The Camel, The Mongolian, and The Wall

大家好！！ (Hello Everybody!!)

It has only been two weeks since I travelled to the Great Wall, and already the awe and excitement have been replaced by my recent trek through Inner Mongolia. However, my memories of camping overnight on the Wall and climbing one of the most beautiful sections have not faded.

The only way to begin is to say that I love my body. However, for the first time ever, during the grueling 3 hour bus ride to Jinshanling, I was literally in pain due to my height, and really wished I was much shorter (though I'm not sure if this would have even helped). I sat cramped in the farthest back corner of the bus with luggage on my lap, my knees hitting the seat in front of my even as I sat jammed against the back of my seat. For 3 hours I could not move my long legs more than a few inches, hardly enough to stretch my muscles and keep them from cramping. Finally standing upright when we arrived was a great relief, and I could not wait to climb the Wall, though our long hike would not start until the next morning.

After stretching our legs through a few tosses of my frisbee, we devoured an unremarkable dinner, remembered only for the prevalence of corn in many forms and far too much food leftover due to our program's excessive ordering. An invigorating game of hotbox frisbee followed dinner, and we even got the program assistents to play! Once it was dark, nearly everyone trekked 20 minutes up the road to sleep on the Wall, a few students choosing the comforts of the quaint hotel in town. My roomie, my friend Michelle and I explored the store houses and stake-out posts on the Wall while eveyone else set up their tents and sleeping bags and started partying. It was warm enough to sleep without a tent and only a sleeping bag stretched across us, but unfortunately this was not as fun as we had anticipated because the sky was as overcast as in Beijing, sadly preventing any star-gazing. Nevertheless, sleeping on the Great Wall was a uniquely fun experience- when do we ever get the chance to lay upon ancient stones that represent more than just another wall?

An early wake-up and breakfast of porridge set us on our way from Jinshanling to Simatai, a stretch of 30 towers that took about 4 hours to hike. As an avid hiker, I found no problem with the countless sets of 100-300 steps, climbing up and climbing down as the Wall followed the steep contours of the mountains. I was impressed that the students who started hiking successfully finished the hike without injury, and too much whining. I recommend that anyone who is fit and has enough ambition and perserverance to hike for several hours should climb beyond the tourist attraction sites to see the "real" Great Wall. The stretches between the tourist sites are not as repaired, and simply feel more authentic than orderly paths around Simatai, with weeds poking out from between stones, and crumbling walls lining the pathway. The beauty of the Great Wall is both its magnificence as a whole, even as it deteriorates, as well as the details that one discovers along the way, like the picturesque views and the characters carved in the stones (by modern tourists? or those who built the Wall?). [Excited about finishing the hike, crossing the Simatai bridge]

Climbing the Great Wall was nothing less than grand, but this past weekend's trip to Inner Mongolia was absolutely epic (and not quite in the same good vibe as when I might say, "That was EPIC, dude!"). Traveling to Huhot (the capital) by train was lots of fun: over 100 students in two cars, six bunks per cubby open to the aisle, ghost stories, chatting with native Chinese people, a trolley of snacks (ramen, green tea...) rolling down the narrow aisle and a squat toilet that emptied onto the tracks (yikes!), all in one night. We were in the hard sleepers, which are the second most luxurious seats one can book (after soft sleepers with 2 bunks per private cabin), and they turned out to be "cush". Perhaps as students familiar with living in dorms we did not mind the lack of privacy, as I could understand that having a stranger stepping around your bed to get to the bunk above would be rather invading. The train moved quite slowly (9pm till 7am ride), but the rocking and rhythmic sounds made sleeping quite easy.

After travelling a few more hours on a bus, we finally got to the third largest sand dunes in China. As we passed through grassy plains and decrepit industrial towns, I was skeptical of whether the sandy desert would ever appear, but sure enough, they suddenly rose from behind a few hills and strangely evoked the same feelings as one might experience when arriving at an oasis. These dunes are not pristine parks, but rather like a Mongolian theme park, or at least the portion that I visited. Within a few acres of dunes there was a tourist center and a chair lift taking visitors across an expansive basin to the dunes, where there were tents, camels, and games such as parasailing (while being towed by a 4WD truck), ATV-ing and archery. I wisely spent my money on an hour-long camel ride (lots of drooling, especially on me, and camel flatulence too!), a roll in a giant inflated ball (imagine a hamster running in a ball, but we were strapped to the inside wall of the ball), and sliding down the side of the steep dunes over 100 meters essentially on a plank of wood. The camels were endearing, with their buck teeth, furry paws, lanky limbs, and some camels' humps flopping to the side.
A guide walked our caravan of about 15 camels around the dunes, passing by some amazingly intricate sand sculptures of Buddha and temples that were larger than a tool shed (we even saw the talented Mongolians working on a few new scuptures). It was not the most comfortable ride, because despite the padding between the two humps, there are no stirrups as when riding a horse, so all of one's weight in on the bum. However, I wouldn't have traded the experience for any other! We left as the sun set, and the rocky cliffs bordering the dunes and grassland reminded me of mountains in Southwest America, with streaks of red running through the golden rock.

A night in a 3 star hotel about two hours from the dunes (which by American standards was much nicer than just 3 stars, besides the part where the hot water turns off at 7:40am) refreshed me for the next day of seemingly endless travel on a bus, with Mongolian tour guides teaching us Mongolian folk songs in Chinese (painful!) while we tried to sleep. A stop for Mongolian lamb hot pot lunch was disappointing, as I have been spoiled by the delicious Cantonese version of hotpot. Traditional Mongolian hot pot lacks a tasty broth (choices are: extra bland or extra spicy), fresh seafood and fresh veggies, which all make the slurping of broth and noodles at the meal's end impossible. Speaking of disappointing food, I failed to mention that at one of our meals at the hotel, we got french fries! Perhaps I've forgotten what delicious shoe string fries taste like, but I'm pretty sure that what we had was not very good. The search for fries persists.

Bus travel was not uncomfortable due to the lack of space (I greedily claimed two seats for myself and my long legs), but rather the long hours and the off-roading. Yes, large tour buses in China apparently have no problem with using half-finished on/off-ramps and driving many kilometers on unpaved (and rather rocky) dirt roads across the grassland. This makes the ride a bit more bumpy than one would hope, but at least it got us where we needed to be. And luckily laughter abounds amongst our group, making every dire situation seem ridiculous and fun.

When we arrived at the grassland at a compound of yurts similar to an American Indian reservation, we were greated by local Mongolians, and engaged in a ceremony of blessing using bai jiu (a clear 42% proof alcohol). Every guest is expected to perform the blessing and sip from a small cup, if not chug it all and ask for more, as refusing the drink offends their hospitatlity. I'm not sure how the rest gulped up the bai jiu, because the splash that hit my pursed lips burned for a minute after and tasted just as "la" (spicy) as the reputation boasts. While we waited for activities to begin, I whipped out my trusty frisbee and started tossing with two friends. Within minutes, a fellow guest of the yurt-ville joined us, and I can honestly say that she is the most energetic and excited Chinese woman I have come across, as she would clap, cheer and generally released excited yelps while catching and throwing. And she was pretty good at frisbee, especially in her strappy wedge heels and with long manicured nails. Two of her male friends started playing too, then within the next five minutes, about 20 other students on our program joined the toss, stretching our circle to the limits of the fenced field. It was immense fun, but during another frisbee game after a short horse race and Mongolian wrestling, my poor frisbee cracked into three pieces when it hit a stone path a tad too hard. Quite sad, but at least it opens opportunities to find a frisbee and perhaps a team in Beijing!

Mongolian wrestling was basically what siblings look like while they wrestle, with the addition of leather vests which the wrestlers grab a hold of on each other, and the goal being causing one's opponent to hit the ground before you do. After the eight young Mongolian guys wrestled each other, the guests were free to wrestle each other in the same manner, as well as challenge the Mongolians. Many of our students attempted, including a two girls, but only one guy was able to beat the best of the Mongolians, though each fight was amusing, if only because the crowd was so excited.

Dinner was finally served, with plenty of rice, baozi and veggies, while the Mongolians sang a traditional song and presented each of us with the gift of a white scarf (though I do not know what meaning this holds). The main dish came last: two whole roasted lambs, complete with a red sash around their necks and sprigs of green herbs in the mouths, their heads attached such that they bobbed when they were moved from the kitchen to the dining room. Each table received a portion of some limb, served with a dish of spiced salt to sprinkle atop the lamb. The meat was tasty, though not as juicy as I would have liked. The fun was in the presentation of the food, and the experience of watching a roomful of UC students and program directors simultaneously become drunk on more bai jiu while making toasts to their respective UC's every minute.

A long performance by our Mongolian hosts ensued after dinner, complete with traditional dances, piercing songs, a rap in Mongolian (puzzling...), traditional string instruments played to a techno/trance beat (really, really fast! and it actually sounded good!), and some spur of the moment Chinese songs performed by guests, including my fellow students. Throghout the performance, fireworks exploded in the sky above us, a beautiful sight amongst the stars! After the formal performances, someone put on techno music, and what could we all do but start dancing like it was a rave?! Yes, in the middle of the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, a bunch of Californians and Chinese people danced the night away.

With a good night's sleep in the six-person yurts, most of the students went on a two-hour long horse ride in the grassland, lead by many Mongolians. The weather was gray, bone-chillingly cold and threatening rain, but not enough to prevent our ride. The horses were small, and some mothers had their colts follow along, a cute sight. The grassland was not full of tall grass, but nubby green weeds among hard packed dirt, and we saw two herds of sheeps roaming the softly rolling hills. Just as half the group turned around to head back to the yurts while the other half rode further to visit a local family, the rain started as the cold wind seeped through our clothing. Unfortunately, no one was prepared for the rain, or even the cold temperatures, and by the time we returned to the yurts, everyone's warmest clothing was already soaked through. I was feeling somewhat delirious because I was so cold, and after removing my wet outer layers of clothing, wrapped myself in blankets and curled up in a friend's yurt to wait for my roommates to return with the key to our yurt. When I awoke an hour later, my legs were still numb, but I went outside to search for my roommate, who quickly opened up our yurt, and along with the most competent program assistent, immediately took care of me, pouring a tub of hot water to warm my feet, giving me dry pants, wrapping me in a down jacket and nesting me in a pile of blankets while chomping on some baozi and veggies. Slowly my body generated heat, and eventually when we boarded the bus in the afternoon I did not look as sickly and could think more clearly.

While on the verge of hypothermia, I vowed to be more prepared regardless of what I am told. One would think that the experienced leaders of a program would know exactly what its participants would need, but clearly after the day's events, the knowledge and experience of others cannot always be trusted. Thus, it seems best to be overly prepared, especially when the only risks are a loss of luggage space and seeming silly for taking "unneccessary" items. Among these feelings of disappointment is my gratitude for the good sense of friends, particularly their concern for my welfare and quick actions. Without such caring people, I'm sure I would have not recovered as fully or as quickly.

I slept through most of the return bus ride to Beijing (all warm and snug!), and when I awoke still amongst the countryside, I observed the seemingly endless corn fields and I realized that the corn fields are different than those I have seen throughout the US. If you have ever played tag in a corn field, or gotten dizzy while watching corn fields pass by as you sit in a car, you know that corn is planted in neat rows with plenty of space between rows even as the field narrows to a tiny corner. The corn fields that I have seen in China, however, do not seem to be planted in this same uniform way, as no rows are evident. Instead, the fields are dense with stalks so closely packed that a person could not walk between plants without bushwacking a path. Yet the fields look healthy, each green stalk with its wisps of yellow stretching towards the sky. To me, these corn stalks compared to those in America seemed to represent how a foreigner can feel in China. At times, both the culture and physical lack of space can be suffocating and confusing as one finds that little is familiar. Yet eventually one realizes that the chaos is organized, just in a very different way than one knows, and despite the differences, things are quite similar, whether it be people or corn. Hopefully one can find comfort in the different environment before being scared off by the lack of familiarities. Maybe all it takes is the realization that just as there are many ways for corn to grow, there are similarly many ways for humans to thrive.

Much love,
Kenzie

More 好吃的东西 (Yummy Things)

你门 好！
(Nimen hao: that's "hello" to all!)

My dearest apologies for not writing sooner- who would have guessed that schoolwork persistently pushes all other priorities out of the way? Thankfully, I enjoy exercising my brain, and continue to squeeze in plenty of excursions. While each adventure is more amazing than the last, random discoveries are what keep everyday exciting.

For instance, my classmates and I suddenly realized that upon every package for food and drink is either a cute cartoon animal (piggy, cow, dog, monkey, etc.) or a fashionable pop star (browse the beverages and one will see many young men and women grinning as if the drink that they grace is the most exciting they've ever encountered- our favorite is the Korean guy on Wahaha bottles of water because he looks ridiculous). Such a simple realization has evoked both laughs and our obsession with cute cartoon animals (which is easily satisfied by the abundance of cuteness everywhere)!

When everyday the weather is humid and at least 85 degrees Farenheit, and the air is so polluted that one forgets what a starry sky looks like, a clear day is quickly cherished. Such beautiful weather occurred one day last week, and everyone could not help but smile for the comfort of a blue sky and dry air. The cheerful spirit seemed to last through the night, when locals turned the plaza in front of Beijing Normal University's library into a roller-skating rink, learning to skate and expertly spinning across the same smooth stone that I walk upon to my calligraphy elective.

After "only" 4 hours of class each morning, I am generally free to do as I wish, besides occassional electives and tutoring sessions. Thus, I go to lunch with friends at restaurants near campus, one of the many colorful cafeterias around campus (ridiculously cheap and comforting: made-to-order chow fun, fried rice and chow mein, rice plates, abundant veggies in non-spicy/non-greasy sauces and lots of watermelon), or our newest favorite restaurant, an on-campus Shanghai dumpling shop! They may not be truly authentic, but the fresh bundles of flavor are quite addictive- I simply cannot resist the ecstasy of biting into tender pork and juicy shittake mushrooms wrapped in the slightly sweet soft dough, and tasting the fragrant soup released in that first bite. I can hardly wait to go to Shanghai for the real thing! How delicious it must be! For now I will have to simply enjoy local Beijing cuisine, namely the food on sticks.


Food on sticks? Like corn dogs? Not quite. Skewered lamb, chicken wings, beef, squid, tofu, big candied grapes, pineapple and kiwi would be more characteristic of the famous street food of Beijing. Now that my body has normalized to both the humid weather and common cuisine, I have tried more local street cuisine (though I still stick to the freshly cooked, steaming hot foods).

While on an exploratory biking expedition with my roommate north of our campus, during which we unexpectedly found a small picturesque park full of locals walking tiny dogs and doing tai chi, we spotted a half a block of sidewalk filled with tables of locals chomping away on edamae, boiled peanuts and various meats on sticks. We figured the popularity of the three small restaurants literally spilling into the street could only mean a delicious meal. So we joined the masses and attempted to order something we recognized on the barbeque menu- lamb and chicken. Within a few minutes, our skewers arrived, but wait! Where was our chicken? We didn't order squid! Oh dear. It was indeed chicken... chicken cartilage!! A bit crunchy, and slightly strange, but nontheless tasty brushed with a delicious spice paste (paprika? pepper? sweetness?), which also covered the juicy lamb. I ordered more lamb, as well as sticks of chicken wings (pointing at the grill helps avoid misinterpretations of menus!), while my roomie tried five different fish balls, which were too starchy and only varied in their shape and colors. Despite the duds among our dinner, we could hardly wait to find more tasty food on sticks.

Not three days later we headed to the largest bookstores in Beijing, a half-hour subway ride to Wangfujing, a block of high-end clothing stores, tea shops, electronics stores and Beijing's largest outdoor television screen, quite the tourist attraction. The bookstores put any American chain to shame, with several large floors of books in Chinese regarding any subject imaginable, as well as a nearby branch exclusively selling foreign language books rivaling the size of Border's. My purchase of two Chinese dictionaries and the Insider's Guide to Beijing (perhaps the most useful books I've ever possessed) was quite exciting, but the discovery of a long block of stick-food vendors put me in a wide-eyed stupor! Cheerful vendors in red and white uniforms shouted their goods to crowds of foreigners and locals strolling under red lanterns pointing at the usual meats as well as various organs, centipedes, scorpions, beetles, starfish, seahorses, grasshoppers and corn on sticks. I declined to try these delicacies, but could not resist the fried ice cream! Strangely, I felt at home during such a warm Beijing night among bustling people, bright lights and delicious food.

I have twice mentioned electives, of which I have two: calligraphy (书法) and Chinese cooking. These last for about an hour, each once a week, and have thus far been nothing but fun! Calligraphy is quite relaxing despite my intense concentration on properly holding the brush, applying the perfect pressure and writing the five basic strokes until they more or less look the way they should. I'll be lucky if I can write my simple Chinese name (卓元元) by the end of the summer! Cooking on the other hand is more gratifying, most because we get to eat what we cook! Last week we made "mapo doufu", and it was more spicy and oily than I prefer, but today's yochoy with shittake mushrooms was much tastier. We are taught by the chefs in the restaurant within our apartment building, and I am impressed by their survival skills in the stuffy kitchen next to stovetops for woks that resemble the intensity of jet engines spewing flames!

Among these new experiences is school, and of course my tutoring sessions. While classes have become more comprehensible as I prepare extensively for the next day's lessons, tutoring presents a new challenge: my tutor is lively and talkative, with a speech rate beyond any native I've yet to encounter, which substantialy lowers my comprehension. However, her help has already been invaluable, and I can only expect that my attempts at conversation with her will improve my fluency.

The past weekend has been another adventure of its own, which I will save for later, lest your eyes tire of reading. For now, dream of delicious dumplings, like I do!

Much Love,
Kenzie

The End of the Beginning

Zao shang hao!

I would like to say that I've worked out a comfortable daily routine now that classes have started, but the truth is that everyday is still quite different from the one before.


I spent the 4th of July on a rickshaw tour of the ancient neighborhoods of Beijing, called hutongs, followed by a serene boat ride upon nearby Shisha lake. Our group was actually able to meet a family that lives within one of the hutongs, and it was exciting to know that these very homes were over 200 years old! However, I was saddened upon hearing that this decent complex that was once occupied by only a single family now houses eight families, creating a very crowded living space. Regardless, many elder Beijing natives still prefer living in the hutongs over the abundant modern high-rise apartments, if only because of the intimate community created. These "ordinary" homes contrasted extensively with the imperial gardens nearby, and the high-class tea tasting we experienced (lots a fun with tidbits of info about tea ceremonies, tea drinking and different types; the jasmine was the most delicate yet fragrant I have smelled/tasted!)


Following a disappointingly salty dinner (everything was unnecessarily salty, except for the salt baked shrimp, which was deliciously juicy), I boarded a boat that rowed around the small lake while a woman sat at the bow playing beautiful songs on a traditional Chinese string instrument. Gorgeous pink lotus flowers floated upon the water and vibrant willow trees dipped the edges of the lake, creating a peaceful haven within the polluted and crowded city where even the locals come to swim and hang out along the lakeside pathways.

Friday night I had dinner at the famous Laoshe Tea House (lots of fresh cucumber in many dishes, not too spicy or salty, and we got fried rice!), during which a band played some interesting tunes with traditional Chinese instruments; the Mongolian folk songs were quite attractive, but you can imagine the perplexed look upon my face when I heard the limbo rock! Very strange indeed... I was impressed by the shadow play that followed: puppets were held against a backlit opaque screen and cleverly moved across- there were turtles, frogs, cranes, fish...all masterfully animated by the movement of their limbs and eyes to the extent that the death of turtle (eaten by a mean crane) evoked sorrowful coos from the crowd.
This incredible performance was only the beginning of the night, as we soon moved to a theater upstairs for many fun performances such as opera, dancing, singing, gongfu, an acrobat with fire, musicians, a magician and my favorite: oral mimicry. I stared in disbelief as two old men mimicked birds chatting and laughing- I have never heard such high-pitched and accurate sounds come from humans! They also mimicked things like traffic and departing trains with incredible precision.


A trip to the Temple of Heaven the next morning was the beginning of the end of our orientation. We were free to roam the expansive park and intricate temples, annexes and altars where emperors once went to pray to the heavens for good harvests. This park was not entirely a tourist attraction, as many locals go to this park on the weekends to do tai chi, sing opera, play intense games of hacky-sack (not joking!) and play what could only be described as a version of paddle ball in which one attempts to keep the ball upon the paddle through graceful spinning motions of the arms and body. I was comforted by the abundant cypress trees stretching far throughout the park, reminded of the old redwoods at home.


This peacefulness abruptly ended with our arrival at Panjiayuan in the afternoon, an open bazaar of antiques, jewlery and textiles. The humidity, cigarrette smoke and general crowdedness of people and things was suffocating, but I somehow managed to find some nice gifts. And practicing my bargaining skills was rather satisfying! This concluded the summer program orientation, a welcomed end as I look forward to returning to each place as well as exploring other places on my own.

Perhaps even more exciting than these major Beijing sites are the simple adventures in daily life. Like buying a bike! Poorly made, but hey! I got a lock and a basket thrown in, all for 140 yuan (less than 20 dollars), and it is much nicer being able to meander along the tree lined streets than sweat buckets walking everywhere! The bike will definately be kept in my room to prevent theft, despite having a u-lock, chain and wheellock! After collectively complaining about the lack of rice in Beijing (no one serves rice!) and our stomach problems from the lack of fresh fruits, veggies and carbs in our diets, my friends and I searched for peanut butter, jelly and bread at the campus market to make sandwiches- and we actually found it all! Our tummies appreciated the PB&Js, as well as the whole watermelon I bought. Wonderfully sweet! I tried a dragonfruit as well- perhaps the most exotic fruit I have ever come across, with its thick bright pink skin and juicy sweet kiwi-textured white meat inside speckled with tiny edible black seeds. We all decided to buy more dragonfruit while it's available, and cheap, in China.

And how can I forget the most important thing I am here for- Chinese class! Perhaps placed a bit higher than appropriate, but I cannot resist the challenge. I cannot remember the last time I felt that I would actually struggle in a class, and not even to excel, but to simply understand 100% of what the teacher says! Sometimes I feel as if I am the only one doesn't understand a quarter of what is said, but perhaps it is only because I seem to be one of the few wide awake students giving any indication of hearing the teacher's words, even if it's signs of uncomprehension. Thank goodness we get private tutors! Nevertheless, I know that my language skills will improve dramatically, and it helps that the teachers are energetic and truly interested in help us learn.

Speaking of classes, time to get some sleep...yes, even though it's Saturday night... because it's been an exhausting day, and I have a full day of homework tomorrow! Okay, and maybe another fruit-buying excursion...

Love you all!!!! And thank you for all the responses- I love hearing about what you're up to as well, and how you enjoy my adventures!

Love,
Kenzie

Happy 4th of July!

Hello All!!

I hope your 4th of July is enjoyable! I hardly feel patriotic so far from the picnics and fireworks abounding throughout America.

But perhaps it is only hard to imagine home when I've been busy absorbing Beijing. My roommate's friend from out of town dropped by for a visit on Monday, so we went on an excursion after the placement test (the written portion was ridiculously difficult due to my lack of vocabulary, but it seemed that regardless of ability, everyone felt this way) and applying for our residence permits. We decided to take the subway to Tian'anmen (suicide during rush hour, but it was just the tail end), and although the cars were indeed crowded by American standards, I felt relatively safe and was impressed by the ease of navigation.

Tian'anmen was every bit as impressive as I could of imagined. Our timing was perfect- wispy white clouds swept across a blue sky that was quickly glowing orange with the setting sun, creating a surreal landscape of monuments. We wandered around the plaza until quarter to eight, when China's flag was lowered. Until I was in the presence of Mao's grave, with his portrait overlooking the plaza, I had yet to fully realize the enormous power and respect that can persist long after one's death.


Back to the subway, we went towards the northeast to a long street lined with so many brightly lit restaurants, it'd probably take at least a few months to try every single one each night. We randomly chose a smaller place, nearly full of locals. We ordered the popular spicy crayfish, some fresh green veggies with big juicy shittake mushrooms, a tomato-y soup and of course rice. The crayfish was so spicy that it made the my lips tingle long after I had finished the sweet meat, but it was so delicious that none of us could stop eating. The meal was about RMB 75, which works out to about ten American dollars- what a deal! Gary took us down a block to a cute/hip dessert cafe that he recalled from the last time he was in Beijing. We each chose a dessert from a menu filled with enticing pictures of hot, cold, fruity, creamy, red bean, grass jelly, gelatins, and so much more! Our desserts were served as if they were ice cream sundaes, wth layers of red bean, coconut, and sccops of watermelon and cantaloupe in mine. I'm not quite sure how I had room to eat the refreshing sweets after filling myself with dinner, but perhaps we have more mental control over our hunger than we think. Indeed unhealthy, but it seems that when delicious food is placed in front of me, I need only to convince myself that I can eat more.

There is a price to be paid for such indulgence, however. Currently, I am recovering from a sick day (yesterday), during which I was confined to my room with a fever, stomach cramps and frequent vomiting (sorry for the details, but just want to make sure I don't glamourize my time in China- unfortunately it is only a matter of time before the bad catches up with one's good times.) Luckily, the summer program assistants are very caring, and convinced me to go to a hospital late in the evening since my symptoms hadn't subsided since the morning.

Turns out that I had a 100F fever and my heart rate was abnormally fast too. The diagnosis was simply gastroenteritus, so I received medication (intravenously to prevent my stomach from rejecting ingested meds, and for hydration) to stop the vomiting and cramping. Almost immediately I felt better, and although I still feel weak today, I am not nearly as ill as I was yesterday.

It is hard to believe that the food I ate was the cause of all that pain, especially because my roommate and her friend Gary ate exactly the same things and were not in the least bit sick! I suppose it depends more upon each person's body and immunity to stomach bugs than the actual food. Lesson learned: stay away from extremely spicy foods (and eating them within the same meal as creamy coconut milk) until more adjusted to the cuisine; seek medical attention within a few hours of such pain, because waiting won't help when it's that serious, no matter how hard one tries to convince oneself that it will improve without a doctor's treatment (not to mention it saves after-hours care fees).

It seems that my day of suffering may have actually been better than attending another orientation lecture during which nearly everyone (students, and assistant director!) dozed off, and a not-so-tasty buffet dinner to meet our Chinese tutors. I am sorry to have missed out on meeting my tutor, as I hear she is very energetic, but with classes starting soon, I'm sure the occassion will arise soon. Placement test results were posted as well, and I was surprised to learn that I placed in the 7th class out of 9 (with 9 being the highest)!! I doubt that this placement is entirely accurate, as it is hard to believe that my elementary language skills surpass over half of the other students, but I'm sure that tomorrow's class will be the real measurement.

This morning my roommate took me to the supermarket on campus, which is much like an American supermarket in that is has EVERYTHING! Not American in the sense of American brands, but in the sense that there is food, drink, laundry supplies, statrionary, office supplies, dishes... I stocked up on a bunch of snacks (scallion soda crackers, digestives, small fluffy buns for the morning, real Chinese ramen (!!!)), cute packets of tissue, hangers, washcloth, laundry rack, scissors, folders, green tea drink, and more that I already can't remember- all for RMB 76!!! I'll definately be going back!

Well, time for me to go celebrate the 4th of July- I'm headed to Houhai, one of the quickly disappearing old districts of Beijing, then to Shisha lake for a boat ride! However, if it's still the 3rd of July in America, does the 4th in China have any meaning? Nevertheless, I'll still be thinking of the booming fireworks, fried chicken and juicy watermelon!

Love you all,
Kenzie

Beijing Part 2

Dajia hao!

It's only Sunday night, a mere three days since my arrival, and I couldn't wait to tell you all about what I've been up to since my first day in Beijing, but I promise not to flood your mailboxes with too many of my stories!

My roommate (Mary) and I went on a mission to find a giant bazaar yesterday called Jin Wu Xing (Gold Star Market), and had a fabulous time trying to figure out the location. Our program director provided a hand drawn map of useful stores and restaurants in the neighborhood, but the location of Jin Wu Xing was somewhat ambiguous. We ended up walking in a giant circle around the place because it's literally in the center of a city block with minimal visibility from the street, and seeing as each city block is more like 3-4 SF city blocks, that means a lot of walking. Obstacles included railroad tracks, open-air fruit markets (it seemed that we happened upon Banana Alley, as every vendor was selling only bananas!) and construction sites,which made our arrival that much more exciting!

The bazaar itself was inconceivably huge and packed with stalls that sold EVERYTHING! The stalls are grouped into sections much like department stores- shoes, luggage, electronics, housewares, furniture, etc.- and it was clearly the place were locals went to buy anything and everything. We left only with an umbrella, as the threatening thunderstorm had finally let loose.

We stopped at a bakery as well, and I tried two different delicious buns- one filled with curry and one plain. They were the fluffiest buns I've ever eaten, and quite unlike the denser steamed buns at home.

I set up a bank account, and the actual process of checking id, making a deposit and issuing the ATM card was not very difficult and quite speedy. However, the details of filling out the application were more complicated. Between my roommate and I, we filled out about 5 applications until we finally got everything right, because we were unaware that
a) one cannot use blue pen;
b) one must use ink pen, not ball point;
c) one should not cross out mistakes but just fill out a new applicaion.
We laughed every time the poor teller patiently told us what was wrong. It was great fun, and a relief to take care of business.

This morning, I went to the Summer Palace with all 100+ students in the program, and thank goodness the rain had stopped. Today there was actually clear, blue sky and direct sunlight- simple things I've certainly taken for granted in the Bay Area and Santa Barbara.

The Summer Palace was very crowded with tourists, but as a pleasant introduction to beauty of the ancient buildings and a bit of history. I will certainly return at various times of the year to explore more.



Lunch with the program was at a restaurant known for daily, freshly made tofu and a Northeastern dish most resembling pasta made of wheat. The dough was steamed in bamboo baskets, and is eaten with a mushroom broth. Oh! And we also ate donkey! Apparently this is a specialty, and indeed it was quite tasty stir-fried with hot peppers (the meat resembled pork).

This afternoon I had the chance to meet with 20 alumnus of the program, some who had just finished their year of studies, others who had long since finished and were now happily living and/or studying here in Beijing. Their advice was reassuring, and the diversity of their experiences as well as post-college life reminds me to both adhere to what I wish to accomplish yet be flexible and adventurous.

After meeting many of my fellow students, I was a bit worried about the seriousness of this program and its students, as many students seem to be here on vacation, while studying Chinese remains a secondary priority. However, the alumnus have shown that this is confined to the summer language program students (more than half the total students), as the fall/spring classes are quite difficult and serious, and students must be either crazy or serious about school to stay that long. So even though I can't wait until classes start this week, I really can't wait until I start classes at Peking University in the fall!

Peking duck was for dinner, and I had way too much to eat! The restaurant Hepingmen is apparently one of the oldest and most famous Peking duck restaurants. I must be spoiled, because although the duck was amazing, I felt that what I have eaten in SF is quite comparable!

The fancy meals provided by the program are a swanky treat, but what I really enjoy is finding the local places, like the cheap, cheap, cheap yummy porridge house down the road from my dorm. Next mission: find the best noodles!

I must crawl into bed now, to get some sleep before my placement exam tomorrow morning! Yikes! I hope I remember Chinese!

Love,
Kenzie

P.S.

Uncle Bill: Thank you for the info on the cellphone- time to search for a China mobile!!

Mommy: Can you please send me any emails you have for friends/family that want to be emailed? Also, funny thing: thought that my phone card wasn't working, but apparently it had already been activated!!! This whole time, and I could have called home all along! oh well :P we'll still look into skype