It's been two days since I came back to the States, and I think I'm finally starting to get over the jet lag. I am not only very glad to be back home, but I am also shamelessly happy to be back in a place where 1) the sky is blue, 2) traffic jams are not the norm, and 3) toilet paper in bathroom stalls is a given.
But, I am also very sad that the past 8 weeks went by so quickly.
After going through PiB, my Chinese has significantly improved. I still can't read random Chinese newspaper articles, but my recent conversations with my parents have moved far beyond telling them that I want rice or noodles for lunch. While I did not memorize every single vocabulary word at PiB, I have gotten to the point where even if I don't fully understand, I can often infer the meaning.
Although I'm sure that locking myself up in a room with the books for 8 weeks might have improved my vocabulary and grammar even more, I do not think that there is any adequate replacement for experiencing the country that speaks the language you are studying. Even the tai chi and calligraphy classes that PiB offered, while definitely interesting, were still only a very small part of a much larger equation.
Speaking with the baozi man or the jianbing lady, getting crammed into the subway car with a bajillion other people, seeing old men with their t-shirts up and bellies hanging out, bargaining with the shopkeepers, hailing a taxi with other American students very late in the evening, watching someone being told to give up their seat for the elderly on the bus, speaking with college students while riding the hard seat -- every event seemingly trivial, but when you add them all up, it makes for an experience that surpasses reading any textbook that discusses Chinese culture, even PiB's 3rd year book, which covered a number of strange topics.
This summer was quite fantastic. I not only improved my Chinese and got a glimpse of Chinese culture today, but I also made gains on a very personal level as well, all of which will likely influence my plans for the future. On going to China, I have no regrets, except perhaps that I did not go earlier and did not stay longer.
Although admittedly I am unsure of exactly when I will be able to remedy this problem, another trip to China is certainly in the works.
-艾琳
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
沃尔玛: Walmart in China
This evening, a friend and I took a trip to Walmart (we primarily went to buy some green tea Oreos and other Asian-ified snacks for our friends back in the States). While we were at Walmart, we noticed that they were also selling roast duck, bing, and other some other snacks.
Since it was around dinner time, we decided to buy some baozi. We asked one of the workers what types of baozi were available, and they told us to look at the sign. Not having a iPod touch or a translator on hand, we managed to figure out about half of the entries. However, wanting to know everything that was available, my friend asked the worker again to tell us what was available. Since the store clerk seemed a bit irritable and unwilling to answer our question, my friend then explained that we were exchange students, that we were still learning Chinese, and that no, we did not recognize some of the characters. The store clerk then proceeded to laugh at us.
Eventually, one of the other workers took pity on us and told us what was on the menu. But even after we got our baozi, we could hear the workers snickering and discussing our inability to speak Chinese.
To clarify the situation, both my friend and I are huayi's. My friend, a 4th year student at PiB, speaks conversational Chinese extremely well and doesn't have an American accent. While we buying baozi, I let her do all of the talking. But despite my friend being able to speak so well, the store clerk still gave us a lot of trouble for being "illiterate". It was really frustrating to realize that although this summer I have learned quite a bit in terms of being able to discuss politics, economics, environmental concerns, and traditional gender roles in China, I'm still quite unfamiliar with how to converse with others regarding day-to-day tasks. Additionally, while I have no doubt that non-Chinese students constantly run into other problems, as a huayi I sometimes find it difficult to reconcile with the fact that while I am ethnically Chinese (and some might expect me to act accordingly so), I am still very much a English-speaking foreign student that will run into problems while studying in China.
Fortunately, I will mention that despite the debacle, the baozi still tasted quite alright.
-艾琳
Since it was around dinner time, we decided to buy some baozi. We asked one of the workers what types of baozi were available, and they told us to look at the sign. Not having a iPod touch or a translator on hand, we managed to figure out about half of the entries. However, wanting to know everything that was available, my friend asked the worker again to tell us what was available. Since the store clerk seemed a bit irritable and unwilling to answer our question, my friend then explained that we were exchange students, that we were still learning Chinese, and that no, we did not recognize some of the characters. The store clerk then proceeded to laugh at us.
Eventually, one of the other workers took pity on us and told us what was on the menu. But even after we got our baozi, we could hear the workers snickering and discussing our inability to speak Chinese.
To clarify the situation, both my friend and I are huayi's. My friend, a 4th year student at PiB, speaks conversational Chinese extremely well and doesn't have an American accent. While we buying baozi, I let her do all of the talking. But despite my friend being able to speak so well, the store clerk still gave us a lot of trouble for being "illiterate". It was really frustrating to realize that although this summer I have learned quite a bit in terms of being able to discuss politics, economics, environmental concerns, and traditional gender roles in China, I'm still quite unfamiliar with how to converse with others regarding day-to-day tasks. Additionally, while I have no doubt that non-Chinese students constantly run into other problems, as a huayi I sometimes find it difficult to reconcile with the fact that while I am ethnically Chinese (and some might expect me to act accordingly so), I am still very much a English-speaking foreign student that will run into problems while studying in China.
Fortunately, I will mention that despite the debacle, the baozi still tasted quite alright.
-艾琳
奧林匹克公園与故宫： Olympic Park & the Forbidden City
The end of PiB is fast approaching, and this week, just about everyone is cramming for Friday's final exam. I hope to give a more thorough evaluation of my time here in China once PiB is over, but for now, here are some pictures from my adventures during last week.
8/2/11, Tuesday evening at the Beijing Olympic Park:
8/4/11, Thursday afternoon at the Forbidden City:
8/2/11, Tuesday evening at the Beijing Olympic Park:
8/4/11, Thursday afternoon at the Forbidden City:
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
第六个周末: Weekend #6
This past weekend I had a chance to dabble in all sorts of things. Although I feel like I've done quite a bit (in terms of not being cooped up in Xinsong Gongyu), I'm definitely cramming as much as I can into remaining time that I have.
On Friday (7/29/11), I went with the rest of PiB to watch some pretty awesome acrobatics. Of all the acts, perhaps the most exciting were the ten acrobats piled on top of each other riding a single bike. It's interesting to note, however, that just like the Kungfu theater PiB went to see weeks ago, the acrobatic theater also had marquees with Chinese and English, examples of not only Chinese business accommodating Western foreigners, but also how translations often cannot fully embody the meaning of the original text. Particularly because Chinese is very pithy, the English translations of the acrobatic acts often seemed very crude. However, with regards to the show itself, it was definitely fun to watch, and I'm certainly glad that I went.
The next Saturday morning, I and a few other PiB'ers met up with a Chinese student (whom we met through the Yale-PKU Friends Connection Mixer) to go visit the Capital Museum.
Not only was the building amazing, the exhibits themselves were also pretty cool. The museum covered Beijing's history (up until 1949), and also had huge collections of porcelain as well as other objects. Particularly because everything in the museum was primarily explained in Chinese, I found it really helpful that we had someone to talk to and ask questions.
After lunch, we headed over to Jingshan Park (景山公园), which is right next to the Forbidden City. Although it was quite unfortunate that it had rained really hard the day before, that also meant that on Saturday, the sky was very clear, and from the hill within the park, we were able to see this . . .
In the evening, we went to Nanluoguxiang (南锣鼓巷), essentially a commercialized hutong. The road is filled with small shops, bars, and restaurants，and for dinner, we actually had hamburgers. The area is an interesting mix of East and West; there were even churro stands along the street. (Although, rumor has it that churros were created as a misunderstanding of making youtiao (油条).) Anyways, although this doesn't relate to hamburgers, churros, or cultural exchange, below is a video of one of the street vendors making sugar-blown animals.
Finally, this past Sunday I also went with another friend to check out the Silk Market, filled with plenty of tourists ready to try their hand at bargaining. It was quite an experience, watching other people attempting to haggle for fake Coach and Prada purses. As a huayi, I certainly appreciated the the change in shopkeeper tactics. I was pretty satisfied and left Silk Market with a qipao, a stone seal (for calligraphy), and a couple of hair clips.
Overall, a really good weekend (although I can't believe I only have one more left in Beijing)!
-艾琳
On Friday (7/29/11), I went with the rest of PiB to watch some pretty awesome acrobatics. Of all the acts, perhaps the most exciting were the ten acrobats piled on top of each other riding a single bike. It's interesting to note, however, that just like the Kungfu theater PiB went to see weeks ago, the acrobatic theater also had marquees with Chinese and English, examples of not only Chinese business accommodating Western foreigners, but also how translations often cannot fully embody the meaning of the original text. Particularly because Chinese is very pithy, the English translations of the acrobatic acts often seemed very crude. However, with regards to the show itself, it was definitely fun to watch, and I'm certainly glad that I went.
The next Saturday morning, I and a few other PiB'ers met up with a Chinese student (whom we met through the Yale-PKU Friends Connection Mixer) to go visit the Capital Museum.
Not only was the building amazing, the exhibits themselves were also pretty cool. The museum covered Beijing's history (up until 1949), and also had huge collections of porcelain as well as other objects. Particularly because everything in the museum was primarily explained in Chinese, I found it really helpful that we had someone to talk to and ask questions.
After lunch, we headed over to Jingshan Park (景山公园), which is right next to the Forbidden City. Although it was quite unfortunate that it had rained really hard the day before, that also meant that on Saturday, the sky was very clear, and from the hill within the park, we were able to see this . . .
In the evening, we went to Nanluoguxiang (南锣鼓巷), essentially a commercialized hutong. The road is filled with small shops, bars, and restaurants，and for dinner, we actually had hamburgers. The area is an interesting mix of East and West; there were even churro stands along the street. (Although, rumor has it that churros were created as a misunderstanding of making youtiao (油条).) Anyways, although this doesn't relate to hamburgers, churros, or cultural exchange, below is a video of one of the street vendors making sugar-blown animals.
Finally, this past Sunday I also went with another friend to check out the Silk Market, filled with plenty of tourists ready to try their hand at bargaining. It was quite an experience, watching other people attempting to haggle for fake Coach and Prada purses. As a huayi, I certainly appreciated the the change in shopkeeper tactics. I was pretty satisfied and left Silk Market with a qipao, a stone seal (for calligraphy), and a couple of hair clips.
Overall, a really good weekend (although I can't believe I only have one more left in Beijing)!
-艾琳
银山塔林: Yinshan Pagoda Forest
Time has gone by so quickly! (And there are only less than two weeks left of PiB!)
PiB organized a trip to the Yinshan Pagoda Forest quite a while ago; I've posted some photos below from our journey.
7/23/11, Saturday:
After our long bus ride to the countryside, we first stopped by a restaurant and ate a ton of food--lots of vegetable dishes, as well as some beef and chicken (regarding chicken heads, see the end of the previous post).
After looking at the Buddhist pagodas surrounding Yinshan, . . .
. . . we then started to make our way up the mountain.
On our way up, we passed a cool looking waterfall . . .
. . . as well as a huge bell.
After climbing up for what seemed like forever . . .
. . .we eventually reached the top!
And although it was very hot, disgustingly humid, and unfortunately hazy, . . .
. . . the trek up and down the mountain that day was pretty awesome.
-艾琳
PiB organized a trip to the Yinshan Pagoda Forest quite a while ago; I've posted some photos below from our journey.
7/23/11, Saturday:
After our long bus ride to the countryside, we first stopped by a restaurant and ate a ton of food--lots of vegetable dishes, as well as some beef and chicken (regarding chicken heads, see the end of the previous post).
 |
| [off to Yinshan Talin!] |
. . . we then started to make our way up the mountain.
 |
[I guarantee we climbed up a mountain, although admittedly I can't say if it's the one in this background.] |
. . . as well as a huge bell.
After climbing up for what seemed like forever . . .
. . .we eventually reached the top!
And although it was very hot, disgustingly humid, and unfortunately hazy, . . .
. . . the trek up and down the mountain that day was pretty awesome.
-艾琳
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