Un-f’ing-believable [40-43]

Another exciting weekend in Beijing has come and gone. There are so few left, but I’m not ready for it to end! Warning: this is a long post – sorry!

The cafeteria at work has been going downhill recently, in my opinion. So after work on Thursday, Annie and I went to the beer garden near the cafeteria to get some better Chinese “barbecue” and pijiu. It was really fun picking out the different skewers of meat and veggies and hoping for the best. Most everything was great, aside from the green pepper that made my mouth an inferno.

As we were leaving, we saw Pang Li and Brian sharing some pijius at a table nearby. Pang Li is my new favorite person in China, so of course we joined them! We ended up having a blast talking about everything from President Obama to Michael Jackson. We also planned to all pregame (American college style) and go out together over the weekend.

On Friday, the UNC interns were given a large file (about 6,000 words) to copy-edit after work hours so that we could earn some overtime. I wasn’t too happy to be doing work over the weekend, but I could use the money!

Keith had invited us to a party that his European friend had heard about, so after work, Annie and I went to Nanluogu Xiang, the hutong where they live. Keith and Ithzel took us to a Chinese place for dinner which was amazing! We then took a taxi to the party, which was in a hotel-turned-apartment complex. Most everybody at the party was German because it was hosted by a few interns and employees of Siemens, a German company. Everyone was really nice, and I had a great time meeting them. The party moved on to Club LA which was packed with Chinese people and foreigners. We had to bribe the taxi driver to let us cram five people in the cab. The music was blaring and there really wasn’t a dance floor, just people dancing everywhere. But I had a lot of fun! We got skewers of lamb, which I didn’t think sounded too appealing at 2 a.m., but I was pleasantly surprised and really liked it!

Saturday, Brian, Courtney and I finally got around to seeing the Forbidden City. I was pretty much drained of all energy from lack of sleep, and it was hot and crowded, so my impression of the site is not all that good. It’s basically a whole lot of temples all lined up one after the other with thrones and other furniture that you can’t go inside to see. There was a pretty cool “Hall of Paintings” that made me want to get some calligraphy done for my walls at home. Chinese art is beautiful!


Once we got home, I helped Annie prepare the house for guests, and Pang Li came over. Once PA and Brian showed up, we taught our Chinese friend who has never been to the States some drinking games. He was especially entertained by Electricity. We took a taxi to Nanluogu Xiang, because Pang Li’s favorite bar, 12SQM is there. The owner is Australian, and Australian beer is my new favorite thing! I also tried a Chinese cigarette (sorry, Mom, and everyone) to see why everyone here is so obsessed. Those babies are strong! I think I can do without. Keith and his roommates joined us for a little bit, as did Joanna (a UNC intern turned full-time CIIC employee) and her boyfriend, Colin. We went to Salud, another bar, and met some British guys. We ended up stumbling home around 5 a.m. and enjoyed dumplings (another surprisingly good drunk food).


Sunday was mostly devoted to sleep, but also a chance to go see the Olympic stadiums! The Bird’s Nest/National Stadium was beautiful, and the Water Cube looked cool and modern too. The thing that stood out to me the most, though, was the huge open area around the stadiums. It was packed with tourists – mostly from other provinces of China. I could only imagine how it looked when the Olympics were going on. The tourists all wanted their pictures taken with us. One person would come ask, “can I make photo with you?” and then a million others would follow after with huge smiles and “thank you’s.” It was precious. We were also told that the stadiums looks great at night, so another visit will be arranged!



Sherry, Annie’s partner from Fudan University in Shanghai, got in Sunday night and will be visiting for a while. It will be great to have someone to ask all of our burning questions – like, just what IS in an “egg thing?”

Safety is heavier than Mount Taishan [23-25]

My frustration phase has come and gone… for now. Mainly because I’m super excited for this weekend – I won’t give too much away, but it involves excellent landmarks, fireworks, and PANDAS!

Dr. Charlie Tuggle is visiting from UNC for a few weeks. He is a broadcast journalism professor and seems like a cool guy. He is giving a few lectures, one of which I went to on Monday, on video journalism. China.org.cn is a good news website but could use some improvement. Video is one thing that is becoming more prevalent in online journalism, so it will be good for them (and me!) to learn about how to effectively capture a story through film.

On Monday, the UNC interns had our last swim practice. I think this is where my frustration set in. After a week of training, I still wasn’t feeling confident at all.

I took it easy on Tuesday and finished a book that my mom gave me, Little Bee by Chris Cleave. It was an emotional read, and I definitely recommend it.

Wednesday was the big day, and I have to say, it went much better than I expected. We arrived at the indoor pool at about 8:15a.m., but our first event, the individual 100-m race, wasn’t until 10a.m. We were the ONLY white people there, and I felt extra white, standing there in my skimpy bathing suit with everyone staring.

The men’s 100-m was split into two heats. Brian was in the first one, and he got third place! I was in the second heat, racing against ONE other person. I had a great start, but got extremely tired about 60 meters in, and slowed down, but still beat the guy in the lane next to me. When times were posted, it turned out that I beat Brian by a HAIR, and got third place overall!

There were barely 15 minutes between the individual race and the relay race. My Chinese teammates offered me Red Bull and Dove bars between the races, which I declined for obvious reasons. Brian was the first leg of the relay, I was second, and our Chinese co-workers and teammates were third and fourth. We only had to swim 50 meters this time, which was much more my style. We were already in the lead with Brian’s start, but according to Courtney, I helped separate us from the others even more with my 50-meter swim, and we eventually won our heat! We ended up in second place, and the girl’s relay got first. Go CIIC! I was so happy to have that over with.



We celebrated with hot pot for lunch, and it was delicious. We all had our individual pot of boiling water with things like lemon, mushroom, and cilantro flavoring the water. The Lazy Susan was full of meats and veggies, some to be cooked in the pots and some to be eaten raw. My favorite was actually a salad with pig ears. Another highlight was rice-covered sausage dipped in garlic sauce (Chinese pork-rinds, if you will). After a few toasts and way too much food, we headed back to the office for work.

In the afternoon, I attended Dr. Tuggle’s second lecture. I enjoy being able to learn things that I cannot fit into my schedule at UNC. Just trying to make the most of my experience here in more ways than one!

After work, Annie’s Chinese colleague, Swatch, took us to the bus stop by work where we rode the bus to the subway station so that I could buy a transportation pass that works for the subway and the busses. It felt great to finally conquer the bus route, even if it was only once. It only costs 0.4 kuai to ride, which will save us LOTS of money in the long run!

We took the subway to Beihai Park, where we met Chris, my conversation exchange partner. He showed us around the lake, which had pretty scenery and was bustling with activity. We had some great conversations about national identity, learning languages, and personal tales. Chris took us to a Chinese restaurant that he really liked, and once again, we had great food. Sweet and sour pork, beef stir-fry, rice and Cokes. He finally let me pay for something, so I felt better about things. Such a nice guy!

Chris accompanied us to Salud, a bar near Keith’s apartment, where he left us and we met up with Keith and Ithzel. The bar was cool, with two floors, a live band (French, maybe?), and strong margaritas. We will definitely be returning with our bus passes for tapas.

We successfully took the last bus home and got in just in time before the gate closed. I needed a good day like this one to put me in a better mood. I have a month and a half left here, and I don’t want it to go any faster than it is!