So, last night after playing three hours of soccer with the teams representing every continent except Antarctica, I picked up the bike I will be using for the ride today. It’s a Cannodale and it’s great by American standards, which means that in China it’s “god-like"! The bicycle team’s captain is letting me ride it for our adventure today and is letting me race on it. He also got a road bike for Thomas to ride today. He’s really nice. Because of a huge thunder storm, last night was spent basically in the hallway of our dorm with me working on using the clips on the bike; don’t worry I got it down. Right now I am sitting in my dorm looking out at a bright yet overcast day hearing cannons going off for the 60th celebration. The parade starts soon so I’ve got to turn on the TV. No chance any of us could get close to it; we thought of ways we could, but we couldn’t really get past the fact that we are not members of the Communist party and not Chinese... Anyway, all is well. I’ll start riding after the parade then scope out the fireworks! Much love, thanks for the email and the letters!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
PRC's 60th Anniversary, then to Inner Mongolia
I’m currently having difficulty accessing this website from China, sorry for the delays. This week has been pretty low key so far, but it is shaping up to be another awesome weekend ahead. Thursday is the 60th anniversary of the PRC (People’s Republic of China), which is a huge deal here! The number 60 is considered very lucky (because of the base 12 system I guess) so this anniversary is an especially special one. Security has been super tight. Tiananmen Square has been closed down for nearly two weeks with preparations for this momentous event. Police presence is considerably higher; there are cops with shotguns standing on most busy blocks - a very rare sight considering that guns are illegal except for the government. There is supposed to be a huge parade Thursday, but unfortunately unless you are a high ranking official you cannot attend. They have a large section of the city blocked off. So, even though I will only be a few miles away, I am forced to watch on TV.
Following the parade, I am going on a ride with some cyclists out into the countryside, about 30 km until we reach the mountains; we are then supposed to climb 20 km to get to the top of a gorgeous mountain, then bomb it back to Beijing to catch the fireworks.
On Saturday, we are heading to Inner Mongolia to check out the grasslands, live in huts and ride horses. Then go to the desert and see some of the traditional culture of the area and dune board some. Life is pretty tough! And I'll be seeing stars for the first time since leaving America!!!
Sorry for the short update, I have a quiz tomorrow. Much love.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Weekend Bike Trip
I have to start out by apologizing for the delay of updates of my adventures in China. It is partially due to circumstances out of my control (i.e. really bad internet) but also due to the fact that I have been doing so many incredible things that I rarely get ample time to document it.
All that aside, right now I’m riding a major life high (not that I really could ever be on a low in China, but I’m super stoked right now). Yesterday, I along with 200 of my closest Chinese cyclist friends went out into the Beijing countryside for some bicycling camping. The Cycling Association at the University of Beijing (Beida) is awesome! Every Friday, they fix bikes for free - a lot like what we do at Pitzer, but at Pitzer I realize how fortunate we actually are. Even a school as big as Beida with so many students and bikes doesn’t have a shop to fix bikes let alone most of the proper tools and no spare parts. They do have knowledge and passion though. Besides fixing bikes, the club arranges distance rides every weekend, most totaling over 100 km a day, leaving at sunrise and returning by sunset. Every summer they also do a ride around China, over 4,000 km. They are sweet!
This weekend was the club's recruitment ride so they kept it to 30 km on a very flat route. They even arranged for all the camping gear and tents to be at the camp site, so we didn’t have to lug it. Two days ago my bike broke; the handle bar stem is very loose so when I turn it the wheel doesn’t move, Hopefully, I can work some of my bike magic on it. But it didn’t matter that my bike was broken, the association was so friendly that they lent me a bike to use which had a rack on the back so I could attach my bag.
It was so cool seeing 200 people carrying their camping supplies on bikes in a huge line through crowded city streets! It was our own little "critical mass". We followed the leader who had the cycling association's big flag flying off the back of her bike. It was such a happy mood. The group consisted of people who this past summer had biked the Chinese coastline to people on Chinese cruisers wearing jeans, all levels of riders. It was a very welcoming atmosphere. One boy, whose American name was Hook, had a speaker system on his bike and when we asked him to play some rock and roll, he put on the Beatles and for most of the trip we - he, Thomas, Skeet (From U. Chicago) myself, and some other Chinese - had an awesome sing along.
We arrived at the base of these gorgeous mountains where we would spend the night. We all split up into teams preparing the camp. It wasn’t a typical American camp; we were at a rural restaurant which had a covered patio with tables as well as a lot of open space. We spilt up, some getting firewood, other setting up the tents (on concrete…) and some preparing dinner. I decided to cook. They were making a type of dumpling called Jiaozi and they taught me how to put to meat in the dough and fold it in the correct way. After many giggles from the experts, I finally learned how to pinch the dough just right and was able to join their illustrious crew.
That night we made a huge bonfire, it totally reminded my of Santa Cruz bonfires at the beach. They even set up a movie projector and a sheet and we watched bike films and slide shows they had made. They even told stories about bikes; it was really cool. A lot of it went over my head because of the language difference, but most people speak English and were more than willing the help translate. It became sort of a talent show later in the night and then we - the three Americans - were asked if we had any talents, DUH!! After some quick brainstorming, we determined that an acappella version of "Ain't No Mountain High" would be the best to show case of talents. We did a little more brainstorming to make sure we were on the same track for lyrics and edited the parts that we couldn't remember. Obviously, it was a total success.
I met so many awesome people on this trip; they were totally stoked on bikes and very nice. A few days before the trip, I met the captain of the university's cycling team and he was here as well; he is super nice and basically, I am now going to race for the University. My first race is October 11!! The guy is my height and he said I could use his bike to race. I am sooo stoked!!
We ate some awesome food, learned a really cool card game (perfect for the cabin), and shared stories. A lot of people were already in tents when *BAM* it starts to pour!! For those of you that do not know, tents plus water plus concrete minus rain flaps, equals a really wet situation. Basically, everyone poured out of the tents as quickly as the rain came down and packed under the overhang. Fortunately, the restaurant open up its indoor dining hall and we moved all the tables out of the way and we packed in.
Unfortunately, our friend Skeet had to get back as soon as possible so Thomas and I volunteered to lead him back at sunrise. We began to try and sleep round 2, but sleeping with over 100 people on the same cold tile floor is pretty tough. When 5am hit, we were putting our contacts in and packing our bags. We said goodbye to the few people who were awake and beginning to cook breakfast and headed back into the city.
Everything was going great for the first few miles, then Thomas started to complain about his pedal not feeling right. About two minutes later, his pedal arm fell off. We "MacGyvered" his foot to the right, and only remaining pedal using some string that we found. After a mile or two of trying, we found some real rope and I switched bikes with him and attached my foot to the pedal. 15 miles later and countless near misses with buses in the pouring rain, we reached campus and I had one of the best breakfasts of my life. Then I slept for the next couple of hours. Overall, a pretty epic experience, nothing that I expected, but if the attitude stays good everything is alright. I hope all is well at home. Much love!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Swine Flu!!!!!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sorry that I haven’t kept you updated recently, but I've been really busy with classes and travel. Last week, we went on a 4 day study trip and I have been pretty swamped with Chinese homework since then. Classes have been going really well though. Every morning starting at 8:30, we have 3 hours of Chinese language class. Then, depending on what day it is, we either have Traditional Chinese Medicine after lunch or our Core Course, which is based around a variety of Chinese issues which includes speakers and discussions. The other class we have after lunch is our Independent Study meetings. A requirement of being in the program is conducting an Independent Research Study on a topic of my choice. These are normally done through internships. Also, for the first two weeks here, we had Taiji every afternoon; now in its place, we are now beginning calligraphy.
Our recent study trip was really awesome. We first headed west to Datong, which is in the Shanxi province. Before we were even told that the area was one of the leading coal producers in the world, we knew. It was in the air, harder to breath than in New York City’s nearly indoor bus terminal. Trucks were everywhere carrying huge chunks of it. We were told stories of wealthy coal mine owners who go to Beijing and buy entire apartment complexes, in cash. The mines bring in so much wealth, but there has been much controversy with them in turn. Besides the extreme environmental health hazards it causes, there are constant labor safety issues. Right after we left, three different mines collapsed killing close to 100, and this is not a rare occurrence. There have also been child slave labor scandals. As we drive by makeshift huts that the miners sleep in and see BMWs driving by and luxury apartments springing up everywhere, it is hard not to notice the extreme disparity of wealth in this country.
We didn’t just visit the area to experience some of the worst pollution in the world; we went there to check out the Yungang Caves. In this one hill there are over 250 caves with Buddha statues carved into them. There is over 51,000 thousand carving! They were some that were over 40 meters tall and gorgeous. Unfortunately, many had gotten caked in soot from coal trucks and factories. Until about 10 years ago when the government made an alternative route, there were about 16,000 coal trucks passing right in front of these epic sculptures.
This trip was primarily based around religion. We stayed at Mount Wutai for three days. It is one of China’s most ancient Buddhist sites. The origins of the area go back to around 200 BC. To get there you have to go over some ridiculous mountain passes (it was a route of pilgrimage for many Buddhist), now with paved roads it has become more and more tourist friendly.
The history there is awesome. Most of the temples are Lama based (Tibetan) and have been around for centuries. In this area there have been over 200 temples, but now only about 50 exist. A lot of it is due to religious persecution and purges primarily in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Surprisingly, little harm was done to this area during the Cultural Revolution.
After careening up and around the biggest mountain in northern China, navigating through pea soup fog, rock slides, farm animals and hundreds of coal trucks, we finally dipped down into the temple area. Gradually as you start to venture closer and closer to what appears to be one huge monastery with a road going through it, the distinct smell of incense starts to fill your nostrils, and even though you have just been on a Mr. Toad's Wild Bus Ride for the past five hours, you feel a calming and tranquil sensation coming over you and everything just seems to be all right. There was no yearning feeling anymore to escape from our near metal coffin with wheels, we had arrived.
The first monastery we visited was packed!! There were hundreds of people going in and out and inside there was a stage on which an opera was being performed. Complete opposite of tranquil. People were bustling every which way and it was really hard to appreciate anything. It was entirely different than what I expected. We hung out there for a few minutes, then all of us, overwhelmed with its busyness continued on to our next destination.
After that, I was starting to feel real bummed about this “once sacred place”. Yes, the temples there were gorgeous, but it was impossible to truly appreciate it and I know that wasn’t the intention of the place when it was first constructed.
To get to the next monastery we had to drive up a ways into the hills and to my surprise when were arrived, there was only one other car there. I knew that this place was going to be more like what I expected. The monastery we visited was originally three separate monasteries that over time combined to create one. It had seven different levels with the final one at the peak of the mountain.
Our teacher was able to arrange for us to eat lunch with the monks. Prior to entering the dining hall, our teachers told us that we must eat everything that we ask for. As we sat in silence a few monks brought pots of soup and noodles and bread around giving hefty portions to all. I have no doubt in my mind that the vegetable soup and bread I had for that meal has been the best meal I have had so far in China, hands down.
We were then fortunate enough to have a sit-down question and answer with a monk, who told us some of the history of the temple, as well as what it is like to be a monk. They wake up every morning at 4:30 and have class, then have lunch at 11:30 and a nap. The rest of the day they spend doing chores or studying and they go to sleep by 9. When he was asked about why he became of monk his answer was “1: family influence, 2:destiny”. He even gave us a tour of the entire monastery. It was gorgeous.
I learned so much from going to Wutai Mount. The lifestyles of the monks are completely foreign to me. It was a very interesting contrast from when I visited the Vatican last summer.
On this trip, we also visited the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda which is about 70 meters high, 1,000 years old and made with 0 (zero) nails. I guess it is the Chinese version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We also visited the Hanging Temple, which is basically a temple built into a cliff wall over 1,400 years old. Inside there were all these different gods from so many different religions even some characters from a novel. When I asked about the multitude of people to pray to they response was “Whatever works”.
Overall, life in China is pretty awesome. This took awhile to get out because I have been really held up with study trips and class work. Chinese is pretty tough but I am enjoying it. I hope that everything is going awesome!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
"Can we take a picture with you?"
This picture is of some kids who came up to me the other day wanting to test their English. At first, I thought they were trying to make fun of me because I'm American, but they just wanted to practice their English. The conversation basically consisted of hello, how are you, what is you name? But that's pretty impressive, considering basically all the Chinese I know right now is some of my favorite foods and where is the bathroom - the necessities. Their families all took pictures, of them with me, so I decided to do the same.