In Beijing

Today began with an early flight to Beijing, but the flight was on time and was only 1 hour and 45 minutes long, so it was an easy trip. We all just brought a backpack or similar overnight bag so we didn’t have to lug any luggage around. After landing in the very hazy (from air pollution) Beijing, we boarded a bus to our very nice hotel out in the third ring of the city. Beijing is divided into rings with the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square in the middle. We had a quick lunch at our hotel and then we traveled to Tiananmen Square. This is the famous gathering place in Beijing/Chinese history with several government takeovers and protests happening here—with the most recent famous event being the uprising in 1989. Try Googling Tiananmen Square and you will see the amazing history of the place. Below is my picture in the center of it. Off to my left is the mausoleum where Mao Zedong’s body is still kept and viewable to the public. We did not have time to visit Chairman Mao unfortunately.

We walked from one end of Tiananmen Square to the other end to enter the Forbidden City through the Tiananmen Gate. You can see me in front of the famous gate below, with Mao’s huge portrait hanging at the entrance.

The Forbidden City is a huge sprawling complex that was built starting in 1406. It has an amazing history that even includes being partially destroyed during Mao’s reign, and then sealed-off from everyone after that. They are renovating it currently to get it ready for the Olympics, and are in the middle of an overall renewal of the city to past glory. The grounds are immense and there is history everywhere. Enjoy two pictures of the city below--none of mine really do it justice.

After several hours of walking through the Forbidden City (we could have spent two days to try to see everything), we were off to navigate the gauntlet of street peddlers that were selling us everything from Gucci bag knockoffs to fake Rolex watches to pirated Beijing Olympics gear. Once they see Westerners, they flock and are quite persistent (until the police show up….the police seem to let them sell, but they don’t like it if they are harassing visitors). We did get on our bus and then went to a restaurant to have the famous Beijing Peking Duck.
The duck is actually carved in front of you into small slices of breast meat each with some of the crispy skin intact, and then you take some and place it into a thin pancake with some plum sauce and some onions and cucumbers and then eat it. It was quite good, and I will say we had a great feast.

After the feast we headed directly to see some Beijing Opera. I didn’t know anything about it, and to be honest, I still don’t. It was very beautiful and colorful, and at times even very acrobatic. However, it was in Chinese, as were the subtitles displayed at the side of the stage. Also, the singing sounded like a cat screaming, so just imagine that for two and a half hours. However, I am very pleased to have gotten to see it, and the Chinese people there seemed to really enjoy it, even shouting out and clapping at random spots. We never did figure out what happened, but our ears are still ringing… It was then time to head back to the hotel and get into bed exhausted after a very long, but good day.

A Feast and Mexican Poker

This evening we had one hour more of class and then Jose, Jessica, Katie, and I went off to the local supermarket to buy food for an in-house feast. After eating quite well (see the picture below), we played some Mexican poker, and then Jose and I cleaned up the room and packed for our trip tomorrow to Beijing. We leave at 6:30 AM to catch an 8:40 AM China Eastern Airlines flight from Hangzhou to Beijing. We stay in Beijing to visit the Great Wall, Forbidden City, and Summer Palace through Saturday evening when we fly back to Hangzhou. It will be a couple of days before I update my blog again because I won’t take my computer to Beijing.

Chinese Fighter Jets

Another interesting event today was that I kept hearing jets passing overhead all afternoon. When I finally spotted some in the sky, I realized that these were Chinese fighter jets. I think the jets I saw were Fantan Q-5/A-5 fighter planes, but I can’t be sure. The Chinese have several different fighter aircraft in their arsenal, with the Q-5/A-5 being the most common behind the Jian-7/MiG-21 and the Jian-6/MiG-19. You can read about China’s air force at this link and about the USA’s air force at this link. When I was younger I was really interested in fighter jets after seeing the movie Top Gun. So, perhaps some of you out there were be interested in reading about these jets as well.

Quishi (Jingzhou) Primary School

As usual our day began with about three hours of class, followed by lunch. For lunch today we went to the cafeteria around the corner from our hotel that we go to often, and I got my usual chow mein and bottled water. It’s not a bad lunch, and after having bananas, peanut butter, yogurt, orange juice, and a multivitamin for breakfast, I don’t need that great of a lunch usually. After lunch today we had a visit planned to a local elementary school, so naturally I was excited. I had my bag of goodies from Brooks School Elementary (pencils, pens, key chains, erasers, t-shirts), my new presidential dollar coins, and my Indianapolis calendar ready to give away. Having lugged these items from the States, I was anxious to rid myself of them. Plus, it is always fun to see an elementary school in another country, and to learn more about how children are taught similarly and differently from the United States. Well, upon arrival at the school (pictured below) I found out that there were no kids present since they were on summer vacation!

We took a tour of an empty building and then had a sit down session with the two principals of the school. Needless to say I was very disappointed. We did get to ask questions of the principals, and we found out some useful information such as the average class size here is 50 kids per class. Also, about half of the teachers at the school are part of the Communist Party (club or group or association), and half are not members. In the picture below of the meeting with the principals, the two principals are on the left and our leader Professor Lin is on the right. Be sure to notice the hammer and sickle red flag of the communist party. This is displayed in the Party Member Activities Room.

One other note of interest to me is the eye exercises that each class does twice per day to supposedly delay near-sightedness. Of course this does not work, but all children still do these exercises each day. Take a look at the classroom poster below displaying these exercises, and the eye chart beside it.

An Independence Day Dinner and Fireworks

Later that same evening we went to a hotel on the shore of West Lake to have a Fourth of July dinner together with many Chinese students. This was by far our most fancy dinner of the trip, and it was one that was very much enjoyed. All of the program participants were joined by the local Chinese students that will be with us on this Sunday to take us around Hangzhou in small groups. It was an amazing dinner buffet with all kinds of foods ranging from roast duck to sushi to salad to roast beef to spinach mashed potatoes to a huge dessert bar with many types of great ice cream (including green tea ice cream!). This great meal was aided by a nice view of West Lake, and by the very nice Chinese students that joined us at each table. It was fun to talk with them because their English was so good. It also allowed us to practice a little Chinese as well. After several hours of dinner we caught a cab back to our hotel and watched a movie in the room. We were interrupted however halfway through by fireworks outside. It was a pretty good display, and while I don’t think it was for our Independence Day, we decided to treat the display as such. The picture below is of me, our Chinese friend Ariel, Jessica, and Jose at dinner.

Laundry and a Steak

Today was a success thus far for several reasons. First, I got a load of laundry done by the hotel for 15 Yuan (2 dollars). We have a special deal here at the hotel where they will wash, dry, and fold our casual laundry for this great price, and we get it back same day. Then, we had our usual three and a half hours of class. Afterward we made our semi-daily trip to Trust Mart and then took a cab to a restaurant called Curtilage Café. This was a very nice restaurant that had a mixture of food ranging from Indian to American to Chinese. I had a sirloin steak that came with a salad, soup, bread, and an egg. It was a good meal that was definitely a change from my normal meals here in China. The whole meal for me was 58 Yuan (almost 8 dollars). The Yuan goes a long way here in China with most items being quite cheap (unless they are American goods that are actually made in the USA). For instance, I had chow mein and a bottle of water at a local café yesterday for 8 Yuan (just over 1 dollar). In the States it would cost twice that just for the water! The picture below is of me with my steak for lunch.

A Lecture on Chinese Education Reform

Looking at today on the schedule previewed that it was not to be a very fun day, with over six hours of class. However, it was as good as a day can be with actually more than seven hours of class time including a lecture. I am still struggling with my Chinese pronunciation and memorization of words and characters, but I am making some progress. We did have a very interesting lecture today by Dr. Zhang from Zhejiang University here in Hangzhou. She talked to us about the recent educational reforms here in China. She gave a very candid talk about the successes and the challenges of this reform. Basically China has been trying to move from a very authoritative style of teaching to a more student-centered model. The curriculum is almost entirely dictated by the national government, with input coming from some professors and other people along the way. But, this has been met with quite a bit of resistance from teachers, parents, and government officials. Also, the government has been trying to implement this very quickly, and on the cheap. It was very interesting to hear that a lot of the same troubles that the USA is having with education, China is experiencing also. The picture below is of Dr. Zhang at the beginning of her lecture.

An Afternoon of Walking and Boating

This day in Hangzhou brought three and a half hours of class during the morning, and then a full afternoon of walking around the city. We began with lunch at a local cafeteria, but then headed out to find West Lake. West Lake is a beautiful lake here in the middle of the city, surrounded by pagodas and temples and walking paths. We walked all afternoon and evening to see some great shopping areas, restaurants, views of the lake, and many statues. Some highlights were dinner at Papa John’s Pizza, searching for Chinese characters we know, and a boat ride around the lake on a rented boat. We also were able to see part of a musical water performance from afar where there was a light show and people running around in shallow water. It was very beautiful and we may try to get tickets for it and see it in full some evening here. All in all, it was a good day. The picture below is of Jose and me driving our boat.

CCTV 9 International

As usual Jose and I woke up this morning and turned on the TV to the only English speaking channel we have access to here in Hangzhou--CCTV 9 International. There are several CCTV channels, and they are all government owned and operated, just like all the TV stations here that are China-based. They are covering the 10 year anniversary of the transfer of Hong Kong from England to China with great enthusiasm right now. In fact, that is all they are talking about, and the news is so sticky-sweet that you know right away that it is fully censored by the government. As far as CCTV has reported at this point, nothing bad has ever happened here in China that China couldn't handle properly and overcome (even the stock market crash and SARS were handled easily--these are quickly mentioned and then the commentator moves on). We got to see the BBC in Yellow Mountain, and CNN International in Shanghai, and that was a welcome break. Who would have thought that news from English or American channels would be such a nice comfort!?! At some point it must be assumed that China will have to stop censoring and controlling all of the media and movies here, but that hasn’t happened yet. On a good note, CNN.com doesn’t seem to be blocked anymore, and I can get my news from there. So, if you watch the local or national news tonight, thank your American government for staying out of the news for better or for worse.

A Day of Class

Today was a day of Chinese classes, with some food in between classes. We started today with three and a half hours of class, and then had lunch at a curious restaurant down the street that some others from our group discovered a few days ago. This restaurant only has a few items, but several are American or European. I had spaghetti, french fries, and orange drink for my lunch. It was a weird combination, but sometimes anything non-Chinese sounds good to me! After lunch several of us studied for a while, and then had dinner at a local restaurant (I had a fried rice dish) before two more hours of class in the evening. The Chinese language classes are really hard, and I am having trouble learning this very difficult language. The sounds are mostly different than English, there are four tones that make a big difference in meaning and pronunciation, and the characters still look like gibberish to me. However, we are all still trying to plug along and learn as much as we can. The day was finished with a movie in the room in our homemade theatre. The picture below is of my fine spaghetti dish and drink.

Back to Hangzhou

Traveling is not always glamorous. The day began with leaving the hotel at 9 AM to take a cable car back down the mountain to depart from Yellow Mountain. However, we were met with a very large queue at the cable car station. So, we waited for about three hours to finally get into a car. The picture below is of our wait, just to prove the traveling is not always fun!

However, the view down the mountain was stunning, and it was definitely fun to see parts of the path we had climbed up the day before. One picture of the cable car view is below.

After getting down, we stopped for lunch at the same restaurant as the day before (no one got sick, so that means it was an OK place to eat!!). On our way back to Hangzhou we stopped by one store by the side of the road, and then by an old city (tourist) market. The market entrance is pictured below.

I did buy a four piece painting of Yellow Mountain and a little stone pig (it is the year of the pig) from stores at the market, so it was worthwhile. The Yuan seems to go very far here with goods being quite cheap. Then it was time to drive the three more hours back to Hangzhou so we can do our homework that is due tomorrow. I am putting that off as I type on my blog instead….

A Climb Up Yellow Mountain

Today began with an early start at 7:30 AM to drive the four to five hours to Yellow Mountain (Huangshan Mountain is the Chinese name). Though we had to practice our Chinese sounds on the drive, otherwise it was peaceful. The scenery during the trip was beautiful with the countryside passing by my window. There were many farms built into the side of the hills, and the farmers were always out working by hand in their fields. We stopped for lunch at a place called Mr. Cheng’s Restaurant, and then finished our drive at the base of the mountain range. Half of the group chose to ride the cable car up to the hotel, but twelve of us were brave enough to decide to climb the 6.5 kilometer path (about 5000-6000 steps I think) to the top. I was especially excited since I like this type of challenge. We all had our ponchos on since it is constantly damp and often raining during the climb, but after a bit everyone had them off because it didn’t ever rain much on us. The picture below shows a part of the climb.

As everyone spread out during the climb, I picked up my pace and ended up alone for the majority of the climb. It was a fun climb because of the view, all the waterfalls everywhere, constantly dodging the porters, the cool moist air, and the challenge of it. The picture below is of me towards the top of the climb.

I ended up finishing in one hour and thirty-two minutes, and then exploring some other paths before waiting for others to finish so I could have help finding our hotel. One of the many porters is pictured below. These men carry all supplies (like water, laundry, fire extinguishers, propane, etc.) up the path and carry anything that needs to go down the path. This is a job I would not want.

We stayed at the top of one of the mountains in the Xi Hai Hotel, which was quite nice and offered beautiful views. (Another perk was getting to watch the BBC on TV—but more on that later…) After my long climb, I was ready to eat a quick dinner and get to bed. It was a wonderful day though in a very beautiful place. Pictured below is one of the many rewarding views after a tough climb.

Pizza and a Movie in the Room

This day began with language class for three hours this morning and then lunch at a French restaurant. The French restaurant sounded good because it would be a change of menu at least for one meal. I had some type of stewed steak and rice that was pretty good. After lunch we had an hour and a half lecture on Changes in Chinese Culture by a local professor. After this we headed to the Trust Mart to stock up on goods for this weekend’s trip to Yellow Mountain. We bought food, water, and ponchos for the time we will spend on the mountain. Since all food that is at our hotel at the top has to be carried up, things can be expensive. So, we are bringing most of our own food and water, along with a day’s change of clothing. After returning from our market trip, we spent several hours trying to, and then successfully ordering Papa John’s Pizza. Jose, Katie, Jessica, and I ate pizza our room and used our classroom’s projector in conjunction with my laptop to watch a DVD on the “big screen” wall. The picture below is a view of part of the Trust Mart’s selection. Note: I will be away from computer access through Saturday evening local time, so it will be a day or two before the next blog update.

A Visit to a High School

This morning we had to rise early to ride a charter bus to Yiwu High School. After a two hour bus ride through some very beautiful countryside with lots of rice and cultured pearl farms, we arrived at what looked to be a college campus. Yiwu High School (partly pictured below) is a top high school in the area, and only really high achieving students gain admittance.

In China first through 8th grade is compulsory. Kindergarten is not required and parents have to pay for their kids to attend it. Also, at the end of 8th grade the students who want to go to high school take tests to see which high schools they can attend. It is my understanding that Yiwu is a very good high school to attend. It was a huge, beautiful campus with dorms for the students to reside in since it is a boarding school. My fellow teachers and I were let off the bus and then led to a classroom where we were greeted as rock stars. Then, without warning, we were left to our own in the classrooms. None of us knew we needed to teach or interact for 35 minutes or so, but we all managed in our own classrooms by talking about the US, answering their questions, and just spending time with them. It was a lot of fun and most of us wished we could have had more time. The class of students I spoke with is pictured below.

After this impromptu English lesson, we were herded off to lunch and then a meeting with the principal of the school (he is at the end of the table on the left).

We left the school shortly thereafter, though again most of us would have liked to stay longer to learn more about the seemingly wonderful school. The bus then took us to a huge (and I do mean huge) market for bulk selling of all the junk you see in dollar stores around the US. After this we drove back to our hotel. After a birthday party and dinner for one of our fellow teachers, Claudia, Jose and I went back to the room to finish our homework for tomorrow.

A Mexican Meal

We had two hours more of Chinese practice this evening, and then Jose, Katie, and I went out to have burritos at a place called the Maya Bar. It was a Mexican restaurant just down the road from our hotel. The burritos turned out to be soft tacos, but were still pretty good. Having Mexican food in China is quite an experience!

A Chinese Bookstore and Bus Ride

This morning Jose and I woke up at 6:30 AM to go for a run around West Lake. West Lake is this supposedly beautiful lake here in Hangzhou, but we have never been able to find it. Jose and I set out with this goal, but fell short again today. However, we did get a nice run/walk in around the city in some places we had not yet been. Later we talked to a fellow student and got new directions to this lake. Perhaps tomorrow will bring the discovery of the lake. After a breakfast of bananas and peanut butter in the room, we headed out to a local bookstore that was much like a large Barnes and Noble. I bought some Chinese music CDs that turned out to be pretty good, a Chinese U2 CD and DVD, some books, and some Mao postcards. Pictured below are the Chinese translations of two familiar American books Hoot and The Cricket in Times Square.

After finishing at the bookstore we all parted ways and Jose and I went out walking around this new part of town. We walked a while and then started talking with a Chinese girl who knew English. She helped us pick out a bus to ride to get back to our hotel. Since the bus schedule is entirely in Chinese characters, it is impossible for us to read without help. Jose and I did get on a bus and then took it until it came near to the street our hotel is on. We stopped by a restaurant that looked nice for lunch, only to find a menu entirely in Chinese with no pictures. The waitress seemed to know this and just fixed us a bunch of fruit on a tray. So, we ate that and then the waitress brought us more. We grew concerned that she would keep brining more, but she didn’t. After lunch we went back to the hotel for our afternoon Chinese class. Below are Jose and I with our Chinese friends, and also us on our first Chinese bus ride.

A Chinese Pizza Hut

After lunch Jose, Katie, Jessica, and I wandered over to another part of town that we had not been around, and stumbled upon a really neat street market, lots of clubs, the stadium site of the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Trust Mart (a Wal-Mart of China), and lots of little stores in a mall. At the street market I purchased a cute little stone turtle after bickering for a lower price (20 Yuan/3 dollars). We spent several hours in the Trust Mart buying little odds and ends and seeing some interesting foods. There were actually live frogs and turtles available for purchase (and not meant to be a pet either!). After stopping by a McDonalds to see the differences between the Chinese menu and the American menu, we ate at Pizza Hut. Now, this Pizza Hut is not like any Pizza Hut you’ve been to before….it is very, very nice. The menu has pizza, but also many other things like fine dishes from all over the world. Jose and I started our meal with a green tea ice cream shake.

Then, we all shared some escargot (snails) and a supreme pizza. It was a nice meal and a very clean restaurant, which to be honest was a nice change. It was a little surreal to eat in an upscale Pizza Hut, but was a very nice change from the food I have been eating lately. After dinner we had an evening meeting tonight to discuss our goals for the program. Below is a view of the aforementioned Pizza Hut.

The First Chinese Class

The goal this morning was to get up at 6 AM and go to the famous West Lake for a run around it, but Jose and I didn’t make it. My Palm went off, but I just turned it off and slept in a while longer. Our room during our time in Hangzhou is pictured below.

We did get up in time for our first Chinese class this morning with our teacher Cherry. Cherry is her Chinese name translated into English. I will learn her Chinese name at some point and hopefully be able to say it. I learned my Chinese name is Ma Ke (with some accent marks that I can’t do here). My Chinese name is a straight translation from English and means the same. I included a picture of our Chinese teacher below.

After class we went out for lunch at a local cafeteria and tried to order food by just pointing at someone else’s dish. It worked, so I had noodles with some type of meat. I don’t think my dishes had been washed though, perhaps just rinsed out. Sanitary expectations do not seem to be the same here as in the states. Jose made a nice display of American dollars and Chinese Yuan below. A dollar is worth something around 7.6 Yuan right now.

Now we are supposed to be studying our new Chinese sounds, and I seem to be procrastinating by blogging...

On to Hangzhou

Today started with breakfast at our hotel in Shanghai and then a two hour bus ride to Hangzhou. We are going to be spending our weeks in Hangzhou, and our weekends on trips to other parts of China. Hangzhou is a nice city that seems much more livable than Shanghai. Once we arrived there we checked into our hotel and then went on a quick walk around the hotel to see the local banks, markets, bakeries, and restaurants. After lunch several of us then went on a long walk to the botanical gardens and to the local university. At the university I took a picture of this huge Mao statue in the mall of the campus. Chairman Mao, of course, was a famous controversial Chinese leader and is thought of here like George Washington or a similar American hero.

After our long walk around part of Hangzhou we took a little break and watched some Chinese TV. It was fun to try to figure out what was happening in the story when you can’t understand a word of what is happening. Then, it was time for dinner. This turned out to be a great adventure because we stopped at a restaurant that was busy (we figured that meant it was good/safe). The problem was that the menu was in Chinese and didn’t have any pictures.

We just each picked one dish each and took our chances. We ended up with chicken parts (we each had some brain—quite tasty!), some type of pork, and prawns. We even had some Cheerday drink that was supposedly from some green lake somewhere and is pure to drink. We did manage to each eat some of the food before rushing back to the hotel for our first introduction to our Chinese language classes. Tomorrow we begin in the morning with our language instruction. The picture below is of me, Jose (my roommate), and Katie and our fine Chinese meal.

A Word about the Blog

Just to let you all know, I am having some trouble uploading to the weblog. My upload pages are in Chinese, so I am having to go from memory as to which buttons and links to press on screen. Also, I can't actually even view the blog, so I can't see my work after I hit the submit button. I can't see the comments either. The Chinese filter the internet, and they must not allow blogs (and for that matter CNN, CBS News, etc.) So, I won't be able to read or respond to your comments. I should still be able to post, but I can't see or correct my errors. So, if you have a question for me, feel free to email me. I will update you more on the situation later.