Right now im suffering the effects of jet lag by watching the Disney Channel at 5am!
So last week my mom and Dana came out to play in Shanghai and it was so nice to have them! it was like a tease for almost being home! We did what girls do best...shop! And also, after much frustration went on a river boat tour. With the experience like i had last semester it meant so much that my mom was able to come out and see my life and friends in China. I knew this going into the whole semester than coming back was going to be hard because people just don't get it and i can't expect them to. As caring and wonderful as my friends and family have been there are just somethings that you can't understand unless you have been there!
Last Saturday we got to visit the all anticipated Shanghai Expo woohoo! I felt like i was walking through disney land all of the pavilions were so over-the-top decorated. When we first walked in we were overwhelmed by the beauty of the US Pavilion, they had KFC and Pappa Johns and a plane wooden outside two thumbs up for the US under whelming. Some of the pavilions i really liked was India and South Korea, i have pictures on facebook if you dyying to see! We got the chance to go in the North Korean pavilion which called itself "The Paradise for People" really.... they had a bridge that you know didn't actually have water under it but instead just blue paint, classy right?
Well now it starts my good bye, i really can't believe this semester is over already. I can't believe four months ago i was going into this whole adventure not know thing anything that was going to happen and now sitting here having experienced it all. I truly believe this semester taught me so much about myself and how to deal with adversity. It was without a rollercoaster but i don't think i would have fill fulfilled after if i didn't go through hard times. I got very luck with my friends in China, while we got on each others nerves, i realized in the last days that the semester would not have been complete without all of them, everyone had their role and without it something would have been off. I wish i had more eloquence words to sum up my experience and my feelings. I feel like this is a very anticlimactic end to a semester of blogging so maybe i'll think of something better once i've had time to soak it in!
This semester was one of the more profound experiences of my life. Thank you all who kept in touch you have no idea how much it meant to me hearing a familiar voices so far away. I love you all and for those from Shanghai you have no idea how much you have changed my life!
xoxo
Aryn
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
A little bit of Putoushan in my life, a little bit of cooking by my side...
So i feel like its become a theme of me apologizing at the beginning of my blog for not posting one sooner and this one is no different! The weather in Shanghai is finally nice so we've been out exploring the city and to many peoples surprise i've actually been interacting with real people as opposed to those through the internet! Since its been so long this blog is just gonna be a little bit of everything..... (traveling back in time dududududududu)
This past weekend we took a trip with our program to an island about 5 hours away called Putuoshang 普陀山. This island is sacred in Chinese Buddhism and on this island lays one of the four sacred mountains of Buddhism. I was very excited to get out of the city for a weekend and experience the outdoors and fresh air. It seems the longer I have been in China the more I appreciate the natural smell. You know those people that you have to tell your leaving 15 minutes before you actually do so they will arrive on time, well that’s basically what you have to do for everything in China, for example we were supposed to leave at noon for Putuoshan but no fear our bus got in a car accident on the way and they were supposed to send another one so we didn't end up leaving till closer to two. Alright now your thinking ok so that was easy just had to wait a little, I gets better... although there was GPS system in our bus out driver didn't know where he was going and got us lost for 2 hours. Not to fear though we got some solid games of contact in! Thursday night we got to our hotel, which wasn't on the island since the last boat to the island left before we arrived, and then had a bonfire on the beach. Even though it was cold there are few things better then the smell of a bonfire and a clear sky to see the stars! We got to cook our own food, which was interesting to say the least, the lack of light and our lack of knowledge as to when the meat was done ended up in a few not so nice stomachaches! In true Chinese fashion we got to light off fireworks! That night we wanted to explore the city so we consulted our trusty "Lonely Planet: China" and unfortunately for us we looked up the wrong city and found all these great things to do but we were just 4 hours away from them! The next day we got to enjoy a beautiful boat ride through brown water to the island, I mean I guess you can't have it all, if you get cleaner air you get dirtier water. The island was beautiful but small. We got to see many a temples and go hiking!! One of the temples was on top of a hill and as we were walking up we saw many people bowing every three steps. Now they weren’t just nodding their heads this was all the way to the floor. And these people weren’t super young either. It was amazing to see that sort of dedication! One of the great parts of Putoushan was our wonderful tour guide. Now although we have improved our Chinese we are by no means fluent but someone forgot to forward this information onto him because he just kept going on and on and on and on and on about all these stories, and not only did he continue to talk he was speaking into a very loud microphone so there was no escaping him, not even the multiple “ting bu dong, ting bu dong” which means I don’t understand!
And that my friend was Putoushan...
After we got back to shanghai we went out for my friends birthday and that included a bar with a hot tub outside… jealous!?
Since we got back from Putoushan its basically been trying to fit everything in!
Here’s a little re-cap of everything!
Moganshan- this is a street that is full of art shops and also has a beautiful wall that is full of graffiti! We met a group of Chinese college students there who were in aw of this group of westerners. My friend who is doing her capstone on Chinese stereotypes of Americans was able to talk to these people and found out the following:
Americans like steak
Americans like chocolate
Cooking class- You cant live some place for 4 months and not learn how to make their speciality so we've been to a few cooking classes and learned how to make the famous xiaolongbao, sago soup, sesame balls and fried dumplings. The hardest part about all this was number one waiting till it cooled to eat it (yes i know thats an issue of a 5 year old!) and also putting the dumpling together, is really hard to do the folds and fit enough of the filling inside!
Restaurant week- this past week was Shanghai's first annual restuarant week so we went to some of the nicest restaurant in Shanghai and had a wonderful meal for only $40... not bad eh?
3. Finally the weather in shanghai has decided to be nice so even just that made this weekend wonderful! Friday we had an exam so we got done with class early, which clearly meant more time to play in the city! We got some clothes made at a fabric market so we had to pick them up which was an experience. At the fabric market they are mostly able to speak English, which is convenient, but something’s get lost in translation! When you say you want something tight it comes out loose. My friend got a dress made that needed a hole for the head clearly but what they ended up with was a hole that maybe their arm could fit through! It’s very hit and miss at the market but who doesn’t want custom made gown for $50! After we stopped by the market we went to stock up on gifts at Tao Bao Chen, which is a 5-story market filled with knock-offs. Over the semester we have become familiar with this place so we know more of less what it offers. With the upcoming expo the city it going through many chances and this wonderful market is one of the places effected. We were looking for Marc Jacobs bags but we couldn’t seem to find any sitting out and when we asked for them we were taken to back rooms where the labels weren’t on the bags. The sales people explained to us that undercover cops were coming in and arresting people that were selling fake bags. Lucky for us though we knew what they had from the times we had been before so when we asked for it they would take bags out from shoe boxes, other bags and other random hiding places… sooo tricky!
Now that the Expo is just days from its official opening all of the loose ends of the city are being put together so that Shanghai can look its best! One of the things that is very convenient for us is a new subway line that stops at all the tourist places, Xintiandi, Peoples Square, and Yuyunna Gardens, where we went on Saturday. Unfortunate for us everyone else in the city wanted to take advantage of the weather so this trip did not involve those wonderful dumplings but we did go to a cooking class and learned how to make xiao long bao and maso soup. Getting home we tried to do the typical “distract the taxi driver and 5 people sneak in”, the usual case is us vs. the taxi drivers but now with the tightened security it’s the taxi driver vs. the cop, so when we got in he told us just to duck when we saw a cop!
On Sunday I got the opportunity to go to a Chinese families home and have lunch. When coming into the home the hallway and elevator set us up for entering a lower end home but to our surprise it was a beautiful 2-bedroom apartment. Our hostesses were very interested in American and learning English so there was a lot of “how do you say….”. Something that I loved seeing was the way their 2 boys interacted, no video games or movies, they played make believe the whole time! We also got a singing performance by them; they sang us English songs and were very proud! I mean if I could sing a song in Chinese at age 5 I would brag! We got the opportunity to make more dumplings at their house. The way it seemed to work was that the men would entertain the kids and the women were making the dumplings. Amy and I got to help make the dumplings, I mean were going to be pros by the end of this!
Like I said before the city is putting on the final touched for the opening of the Expo. One this China is great at is putting on a show, they did it for the Olympics and now in true rival fashion Shanghai is going to be better than Beijing. They now have more strict security on the subways, and new expo taxi’s out that are much more strict with the number of people they take and Haibao is EVERYWHERE!
In one of my first blogs I talked about how I was excited to see the changes that would happen in Shanghai with the Expo and now as my times is coming to an end I have more and more of an opportunity to compare what the city was like 4 months ago till now. Last week with one of my classes we visited a community that was displace because of the Expo sight. At first glance it looked too good to be true, they had nice clean faculties, offered art classes, and provided assistance for job searching. But this seemed too good to be true and as we toured the center it seemed obvious that this biggest issue was taking away the sense of community that the Chinese emphasis so much. These people create connections and relationships with those around then and although they may not have great living arrangements the relationships mean more to them. Again the beautiful façade that China puts on.
This week my Mom and Dana Miller are coming to play in Shanghai with me and i can't wait! There is so much going on in the city with the Expo for them to see!!
t-minus 7 days till i'm Rocky Mountain High, i can't believe this semester is over, its crazy how much has happened i dont even want to think about it cause that means it really is the end! Right now more importantly im out and going to find some laundry detergent to do my unnecessary pile of clothes!
xoxo,
Aryn
This past weekend we took a trip with our program to an island about 5 hours away called Putuoshang 普陀山. This island is sacred in Chinese Buddhism and on this island lays one of the four sacred mountains of Buddhism. I was very excited to get out of the city for a weekend and experience the outdoors and fresh air. It seems the longer I have been in China the more I appreciate the natural smell. You know those people that you have to tell your leaving 15 minutes before you actually do so they will arrive on time, well that’s basically what you have to do for everything in China, for example we were supposed to leave at noon for Putuoshan but no fear our bus got in a car accident on the way and they were supposed to send another one so we didn't end up leaving till closer to two. Alright now your thinking ok so that was easy just had to wait a little, I gets better... although there was GPS system in our bus out driver didn't know where he was going and got us lost for 2 hours. Not to fear though we got some solid games of contact in! Thursday night we got to our hotel, which wasn't on the island since the last boat to the island left before we arrived, and then had a bonfire on the beach. Even though it was cold there are few things better then the smell of a bonfire and a clear sky to see the stars! We got to cook our own food, which was interesting to say the least, the lack of light and our lack of knowledge as to when the meat was done ended up in a few not so nice stomachaches! In true Chinese fashion we got to light off fireworks! That night we wanted to explore the city so we consulted our trusty "Lonely Planet: China" and unfortunately for us we looked up the wrong city and found all these great things to do but we were just 4 hours away from them! The next day we got to enjoy a beautiful boat ride through brown water to the island, I mean I guess you can't have it all, if you get cleaner air you get dirtier water. The island was beautiful but small. We got to see many a temples and go hiking!! One of the temples was on top of a hill and as we were walking up we saw many people bowing every three steps. Now they weren’t just nodding their heads this was all the way to the floor. And these people weren’t super young either. It was amazing to see that sort of dedication! One of the great parts of Putoushan was our wonderful tour guide. Now although we have improved our Chinese we are by no means fluent but someone forgot to forward this information onto him because he just kept going on and on and on and on and on about all these stories, and not only did he continue to talk he was speaking into a very loud microphone so there was no escaping him, not even the multiple “ting bu dong, ting bu dong” which means I don’t understand!
And that my friend was Putoushan...
After we got back to shanghai we went out for my friends birthday and that included a bar with a hot tub outside… jealous!?
Since we got back from Putoushan its basically been trying to fit everything in!
Here’s a little re-cap of everything!
Moganshan- this is a street that is full of art shops and also has a beautiful wall that is full of graffiti! We met a group of Chinese college students there who were in aw of this group of westerners. My friend who is doing her capstone on Chinese stereotypes of Americans was able to talk to these people and found out the following:
Americans like steak
Americans like chocolate
Cooking class- You cant live some place for 4 months and not learn how to make their speciality so we've been to a few cooking classes and learned how to make the famous xiaolongbao, sago soup, sesame balls and fried dumplings. The hardest part about all this was number one waiting till it cooled to eat it (yes i know thats an issue of a 5 year old!) and also putting the dumpling together, is really hard to do the folds and fit enough of the filling inside!
Restaurant week- this past week was Shanghai's first annual restuarant week so we went to some of the nicest restaurant in Shanghai and had a wonderful meal for only $40... not bad eh?
3. Finally the weather in shanghai has decided to be nice so even just that made this weekend wonderful! Friday we had an exam so we got done with class early, which clearly meant more time to play in the city! We got some clothes made at a fabric market so we had to pick them up which was an experience. At the fabric market they are mostly able to speak English, which is convenient, but something’s get lost in translation! When you say you want something tight it comes out loose. My friend got a dress made that needed a hole for the head clearly but what they ended up with was a hole that maybe their arm could fit through! It’s very hit and miss at the market but who doesn’t want custom made gown for $50! After we stopped by the market we went to stock up on gifts at Tao Bao Chen, which is a 5-story market filled with knock-offs. Over the semester we have become familiar with this place so we know more of less what it offers. With the upcoming expo the city it going through many chances and this wonderful market is one of the places effected. We were looking for Marc Jacobs bags but we couldn’t seem to find any sitting out and when we asked for them we were taken to back rooms where the labels weren’t on the bags. The sales people explained to us that undercover cops were coming in and arresting people that were selling fake bags. Lucky for us though we knew what they had from the times we had been before so when we asked for it they would take bags out from shoe boxes, other bags and other random hiding places… sooo tricky!
Now that the Expo is just days from its official opening all of the loose ends of the city are being put together so that Shanghai can look its best! One of the things that is very convenient for us is a new subway line that stops at all the tourist places, Xintiandi, Peoples Square, and Yuyunna Gardens, where we went on Saturday. Unfortunate for us everyone else in the city wanted to take advantage of the weather so this trip did not involve those wonderful dumplings but we did go to a cooking class and learned how to make xiao long bao and maso soup. Getting home we tried to do the typical “distract the taxi driver and 5 people sneak in”, the usual case is us vs. the taxi drivers but now with the tightened security it’s the taxi driver vs. the cop, so when we got in he told us just to duck when we saw a cop!
On Sunday I got the opportunity to go to a Chinese families home and have lunch. When coming into the home the hallway and elevator set us up for entering a lower end home but to our surprise it was a beautiful 2-bedroom apartment. Our hostesses were very interested in American and learning English so there was a lot of “how do you say….”. Something that I loved seeing was the way their 2 boys interacted, no video games or movies, they played make believe the whole time! We also got a singing performance by them; they sang us English songs and were very proud! I mean if I could sing a song in Chinese at age 5 I would brag! We got the opportunity to make more dumplings at their house. The way it seemed to work was that the men would entertain the kids and the women were making the dumplings. Amy and I got to help make the dumplings, I mean were going to be pros by the end of this!
Like I said before the city is putting on the final touched for the opening of the Expo. One this China is great at is putting on a show, they did it for the Olympics and now in true rival fashion Shanghai is going to be better than Beijing. They now have more strict security on the subways, and new expo taxi’s out that are much more strict with the number of people they take and Haibao is EVERYWHERE!
In one of my first blogs I talked about how I was excited to see the changes that would happen in Shanghai with the Expo and now as my times is coming to an end I have more and more of an opportunity to compare what the city was like 4 months ago till now. Last week with one of my classes we visited a community that was displace because of the Expo sight. At first glance it looked too good to be true, they had nice clean faculties, offered art classes, and provided assistance for job searching. But this seemed too good to be true and as we toured the center it seemed obvious that this biggest issue was taking away the sense of community that the Chinese emphasis so much. These people create connections and relationships with those around then and although they may not have great living arrangements the relationships mean more to them. Again the beautiful façade that China puts on.
This week my Mom and Dana Miller are coming to play in Shanghai with me and i can't wait! There is so much going on in the city with the Expo for them to see!!
t-minus 7 days till i'm Rocky Mountain High, i can't believe this semester is over, its crazy how much has happened i dont even want to think about it cause that means it really is the end! Right now more importantly im out and going to find some laundry detergent to do my unnecessary pile of clothes!
xoxo,
Aryn
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Back to back!
Things to know about China:
1. Its every man, car and rickshaw for itself on the road, a red light means nothing!
2. Although Google just moved to Hong Kong they still have advertising all over the subways.
3. You need to be able to throw some bows to get around. So if Megan O'Donnell was here, her new hott cast would be an asset (ps if you see here give her some love, it takes true skill to break your elbow!).
4. Korean Pop music is a new light in my life, check out Super Junior or the Wonder Girls
5. Shanghai gets to decide city holidays on a whim, hmm the expo seems nice lets have a 5 day holiday (oK i know i already told you about this but its just too great to only talk about once).
6. This one needs a little bit of a story so bare with me: ok when i was younger my parents so conveniently exploited the fact that they had 3 cute little girls (yes, yes just check out the baby pictures, the matching bows really helped up this factor) to get to cut in lines and not have any one cause a fuss. Well here in China it's sort of similar but its the whole "group of westerner" thing. On the subway when were supposed to use the x-ray machines we can just walk on by, if we disobey traffic laws, no big deal. Now there are disadvantages without a doubt, when shopping we have no chance of getting the "chinese price", well unless they mistake my Korean friend for Chinese :-).
7. 2 words, boy band-ers: give me fluffed, orange mullets, tight leather pants, swanky shoes and a posse
8. Your english will get significantly worse. I mean i know my grammar and spelling are slightly embarrassing usually (thanks Rachel for proof reading my life!) but here its a joke.
9. They have beautiful things called night markets. ok i know your thinking wow aryn real original, but just stop right there! There is something truly beautiful about getting a giant egg pancake for less than 50 cents and a container of fresh fried rice for $1.
10. Milk tea. They have stands everywhere and its less than $2 and delicious!
11. Green tea flavored everything... Pockies, Oreos, ice cream etc.
Two blog posts in 24 hours pretty cool right, im just gonna put it out there that i may or may not have a test tomorrow!
xoxo,
Aryn
one month and 2 days till I'm Rocky Mountain High bound!
1. Its every man, car and rickshaw for itself on the road, a red light means nothing!
2. Although Google just moved to Hong Kong they still have advertising all over the subways.
3. You need to be able to throw some bows to get around. So if Megan O'Donnell was here, her new hott cast would be an asset (ps if you see here give her some love, it takes true skill to break your elbow!).
4. Korean Pop music is a new light in my life, check out Super Junior or the Wonder Girls
5. Shanghai gets to decide city holidays on a whim, hmm the expo seems nice lets have a 5 day holiday (oK i know i already told you about this but its just too great to only talk about once).
6. This one needs a little bit of a story so bare with me: ok when i was younger my parents so conveniently exploited the fact that they had 3 cute little girls (yes, yes just check out the baby pictures, the matching bows really helped up this factor) to get to cut in lines and not have any one cause a fuss. Well here in China it's sort of similar but its the whole "group of westerner" thing. On the subway when were supposed to use the x-ray machines we can just walk on by, if we disobey traffic laws, no big deal. Now there are disadvantages without a doubt, when shopping we have no chance of getting the "chinese price", well unless they mistake my Korean friend for Chinese :-).
7. 2 words, boy band-ers: give me fluffed, orange mullets, tight leather pants, swanky shoes and a posse
8. Your english will get significantly worse. I mean i know my grammar and spelling are slightly embarrassing usually (thanks Rachel for proof reading my life!) but here its a joke.
9. They have beautiful things called night markets. ok i know your thinking wow aryn real original, but just stop right there! There is something truly beautiful about getting a giant egg pancake for less than 50 cents and a container of fresh fried rice for $1.
10. Milk tea. They have stands everywhere and its less than $2 and delicious!
11. Green tea flavored everything... Pockies, Oreos, ice cream etc.
Two blog posts in 24 hours pretty cool right, im just gonna put it out there that i may or may not have a test tomorrow!
xoxo,
Aryn
one month and 2 days till I'm Rocky Mountain High bound!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Hello Uncle
Hello hello!
I'm so sorry that it's been so long since i've written. Where i left off was before my trip to Singapore, which was amazing! One of my friends from Shanghai lives there and she was nice enough to let us stay with her. If you love hot weather, great food and good shopping then you would love Singapore. One of the big tourist attraction there is Orchard Road which is a giant strip with building after building of malls filled with designer shopping and great food. Singapore not only has great restaurants but they have a delicious night market where we tried stingray (that one was for you Steve Irwin!). No our entire trip did not consist of getting fat on the great food, we went out to Sentoas one day, which is a beach on the island. It was funny because we were sitting out on this nice sand on this great beach and in the distance you would expect to see a beautiful ocean stretching on for miles but instead we got a beautiful view of oil and cargo ships, truly romantic. Singapore is a interesting island, they import everything they sell on the island. You may have heard the urban legends of people spitting gum on the street in Singapore and being arrested, ok really people you believed that! It is a very clean city though, people were telling us stories of getting $300 fines for littering, luckily we avoided any run in with the trash cops. While there, we got to meet a lot of Carissa's friends because all of the Singapore men are required to serve for two years in the army. Since there is not a strong Singaporean identity they unite the people requiring them to all go through the same experience. Its an interesting because when you graduate you almost put your life on hold for two years so your 20 or 21 when you enter your freshman year in college. Something that everyone needs to go to Singapore is the zoo and night safari. I felt as if i was in a safari haha, you can get so close to the animals. My friend got to be the helper in the sea lion show with Carlos the sea lion, he may or may not have stolen a kiss ohhlala! On the night safari you get driven next to animals that aren't in cages, its like the disneyland ride in real life! We were walking around on our own and on the road was written "do not cross" but i mean really if someone reads that and there are no gates around what are you going to do, cross the line of course! We found out later that across the line was a rhino! We also had a great Jurassic Park flashback if we would have hidden and stayed there overnight! How epic would that have been, party with the night safari animals, the otters seemed to know how to have a good time! Another fun fact about Shanghai, they call everyone Uncle. When we get in to a cab Carissa would also say "uncle, etc etc." cool right, it's like everyone’s family!
We got back from Singapore just in time to go to the opening day of the Bund. The Bund was once the home to many trading houses for the foreigner in Shanghai, now it’s a popular tourist destination. It sits on the bank of the Huangpu River. It's been closed for renovations and people clearly missed it judging by how many people were out there that day. The walk from Peoples Square where the subway is to the Bund felt like a scene from "Night of the Living Dead" everyone had their eyes on the Bund and there was no stopping zombie style. We even witnessed a car crash and the people’s only reaction was to yell "ooooo" and continue walking. It was very pretty once we got their because we had a clear view of the other side which has the Pearl Tower (the weird spaceship, pointy tower).
With the Expo we have been able to see the changes that are happening around the city in preparation for this opportunity for Shanghai to show off its steeze. The subways now have x-ray machines with overly friendly attendants, new clean cabs, oh ya and a 5 day holiday in honor of the Expo. We were just informed yesterday that due to the Expo we have April 30-May 4th off of class! Also another great thing about the Expo, my Mom and her friend Dana are coming out to visit!! Counting down the days.
As most of you know this past Sunday was Easter and I decided to be a good little catholic girl and go to mass (brownie points!). As I was looking up services there was one where you needed a foreign passport to get into the service. We settled on a service in a famous church in Shanghai, now keep in mind religion isn't something you really come to Shanghai to learn about. With that said it was an interesting service to say the least. The priest didn't seem to know what he was reading and we were given what we thought were eggs but they turned out to be an awful imitation that had a weird orange pink center, Now that fact that the most notable part was the egg says something! But i did get to have a wonderful brunch so that was a good Easter tradition that i got o keep! I know i know dad you wished you could be there to discuss the meaning of Easter with me but at least you had Megan and Molly!
Last night I had a dream that i came back home from the semester abroad with one small suitcase, I forgot my suitcases and everything in my room. Ya i know you would have freaked out too, but in my dream i was so calm, well that’s because a fire was going on at the same time haha, minor detail. As much as i know everyone enjoys hearing about my dreams it has a point, the end is near. I really can't believe i only have a month left to play in Shanghai (on that note as well if you in Denver circa May 10th expect to play!).
Xoxo,
Aryn
I'm so sorry that it's been so long since i've written. Where i left off was before my trip to Singapore, which was amazing! One of my friends from Shanghai lives there and she was nice enough to let us stay with her. If you love hot weather, great food and good shopping then you would love Singapore. One of the big tourist attraction there is Orchard Road which is a giant strip with building after building of malls filled with designer shopping and great food. Singapore not only has great restaurants but they have a delicious night market where we tried stingray (that one was for you Steve Irwin!). No our entire trip did not consist of getting fat on the great food, we went out to Sentoas one day, which is a beach on the island. It was funny because we were sitting out on this nice sand on this great beach and in the distance you would expect to see a beautiful ocean stretching on for miles but instead we got a beautiful view of oil and cargo ships, truly romantic. Singapore is a interesting island, they import everything they sell on the island. You may have heard the urban legends of people spitting gum on the street in Singapore and being arrested, ok really people you believed that! It is a very clean city though, people were telling us stories of getting $300 fines for littering, luckily we avoided any run in with the trash cops. While there, we got to meet a lot of Carissa's friends because all of the Singapore men are required to serve for two years in the army. Since there is not a strong Singaporean identity they unite the people requiring them to all go through the same experience. Its an interesting because when you graduate you almost put your life on hold for two years so your 20 or 21 when you enter your freshman year in college. Something that everyone needs to go to Singapore is the zoo and night safari. I felt as if i was in a safari haha, you can get so close to the animals. My friend got to be the helper in the sea lion show with Carlos the sea lion, he may or may not have stolen a kiss ohhlala! On the night safari you get driven next to animals that aren't in cages, its like the disneyland ride in real life! We were walking around on our own and on the road was written "do not cross" but i mean really if someone reads that and there are no gates around what are you going to do, cross the line of course! We found out later that across the line was a rhino! We also had a great Jurassic Park flashback if we would have hidden and stayed there overnight! How epic would that have been, party with the night safari animals, the otters seemed to know how to have a good time! Another fun fact about Shanghai, they call everyone Uncle. When we get in to a cab Carissa would also say "uncle, etc etc." cool right, it's like everyone’s family!
We got back from Singapore just in time to go to the opening day of the Bund. The Bund was once the home to many trading houses for the foreigner in Shanghai, now it’s a popular tourist destination. It sits on the bank of the Huangpu River. It's been closed for renovations and people clearly missed it judging by how many people were out there that day. The walk from Peoples Square where the subway is to the Bund felt like a scene from "Night of the Living Dead" everyone had their eyes on the Bund and there was no stopping zombie style. We even witnessed a car crash and the people’s only reaction was to yell "ooooo" and continue walking. It was very pretty once we got their because we had a clear view of the other side which has the Pearl Tower (the weird spaceship, pointy tower).
With the Expo we have been able to see the changes that are happening around the city in preparation for this opportunity for Shanghai to show off its steeze. The subways now have x-ray machines with overly friendly attendants, new clean cabs, oh ya and a 5 day holiday in honor of the Expo. We were just informed yesterday that due to the Expo we have April 30-May 4th off of class! Also another great thing about the Expo, my Mom and her friend Dana are coming out to visit!! Counting down the days.
As most of you know this past Sunday was Easter and I decided to be a good little catholic girl and go to mass (brownie points!). As I was looking up services there was one where you needed a foreign passport to get into the service. We settled on a service in a famous church in Shanghai, now keep in mind religion isn't something you really come to Shanghai to learn about. With that said it was an interesting service to say the least. The priest didn't seem to know what he was reading and we were given what we thought were eggs but they turned out to be an awful imitation that had a weird orange pink center, Now that fact that the most notable part was the egg says something! But i did get to have a wonderful brunch so that was a good Easter tradition that i got o keep! I know i know dad you wished you could be there to discuss the meaning of Easter with me but at least you had Megan and Molly!
Last night I had a dream that i came back home from the semester abroad with one small suitcase, I forgot my suitcases and everything in my room. Ya i know you would have freaked out too, but in my dream i was so calm, well that’s because a fire was going on at the same time haha, minor detail. As much as i know everyone enjoys hearing about my dreams it has a point, the end is near. I really can't believe i only have a month left to play in Shanghai (on that note as well if you in Denver circa May 10th expect to play!).
Xoxo,
Aryn
Sunday, March 28, 2010
北京
Back to reality so now i have time to write here!
As I said before my dad and Pari were in China last week. We did the highlights tour of Beijing for 2 days then they came down to Shanghai for 3 more days and they got to experience the wonders of Shanghai (ok ok you caught me, I may have taken to a few places that my college students wallet couldn’t afford.. ha ha kidding!) Dad and Pari played like champs with the jet lag and everything. The first day in Beijing we went to the Great Wall and Summer Palace of the emperor. The Great Wall was absolutely spectacular, it seems to go on forever and its in the Dragon Mountains which were a beautiful back drop for one the of the wonders of the world. Being on the wall was one of those moments of awe, like when you see the Rocky Mountains for the first time in a long time, when couldn't believe what you see is real, its really puts life into perspective. Men would devote their whole lives to this wall. Whether it was constructing it (when men died making the wall they were just built into it) or serving as a guard (they were not allowed to leave their whole lives if they were stationed on the wall) it took strength and devotion. While my Dad was all about speed walking to see how far he could get (no MBT’s though so he wasn’t getting his core work out), Pari and I took a more leisurely stroll of the wall. Carved next to the wall, on the side of hill are the characters for Mao Zedong, in order to honor their leader. It was cool to see two of the biggest symbols of China next to each other. After that we were going to see Tiananmen Square but the National People's Congress was in session we were weren't able to see it that day. Instead we took a trip back in time to the Summer Palace for the emperor. The Summer Palace is pretty self-explanatory, it served at the emperor’s summerhouse, he was able to conduct work and enjoy leisure here, although his wife seemed to partake in more leisure with the eunuch, heyo. Outside the palace are two huge statues of lions, one on the east representing man and on the west representing the female. They are placed according to Fengshui 风水, contrary to popular belief this is an ancient Chinese practice (no its not just a popular trend in home decorating it actually has some meaning) that translates to wind and water, which basically means that everything has to certain place on earth and the wind and the water are everything on earth. Right inside the front gate was the statue of ***. This is basically the god and he created two children, the dragon and the phoenix, representing man and woman. While women were supposed to be submissive and phoenix like one of the empresses that lived these was nicknamed "the dragon". She was not only awful but she also she controlled her husband so she was basically in charge. She was originally one of the king’s concubines (mistresses) and she produced a son for him, which gave her head honcho position. In the palace there were many rooms for the concubines and Eunuchs. A Eunuch was literally ripped of his manhood, but the queen had a “close relationship” with one of the Eunuchs so it’s suspected than he got to keep his!
After we saw the summer palace we went and toured around a smaller part of the city that wasn't accessible by car. Our tour guide was absolutely precious; she was 22 and had taught herself English, straight impressive. When we asked her about her family she explained to us her real mom and dad lived on the countryside and they basically traded her for her current mom and dad’s son because of the one child policy they wanted a boy. It was a very bizarre explanation and she said so matter of fact. That’s the sort of situation that in the United States people go to therapy for years to get over but Youyou (our tour guide) just chalked it up to the way things are. The One Child Policy is still heavily debated in China; it only applies to the Han Chinese and is most strict in the cities. Our main tour guide, Eric, was explaining to us that they are starting to get ride of it in more rural towns which I guess is a small step in the right direction.
That night I celebrated my birthday early with a wonderful cake and such nice cards from my family (thank you all again so much!). The next morning we woke up to snow in Beijing! Although it was cold, the beauty of the snow in the city was worth it. We first went to see the Temple of Heaven. So if I would have walked around his by myself I would have missed out on how is represented in the number of steps, the shape of the structure and the small details on the hand railings. It was very interesting how much the number 9 and 12 plays into everything. All the ramps had 9 steps. This temple was build very representative of the zodiac signs. Most or you have probably read your horoscope, I mean how else would be know when we’re most likely to fall in love, do well on an exam or in the case of Geneva Glen’s trained astrologists, know when its best to ask the girl/guy you’ve been crushing on for her/his aim name, In Asia its not only zodiac signs that are used to predict things, but they also use the year you were born (for example all of us 1989-ers are snakes) and blood type.
Like I said before, it was snowing which created a problem for walking around the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City due to the fact the ground was made of marble, it was like we were ice skating. Upon the exit from the temple we were thrown into the hotspot for retired people in Beijing. As we walked down this corridor we say people playing what looked like hackisack, singing karaoke, and dancing. Since it was snowing they were all squished into the corridor but on mast days they would be outside on the grass. Our tour guide, Eric, explained to us that they have to buy a pass to go there but this is where the retired people hang out all day. After that we went to the Forbidden City. Think of the pictures you have seen of Tiananmen Square with the picture of Mao on the wall, ya that’s the outside of this massive palace for the emperor. We kept going through one door only to find another, even bigger court yard ahead of us. The snow topped the whole experience off; it blanketed this ancient site in such elegance. Again we were fighting for our lives at ever step on the slippery marble but you know sometimes you have to go through hard times to get to the good ones ☺!
Not only did the snow cause an issue walking but also the airport and the snow didn’t seem to get along too well either. Sunday, when flew to Shanghai, the Beijing airport had to cancel 160 flights and delayed 140 flights. Not to worry though we got to enjoy 4 hours of angry people whose flying plans were changed and Kit-Kats!
On Monday I showed Dad and Pari Peoples Square where my dad found his calling in the “haibao”, the symbol for Expo2010. He also was able to practice the Chinese he knew, which consisted of saying no thank you but that was a little to advanced so he just stuck to the simple American answer of shaking his head. That night they took my and my friends out to dinner and a restaurant that not only had amazing food but also over looked the river and we got to go out on the roof to take the classic postcard pictures of Shanghai. The next day Dad and Pari came to where I live and study, and successfully made it, like I’ve said before most taxi drivers don’t know our street so for us it’s even hard sometimes! I took them to try fried dumplings that I think completed my dad! Its so funny how in China you can go out to a great, expensive meal but the best one you have is the $1 basket of dumplings.
It was fun being the tour guide on this trip; I had to put my Shanghai skills to use! Hopefully by the time Mom and Dana come out ill be a pro!
Soon up will be spring break in Singaporeeee or as us Chinese call it xinjaipo!
Xoxo
Aryn
As I said before my dad and Pari were in China last week. We did the highlights tour of Beijing for 2 days then they came down to Shanghai for 3 more days and they got to experience the wonders of Shanghai (ok ok you caught me, I may have taken to a few places that my college students wallet couldn’t afford.. ha ha kidding!) Dad and Pari played like champs with the jet lag and everything. The first day in Beijing we went to the Great Wall and Summer Palace of the emperor. The Great Wall was absolutely spectacular, it seems to go on forever and its in the Dragon Mountains which were a beautiful back drop for one the of the wonders of the world. Being on the wall was one of those moments of awe, like when you see the Rocky Mountains for the first time in a long time, when couldn't believe what you see is real, its really puts life into perspective. Men would devote their whole lives to this wall. Whether it was constructing it (when men died making the wall they were just built into it) or serving as a guard (they were not allowed to leave their whole lives if they were stationed on the wall) it took strength and devotion. While my Dad was all about speed walking to see how far he could get (no MBT’s though so he wasn’t getting his core work out), Pari and I took a more leisurely stroll of the wall. Carved next to the wall, on the side of hill are the characters for Mao Zedong, in order to honor their leader. It was cool to see two of the biggest symbols of China next to each other. After that we were going to see Tiananmen Square but the National People's Congress was in session we were weren't able to see it that day. Instead we took a trip back in time to the Summer Palace for the emperor. The Summer Palace is pretty self-explanatory, it served at the emperor’s summerhouse, he was able to conduct work and enjoy leisure here, although his wife seemed to partake in more leisure with the eunuch, heyo. Outside the palace are two huge statues of lions, one on the east representing man and on the west representing the female. They are placed according to Fengshui 风水, contrary to popular belief this is an ancient Chinese practice (no its not just a popular trend in home decorating it actually has some meaning) that translates to wind and water, which basically means that everything has to certain place on earth and the wind and the water are everything on earth. Right inside the front gate was the statue of ***. This is basically the god and he created two children, the dragon and the phoenix, representing man and woman. While women were supposed to be submissive and phoenix like one of the empresses that lived these was nicknamed "the dragon". She was not only awful but she also she controlled her husband so she was basically in charge. She was originally one of the king’s concubines (mistresses) and she produced a son for him, which gave her head honcho position. In the palace there were many rooms for the concubines and Eunuchs. A Eunuch was literally ripped of his manhood, but the queen had a “close relationship” with one of the Eunuchs so it’s suspected than he got to keep his!
After we saw the summer palace we went and toured around a smaller part of the city that wasn't accessible by car. Our tour guide was absolutely precious; she was 22 and had taught herself English, straight impressive. When we asked her about her family she explained to us her real mom and dad lived on the countryside and they basically traded her for her current mom and dad’s son because of the one child policy they wanted a boy. It was a very bizarre explanation and she said so matter of fact. That’s the sort of situation that in the United States people go to therapy for years to get over but Youyou (our tour guide) just chalked it up to the way things are. The One Child Policy is still heavily debated in China; it only applies to the Han Chinese and is most strict in the cities. Our main tour guide, Eric, was explaining to us that they are starting to get ride of it in more rural towns which I guess is a small step in the right direction.
That night I celebrated my birthday early with a wonderful cake and such nice cards from my family (thank you all again so much!). The next morning we woke up to snow in Beijing! Although it was cold, the beauty of the snow in the city was worth it. We first went to see the Temple of Heaven. So if I would have walked around his by myself I would have missed out on how is represented in the number of steps, the shape of the structure and the small details on the hand railings. It was very interesting how much the number 9 and 12 plays into everything. All the ramps had 9 steps. This temple was build very representative of the zodiac signs. Most or you have probably read your horoscope, I mean how else would be know when we’re most likely to fall in love, do well on an exam or in the case of Geneva Glen’s trained astrologists, know when its best to ask the girl/guy you’ve been crushing on for her/his aim name, In Asia its not only zodiac signs that are used to predict things, but they also use the year you were born (for example all of us 1989-ers are snakes) and blood type.
Like I said before, it was snowing which created a problem for walking around the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City due to the fact the ground was made of marble, it was like we were ice skating. Upon the exit from the temple we were thrown into the hotspot for retired people in Beijing. As we walked down this corridor we say people playing what looked like hackisack, singing karaoke, and dancing. Since it was snowing they were all squished into the corridor but on mast days they would be outside on the grass. Our tour guide, Eric, explained to us that they have to buy a pass to go there but this is where the retired people hang out all day. After that we went to the Forbidden City. Think of the pictures you have seen of Tiananmen Square with the picture of Mao on the wall, ya that’s the outside of this massive palace for the emperor. We kept going through one door only to find another, even bigger court yard ahead of us. The snow topped the whole experience off; it blanketed this ancient site in such elegance. Again we were fighting for our lives at ever step on the slippery marble but you know sometimes you have to go through hard times to get to the good ones ☺!
Not only did the snow cause an issue walking but also the airport and the snow didn’t seem to get along too well either. Sunday, when flew to Shanghai, the Beijing airport had to cancel 160 flights and delayed 140 flights. Not to worry though we got to enjoy 4 hours of angry people whose flying plans were changed and Kit-Kats!
On Monday I showed Dad and Pari Peoples Square where my dad found his calling in the “haibao”, the symbol for Expo2010. He also was able to practice the Chinese he knew, which consisted of saying no thank you but that was a little to advanced so he just stuck to the simple American answer of shaking his head. That night they took my and my friends out to dinner and a restaurant that not only had amazing food but also over looked the river and we got to go out on the roof to take the classic postcard pictures of Shanghai. The next day Dad and Pari came to where I live and study, and successfully made it, like I’ve said before most taxi drivers don’t know our street so for us it’s even hard sometimes! I took them to try fried dumplings that I think completed my dad! Its so funny how in China you can go out to a great, expensive meal but the best one you have is the $1 basket of dumplings.
It was fun being the tour guide on this trip; I had to put my Shanghai skills to use! Hopefully by the time Mom and Dana come out ill be a pro!
Soon up will be spring break in Singaporeeee or as us Chinese call it xinjaipo!
Xoxo
Aryn
Saturday, March 13, 2010
etc etc etc
So im sitting in the airport in Shanghai waiting to go meet my Dad and Pari in Beijing for the weekend. This is the first time that i’ve really been on my own in Shanghai, whenever we go out to explore the city I’ve always been with one other person if not a huge group. I know you’re probably thinking, wow lets give Aryn a pat on the back for getting to the airport all by herself but it was a freeing feeling that I was totally on my own, there was no one to translate or help guide me. Its so easy to get caught up in just getting by this semester, practicing Chinese, getting homework done, getting dinner and keeping in touch with people that having this time that I felt free and on my own was special. It’s the same sort of feeling when you take your first plane by yourself, or you go away to college, the people that you are used to taking care of you can’t so you get to make your own decisions. Ok now these are extreme comparisons but I know can all relate to that feeling.
I remember this same sort of feeling them I went away to college which I’m sure you all can relate to the feeling that you can stay out till 4am if you want to and your parents can’t do anything about it (I mean I was clearly always home from the parties by midnight cause I had a long day at the library on Saturday, but from what I heard from the other kids that’s what they did.)
While I like to pretend I’m partly a city girl when I go to New York City, lets be real, as many times as my dad will ask us which highway were on or which river we’re looking at I will still mix those up. This semester is the first time I’ve gotten to experience a city life on my own. After too many episodes of Sex and the City it just has always seemed so romantic living in the city and at time I do get swept up in all the excitement of it opportunities at my fingertips. Especially in Shanghai, while the city is no Beijing when it comes to culture but it does have so much to it. Just walking down he street you get to see the street vendors, the tubs of frogs that are about to be someone’s dinner, the cleaners who are using leaves to sweep, the underwear hanging above your head to dry, the babies peeing on the side of the road, the old men relieving themselves on the side of the road, I could keep going on and on. When we’re driving in on the highways you’re surrounded by giant buildings on both sides. Ever after living in the city for 4 months I won’t have seen all of it. Now don’t get me wrong, there is also nothing like the feeling when your driving west in Colorado and the sight of the mountains doesn’t look real and you get that feeling of being alive. Both of these places have such beauty in the opportunities. Yes this sounds corny but for any of you that have ever lived in a city you know what I’m talking about. I keep going back and forth about living here after school. While I know I have so much time and this semester is only half over I feel that this semester has really sparked something in me. I don’t know if I’ll be able to really understand it until I get home but as everyone told me before I left, a semester abroad is something that you’ll never forget. Traveling is such a unique experience. This book that I’m reading The Alchemist, is about a Shepard who is trying to find his personal treasure and at one point he decided he wants to go back to his old life a Shepard but then realizes how much he is missing out on by staying in his comfort zone. Im sure everyone has had this debate, should you stay were things are easy and you know them because maybe if you go outside of it and decide to pursue your dreams they won’t end up being as good in reality. This semester has for sure hit me with moments where I wanted to be back in Colorado or Ohio but I keep reminding myself about how im going to look back on this semester.
Now that I’m half way through this semester I have become accustom to a lot of things about being in China and living in a city that I don’t think I even realize. In China people aren’t polite by western standards, there is a lot of pushing, shoving, spitting, invading personal space etc, so have learned if you want to survive the subway at rush hour you better get ready to throw some bows and fight for your spot on the train, even if you were first in line to get on the train that holds no bearings if you can’t stand your ground. I’ve gotten in the habit here of pushing and not apologizing and I find it coming second nature, so when I get back home im going to have to brush up on my Emily Post book! Also, since conversational English isn’t very common around the city, except in expat areas, like at subway in Xintiandi, they could understand “half turkey on wheat”, but beyond that we can have conversations on trains and no one except us knows what were talking about, or when were bartering we can talk about price and quality and they don’t know what were saying. So basically, we can talk about people right in front of them and they have no idea! In the US when you’re around a group of people that are speaking in a language you don’t understand they’re probably talking about you! While getting around in the city is somewhat convenient with taxi’s and rickshaws, your putting your life at risk whenever you get in (Think Tim O’Donnell driving to the next level); lanes don’t matter, and horns are used instead of review mirrors.
In China bartering is a way of life, you can bargain for almost anything you want, even at a nicer restaurant, which has changed my concept of money. Everything here is so much cheaper than in the US, for example I bought a pair of ipod head phones for $10 and the newest releases on DVD are no more than $3, my common breakfast, a baozi (bread dumpling thing) is .1 cents, the most expensive things we do are tourist things and even that is cheaper than in the United States.
Since the World Expo is starting in about 2 months there is a crazy amount of development going on around the city. One of the famous street markets that have some of our favorite fried xiaolongbao was closed for renovation for the Expo, bu hao. There are so many little things that the city has done in preparation for the Expo like in the cabs there is a phone number you can call if you are having trouble communicating. Also the mascot, haibao is everywhere. When you’re in the city you can’t turn a corner without seeing construction walls with him or a garden display of him. Even over New Years at Yuyuan Gardens there is always a lantern festival and Haibao was the star of it, it looked like “It’s a Small World: Shanghai Expo style”
So one the reasons Chinese sounds so funny to westerns is because it is a tonal language so the same word can mean different things depending on out it is pronounced. When your first learning tones they teach you how the world “ma” can mean mom or horse so you don’t want to call you’re mom a horse. Our apartments are a little outside the city which is an area full of college students, so not many tourists head up north. So when we try and tell a cab where to go they don’t necessarly recognize where the street is and out mispronouciation of tones doesn’t help!
Hope you all are doing well as always! Keep in touch
Xoxo
Aryn
I remember this same sort of feeling them I went away to college which I’m sure you all can relate to the feeling that you can stay out till 4am if you want to and your parents can’t do anything about it (I mean I was clearly always home from the parties by midnight cause I had a long day at the library on Saturday, but from what I heard from the other kids that’s what they did.)
While I like to pretend I’m partly a city girl when I go to New York City, lets be real, as many times as my dad will ask us which highway were on or which river we’re looking at I will still mix those up. This semester is the first time I’ve gotten to experience a city life on my own. After too many episodes of Sex and the City it just has always seemed so romantic living in the city and at time I do get swept up in all the excitement of it opportunities at my fingertips. Especially in Shanghai, while the city is no Beijing when it comes to culture but it does have so much to it. Just walking down he street you get to see the street vendors, the tubs of frogs that are about to be someone’s dinner, the cleaners who are using leaves to sweep, the underwear hanging above your head to dry, the babies peeing on the side of the road, the old men relieving themselves on the side of the road, I could keep going on and on. When we’re driving in on the highways you’re surrounded by giant buildings on both sides. Ever after living in the city for 4 months I won’t have seen all of it. Now don’t get me wrong, there is also nothing like the feeling when your driving west in Colorado and the sight of the mountains doesn’t look real and you get that feeling of being alive. Both of these places have such beauty in the opportunities. Yes this sounds corny but for any of you that have ever lived in a city you know what I’m talking about. I keep going back and forth about living here after school. While I know I have so much time and this semester is only half over I feel that this semester has really sparked something in me. I don’t know if I’ll be able to really understand it until I get home but as everyone told me before I left, a semester abroad is something that you’ll never forget. Traveling is such a unique experience. This book that I’m reading The Alchemist, is about a Shepard who is trying to find his personal treasure and at one point he decided he wants to go back to his old life a Shepard but then realizes how much he is missing out on by staying in his comfort zone. Im sure everyone has had this debate, should you stay were things are easy and you know them because maybe if you go outside of it and decide to pursue your dreams they won’t end up being as good in reality. This semester has for sure hit me with moments where I wanted to be back in Colorado or Ohio but I keep reminding myself about how im going to look back on this semester.
Now that I’m half way through this semester I have become accustom to a lot of things about being in China and living in a city that I don’t think I even realize. In China people aren’t polite by western standards, there is a lot of pushing, shoving, spitting, invading personal space etc, so have learned if you want to survive the subway at rush hour you better get ready to throw some bows and fight for your spot on the train, even if you were first in line to get on the train that holds no bearings if you can’t stand your ground. I’ve gotten in the habit here of pushing and not apologizing and I find it coming second nature, so when I get back home im going to have to brush up on my Emily Post book! Also, since conversational English isn’t very common around the city, except in expat areas, like at subway in Xintiandi, they could understand “half turkey on wheat”, but beyond that we can have conversations on trains and no one except us knows what were talking about, or when were bartering we can talk about price and quality and they don’t know what were saying. So basically, we can talk about people right in front of them and they have no idea! In the US when you’re around a group of people that are speaking in a language you don’t understand they’re probably talking about you! While getting around in the city is somewhat convenient with taxi’s and rickshaws, your putting your life at risk whenever you get in (Think Tim O’Donnell driving to the next level); lanes don’t matter, and horns are used instead of review mirrors.
In China bartering is a way of life, you can bargain for almost anything you want, even at a nicer restaurant, which has changed my concept of money. Everything here is so much cheaper than in the US, for example I bought a pair of ipod head phones for $10 and the newest releases on DVD are no more than $3, my common breakfast, a baozi (bread dumpling thing) is .1 cents, the most expensive things we do are tourist things and even that is cheaper than in the United States.
Since the World Expo is starting in about 2 months there is a crazy amount of development going on around the city. One of the famous street markets that have some of our favorite fried xiaolongbao was closed for renovation for the Expo, bu hao. There are so many little things that the city has done in preparation for the Expo like in the cabs there is a phone number you can call if you are having trouble communicating. Also the mascot, haibao is everywhere. When you’re in the city you can’t turn a corner without seeing construction walls with him or a garden display of him. Even over New Years at Yuyuan Gardens there is always a lantern festival and Haibao was the star of it, it looked like “It’s a Small World: Shanghai Expo style”
So one the reasons Chinese sounds so funny to westerns is because it is a tonal language so the same word can mean different things depending on out it is pronounced. When your first learning tones they teach you how the world “ma” can mean mom or horse so you don’t want to call you’re mom a horse. Our apartments are a little outside the city which is an area full of college students, so not many tourists head up north. So when we try and tell a cab where to go they don’t necessarly recognize where the street is and out mispronouciation of tones doesn’t help!
Hope you all are doing well as always! Keep in touch
Xoxo
Aryn
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Restrooms
对不起！ 对不起！ Or in English “sorry” I haven't posted lately, but to make up for it ill make this one full of fun! So after I got back from Yunnan it took a little getting used to you know, being in classes and having homework, crazy right! It it great having more people around like I said before but the one downside that they all use internet also which messed with my internet so I spend long hours in the cafes with wifi. While the Chinese know what’s up when it come to dumplings you can only have so many xiaolongbao so I’ve taken a short hiatus from dumplings so the fact that the cafe's with internet were the ones that served western food was 很好！
Last weekend we took a day trip to one of the towns near Shanghai called Hangzhou. All the tour books talk about how Xihu, the western lake there, has inspired poets and artist and even Marco Polo referred to it as one of the most magnificent places on earth. So now that I have set you up to hear all about how beautiful this place is, our experience consisted of torrential rain! That didn't stop us though (Dad you would have been proud!) We went to see the Lingyin Temple, which is one of the biggest Buddhist temple complexes in China and one of the few that survived the Culture Revolution, its actually fully functioning today, the name translates into the Temple of the Souls Retreat. When we were visiting we were overtaken by these tiny women who seemed to be trying to retreat their souls but instead they were making us want to retreat! Now when im talking tiny I mean some of them came up to my stomach. There were at least 100 of them and we asked someone why they were moving so fast and there was no apparent reason. So for those of you who haven't learned about religions since high school here's a little bit about the temple and Buddhism. It was founded by Siddhartha Gautama ("the Buddha"), when he left the walls of his palace for the first time and saw all of the suffering in the world. The premise of Buddhism is to reach enlightenment and eliminate suffering by following the 4 noble truths by way of the teachings of the 8-fold path. I really like the compassion in Buddhism; its very real how it recognizes that their is suffering in life but by letting go you can stop the suffering. The Buddha has preached about compassion and loving kindness towards all human beings. Compassion means accepting and recognizing the suffering of others and wishing that the suffering would come to an end. Loving-kindness means showing care, consideration and concern towards others. These feeling should be extended to each and every human being, without exception. These ideas I think are something that are good general reminders and guidelines of life….. and God bless us everyone….
On a less compassionate and loving note, on Sunday we went to visit the site of the First National Congress of the CCP and also Mao Zedong's Shanghai residence. The CCP site is in the beautiful Xintiandi area. This is a primarily expat area that looks like it could be in any big city in the United States with its’ Starbucks, Coldstone and Subway. The CCP was founded on the ideas of Socialism and Marxism, however today they still stand by that foundation but talk about how they have many Chinese characteristics with it. The museum was beautifully laid out. We didn't have to pay for the tickets, the people spoke English and they have western restrooms! All of the security guards had smiles on their faces, which was not the same experience when I went tot he Shanghai Museum, they were less than friendly or helpful. Mao's house was fun to see but nothing too special, just an ordinary house, though it was also free and they had English speaking tour guides... hmmm makes you wonder why. One of the highlights of the day though was our visit to the 4 Seasons hotel. If we were in America and 2 dumpy college students walked in asking for directions we would have been questioned immediately if we were staying there but in China we just walked right in, asked directions walked around and used they're really really nice restrooms (ok I know there is a lot of talk about restrooms but you come to live in China and you will start to appreciate toilet paper, soap, towels and toilets that aren't built into the ground!) without any trouble.
So the other weekend we were planning on going to a night club called Sin for what we thought at first was a "private party" but it actually ended up being a Pervert night, full of men in leather masks being pulled around by chains and midgets in leather... ya it was and experience for sure!
Yesterday I came home from one of the best experiences at a spinning class where we listened to BSB and I think the instructor thought he was a pro biker/ boy band dancer extraordinaire, to my roommate, Potato, super excited that she found her bike that she though was stolen. Now only was it a great day cause she found her bike but it was also Woman's Day so she bought up dessert to celebrate. One more reason to be happy in China!
Overall though i am becoming really happy here, while my English is becoming the level of middle schoolers, my Chinese seems to be improving. Last night I had a dream of being back at home and in my dream it was such an uneasy feeling, not only did I forget to bring my families gifts home (don't worry guys I won't forget you in real life!) it just felt so different.
Speaking of family, my dad and Pari are coming out to China this weekend. I’m going to meet them in Beijing for the weekend and if any of you guys know how my dad travels this week I need to start resting up for the trip with them! Then we're coming down to Shanghai and celebrating my birthday (this is my subtle hint for those of you who haven't gotten your presents in the mail, ill still love you if it's a day late but if it's more than that it better be good! he he :-))
Xoxo,
Aryn
Last weekend we took a day trip to one of the towns near Shanghai called Hangzhou. All the tour books talk about how Xihu, the western lake there, has inspired poets and artist and even Marco Polo referred to it as one of the most magnificent places on earth. So now that I have set you up to hear all about how beautiful this place is, our experience consisted of torrential rain! That didn't stop us though (Dad you would have been proud!) We went to see the Lingyin Temple, which is one of the biggest Buddhist temple complexes in China and one of the few that survived the Culture Revolution, its actually fully functioning today, the name translates into the Temple of the Souls Retreat. When we were visiting we were overtaken by these tiny women who seemed to be trying to retreat their souls but instead they were making us want to retreat! Now when im talking tiny I mean some of them came up to my stomach. There were at least 100 of them and we asked someone why they were moving so fast and there was no apparent reason. So for those of you who haven't learned about religions since high school here's a little bit about the temple and Buddhism. It was founded by Siddhartha Gautama ("the Buddha"), when he left the walls of his palace for the first time and saw all of the suffering in the world. The premise of Buddhism is to reach enlightenment and eliminate suffering by following the 4 noble truths by way of the teachings of the 8-fold path. I really like the compassion in Buddhism; its very real how it recognizes that their is suffering in life but by letting go you can stop the suffering. The Buddha has preached about compassion and loving kindness towards all human beings. Compassion means accepting and recognizing the suffering of others and wishing that the suffering would come to an end. Loving-kindness means showing care, consideration and concern towards others. These feeling should be extended to each and every human being, without exception. These ideas I think are something that are good general reminders and guidelines of life….. and God bless us everyone….
On a less compassionate and loving note, on Sunday we went to visit the site of the First National Congress of the CCP and also Mao Zedong's Shanghai residence. The CCP site is in the beautiful Xintiandi area. This is a primarily expat area that looks like it could be in any big city in the United States with its’ Starbucks, Coldstone and Subway. The CCP was founded on the ideas of Socialism and Marxism, however today they still stand by that foundation but talk about how they have many Chinese characteristics with it. The museum was beautifully laid out. We didn't have to pay for the tickets, the people spoke English and they have western restrooms! All of the security guards had smiles on their faces, which was not the same experience when I went tot he Shanghai Museum, they were less than friendly or helpful. Mao's house was fun to see but nothing too special, just an ordinary house, though it was also free and they had English speaking tour guides... hmmm makes you wonder why. One of the highlights of the day though was our visit to the 4 Seasons hotel. If we were in America and 2 dumpy college students walked in asking for directions we would have been questioned immediately if we were staying there but in China we just walked right in, asked directions walked around and used they're really really nice restrooms (ok I know there is a lot of talk about restrooms but you come to live in China and you will start to appreciate toilet paper, soap, towels and toilets that aren't built into the ground!) without any trouble.
So the other weekend we were planning on going to a night club called Sin for what we thought at first was a "private party" but it actually ended up being a Pervert night, full of men in leather masks being pulled around by chains and midgets in leather... ya it was and experience for sure!
Yesterday I came home from one of the best experiences at a spinning class where we listened to BSB and I think the instructor thought he was a pro biker/ boy band dancer extraordinaire, to my roommate, Potato, super excited that she found her bike that she though was stolen. Now only was it a great day cause she found her bike but it was also Woman's Day so she bought up dessert to celebrate. One more reason to be happy in China!
Overall though i am becoming really happy here, while my English is becoming the level of middle schoolers, my Chinese seems to be improving. Last night I had a dream of being back at home and in my dream it was such an uneasy feeling, not only did I forget to bring my families gifts home (don't worry guys I won't forget you in real life!) it just felt so different.
Speaking of family, my dad and Pari are coming out to China this weekend. I’m going to meet them in Beijing for the weekend and if any of you guys know how my dad travels this week I need to start resting up for the trip with them! Then we're coming down to Shanghai and celebrating my birthday (this is my subtle hint for those of you who haven't gotten your presents in the mail, ill still love you if it's a day late but if it's more than that it better be good! he he :-))
Xoxo,
Aryn
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