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

The Great Wall

So we climbed the great wall on friday and since then I haven't had much time to ruminate on it: Beijing is an active city, and since I'm only here for two months, I feel a sense of urgency that I've never felt before: I want to go everywhere, see everything, and meet everybody. Formal Chinese study has started to become auxiliary: the real practice comes from using language to get around. Sure I can xue some yufa with everyone else until late in the night(and very frequently do) but I find myself wanting to finish early and go meet some friends to speak to. I don't know why (I'm usually a little bit of a shy person), but im enjoying the feeling and having a great time.
Anyway back to the great wall...
Its largely about as old as the forbidden city, is equally if not more impressive to look at. Approaching from the point of view of a marauding mongolian, I see myself letting out a quick laugh and turning my yak around. It was hard enough to get to the top of the wall (I may have never climbed that many stairs in my life), but from the other side, would have been almost insurmountable. Not only is it tall, but its longer than anyone can see from any point where we were. Granted the "scenic mountain mist" (aka smog) does alot to obscure distant vision, but it's impressive nonetheless. The whole area of approach was extremely commercial: little independent stores lined the road up to the ticket area: there was even an option of some of the lazier tourists to take a gondola to the top(and a slide down). The juxtaposition of rampant commercial and ancient heritage really knocked me out: here you have the most massive surviving landmark of the old world and all around it are people using that fact to whatever advantage they can get. Our textbook is called "A New China" and I can't help but compare the old with the new. So many people have a picture of China as a land of tradition and often of repression, but strangely enough the places that should most confirm that impression turn it on its head. People may not be able to have political individualism but they definitely have a much more similar mindset to Americans than many people are willing to acknowledge.

alright i'm getting tired and i should start my essay(ugh): more soon.

some of that 长城

我的宿舍（my dorm）and language partner

The building at the center of this picture is my dorm, where myself and the rest of the DSIC kids live, along with some Chinese and alot of other international students. I don't know what I really expected to have here, but this place was not it. We are basically living in a hotel: we have a minifridge, a tv, A.C, a bathroom, and even a screened-in porch. Yesterday I was even surprised by two women coming in to change my sheets. The surrounding area that you can see basically feels like a college town: Beijing is so spread out that the neighborhood is pretty self contained.

In our textbook, we've just finished a few stories about how Americans and Chinese are not alike in their habits, mannerisms, etc. Its interesting how that has lined up for me in some ways but not in others. The students here all have the basic experience that I have had: moving from your hometown to come and live at a college with other people who share your age and interests. However the way the way they approach college is nothing like i've seen before. I know many western students that work hard in their respective spheres (cough cough premeds) but for people at 对外经济贸易大学 (the University of International Business and Economics), the switch doesn't ever turn off. My language partner, a German major from Hebei, all but laughed at me when I suggested taking one weekend off from studying to go out and have fun. He told me very simply that the 压力(pressure) of achievement here is huge: if you don't have the scores for an A level college(of which there are few all in very high demand), you're stuck in a low level job. And if you don't have the college scores for a high level job (of which there are also comparatively few in high demand), you're also stuck in the bush leagues.
Every day we're given questions to ask our language partner to practice our Chinese, and a large amount of them gear towards daily life and attitudes towards America, the world, China, etc. So far I understand that this is the typical life of a student: class from 7:30 or so until 5:00ish and then homework. When thats done theres a chance to review (right now theyre getting close to exam time) and maybe call their parents. If there is TONS of free time, they can maybe wash their clothes or grab a bite to eat with their friends.
As a side note on family--the one child policy is still very much in effect and I have yet to meet someone with siblings. This generally means that parents pin all their hopes on their single child to succeed, often getting extremely involved in their lives (so 贾斌 is very happy to be away from Hebei for awhile). If I ask my language partner what he does for fun, he'll tell me a variety of things: he likes to play basketball, watch tv, go out and have fun, and other standard answers for a young person. The difference is when I ask him when he does them, the answer always involves some degree of transference (I like to play but I'm too busy now, I wish I could do this more, etc).

Gotta go, more later

Tiananmen and the Forbidden City

Ahh-now I’ve finally managed to get some time to log into my blog and write I guess I ought to do some contemplation. I only have two followers at the moment (thanks mom and Erica heh), so until my blog becomes an internet phenomenon anything I write on here will just hopefully help me think about my experiences in Beijing.
I think the most important thing to do before I forget my initial impressions of China and start to get used to being here, I ought to get a few of them out. At the moment I am still a little in shock after spending the day touring 天安门 (Tiananmen Square) and 故宫 (the forbidden city): until you visit them you can’t really imagine the scale of both, and the intricacy of the second. In Tiananmen, you are completely enveloped in recent Chinese history on every side, from museums to Mao’s mausoleum, and “people’s monuments.” The whole place seemed designed to make visitors feel small, both in size (it is about 900m by 500m) and in accomplishment (nothing but enormous willpower and a mass of humanity could have created something that large.) A few large screens in the middle of the square echoed the square’s more recent history, playing soothing music and showing pictures of the Chinese countryside to try to take away from the otherwise harsh feeling of being in the square.
Even after Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City was surprising. I had expected to see a more Chinese version of a European castle, and what I got was indeed part castle (it is equipped with large walls and could have conceivably been pretty hard to get into), but it was also part temple in that the rituals our guide described to us were intensely complicated. There are bridges over which only the emperor or his family could walk and stairways that were built to only be used by the gods (interestingly enough tourists are allowed to walk over the emperor’s bridge but the stairways are still roped off.)
In addition, the scale feels as immense as Tiananmen and the craftsmanship isn’t comparable. Every building (and there tons of buildings with a total of about 9,000 rooms) is a work of art in its woodcarving and painting. A few of us found ourselves thinking that the place couldn’t have possibly been around since the 1400s. Its hard to adequately describe all of this in words but I forgot my camera (because of course I slept too late in the morning and had a bit of a rushed exit), so unless I steal pictures from some fellow DSIC students words will have to do for now. I will probably be on again soon to post about everyday life but for now, 再见。