Weekend Update

So it has been a while, I am really sorry. Because of the 60th celebration and heightened security surrounding it, I have not been able to access my website so I am currently sending updates through my mom. Hopefully soon, security will loosen and I’ll be able to give more regular updates once again.  

Last weekend was pretty ridiculous.  The bike ride up the mountain turned out to be over 75 miles and was the hardest ride I have ever done!  About 2 miles from the top, the bike captain rides up next to me and tells me that this was not only the most popular climb in all of Beijing, but also the hardest. Getting out of the city is really something that I enjoy doing. It is a good break from the busy city and you can get to some very remote areas pretty quickly by bike.  I have heard Beijing described as a sponge - it sucks up the wealth from everywhere nearby - so it is understandable that when I ride out into the country that I see extreme levels of poverty (i.e. people living in homes with dirt floors or shanty houses)

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That night after our ride, was the PRC 60th anniversary fireworks display.  Problem: we were told that there really wasn’t a way to see the huge firework celebration too well except on tv. This was because it was being held in Tiananmen Square, and the only way to get near was to be a member of the Communist party. And, because the square is surrounded by really tall building, there wasn't a really good way to get a view from the ground.

Solution: because we didn't have a helicopter handy, we decided to use the giant buildings to our advantage and decided to get a hotel room on the highest floor of a building that faced Tiananmen Square.  I just have to say that seeing fireworks at the level they explode is a totally different experience.

Saturday, we left for Inner Mongolia and got a true taste of “Chinese tourism”. We booked our trip last minute through a local tour group, so let’s just say we got what we paid for. We left at 5am with 80 of our closest friends on two buses. Pretty much everyone was international students from different universities. Our first clue that this was not going to be a typical tour was when our first stop was to a "traditional" Mongolian crafts factory;  basically, we were sent there for an hour to look at mass produced "hand crafts" and buy some so that our tour company could make some money off of us.  Then we went to a museum that was closed. We didn’t count the trip off yet, but let’s just say after 8 hours on the bus and seeing those two places, we weren't too optimistic for what was next.  But things started to pick up after that. We went to the grasslands where we ate roast lamb and watched traditional Mongolian dance which then turned into a huge dance party. We slept in yurts, which are basically clay huts where you sleep on the floor. Being the California boy I am, I really only brought jeans, sweatpants, a flannel and a light rain coat.  Let’s just say, I was a little under  prepared for the extreme cold on Inner Mongolia. The next morning, sunrise was awesome! 

Following that, we rode horses, went to the desert where we stayed at this awesome hotel that looked over the desert and watched the sunset. We climbed sand dunes and surfed down them, rode camels and drove dune buggies. I have never been to such a desolate place and it was interesting seeing so much sand (I kept looking for the ocean). 

I called it “Chinese tourism” because that is how our teachers described it. The point is to get us to spend more money so that they get more “commissions”, including trying to take us back to the museum which they had already tried to take us to, just so that they could get their commission. Also, trying to make us pay all these ridiculous fees. Everything was about scamming us, trying to make more money. It just makes me appreciate even more the type of travel I have been fortunate to normally do.

On the trip though we met some awesome people. Beijing is the place to be and it seems that everyone we meet here has a story. On our trip, we met architects from around the world getting their masters here, scientist studying and getting degrees here; we also met an Iranian family who had been here for 8 years due to work and they invited us to their house some time to enjoy a real Iranian meal. I am really excited.

School is keeping us very busy, test and dictations keep us in constant study mode. Currently, I am writing this taking a break from writing a paper about the practices of traditional Chinese medicine in modern society and testing their practicality under modern research techniques. I am also writing my research proposal for my rural home stay, which is two weeks from now. I am planning on doing it on family, their family history as well and relationships and values. I am really excite for it;  it will be a totally different experience. Right now, I am also prepping for my bike race tomorrow - wish me luck. 

Today, we went to the Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.  It’s still the holiday here so it was packed, but still really awesome. The Forbidden City is huge, over 8,000 rooms.

I also have been planning what to do for the three weeks after the program ends.  Once classes end, I have 3 weeks until I need to be in Hong Kong for my flight home.  I have been emailing a lot with people who live in Hainan and they say it is totally feasible to do bike camping around the island. We are also able to get some good touring bikes as well as camping gear; I think we are going to pull this off. We are also thinking about going to Shanghai and maybe Macao;  any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated, we are really flexible.  

Oh, a little about what keeps me sane when I have Chinese overload:

What I am listening to right now: Andrew Bird, Joe Strummer, The Beatles (they are really popular here, I hear their songs a lot, or people trying to sing them)

Reading: Besides countless travel blogs and books, I read the China Daily (which is the English newspaper here which basically is so pro-China it makes Fox news look like an extreme leftist group). I also am reading the Enders Game series by Orsen Scott Card.

My secret weapon to homesickness: The awesome letters which I have received, thank you soo much! Skyping, (give me your name, whenever I am on the computer I am logged on the skype). Besides that, I have the 7th Harry Potter audio book on my Ipod!