When Panic Sets In......

There are hardly two weeks left in this country, and naturally I have started panicking. NOT ENOUGH TIME! TOO MANY THINGS TO DO! It seems only a fool would waste his precious remaining time on sleep. This past week and weekend has been a flurry of dim sum, Chinese flashcards, shopping, canyons, soy milk, and waterfalls. I have also noticed even though my Chinese is far from ideal, I sometimes have urges to blurt out Chinese phrases here and there whenever I am conversing in Korean or English with my family or friends. It is a miracle! Never thought I could become so familiar with the Chinese language to even unwittingly mutter to myself in Chinese. But enough with the language! Let me share few things that have immensely impressed me these past few weeks.

Crocs: You see them everywhere.Selling them on the street side. Wearing them to class, to mountains, and to movies. I admit I am no particular fan of this type of shoes, but the Chinese disagrees with my preferences. When I asked one of our teachers why so many wear Cros so often, she told me it is because not only are they reasonably priced but also they are very comfortable. PRACTICALITY! The Chinese seems to value practicality. In comparison to such way of thinking, I am not sure if I will be able to get used to the Korean’s way of doing things after this program: Wearing high heels and makeup just to push a cart around at a supermarket.

Fashion: Chinese girls love ruffles and frills. They also love lace. Chinese boys love basketball and soccer jerseys. It is a rare day for me not to encounter one guy wearing a Brazilian or Argentinean soccer jersey on the street. Everyone loves shirts with endearingly cute designs featuring monkeys or rabbits! Or even better, those that bear nonsensical English phrases that often have conspicuous grammar mistakes. One cannot deny the Chinese has its own unique style of clothing. However, my language partner surprisingly seemed offended when I expressed such thoughts. She quickly retorted in Beijing, the style of clothing is similar to that of any other metropolitan city in the world. I dared not pursue the matter further, and I have yet to figure out why this is such a sensitive subject.

Digestion: Speaking of my language partner’s dissatisfaction, she has lightly reprimanded me when I told her I like to watch or read something while eating. I muttered that my mother says the same exact thing because it is such an unsociable habit. But, my language partner told me that more importantly, such habit is bad for digestion of the food. If I read while I eat, then the blood from my head will not be as clean as it should be, and the circulation will also be disrupted. Or something like that. I can never be too sure when discussing difficult subjects in Chinese. I found such logic to be somewhat doubtful, but it is a given that Chinese are much healthier than Americans. So, in the present, I am attempting to drop this habit.

Motorcycles: One sees carts. One sees bikes. One sees cars. In fact, the Chinese owns some of the best cars I have seen in my life. But the motorcycles one sees on the street are of the old. The styles of these motorcycles are those of about ten years ago. This is because motorcycles are still considered a mark of “laborers.” At least Chinese parents have one less worry: their children will not die riding motorcycles recklessly on the streets of Beijing.

Tuition: On average, a year of tuition at a Chinese college is 5,000 RMB (about $735 U.S. dollars). WHAT?! Thank god my mother does not know of this, otherwise she would begrudge me “the American education” she unselfishly provides for me.

Boy and Girl: In China, the stick figures for a boy and a girl are on the left. In America, the stick figures for a boy and a girl are on the right. I was so awestruck when one of the teachers drew this on the board to explain a term for “a husband and a wife.” Does anyone notice the Chinese girl has horns? They could be chopsticks though.

Two nights ago, I got my first good solid night of eight-hour-sleep in awhile. But, I find it increasingly difficult to foresee such indulgence happening before I leave China. If only I could buy time . . . . .

Those Little Things.....

Every time I go for a run whether it is 5am or 8am in the morning, or 5pm or 8pm at night, I often come across my “running partner” – the title I have fondly given to this peculiar man. He is bent over with age, and “runs” with a heavy limp on the innermost lane of the track. After few encounters, we have become somewhat familiar with each other. He never fails to give me a toothy grin and a thumbs-up upon every encounter. When I first laid my eyes on him, I quietly realized the sight of him on the track will be one of those silent pictures in your mind that never would be forgotten.

I understood Chinese is very conscientious about exercising. In fact, exercising is a social activity. There are many laughs, shouts, and conversations to be heard all around me as I run alone. Exercise facilities such as the track, outdoor weight room, dance studio, and basketball, tennis, and badminton courts are a singular world of its own that I fail to stop marveling in. Grandmothers take young children and dogs to the track to walk around. Some rollerblade on the track. There’s always a huge crowd on the basketball court with girls cheering from the side. Sometimes on the bleachers, sometimes on the soccer field, there are few that practice taiji. Few dance on the badminton court. At night, there are lovers on the grass.

I also notice that Chinese have a different way of stretching. I faithfully adhere to the stretch routine that was taught to me during my brief high school varsity soccer career: lean on your left leg, lean on your right, stretch your calves, do the butterfly, etc. After few minutes of observation, it dawned on me that the stretch routine the Chinese follows is very similar to the one I was taught when in Korean elementary school! Roll right ankle. Roll left ankle. Gyrate your hips. Roll your head. Make little circles with your arms, etc.

Aside from people of all ages exercising, it would be of much interest to many Americans that on the highest floor of a Chinese mall, there is a matchmaker shop. In that shop, a picture of a 22-year old girl could be seen in desperate hopes for a suitable husband. Only twenty-two! At that age, thoughts of marriage would still be light years away for me, especially since I plan to go on to graduate school. Apparently, there is much pressure for Chinese girls to get married early. Of course as the Chinese society receives more and more Western culture influence, nagging from parents becomes gradually subdues. Nonetheless, there are still some who regard women with Ph.D’s with much skepticism and disbelief. They often ask college females students what they are doing in school and remain unmarried. Also, according to my language partner, the Chinese consider dating in high school simply foolish. Too early, they say. The kids are not mature enough to appreciate being involved in such relationships. Of course, I could not help but notice there are very few years between high school graduation and the ideal age of twenty-four for marriage.

Another discovery that amazes me partly because it again contradicted my first-held belief that the Chinese culture and habits would not be too foreign since I lived my childhood in Korea, another East Asian country: When Chinese have guests over, they would rather overwhelm the guest with so-so food rather than enough of the best quality food. It’s all about “the face.” The bigger the quantity of food to present to the guest, the bigger your “face” is. Also, it is highly rude if you clean your plate in front of your Chinese hosts. The ability to finish the food provided for you implies that the hosts did not treat you properly by not providing enough food. Thus, they lose “face.” The concept of “face” is not altogether strange to me due to my Korean roots and common human dignity. But, it is still a curious aspect of the Chinese society.

Did you know that with more traditionally inclined Chinese, one cannot stop eating until the guest of honor stops eating? May the future company at (Chinese) dinner table never have the misfortune of having me in the seat of honor for I am a very slow eater.

Xi'an

. . . and there were trains. Before I divulge the past weekend spent in the hometown of Timmy Wangy’s mother and Jimbo, I must share what it is like to travel on a train in China – simply marvelous. At least for me. For those of us Yalies who live in D.C. metropolitan area, the best way to travel is by train, especially since New Haven has only one small airport. Needless to say, I often ride the train in America, and more often than my mother would like, I travel during the night desperately fighting off sleep. When I heard the overnight train ride to Xi’an from Beijing will be approximately twelve hours long, I could not help but panic a little (D.C. to New Haven takes about five and a half hours). Of course, the expected mass of people crowding about the biggest (surprisingly modern like an airport) train station I have been to did not help quell my concerns. But, when I laid my eyes on the “soft bunks” that the school has booked for us, my doubts about “beds” on train melted away. They are indeed beds on train in a cozy and pleasant “room.” The beds are bunk beds, and there are four of them in each “room” complete with curtains and a flower! The beds were so comfortable that I vastly prefer to take these trains than planes when traveling. No wonder why train is the main mode of long distance transportation in China! Even though the trains do not provide a complimentary so-so meal, they make up what they lack with their level of comfort.

In Xi’an, the city of 3100 years of history, I had the opportunity to see the eighth Wonder of the World – Terracotta Warriors – as well as the Mausoleum of Han Yang Ling princess and Wild Goose Pagoda. From these alone, a foreigner without much knowledge of Chinese history like me can get a grasp of how long and dense the history must be. Upon reflection, America surely seems like an infant who has yet to learn how to stand in comparison to China.

I have also the chance to visit the Great Mosque of Xi’an, which has long been a symbol of rich diversity of population inhabiting within the country. It was definitely interesting to see this mosque, especially since I was in Turkey right before coming to China. Therefore, it would not come as a surprise to the reader when I sighed, “Not another mosque!” But, I found myself very intrigued for this mosque was peculiar in that much of Arabic was written in Chinese style, and has kept much of Chinese royal building architecture.

The highlight of my stay in Xi’an? Riding bicycle on the City Wall (reconstructed in 1370)! Too long have I stayed in China without riding a bicycle – for many of Chinese still, a symbol of individual freedom! My only regret: I will have neither the resources nor the guts to ride a bicycle on the hazardous streets of Beijing like a native.

Where’s My Summer Palace?

Yesterday saw me at “recreational” places that the rich and powerful Chinese frequented in the past: Old Summer Palace and Summer Palace. These places I learned were of equal importance to the royal Chinese as the Forbidden City. Forbidden City may have been where all the formal ceremonies took place, but much governing took place at these summer abodes of the emperors and empresses.

Old Summer Palace: It was known for its extensive and diverse collection of gardens and architecture ranging from traditional Chinese style to that of Tibetan that mirrored the equally diverse population of the Chinese society during Qing Dynasty. Therefore, I was extremely disappointed to see that all that remains are few small

gardens, lakes full of lotus flowers, and European styled buildings in ruins. These ruins were so puzzling to me, because I felt I was no longer in China. I felt cheated out of another opportunity to witness Chinese buildings meticulously constructed with great care and innovation. It was only later on that I learned Old Summer Palace has been destroyed more than once by foreign forces, and to this day, its destruction remains an extremely sensitive subject for the Chinese.

Summer Palace: One would not believe that this entire “Palace” is

man-made from the 60-meter-hill to a lake, which covers three fourths of its great expanse. Temple of Buddhist Virtue was of

course revealed to be another breath-taking sight of a huge Buddha statue only after climbing long and steep flights of stairs (What is up with so many inclines to climb here in China? No wonder the elderly regularly exercise! Also, why are the floors, steps, and just about everything that we walk on so slippery? I found myself way too many times on my butt). Of course, to top another sweltering day of seven hours of tourism, I saw a boat made entirely of marble and rode on a boat fashioned after a dragon.

But, to be honest, I found my evening excursion with a fellow classmate to a public park more interesting. Already dark, we feared the park may be already empty. But, surprisingly, the park even in dark, was alive with quiet murmurs of lovers sitting on benches, friendly conversations of the elderly, unabashed snores of middle-aged men half-naked on benches, and heavy breathing of young men on their jogs. One elderly man was kind enough to talk to us about this “recreational place” for present-day Chinese. Early in the morning, many come to the park to practice their taijiquan and walk their caged birds. Later on in the afternoon, many come to play badminton. Towards dusk, many women come to dance (such as disco!) in unison. Many others come to the park to escape the heat, chat with their friends, and play chess. When night falls, the park becomes a cozy nest for lovers. Back at home, there are three parks near my house. I believe I have frequented these parks less than five times per year. I have always thought parks were where people went to occasionally play tennis and soccer, bum around, and smoke few joints. We, Americans, can definitely learn from Chinese about how to make best use of such public space.

Since coming to China, I’ve eaten McDonalds’s twice, which is two more times than I would have liked. Here in China, it is considered trendy to eat McDonald’s and KFC, unlike in America where it is considered a taboo to eat a Big Mac due to countless concerns the industry raised: health, animal treatment, environment, etc.

Also, especially younger generation of Chinese loves eating bread. At first, I believed Chinese diet consisted mainly of rice, noodle, and dumplings. Surprisingly, from what I hear from my language partner, many cannot go a day without eating some kind of bread. Of course, I cannot understand why one cannot since rice, noodle, and dumplings here are of heavenly taste.

Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, and Great Wall

Well, one thing for sure. Future Light Fellows, never fear for a lack of materials to write about! In fact, since there are so many things to see, touch, taste, smell, and hear – overall, experience! Once one gets to China for a summer abroad, he all too quickly realizes mere two months is not enough to get to know its language, culture, and people. Upon reflection, I realize I had spent over ten years in United States for me to rightfully earn the title of “Korean American.” Would only equally long of stay in China grant me the degree of knowledge I have now of the English language, American diversified culture, and ever changing face of the American people?

It’s been some time since my last post, and I have seen, touched, tasted, smelled, and heard – overall, experienced –so much since!

Eyes: The past weekend saw me at Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City. Needless to say, I was mesmerized. The historic site of Tiananmen Square has always been confined to the space shown in the renowned photograph commonly referred to as “Tank Man” before this summer. I felt no need to imagine further than the space shown to me in that photograph. But, when I arrived there, my eyes could not help but widen. Yes, I did recognize the ever famous space in that photograph, but the surprising wideness of the place fascinated me the most. So much space! I could not help but let go of my image of Tiananmen Square confined by a photograph and wonder about who stood and what have taken place in its other parts.

Forbidden City, which has been the political and cultural center of China for more than five hundred years, was such an aesthetic pleasure to the eyes. It definitely lives up to its fame, for it failed to disappoint me despite myexceedingly high expectations: for one cannot help forming them when he hears it consists of 980 buildings with 8707 rooms! The color yellow – the color of the emperor – can be found everywhere! The further you go inside, the color yellow surrounds you even more. As my family and intimate friends can confirm, my favorite color is yellow, and the place that glorifies the color yellow so much delighted me immensely. Besides the ever-present color yellow, the intricate design of the buildings down to a tile on the roof is breathtaking. I concede perhaps my long source of wonderment –the White House – growing up right outside D.C. felt a bit inadequate after a visit to Forbidden Palace.

Skin: This weekend’s excursion to Great Wall has been surprisingly categorized under “Touch” for the cool, smooth touch of the stone walls of Great Wall lingers much more powerfully than the sight. Disappointingly, I could not see Great Wall go on for miles and miles due to the smog. But, the steep climb on perfectly even steps up to Great Wall (on the way, encountering a donkey!) was greatly rewarded once I reached Great Wall itself. A truly magnificent feat of engineering and vision! I still cannot name all the Great Wonders of the World, but if asked to recite them all, I never fail to name Great Wall first. My feet will forever remember the difference between the perfectly even steps on the climb up and the unpredictably uneven steps when traversing the Great Wall itself. My skin will forever remember the contrast of sweltering embrace of the sun on the Wall and the brief, dark coolness of lookout towers. I will go back there again, hopefully this summer. If not, I do not fear, for its allure as a place of many discoveries and historic significance is too strong.

Mouth: On Friday, my class made a visit to an antique market in order to gain authentic Chinese bargaining experience. Ancient paintings, scrolls, calligraphy brushes, inkstones, Buddha statues, Chinese seals, ancient clothes and furniture, and various trinkets such as Mao pin greeted me. But the most impressionable experience for me while at the market was when I was politely received by a very kind tea shop owner for a free tasting. She showed me all the different kinds of tea pots, cups, water boilers, mini god statues that take the forms of Buddha, frog, and ox, tea leaves, and the proper way of making and drinking tea. I will never look upon the simple act of drinking tea the same way again. So many different tea leaves to taste – jasmine, chrysanthemum, oolong, yellow, and kudin to name a few.

Nose: I go every Sunday to a grocery market right outside the campus to buy my week’s supply of fruits. The market is very crowded, but before one can discern with eyes how crowded the market is, he is immediately overwhelmed by the smell – the smells of freshly cut (hopefully) meat, fresh fruits, already cooked various side dishes, and many others that I cannot identify all fused together. The smell at first was so nauseating that I could not bring myself to enter the place. But, the relatively cheap prices of apples, cherries, watermelon, and peaches eventually strengthened my willingness to keep an open mind.

Ears: My language partner has recently gave me a copy of every song she has on her mp3 after hearing my complaints that there are as many commercials on Chinese radio as there are on American ones. Right now, I have been writing this blog all the while listening to Chinese pop, rock, rap, and hip hop. Unfortunately, not many modern college students have ethnic Han or folk music on their mp3’s, which leaves me no choice but to intentionally seek out these types of music. The music given to me so far cannot be said to be too similar to the music of Ben Folds or even that of Lady Gaga. But, these songs are a great source of escapement in accordance with my language pledge as I now have more than my Chinese lesson recordings to listen to.

Experience: So much to do! So little time! On a different tangent, I could not help but notice that women here do not shave their armpits, very much like the women who speak the only other language that I have formally studied – French.

Gaby and Hanlu

With the first week of classes and exams behind me, I have finally gotten a chance to slow down and look around. I admit my observations are not the most profound; nevertheless, they are observations. Therefore, I will proceed to jot down a few:

1. Sun umbrellas everywhere! I was prepared for this. I distinctively remember being completely ashamed of my mother in fourth grade when she came to pick me up after school with a flower-patterned umbrella on the most glorious day possible. I will affirm the reader’s suspicions that after that day, the child never let the mother go outside with such umbrella. This feeling of what was disgust turned into amusement could be contributed to my rather dark skin – I never was the pale one. However, one cannot deny that walking to class everyday in a sea of colors (rain or shine) is pleasant.

2. Exactly a year ago, I rode the metro in D.C. everyday to

and from work. It is not the most fantastical place in the world. It’s a little dark and demure, not to mention its unreliable service. Therefore, compared to last summer’s transportation experience, the metro in Beijing seems to be the most fantastical place in the world. It is so clean! So reliable! So convenient! Everything is written in both English and Chinese. So considerate! The bus fare is very cheap too. Only one yuan. Why is the transportation system in the U.S. not as well developed?

3. No toilet paper outside the dorm! Inside the dorm, not enough toilet paper! Thus, my roommate and I grabbed two huge packs of toilet paper to last us the entire summer at a huge Chinese supermarket. We also grabbed a huge case of Coca Cola – a source of caffeine - for Gaby, my roommate.

Here, Starbucks is not found on every block, and no Starbucks grace us with its addicting presence anywhere near the school. There is a small Seven Eleven, and I cannot say I have been entirely avoiding it the past week.

I have yet to mention my roommate and my language partner! My roommate is Gabby from Duke University. She is graduating late this December because she has been studying abroad in the past year. Her Chinese is far superior to mine. I cannot even begin to imagine communicating only in Chinese with me. It must be terribly frustrating. I believe she is an East Asian Studies major.

My language partner has been assigned to me by the program. A language partner is a native speaker who is a student at the university we are staying at. Mine is a dear girl with an adorable sense of style named Han2Lu4 who is interested in business with focus on English. It must be terribly frustrating for a native to communicate only in Chinese with me. She is immeasurably nice. She takes so much time out of her busy day just to help me with my Chinese, sit down to a meal together, and buy me a cell phone. (Of course, I wanted the least expensive phone during my 2-month stay. So, I got my least expensive phone – it is so cheap that it does not even have an earpiece volume control).

Did you know that the Chinese go to sleep early and wake up early while the Americans go to sleep late and wake up late? Did you know that the Chinese take a shower/bathe in the evening as opposed to the Americans who shower/bathe in the morning? Definitely food for thought.

Rough Beginning

Interestingly enough, once I landed at the airport in Beijing, I started feeling nauseous. Later in the afternoon, I was rushed to the hospital. People may declare a hospital is convenient for English speakers, but from my experience, that was not the case. Even with a helpful native speaker by my side, I never thought I had to move around to so many departments in a hospital for a fever. Waiting over two hours to see a doctor while the hospital administration vacillated between whether Medex insurance card given to me by Yale Light Fellowship is acceptable or not, I was outraged. Mainly because I was not allowed to take anything even Tylenol that I had brought from the States to ease the suffering until a doctor allowed it. First such treatment (denied access to even the most basic over the counter medicine) and the thought of countless who fare much worse tempt one to venture into the field of public health policy. As souvenirs I took away from the hospital some Chinese medicine, which the doctor that I saw insisted is far superior to American medicine I brought with me. Growing up in Korea, such medicine is well remembered by once a girl with overly sensitive taste buds. After a busy night of drinking bitter brownish liquid called Zhong yao, however, I woke up next morning feeling infinitely better. Since then, I have carefully placed the Chinese medicine in the drawer that I have designated as “important” along with my passport and other legal documents and tender. It’s all about having an open mind, no? Even if the bitter taste is prolonged in liquid form…