西安（Xi'an）--the train

With our first 4 week "semester" of 2nd year Chinese over, the DSIC students split into two groups to go to either Datong, a small mountain area with giant Buddhas carved into mountain faces, or Xi'an, the ancient capital of China that, among other things houses the first Qin emperor's terra cotta army. Those of us that chose to go to Xi'an boarded a sleeper train at about 9:30pm on Friday and got underway. Up to that point I had never been on a train for more than a few hours, so I had no idea what I would think of the experience. Turns out that riding 软卧(soft bunk) is pretty comfortable and much more social of an experience than flying. On the way to Xi'an I rode with one other DSIC student as well as a retired Chinese high school teacher and a police officer. Living in close quarters with them for the night definitely forced me to explore the boundaries of my Chinese speaking capability for a few hours (there was nothing else to do heh).



As my cabinmates got tired, I decided that I couldn't yet call it a night and so headed out into the narrow hallway to check out the train. I thought that walking up and down the train might be interesting. For the most part the train was exactly what I expected: there were cabins full of mostly Chinese people either speaking, playing cards, or starting to head to sleep. The one surprise for me came in the form of some people sleeping on the floor of the compartments joining each car. I discovered that unlike in other areas, in China you can buy a train ticket that simply reserves you space on the train, without any cabin or designated area. This solution seemed at once elegant but at the same time stepping over sleeping people to enter different traincars reminded me that I was definitely in a developing country. After this exploration I played cards in a friend's cabin and pretty quickly after, crept back into my room to sleep. The next few days were going to take all the energy I could save up.

The 图书馆（library）

I've already touched on this a little, but to be blunt the diligence of Chinese students freaks me out. There is no better example of this than in the library here. By far the most populated building of campus from its opening at 8 to its closing time at 10pm, it is an enormous at least 5 story structure (I've never had to go past the 4th) that houses mostly study space for UIBE students, oh and maybe some books too I guess. Our classes start every weekday at 8, and the building is close to the library. So, every day at 7:50am I see students lined up to enter the library. These students aren't a few nerdy outliers, they're the norm(there are hundreds of them). Even if they have class soon after, they come so early to claim a seat, leaving a book or papers there so that even at the most crowded points they can have an insured place to do work. Occasionally I will head over to the library to memorize my characters, etc after dinner (standard I think for an American student), and after searching for a few floors to find a vacant seat, will start studying. After sitting down and starting to study, my I am always shocked by the silence. Generally speaking I am no stranger to libraries, but after growing up in a culture where everyone has just a little ADD, it is shocking to sit across from someone who does nothing except stare at their paper and/or write for 3 hours straight with no distractions of any kind. At home students more often than not have music to listen to, or a friend to whisper with occasionally, but not here. Unsettling...but I think I envy the drive at least in some ways.
Probably the most interesting time to be in the library is closing time. At 9:45 on the dot, loudspeakers break the silence with some unexpected extremely smooth jazz. From that time until 10, students pour out of the library's front doors in astounding numbers. The feeling I get is vaguely similar to that of being at the circus and seeing too many clowns climb out of a tiny Volkswagon. With the same song in background every night, students turn off their studying side and get social. They meet up with other friends coming out of the library and talk (presumably about the day's study topics). Below is a picture that I took of the first wave of students exiting:

Thoughts on 肯德基

Since the beginning of DSIC, one of the main topics of our tests/classes/conversations with teachers has been the differences between Chinese and American culture (文化). So, naturally I think about the topic a fair amount (because the bulk of my new vocabulary deals with it ;) ) I've touched on it in my last post, but lately I've been noticing specifically American influence through the medium of 快餐 (fast food). Before I get into it, I ought to first say that if you want to eat Chinese food in Beijing you generally have three options, cook it yourself, eat in a sit-down restaurant, or grab some quick dumplings from a somewhat sketchy street cart. So far I love it: the last two are for me and I choose between them based on how much work I have or if I want to get some time in with my friends. But many students here actually cook for themselves. In the US, this is unthought of: at college its generally either meal plan or ramen noodles. But, people here often manage to cook multiple elaborate dishes to eat with their friends on a normal weeknight. Its the cheapest, and I might be speaking too early but it also looks the most delicious.
While fast food is not the same here as it is in the US (I have yet to see a drive-through and the food is actually comparably expensive), it seems to be spreading pretty widely across the country. McDonalds is pretty common but the most ubiquitous and successful chain is clearly Kentucky Fried Chicken. In Beijing it seems impossible to go for more than a half mile without seeing the smiling face of Colonel Sanders. Having been in the country since 1987, the longest of any foreign-based food chain, KFC rules the market here, which seems a little strange from an American perspective because I can't think of very many KFCs in my vicinity in Atlanta, and I don't think I've ever seen one in New Haven. Indeed after looking at a few articles I discovered that KFC, that by 2003 in China was building over 250 new locations a year, has stagnating sales in the US. How to reconcile this? The KFC in China is a different animal entirely. After visiting KFC a few times for some late night "research," my friends and I found a menu unlike the US version: the menu focused on chicken sandwiches(all made from dark meat, a Chinese preference) and sides were geared much more toward local vegetables rather than slaw, macaroni, and various fried sundries. And while it is popular for its novel taste, it does not have the same problem as in the US: it isn't cheap, so low income Chinese actually end up eating healthier, cheaper options.
After seeing this, I felt immediately that the question of undue negative American cultural influence through fast food ought to be dismissed as out of hand. Of course many elements of culure show up here and everywhere else, but the closer you look when you visit, the more superficial the resemblance is. If I had a little bit more time right now (and if my parents weren't reading this), the fast food topic dovetails into a few others, one of the most interesting being the general sense of sexuality here. On the surface everyone dresses and acts western, but if you ask them about their opinions you'll hear a whole different story based on deeply held cultural traditions that don't seem to be going away any time soon.
more later,
Alex