Blogs from Wudaokou, Beijing, China, Asia - page 3

Hello Everybody! We had our first Chinese lesson today, so we don't have much to report for the day, we pretty much just went to bed when we got home - we were really exhausted for some reason. It was pretty cool - we feel like kids again because they make you feel like a kid again - just pronouncing sounds before you can even put them into words - although some of the sounds are incredibly difficult to make, I'll never look at the letter 'e' the same way again!!! We went out to dinner at a cool place tonight too. It's called chuarn'r. It's food on skewers that's been barbecued. Standard stuff like chicken wings, lamb and other bits of animal, but some different things too, like bread, eggplant, garlic (just garlic), mushrooms etc. ... read more

Today was the official day of International Women's Day and I had a Chinese friend (Guo Dong) invite me out to dinner in the area around our university. I also asked a friend (Derek) from the Syracuse program to join us for dinner and it turned out to be a really fun evening! We went out to eat at Korean Restaurant. The area by my school is called "Wudaokou" 五道 and is generally know for two things: the large population of international students and its large Korean restaurants, shops and businesses. Needless to say the food at the restaurant was very tasty and the restaurant had a nice ambiance to it. The owner （老板） of the restaurant was very friendly and even came over to help us grilling our food. Prior to coming to China, I ... read more

Beijing has been invaded. It began at the start of the traditional tourist season at the end of May. A couple of hopelessly lost Koreans here, a few scattered Westerners speaking Mandarin with horribly mangled tones there, and a smattering of hopelessly lost elderly Japanese. As the summer arrived and the weather heated up, along with Beijing's interminable humidity, the trickle became a stream, which turned into an all-out flood. Foreigners are descending upon Beijing in droves, reminiscent of a locust swarm. These lecherous parasites have infiltrated the poshest hotels, are hesitantly venturing down Beijing's most upscale shopping avenues and, to make matters even worse, I have been lumped into that horrible, generalized category of "foreigner". Now, ask me how I really feel. Truth be told, it's not all bad. Beijing tourism industry profit margins have ... read more

I've recently been tempted to snatch the title of "Windy City" from Chicago, my prospective future home, and relinquish it to Beijing. The period of late spring through early summer in Beijing is notorious for being immensely windy and tends to experience sudden sandstorms. However, on special days, the winds of Beijing are so strong that I have to walk at a 75 degree angle just to keep moving forward. Today started out normally enough: overcast sky, cool morning temperature, everyone going about their business. I went to my 8:30 A.M. class and then stepped onto the subway for the glorious two-hour journey into downtown Beijing to meet a friend. By eavesdropping on the subway, I learned that a violent thunderstorm was forecast for that evening; I just hoped I would make it home before ... read more

What I thought was a simple Beijing rumbling has turned into the most devastating natural disaster China has experienced in recent decades. I was sitting at my desk, willing myself to crack open my books and begin studying, when I experienced a sudden onslaught of vertigo. I looked up at the ceiling and noticed my hanging lights noticeably swinging back and forth. When I stood up to get a better look at the lights, I stumbled. I could see the other high rises swaying ever so slightly through the window of my 19th floor apartment. I'd never experienced an earthquake before, and so decided the best solution was to yank my door open and stand in the doorway. The sensation stopped after what felt like twenty minutes, but couldn't have been more than two. I convinced ... read more