A Red Blouse & Jean Capris

Hello all my dear readers! So recently,for some reason an old memory has conjured up in my mind and since being conjured has been a constant thought. Its always on my mind, at the most random moments and I honestly don’t know why it occurred to me. I’ll just start thinking about it and then I’ll relive the memory several times before my mind is satisfied. This memory first appeared to me a few weeks before school ended. I had to leave school early for family reasons and since I was home I saw many of the neighborhood kids I had gone through elementary and middle school with. This doesn’t mean we all were friends in any way, but they know who I am and I know who they are. I guess you could say, we grew up together since we lived in the same neighborhood, separated by only a few blocks. Arriving at my house and seeing these people and who they are now, I couldn’t help but think of who they use to be…and that’s when this memory infected my mind. I guess by now you all want to know what I’m talking about exactly. I’ll go through the memory  before explaining why I think it is haunting me. Here it is…..

I’m sitting in my elementary school hallway with a red blouse, jean capris and old tennis shoes on. I’m hunched up in the little corner between the class room door and hallway wall, wishing I could somehow disappear. Just become invisible, at least for a little while. My knees are bent up pressed against my face which is hot from tears I had tried to hold back. The day had started off like shit and I knew it was only going to get worst. That particular morning I woke up ready to go to school, only to discover that all my clothes were dirty. My mother ( I never call her that) hadn’t washed any of my clothes that weekend and so I was left with nothing to wear. She was never really a responsible woman. Except when it came to boos, she always knew where they were. As usual that weekend she had drunk herself into a slumber. It was Monday meaning she wouldn’t be up until around 4 that evening so of course my grandparents were the ones who had to wake me up. After making my discovery I told my grandma that I had no school clothes. She searched but couldn’t find any either. However, she didn’t want me to miss school so with no other option she began to search through her own closet. That’s where she found an old red blouse and a pair of jean capris. I was going to go to school in an old woman’s clothes…I was going to wear grandma clothes. And so I found myself standing outside my classroom door watching the teacher scribble on the board as my fellow peers pretended to pay attention. As I stood and watched I was scared to my very core because I knew as soon as I entered the room everyone would laugh. They would take one look at my outfit and somehow know I was wearing granny clothes. Then they’d laugh at me until I was driven form the classroom out of sheer embarrassment and humiliation. Not knowing what to do, I found myself hunched over in the corner alone. The hallway was silent with everyone else in class.  As I cried I also prayed that no one would walk down the hall to see this pathetic scene. My prayers weren’t answered. Several heavy foot steps echoed in the hall followed by three distinct male voices. I didn’t look up. I didn’t want to. Instead I turned my head farther down and sunk below my arms so far so that my chin was nearly touching my stomach. I wanted to sink within myself. As the voices got closer I continued to curl up hoping that by time they reached the corner I would have disappeared. It didn’t happen.

“Ew, whats that guys?” said one of the three boys who now stood in front of me. There was no hiding, no disappearing. I had to look up and so I did, but only a little bit so that only my eyes could be seen. The three most popular boys in school were starring down at me with extreme looks of disgust on their faces. One boy shook his head and said to the others, “Man would you ever date her? She’s so ugly.” The boy next to him jumped in surprise at the question, “No way!” The third boy squinted his eyes, “What would you call her anyway?” The first boy hummed in contemplation, “A thing. I’d never date this thing.” He gestured towards me with a strong look of finality in his eyes and said, “Gross.” Then they all walked away continuously mumbling about how gross I was. Their words had shook my little 4th grade heart to the core. Every insult was like an onslaught of burning arrows all directed at me. I had no defense, no shield, no ally, no rock or stone to hide behind. Essentially I was out in the middle of wide field with a bulls eyes painted on me.

Every insult I had taken to heart. They made me feel bad about myself, about my life, about everything. My self esteem was at sub zero at the age of ten. These type of people had power over me and I thought that they’d grow up (all the popular kids) to be rich and successful. You know what I mean. They’d be the next Brads and Angelina. The next Diddy or Dr. Dre. But actually most of them are more like a Bonny and Clyde except way less famous. These people that I once thought were so cool and strong have gone no where int heir lives. They didn’t go to college ( some of them didn’t even finish high school), still live at home with their parents, have no car, no job( not legal ones at least) and lots of kids. I on the other hand am the opposite. I’m in college, have a car (that I paid for myself), I have a job, live on my own and have no kids( not any time soon).  I don’t want to be blunt or harsh, but these people are doing nothing with their lives. They’re going down the same path many have gone down before them. It always leads to the same place, the same result.

In school, these kids were the ones everyone wanted to be. They always had the best clothes, the best shoes, the best hair. They knew everyone and got invited to all the parties. But now I look at these same kids and I think to myself, “These are the people I use to admire? These are the guys I wanted to date? The girls I wanted to be friends with? What was I thinking?” This just goes to show that sometimes the road less traveled does have the greatest reward.

Crossing Borders: My Trip to China pt 10

Entry 12

Dear Journal,

               so this is my last entry. The trip to China has come to an end. It feels weird. I know it was only two weeks  but it felt way longer. I actually kind of felt like I lived there despite  not always feeling at home because of the starring and all. This has really been an amazing trip and I have grown so close with all of my fellow travelers. I’m currently on the plane to Dubai. Of course the service is amazing because I’m flying Emirates! I have to give Professor props. He made a great choice choosing Emirates.

Silk Street was very interesting. I spent a couple hundred rimibi there I(which was nothing in US dollars). I bought mostly stuff for myself since I had already gotten souvenirs for everyone else. The merchants (I guess you would call them that) were so intense. The one girl kept grabbing on me and she didn’t want me to leave the shop. She kept saying, “We friends! We friends!” I wasn’t falling for that. I looked at her and said, “No, we’re not. I don’t know you.” She just starred at me. I guess her english didn’t go that far. I was actually passing by this toy shop and the woman called out to me, “Hey, my sister come into my shop!” I busted out laughing and walked away. I don’t know what that was about.

As I sit on this plane starring out the window I can’t believe that I still can’t believe I’m actually leaving China. Soon I’ll be back in the US and the world will be colorful again if you know what I mean. lol Then the friends I have made on this trip…well, we all will go our separate ways and I can’t help but wonder if we’ll be friends after this. I hope so. I’ve had some great experiences with these people. If I could go on this trip all over again and could choose who to travel with, I wouldn’t choose any differently. These are the people I was suppose to travel with.

The other China trip has nothing on our trip. Professor Wang was definitely the right Professor to travel with. He knew how to make the trip both educational and fun. It was like he was one of the students but he still remained separate as a professor. And I never felt like he was monitoring me or like he was being too over bearing. He trusted us enough to allow us to explore China on our own. I respect him for that and would recommend this trip to anyone.

Well, goodbye China. I had fun while I was here. I learned so much about your history and culture, but I promise you one day I will return. So if you think about it China this isn’t really a goodbye but more of a see ya in awhile. So I’ll see you in awhile China!

Crossing Borders: My Trip to China pt 9

Entry 11

Dear  Journal,

                today is my last night in China. Tomorrow after shopping at silk street for a few hours I’ll be on a plane to the US. It will be nice to go home, but this trip has definitely been worth every penny. In my last entry I promised to talk about the show “A Night at West Lake.” So like I said before there wasn’t much of a story line and therefore it was hard to follow, but the show was still entertaining. There were acrobats, dancers, singers and contortionists. The choreography was top notch. In particular I enjoyed the battle choreography performed by the two feuding groups. They were so fierce and intense. You can tell that the actors really put their heart into it. There was spinning in the air, flips across and over one another. This show had no dull moments and what made it even better was the fact that we had VIP seating only a few rows from the stage! 

Professor took us to another jade shop. I still love the stone but it really is outof my budget. However, I did help myself to a few pearl necklaces at the pearl shop. They had a good deal going because we were foreigners so I decided why not? It was really cheap. The woman at the pearl shop said real pearls if rubbed leave a powdery residue. Fake pearls if rubbed leave no residue at all. I think a fact like this would be of great use to tourists in China since people sell stuff that’s fake, real and all the in between.

I’m currently back in Beijing. We caught the high speed train from Shanghai to Beijing. It only took 5 hours compared to last year where it was a 14 hour ride. This was before the high speed train was built though. Surprisingly the ride felt super long for me. I think it was just that I was separated from the group during the ride. Everyone else was seated in the back and I was seated a little further up so no conversations to pass the time. None of my neighbors knew english either so I couldn’t speak to them. I can’t wait to learn Chinese.

I had some Chinese acu puncture done the other day. The doctor said that there was something wrong with my digestive system which makes it hard for me to lose weight. He offered to sell me a tea that would make me skinny. I said no for two reasons: first it was way too expensive and second its not so much about being skinny as it is about being healthy. Those are just my personal feelings.

Today is the 27th according to the itinerary. Since arriving back in Beijing we’ve went to Tiaman Square, National Theater of Performing Arts, Monument to the People’s Hero and some shopping areas where we could buy street food. The Performing Arts Center was a building. Not much I can really say about it. I thought the architecture was nice. It was surrounded by a shallow moat which was pretty cool. Apparently this center had produced some of China’s most talented.

There are two things I remember about Taiman Square: it  was full of people and it was huge. Our tour guide said it could fit I think a million Chinese people and 500,000 foreigners ( that was a little joke she made). The issue is China has 1.3 million people so what are you going to do with the other .3  million people? I guess they can squeeze in too.

The People’s Hero Monument was the most recognizable monument for me personally. When you think of China you think of General Mao and then you think of this long wall with his face on it. Many people may not know the name of this actual monument but if they saw it they would recognize it. Its featured on tv whenever China is being discussed.

Well, tomorrow is silk street and then the plane. I’ll probably update you one last time to conclude the trip. Until then.

Crossing Borders: My Trip to China pt 8

Entry 10

Dear Journal,

             I am so sorry I haven’t updated you in awhile, but since coming to Shanghai the number of things we do in a day have been increasing and now its to the point where I’m so tired at the end of the day I just pass out in the hotel room. I don’t have the energy to even pick up my pen to write. Were going to a different hotel every night traveling deeper into the Southern part of China. At least I think we’re going South…I don’t know. My sense of direction was never great. There are only a few days left before I head back to the US. How do I feel about that? Hmmmmm, I’m not sure. There are definitely many things I miss about the states.  For instance cheese! Apparently cheese isn’t that popular in China nor is chocolate which are two of my favorite foods. Cheese is good on everything and its good in every form. I’ll eat it as a solid, a liquid or that weird in between phase. I mean almost everyone loves cheese unless you’re lactose intolerant. It’s the King of all dairy products. And chocolate? Do I really have to explain chocolate? It’s delicious, heavenly, tasty and delightful beyond the words in my limited vocabulary.  As you can see its something I’m passionate about. :) Besides food I miss the diversity the US has to offer. I miss walking down the street and seeing a rainbow of colors, ethnicities and stories. I miss my melting pot of people. Not to mention the freedom, spirit and pride that comes to mind when I think of the US now. The Chinese of course have pride in China and they definitely should because its an amazing country but America is that classic underdog story that pulls at my heart strings. It’s different. Anyway I’m just going to give a general overview of the past few days.

So we visited a Jade shop. This stone is so goregous. The Chinese people believe that jade has brings good fortune and protection to those who wear it. Women wear it on their left wrist to protect them. I think men tend to wear them as necklaces. The lighter jade is more expensive I think because its more pure. Despite that I was the most attracted to the darker shades of jade. There was this particular bracelet that was kind of a dark purple shade like grape cool aid. Hahaha. It was in the shape of this fierce dragon and hung off of this thick piece of rope. I loved it but too expensive so no buy. 

We also visited Dr. Sun Yat Sen’s Mausuleun. If I remember correctly he was the Manchu conqueror of China. In the same day out tour guide showed us Linghan Buddha and Palace. Linghan Buddha and Palace was so mystical. It was one of the more religous sites we visited. The palace was huge and covered in gold. This place is so respected that in order to walk inside the building one must remove their shoes and walk through the building in slippers. 

We also went to a pearl company, took a boat ride on West Lake and saw a show called “Night At West Lake.” I couldn’t really follow the story line but the show was still very entertaining. I’ll write about the show more when I have a chance. I’m really tired. Night.

Crossing Borders: My Trip to China pt7

Entry 9

Dear Journal,

               we did so much today I’m actually struggling to remember it. If I miss something forgive me. So first there was the couples garden and by the way we’re no longer in Chengdu. We’re now in Shanghai. See I’m so tired I forgot where I was. Haha. We move around so much that my mind is losing track, but I like the fact that we get to see a lot of things. Anyway so the couples garden was interesting. Very peaceful actually. There weren’t that many people so I could walk around without getting separated from the group. I enjoyed just walking around the garden and trying to take in the beauty of the garden. To be able to live there has to be a blessing. I love the stone they used to build the garden and I found myself frequently touching it, allowing the moisture of the day to soak into my skin. It was really nice.

Besides that the group and I traveled to a Buddhist temple, a silk factory, the Yangzi River, the river towns and the Confucius Temple. The Buddhist temple and the river town were my favorite. There is so much superstition in religion. The temple had this bell that if you rung it 3 times you would recieve good luck, but if you rung it 4 times than you would become a monk of the temple. The men who worked there would actually come to the bell tower, take you to a back room and shave your head. Officially a monk! Hahaha I told my friend Frank he should ring it 4 times and become a monk. He didn’t think that was the best profession for him personally.

The river town was so amazing. The houses were old school Chinese architecture and each rested on wooden pillars that were hidden beneath the river. In order to get around this town a boat was a necessity. I thought that part was really cool. I mean I’m so use to just walking around my own city but to have to actually take a boat is something totally different. Mind boggling isn’t it? Anyway that’s basically what we did today. I am definitely having more fun on this trip than my trip to Europe. Though we’re going to a lot of tourists sites I believe Professor is showing us the real China. We go beyond the tourist attractions and see what really makes China China. More tomorrow.

Crossing Borders: My Trip to China pt 6

Entry 8

Dear Journal,

               okay so today was the Panda Nursery and the Jinsha Ruins. I mean what can I really say about the nursery? It was a panda nursery and so therefore it had to be amazingly epic! They were so cute and did you know that there was such a thing as a red panda? I didn’t, perhaps I’m just a bit slow on the animal know how. Well, the red panda doesn’t look much like a regular panda in my opinion. It actually looks more like a raccoon with red fur and splotches of black. It’s small with a long tail and pointy ears where as …well we know what a normal panda looks like, big fat with black white fur. I’m not exactly sure how they’re connected, but I’m not an evolutionary biologists either so give me so slack. However, the tour guide did teach me a lot about this animal. Unlike what most people think pandas aren’t herbivores. They’re omnivores, but they don’t eat meat because they’re too big (and lazy) to actually catch any prey. Pandas were discovered by the French and that is where they received their name. The pandas are nearly extinct which is why many of them live in captivity so that they can be in a controlled environment and breed.

Now onto the Jinisha Ruins. It was interesting but honestly there were so many people I couldn’t really get a good look. Of course people starred at me. One woman’s jaw literally dropped and she shook the woman beside her so they both could stare at me like so middle school science project. Lovely, but I wasn’t the only thing on display. There was this guy there who had to be at the least 7ft tall. Probably more actually. People followed him around and took pictures of him. They posed with him and one woman tried to make him hold her baby. They basically treated him like he was a freak. It was really sad. I don’t want to be rude but China needs to open its eyes a bit more and realize that people are different, but that doesn’t make them freaks. China’s not very internationalized. It along with the people are so cut off from the world that they don’t realize that there are people out there who are different than they are. It’s 2012 man, there’s a whole world out there. Get use to it! I don’t want to sound rude, but I’m just going to say it. I feel like China and its people are somewhat ignorant and closed minded in terms of the rest of the world. This is not a racist statement and I hope you understand what I’m trying to say.

For dinner we ate a hot pot which is a Chinese style of eating where people cook food in several boiling pots of spice before eating it. It’s really cool since you get to cook your own food. After dinner we all went to a Chinese night club. Haha. That’s a post for another day. Lets just say that the club was a new and very interesting experience. But if anyone wants my advice if you want to have a really good time in China than make sure you travel with some white people. Why you ask? Because to simplify it white people (especially white americans) are top notch. Ya know what I mean?

Well thats it for tongiht. I’m going to sleep. Night.

Crossing Borders: My Trip to China pt5

Entry 6

Dear Journal,

              okay so I’m so tired I’m just going to make this entry quick. Alright, so today I went to the Forbidden City and the Beijing Coca-Cola Factory. They were both cool and included a lot of walking which is why I am so tired right now. I really liked looking at the old Chinese Coca Cola advertisements. They were similar to the US advertisements in the fact that all the people were amazingly attractive and happy…all because they decided to drink some coke. lol Definitely realistic. Just like those tampon commercials. Haha. Though I have to say many of the bill boards and posters I’ve seen in China would be considered child advertisement in America. There are always these little cute cartoon characters on bottles, posters and packages of food for people of all ages. I think it has something to deal with anime being way more popular in Asia for all ages. So after learning more about China today I have decided that I could never live here. There are several reasons but I won’t go into them now. All I’ll say is that I love the freedom, flexibility and opportunity that the US has to offer. And apparently so do many foreigners. A lot of foreign students come to the US to study and then  go back to their home country when they’re done. Now as you all should know by now I’m no racist and I believe that everyone should be rewarded the same opportunities with education, however, doesn’t the US feel a bit used by these foreigners? They come over to our country to use whatever part of it they want and then leave to tak eit back to their own. I mean not all foreigners do that and I’m probably sounding really bad right now, but I hope no one takes it the wrong way.

I’ve learned to try to ignore the stares. I try not to react to it and get angry because maybe if I just smile and wave the next time they(the Chinese people that stare) meet another black person they won’t stare so much.

Oh,k yesterday I got my first experience with haggling. They really do try to jip you because you’re a foreigner. It was so intense. Some of the shop keeps would literally come up and grab on you to try to pull you into their store. Every time you walk by their shop they’ll yell at you begging you to come in. Craziness! I saw this man get hit and yelled at simply because he refused to buy the woman’s item. She had set the price extremely high and he haggled it to a lower price but it was still not low enough for him so he decided to walk away and oh boy did she go after him! I really didn’t know it would be that serious. They just assume that because you’re a foreigner that you have  shiz load of money. Oh man are they wrong. But I guess to them we would be considered rich. 

I tried some roast duck for dinner. It was so good. I just love duck!

Entry 7

Dear Journal,

               goodbye Beijing, hello Chengdu!  Alright so lets just skip breakfast and go onto lunch because that is where all the action was today. Alright, so for lunch we had street food and man can I just say it was good! Chinese street food i the equivalent of food trucks in NYC. Get me? Restaurants are nice and so far every place we’ve been too I’ve had my full, but I believe that you can’t really have experienced a nation’s food unless you get it from the nitty gritty. Restaurant food is kind of done up and designed where street food is kind of layed out in its raw form, usally cooked in front of you and its just done! It’s no fake bs. It’s real food without the fancy costume. You know what I mean? Perhaps, I’m rambling too much but I hope my point is getting across. If you ever want to know a culture eat more than just their restaurant food because chefs with classy culinary degrees cook that food. But the regular people  cook the street food. :)

Besides the street food, me and my fellow peers found this store where you could dress in traditional royal clothing and have your picture taken. Kirk and Thu Zhar decided to go for it after a bit of coaxing. A few photos turned into a photo shoot. They attracted so much attention. There was seriously a crowd of people just watching them get their pictures taken. We all decided to join in on the fun and before I knew it the whole group was taking pictures with them. I mean I guess it didn’t make a difference since people were already taking pics of us so why not do it when we are actually posing and aware of the fact. lol

Besides the street food we all got massages tonight. It was great bonding time for Jess and I but I can’t lie that it felt a little awkward to have someone all in my personal space. It was a traditional Chinese style massage so they did the whole body. Having someone massage my butt was definitely a new experience. Haha. Oh, I got my first ride in a Chinese taxi. It was fun, crazy and scary all at the same time. There are like no traffic laws in China, you just go when you feel it is right. lol  Whatever happens, happens. Well thats all for now.

Crossing Borders: My Journey To China pt 4

Entry 5

Dear Journal,

               okay so I asked some of the Chinese students and apparently Koreans love Americans. No one get mad at me, this is what I was just told. They’re crazy over Americans though so far from what I’ve seen I wouldn’t say it was just Koreans… and by the way when they think of Americans they think of white Americans so they’re really crazy over them. Blonde hair and blue eyes is top notch…like it is around most of the world I hate to say. People have preferences. But why? Where do they come from? That would probably take a long look in history and society. A bit too much work for this girl, but I have a few ideas of where racial admiration and preferences come from, but back to China since that is the point of this journal. Okay so besides the Great Wall yesterday we all went to the Nest which is where the 2008 Olympics were held. It’s called a nest on account of its shape which resembles a bird’s nest. It was really cool, but honestly I think most of us were more interested in the Food Expo that was passing through. They had food from all across Asia. Thailand, China, Japan, Korea and so many I can’t even remember them. It was here that I tried my first fried ice cream and can I just say mmmmmmmmmm. Now the ice cream was different than American ice cream. Less sugar and toppings, just basic old school ice cream that tasted a lot like milk. I enjoyed it but my friend Jessica who calls herself an ice cream coniseur ( I know I spelled that wrong) thought one lick was enough to last her.

Dinner tonight was good. I won’t go into too many details, but I’ll just say that the egg plant dish was delicious. I give props to the Chef. Egg plant is a hit or miss dish or at least it is in my opinion. On to the next topic. Jet lag! Oh yes, isn’t it lovely! Thank fully I don’t have it that bad. During the day I’m a little tired but not to the point where I’m falling asleep and actually most of my exhaustion comes from the heat. Since arriving in Beijing its been getting hotter and hotter. The heat also isn’t good for my hair. Dries it out. So of course I haven’t been on this China trip for very long, but so far I’m enjoying it much more than my trip to London and Paris and I expect these feelings to continue. I’ve wrote about this before so bare with me. Europe is cool. I mean they have the Eiffle Tower, Big Ben, an amazing history full of influential philosophers, inventors and artists, but its so similar to the states which makes since because America was originally a British colony. We have a similar foundation and therefore a similar culture even today. Asia on the other hand is across the globe and though its modernizing and becoming “americanized” there is still that essential base that makes the nations so different. I like it and wouldn’t mind coming back for another trip.

I almost forgot! Let me talk about their toilets. Lets they have toilets which for some reason several people didn’t believe China had. They don’t have the seats you sit on, they have…well…I don’t want to make it sound  barbaric, but basically they have holes in the ground. The toilet seat is installed in the ground with regular plumbing and everything, The only thing missing is the neck of the toilet. Well, now I’m going to sleep or else I won;t be able to make it through the tomorrow. See ya.

Crossing Borders: My Journey to China pt 3

Entry 4

Dear Journal,

               I asked again and I remember what my Professor said the rent was. $600,000 US dollars a month. What the hell!? Now that’s like a 100,000 of their currency if I remember correctly but based on the salaries the majority of Chinese people get I don’t see how they do it. 100,000 rimimbi is still a lot even by American standards. How many Americans do you think live in apartments where the rent is $100,000 dollars a month. Uh… not many… I can tell you that. And usually the apartment spaces aren’t that big since they go by per square feet. Okay now they area we were riding through was a bit more uppity so that plays a role in the price but even so living in China isn’t like buying gum at candy store if ya catch my drift.

Yesterday I forgot to write about the Great Wall. I must have been really tired to forget about something so epic. We just do so much in one day that some stuff slips out. So yeah yesterday we climbed it and when I say it I mean like I made it to one watch tower and that was it. Hahaha there was no way I was climbing the whole thing. It’s over 4000 miles long man! That’s seriously amazing and I patted myself on the back for even making it as far as I did. And even though people were amazed at the Great Wall they were also amazed at me and my group as well. I don’t know if I already mentioned this or not but China is not a melting pot likee the US and you don;t really feel that until you actually go there. That’s when it hits you. Since we were foreigners we got a lot of attention…so basically people starred, pointed and took pictures. Lovely ( not). I hate pictures. I especially recieved an extra long glance or two because if you think white people are a rarity in Asia trying black people then add in the fact that I was wearing my natural hair and you’ve got yourself a regular freak show! I tried to ignore the stares, but it was so annoying. i wnated to turn around and as the on lookers if they had a problem but of course they wouldn’t understand me so there was no point. This Korean couple even stopped and talked to us and started posing with us. Strangely they didn’t want to take pictures with the Chinese students in our group. I guess they weren’t exotic enough but I kind of felt bad as they so blatantly tossed my Asian friends to the side. Not cool man. Most of the people who were starring I think had never seen a black person before so I guess I was their first….hm. So I kind of took their black people virginity in a way, right? Okay, maybe I’m the only one who thinks like this but I think its hilarious. I was their first and I always will be haha. I’ll write some more later. See ya until then.

P.S. That Swedish guy also mentioned that before carbon trading companies there were similar companies except with electricity. Cool, huh.

Crossing Borders: My Trip To Journey pt 2

Dear Journal,
              Is there anything better in this world than fried lemon duck? Seriously. Today the group and I had lunch at this nice restaurant a few blocks from the hotel. As in usual Asian style we all sat around a circular table with a spinning middle. The spinning middle is used to move the food around the table so people don’t really have to reach over each other. There’s also a lot of food served as always. You know before coming to China I thought that Chinese people didn’t eat as much as Americans and that was why they tend to be smaller than us. However, since arriving here that thought has been destroyed and buried. Every meal is composed of several dishes and when I say several I don’t mean five or seven. I mean like ten plus man! There is always so much food. And its not just because we’re in restaurants. According to my Professor the only Asian that don’t chow down at the table are the Japanese who believe in eating only 3/4 of their meal out of respect. If this is fact I still have to wonder how they stay so small then. Perhaps by the time I leave China  I will know their secret. Oh, I just realized I completely diverged from the original topic. So back to the fried lemon duck. It was one of the dishes served today at lunch. When I took my first bite my tongue and taste buds were greeted with a surprising taste. Actually it was so surprising that after the first taste I paused in contemplation and raised my eye brows. The thick bright yellow sauce was also sweet and citrus -y, but it was definitely not a dessert. The actual duck itself was cooked perfectly so that the breading wasn’t too soft and just slid off nor was it too crunchy and hurt too chew. This dish was perfect, but I think its time to move onto another topic before I start drooling. Food is just such a big part of every culture and the Chinese students (as well as my Professor) put emphasis on how important food is in their culture, He actually joked that because the Chinese put so much time in effort into food is why it took them this long to catch up with America. Haha. He’s an interesting character.

As we were riding through Beijing today I starred outside at the city. I didn’t really see many houses but I saw loads of apartment  buildings that reached the sky and beyond ( so basically they were seriously tall). Out of curiosity I asked my Professor how much rent was? He gave me a rough estimation based on the area of Beijing we were in and said 600 riminbi per square feet (I think that’s what he said at least but trust me it was a ridiculous amount despite). I nearly fell out my seat. I took in a deep breath and shouted ” How the heck can people afford to live in China?!” He luaghed but I was serious. Rent is extremely high except in the rural areas. Oh you wanna buy a house? Forget about that! It’s still mind boggling now to think about it as I’m prepping to go to sleep. Actually I’m struggling to keep my eyes open so  I’ll write more tomorrow. Good night.

Crossing Borders: My Journey To China

Hello dear readers! I hope you’re all doing well. Okay so as you know I recently returned from a trip to China. The trip was awesome and I learned a lot about Chinese culture and history. Now originally I planned to create a new post each day I was in China so that you all could keep up with what was happening, but I found it a bit difficult since I was gone usually until late at night. By that time I was exhausted from the day’s events and passed out as soon as I lay in bed. My last post was the first entry in the journal I kept during the trip. I decided that instead of writing a single post each day, I would combine several journal entries into one post. I hope you guys don’t mind the format. The entries are below. Enjoy!

Entry 1:

Journal, allow me to go through my first day in China. After having my first meal in China I can already see the clear difference between American Chinese food and authentic Chinese food. Big difference! Everything is lighter and less greasy. The sauce and seasonings are much more distinct and everything isn’t breaded or deep fried. The style of eating is very different also. In America you take one plate of a few items and fill it up. Here you take a little bit of several dishes so that way you get to try everything. I really like their style of eating and can see why they’re not dealing with an obesity problem like the US (too harsh? Maybe..) There are more organic options and less processed crap which I think is awesome. You don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for some fresh food! That’s how it should be everywhere. 

In the dining area I was lucky enough to get a window seat so I could see right out into the hotel’s garden. It was so beautiful. There’s this little river and all these beautiful flowers surround it with small fountains. When the sun shines down on this scenery I get this really peaceful feeling. I suddenly just want to lay out in the sun and laze the day away. Is that a bad thing? I don’t think so. A relaxing day in the sun is good for everyone. Anyway after breakfast we went to a carbon trading company in the business area of Beijing. The company was bought out by a Swedish bank so the the big boss (who we spoke with) was obviously Swedish. He was very nice and answered all our questions, but I have to be honest. The dude seemed a bit arrogant. Just a bit. Oh yeah, okay so just in case you don’t know what a carbon trading company is let me give you a quick definition. Countries that have caps on their amount of green house gases like the US help other countries that don’t have caps like China reduce their amount of green house gases and increase their amount of clean energy so that inn return countries with caps like the US can somewhat extend their cap limit and be able to produce more green house gases without breaking the cap. You get it? Though the business was definitely interesting and a fresh idea, I cant help but to wonder how other environmentalist feel about such companies? Okay, so these companies do give a somewhat strong consistency to the amount of green house gases (because one country helps another produce less gh gas the first country gets to produce the amount the second country didn’t), but environmentalists don’y want a consistency in the amount. They want a decrease. I look at it like this. If there wasn’t a consistency there would be an increase in the amount of gh gases and I prefer  consistency over an increase. Of course a decrease is better,but the chances of that happening are slim to none. Sometimes you have to settle in life.

Entry 2

Apparently the way business is done in China is quite different than the American style of doing business according to my Professor. He claims that in the US business is more formal where in China its on a more friendly level and more relxaed. People want to get to know you before they do business with you. I guess in American business there no play time. This comparison is unexpected because in general I believe Chinese culture and society to be more more reserved than the US, but there are certain aspects of the cultures where the opposite is true instead such as business handling. It’s late and I’m tired. I’ll try to think of some more comparisons tomorrow. Night.

Entry 3 will be posted tomorrow. Thanks and please give feed back.

China Entry One: Dining In Economy Class

Hello, all my dear readers! I am very sorry that I have not posted anything these last few weeks. While I was in China there was little access to the internet and so I recorded my experiences in a journal so that now I can post them just for you. I first want to start with what it actually took to get to China. As my grandmother would say, “It’s not just a hop, skip and jump away!”

First, I had to drive from my hometown in Maryland to my college located in the huge state of Pennsylvania (it took forever to drive through). From there me and my other class mates (along with our Professor) took a shuttle to JFK air port in New York. I’ve traveled before so I was use to the long and yes sometimes quite annoying process of actually getting on a plane. There were so many lines! First is check where you get your luggage weighed, your carry on identified and your tickets. Then you go through security where you and your luggage are both checked for any harmful items. I believe they actually made us take off our shoes which I think is common in most American air ports. Next you go through customs and then finally you can head to your gate where you must wait to board. Of course people start forming a line to get on the plane, but depending on the airline customers may be called in based on their class and not their number in the line. On my way back to states first and business class were called in first to be seated. They usually got the top area of the plane and economy class (like me!) were seated in the bottom. I know just reading this post it seems like the process isn’t that long, but trust me you don’t just walk through security and customs. You’re questioned several times, checked repeatedly and constantly watched. Plus as I said there are lines everywhere so to get through each area you have to wait and when you have a baby (or babies) crying in your ear it makes the wait seem much longer.

Now enough of that boring stuff. Allow me to brag for a minute about the service provided by the airline I flew with. Emirates. I’m not sure if you all have heard of this airline before but let me tell you if you ever want to travel internationally fly with them! They provided such an amazing service! I was impressed with everything they had to offer. When I boarded the plane the first thing I saw were the uniforms the stuartess wore. Their outfits were extremely classy, but they made it more than that because of how they carried themselves. Heads held high, makeup and hair perfect with not one hair out of place. They were gracious with bright smiles and this air of elegance. They helped seat you and then 40 minutes (or an hour) into the flight they start serving snacks and meals. The number of meals you get or snacks is dependent on how long your flight is.

I know people always make jokes about airplane food, but they can’t make those say comments about Emirates food which has actually won an award for how good it is! Before serving the food they give you a menu with several options each option being delicious. Besides the main meal they serve you side dishes with it, a dessert, a roll and something to drink. After eating one meal I was stuffed. Honestly I felt like the staff kept offering me food and it got to the point I just simply had to refuse because I was so full. Each employee was so kind and tried to meet the requests of each customer. I recommend this airline to anyone.

From JFK we flew to Dubai (this airline only flies in and out of Dubai) where we had a three hour lay. From there I had a 12 hour flight to Beijing and then I took my first step into China.