laowai days

Tales of an American college girl in Beijing

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Chinese Host Family

Yesterday my ACC "brother" Liu Lei and I went to our host family's house for New Year's. (It's still New Years. There are explosions every hour of the day. I have expressed my fondness for this holiday, but I think we've had enough.

I brought them oranges, because everyone says that's an excellent gift at New Year's and after my last, horrible meeting with my host father I may have kind of eaten all the chocolate I was going to give them. But how many oranges are appropriate? You cannot give your family four oranges, because the Chinese word for "four" is the same as the word for "death." You do not want to give your family death-many oranges. That would obviously signify that you wish them dead. Which I didn't, even after that first visit. But I digress.

Liu Lei and I took a cab to some area, I don't really know where, and stood outside in the cold for about half an hour, waiting. Liu Lei bought and started reading a Chinese rock magazine. I just stood there, feeling stupid. After a long time went by, Liu Lei called them. They said they'd be right there.

More time passed.

As it turns out, we were in the wrong place. Liu Lei eventually spotted our host brother, whom I really like. He's a little older than I am, tall, with long, frizzy, bleached-brown hair. He kind of reminded me of Alexander in Everything is Illuminated; less guileless, but the way he dressed and his saunter.

We got to their apartment and met our host mother. I gave her the oranges and we sat down. Chinese Brother flipped through the channels on the television while people made small talk. I like our host mother. She seems very patient, and accepted my explanation that although I can understand what they say, I prefer listening to talking. Which is true, even in English, most of the time.

Our Chinese Father kept returning to the - to him - hilarious fact that I couldn't understand a word of what he was saying. Not one word, no sirree. "She can't understand at all!" he laughed.

Yes, I can. But it seemed like too much trouble to tell him so. Liu Lei was nice about it and said that I was a good student, just quiet and new to Beijing. They preferred to talk to him, anyway- host families always get a girl and a boy, and in every case I know of they vastly prefer the boy and direct all the talking to him, even if the girl speaks better Chinese. I am totally okay with this. Liu Lei can do the talking, it is not a problem. I will be demure and eat my potato salad.

I don't know if it's because they had Americans over, but the first course of the meal would have fit right in at a labor day picnic. We had potato salad, coleslaw, and something that looked an awful lot like hot dog pieces cut up into pennies, with a pool of ketchup to dip them in. I kept expecting ambrosia salad to turn up. We also had cold Beijing duck and jiaozi, which our host mother tried to teach us to bao (fold). Baoing jiaozi is fun. Saying "baoing jiaozi" is super fun.

After lunch, my two ersatz brothers put on their coats, so I put mine on, too. Chinese was spoken, and I nodded and smiled and said "hao." Then we shook hands with the parents and the three of us left the building. I had no idea where we were going, when we would be home, or when I would have an opportunity to use the bathroom, but I went with it. I trusted Liu Lei and my Chinese brother whose name I don't know.

We got in a cab and I looked out the window and wondered, idley, where we were headed. We got out and found ourselves in the most crowded ... place I had ever seen in my life. This is the sort of crowd you only see in Asia. I swear I could have lifted my feet up off the ground and been bourne along by the current. I do not know what these people were doing, exactly. There were vendors to the sides of the road selling funny hats, chuanr, pinwheels, etc, as well as the occasional stilt walker and enormous drum, but generally speaking the purpose of the event seemed to be to mill around. So mill we did. Chinese brother bought us all enormous chuanr consisting of what I later learned to be Hawthorne berries (doesn't that sound poisonous?) dipped in caramelized sugar on a stick. I ate my chuanr and thought, "This is an enormous chuanr, but it's not as though it is a particularly enormous chuanr, that's just the size chuanr are." The phrase "the size chuanr are" appeals to me a great deal.

So my second meeting with my host family was, in my opinion, rather a success. I still don't care for my host father, but the mom and the brother are all right. Liu Lei took pictures, which I've asked him to email me. If he does, they will be posted later.


Xi Dan Posted by Picasa


Jia Jia, Jiani, and Keting at Xi Dan Posted by Picasa


Ningxin and Kangrei Posted by Picasa


My friends at the Nai Cha (Bubble Tea) stand Posted by Picasa


(from left) Tian Kangrei, Ke Ting, and Ningxin Posted by Picasa


Lili at XiDan Posted by Picasa

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Tao Jia Hun Jia

Buns and a green tea juice box make a very nice breakfast.

Yesterday my friends and I took the subway to Xi Dan, which is a huge shopping area. There are fancy department stores, Starbucks (Xin Ba Ke), and KFC as well as small vendors. Mostly we were in a huge building full of vendors. There was a floor of accessories, a floor of shoes, and many floors of clothes. Certain readers will be glad to take note that I purchased a new sweater, which I deeply love and which I now intend to wear - yes - every day until I purchase another sweater.

The thing is though, you had to bargain. And I don't know if you know this, but that's really not something I'm going to be good at, even without the language barrier. You may remember an earlier post about the pushyness of Chinese vendors. That was a department store. At this flea marketish type place, it was a hundred thousand times worse. I am a person who likes to shop in peace. I do not wish to talk to the salespeople. I just want to be left alone. In China, this is not an option.

Me (seeing attractive sweater): May I try this on?
(Xiaofan takes sweater down from wall and puts it on me as though I were a Barbie.)
Me: How much?
Xiaofan: 180 kuai.
Me (shaking head and taking off sweater): Oh, no. 180 kuai, that's too expensive. I can't pay that.
Xiaofan (rubbing sweater on my face): But see how comfortable it is! It is jlh fadj khfiu hfja hlfk sdjh (speaking incomprehensible Chinese)
Me: It's very nice, but I just can't. I'm a student. I have no money.
Xiaofan: What is the highest you will go?
Me (looking to Shuyi for help): Uhh... ummm... what would you say, Shuyi?
Shuyi (sceptically): I'd say no more than 70 kuai. You don't really like it.
Me: True. Okay, 70 kuai, that's the highest I'll go.
Xiaofan: WHAT?! 70 kuai!? This is a really hia jia mun ja fa zi sji sweater!
Me: Um, 65 kuai.
Xiaofan: What are you talking about? You can't have it for 65!
Me: Okay, well, it's nice and all, but I'm going now.
Xiaofan (grabs my arm): No no, what's your highest price?
Me: How about 90 kuai?
Xiaofan: Fine. (Takes my money)
Me: Happy New Year!
Xiaofan: Whatever.

And while we're doing dialogue,

Nina: My child [ertong] hurts.
Me: Your what? Your child?
Nina: I think I have a child disease.
Me: What are you talking about?
Nina: (points to her ear)
Me: Oh, your son [erzi]. Do you need to go to the doctor?
Nina: Too expensive.

later:
Nina: My son still hurts.
Aijia: Your what?
Nina: My son. (points at her ear)
Aijia: That's your "erduo"
All: Ohhhh.

So, today's lesson:
  • ertong = child
  • erzi = son
  • erduo = ear


bonus:
Aijia: Love is bad. It is better to not have a heart.
Me: Aijia, you are too bitter [ ku(3) ]
Aijia: What? I'm cool? I know I'm cool [ ku(4) ]
Me: No no no, bitter. [ ku(3) ]
Lili: What?
Me: You know, bitter, like vinegar [ "tsu"(3) ]
Lili: Shu? (pointing at Shuyi)
Me: No! VINEGAR! As in, sour sweet bitter hot, all the experiences and sensations of life!
All: WHAT?!
Lili: Oh, vinegar.
Me: YES.
Aijia: I am not.


Saturday, January 28, 2006

Things I Miss

  • Spaghetti
  • Not having to bring my own toilet paper everywhere
  • Watching House
  • LOGIC
  • Having more than one sweater
  • Hearing my real name spoken aloud
  • Being able to express myself effortlessly
  • Going to the grocery store with my parents
  • Using tap water to brush my teeth
  • No, really, Logic, like a lot
  • Washburn
  • Caroline keeping me up all night talking about high school drama
  • Going to the library
  • Exchanging literary quotations with Lillian
  • The afternoon sunlight on the Science Quad

Things You Would Think I Would Miss More Than I Actually Do:
  • Western toilets (TMI, sorry)
  • Proper breakfast food (sunflower seeds make a very nice breakfast, I find)
  • American music in public places
  • High-speed internet

Fireworks

I cannot even begin to hope to describe last night. First, around 5:30, Aijia came by my room to ask if I wanted to go to the park, which of course I did.

When we finally got to the park, it was closed, but it was a long and interesting walk, with fireworks exploding in every direction. We decided we were hungry, so we went to a very cozy restaurant and had dinner. (Chinese food again. Did you ever think about what it would be like to have Chinese food for every meal, every single day, for eight months? Not that it's bad, I love Chinese food, but still. Think about it. Think about the MSG.)

Later that evening, Shuyi, Lili, Jia Jia, Aijia, Mengen, and I went out to Pure Girl Bar again. I mean, Pure Girl Bar is apparently the cheapest bar in Beijing, and has a very nice, relaxed atmosphere, but still. We drank sweet, girlie drinks and gossiped and played pool. We kept hearing explosions, but, as I said, I've been hearing explosions all week. If there is one thing the Chinese LOVE it is fireworks. But eventually we went outside to see what could be seen, and I am so glad we did.

I have never, never seen anything even remotely as intense. The noise, the explosions in every direction. Jia Jia and I ran down the block to get a better view, and we kept nudging each other to look at spectacular pyrotechnics in every direction, hugging ourselves and jumping up and down (we had not bothered with anything so mundane as coats), and screaming. "I LOVE CHINA!" we shouted at the top of our lungs. And I do. Oh, I do.

We ran back up the block to where Aijia was standing, and then the three of us ran and leaped and shouted down four blocks, surrounded on all sides by explosions and flashes of light. The air was thick with smoke, and I was convinced that at any moment I would be blinded, but at the same time I felt that it would be kind of okay, since I have seen New Year's in Beijing.

"This is unreal!" Jia Jia cried. It really was. I'm simply not doing justice to the experience. You'll just have to trust me. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen.

Eventually, we went back to the bar for more drinking, dancing, and talking. A very tall guy who did not speak Chinese bought me a drink, which was kind of nice even though it was, he said, "Jack and Coke," which is nasty. I'm really not much of a drinker. Last semester I think I had one beer, after the Washburn Halloween Party. And there comes a point when discussing some drunk guy's views on feminism at three a.m. is just boring, so I got my coat and got Aijia, who'd had a bit too much to drink, to get in a cab and go home.

Please don't send me emails about not drinking. You know who you are. Please trust me to be responsible, because I am. And Happy New Year.


Jinshan Park Posted by Picasa


Tiananmen Posted by Picasa


The sidewalk-drawing man Posted by Picasa


Jinshan Park Posted by Picasa


Jin Shan Park Posted by Picasa


Jinshan Park Posted by Picasa


I swear, China actually looks like this. Posted by Picasa


Tian Kang Rei with a portrait a sidewalk-drawing man did of her Posted by Picasa


Chaoyang Posted by Picasa

Friday, January 27, 2006


Shuyi, Me,and Ningxin in Jingshan Park where the last emporor hanged himself Posted by Picasa


Lili and Nina on the bus on the way to tour Beijing Posted by Picasa


Shuyi, Lili, Ningxin and me at Tiananmen Square Posted by Picasa


Me, Aijia, Ningxin, and Lili at Jingshan Park Posted by Picasa


From left: Caroline, Chava, Ningxin, Me, Kangrei, Lili, and Jiajia Posted by Picasa

Preserved Mandarin Peels

Incidentally, what on earth was I thinking when I bought a bag of "Preserved Mandarin Peels"? They are salty and make my whole room smell bad.

On the other hand, when I leave China, I am going to have to bring an entire suitcase of sunflower seeds home with me.

Pure Girl

Since it is (still) Chinese New Year, my friends and I celebrated last night by going out as a huge group to San Li Tuanr, which is Beijing's laowai bar district. There's a bar called Pure Girl Bar which, my Gege informed me in drunken Chinglish, is definitely an ACC bar. In fact, everyone in the bar except the bar tenders were ACC students or their friends. It's a small bar, but still. The walls and furniture, and even ceiling were all covered with people's names and graffiti tags, and my Gege kept pointing out ACC signatures, of which there were several.

Pure Girl Bar is, according to the second-semester students, one of the cheapest bars in Beijing, and since it was New Year's the bartender treated the whole place to a round of Kamakazes, but alcohol is still rather expensive in Beijing (compared to, say, food). This is just as well, because for the most part people weren't getting terribly drunk, which is good because I do not enjoy drunkenness or drunken society. The music was decent and we danced and chatted in Chinese. It was very nice.

This afternoon Lili and I are going to the gym and maybe then to have some bubble tea. I'm enjoying going to the gym. It's funny, listening to the Format and running on the treadmill feels the same, whether the view from the window is Chaoyang or Paradise Pond.

It's been a week since I heard my real name spoken aloud.

Xin Nian

Happy New Year, lovely readers. Well, kind of. Technically it's not New Years until Sunday, but Chinese New Year doesn't seem to bear much resemblance to ours. For one thing, it's been going on for days, if the loud BOOMS are any indication, and is expected to continue for awhile. Your word of the day: Fireworks, which are "yan(4) huo(3)." If you don't know what the numbers mean, feel free to ignore them, and slip it into conversation with a Chinese person. Just to see what happens.

We have a long tall weekend. I am so giddy with excitement I don't know what to do. Do I want to read a book? Watch a pirated DVD or an episode of Jeeves and Wooster? Go out for mushrooms, mutton and green beans (which I just did)? Go out to the bar district (in about two hours)? Buy pretty clothes (tomorrow or Sunday)? I can do ANYTHING. I have no homework! I don't have class until Thursday!

Excuse me while I breathe into a paper bag for awhile.

Thursday, January 26, 2006


Me in my room in Beijing Posted by Picasa


Lao Beijing Posted by Picasa


Me in front of Lao Beijing Posted by Picasa


Aijia, Shuyi, Jiayu, and Lili eating lunch at Lao Beijing Posted by Picasa


My friends on the way to lunch Posted by Picasa