Tuesday was such a lazy day that I don't have much to blog about. It was the second day of our three-day holiday from work, and all I did was sleep in and catch up on quality American television online.
We made another American friend in the evening when one of Courtney's high school friends came to visit. As a graduation present to himself, he has been traveling all over China, and happened to be in Beijing at a good time! We went to the outdoor market for dinner, and I had edamame. I'm sure that's not what they call it here, but it's just as addicting of a snack as it is at Chinese restaurants in the States! During dinner, we were bombarded by some Chinese people dressed in orange giving out free shots of some sweet-smelling liquor, similar to the Red Bull girls that walk through the Pit in Chapel Hill. Courtney's friend, Tim, accidentally asked a Chinese neighbor to cheers with him and down the mystery substance - a really funny moment. The next bombardment came from the sky - it started pouring. One of the vendors brought us an umbrella, so we just shared some beers until the rain let up. It was a great end to a relaxing day.
Yesterday was another story. After sleeping in again, Courtney, Annie, Brian, and I set out to Tiananmen Square. We took a taxi to the closest subway stop, the Beijing Zoo, and successfully took the subway (which is a super cheap way to get around) to the Square. It was uncomfortably hot at first, but eventually, the pre-storm breeze that we are so used to now, made things more bearable. We took the obligatory photos outside of the Front Gate (the old entrance to Beijing) and the Gate of Heavenly Peace (the one with a portrait of Chairman Mao), and an Asian family asked me to take pictures with them because I was a foreigner! I felt like a celebrity! Not feeling like sightseeing too much more, we walked to a historic shopping district. It was beautifully laid out, with fancy shops and eateries, all outside of our price range. Luckily, we peered down an alley to find a bunch of street vendors selling bags, clothes, and souvenirs for MUCH cheaper. This is more like it. Turns out, there was about a mile of this parallel to the classier shopping one street over. We haggled with Chinese merchants and came out with many souvenirs and gifts.
We took a break to look at the map, because we planned on going to the Haoyuan Market in Wangfujing later that night. Another stroke of luck! We looked up from our resting spot and saw the sign "Pizza, Lasagna, Pies!" We were at a hostel that doubled as a restaurant (and tripled as a bar). I was so happy to have a juicy beef burger and fries. If anyone is planning to come to Beijing, 365 Inn is THE PLACE to stay with a menu like that!
We made our way out of the winding streets and over to Wangfujing, one of the most popular streets in Beijing. It's an open-air mall basically, with neon lights and advertisements reminiscent of Times Square. We immediately found the Haoyuan Market, a much narrower street popular with locals and tourists alike. They were selling all kinds of things on a stick - crickets, spiders, silk worms, seahorses, starfish, and more. We all tried... a scorpion. It basically tasted like a burned potato chip. Not bad, but definitely not good.
Those were just some of the highlights. I feel much better now that I know that I can navigate through Beijing by subway. Next to conquer - the bus system!
(Also, last day of the Dragon Boat Festival, and I have yet to see any dragon boats. But I have eaten plenty of zongzi!)
Showing posts with label Zongzi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zongzi. Show all posts
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Yen? Yuan? Let's just say kuai! [Day 4]
Some more observations, while they're fresh on my brain:
-My supervisor, Celine, thinks she's overweight. She is definitely skinny by American standards. Her solution? She doesn't eat. I think her first meal of the day is at around 9 pm. Everyone here is pretty much thin as a rail. I don't understand it - the food is so heavy and greasy, and they PILE that stuff up on their plates. The only fat people I've seen are some old men. And the worst part is, when they get hot, they curl their shirts up like Britney Spears in Hit Me Baby, One More Time. And some of them sit in restaurants shirtless. It's a sight, let me tell ya.
-Chinese people can not sing. I'm not trying to generalize or be rude, but I just don't think it's in their genes. I don't know if it's because their language forces them to use harsh and quick sounds, but their tone is just flat and unappealing. But, somehow, karaoke is a huge pastime here. Go figure.
-Chinese people are pretty simple minded. The IT guy who worked on my computer yesterday and today could not figure out the problem, so his solution was to wipe the hard drive and start over. I felt like I knew more about computers than he did, and it's his job!
-Eight is a lucky number here. At the bowling alley, if you bowled an 88, you won a small gift. If you bowled a 108, you won a small washtowel.
-Everyone knows that prostitution goes on in China. I haven't encountered it, and I hope not to, but apparently there are "hair salons" that only serve men with the blinds closed. If you bowled a 300 at the alley, you won "one card of fun time." I wonder what that is.
-My allergies are so much worse here than in the States. And no one says anything when I sneeze.
-I am still in the habit of nodding my head/waving/saying hello whenever I walk past people. They all just stare at me or look at me in fright. I need to stop being so polite!
-Speaking of politeness or lack thereof, it's perfectly normal to yell "fu wu yuan" ("waiter") across the room at your server in a restaurant. They don't tell you their names. And you don't tip.
My day was complicated when the power on my row of computers randomly shut down. When I powered back up, my internet was also down. As I described above, after a long and mostly pointless duration of clicking around, the IT guy finally just re-installed the default settings on the computer. (Luckily, at this time, I had my laptop also). Starting from scratch ended up working but left me workless for hours. I was happy to finally get an article about different types of Zongzi, a sticky rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves that is tradition to eat at the Dragon Boat Festival that is next week in China. It was really interesting to read and edit. I would love to get paid to try out cuisines and write about them.
We had lunch at the cafeteria, which is across the Ring Road. It's buffet style, and in my opinion, pretty good. A fried egg here is still in the shape of an egg, but the outside is fried and covered in some kind of sauce. If all else fails, there's always rice. Always. The Chinese don't seem to drink anything with their meal except occasionally hot water. Which is so not my style. I'm beginning to miss never-ending ice water.
Celine came up to me near the end of the day and said, "So you heard about the seven day work week, right?" … "No," I said. "You will be working through Sunday because of the Dragon Boat Festival next week," she replied. What a way to start a new job! It's all good though. We're getting Monday through Wednesday off and only have to work two days next week. Turns out the festival
occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, commemorating the famous Chinese scholar Qu Yuan. And everyone gets a day off for it - holla!
Courtney and I were feeling restless after work, so we went on a walk to the busier part of the district we live in. We peered into shop after shop all selling the same things - boxes of cigarettes or cleaning supplies. We passed some children sitting on crates playing cards, several hair salons with questionable sanitation (and services? See above), and table after table of working class Chinese people eating things on sticks. We finally went into a couple of shops with clothing. I kind of wanted it all, but a) I knew it was fake, b) I was too chicken to bargain down the high prices, and c) I don't speak Chinese. Next time I see something I really want, I'm gonna go for it. I did, however, find and purchase peanut butter and jelly - THANK GOD!
We picked up PA and Brian from the apartment for dinner at a noodle bar. You could watch the chef hand-pull the noodles, which made them seem even more delicious and satisfying.
One day closer to the end of my seven-day work week!
-My supervisor, Celine, thinks she's overweight. She is definitely skinny by American standards. Her solution? She doesn't eat. I think her first meal of the day is at around 9 pm. Everyone here is pretty much thin as a rail. I don't understand it - the food is so heavy and greasy, and they PILE that stuff up on their plates. The only fat people I've seen are some old men. And the worst part is, when they get hot, they curl their shirts up like Britney Spears in Hit Me Baby, One More Time. And some of them sit in restaurants shirtless. It's a sight, let me tell ya.
-Chinese people can not sing. I'm not trying to generalize or be rude, but I just don't think it's in their genes. I don't know if it's because their language forces them to use harsh and quick sounds, but their tone is just flat and unappealing. But, somehow, karaoke is a huge pastime here. Go figure.
-Chinese people are pretty simple minded. The IT guy who worked on my computer yesterday and today could not figure out the problem, so his solution was to wipe the hard drive and start over. I felt like I knew more about computers than he did, and it's his job!
-Eight is a lucky number here. At the bowling alley, if you bowled an 88, you won a small gift. If you bowled a 108, you won a small washtowel.
-Everyone knows that prostitution goes on in China. I haven't encountered it, and I hope not to, but apparently there are "hair salons" that only serve men with the blinds closed. If you bowled a 300 at the alley, you won "one card of fun time." I wonder what that is.
-My allergies are so much worse here than in the States. And no one says anything when I sneeze.
-I am still in the habit of nodding my head/waving/saying hello whenever I walk past people. They all just stare at me or look at me in fright. I need to stop being so polite!
-Speaking of politeness or lack thereof, it's perfectly normal to yell "fu wu yuan" ("waiter") across the room at your server in a restaurant. They don't tell you their names. And you don't tip.
My day was complicated when the power on my row of computers randomly shut down. When I powered back up, my internet was also down. As I described above, after a long and mostly pointless duration of clicking around, the IT guy finally just re-installed the default settings on the computer. (Luckily, at this time, I had my laptop also). Starting from scratch ended up working but left me workless for hours. I was happy to finally get an article about different types of Zongzi, a sticky rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves that is tradition to eat at the Dragon Boat Festival that is next week in China. It was really interesting to read and edit. I would love to get paid to try out cuisines and write about them.
We had lunch at the cafeteria, which is across the Ring Road. It's buffet style, and in my opinion, pretty good. A fried egg here is still in the shape of an egg, but the outside is fried and covered in some kind of sauce. If all else fails, there's always rice. Always. The Chinese don't seem to drink anything with their meal except occasionally hot water. Which is so not my style. I'm beginning to miss never-ending ice water.
Celine came up to me near the end of the day and said, "So you heard about the seven day work week, right?" … "No," I said. "You will be working through Sunday because of the Dragon Boat Festival next week," she replied. What a way to start a new job! It's all good though. We're getting Monday through Wednesday off and only have to work two days next week. Turns out the festival
occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, commemorating the famous Chinese scholar Qu Yuan. And everyone gets a day off for it - holla!
Courtney and I were feeling restless after work, so we went on a walk to the busier part of the district we live in. We peered into shop after shop all selling the same things - boxes of cigarettes or cleaning supplies. We passed some children sitting on crates playing cards, several hair salons with questionable sanitation (and services? See above), and table after table of working class Chinese people eating things on sticks. We finally went into a couple of shops with clothing. I kind of wanted it all, but a) I knew it was fake, b) I was too chicken to bargain down the high prices, and c) I don't speak Chinese. Next time I see something I really want, I'm gonna go for it. I did, however, find and purchase peanut butter and jelly - THANK GOD!
We picked up PA and Brian from the apartment for dinner at a noodle bar. You could watch the chef hand-pull the noodles, which made them seem even more delicious and satisfying.
One day closer to the end of my seven-day work week!
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