faces every so often!


Sunday morning we got up early after getting only a few hours of sleep to meet with Sophie's cousin for brunch. She took us to an amazing dim sum traditional brunch, and we all ate way too much. She took us to the pearl market after, and we shopped around for awhile before she had to go, and Sophie and I continued to look around for awhile. Sophie is a master bargainer, because she doesn't really bargain but rather names her only price and leaves until they give in, and I used this to my advantage on our shopping adventure. Besides pearls, the market had the typical goods you would see in any shopping street in China, designer bags, fake cell phones, traditional Chinese goods, jewelry and clothing, etc. We bought some pearl jewelry, and presents for other people, and then dvds to watch on our travels. The dvds we purchased were all movies currently in theater, so we were worried that they would be of poor quality (i.e. someone taping from the theater), but they were surprising clear and normal for the .75cents we paid. On our way home, Sophie and I stopped at the train station to buy tickets to travel to Hangzhou. We were going the next day for a one night/one day adventure. We met a lady there who talked to us for awhile and told us some important things to see in Hangzhou. For dinner, Henry and I took her to our favorite restaurant across from school and then made a quick stop for dessert before heading home. We watched the movie "The Lovely Bones," and decided to stop when it was too creepy to watch in our pitch dark room.


Monday morning I had class, so Sophie went to explore downtown a little. I got done with class at 3, met up with Sophie, packed my bag, and then we left for Hangzhou. The train was only 1.5 hours and we got to our hotel around 7pm. Our hotel was amazing, and it was comparable to one of the nicer hotels I have stayed in anywhere else, but for $25 a night. Unfortunately we mostly just enjoyed sleeping there, because the rest of the day was packed with stuff to do in such a short amount of time. Monday night when we arrived, we explored downtown in a shopping and restaurant district that the hotel recommended we visit. While walking around, we happened upon a huge pagoda, and we hiked up to see it. It was about to close for the night, so we could only see it from the outside, but there were amazing views of the city from were we had hiked to. As we descended the hill, we bought some fruit at a little fruit market before heading back to our hotel. At this point it was fairly late, and we decided to go to bed and wake up early to see as much as possible the next day.


The next morning we checked out of the hotel, stored our bags with the concierge, and took a taxi to the famous Ling yin temple. On our way, the taxi driver took us to a small tea village to show us where the tea leaves were grown and drive us through some scenic places. We got to the temple and walked around the grounds. We saw the stone carvings the lined the walls of the perimeter, and the beautiful Buddhist statues in each of the three temples. It was a very nice day in Hangzhou, and it seemed almost too warm for how we had dressed. Meanwhile, it was raining in Shanghai, so I guess I can be thankful that we escaped that! After navigating the temples, we were ready for lunch, so we took a taxi downtown to Hangzhou's very own Xintiandi area. We tried the Hangzhou specialty Jiaohuaji (drunken chicken), which is a a chicken wrapped in bamboo leaves and covered in clay to be cooked. It was an interesting experience, because we were served the entire cooked chicken, including the claw, which I refused to look at. We had been walking around for awhile, so we decided to take a gondola across the lake to one of the islands in the middle. We rode with some people from Beijing, who talked to us about America and asked Sophie if she owned a gun(?)...anyways despite some awkward questions, the scenery was beautiful, and because it was a clear day, we could see everything from the lake.



The ride was about an hour long, and I fell asleep for part of it, but when we arrived on the island Sophie and I walked around a bit before stopping at a cafe to sit by the lake for a little while. We chatted and drank coffee all while being stalked by local guys who kept coming by to take pictures with the 美国人们 (Americans). At some point it stopped being amusing, and Sophie and I walked along the lake until we got back to our hotel. After a full day of activities we were pretty tired, but we had a couple hours to kill before our train left, so we grabbed our bags from the hotel and headed downtown to a little shopping road. On this road, there were hundreds of vendors and shops, and we made our way down from one end to the next. At the end we sat down for street food and tried a couple little things. We made our way towards the train station, and ended up walking all the way there through cute little streets throughout the city. We asked on of the train attendants were our waiting room was, and she decided to escort us ahead of a huge line. We felt somewhat silly for doing this, because clearly she thought we wouldn't be able to figure it out ourselves from her directions, but we were happy to be finally sitting after a long day of exploring. We finally got on the train home and rode the subway back to my apartment.



Yesterday, Sophie and I went to the French Concession and Xintiandi to walk around and see all the famous places around these areas. We started with lunch at Din Tai Fung, a dumpling place I mentioned before that Sophie had recommended. Then we followed somewhat of a walking tour from our guidebook, deviating to see other things every once in awhile. As its name suggests, the French concession is highly European and filled with parks and beautiful architecture. We walked through many gardens and I coveted many houses! Our first stop was a beautiful Russian Orthodox Church. It was a building that stood out from the rest, and we had no difficulty finding. Next we visited Dr. Sun Yatsen's residence. In attempts to save time, we only viewed it from the outside, but I will go back later to tour the entire house. We walked through the smaller streets and alleys, and I wondered if I were still in Shanghai. The French Concession is a lot less congested, the scenery is beautiful, and the air even seems cleaner, but that could be my imagination. We next toured, former first premier, Zhou Enlai's old residence, where I found my dream home next door. It was in one of the most gorgeous areas of Shanghai I have visited yet, and I plan on returning many times. On our way to a museum, Sophie and I got distracted while shopping, and when we were finished the museum had already closed, so we went to a cafe to read and study.



We planned to meet up with Sophie's cousin again for dinner at 630, so we walked back to Xintiandi. She took us to a Sichuan meal (Szechuan in American), known for their spicy dishes, and we had their specialty: hot boiling fish. Sichuan meals in China are characterized by their spicy flavors created by tiny sichuan peppercorns. These peppercorns are actually illegal in the US, but I don't know the real reason why. However, these peppercorns are special, because they numb your month with a tingly sensation caused by weird type of spicyness we obviously don't have in the states. It wasn't so much that it was too hot to eat, but rather it was tingly spicyness that I found I could tolerate much more than a hot spicyness. Afterwards Sophie's cousin, and friend that had dinner with us, took us to an amazing bar on the 34th floor of the Hyatt in Shanghai. It overlooks the entire river and bund, and you can see all the amazing buildings on the other side. So far it has been an eventful few days, and I am getting excited for Chinese New Year and going to Hong Kong to celebrate.



Chinese Word of the Day: 新年快乐 (xin nian kuai le: Happy New Year!)

Friday Nights

Today, after visiting the Chinese Urban Planning Exposition Center, two of my friends and I went to Shanghai's Chabad to have Shabbat dinner. My friend Amy is our resident Jew, and this is our second time attending Friday dinner. Thanks to many of my Berkeley friends, I can easily pass at any Jewish event, and although I cannot sing a single Hebrew song (Amy promises to teach us at least one), I've learned quite a few Chinese words relating to Judaism. We already feel like regulars at Chabad, because everyone remembers us and makes a point to come say hi at some point throughout the night. It's interesting to hear why everyone is in China, because historically there has never been a huge Jewish population in China. Shanghai is famous in Jewish history for being the one of the few places in the world that previously didn't require a visa, which made it a safe-haven during the Holocaust. This is the extent of my Sino-Jewish relations knowledge, however I plan to return to Chabad every so often, because I'm trying to embrace the fact that I must have been Jewish in a past life.

After our four-hour dinner, we went to 新天地 (Xintiandi), to go to a club called Luxe. It was recommended as one of the most popular clubs amongst the locals, and it was definitely mostly a local crowd. Unfortunately, our table reservation was lost, so we couldn't really congregate in one area, and it would have been nicer if there was a larger dance floor, but we just found our own places to dance. Our friend warned us that it was loud, but I was surprised how blaring the music actually was. I thought he was exaggerating when he said he had to adjust to normal hearing over the next few days after visiting Luxe, but he wasn't lying. If I stood still in the building, I could feel my entire body reverberate, and when we stepped outside it felt like we were deaf. The DJ was awesome, and we stayed for a bit, but I came home early (yes, 2am is early in China), because Sophie is coming today and I wanted to get a good night of sleep. Here's a picture of Xintiandi I found on Google. It is located in the French Concession, a European-styled district in Shanghai, and it makes me feel like I'm in Paris every time I come here, which is probably why I come here a lot!



Chinese Word of the Day: 犹太人 (youtairen, yo-tie-ren: Jewish people, but somehow it supposedly translates to mean "people who scheme"...but in the nicest way possible?)

Happiness

I caught myself smiling for no reason as I walked home from picking up my dinner tonight. This is not a reaction I expected to feel in my third week of a very foreign experience, but so far every minute has been a new surprise that contributes to my overall happiness. My favorite part about being in China has been my growing confidence in speaking the language. It has lessened the culture shock, made my interactions more meaningful, and has inspired my desire to achieve fluency. I get excited when I think of all the people I have coming to visit me, and how I'll be able to introduce them to a part of my life that they have never been able to relate to.

This week's adventures were a myriad of "firsts." On the top of that list was a blind man massage. For two hours (one hour foot massage, one hour body) a blind masseuse administers a traditional Chinese massage, which as I mentioned before is a fully clothed deep tissue massage targeting sore spots and pressure points. What I failed to remember was how much that would hurt on my legs that were freshly sore from hiking Nanjing's Purple Mountain. At least I knew if I winced, they could not see the pain in my eyes. The theory is that because these men are blind they have a superior sense of touch, which I can now attest is true. This experience turned into somewhat of a Chinese medicinal lesson, as my masseuse diagnosed spots of bodily weakness through foot reflexology. What struck me as truly impressive was an exchange I had with my masseuse at the end of my treatment. I had an especially tender spot on my foot, which he told me was a sign that I have "a bad stomach" for lack of better translation. The interesting part is I had indeed been feeling ill for sometime, but dismissed it knowing it was nothing that I could blame on food or stress. He verbally listed numerous remedies, including a Chinese proverb meaning only eat until you are 70% full. To which I basically said, "Well if Chinese food wasn't so yummy..."

My next "first" occurred at our local gym. A bunch of people on my program joined a gym not too far from our apartment, and I decided I wanted to try the yoga class that they offer. Once, I got there, I realized the schedule had changed for the month of February, and there was no longer a yoga class, but instead a spin class. My friend and I decided that this would be suitable for us, and even though we both had never taken a spin class, we decided that we would at least try it. Now, I don't know what spin classes are like in the states, but this class was awesome. The instructor was so motivating and pumped up that you couldn't help but want to peddle faster, but I guess that's the point. He played some American songs amongst various Chinese songs, and would sing at the top of his lungs whilst steam literally rose of his body. It was highly entertaining, and before I even knew, it the class was over. I'll definitely attempt my spinning skills again throughout the semester.


Tomorrow, we are going on a day trip to visit the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center. The highlight is a vast scale model of urban Shanghai as it will look in 2020. I have included a picture (above) that I found on the internet. So, I've heard the museum is a lot more interesting than its name suggests, but if not, some of us are going to the famous 7-story Shanghai museum afterward. It houses over 120,000 pieces of art, and can take more than one trip to successfully navigate. More to come on both of these excursions.


Lastly, I am excited to be reunited with Sophie, who will be venturing from Beijing to come stay with me for 10 days, including 春节, Chinese New Year. We will be traveling to Hong Kong for the New Year, and enjoying Shanghai and neighboring towns the rest of the week. I'm glad I came to China knowing no one on my program, but I am more than looking forward to a familiar face and all of our fun plans. There won't be a single day (morning, afternoon, or evening) free from exploring, eating, dancing, traveling, or simply being together in a foreign country. So this is my next "first" in China: favorite friends in foreign places.


Chinese Word of the Day: 春节 (chun jie, chwen jee-yay: Chinese New Year/Spring Festival)

Nanjing

This weekend we took our first weekend trip. Thirteen of us went to Nanjing for a weekend trip. I expected Nanjing to be rather underdeveloped, but as the Southern capital of China, it is much more modern than I thought. We arrived at the train station after our first big Chinese test and took the train to Nanjing. The train ride was a little over 2 hours, and once we arrived we went to our hotel to check in. The hotel was centrally located and our rooms were sizeable and comfortable for the $17 we each paid for two nights. That night we took the subway near our hotel (Nanjing only has one line in the whole city) to a market with restaurants and shops. On our way to the subway, we discovered an underground food market with all types of foods and sweets. Although we were headed to another location, we decided we would explore this market more later on. Once we were downtown, we looked around and ate dinner before heading back to the hotel. At the street market, there were so many lights and interesting buildings, and it reminded me somewhat of Las Vegas, except for the lights turned off promptly at 10pm.


Early the next morning we woke up and caught a taxi on our way to Nanjing’s Purple Mountain. The mountain was absolutely beautiful, and you would never guess that a bustling city resided merely 10 minutes away. We bought a student pass to see all the sights on the mountain including Dr. Sun Yatsen’s mausoleum, the Ming Tombs, and the Ling Gu temple. We conquered many stairs and passes up the mountain, and it truly felt like we were back in nature away from the pollution and dirtiness of China’s urban locale. I could definitely breathe easier, literally, up above the fog layer that surrounded the mountains. I bet on a spring day the view would be amazing, but I was just appreciative that the predicted rainstorm didn’t surface.



After all our hiking, we had worked up quite an appetite, so we headed towards the direction of our next destination: Fuzi Maio (Confucius Temple). The taxi let us out on a main road and we stumbled upon an alley that would satisfy all of our culinary desires. We first found thin pancakes studded with green onion, and then we met one of the nicest ladies who sold us 包子 (pronounced: baozi, buns with meat or vegetables inside) for $.05! If I haven’t impressed it enough, it will be depressingly hard to return to the prices in America. We walked through the alley, which we soon realized was a lilong. Lilongs were popularized in the days of Mao’s Great Leap Forward, when communes were created from rows of tiny huts. This alley was lined with food vendors, who transformed their living rooms into shops to sell their foodstuffs. They had everything from breads, dumplings, handmade noodles, fresh fish, rice, sweets, red bean everything, and fresh meat. When I say fresh meat I mean cages of chickens that they kill on the spot. I realized this while I was trying to take a picture of the hundreds of chickens, and the vendor thought it would be entertaining to show me how he kills the chicken by breaking its neck. Needless to say, I lost my appetite. Two little children took my mind off that scene by following us and calling us (aiyi), a formal name for those much older than you. I’m pretty sure they had never seen foreigners before.



In Nanjing, I saw one other 外国人 (foreigner) the whole time I was there, and it was at a Westernized bar. So many of the locals stared with their mouths gaped open in surprise. I have gotten somewhat used to the stares and comments, however, Chinese people don’t know that I can understand what they are saying about me, which can be very entertaining when I reply to their comments. About 99% of the time they comment about how white my skin is by calling me milky faced, or they point to my blue eyes with surprise, which makes sense, because I don’t recall ever meeting any Asians with blue eyes. A funny side story: I was in Walmart my first week here, and a salesperson gave me a free sample vial of “whitening emulsion.” She told me it would help my face retain its level of paleness, and I’m pretty sure it was some type of bleaching concoction. Obviously, I have no intention to use this product. Once, my friend and I were walking and a Shanghai local pointed to him and remarked to her friend that he had a huge nose. Being one of the more fluent speakers on my program, he turned around and acknowledged her criticism. She quickly walked in the other direction extremely embarrassed, because they are highly unaccustomed to foreigners who speak any Mandarin.



After navigating the lilong, we ventured to meet our other friends at the Confucius Temple. Although it was closed we could see the traditional buildings and walked around the surrounding markets. We headed back to the hotel to take a short nap, because all our adventuring had led to many miles of walking, and we were exhausted. We woke up and went to dinner at a hot pot restaurant nearby. Hot pot is a very social meal, because you share around one pot and it is custom to stay for 2-3 hours eating and drinking. We ending up leaving around 11pm to find a bar or club. Our recommendation led us to a very Americanized bar, and the only people there were foreigners who gave us directions to a better spot they were also headed to. They told us to go to a bar/club district called 1912, which I read about in all my guidebooks that mentioned Nanjing’s nightlife. We went to a club called Mazzo, where there was a good mix of locals and foreigners. We reserved a table with bottle service, which I reserve for special occasions in the states, but here it is extremely reasonable and convenient. The DJ was playing popular American songs, C-Pop, and K-Pop (Asian pop music is characterized by adding the first letter of the country before the word pop, for example C-Pop is Chinese pop, J-Pop Japanese, and K-Pop Korean.) One of the girls on my program has lived in Korea for most of her life, and has introduced us to some amazing Korean pop, which is the most popular of any of the Asian groups. We stayed there quite late dancing, drinking, and comparing our adventures that day. We ended up leaving around 4, and I prepared myself to get little sleep, as I wanted to get up early the next day to see the Nanjing Massacre Museum before we caught our return train.



I woke up and went to the food market to pick up some breakfast before walking to the Presidential Palace near our hotel. It was an amazing and extensive property that had used by previous rulers until it was turned into a museum. It was a walled property that housed beautiful gardens. We sat in the gardens and could see the skyscrapers just outside the palace. The gardens were a peaceful retreat from a busy city, and there weren’t many visitors, because tourists generally visit in the spring. From the palace, we took a taxi to the Nanjing Massacre Museum. Upon entering, I felt similarly to when I visited the Dachau concentration camp in Germany. It was a very austere set up with stone monuments and rock gardens. The memorial was built in 1985 to honor the 300,000 victims of the Rape of Nanjing. This museum was a total downer, but only because it was so informative that you actually felt like you were in the war watching these people experience atrocities. I came out with a new historical understanding of Sino-Japan relations and events leading up to WWII. I'm happy I went, because it really is the most important historical event in Nanjing. Afterward, we went back to the hotel to check out and sat down to have some Japanese noodles before catching the subway to the train station. Once I boarded the train, I fell asleep for the entire duration. When we got back to Shanghai it was raining pretty hard, so we took a taxi back to our apartment, grabbed dinner to go, and stayed in for the night. Luckily I didn't have too much homework to do, so I planned a full week of Shanghai exploration!




Chinese Word of the Day: 外国人 (waiguoren: foreigner)