|
|
There came a time in Beijing when I no longer strolled with my mouth hanging slightly open.
Instead, I whizzed through hutongs on the gravel road, my tires dodging rocks, bricks, and dirt piles, fruit and vegetables and people, but most of all, other bikes and cars. Squeezing between pedestrians and cars took more aggressiveness than skill because freezing like a deer in the headlights would turn one into mincemeat.
 Photo from: http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2008/02/20/va1237292741026/Beijing-trafficReuters-5898689.jpg Merging into traffic, my thumb consistently placed near the bell (I loved using that thing) on my handlebar, I wound around busses and taxis, careful that other bikers passed by safely. I sped up to avoid being sideswiped or cutoff, but when I realized that I was not comfortable trying to fit three bikers between a stopped bus and oncoming vehicles, I chose the sidewalk. See full post
Tags: Culture, International, Urban
|
|
|
I can't tell you how many mornings I dreaded rolling out of bed in Beijing because I knew I would have to talk.
My host mom loved to start the day with breakfast and a conversation. She would give me a terrifyingly quick mouthful of Mandarin, watch me struggle, slow down her speech and then patiently listen. Her efforts were in good faith, but they overstressed my groggy brain.
Words would catch in my throat as I would frantically try to muster verbs, subjects, nouns, exclamations—anything I could use to string together a sentence, half a sentence, or a meaningful cluster of phrases. I even searched the nearly bare dining room for objects that matched what I wanted to say. See full post
Tags: Entertainment, International, Language, Culture
|
|
|
 Photo from: http://norhymeorreason.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/umbrella Typhoon season doesn’t happen in Beijing, it happens in Shanghai, a night train ride away. Beijing is hot and sticky. Beijingers hide under their shade umbrellas. Beijing skin toasts under the morning sun on good days, and pores fill with dirty air on not-so-good days. Beijing walkers stare at bikers with envy as their speed circulates a light breeze. We’re blinded by the skyscrapers, teased by billboards of oceanside provinces miles away.
When it rains, we are grateful.
I was relieved by the light drizzle that had dampened the city as I began my 20 minute trek home for work. The water barely grazed my arms as I stopped at an ice cream stand to buy a treat for the walk. But as I crossed the intersection and took note of the locals in raincoats pedaling a bit faster, the rain started to pick up. By the time I had nearly finished my Magnum, the pelting rain forced me under an overhang only two blocks away from where I began walking. My glasses were smudged and my dress had begun to stick uncomfortably to my body as I plotted my next move.
I was waiting a week for a rain like this, so I decided to brave the weather, and slosh through the flowing water that now covered the streets.
But the Chinese won’t let a foreigner melt in the rain. It wasn’t long before I met a guy who had enough pity for me and offered me his umbrella as we were crossing the street. I crouched under the safe haven as the much shorter Asian dressed casually in flip-flops, a black jacket, skinny jeans, and a baseball cap led the way to the stairwell where soaked bikers had already began to line up. My Chinese wasn't fluent, so my umbrella carrier and I made only brief attempts to get to know more about each other under the bridge. I discovered he was around my age and had dropped out of college to be a singer. He learned that I was American (I love America! he said) and that I was teaching English. We mostly stood in silence, occasionally glancing at each other, anxiously waiting for the rain to stop, and taking turns holding the rainbow-colored umbrella.
Soon, his brother and girlfriend showed up with another umbrella and they accompanied me another block to my street corner. I insisted on departing at this point. “We want your friendship!” they said warmly as we said our goodbyes and parted ways. I continued the rest of the way alone and once again without cover while the rain dropped to a slow drizzle. Careful not to slip on the treacherous, water-coated concrete, I finally made it home and was greeted by a surprised, but laughing, host mom.
In the midst of explaining my earlier adventures to her, she made a motion that I had something on my face. I quickly went to a mirror and discovered that my mouth was painted with remnants of the chocolate ice cream. I looked like a drowned rat that just dug through the leftovers of someone's picnic.
And thus, I suppose, first impressions aren't always the right ones.
See full post
Tags: International, Food and Drink, Environment, Culture
|
|
|
Truman alumnus Mark Couch spoke last Wednesday about teaching English in China. Couch taught English as a foreign language in rural Guangdong Province and plans to return to China to continue teaching.
As someone who’s been there and done that, kudos to him!
 Photo from: http://www.women-on-the-road.com/image-files/teaching-english-in-china-01.jpg I’m planning to return to China this summer to teach English to Beijingers, and I greatly look forward to the task. Teaching kids isn’t an easy job, but with a stack of UNO cards, a vocabulary list, some patience and enthusiasm, I think I fare well. See full post
Tags: International, Language, Education
|
|
|
 Photo from: http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:eUytLbPllKryLM:http://blog.taragana.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/gmail I was chatting on Gmail, or Google mail, with a reporter at Caijing Magazine in Beijing last night, and my first thought while reconnecting was that it seemed strange we were both using Gmail, after reports hinted the powerful search engine company would leave China. I asked her about this, and she simply replied, "The government would not block Google. They are not that dumb."
As it turns out, Google pulled the trick this time by transferring all of its users to restriction-free Hong Kong and shutting down google.cn. Google's search engine -- not its email service -- continues to fall under Chinese government's restrictions, according to a March 24 article in the LA Times.
It's really hard to tell by looking at Western media what's actually going on in China. I will actually have to go there to find the full story. Even so, China's media tends to pull the shades over citizen's eyes when it comes to explaining current events.
From my previous travels in China, I’ve learned travel is unpredictable. I find it's important to keep an open mind when traveling, not only to allow exposure to other cultures and ideas, but to accommodate for changes in comfort, technology, and politics. As the Internet strives to better connect the world, we still face challenges because of the social, linguistic, and economic boundaries between groups of people on both large and small scales. Remember how much fuss and confusion came from Apple naming their new computer product the iPad? The company probably didn't consider the language connotations that the name would have for nearly half of their consumers. If we missed the communication beat on that one, imagine how complex interactions can get with other cultures.
So, equip your backpack with a new way of perceiving things, both on and off the web. See full post
Tags: International, Language, Updates
|
|
|
All of my karaoke skills filtered into this one moment. I cradled the microphone in my hand, toggling the switch to make sure it was on, and waited for the cue.
Peng You, the popular song that meant “friend” in Chinese, belted from the speakers as my classmates and I stumbled through the song. I gazed out at the audience that had crammed into the back room at King's Buffet for this Chinese New Year's celebration. They didn't care that I sang out of tune. Mrs. Minn, my Chinese professor was right. They would all be happy.
 Photo from: http://www.bandweblogs.com/shuresm58 When she first suggested this during our Friday class, I thought the notion sounded a bit silly. Come on, Mrs. Minn, I thought. Surely singing like this would be entertaining, but it wouldn't create the joy my overenthusiastic teacher expected. Maybe if we were all ten-years-old. See full post
|
|
|
The countdown to the Shanghai World Expo has begun. The endeavor expects to attract more people than any of the other 150 world expositions: 70 million. Event organizers project about 200 countries to participate in this six month showcase of ways to tackle urban living in the future, with the theme “Better City, Better Life.”
 Photo from: http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/overtb/US%20Pavilion My China travels will take me to the transformed streets on either side of the Huangpu River to the well-anticipated expo, and I hope to see that the U.S. and other major economical players have big plans in store for urbanization. Environment, culture, space, and finances will serve as major factors for both developed and developing nations as nearly half of the world’s population has migrated toward city living. With China on the fast track to full development, its government has made this expo an open forum for conversation between nations to build healthy and peaceful connections benefitting all populations.
Media attention seems to have pivoted far away from these seemingly genuine goals, and understandably so as Congress plays tug-of-war with health care reform and Haiti and Chile are in states of complete crisis. See full post
Tags: International, Events, Environment, Culture
|
|
|
The smell of bacon was wafting under the door to my room.
No … not bacon … then what was it? Of course. Not bacon, but incense.
 Photo from: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3213/2981760738_4213f6f91c.jpg I smothered my face with my pillow in repulsive defeat. The eastern sun penetrated the thick, tan drapes and pervaded my eyelids. The clock ticked 8 a.m., and I had to get up. Darn sunlight. See full post
|
|
|
Most of my peer's posts deal with places in the Midwest, but I'm going to take you on a 13 hour, exhausting, ear-popping plane ride to the East for the sake of making some comparisons.
 Photo submitted by Jessica Rapp
Last summer, I traveled to Beijing, Xi'an, and Yunnan Province in China, and boy, do I not view things the same anymore! What you're about to read will be my personal interpretation and experience of a culture that barbecues duck feet instead of pork steak. See full post
|
|
