Two weeks ago I had perhaps a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience a Formula 1 race at the Shanghai International Circuit. If you have no idea what I about to talk about I would recommend a quick jot over to formula1.com. Now that we have you up to specs about this little talk lets get down to business.
As it stands Formula One is the pinnacle form of motor racing in the world. It pits highly engineered machinery with extreme athletes in a battle for victory. To the racing community there is no other substitute for Formula One (aka F1). Short of watching the air races in Reno Nevada you are not likely to see such an extreme example of; athleticism, engineering, physics, and strategy anywhere else in the world.
A typical race lasts around 57 laps of the circuit which works out to be roughly 2 hours (with all the time for accidents and misc events). This year the world circuit is hosting ten teams with two cars and drivers per team. The teams come from all over the world and the whole collection of them is something akin to a small U. N. Of course the typical names are present this year as they have been for nearly half a century. The names of Ferrari, Mercedes-McLaren, and BMW still carry great weight in this industry. In recent years though newcomers have entered the competition they are as follows; Red Bull, Toyota, Force India, and the newest of all Brawn GP. With such diverse teams the races are always interesting and exciting.
As a note to anyone now considering attending a F1 event caution they are not for the faint of heart. A F1 race is a mass of smells, tastes, sights, and very loud noises. If you do not believe me then imagine what an engine sounds like at 20,000rpms. Yes, 20,000rpms is the standard speed of a F1 engine. To a non-fan the noise is obnoxious and detrimental to one’s health. To those of us fortunate to love F1, a race is a symphony of throaty exhausts and perfect shifting accompanied by squealing of tires.
Shanghai was the first time I have had the opportunity to attend a F1 race in person. Growing up in England during the glory years of Michael Schumacher it seems only natural that I would grow to love the sport. At the age of twenty I was now in Shanghai to watch my first Formula 1 race in person. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this singular event was my reasoning for coming to China.
To me Formula One is more than just a race it is an extreme case of the beauty and simplicity of physics. When I watch a race it’s not about who wins the race but about watching the beauty of physics. There is something surreally beautiful about watching a Formula One car round a sharp corner. It is a representation of Newtonian physics working in beautiful harmony to generate forces and motion. It is hard for me to convey how beautiful I find this but to me the emotions are indescribable.
So now I was in Shanghai to watch this masterpiece of physics and athletics for my first time. The day of the race came and so did the rain that always haunts Shanghai. Sitting in the pouring rain and blowing wind I watch a Formula One race. I was cold and shivering that day but it still holds some of my most treasured memories.
Watching that single event has helped me, helped me understand life better. It’s hard to explain how but I know that these weeks here in China have changed me. They have altered me in ways that will shape and perhaps haunt me the rest of my life. It was only at this race that I started to full understand the transformation that is accruing inside of me.
I watched a car crash while I sitting in the stands at Shanghai. Perhaps it was that I knew the driver would survive it perhaps not but my first thought was how beautiful. I watched a couple hundred thousand dollars be destroyed in a hundredth of a second. A piece of a car constructed out of one the strongest composite materials was destroyed as though it was made of paper. And in that moment I realized how fragile our lives are but how they are all governed by universal truths.
In that moment I saw a beauty and complexity to the world that I have never seen before. Since that race the simple act of riding on the subway or sitting in cab can bring a smile to my face. I feel as though I am aware of some inside knowledge of the world. So many people go about there lives without realizing the absolute beauty of the world we live in.
The Shanghai Grand Prix and the weekend that surrounded it changed me. I had just come out of midterm exams and was pretty wrecked. I had spent a whole week prepping for those three exams and it showed on me on Friday night. But that weekend reenergized and restored me. I found a hidden beauty in the world and for that weekend it was my personal secret.
As for everything outside of the race it is as follows:
We left for Shanghai on the Friday night after midterms had finished. Our trip down would be on the highlight of Chinese rail system, a class D train (bullet train). The only hitch to our trip was that we would not have beds for out 10 hour train ride. For this trip we would be riding in soft seats for both parts of the trip. The train is beautiful, new, and clean the only problem is that the passengers don’t like to sleep on it. Our train depart Beijing Rail Station at 10 pm and people stay awake well into the early morning hours.
We arrived in Shanghai tired and bleary eyed but more than happy to meet the city with our adventurous spirit. A public bus and some walking delivered us to our hostel that I had booked a room. Well, I had booked a room but they couldn’t find the room reservation. So we left to find another set of accommodations somewhere else in Shanghai. We ended up in the Bund of Shanghai staying at the Captain’s Hostel. The room and the hostel were nice and convenient. The best part of the hostel was its beautiful bar upstairs that granted a view of the beautiful skyline.
Our time in Shanghai was a blur of visits, restaurants, and treats. We visited the Oriental Pearl Tower, the aquarium, and a great assortment of other random places. The best part of traveling in China is the food that you get at small hole in the wall restaurants. I know that it is risky to some extent to eat at those locations but the food is always better than the mast produced junk that you get at other restaurants.
My recommendations to any traveler in China are to eat where the locals do, ride public buses, and enjoy your time there.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Quick Thoughts
Just a random collection of thoughts that I have collected for the past ten weeks. Some of these ideas are interesting, some might be disgusting but all are a result of the things I have seen.
1. Dirty Ankles – No matter what I have done I always get dirty ankles here and I am not alone. It seems that everywhere you go the back of your ankles are always going to end up with grayish black grime covering it. Even with socks that climb your legs the grime still worms its way through and onto your ankles.
2. TP – Toilet Paper doesn’t have a roll in the center. You more likely to find it without a roll in the center than you are with. Also purchasing toilet paper with a roll comes with a price premium. Also as point to any potential travel there is never toilet paper or soap in any bathroom outside of the highest end of restaurants and hotels.
3. Milk - Milk comes in bags…yep plastic bags that you just shove a straw through and drink. It is a novel and interesting solution to how to store and carry your milk to and from.
4. Twinkling Street Lights – If you have the chance to look out at the stars you’ll notice that they twinkle back at you. This phenomenon occurs because of the dust and moisture in the air disrupts the path of the light. Well if you stand high on any building your likely to see the streetlights or the buildings twinkling.
5. Cranberry and Scotch - Sometimes you have to pay a premium for Cranberry juice and Scotch. I made the sacrifice and enjoyed a great but expensive night this past weekend. Real juice (not from concentrate) is hard to come by and always expensive. So next time you have some juice drink one for me.
1. Dirty Ankles – No matter what I have done I always get dirty ankles here and I am not alone. It seems that everywhere you go the back of your ankles are always going to end up with grayish black grime covering it. Even with socks that climb your legs the grime still worms its way through and onto your ankles.
2. TP – Toilet Paper doesn’t have a roll in the center. You more likely to find it without a roll in the center than you are with. Also purchasing toilet paper with a roll comes with a price premium. Also as point to any potential travel there is never toilet paper or soap in any bathroom outside of the highest end of restaurants and hotels.
3. Milk - Milk comes in bags…yep plastic bags that you just shove a straw through and drink. It is a novel and interesting solution to how to store and carry your milk to and from.
4. Twinkling Street Lights – If you have the chance to look out at the stars you’ll notice that they twinkle back at you. This phenomenon occurs because of the dust and moisture in the air disrupts the path of the light. Well if you stand high on any building your likely to see the streetlights or the buildings twinkling.
5. Cranberry and Scotch - Sometimes you have to pay a premium for Cranberry juice and Scotch. I made the sacrifice and enjoyed a great but expensive night this past weekend. Real juice (not from concentrate) is hard to come by and always expensive. So next time you have some juice drink one for me.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Tainjin for the day.
How do you travel nearly 120 miles in only half an hour and never leave good old terra firma? Simply board a high speed train in the Beijing South station and enjoy the ensuing ride. This past weekend Alex and I decided that we need to breakout of Beijing and explore the greater part of China. We decided that the closest victim was the city of Tianjin located about a 120 miles to the east of Beijing.
To start our journey we need to get to the southern train station for the 9:10, 9:20, or 9:30 train to Tianjin. The only difficultly is that getting to the train station would take nearly 90 minutes by subway or 45-60 minutes by taxi. So we were left with the dilemma on Friday night of deciding when to depart for our day long adventure. We decided on the taxi, hey we are students and we could use the extra thirty minutes of sleep.
So at 7:40am on Saturday morning we departed Tsinghua for the southern train station. With bleary eyes and bundled bodies we headed out into the chill March air. As we fought for a taxi a middle aged woman approached us and asked if we could share one. Feeling kind we agreed to share the taxi with her that morning. Nothing really eventful occurred in our shared ride but it was interesting to listen to a complete strange spill before us her life story and eagerly listen to ours.
I was intrigued into how someone could show so much interest and concern for another stranger’s life. We rode together for roughly fifteen minutes and the time we spent together she was eagerly listening and always ready with a quick question or point. Perhaps I am wrong but I think that this is perhaps one of the key strengths of humanity. How something as simple as sharing an experience (abroad student) can allow a bond to form so easily between complete strangers.
Now that I got the philosophy lesson out of the way I can address our trip again. So when you arrive at the southern station you get the sense that the Chinese do not mess around when it comes to building grand public structures. I was expecting an old and decaying soviet bloc looking brick and mortar operation. A structure built for just function and for no other purpose.
What we did see was a beautiful arrangement of glass and steal mixed ever so elegantly to formulate a beautiful curved structure. When standing inside you feel an overwhelming sense of space, even with hundreds of people crowded around you there is a sense that you are alone. There is no doubt in my mind that the designers of this building understood the true complexities and purpose this building.
Through small mounds rising up through the floor we descended to the platform below to meet our awaiting steed. If you are ever in China you MUST ride on the high speed rail system. There is an indescribable feeling that occurs when you zip across the surface of the earth at nearly a quarter the speed of sound. It seems so surreal to glance out and watch the landscape change with nearly every blink of one’s eyes. At nearly 350 kph its not hard to image why the scenery changes so rapidly outside ones window.
When we finally arrived in Tianjin we realized that while our train ride was somewhat planned we had no idea what to do now. So what else could we do but grab a random cab and ask to go to the nearest landmark that we could find. With this in mind we headed towards the Tianjin TV tower. If you have ever seen the Shanghai Oriental Pearl tower then you know the general shape of the Tianjin tower. While the shape is similar it takes noting that Shanghai’s building is a beautiful collection of glass, steel, and concrete. The Tianjin tower is not even close to the Shanghai tower, it resembles a power-plant cooling tower with a saucer plate sitting on top. Its ugly plain and simple.
The rest of our day was spent wandering without a clue or care. It was about this point that the epiphany struck. We were so happy to be here in Tianjin for the simple reason that it got us out of campus and Beijing. It was that realization that was absolutely liberating and invigorating. It helped to keep the fire inside alive.
I wrote the original part of this post about 3 weeks ago but never got around to the actual posting. In that time I have been to Xi’an and Shanghai and it does help to keep me going. The more time I spend in China the more I need to travel and get out campus and the grind. The grind is 4 hours a day 5 days a week for class and the same cafeteria food. It is relieving to just get out of campus and live without the grind hanging over your head. Now that midterms are done with I’ll be sure to post more often. Thanks to everyone for all there support ….It officially the halfway point!
If your interested in the rail system feel free to navigate around here curiosity of Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Railway_High-speed
To start our journey we need to get to the southern train station for the 9:10, 9:20, or 9:30 train to Tianjin. The only difficultly is that getting to the train station would take nearly 90 minutes by subway or 45-60 minutes by taxi. So we were left with the dilemma on Friday night of deciding when to depart for our day long adventure. We decided on the taxi, hey we are students and we could use the extra thirty minutes of sleep.
So at 7:40am on Saturday morning we departed Tsinghua for the southern train station. With bleary eyes and bundled bodies we headed out into the chill March air. As we fought for a taxi a middle aged woman approached us and asked if we could share one. Feeling kind we agreed to share the taxi with her that morning. Nothing really eventful occurred in our shared ride but it was interesting to listen to a complete strange spill before us her life story and eagerly listen to ours.
I was intrigued into how someone could show so much interest and concern for another stranger’s life. We rode together for roughly fifteen minutes and the time we spent together she was eagerly listening and always ready with a quick question or point. Perhaps I am wrong but I think that this is perhaps one of the key strengths of humanity. How something as simple as sharing an experience (abroad student) can allow a bond to form so easily between complete strangers.
Now that I got the philosophy lesson out of the way I can address our trip again. So when you arrive at the southern station you get the sense that the Chinese do not mess around when it comes to building grand public structures. I was expecting an old and decaying soviet bloc looking brick and mortar operation. A structure built for just function and for no other purpose.
What we did see was a beautiful arrangement of glass and steal mixed ever so elegantly to formulate a beautiful curved structure. When standing inside you feel an overwhelming sense of space, even with hundreds of people crowded around you there is a sense that you are alone. There is no doubt in my mind that the designers of this building understood the true complexities and purpose this building.
Through small mounds rising up through the floor we descended to the platform below to meet our awaiting steed. If you are ever in China you MUST ride on the high speed rail system. There is an indescribable feeling that occurs when you zip across the surface of the earth at nearly a quarter the speed of sound. It seems so surreal to glance out and watch the landscape change with nearly every blink of one’s eyes. At nearly 350 kph its not hard to image why the scenery changes so rapidly outside ones window.
When we finally arrived in Tianjin we realized that while our train ride was somewhat planned we had no idea what to do now. So what else could we do but grab a random cab and ask to go to the nearest landmark that we could find. With this in mind we headed towards the Tianjin TV tower. If you have ever seen the Shanghai Oriental Pearl tower then you know the general shape of the Tianjin tower. While the shape is similar it takes noting that Shanghai’s building is a beautiful collection of glass, steel, and concrete. The Tianjin tower is not even close to the Shanghai tower, it resembles a power-plant cooling tower with a saucer plate sitting on top. Its ugly plain and simple.
The rest of our day was spent wandering without a clue or care. It was about this point that the epiphany struck. We were so happy to be here in Tianjin for the simple reason that it got us out of campus and Beijing. It was that realization that was absolutely liberating and invigorating. It helped to keep the fire inside alive.
I wrote the original part of this post about 3 weeks ago but never got around to the actual posting. In that time I have been to Xi’an and Shanghai and it does help to keep me going. The more time I spend in China the more I need to travel and get out campus and the grind. The grind is 4 hours a day 5 days a week for class and the same cafeteria food. It is relieving to just get out of campus and live without the grind hanging over your head. Now that midterms are done with I’ll be sure to post more often. Thanks to everyone for all there support ….It officially the halfway point!
If your interested in the rail system feel free to navigate around here curiosity of Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Railway_High-speed
Monday, March 30, 2009
Wal-Mart – In China
I am told that there are four Wal-Mart Supercenters in Beijing and its suburbs. I can only speak to seeing two and being inside of one of the supercenters. To be completely blunt about the experience is simply the easiest way to proceed. The store looks and feels nothing like that of any American Wal-Mart I’ve seen or visited. The Wal-Mart south of Wudaokou is three stories with no distinct or understandable layout of the floor plan. Now that’s not to say that Wal-Mart doesn’t have a real floor plan its just that this westerner doesn’t understand or know the Wal-Mart plan. I am sure with all of their capital and human resources they must have a winning formula, I just don’t happen to understand it.
So you start on the top floor (entrance is on the third floor only) and get to see the personal hygiene, clothing, shoes, and household products. On the second/ middle/ ground floor you have consumer electronics, books, furniture and other large household items. It is also of note that the second floor/ground floor is also the floor with the cash registers and checkout process. As a point of interest in china each cashier line has two cashiers and plastic bags cost extra (10 mao (our cents) per bag). The common opinion among us expats (expatriated students) is that this is done to prevent waste and lower the demand for plastics in the country.
Now back to the store:
The first and basement floor is the food section of the supercenter with all sorts of meats, vegetables, and dried goods. So now you the reader are wondering what did he mean no layout or floor plan. You just spent two paragraphs describing it. Yes I did and no there is no great floor plan than that. As to the arrangement and distribution of items on the floor is what my original point was about. There is no (seemingly) order to why the shoes go next to baby goods and cosmetics next to clothing. It just seems like that is the accepted way.
For those of you who own Wal-Mart stock let me put your minds to rest. I have visited this store multiple times and at all hours of the day always to find it packed with paying customers. To those of you who think a line on black Friday is bad I would ask you to come to a Chinese Wal-Mart on Thursday or Friday nights in China. Now I am sure the casual reader has determined a flaw in the Wal-Mart scheme in China.
Perhaps that is how do people move their carts through all the floors? Elevators, Stairs, Teleportation, their backs all seem like plausible answers to this question. The true answer is even simpler and more elegant. They have escalators that take the customer from floor to floor and don’t worry about the cart sliding down without you. The engineer who came up with this solution gave that issue an even more elegant solution, magnets. Four high strength magnets lock your cart into the escalator.
I am sure that this little post might raise some questions so feel free to email me and I’ll try to post some pictures from my next visit to help explain this. As to my next post its going to cover this past weekend (Tianjin and the Great Wall).
So you start on the top floor (entrance is on the third floor only) and get to see the personal hygiene, clothing, shoes, and household products. On the second/ middle/ ground floor you have consumer electronics, books, furniture and other large household items. It is also of note that the second floor/ground floor is also the floor with the cash registers and checkout process. As a point of interest in china each cashier line has two cashiers and plastic bags cost extra (10 mao (our cents) per bag). The common opinion among us expats (expatriated students) is that this is done to prevent waste and lower the demand for plastics in the country.
Now back to the store:
The first and basement floor is the food section of the supercenter with all sorts of meats, vegetables, and dried goods. So now you the reader are wondering what did he mean no layout or floor plan. You just spent two paragraphs describing it. Yes I did and no there is no great floor plan than that. As to the arrangement and distribution of items on the floor is what my original point was about. There is no (seemingly) order to why the shoes go next to baby goods and cosmetics next to clothing. It just seems like that is the accepted way.
For those of you who own Wal-Mart stock let me put your minds to rest. I have visited this store multiple times and at all hours of the day always to find it packed with paying customers. To those of you who think a line on black Friday is bad I would ask you to come to a Chinese Wal-Mart on Thursday or Friday nights in China. Now I am sure the casual reader has determined a flaw in the Wal-Mart scheme in China.
Perhaps that is how do people move their carts through all the floors? Elevators, Stairs, Teleportation, their backs all seem like plausible answers to this question. The true answer is even simpler and more elegant. They have escalators that take the customer from floor to floor and don’t worry about the cart sliding down without you. The engineer who came up with this solution gave that issue an even more elegant solution, magnets. Four high strength magnets lock your cart into the escalator.
I am sure that this little post might raise some questions so feel free to email me and I’ll try to post some pictures from my next visit to help explain this. As to my next post its going to cover this past weekend (Tianjin and the Great Wall).
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Dancing Noodleier
Don’t let this title lead you anywhere because my guess is that the your guess would be completely off as to what your about to read. The 27th of March brought with it besides a week of exams a desire to get off of campus and out into the real world for dinner. So out the door and onto the street my merry treo went at 7:00pm hoping to beat the rush (by going late and yes 7 is late in China). A quick taxi ride downtown to follow a recommendation given by speaking professor delivered us to Hai Di Lao restaurant.
The front was intimidating, blazon in fiery red and shimmer gold paint and neon signs. The building dominated its surroundings even though it stood only a few stories high. Its glowing signs and the commotion of guest lead to the conclusion that it must be worth the drive down. This conclusion came about because it was now 7:45 a time when most Chinese seem to be long done with dinner. A jot up the small flight of stairs delivered us to the dinner and fun.
Once inside we were greeted by an attendant that offered us a grey liquid that I would most likely classify as soybean tea. Then even before sitting down in the packed waiting room we were whisked away. Yes! We thought, westerners get special priority or seating whatever it was we were going to eat soon. Our collective hopes were dashed and as we were deposited deep within the belly of the restaurant to sit at small plastic chairs. A quick glance around the room revealed that some fortunate souls were sitting at tables and enjoying real food but scattered within the alleys between tables were those of us condemned to the purgatory of only seeing and smelling of good food. A row of us forsaken souls huddled together drink our grey liquid and glancing towards the doorway leading into the room, hoping, hoping for our moment of liberation.
Then it came! They pointed at me! I was sure of it. A quick finger gesture at myself and a nod confirmed it. Yes! Dinner! We walked back out of the maze that took us deep inside the restaurant towards the front and a table being cleaned by the fastest bus service I’ve ever witnessed. As for dinner it was the traditional Chinese Hot Pot with Beef, Spinach, Lamb, Lotus, and Cabbage boiled on the table in either spicy or bland water. We finished dinner with the local brew (Yangjing and Qingdao) and then waited for the magic to begin.
See the true reason for coming to this restaurant was to see the dancing noodle man as my teacher called them. When your done with the main course a bus boy/noodleier (I made it up) comes out and twirls a 12 inch piece of dough. Taking that 12 inches he turns into a about a four foot circle that he proceeds to dance and twirl with. To say the least the event is quite enjoyable and the noodleier takes great fun at trying to throw the noodle in the guest direction causing them to flinch. If you want a mental picture imagine the gymnasts that do twirling with streamers in the Olympics only now they twirl and dance a roll of dough in-between tables and guests. After two rounds of noodles and $25.00 spent (Total cost for dinner, drinks, etc) we returned home. It was only 9:30, an early night by any standard but I swear we needed our rest for tomorrow we rode to Tianjian on a train doing 350kph (217mph).
The front was intimidating, blazon in fiery red and shimmer gold paint and neon signs. The building dominated its surroundings even though it stood only a few stories high. Its glowing signs and the commotion of guest lead to the conclusion that it must be worth the drive down. This conclusion came about because it was now 7:45 a time when most Chinese seem to be long done with dinner. A jot up the small flight of stairs delivered us to the dinner and fun.
Once inside we were greeted by an attendant that offered us a grey liquid that I would most likely classify as soybean tea. Then even before sitting down in the packed waiting room we were whisked away. Yes! We thought, westerners get special priority or seating whatever it was we were going to eat soon. Our collective hopes were dashed and as we were deposited deep within the belly of the restaurant to sit at small plastic chairs. A quick glance around the room revealed that some fortunate souls were sitting at tables and enjoying real food but scattered within the alleys between tables were those of us condemned to the purgatory of only seeing and smelling of good food. A row of us forsaken souls huddled together drink our grey liquid and glancing towards the doorway leading into the room, hoping, hoping for our moment of liberation.
Then it came! They pointed at me! I was sure of it. A quick finger gesture at myself and a nod confirmed it. Yes! Dinner! We walked back out of the maze that took us deep inside the restaurant towards the front and a table being cleaned by the fastest bus service I’ve ever witnessed. As for dinner it was the traditional Chinese Hot Pot with Beef, Spinach, Lamb, Lotus, and Cabbage boiled on the table in either spicy or bland water. We finished dinner with the local brew (Yangjing and Qingdao) and then waited for the magic to begin.
See the true reason for coming to this restaurant was to see the dancing noodle man as my teacher called them. When your done with the main course a bus boy/noodleier (I made it up) comes out and twirls a 12 inch piece of dough. Taking that 12 inches he turns into a about a four foot circle that he proceeds to dance and twirl with. To say the least the event is quite enjoyable and the noodleier takes great fun at trying to throw the noodle in the guest direction causing them to flinch. If you want a mental picture imagine the gymnasts that do twirling with streamers in the Olympics only now they twirl and dance a roll of dough in-between tables and guests. After two rounds of noodles and $25.00 spent (Total cost for dinner, drinks, etc) we returned home. It was only 9:30, an early night by any standard but I swear we needed our rest for tomorrow we rode to Tianjian on a train doing 350kph (217mph).
You’ve lost that loving Feelin’
Taking a cue from my favorite movie (Top Gun) I had a chance to unmistakably embarrass the hell out of myself. You see in China if you’re late for class the make you sing and dance in front of class as punishment. Well as fate (the hunter) would have it two of my good fellow Americans were late one morning this past week. So thanks to them and a miss understanding on my part (I can speak, read and write but I can’t listen) I ended up having to share the punishment also.
So knowing that this was going to be bad no matter what I decided to live out a little role playing. I and the other male vocalist decided to play Mav and Goose from Top Gun and the teacher filled the role of Kelly McGillis. Little to her knowledge we were about to serenade her with sweet music from the Righteous Brothers and then end it with the finale of “I am a little tea pot” (two people late = two songs). Starting off with “You’ve lost that loving feeling” and moving through to our final act was a blast. The four unknowing Korean girls in the glass were aghast as we sung to our teacher and the remaining American girl danced and lipped sung with us. Reaching the peak of my lyrical career we decided with no for-thought to finish with the All-American classic “I am a little teapot” with the accompanying hand motions and gestures.
All considered it was a blast for someone who hates to be embarrassed in public like that. I think that perhaps it was one of my best memories so far in this adventure. As to all of you who may be wondering, yes there is video provided by a one Rustin from Kazakhstan. I’ll be sure to try and secure a copy before my return to the states.
So knowing that this was going to be bad no matter what I decided to live out a little role playing. I and the other male vocalist decided to play Mav and Goose from Top Gun and the teacher filled the role of Kelly McGillis. Little to her knowledge we were about to serenade her with sweet music from the Righteous Brothers and then end it with the finale of “I am a little tea pot” (two people late = two songs). Starting off with “You’ve lost that loving feeling” and moving through to our final act was a blast. The four unknowing Korean girls in the glass were aghast as we sung to our teacher and the remaining American girl danced and lipped sung with us. Reaching the peak of my lyrical career we decided with no for-thought to finish with the All-American classic “I am a little teapot” with the accompanying hand motions and gestures.
All considered it was a blast for someone who hates to be embarrassed in public like that. I think that perhaps it was one of my best memories so far in this adventure. As to all of you who may be wondering, yes there is video provided by a one Rustin from Kazakhstan. I’ll be sure to try and secure a copy before my return to the states.
Meeting an Old Friend:
I had a chance to meet up with my old professor and great friend last weekend for a quick night out on Beijing. John taught me Chinese my freshman year for a semester before he returned to Beijing to teach at a University in the city. This arranged meeting took place after weeks of phone and email tag and shuffling of schedules. Finally we had a time and date that seemed firm.
To give you a mental picture it’s a beautiful Saturday evening in Beijing. It’s been windy the night before and early into the morning hours so now the sky is beautifully clear. To my west you can see the beautiful ridgeline that boards Beijing and the setting orb that we call the sun. Around four John calls to tell me that he is coming to pick me up in front of my dorm.
I never got a clear answer and that’s because I never asked for it (really rude) as to why it took him an hour to find me but that’s life. I had a chance to survey the sky and take in the beauty of the setting sun. After the cursory handshake and entry into his car I gave him the customary gift (always give your host a gift in China) of some distinctly American things.
As a note to the reader in China gifts are expected anytime someone else is hosting you. Appropriate gifts are tea sets, chocolate, paintings, and anything that is distinctly your culture. Also of note is that the actual value of the object does not really matter it’s the act/thought that they respect. But do not give a clock watches are acceptable but not clocks. The reason is that the word clock uses a word in Chinese that is similar to death so giving it will be accepted as saying “go die”.
Back to the recanting:
John had me as a captive audience to practice his English and me my Chinese as we drove across Beijing visiting the Olympic pavilions, the Bell tower, cultural park and other local sights. All the sights were beautiful and I have the pictures to prove it but most of all I enjoyed the company of an old friend. Laoshi (teacher) as I refer to John allowed me gave me an opportunity to unwind and relax. A couple of things stuck in my mind from that night.
The first is that he asked me whether or not I was becoming a monk. That question which he delivered in Chinese gave me some raised eyebrows. Perhaps I misunderstood his question was my first thought but no I had heard the correct words. “No, no I am not becoming a monk, why do you ask?” came my reply. “Oh well you are at the monk university didn’t you know?” was his response. The monk university, what was he talking about was my first thought. I had been on campus nearly five weeks at this point and I still hadn’t seen a single monk.
After much confusion and stumbling (thanks to my Chinese not his English) I came to understand the original question. Tsinghua is the paramount Engineering and Physics university in China similar to our MIT or RPI. His question was directed towards the absolute disproportion of men to women. In a school of 34,000 I would guess that maybe 3,000 are women. So to answer his question no I was not becoming a monk.
The night ended eating what the Chinese consider a rare and expensive delicacy, Shark Fin soup. I am not going to go into detail about this because I don’t know enough to argue for or against it. I will say that there is controversy over this soup and by animal and conservation groups. As to the actual eating of the soup well its good but I wouldn’t pick it again. Its fish, oily, and too expensive. That night was a well need break from the mundane routine that four hours a day of class can provide. I was glad to be out and on the road with a good friend to keep me company.
To give you a mental picture it’s a beautiful Saturday evening in Beijing. It’s been windy the night before and early into the morning hours so now the sky is beautifully clear. To my west you can see the beautiful ridgeline that boards Beijing and the setting orb that we call the sun. Around four John calls to tell me that he is coming to pick me up in front of my dorm.
I never got a clear answer and that’s because I never asked for it (really rude) as to why it took him an hour to find me but that’s life. I had a chance to survey the sky and take in the beauty of the setting sun. After the cursory handshake and entry into his car I gave him the customary gift (always give your host a gift in China) of some distinctly American things.
As a note to the reader in China gifts are expected anytime someone else is hosting you. Appropriate gifts are tea sets, chocolate, paintings, and anything that is distinctly your culture. Also of note is that the actual value of the object does not really matter it’s the act/thought that they respect. But do not give a clock watches are acceptable but not clocks. The reason is that the word clock uses a word in Chinese that is similar to death so giving it will be accepted as saying “go die”.
Back to the recanting:
John had me as a captive audience to practice his English and me my Chinese as we drove across Beijing visiting the Olympic pavilions, the Bell tower, cultural park and other local sights. All the sights were beautiful and I have the pictures to prove it but most of all I enjoyed the company of an old friend. Laoshi (teacher) as I refer to John allowed me gave me an opportunity to unwind and relax. A couple of things stuck in my mind from that night.
The first is that he asked me whether or not I was becoming a monk. That question which he delivered in Chinese gave me some raised eyebrows. Perhaps I misunderstood his question was my first thought but no I had heard the correct words. “No, no I am not becoming a monk, why do you ask?” came my reply. “Oh well you are at the monk university didn’t you know?” was his response. The monk university, what was he talking about was my first thought. I had been on campus nearly five weeks at this point and I still hadn’t seen a single monk.
After much confusion and stumbling (thanks to my Chinese not his English) I came to understand the original question. Tsinghua is the paramount Engineering and Physics university in China similar to our MIT or RPI. His question was directed towards the absolute disproportion of men to women. In a school of 34,000 I would guess that maybe 3,000 are women. So to answer his question no I was not becoming a monk.
The night ended eating what the Chinese consider a rare and expensive delicacy, Shark Fin soup. I am not going to go into detail about this because I don’t know enough to argue for or against it. I will say that there is controversy over this soup and by animal and conservation groups. As to the actual eating of the soup well its good but I wouldn’t pick it again. Its fish, oily, and too expensive. That night was a well need break from the mundane routine that four hours a day of class can provide. I was glad to be out and on the road with a good friend to keep me company.
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