Inner Mongolia

Over Spring Break, I went to Inner Mongolia. I went with 8 other people, which was the perfect number of people to go with- not too big, but still big enough to find a companion if I wanted to venture off. We took an overnight train there and arrived at 8 am. Our timing ended up being perfect, because we arrived early enough to catch a bus to the grasslands. The grasslands weren't as green as I expect (in fact, the scenery reminded me of a hillier version of Oklahoma), but it was still so great to be out of the city and be able to see a full blanket of stars. When we arrived on the farm, the host mother made us a traditional Mongolian meal, which again, was not what we expected. Rumor had it that Mongolia cuisine is heavy in meat and cheese, and considering Chinese people don't like cheese (so much so that when someone takes your picture they won't say 1..2..3..cheese! but instead 1...2...3..eggplant!), so I was really excited to eat lotsa cheese. However, although the dishes did have cheese, they were flavorless or sweet as sugar- nothing like normal cheese. Strange, but still good.
After we ate we went horseback riding. I opted for the pretty white horse, which backfired pretty quickly. Apparently my horse was too pretty to do work (I got the Anwesha of horses!!), so he refused to move. I ended up taking a motorcycle back, but I was really happy with that. I had to convince the guy to let me ride it, but he finally gave in, then kept changing the settings so I could go faster and faster through the countryside. I suppose I'm just a city girl at heart!
Later that evening, we walked around the farm then settled into our yurt (yes a yurt!) to play a few rounds of intense Mafia (which is a game where you try to guess who's the town killer). Considering the fact that I've only played Mafia with a bunch of 10-year-olds on the way to church camp, I've never seen so much emotion revolving around the accusations on who killed who. We had so much fun, we hardly even noticed how bitterly cold it was.
The next day, we returned to the city to see the sites of Hohot and eat some good Mongolian food. On the way, we ran into an expat who now resided in Hohot, and he gave us some tips on where to go. He said if we wanted to experience something completely different from Beijing, we should check out A-Go-Go- a tranny bar! So that night, we went there and had so much fun watching men dressed up as women sing and dance on stage. Everyone was really friendly there, which made for a great opportunity to practice my Chinese. Who knew a tranny bar would be the best place to go to in Inner Mongolia?
The next morning we left at the break of dawn to go to the Gobi Dessert. When we arrived, we were greeted by a full band and women dressed in traditional Mongolian wear. As custom dictated, we all had to take a sip of 白酒 (extremely strong Chinese liquor) before we could eat lunch. Not exactly how I wanted to start off my day, but I had to take a sip as to not be rude. We also had to do the ritual again after lunch- painful!! We then headed into heart of the Gobi Desert by the best mode of transportation possible: camelback. We rode camels for about an hour, then stopped so we could play in the sand and slide down the sand dooms. Most of our electronics got destroyed by the sand, and we all came back filthy, but no one cared- we had the time of our lives.
Once we got back from the desert, we packed up our stuff to head back to Beijing. We were running late, so we didn't have time to eat let alone shower...a fact that ironically only the guys were complaining about! The bus we took was really intense- we had really small beds stacked on top of each other in rows of 3 beds. It wasn't very comfortable to say the least, but it was a very fitting end to our "rugged outdoors" trip.

Below are some pictures from Mongolia. I've also gone through my previous postings and added pictures, I hope you enjoy!

Photos from the Grasslands:
Ali, Bailey, Melissa, and I in front of a photo of Genghis Khan inside our yurt:


Mongolian Food:

(You're supposed to take the crackers, dip them in the white flavorless cheese so you can then dip in the grain, then finish with the sweet cheese in the middle...
But everyone ended up just eating the crackers with the flavorless tea-the grain was too troublesome- and dropping the sweet cheese into their tea like sugar cubes. Close enough?)

Our Hostel Back in HoHot:


This Mongolian kid kept calling Us “外鬼“ which means white ghost/devil, so obviously we had to play with him for awhile:


Pictures from the Gobi Desert:

Photo Shoot + My Trip to Hangzhou

The week before last was extremely eventful. A while back my purse was stolen from a restaurant's coatcheck, so I went on Beijing's version of Craiglist to post a bad review about it. To my surprise, I got an email in response asking me if I was the girl in my user picture and if so, if I wanted a modeling gig. The gig was for a dental company, so on top of getting paid, I got free teeth whitening out of it. 太好了! The shoot was a lot of fun, and I actually ended up knowing one of the girls there! We had met earlier in the semester at a Paul Van Dyk concert and exchanged numbers, but neither one of us had cell phones at the time and scraps of paper are hard to hold onto at a concert, so I thought I'd never see her again. There were less than 10 models at the shoot, which goes to show how small of a world it is!

Photos from the photo shoot:
Getting Ready:

Lots of Waiting:


Later that week, my program arranged for us to go to Hangzhou, which is a really pretty city in the south of China (close to Shanghai). It's China's #1 tourist spot, so the city was extremely clean; in fact, littering and spitting are outlawed. We took a boat across the West Lake, which is a really famous scenic spot (it's actually pictured on the back of the 1 yuan). Then we went to the Lingyin Monastery. Lingyin Monastery is China's oldest standing monastery and is in the top 10 most famous Buddhist temples in China, so I felt really lucky to have the opportunity to explore it.
The next day, I went with a few friends to the "snack street," which would be better described as a shopping street considering the food section was only an alley. They had really great stuff though. Usually in China I have to sift through tons of junk to find something I like, but everything I saw there I wanted to buy. My best purchase was a bag of 龙井问茶, China's most prized green tea that is only grown in Hangzhou.
We left on Sunday, much to our dismay. Hangzhou is so beautiful that none of us wanted to leave. Our only motivation for returning to Beijing was that next week was Spring Break, and we would be off to Inner Mongolia to eat cheese and ride camels， 挺热闹！!

Pictures from Hangzhou:
Hangzhou's West Lake (in comparison to the back of China's yuan):


Practicing the ""Beijing Squat":


Hangzhou's West Lake:




Rachel, Me, Ali, and Melissa Posing with the Boatman (he was embarrassed that he was eating ice cream in our picture haha!):


Pictures from Lingyin Monastery:






China's Best Rickshaw Driver (this guy first took all 4 of us in the back of his 2-seater rickshaw, then later when he took Ali and I he literally stopped his rickshaw to laugh at a woman who lost her shoe while riding a bike, then said "我很开心“ aka "I'm very open-hearted..I'd say so!):

Inflatable friends, celebrities, and dancing in the park

Hi everyone!

Sorry I've been so awful at updating my blog lately! So many times I've meant to sit down and write this, but then I get distracted. But anyway, this is what I've been up to lately...

Two weeks ago Lara, Kelsey and I went to the zoo. I was pre-warned that it is a bit depressing because the cages are pretty small, but I still wanted to go check it out. Although the cages were rather small, the zoo was still really cool. We purchased big inflatable tube animals, so we looked like the ultimate tourists walking around with our animal friends. I loved it, because as Val says "Always be a tourist!" As if we wouldn't get enough stares already...
What was really cool about the zoo was that I was able to get much closer to the animals than I would in America- so close that I got to pet a zebra! It's kind of funny how that happened: People were feeding the zebras right underneath a "Don't Feed the Animals" sign, so at first we were scuffing at them. Then one lady noticed we were looking her, so she came over and gave us some of her food to feed the zebras too....so suddenly we were also feeding the animals. I was able to lure a zebra close to me with my food so that I could pet it's mane. So cute!
One thing about the zoo that was really strange was the lack of souvenirs. I looked everywhere for something that said "Beijing Zoo" to send home to all of you, but they didn't have anything! All they had was tons of Canadian souvenirs- hats, jerseys, keychains, wooden mooses, etc. They really need to pick it up on the marketing...
Pictures from the zoo:
Lara and I purchasing our inflatable animals

Kelsey and I posing with our new friends



Last Monday was Jesse's birthday, so I went out to eat with him and his BCLU friends to this amazing Arabic restaurant called 1001 Nights. Somehow I lost Jesse, so I started talking to this Chinese girl named Jenny. I thought she came alone, but then after about an hour or so of talking she told me to come meet her friends. I ended up hanging out with them the rest of the night. They were playing all these different Chinese games, which I didn't know but was pretending like I did. One of the guys in the group kept trying to correct me, then finally gave up. Later on Jenny told me that boy was JC Chan....Jackie Chan's son!!

I've also developed a Wednesday evening routine: going to Lush. Lush is amazing in and of itself because it is one of the few places around that has good American food, but Wednesdays are even better because they have a trivia night. Trivia starts at 8, but we also go by 6 to stake out a table. Kind of ridiculous, but completely worth it. Unfortunately my team has never won, but I am full of more useless trivia now.

Besides petting zebras, meeting celebrities, and losing at trivia night, I've been exploring more of Beijing. I went to the Old Summer Palace with my roommate and a few other girls in my program. There's a huge lake inside the grounds, so we rented a row boat. I volunteered to row, which made me think how proud Dave Lusche would be :)
A few weeks ago I also went with my friend Andrew to explore around Tianenmen Square. We found this amazing park around the Hutong area, which was basically just a tree garden. It was really pretty, and I found one tree that looked like pulled taffy- I now have a favorite tree in Beijing. While we were in this area, two girls started talking to us for a while. After a bit they asked us if we would like to get coffee with them. I was about to say yes, then Andrew very sternly said no. It caught me off guard because Andrew is an extremely nice and gentle-natured person, but later he told me he was so quick to respond because that was a scam. Apparently it's very common for young people to ask you to get coffee, bring you to their friend's restaurant, then stick you with a ridiculously high bill. They also frequently do this with art shows. So if you're even in China and a student asks you to look at their art gallery, say no!

Photos from Wangfujing (王府井大街):


Common Wangfujing Snacks (Scorpions and Seahorses on a Stick!):


Andrew and I in Wangfujing's famous Shengxifu Hat Store:




I also went to the Forbidden City with my friend Derrick. We both purchased silly Chinese hats, so once again I was an ultimate tourist while walking around. It was a lot of fun- the city is huge! It was built with layers to divide the social classes, so now that it's abandoned it is a massive maze- very Alice in Wonderland-esque. When we started out, we decided our final goal would be these 3 temples on top of the hill in the distance. As it turned out though, those temples weren't part of the Forbidden City, they were part of 景山公园, otherwise known as Prospect Park. We went there next, which was such a good idea! Besides the awesome temples, it turns out this park is where all the locals go on the weekends to sing and dance. We couldn't walk 200 meters without running into another choir, band, karaoke stand, or flock of people dancing....too much fun!

Photos from Forbidden City:
Derrick and I in front of the Forbidden City's entrance:


The Forbidden City in all it's forbidden-ness:


Inside Forbidden City talking to my Dad:


One of the Rooms Inside the Forbidden City ("Oh look, another chair!"):


An Example of How Detailed the Forbidden City is:



Photos from Prospect Park:






Derrick Joining a Traditional Chinese Dance:




That basically covers what I've been up to these past few weeks. I know I've forgotten a bunch, so I'll try to update more frequently from now on!

I've also learned a lot about how children are treated differently in China:
1. Parents give their children a lot more freedom. I've noticed this many times, but one instance in particular that comes to mind happened at the zoo. A man was holding a young child who was reaching out to pet a donkey. Instead of pulling his hand back, the man puts his son on the other side of the railing so he could get right up to the cage to pet the zebra! At this point the kid no longer wanted to pet the zebra, but the man insisted that he did so. Only in China...
2. There are no kidnappers in this country. I know because I have seen countless children under the age of five walking around by themselves.
3. It is never too young to start smoking in China. I know because some of these children under the age of five walking around by themselves have had cigerrette in mouth....yikes!

学ing that 中文

These past 10 days haven't been as eventful as most, due to the fact that I've had midterms. Chinese schools are big on making one or two exams worth your entire grade, so this past week I've traded in venturing out in Beijing for some quality time with my tutor Wang Miao. As funny as her name is, I really like her. At first I didn't think I would because she's a bit older than me and is definitely a Beida student (i.e., rather serious and nerdy...Beida is the "Harvard of China" for a reason!), so I was afraid that we wouldn't have much to talk about. Our second meeting changed my perception of her though. She took me to the baozi house (which is absolutely my favorite food on campus now because it's really yummy, always open, and costs less than 10 cents!). While we were there, she looked over my homework for the first five minutes, then we just sat in silence for the rest of the meal. This might sound really awkward, but I hate unnecessary small talk more than anything, so the fact that she didn't feel the need to fill the silence with meaningless conversation made me like her a lot.
She's also just a really great tutor. Every time I need to met up with her, no matter if it's even a half-day warning, she's there. Then when we meet up, she'll only talk in Chinese to me. She'll only revert to English if I say "我听不懂“ (I don't understand) multiple times, which is great for my listening comprehension. Probably the thing I like about her the most though is how she always tries to encourage me. Any email she sends me has a little "You can do it!" phrase tacked on to the end, and when we meet in person she'll always say things like "You're so hard working and so clever...I feel really lucky to be your tutor!" It's really cheesey, but it makes me want to work harder on my assignments to make her proud.
So yes, although it hasn't been an extremely eventful week, studying hasn't been all that bad. Wang Miao is pretty awesome and I can now explain such things as Venice Beach, why I love the Rose Garden, my sister Petra, and other random things in Chinese to you if you so desire. I also did really well on my midterms, which is nice :)

Other than studying, I've had a lot of interesting encounters with locals this past week. One that I thought was especially interesting happened in one of Beida's cafeterias. While I was telling the waiter what I wanted, I was bending my meal card in my palm and accidently snapped it in half. This was rather problematic because the guy had already served my food, and the meal card is the only form of payment. So I start digging in my bag for some tape, or stickers, or even gum so I could temporarily put my card back together just so I could pay for my food that was already served up. After a second, I look back at the guy and say, "I'm really sorry, I can't pay for that." And he responds, "No need, that guy just paid for your food." Me, "Which guy?" And the waiter points out to the crowd then just shrugged. I took my food, stoked but really confused. Considering most Chinese people completely keep to themselves when not around loved ones, it surprised me that someone who didn't know me would pay for my food. Then not to say anything at all...? Most people would say something like "Don't worry about it, I'll pay for your food" because they would want recognition for what they did, and if that were an American boy paying for my food, he would likely use it as a lead to "So, how you doin'?" It was definitely a cultural encounter...one that left a huge smile on my face.

Before I end this, I'm trying to think if there has been anything more exciting going on in my life this past week. I did go out to Wangfujing a few days ago, which is a famous street in Beijing known for having crazy snacks. There you can buy scorpions on a stick that are still alive until they fry them right in front of you! Other snacks on a stick include seahorses and starfish. I considered trying a seahorse, but decided to stick with the carmelized strawberries on a stick instead. Maybe next time...

YaShow, Hooters...and the Great Wall!

It has been a beautiful week in Beijing. A warm front came in and the weather's been hanging around 17°C. This was unfortunate for Michael, since he wasn't able to sport his John Travolta jacket much, but I definitely welcomed the weather with a smile. For the first time since I've been here I've been able to wear shorts. I must say, shorts are much more comfortable than wearing tights and tall socks under my jeans...

Michael and I started off the week with a lot of shopping. He showed me a market called "YaShow," and I found a few scarfs and bracelets I liked. Besides one incident when two Asian women death-gripped me and tried to trap me in their store, I was finally able to shop without fearing for my life. Shopping at YaShow was also really good 口语 (speaking) practice. Since most foreigners who come in there can't speak a lick of Chinese, all the salespeople were really impressed that I could speak some Mandarin. Since I knew the more legit I sounded, the lower the prices would become, I have never been so motivated to nail every tone. Who knew shopping would bring out my best Mandarin?

One saleslady in particular was really funny. She saw me being attacked, so she offered me a really good deal on a clutch I wanted. I was debating with her about it, and using my "I'm a starving college student, I don't have much money" line, and she asked me where I went to school. I told her Beida, and since Beida is one of the most prestigious schools in China, she knocked 20 kuai off the price.

I've also had a lot more luck finding food this week. Yesterday a few classmates took me to a cafeteria on campus that I've never been to, and I think it's the best eating option thus far. Eating on campus is the best deal because the food is much cheaper than off campus, and this cafeteria lays out plates of food so I can see exactly what I'm going to get. Nothing sucks more than being hungry and expecting something yummy and instead getting a big pot with a chicken's neck in it (true story).

Besides the cafeteria, I found another excellent eating option in Beijing-- Hooters. Ridiculous as it sounds, the food is pretty good (as I type this I am fully aware that I sound like one of those guys who says "I go to Hooters for the wings"). But yeah, Michael and my friend Tony wanted to check it out, so I went with, obviously giving them a hard time about their questionable intentions for wanting to dine there the whole subway right over. However, once we arrived, were greeted with a friendly, Chinglish "Welcome to Hooters!" and also realized students get 1/2 off the food, my opinion quickly started to change. Once my amazing fruit salad arrived, I was suddenly the biggest Hooters fan there. As sad as this may sound, I am now going to be a weekly regular.


Besides shopping and eating at Hooters, Michael and I also did a lot of sight seeing. Our greatest tourist adventure was going to the Great Wall. Our tour guide kept referring to the section we were going to as the REAL Great Wall, which didn't make much sense until we got there and saw the lack of foreigners. Considering I was the only blonde haired girl there and everyone had their cameras out, it's a pretty safe bet that a picture of me at the Great Wall is currently some Chinese person's computer background.
Our Great Wall adventure was all the more better because it didn't end at The Wall. Apparently Michael signed us up for the "package," which was a day long tour of China's finest- lunch in the boonies, imperial tombs, jade factories, and wax museums of Chinese emperors. The tour was definitely not what we had in mind and was overall really strange (especially since it ended in an informercial-esque manner where they tried to sell us jewelry), but even so it was a lot of fun. Definitely an adventure to say the least...

That basically wraps up my week. Here are some other random facts I have learned since I last wrote:
1. It's really hard to find real milk in China, they only have really sweet soy milk. Why? 90% of Asians are lactosentolerent.
2. Coat checks in China will "lose" (steal?) your belongings.
3. Beijing drivers excessively use their horn at inappropriate times, such as when they're waiting behind cars at a red light. It has been decided that there is only one clear reason for this: they are just really excited to finally have their own cars. Every once in awhile they get overwhelmed with excitement and have to give a little toot as a way of saying "Woo Woo!"
4. "Vanilla" flavor ice cream will often be something else, which won't become evident until inspecting the wrapper post purchase. Such flavors include 'natural fruit' and butter. Mmmmm!
5. The trick to the Beijing accent is, as Jon so elegantly put it, "Just make it sound like you're about to vom and you'll get it."
6. I have the best best friend in the world.

Operas, Birthdays, and John Travolta Jackets.

Hello friends (+ Daddy),

Wow, what a week! On Monday I went with my program to the Peking Opera as our weekly "cultural experience" field trip. I was warned that it is a bit weird before going, but I had no idea what I was in store for. Even the opera house itself was not what I expected. Instead of a modern, fancy building, it was just a room with a small stage at the front- and the room wasn't heated! Except for a few photo opts, I kept my jacket on the entire time (So much for getting dressed up!). The show was also much different than I imagined it would be. It had much less singing than I thought an opera would have (which was probably a good thing, considering what it sounded like), but it was more geared towards acrobats, costumes, and how long the actresses could go without blinking. The story plot was also very strange. It was about two women fighting off monks (yes monks) to get the elder one's husband back, with a surprise twist at the end that the elder is in fact an immortal snake. When the broken Chinglish came up on the projector with that phrase, you can imagine how much all of us giggled.
Here's a clip of the opera if you want to see for yourself what it's like:
http://www.video4viet.com/watchvideo.html?id=zHPegoquV5I&title=Peking%20Opera

Photos from the opera:


The girls who live in FX Hotel, from left to right: Jessica (my roomie), Kelsey, me, Bailey, Kara, and Chelsea (who went to hs with Novi...small world!)



On Wednesday evening I met up with my tutor Wang Ming. Since I have to meet with her for 3 hours each week, I wrote her an email asking if she wanted to go see a movie together. She wrote me back saying, "Yes, let's see Valkyrie, but the other student I'm tutoring wants to come along with her roommate, I hope that's okay." One of my neighbors Bailey was hanging out in my room when I got this email, so I starting saying to her, "I hope it's not awkward with the other girls. I don't know them at all, and the group of people who study Chinese are a weird bunch, so there's a good chance that these girls are creepy." To which Bailey responds, "Jenna, that's me and Kelsey who are going with you!" It was pretty funny, considering I hang out with Bailey and Kelsey on the regular. Needless to say, seeing Valkyrie with them and Wang Ming was anything but awkward.

Thursday was Cleopatra (a fellow Trojan!) and Ruben's birthday, so a bunch of us- 41 of us to be exact- went to dinner in the Wudaokou area, which is the local hang out district for college kids slash one of the few areas that has yummy American food. We ate at "Grandma's Kitchen," and since it's in a shopping center, we walked around the mall's arcade afterwards. I was walking with my friend Rick, when I looked down and noticed that he was not only smoking a cigarette inside the children's arcade, but he was also taking pulls out of a bottle of wine! The funniest part is that no one approached him to put the bottle away, or maybe into a paper bag- literally no one cared.

Photos from Cleo and Ruben's dinner:



Friday was one of the best days I've had in China so far. I FINALLY receive Adam's Valentine's Day package, which I thought was lost in the postal system forever. As if getting lots of Disney movies, drawings, and love in the mail wasn't enough, Michael also came into town. Petra called him when I was culture shocked out of my mind and told him to come out here stat, so he did! Not only did fly out to China on the dime, but half his bag was stuff for me: protein bars, make up, and ahem, feminine products. What an amazing friend, right? We've been having way too much fun together already. Michael naturally came to Beijing without a jacket, so we met up with his friend Ashley (who is also studying abroad in Beijing) and went shopping. Michael ended up with a pleather, reversible, John Travolta jacket. It's absolutely ridiculous but the non-pleather side doesn't look too shabby, and hey, it's warm.

After shopping, Michael and I went to eat at the Japanese restaurant that's right next door to my hotel. We both got chicken curry, but since I ordered mine without the chicken, Michael asked them to put in more potatoes and carrots. In China, they serve you your food when it's ready, instead of serving the table all at once like they do in the states. So my dish came out first, but it had a skimpy amount of veggies. Michael asked them to put more in, which they did....but when Michael got his curry it was only chicken, no veggies. Apparently they gave me his portion of potatoes and carrots, leaving him with none. Haha Michael is still a bit bitter.

Photos of me, Michael, and Ashley:




That basically sums up my week, but there are also a few other things I have discovered since the last posting:
1. I should avoid shopping here at all costs possible. Unless I am in the mood to aggressively haggle (which will never happen), buying anything here that I do not absolutely need is too much of a trouble to be bothered with. Everyone will tell me 4-5 times the price, and I will only get it down to a reasonable (but still high) price after 5 minutes of debating. Yeesh.

2. I could be getting much worse attention. Although being tall and blond with light eyes equates to a lot of awkward stares, the only people who comment on the way I look are women. Poor Ashley who is much shorter with light eyes and darker hair, seems to get a lot of unwanted attention from men, which doesn't seem fun (I literally had to tell a guy, "My friend does not like you, move on!").

3. Michael is more American than I am, and I am a more Asian than he will ever be.

4. My internet works perfectly if I sit in the hallway. That solves the internet problem, but if only I could get the hotel to stop playing Beethoven on repeat, as well as make the creepers across the hall stop having sex 24/7.....

5. You can communicate basically anything with charades- even such things as "Do you have a travel adapter that will work for my American blow dryer?" or "Where are the Chinese American Idol pins?" (Yes I enacted these scenarios. Think about it.)

Finding my footing

Hi everyone!

Keeping everyone updated on life in Beijing was getting a bit overwhelming, so taking a tip or two from Valerie, I decided to start a blog to write about my adventures.

As many of you know, I started off with a really rough beginning here in Beijing. I was having trouble adjusting to the food, the stares, the shoving, the spitting, constantly being photographed, and of course being away from all of you who I love so much!

I'm finally starting to find my footing here though. I went to the US Embassy to get inhalers (thanks for the tip Bonnie!), and the doctor there also recommended telling the waiters that I am allergic to MSG (since when I ask waiters not to put MSG in my food, they will anyways because they can't be bothered, and I'll end up with an intense headache twenty minutes later!). That has definitely helped a lot. So yes, being able to breathe and being able to order food I can eat have definitely helped me feel a lot more comfortable here.
I also bought a rice cooker for 50 kuai (about 7 dollars!), and it's amazing what I'm able to make with it. So far I've steamed veggies, made pasta, boiled eggs, and heated up soup. I also tried to make salmon with it, but that was a horrible failure...just ask my roommate Jessica.
The locals have also been very gracious with helping me find the good produce at the grocery stores. At the CarreFour market on Friday, I was picking out broccoli and this Asian guy standing next to me takes the broccoli I'm holding out of my hand and throws it! And at first I'm like "Hey! Why are you throwing my broccoli?" and he goes "No no, hen bu hao" which means 'very bad' so then he starts showing me which ones are good and which ones are bad. I still don't really see the difference, so I'm just like "oh..okay thanks" and pick up another one, which he again grabs and says "No! Hen bu hao!" He then proceeds to picking up pieces of broccoli for me and throwing them in my bag. He was also with this little girl who was maybe 5 or 6 years old, and she was laughing at me, saying "Te he he he!! Mei guo ren, mei guo ren!!" which means 'American! American!' Then she was following me around the store, trying to be sneaky, throwing nasty foods into my basket. I'd see her running off, then I'd look down and see chicken's feet in my basket! She was such a riot.


Anyway, I have a really great set up here in Beijing. I'm living in a hotel which was only built a few years ago, so it's very modern. There are also maid who come and make my bed and clean my shower every day. The maids are just really amazing in general. They always leave my roommate Jessica and me extra water bottles and green tea bags, because we go through them like it's no one's business. They also always help me call cabs and order pizza, which is amazing.

There's a 7-11 downstairs, and it's nothing like the 7-11s back home. Although the one on Fig and Adams is pretty priceless, the one downstairs has everything- including a buffet of hot food to a full selection of alcohol. There's a Bally's gym downstairs as well, so I only have to run 5 seconds in the cold before I'm there. The workers at the front desk think I'm crazy for going outside in shorts, and they can't comprehend why I'd want to go work out. It's funny to see their reactions when I come back from the gym, a sweaty mess listening to my loud rap music.

Actually the cultural differences between Americans and the Chinese have probably been my favorite part of living in Beijing thus far. Like a couple of days ago, I went to the bathroom at the mall and one of the stall doors was missing. So you know, like any normal American I'm standing in front of the stall with no door, waiting for the next available stall. And this girl comes in and uses the stall without a door. So she's squatting down, doing her thing, and the whole time we're staring each other in the eyeballs. Then she gets up, eyes still locked with mine, and nonchalantly walks away. Only in China!

I also get such a kick out of all the Chinglish phrases everywhere. I was using a Citibank ATM yesterday (which is an American company so you think the English would be perfect, right?), and it started out by asking me to "dip" my card into the machine. Then once I got my cash, it asked me if I wanted "printed advice." Usually I decline a receipt, but how could I turn down advice?