Back to BJYC

For those who don't know, I worked in Beijing last summer (summer of 2007) in another part of Beijing. I like to call this part of Beijing "The Ghetto". It's location is at Tian Tan Xi Mar - or for those who can't read Pinyin - the Temple of Heaven, West Gate.

Basically, I worked at the Beijing Yucai Xue Xiao, teaching 7th graders. For those of you who were on the e-mail chain that go round, you know I didn't have fun. In fact, there were only 2 good things about working at BJYC - cheap food and Amberle (awwww). Amberle was my co-teacher while teaching there, and the cheap food was right around the gate from the school. The best cheap food, was at a restaurant accross the way, which served the best duck ever. Not Pekin Duck, but better.

So on Saturday night, I went with 3 other girls from the program. OK: don't go in a taxi on Saturday night in BJ. The traffic is insane. Oops.

We got there after the other girls, and the other girls and been sending me paniced texts, saying that my description of the area did not match what they were seeing. I asked if they were, infact, at Tian Tan Xi Mar, and they were, so I told them to hold on tight, and we'd be right there.

We got there, I got out of the cab, and wondered were I was.
Let me put it this way: The Olympics were certainly there.

Some photos: (mainly for Amberle)
That was our corner store, btw, where we would buy our daily ice creams/drinks.

As not to make you all jealous, here is a photo of the aftermath of dinner:ALL DONEEEEEEEE!!!

Another interesting development was that the menu at this restaurant is now in English! I was so irked! Amberle and I had to struggle through this menu and we ended up eating duck intestines and frog pieces! Bu hao.

And of course, the obligatory "Michelle at Yucai Photo", a replica of the one in Summer 2007

Same place, different season and Longchamp bag.

Sorry, but A/C Adapter is not in my Vocabulary

Have any of you noticed that I really don't know what letters to capitalize in a title? I mean, I'm just pointing it out. Anyway, here's my real entry:

I wrote how I busted my camera in the last post, and while hopefully it'll be fixed when I'm back home in December, I still need something to document my time here. So, on Saturday I went off to the Electronics Market in Beijing. I've written about the other markets in Beijing - how you are expected to bargain - but the EM was something else. I don't know pricing of electronics here, so I was pretty much flying blind. It was INTENSE!

Apparently not a lot of Foreigners (read: white people) go here, so as soon as I walked in I was being pulled in multiple directions. Physically. Not like, "Oh! Look at that hot pink camera!" but "OW! Take your damn hands off of me!" physical. And while this goes without saying, I'll say it anyway: No one spoke English. Obvi.

So I started to bargain, and the moral of the story is that I got a new Canon A470 for 900 kuai, which is pretty good, 'cause that's the same price that the Chinese people were paying for it. Woo-hoo. The one bad thing: everything is in Chinese on the camera. Like...all of the menu options. Crap.

The next thing I set off to buy was a portable DVD player. Why a portable DVD player, you ask? Well...despite my computer being a relatively new model, it doesn't have a DVD player. (Thanks, Dad...). So I purchased this:

Yes, that is the Devil Wears Prada on the screen, btw. (The DVD sellers are back, now that the Olympics are over. Woo-hoooo!!!) It's about the size of a CD player, with a screen in the center. It's pretty ballin'.
The down side to this item: it's not really portable. It needs to be plugged into a power source all the time. Crap x's 2.

The other photo is that of the market...I don't know what floor. They all started to blur together after the first hour and a half.

Wass ist Das?

OK:

So the top photo is the Yellow River (either that or the tour guide was lying to us and that's a really polluted river). The next is Xi'An's city wall. The following photo is Lenore and I riding tandem on Xi'An's city wall. (Riding tandem is really hard, by the way. Like...really hard) And finally, the Terra Cotta Warriors.

In the other post the photos are the following:
The sketchy airport we took out of in Beijing - it was located on a military base and was about the size of a private airport. The next is a photo of me squatting next to a sign that says "There are places for nature's call. This is not one of them." Next is Kanas Park, and a photo of all of us at Kanas. Then there is a POV shot of me on my horse during the 8 hr trail ride. (For real, that was like a death ride. Just sucked sooo badly.) Then there is a table shot of us at the Moon Festival. A photo of me and Snaggletooth (Snaggletooth had a massive underbite, but was still my friend for the 3 days in Hemu). A photo of Hemu - this town was straight out of the Wild, Wild West. Me impersonating a statue in DonHuang, Me and Chris on Camels and then Josie and Rong Laoshi (our teachers) at the Sand Dunes, trying to keep sand out of their mouths.

Sooo this was just a housekeeping post...will write more later.

The Last 4 Day's Didn't Have Much Going on, Except the Terra Cotta Warriors.

The First 10 Days Out of The Past 14...aka Before My Camera Died

I'm Still Alive

OK, just a note to tell everyone that I didn't die in the boonies of China. I did however bust my camera, so it'll be another couple of hours until I can find someone who uses the same type of memory card as me, so I can upload my photos from the first 10 days.

Check back soon!

Quick Update

Currently in DunNuang (?) in an internet cafe that smells kinda of like pee, and really wishing I had some hand-sanitizer on me.

Trip so far has been great - I mean, the accomdations have been sub-par...but I guess you can't get everything in life...

I'll be back to updating, a week from today!

Let Me Make You Jealous

So even a case of Bronchitis can't keep me away from the food here in, Beijing.

I mean, if I were a mean person, I would write about how I get to get dumplings everyday. Handmade dumplings. 10 of them for 4 kuai. How much is 4 kuai you ask? 58 cents. Oh yes, you can be jealous.

And of course, the Beijing Kaoya, aka, Pekin Duck. Can't live here without eating that. Less than $3 US for more duck that you could ever think of. OK, it's not the best duck in the city. But it's prettttttyyyyyyyy good. Sorry, the photo is upside down...but you can see the meat on the top, then cucumbers, scallions and hoisin soy. The pancakes are out of the frame of the photo.

Another favorite dish of the IES kid's here is GongPaoJiDin (Kong Pao Chicken). It's eh...I mean, it's kinda wussy, but if everyone else here is eating it...I will too.

Another food is Chua'r. Which is meat on a skewer. I have photos of that too...but it will have to wait for another post.

OK, tomorrow I leave for IES's long trip around China (it's 15 days long) so I'm not sure how often I'll get to blog...but don't worry...I'll be baaaaccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkk!

Michelle Goes to the Hospital: A Story

This is Beijing United Family Hospital and Clinic. Actually, what you see is the hospital, taken from the 3rd floor of the Clinic.

Yes, I went to a hospital in China. And got an X-Ray. And blood drawn. Ohhhh yessss. It was just one of those days.

So the last time I wrote, I spoke about calling the clinic and them telling me not to bother coming in because I was already on antibiotics and that's pretty much what they would give me. However, I finished the antibiotics yesterday, and while I felt better, I still am a little bit off. So after this morning's quiz, I took off to the clinic. Basically, I got really lost on the bus, and ended up taking a cab to the clinic to the tune of 100 kuai. That's 13 dollars. I know, not too bad, but I was hell bent on taking the bus and was really frusterated that I couldn't figure it out. Anyway...

I went to the hospital, and did all the paper work, then went to the clinic. It was really nice in there, pretty much what you would get in good ole NJ. They even had reading material, such as this book:
"Disobeying".
It's a pretty funny story about what happens when you disobey your parents. I mean...I wouldn't know...not like I've ever done that...

So I eventually got in to the see the Doctor (pretty close to my appointment time, too) and she went over my history and listened to my lungs and all that jazz and then I dropped the bomb on her: I leave this Thursday for 15 days, to go to the boonies of China with IES. Like, no where close to Beijing - we will actually be, at this point, closer to Berlin. She was not to thrilled. So in order to figure out what I had, and figure it out quickly, she ordered blood work and an X-Ray.

Bottom line: I have Bronchitis. (Congrats, Mom, you win the guessing game!)
So I was sent home with 5 meds: antibiotics, cough stuff, inhaler...I don't know what else, but it's intended to make sure I get on the plane with everyone else on Thursday afternoon. Amusing antidote: On each med I got, it says how it should be taken (i.e., "Orally"). All of my meds said "Orally" on it...minus one. That one said it should be "rectally". I feel like that's a typo...or I mean...I really hope it is. Cause it's an inhaler...and I'm really not sure on how that would work...

Hmm....

I am alive...Kinda...

So I was legit dying from Tuesday to today (Saturday). I'm basically all better now, although still have a hacking cough. Avian flu? Maybe.

Anyway, I have self-medicated on antibiotics (thanks Dr. B!), which, while totally the right choice, also lent itself to an issue when I called the clinic earlier this week to try to schedule an appointment to come in.

Me: Ummm...Hi. I'm a student at IES and I'm really quite sick. Constant runny nose, hacking cough, nausea...etc etc etc. I have started on Z-pack. When can I come in?
DR: Don't bother. That's what we'd prescribe for you...sorry, not much I can do.
Me: UGHHHHHH. (Making dying sounds)

But whatever, alls well that ends well and I was able to do today's activity. --->

Yes. I went biking in Beijing. And almost died. But...I'm alive. It was pretty good too...except that now my butt feels like I was riding on a cheese grater. First my feet, then my butt. Bu hao.

Anyway, we took a tour of the area around us, then we went to some hutongs around the HouHao/BeiHai area. Its was pretty good, minus the time that I almost got hit by a bus...and a taxi cab...at the same time. Oh well. I normally make good life choices. I guess one choice out of thousands isn't that bad.

OK, more tomorrow.

Bing Si Le

Sooo sick.....sooooooooooo sickkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk.

(no, nothing to do with food poisoning or the like....just sickkkk. soooooooooo sickkkkkkkkkkkkkk)

Code Word: Bake Sale

On Sunday Emily and I did the Tianamen TrifectaTour, through IES. One of the professors here, Jeremiah Jenne lead it. Jeremiah is the type of professor I have only dreamed out. I am quite bummed I won't be taking his class.

Anyway, the Tianamen Trifecta Tour was going to Tianamen Square, Forbidden City, and the Urban Planning Center for Beijing, which, despite it's name, was actually very interesting.

We started at the Urban planning center, where they have 2 main attractions: a model map of Beijing and a movie on the planning of the city.


I couldn't even get all of the map into focus for the video. Believe me when I saw it was enormous.

The second attraction was this:Yes... a 3D/4D movie. (I put in that yellow question mark)

Emily and I weren't so sure what that meant, but we really digged the glasses:
The movie itself was eh.

Next we went to Tianamen Square...where we talked about the "Bake Sale" that took place there. "Bake Sale" being the code word for that...thing...which happened there. When I went to Tianamen Square last summer with Amberle and Ling-Ling, I has asked if this was where the "thing" happened. Amberle immediately gave me the death stare, but Ling Ling responded with "I don't know what you are talking about." Ummm.....yea....

After Tianamen we went into the Forbidden City. It was ok. I mean...not like anything changed there in the last year, although more buildings were open this time around. I also tried to recreate my favorite photo of myself:

Me, July 2007


Me, 31 August 2008
Epic Fail. The one from 2007 > 2008. (yes, they were taken in 2 different spots)

Anyway, after that we decided to take an unscheduled detour to JianShan Park, where were could see a 360 degree view of Beijing. Why would we want to do that? Well, it was actually a Blue Sky day. The first, and probably only, day we will get in 3.5 months:
Who knew there were mountains surrounding Beijing?!
Not me!

And We're Back!!

In my last (real) last entry I spoke about Mystery Beijing, Part Uno. Friday was Part Deux. And it was even better than the first go round.

We were split into new groups, and I was in a group of 5: 4 guys and me. It's was pretty amazing, no lie. I'm not going to go into all of the details, but we had a total of 7 stops to go to, and we finished 6 of them. These stops were like: Go to Silk Street and bargin for a tie. Or, find the tree that one of the Emperors of China hung himself on in 1644. We won our division, and now get to go to an "amazing" dinner - which involves goat in a yurt and belly dancers and snake charmers. The guys are looking forward to it more than I am...

Mystery Beijing ended at the restaurant next to campus, which all the teachers raved about. I have no clue why – perhaps they don’t have any taste buds. The pictures (and reviews are the following:

We started off with a these stick rice balls, filled with pork. Eh. I’d give it a C. Kinda bland and too sticky for my liking. I know. It’s sticky rice. I don’t have to like it though. Next, we had a tofu which was fried on the outside, which rendered the inside really creamy – almost custard like. Some duck-sauce like condiment was on top. Again, eh. C+ The soup was next. Bu hao. The broth was weak, and the dumplings had an egg wrapper. I don’t eat egg. Ick. C-

Next was sausage w/ peanuts. Yes, sausage. I don’t know, call me weird, but I really liked it. ( No, Mumsy, you can not make this at home!!!)

Salad with soy dressing was also on the lazy susan – amusingly, we all really liked it. The dressing was soy based. We had chicken wings, lightly breaded, with hot peppers, which was good, but not unlike those which you could get Stateside.

The spring rolls and chicken w/ mushrooms tasted like puke out in the sun. Or, I mean, I think that’s what it would’ve tasted like. (Really, I don’t know what puke in the sun tastes like. Really.)

Next up was aubergine, which was harmless and then the last dish was the best: the dumpling platter. The consensus at my table was that they just should’ve given us more of those. The top row was meat w/ veggies, then shrimp dumplings, a sweet friend custard thing, and finally in the croissant wrapper one, red bean.

The meal was really nothing special, but I’ve been getting a lot of email requests for food, so I thought it’d be good for y’all to see I’m eating more than Pizza and sandwiches.

This morning Emily and I decided to go to Silk Street Market to test out our bargaining skills. SO FUN! I got some shoes (I did Mystery Beijing in my Birkenstock flip-flops and it looks like I was walking on a cheese grater. Drawn your own conclusions on how my feet feel…), a handbag (gift), a camera charger (I forgot mine at home?), and a belt. The belt was the biggest coup. The lady started somewhere outrageous, like 300 RnB for crappy leather (maybe) and a regular buckle. I was all like “Helll nooo.” (Said in Chinese, obviously). So I offered 20 kuai, which she promptly told me was not going to happen. Obviously, she has never met a member of the Jay family before. When I said 20, I meant 20 – no more. So, she kicked me out of her stall, and I went next door to help Emily bargain on shoes.

And this is where the fun began:

The lady followed me to the next stall and started heckling me with more prices. 100 kuai! 80 kuai! 60 kuai! All to which I responded, 20 kuai. I really didn’t care at this point, but was kinda of amused at the whole thing. The lady was not.

At this point, Emily was getting ready to purchase the shoes, so I prepared to leave the aisle in which the belt stall and the shoe stall where in. When the lady saw this, she once again started calling prices. 50 kuai! 40 kuai! 30 kuai! 25!

I held strong at 20. ANNNDDDDDD…..

The Olympic Gold in Bargaining goes to MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

So, I now am the proud owner of (another) black belt.

OK...now I have a tutoring session, but will continue later with what I did on Sunday.

Bu Haoooo

So we currently don't have any internet in our rooms therefore I can't really update. But I am alive...and will hopefully start re-blogging soon!