Blogs from Inner Mongolia, China, Asia - page 6

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Asia » China » Inner Mongolia » Baotou May 13th 2010

Saved the pictures of this hiking trip in a folder on my PC named 'mountains, February 23rd'... It seems surreal, it is by now the end of April and only now temperatures have become spring-like. I can't even remember that day, I do know it was the first 'warm' day of the year. The forecast spoke of 13 degrees. I decided to go for a walk heading in the directions of the mountains, which basically, are right north of Kunqu district in the west of Baotou. Alhough being the most developed and 'richest' part of the city, only a 20 minute walk north of it one can see a major change already. Dirty streets, people staring at me (who knows, no foreigner might actually have ever walked these narrow streets...), kids using the curb as a ... read more
Stuffing sheep skins on a truck
Overloaded?
Hard at work

Asia » China » Inner Mongolia » Hohhot May 13th 2010

...As documented in a poem. I know that's not everyone's cup of tea. If it is, please read on. Blue City A rolling sea of humanity Splashing color any which way The fruit stands grow bright As pineapples arrive Then the strawberries come The madcap dash of car and bike Jostling the streets The horns blare But to the right is a shaded garden With the green sound of birds among leaves Passing through alleys crowded with bric-a-brac Shoe cobblers with their tools, the date hawkers Crying the price And above you the sound of sizzling Dinner cooked with a sound like The spatter of rain Why this pungent realness? The smells stronger And the light sharper The mountains in the distance Call me to come home When I have never been farther away. -Sam ... read more

Asia » China » Inner Mongolia » Hohhot May 6th 2010

The word 说法, “shuofa,” can mean a “way of saying something.” I find it fascinating to compare how languages word similar sentiments and ideas; language and culture are part of each other, and studying a language can really give you insight into a culture’s worldview and your own. I’m working on a list comparing interesting words and expressions in English and Chinese. The list below is just a start. Any Chinese students or native speakers, please feel free to correct and/or add to the list: Same (more or less) Dark horse: “hei ma” - black/dark horse in Chinese, has the same meaning. I’m starving: “wo e si le” - I’m hungry to death/starving. Both just mean “I’m really hungry” Have a dream (i.e. ambition, plan): “you yige mengxiang” - have a dream (i.e. ambition, plan) Perfect: ... read more

Asia » China » Inner Mongolia » Hohhot May 2nd 2010

Taking some sun, eating good food and causing a stir in a small town It started with an invitation from Lulu: it's a labor holiday this weekend, and her family was geared up to get outdoors. Lulu said they were going to see the Yellow River, so of course I had to accept! There were nine of us: One grandma, one father, one mother, one aunt, four cousins, and one bewildered laowai. Kinship terms in Chinese seem to be more complicated in the wake of the "One family, one child" policy; the eldest cousin, for example, is not known as Lulu's "biaoge" (elder male cousin) but as her "gege" (elder brother). I have heard many Chinese people my age refer to their cousins in a similarly confusing manner; my theory is that either it is a ... read more
Looking at lunch - liang fen
The appetizers, including liang fen
Bandit getting ready to set sail

Asia » China » Inner Mongolia » Hohhot April 26th 2010

Children of the High Plains I spent Saturday working until 10pm and couldn't settle down to sleep until well past midnight. I had been prepared to go out with two different sets of friends on Sunday: one outing in the morning, one in the afternoon. Waking up to the sight of sodden streets after a night of rain, I declined the first outing and slept in. It's a good thing I rested up and saved my strength, because the afternoon turned out to be quite an adventure. All I knew when I woke up on Sunday was that my friend Lulu had invited me to join her family on a mini-expedition; I didn't know where we were headed. I imagined visiting temples in the city limit or something like that. At 2pm I got a phone ... read more
The Yurt
Inside the yurt
On the Road

Asia » China » Inner Mongolia » Hohhot April 19th 2010

Where does role-playing end and being begin? Working in a hotel gives you a lot of perspective about many things: the service industry, social stratification, even human nature. A hotel is is first of all its own microcosm, with secret passages and back rooms, and has complex relationships at work both within itself and with the outside world. Pull aside a curtain and you literally might find a man pulling levers (in the case of the hotel where I work, you would find the phone operator's office). I was so afraid I would get lost when I was shown the "hidden" floor where housekeeping is headquartered, and all the disperse passageways I could navigate to get there. Once I got the hotel geography down, I discovered much more difficult to navigate were hotel relationships. Relationships (the ... read more

Asia » China » Inner Mongolia » Hohhot April 19th 2010

Or: Life as a Laowai Having blonde hair sets you up for a lot of things. For one, I could tell about a hundred "dumb-blonde" jokes by the time I was ten, because my friends never tired of relaying the latest to me. One thing I didn't expect, however, (ok halfway expected) was the way it would set me apart in China, for better and for worse. I don't know where the "dumb-blonde" myth came from. All of the true blondes I have known in my life are feisty, intelligent women who go after what they want. Maybe it's because all the blonde jokes give us an "Oh, yeah?" attitude. In China, blonde (or light) hair is also all the rage, but without the "dumb-blonde" schtick. Fair skin is also hip. Sadly, there are many skin-whitening ... read more
Being a stylist's guinea pig

Asia » China » Inner Mongolia » Hohhot April 14th 2010

Hiking Near 大学城 - "College City" I took video of a brook in the valley where we were hiking, mainly because I thought the sound of the water was so lovely and I wanted to record it. Amy thought I was photographing her, so I started a mini-interview. I asked her if she was tired from hiking (this was kind of a joke, because we didn't get much mountain-climbing in that day). She then said something that I understood at the time, but now I cannot remember her answer and I can't figure out what she is saying in the video! For me context (and good sound quality) is really, really important. We started out from College City (a small "town" made up of the rural, secondary campus sites of some local universities) this past Sunday ... read more
Right before Smoky the Bear caught us hiking in prohibited territory
Second attempt of the day
Trying another hill

Asia » China » Inner Mongolia » Baotou April 13th 2010

''No vegetables available'' This street seller selling toilet paper (!) on the street which I live on, has one of those pre-recorded megaphones blearing often incomprehensible lines in order to get passers-by to pay attention to their goods. This particular time though, I couldn't help but hearing the words 'no vegetables available' which just made me laugh so much,seeing what he's selling really is toilet paper... Right.... well, after almost two weeks back home I booked another flight via Dubai this time and flew across Pakistan and the Karakoram mountain range into Qinjiang province, flying exactly south of Baotou and Hohhot while getting ready for descent into Beijing Capital airport. Oh, how I love flying. Was able to get some great views of the snowy mountain ranges separating China from it's middle eastern / central ... read more
Baotou view
Indoor skating rink
A'erding botanical gardens

Asia » China » Inner Mongolia » Hohhot April 7th 2010

Time to take stock It's definitely Springtime; although the high altitude and low humidity mean it still gets really cold here at night, during the day my eider-down coat is way too heavy. Time to invest in a cool sweatshirt or a nice leather jacket. I got outside for a bit to go to the market and window-shop. I had spotted a shop selling "tea things" next to my building; the very same day I was treated to cha dao, (a form of tea ceremony) by one of my managers. It's a very enjoyable experience because it takes time to prepare the tea, and more than one kind is used, one after the other, to contrast and bring out the flavors. I want to learn how to do it, but buying my first set of "tea ... read more
Summer Palace: Rockeries and Plants
View of Kunming Lake at the Summer Palace
Walking the "Chang lang"




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