Score!!

This will be a very short entry as I'm flying to Hong Kong in just a few hours. Anyway, tonight, the taxi driver asked me where my accent was from. I replied, "From Taiwan," as it's well known here not to distinguish yourself as an American for fear that others will think you're very wealthy -- and therefore -- try to rip you off in some way. He replied, "I see." Then, later, after other casual conversation, he remarked, "You know, your Putonghua [standard form of Mandarin Chinese, based on the Beijing dialect] is very good for a Taiwanese!" To this, I smiled and laughed it away. But, inside, I was secretly very happy as 1) my Chinese passed for a native Taiwanese speaker, and 2) this is the 2nd taxi driver in recent days that has said this! And, Beijing taxi drivers are notorious for being very difficult to communicate with since they have a very heavy Beijing accent. So, hooray!! I'm making it a long-term goal of mine to keep up my Putonghua even when I get back to the States...even though things will be vastly different there, as here in Beijing, I spend about 90-95% of my time at work speaking in Mandarin.

Anyway, time for a few hours of sleep before it's time to head off to the airport... eating, shopping, sightseeing -- here I come!!!

So Many "Must-Dos," So Little Time!

It's just a few days away from March, and I'm filled with a sense of urgency. I feel like I have so much left to do both in the Beijing office and in Beijing itself, and I can't believe how little time I have to do it all. This quarter has flew by, and now I'm wondering where the time has gone! In January, it took a few weeks to get adjusted and then it was off to Sanya, the South of China, for a company conference. Then, at the beginning of February, I had nearly two weeks off thanks to Chinese New Year! Then, in just about a week from now, I'm off to Hong Kong for a few days. The weekend after I come back from Hong Kong, I fly to Sydney, Australia for another company conference, where I'll stay for about a week. I'll arrive back to Beijing on the 23rd of March, and then six days later, I leave China for the U.S. What a crazy quarter...

Due to this crazy upcoming schedule of mine, where I'll be flying every weekend in March starting on the 8th, I'm starting to try to plan out my few remaining weekends in China. This upcoming weekend is my last full weekend in Beijing. I think I may go to the famous English Corner at Renmin Da Xue (People's University) tomorrow night, where historically Chinese students have gone to practice their English. Now, it's evolved into a meeting place where strangers go to discuss all topics -- everything from pop culture to cultural differences and religious views. It's also gotten notorious for being a place where men try to meet female students. I'm curious and excited to see and experience this all in person. I've not had the chance to really interact with Chinese non-Googlers, and so I think this will be an excellent and substantial opportunity to do so. I would love to learn about these students' take on the US, their own country, and their opinions on everything from the Olympics to China's recent rapid rise.

Besides the English Corner, other "musts" in Beijing before I leave include:

-a few more trips to Long Island Spa for a full-body massage. I can't get enough of this place. For less than $20 USD, I get a soothing, healing 1-hour massage in a serene, beautiful, classy environment. The environs and design of this spa are on par with one of the best spas in San Francisco, Burke Williams. Too bad B.W. charges $100 more for the same service. And, at Beijing's Long Island Spa, I get my choice of limitless free drinks and snacks before and after my massage -- this totally puts B.W. to shame...
-trips to the Silk Market, Panjiayuan Market, or Wangfujing for souvenirs
-another trip to the enormous Forbidden City, as once is not enough. And I definitely wouldn't mind going back to other touristy sites such as the Summer Palace.
-a few more trips to Din Tai Fung -- a.k.a. Food Heaven, and the place that puts all other xiao long bao (soup dumpling) restaurants to shame
-gorging on the delicious bubble milk tea and egg tarts
-picking up CDs of Chinese pop singers
-checking out Bed Bar, which is located in a hutong (historic Beijing alleyway) and decorated with imperial-like beds
-eating, eating, and more eating

And that's just the short list -- there's a bunch that I haven't mentioned. Sigh, so much to do...so little time!

Oh, Home Sweet Home -- In only a little over a month...

Yay! 2 blog posts in one night -- I'm improving with my blogging consistency! :)

Thanks to Chinese New Year, the first half of this month flew by. I'm only one month and 10 days from home! Though I still have lots and lots to discover in  Beijing, I miss too much from home that I know I will be ready when my plane touches down on San Francisco. 

Just some things that I really miss:

-my family and friends, naturally
-fresh, non-polluted air
-easily crossing the street (yes, I'm being serious here. Most of the time, I cannot cross streets in Beijing by myself because of the crazy drivers here who go on 'red' and drive recklessly towards pedestrians without abandon. Feel free to check out YouTube videos on crossing the street in Beijing -- they exist!)
-being able to fully, naturally express myself in everyday conversation without too much 
thinking or straining to listen
-being a local
-not having to worry about being ripped off by taxi drivers or merchants for being a foreigner
-my car -- people might be surprised but this is something I miss a TON. You have no idea how much I miss being able to drive myself places, and being able to control how fast or crazy the car goes -- something that I surrender everyday to these crazy taxi drivers here. 
-being able to brush my teeth and wash my hard contacts directly from the bathroom faucet. Washing my contacts using the tiny potable water faucet in the kitchen is a pain -- trying to hold the faucet down with one hand while trying to properly clean the contact with the other hand is not fun!
-my apartment at home - The apartment here looks nice but has so many problems that it's given me a headache. I also dislike that Housekeeping here can come in the apartment (and do) whenever they damn well please, even when there's a "Do Not Disturb" sign prominently placed on the door
-being able to access CNN, Wikipedia, etc. without a hitch
-cooking. I still cook here occasionally, but the sauces, vegetables and noodles I use are all different than ones I use at home -- and my cooking here tastes awful
-being independent. Typically, if I want to go anywhere far in Beijing, I usually try to find someone to go with... Beijing is too huge of a city and I still feel like too much of a foreigner to dare to explore it on my own. This is completely different from who I am at home -- and who I was when I studied abroad in Europe, which was much less intimidating.

Contrary to what it may seem, I still am having an overall good time in Beijing. It's just that I know I will be ready to go home at the end of March! And, I'm confident that I'll have a long list of things that I will miss about Beijing when it comes time for me to go home. I already know one major thing that will be on it -- the amazing food here!!

Meaty Recap: Shanghai vs. Beijing and Chinese New Year!

It's been awhile since I last posted, but it's because a) I had nearly 2 weeks off thanks to Chinese New Year (!), and b) I'm not sure if anyone is still out there reading my blog anyway! (So, if you feel so inclined, please leave a comment to let me know that you still are...) So, since it's been awhile, I'll just go and get started...

As I said before, thanks to the Chinese New Year, I had nearly 2 weeks off of work! I spent this time with my parents, where we toured Shanghai and then Beijing. It was so lovely to see my parents -- I miss them so much, and I was so happy to be able to spend a good amount of time with them during what the Chinese consider the most important time of year. We were very fortunate to escape the Shanghai snowstorm by one day -- minimal flight delays, safe roadways -- very blessed. Shanghai really caught me by surprise. Before arriving, I knew very well of Shanghai's modern and cosmopolitan reputation. But, I had no idea how European Shanghai would seem! So many times during our time there, we were almost convinced that we were in Europe, thanks to its French architecture, and areas of cobbled and wide roads.

Also, not surprisingly, Shanghai's a complete 180 to Beijing. With Shanghai, I saw glitz, wealth, and modernity, a stark contrast to Beijing. Shanghai's polished and beautiful, whereas Beijing is raw and not what I would call outwardly, aesthetically "beautiful." In Shanghai, the highrises are sleek, shiny, and very much a significant part of its famous skyline; in Beijing, the highrises are usually dull, uniform, and on dusty blocks where like buildings are being constructed at a feverish pace. In Shanghai, I saw one high-end luxury car after another; in Beijing, I am used to seeing men riding rusty bicycles, with wagons attached carrying everything from children to rolls and rolls of toilet paper stacked high. In Shanghai, each neighborhood/district seemed to have a neat look to it -- streets all laid out neatly with glamorous stores, restaurants, and spas. Beijing's neighborhoods, on the other hand, are all so vast, spread out, and diverse -- you'll find a happening restaurant or bar next to a questionable alley where people are pushing rusty wagons up and down the alley. The two cities are so incredibly different that it was an especially great experience to visit Shanghai and try to compare the two cities for myself.

It's funny because I would often tell people, "Too bad my Ambassadorship isn't in Shanghai instead of Beijing." Shanghai, in my mind, always seemed to be cooler, more fashionable, and way more convenient for the Western visitor. After my visit to Shanghai, I can verify my initial impressions of Shanghai. It is cooler (at least outwardly), more fashionable, and more convenient for the average American or Westerner. But, while I do still think that Beijing is nowhere as polished, picturesque, or easily adaptable for the Western visitor compared to Shanghai, that Beijing has more soul and character. I feel like one could spend two years in Beijing, and still be getting to know the city -- whereas, Shanghai's character seems easily figured out right away.

And now, some pictures of my trip to Shanghai:

colorful lanterns in a plaza -- Chinese New Year is a wonderfully festive time to see China, where so much of cities are adorned in red and gold



the 3 pics below: the famed Bund skyline -- as beautiful in person as I had  expected. In the nighttime picture, you'll see that the Bund appears dark, hazy, and blurry. This is because the city government ordered all buildings to turn off any 
unnecessary exterior lights in order to conserve power. (Shanghai's power reserve was
tested in the awful snowstorm.) I must admit that I was disappointed not to see the beautiful
Bund lit up at night; I'm sure that would have totally taken my breath away.



another Chinese New Year display -- celebrating the Year of the Rat :)!




Then, it was time for my parents and I to return to Beijing! We all had a lot of fun in Beijing, visiting the traditional touristy sites, such as the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and Wangfujing, Forbidden City, Ming Tombs, Summer Palace, Silk Street Market, and Temple of Heaven. My parents immensely enjoyed Beijing -- they also felt that Shanghai lacked Beijing's character and charm. I'd say that the biggest highlight out of all the touristy sites
we visited was without a doubt, the Great Wall. It was an exhilarating experience climbing the Wall, 
seeing and experiencing something firsthand that I had always thought I *might* see decades later in my life. Throughout my climb, I was awestruck at the thought of millions of workers constructing this spectacular structure, knowing that they could fall to their death at any moment. One thing though -- I would advise people not to climb the Great Wall in the winter unless they can't avoid it! It was so bitterly cold at the Great Wall, that my hands would go numb if I took them out from my gloves for just a moment to take a picture. I also got a really bad cold from the Great Wall. Luckily, my parents did not catch a cold from our Great Wall trip!

In Beijing, my parents and I also discovered how much the Chinese here LOVE their firecrackers. Honestly, it got quite annoying and scary to hear and see firecrackers go off 50 feet away from us, night after night. Whenever my parents and I were out walking on the streets, we would rush back to my apartment as we just felt unsafe given the close proximity of the firecrackers going off. The Chinese believe that firecrackers will help ward off evil spirits; given the amount of firecrackers put off, I'm hoping that means that we'll have a wonderful year. Haha. Firecrackers aside, though, observing Chinese New Year in China was a very cool experience. 
Both Beijing and Shanghai were super colorful, with doors, windows, ceilings, and sidewalks adorned with shiny red and gold. There were also many performances, and people everywhere were in festive moods and outfits. I feel like Chinese New Year is bigger in China than Christmas in the U.S.! 

When it came time for my parents to go back to the U.S., I felt instantly homesick. While being in Beijing has been an amazing experience, seeing my parents strongly reminded me just how much I miss them and home. But, I am so glad they came to visit me -- I loved showing them my apartment, neighborhood, and favorite restaurants!

Pictures of our time in Beijing: the first two pics are of the Great Wall; then, Tiananmen Square with my Dad; the Forbidden City with my Mom; and the last three pics are at the Summer Palace.

February is here already...

It's exactly one month from when I arrived in Beijing in January. My, has time flown by! As I'm starting to realize how little time I have left in Beijing, I feel pressed for time. I've seen so little of Beijing, and yet, my time is up when I leave for the US at the end of March. From tourist sites such as the Great Wall to getting to know Beijing's different neighborhoods more intimately, I have so much left to do and see. I will admit that for the first 3 or so weeks here in Beijing, I was extremely homesick and even frustrated at times. Yep, so many times during those first few weeks, I wanted to go home and was sick and tired of the cultural and language barriers, rude and pushy strangers, crazy taxi experiences, different way of living, and culture shock. But now, I am starting to slowly but surely accept that 1) yes, China is full of rude and pushy strangers, but the friends that I have made here are so incredibly warm and welcoming; 2) although the language and cultural barriers have been frustrating, I've pushed myself to new limits; and 3) that while I perceive certain things such as the way of driving, line queueing, and spitting on the streets here as crazy and nonsensical, that's how things are here and I must let go some of my American perceptions and habits.

And so, as my time here is dwindling down, I hope to take advantage of every opportunity to get to know the city better. I have a good feeling that when it comes time to leave, I will be very sad -- something that, during my first few weeks here, I would have never anticipated happening.

Fingers Crossed in the Midst of Chaos

In just a few days, Spring Festival 2008 officially starts. Each year, Spring Festival (or Chinese New Year) is said to mark one of the biggest mass movements of humanity in the world. Hundreds of millions of people travel home to see their families; often, this is the only time of the year that Chinese people see their family. And so, the worst winter snowstorm afflicting China in 50 years couldn't come at a worse time. Millions upon millions of people are stranded at train stations, airports, bus stations, and so on. Some of those at Guangzhou Train Station have been stranded for a week. At work, much of the conversation centers around if coworkers will be able to travel home and see their family. Usually, each Spring Festival is a horribly chaotic time of year already, with people frantically trying to get train tickets home. But, this year, my coworkers are not only fretting about being able to get the tickets, but also how they will actually arrive at their destination. Already, China has lost an estimated $3 Billion USD economy-wise to this storm.

I myself am supposed to get to Shanghai on Saturday to meet my parents, but Shanghai is one of those major cities affected by this storm. So...am hoping that I will be one of those seemingly lucky few who get to make it to their intended destination.

Food Firsts + The Best Meal I've Ever Had

Tonight, I had a delightful dinner with Elisa, Shiwei, Zhexia, and Tim -- it was full of good food, laughter and jokes (I even got to practice my newfound ability to swear and insult in Chinese!). After dinner, I realized that I've had a lot of "exotic food firsts" here in China, eating things that I've never had the opportunity to sample in the States.

Some of them include...

pig's intestine
pig's neck
pig's foot (didn't like this one)
duck liver
frog
pigeon

I hope to add to this list as my time in Beijing goes on! Of course, I've have the opportunity to have amazing food that's not as exotic, too. Yesterday, I went with Chi to the legendary Din Tai Fung, a Taiwanese establishment that's now expanded to such cities as Beijing, Shanghai, and even Arcadia, California (lucky Arcadia!!). The New York Times has named Din Tai Fung one of the Top Ten Best Restaurants in the World. I can safely say that I've never had such delicious food in my life. This makes my meals in France, which I had then considered the best, pale in comparison. Din Tai Fung's main specialty is the delicate soup dumpling, known as 'xiao long bao' (or 'XLB' for short). After eating Din Tai Fung's XLBs, it's depressing to even think of having XLBs in the Bay Area when I return. XLBs in the Bay Area, in my humble opinion, are woefully unauthentic, and Din Tai Fung's XLBs really magnifies that. The XLBs at Din Tai Fung were perfect -- having just the right amount of broth, flavor, and texture. I could have gorged myself just on the XLBs alone, but I also had the pleasure of having vermicelli and fried tofu soup (the broth had the exact amount of heartiness and flavor), dan dan mien (sesame noodles), vegetable and pork dumplings, and sauteed beansprouts. After all this goodness, it was time for dessert. Din Tai Fung is ingenious; they took the success of their savory, meat-filled XLBs and created a form of XLB suitable for dessert. Instead of a soup-filled dumpling, the delicate steamed dumpling is filled with smooth red bean paste. The steamed red bean paste dumpling, along with their world famous soup-filled XLBs, were the highlights of my dinner there. The restaurant is quite far from my apartment hotel -- 30 minutes w/o traffic, and with traffic, I don't want to even think about it! But, my goal is to get out to Din Tai Fung every 1 and a half week or so. Can't get enough!! I know that when it's time for me to go back home to the US, I will miss the food here in Beijing tons...

I regret that I didn't have my camera with me last night to take pictures of Din Tai Fung Goodness, but here are some links to whet your appetite (or trigger your appetite!):

http://dintaifung.com.cn/English/product.asp?typeid=17 - steamed red bean paste dumpling
http://dintaifung.com.cn/English/product.asp?typeid=4 - XLBs

Partying in Beijing!

Tonight after dinner (that consisted of literally flaming carp and pig intestine), we headed off to go clubbing. First, we headed to Banana, which turned out to be way too crowded with lame music. So off we went to Vic's, apparently a mainstay club for Beijingers and expats alike. It's well-known for its hip hop music, which is hard to come by in Beijing. And now, they should be famous for their strong drinks!! It's 4 am and I'm not sleepy at all -- way too tipsy. I just had 3 drinks but they were quite strong: brandy, Jagermeister shot (seriously, tastes like cough medicine, BLECH), and a very potent lychee martini (that was stronger than the pure Jagermeister shot....hmmm). Think I'll probably watch loads of crap TV before heading to bed, and drink a lot of water! I usually hate to dance, but even at Vic's, I had quite a lot of fun. It really helped too that they had good music! Kanye, Snoop Dogg, T-Pain, Timbaland, MIM, Dr. Dre, etc. -- I feel like w/ the alcohol in me, I could have kept on dancing til 6 am! I quite like the nightlife in Beijing. Had tons of fun last week at Face Bar, and tonight with Vic's. Cannot wait to check out other bars and clubs in Beijing -- especially Bed Bar, which has (you guessed it) traditional Chinese beds, amongst an imperial setting. And it's also located in a hutong, which is a historic, traditional Beijing alley.

Pics from the night...(the first two are of the flaming carp and of pig intestine. The pig intestine was interestingly wrapped up just like a sushi roll. Hmm. Definitely not as good though ;)

Infamous Beijing Winter Winds

Right now, the temperature is 14 degrees, but the 'feels like' temperature is -2 degrees according to Weather.com, due to the wind chill. I've read so much in my guidebooks about how Beijing winter winds (coming from the Gobi Desert) cut like "a knife through beancurd." Well, it had been an abnormally warm winter in Beijing (temps in the 30s usually) until the last week or so. Today, I was chatting with a friend outside while shivering and trying to walk as fast as possible when wind blew into my mouth, and it felt like a half a dozen ice cubes had been shoved down my throat all at once. Needless to say, I'm a California girl through and through and can't wait for warm weather awaiting me in Hong Kong and Sydney, Australia (thanks to a Google sales conference there!) when I go visit both places in March!!!

Bargaining in China: Such a must!!

Sunday, Elisa (a native Beijinger) and I went to Yashou Market in Chaoyang, which is where both Beijingers and tourists go for fake goods. I wanted to buy a fake designer bag, but after looking and looking, that didn't work out. But, I did get a pair of adorable ballet flats, which if real, would cost $325 USD! I got it for just $20 USD...and the reason why I couldn't get it for half that price was because the shoes were made of real leather. Also, to most everyone but the shoe owner, it looks real. Besides just getting a beautiful pair of shoes for cheap, though, the highlight of the Yashou shopping trip was definitely bargaining with the merchants. It's quite a comical process and one that's quite entertaining (for others, sometimes it's stressful). It went like this (in Chinese):

(When looking at the shoes that I liked)
Merchant #1: Do you like it?
Me: It's okay
Merchant #1: It's very nice, right? All leather! Do you see the quality of this shoe?
Me: (Nods) How much?
Merchant #1: 300 RMB
Me: (Feigning shock and disbelief) What?! That much? You must be kidding!
Merchant #1: 300 RMB, 300 RMB. All leather! Don't you see, the quality of the shoe?
Me: (Laughing) That's way too much for that shoe.
Merchant #1: How much do you want to pay?
Me: 50 RMB
Merchant #1: (Laughing) Now that's ridiculous!
Elisa, my friend: How much is the bottom line for you?
Merchant #1: 300 RMB, not one RMB less. These shoes are special! Real leather all around! Can't accept any less! I promise that you will not find these shoes for less than 300 RMB. Worth too much.
Elisa and me: That's crazy! Let's go look elsewhere...

We walk off and are half expecting the merchant to come running after us (a common tactic used when they decide they still want your business), offering to slash the price down. But alas, he didn't and we were a little surprised. I definitely did not want to pay 300 RMB. After walking around almost the entire floor of the shoe stalls in Yashou Market, I was a little sad b/c I didn't see the shoes again at other stalls. But, as we were about to hop onto the escalator, we passed by one last shoe stall where I saw the same pair of shoes again! This time, it went something like this:

Merchant #2: Beautiful shoes, eh?
Me: It's okay. How much?
Merchant #2: 560 RMB
Me: 560 RMB?!!! That's crazy! How can you charge so much?
Merchant #2: How much do you want to pay?
Me: 100 RMB.
Merchant #2: (Feigning shock and being quite dramatic) You're killing me here! Do you realize my livelihood is on selling these items? 100 RMB? These shoes are real leather here!
Me: They're still fake! Not worth that much.
Merchant #2: How about this, I give you a 200 RMB discount. 360 RMB.
Elisa and I: (smiling) No, 100 RMB.
Merchant #2: Come on! I gave you a huge discount, now come meet me halfway! Up your price!
Elisa: We were originally going to offer you just 60 RMB! We went all the way up to 100 RMB!
Merchant #2: (half joking) 60 RMB!! If you had said 60 RMB, I would have taken this shoe to hit you on the head with it! You crazy girl...60 RMB?!
Elisa: Come on now, 100 RMB
Merchant #2: No, 260 RMB.
Elisa and I: No, we are not in a department store. You can't charge these prices! Let's look elsewhere.

We leave...and then lo and behold, the merchant comes running after us, yelling, "Come back, you two girls! Come back!" We go back, and enter another round of bargaining. The price is lowered to 160 RMB, and then the merchant is unwilling to go any lower. Elisa is quite annoyed with them and says, "Look, we're willing to do 140 RMB since it is real leather. But that's it. You can't lower it by 20 RMB? How ridiculous!" So then, Elisa and I leave again. Then, the merchant comes chasing after us and other merchants in other stalls say to us, "Go back, go back...she is giving in!" We go back, and the merchant says, "150 RMB." We say, "Come on, you can't match us by just lowering 10 RMB?" Finally, the merchant gives in and mutters to us how we stole a deal from her.

After that, I see a pair of winter boots that I like at the stall and ask the same merchant how much it is. She names a ridiculously high price and Elisa and I both feign shock. We plead with the merchant to lower the price by five-fold and she insists that the shoes are of superior sheepskin. She continues to refuse to agree to haggle with us, and then says, "Look! Earlier with your ballet flats I will admit -- I was lying to you guys about the beginning price! But you guys were smart and got me. So I let you haggle. But I'm telling you -- with these boots, they really are this much!" Hahahaha. I love how she even admitted that she was trying to trick us. After all this, I was really happy to get my shoes for still a very considerable bargain. I even considered going back to the first stall where the guy refused to let me haggle and say, "See, you told me I couldn't get it for less than 300 RMB...but look what I got and for how much!" Oh, bargaining. It can be so much fun!

Midnight massages and Ukrainian food...what a delightful weekend!

Got back from Sanya last Thursday, and was so happy to be back -- even though Beijing has been freezing lately. Sanya is nice, however it is no Hawaii, that's for sure! It was also a strange experience to see such expensive hotels existing in an extremely poor, blue-collar city. A few highlights of the Sanya trip:
-Day tripped to the famous Hot Springs, where I sat in coffee, coconut milk, Chinese herbs, and wine pools enriched with mineral substances...apparently good for the health. Also sat in their most famous pool for awhile -- the 'doctor fish' pool -- where fish nibble off dead skin and 'remove toxins,' but it was so ticklish and rather gross to me that I promptly left.
-Won a huge bear at the evening dinner party! First thing that I've ever won, really. The thing is gigantic though...I had to lug it back on the plane to Beijing and I almost regretted winning the bear b/c of how heavy it is. After I won the bear, random Googlers who I had never met before would come up to me and yell gleefully, "You won a huge bear! Huge bear!" It was kinda funny.

Pictures below, top to bottom: Jane, Phoebe, me, Nicole; Joy, Bessie, Sissi, me, Donna; Phoebe, me, with the gigantic bear (only the top of his head is showing in this pic)




And back in Beijing:

-Friday night: had an amazing Taiwanese dinner at Bellagio, this chic, see-and-be-seen restaurant in Chaoyang district. Seriously, I wish I lived in the Chaoyang district of Beijing. Everything is there! Shopping, eating, bar-hopping -- you name it, it's there. It's not only the most fashionable district of Beijing, but it's very Westernized compared to my district as well. It feels like a different world when I'm in Chaoyang. Sadly, it's far from where I live -- 30 min w/o traffic, and up to 2 1/2 hours w/really bad traffic.
-Also Friday night: got a legitimate massage at a very posh, sleek spa at midnight!! The one hour massage was only $20 USD. Very cheap considering the chic atmosphere. After the awesome experience, I vow to try to get a massage in Beijing at least once a week. Below: pic of Long Island Spa, Chaoyang district.



Saturday: made my way to the famous Summer Palace -- probably the most famous well-preserved imperial retreat in the world --with a friend from Beijing University. As it had snowed in Beijing for days before, the Summer Palace was covered with snow and ice. The lake, which makes up a substantial portion of the 10 sq miles park, had frozen over and was covered by a layer of snow. It was so surreal to see this Summer Palace completely transformed by the snow -- usually all the pictures you see are taken in the summer. I walked on the lake -- which was quite cool! Pics below: Summer Palace; me standing on the frozen Kunming Lake.



Saturday night: Went to Kiev, a Ukrainian restaurant in Beijing, for a coworkers' birthday. It was quite a fun experience to eat Ukrainian food for the first time, let alone in Beijing. The Ukrainian beer was also delicious...very sweet and tastes non-alcoholic. Loved the entertainment...Ukrainian guys dressed in military garb performing Russian songs and Italian arias.


-After Kiev, went to Sanlitun in Chaoyang district to go bar hopping. Made a stop at Face Bar -- which will probably be my favorite bar in Beijing. Loved the atmosphere -- warm lighting and candles, beautiful hardwood floors, classy patrons, invitingly plush red couches, and artifacts from all throughout Asia. Didn't hurt that their drinks were fabulous as well! (One of the cocktails I had was made up of Japanese sake, lots of kiwi, and honey. Yum.) It was so stylish and classy that I feel like this bar could thrive in any cosmopolitan city in the world.

Will write a separate post about my bargaining experiences on Sunday as it's quite long!

Beautiful, Hawaii-like Tropical Island....in China?!

Leaving tomorrow for a 4 night "business trip" to lovely Sanya, China! White sand beaches, a trip to their famous hot springs, crystal clear blue waters, dramatic sunsets...ah, can't wait. Temps are in the refreshingly warm 80s...such a nice change from literally freezing Beijing! Check it out...

Better have all my shows DVRed for me in the US...

NY Times Article

I guess I shouldn't forget my SPF sunscreen in Sanya!

An IM conversation with my Beijing coworker, discussing what to do when we go to Sanya (the Hawaii of China):

Carolyn: yes, or you could sun tan a little

coworker: oh i don't want to sun tan..... I like to be white:)

haha

Carolyn: hehee

i did see a lot of lightening/whitening creams at Carrefour

:)

coworker: yes. it's quite different in China, right? asia people do like to be white and light

Carolyn: yes!

in the US people like to be tan...

coworker: then u looks great!

are u born tan or sun tan

Carolyn: hhahaha

sun tan

:)
coworker: hey it's quite interesting. why US people like tan?

Settling in more...

After a little bit of feeling blah, homesick, and severely out of my element, I'm finally settling in more in Beijing. Tonight, I even found it slightly amusing that the cabbie tried to take me in circles so as to rip me off. I've gotten quite confident at yelling at the Beijing cab drivers, as I've had to do it more than a few times.

Two days ago, coworker Jia and I made lunch plans to have Xinjiang food. Now, I had heard all about this specific cuisine from the last Ambassador, Stephanie, who thought it was the most amazing food. So, of course I had to try it myself. Jia brought me to a restaurant that's associated with the Xinjiang provincial office here in Beijing. This cuisine is from the Xinjiang province, in far west China, close to Tibet. This region is inhabited mostly by Muslim Uyghers and Kazakhs. Nan bread, lamb, chicken, homemade noodles and yoghurt are key staples in Xinjiang cuisine. After all that I had heard about it, I'm happy to say that Xinjiang food did not disappoint in the least. The da pan ji dish came first. Literally, this means a 'big plate of chicken.' It wasn't just chicken, though; it was spicy chicken surrounded by fresh bell peppers, potatoes, cloves of garlic, and thick and chewy homemade noodles -- all sitting in a thick, delicious gravy. This gravy is also where one dips the nan into. I couldn't get enough of this dish. I would have tender piece after tender piece of chicken, then refill my plate again and again with the potatoes dipped in gravy. But, maybe my favorite part of the da pan ji dish was the fat, long homemade noodles. These noodles are unlike anything I've ever had elsewhere. They were so chewy, so thick, so satisfying to eat. Happy sigh. Next, came the lamb skewers, or yang rou chuan. They were so tender and so juicy that I was sad that we only ordered 2 skewers. It's a shame that Xinjiang food isn't more prominent in the States. (But, maybe very good for my waistline!) I could go on and on about my lunch experience with Xinjiang food, but suffice to say, it has been the most delicious, satisfying meal in Beijing that I've had so far. I gorged myself on Xinjiang food so much that I was stuffed until 5pm!

Below: lamb skewers; nan bread, a plate of cold vegetables, the famous da pan ji specialty; Jia and me (very full and happy) after the meal




Today for lunch, Christine, Sissi, and I went to nearby Wudaoko, which is a neighborhood known for its university students and Korean population. I had so much fun eating with these two girls! These two girls really are the definition of lovely and welcoming. We talked about everything from our siblings, future travel plans, ideal places for us to retire, to the one-child policy in China, and common dating and marriage ages in China. They told me that there are actually exceptions to the one-child rule in China. For example, if two people get married, and they both come from a long line of single children, they are then allowed to have two children without penalty. Also, minorities in China are allowed to have multiple children as well without penalty. They also said that now, more and more women in China who are well educated and hold good jobs wait until they are in the late 20s and early 30s before marrying, much like the US.

Below, two pictures of our lunch at a Korean restaurant: the very cute seating at the restaurant -- so low to the ground that you sit with your legs completely stretched out ahead of you and with your shoes off; Christine, me, and Sissi.






After lunch, I was talking to Sissi on IM and she wrote something as her status message that completely made my day! She wrote, "暁璠好可愛," or, "Hsiao Farn is very cute." Hsiao Farn is my Chinese name. It made me so happy to think that I'm starting to make new friends and will hopefully be all right in Beijing!

Homesick, but at least I'm eating good food!

As I've only been here for 6 days, I guess it's totally normal and expected to feel homesick. Everything is just so different here, and super overwhelming....everything from the taxis and crazy drivers, the facilities and water in China, the language barriers, lack of friends here, the list goes on. I suppose that this will all get better as time passes. But yeah, sometimes I wonder what I'm doing here. Even getting to and from work everyday is stressful, as I have to effectively communicate with the driver, make sure I'm not getting ripped off and taken for a ride, and hope that we don't get into an accident as the taxi comes *thisclose* to running over a group of pedestrians or crashing into a bus. The lack of seatbelts doesn't help.

Anyway...on the bright side, I'm happy to say that I've had some good food recently. During lunchtime yesterday, Bessie, Carol, and I went to the Middle 8th Restaurant, which serves Yunnan food. This is the first time I've had this type of Chinese cuisine. This cuisine features a lot of hot and spicy dishes, as it is heavily influenced by nearby Sichuan. Almost all dishes have mushrooms in them, as well -- all varieties of mushrooms and cooked in various ways. Their most famous dish, though, by far is Guoqiao Noodles -- or 'across the bridge' rice noodles. This dish is made of soup, sliced meat, rice noodles and seasonings. The boiling soup is made of boiled chicken and pork bone in a light-colored broth. Chicken, pork, liver, kidney, fish and pickled pork are cut into slices. Seasonings are made of boiled vegetables. First, the raw sliced meat is dropped into the soup. After a few minutes, noodles and seasonings are added. It was very flavorful, delicious, as well as comforting as it reminded me of homestyle cooking. Along with our dishes, we all had rice wine as well. This was new to me, too, as in the US rice wine is only used for cooking! But I really like the rice wine here in China. It's very sweet and doesn't taste very alcoholic at all. After a few cups, Bessie and Carol started to feel a bit tipsy, but I was fine, hehe.

pictures below: rice wine; the sleek and modern decor of Middle 8th Restaurant; Bessie, me, and Carol; the famous Guoqiao noodles.








For dinner, I went with Jiayi and the AdSense Ambassador from Dublin, Olivia, to Yumadun for Sichuan food. Ummm...okay, so Sichuan food in the US is completely watered down in terms of spiciness. At Yumadun, their dishes ranged from one chili to three chilies in terms of spiciness. With ordering just the one chili dishes, my mouth was burning, and I had to drink cup after cup of hot water (can't order cold water as Beijing's water is not potable). The highlight of the dinner, though, was ordering pig ears. I've eaten pig ears on and off ever since I was a child, and they are quite good. In the US, they are made very flavorful and quite chewy. At the Yumadun restaurant, the dish was presented in a very unique way as the flat strips of pig ears were hung as to specially display them (see picture below). Then, the waiters took away the dish and proceeded to arrange the flat strips into beautiful spring rolls. If you looked at their creation of the spring rolls, most would never know that those are actually pig ears!

Below: pig ears when they were first presented; pig ears made into spring rolls (those are carrot strips sticking out); Jiayi, Olivia, me.






After dinner, Jiayi, Olivia and me went to Library in neighboring district Xicheng. Library is an incredibly cute, cozy coffeehouse...almost like Friends' Central Perk...but even better! Couches are everywhere and there is actually a large bookshelf with lots of books for customers to pick out and read. The coffeehouse feels very homey, intimate, and comfortable. If there weren't so many smokers there, I would definitely go frequently. But, after a while, the intense smell of smoke hitting me constantly got to be too much, and it was time to go home.

Claustrophobic? Avoid Carrefour at all costs...

On Sunday, I decided to make a second trip to Carrefour, the French Walmart. Big mistake. I knew I was in big trouble even before entering the store, as it was utter chaos even trying to get a shopping cart for myself. Even there, people were pushing each other and cutting. Once in the store, the masses of people everywhere and the frantic environment made it feel like Black Friday in the US -- only except that it was a normal weekend in China. In order to get anywhere, I had to copy what the locals were doing -- shoving and pushing their way ahead. After a little while, I started to get a massive headache. It wasn't just the crowds, but the annoying Carrefour employees, too. You know how stores like Target and Costco in the US place sale items in their own section or in a display perpendicular to an aisle? Well, at Carrefour, there's an employee who stands at each single sale display...except, with a microphone in hand. The employee would say things like "Only 50 kuai [Chinese currency]! Regular price 80 kuai! Come and get yours now! High quality! 50 kuai -- so cheap!" Less than 10 feet away, another employee would be shouting another promotion into a mic. And on and on. As Carrefour is a Walmart type store, you can imagine how many sales displays they had. My head started to spin.

Their employees are also talented at being quite annoying in the aisles themselves. In every aisle, I'd see at least one Carrefour employee, if not two or three at a time. Considering how huge Carrefour is, the number of employees there seems way excessive. Anyway, whenever I'd take an item down from the shelf, an employee would gleefully say things like, "Good choice!!! It used to be 33 kuai! Now down to 18 kuai!" Another time, I was trying to pick which laundry detergent to buy. I wanted to be left alone to look at each different line. But, the Carrefour employee there immediately came to my side and went into a spiel, saying, "You must buy this one. This one won't give you an allergy! See, it's colorless! It's good for all clothes! And, see, you only need to put this much for this amount of clothes! Great buy, right?" What a change from US grocery/household shopping.

Other interesting differences I noticed:
-the yogurt drinks must be way popular in China. The selection of yogurt drinks was twice as large as their milk selection.
-Skin whitening creams, masks, lotions, soaps, serums, etc. were everywhere. Even the masks they were selling for problem skin had whitening agents in them.
-after selecting the produce you would like to buy, you must queue in line and get it weighed by an employee, who will paste a sticker stating the weight and price onto your purchase. Without the sticker, you cannot buy the produce. I liked that one of the employees yelled at a lady who decided that she was too good to wait in line. Maybe the Chinese are really trying to get better about lining up.
-cleaning/sanitary supplies such as rubbing alcohol or sanitizing wipes aren't readily found in Beijing.
-air purifiers are huge in Beijing! The selection of air purifiers was unbelievable. I even saw a Winnie the Pooh air purifier. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised, though, as almost everyone in the Google Beijing office has an air purifier on his/her desk.

I must admit that the whole time I was at Carrefour, I felt like kicking myself for deciding to come on a busy weekend and without a local with me. As everything was labeled entirely in Chinese, and things all start to look the same after awhile, I felt lightheaded trying to decipher what each product was for and how it differentiated from the product next to it. Next time, I should really bring a local who gets Carrefour in all its madness and who can help me figure out what's written on the back label of a product!

Later, while sweating bullets the whole time from the store's excessive heating system (who needs it when there's body heat?), I finally made my way through the crowd, confusing displays, and pushy employees and paid for my stuff. Even though it was cold and polluted outside, I've never been so relieved to leave a store in my life.

Forecast: Smoke

Before I went out today, I checked the Weather.com forecast for Beijing. Expecting to see the condition listed as something like 'Sunny' or 'Partly Cloudly,' I instead saw 'Smoke' -- which is definitely the first time I've ever seen that in a weather forecast description. Well, it was right on target to say the least. Walking for just about 30 minutes outside today, I couldn't hold back constant coughing as my lungs couldn't handle the pollution. There were a few moments where I felt a little queasy while walking as the severity of the pollution was so foreign to me and really hit me hard. (For those who aren't familiar with the horrible polluted air in Beijing, just a few days ago, the pollution index of Beijing hit 421. For comparison's sake, Los Angeles, London, and Paris all have pollution indexes of just over 100. The World Health Organization deems pollution indexes under 100 "safe." Beijing has won the award of the most polluted major city in the world -- hurrah.) At dinner, there was a guy at the next table who puffed away at his cigarette during his entire meal. I think it's crazy that some Beijingers smoke when the pollution levels are equivalent to smoking 100 cigarettes a day (!!!!!). When I got home tonight, the smell of smoke had completely permeated my hair and clothes. It was so unbearable, much more so than when I walk through clouds of smoke in the Bay Area. I immediately went to wash off and I was relieved to finally be able to breathe normally. So...tomorrow I'm going to go back to that French Walmart and buy myself those masks that I see locals wearing around town.

Beijing pollution:



In other updates, I love the food here in China!! For lunch, my coworkers Elisa, Tim, and I went to a Taiwanese restaurant in a ZhongGuanCun (my neighborhood) mall. It had the most delicious plate of string beans and minced pork that I've ever had in my life. And I order string beans all the time! This time, they mixed together the string beans and minced pork with egg, and it was simply delicious. I also had the best bubble tea here! I will definitely have to take my parents here when they visit -- they will love this place. Elisa and Tim are so hospitable, I almost felt embarrassed with how sweet they are to me!

Below: the Taiwanese restaurant dishes


For dinner, I met up with a Mountain View coworker's friend, Sydney. Sydney and I went to a very fancy Shanghainese restaurant. I really like Shanghainese fare. It's very light but still flavorful, and it's supposed to be a more more healthy option compared to Beijing's heavy, rich, and filling foods.



Almost got run over today by a van that zoomed towards me while I was walking through a zebra crossing. Man, I really hope I will come back to California in one piece (including my lungs)!

My gorgeous apartment! = *cough* come visit *cough*

I love my apartment here! It's incredibly spacious, as I have a one-bedroom apartment all to myself! And it's definitely luxurious and way expensive. The perks are great as well, as I have daily maid service (I even don't have to wash dishes, as I can leave it for them to do), access to the gym and pool, two plasma TVs and DVD players in the apt, own washer/dryer unit, etc. Without further ado, here are pics!


The entry hallway and kitchen. This is the first time I've ever had my own set of dining table and chairs in an apartment!


One of two plasma TVs.



The sunrise from my bedroom window











L to R: my bed; another pic of a Beijing sunrise; and the fridge (!). Yup, that's a fridge! I thought it was a cabinet, initially.







Below, L to R: the plush living room with high ceilings; dual sinks in the bathroom; my amazing, swanky bathroom -- all glass!













COME VISIT!