I spent the weekend checking more things off of my list of things to do in Beijing. First on my list was to visit 798 Art District, a large quarter in northwest Beijing with warehouses that were converted into art galleries. It was a really cool mix of rustic buildings and contemporart sculptures, art and paintings. My favorite art was by the Chinese artist Liu Bolin (Google it!). I must say, though, that I felt more like a tourist here and less like someone who had lived in Beijing for two months. I had never seen so many Westerners in one place in China than at 798.
I took a bus to Yashow Market after I had seen enough art. I couldn’t resist one last visit to the DVD store. Naturally, I got a Jackie Chan movie to take home to the States. I then took another bus to Keith’s apartment in Nanluogu Xiang. Lenore and Tobias arrived soon after I did, and Tobias wanted to show off the sidecar motorcycle that he was renting/about to purchase. Tobias, Keith and I took the bike out for a spin. It was super cool being on the back of a bike in Beijing traffic – something that most Americans don’t get a chance to do (for free, at least), so it made up for feeling like a tourist earlier in the day at 798. However, I was also kind of scared for my life when we topped out at 65 km/h. Not to mention that no one wears helmets and drivers in China are CRAZY. But I’m alive.
Once the twins, Brian and Kevin, and their Chinese friend, Con Lin, arrived, we all took a bus to Ghost Street for hot pot. This was only my second time eating hotpot – kind of like fondue, but with more beer and less chocolate. I got the “spicy” hotpot this time, so it was much better than my first hot pot experience with the “swim team.” We filled ourselves with delicious mutton, mushrooms, potatoes, dumplings, lettuce and pijiu. The conversation dynamics were interesting because everyone but me could speak Chinese, and everyone but Con Lin could speak English, so it kind of just flip-flopped from language to language naturally. The group took a picture with a small Chinese boy selling glittery roses outside of the restaurant before heading to WuDouKou.
In WuDaoKou, we had planned on going to Propaganda, a popular bar for foreigners, but when we got there, we noticed that everything was closing at midnight. Confused, we asked around. Some Germans we met told us that midnight marked the beginning of a national day of mourning for the victims of the flooding and mudslides in Gansu Province, China. Luckily for us, there was still one bar opened, called Laowai’s Lounge. Its name literally translates to “Foreigner’s Lounge” and is owned by the same people as Propaganda. We enjoyed some fries and 5 kuai pijiu.
Despite staying out late, I woke up at 6:30 the next morning to meet Jessie at FuChengMen Station to take a bus to Xiang Shan for some hiking. The mountain’s name translates to Fragrant Hill, named for its odorous pine trees. The bus took about an hour, and the hike to the top took about two hours. At the top, Jessie and I took pictures by a tree strung with red penants on which people had written their wishes. This was also the first time that I could see all of Beijing at one time. It was really cool being able to point out the Summer Palace, the CCTV Tower and the other landmarks of my summer home. We then hiked to a grassy spot where we had a picnic. Jessie had made sushi and brought peanuts, peaches, grapes and pijiu. We both felt so relaxed that we fell asleep laying in the sun. We left the mountain and took the 714 bus back to FuChengMen, where we caught the 800 bus to the market with the tailor who had made my suit. This time it fit very well, so I paid the man and left satisfied.
That night for dinner I decided I wanted street food one more time. I walked to the street across from Jian Mart where I had eaten before. I’m not entirely sure what everything was that I ate, but it was all delicious and cheap as hell. Once again, the barbecued corn on the cob was my favorite.
Showing posts with label hotpot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hotpot. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
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!
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)