update on the infamous weekend

Me posing with the two Muay Thai fighters.

I have post-poned this update because I was waiting to give a full report, but that is taking awhile.  But just so you all know, shortly after returning from the trip we did each get our 300RMB back from the guy we gave it to.  This guy seems to have an excuse for everything we throw at him, but I still don’t trust him and am waiting to see if he suffers any consequences from this ordeal.  Whether the boys get their fight money or not is also yet to be determined.

If you have no idea what I am referring to here, read my earlier post titled adventures aren’t always fun.

happy valley

Over the weekend a group of us went to an amusement park called Happy Valley.  I guess China refused to join the rest of the world and jump on the Disneyland bandwagon, so they created their own version instead.  I’m glad they did.  It is made up of six different “lands” which include Wild Fjord, Atlantis, Aegean Harbor, Lost Maya, Ant Kingdom, and Shangri-La.  While the decor varies in each different area, I found it funny that they all served the same food.  They changed the names to represent the land we were in, but the menu was identical.  Unlike Disneyland, this place actaully had real rollercoasters, the kind that go upside down and stuff.  Which of course was the main reason we were there.  Like any other trip to an amusement park, majority of the day was spent standing in lines.  In our seven hours there we went on three rides, one haunted house, and one magic show.  The haunted house is the lamest one I’ve ever been to, so if you ever happen to be at Happy Valley in Beijing I suggest skipping it.

The video above is of a ride in the Aegean Harbor.  Thank goodness I was standing just outside the wet zone when it came down the first time because bystanders get SOAKED!  Sure, had it been a hot day that would have been nice, but it wasn’t.  Despite the cool weather, some members of the group actually wanted to go on the ride.  Myself and a couple others were going to opt out but in the end we didn’t have to worry about it because the line was way too long and those who originally wanted to go on it decided they would try later.

So we kept walking and ran into a sign advertising a 1.5 hour magic show for only 20 kuai which is about three dollars.  We couldn’t really pass that up, especially since it started in only fifteen minutes.  The opening act was two dance numbers, the first to a Backstreet Boys song and the second was from Hairspray.  I have to say I rather enjoyed the Hairspray number, the boys all in their white three piece suits swinging girls in poofy skirts.  After that the magicians came out one by one, some local and some foreign.  The first was local and it started out kind slow.  But then he started in with the mask changing trick, and not only did he change his mask, the color of his whole robe changed as well.  From head to toe right before our eyes!  It really is crazy to see in person.  After that nobody was really worth mentioning, but I’d still say the experience was worth the cost.

Another interesting thing about this place was that half of the few white people I saw were performers.  We stopped for a minute to watch a water show where guys were jumping off high boards into a pool below and then fighting with other actors.  Four of them were white, and during the whole day I think I only saw about four other white people walking around the park.  So if you want a job in China but teaching English isn’t your thing, I guess you can always try the amusement parks!

dim sum sunday

Thanks, Will, for taking this picture since I was too lazy to do it myself.

Wikipedia defines dim sum as “A Chinese cuisine which involves a wide range of light dishes that come in small portions and may include meat, seafood, and vegetables, as well as desserts and fruit. The items are usually served in a small steamer basket or on a small plate.”  And that pretty much defines my fine dining experience on Sunday.

Somebody had researched a good place in Beijing to have such a meal, no matter the cost, and we ended up at Huang Ting in the Peninsula Palace Hotel.  While the food was good, I didn’t think it was particularly amazing like it should have been at a place like this.  I can’t compare it to any other place because this is really my first time, but personally I thought it was lacking in flavor.  Now, even though it was expensive by Beijing standards, we ordered as a group and split the bill and I walked away spending $20.  Would this meal have been worth $20 in the US?  Probably.  Was it worth it here?  Not in my opinion.

The decor of the restaurant was nice, the hotel itself was def. suited for rich foreigners.  Inside the hotel was a Gucci, Hermes, Louis Vuitton… you get the point.  How I keep ending up in places that look just like home, I’m not sure.  Believe me I’m not out searching for them!

sanlitun

Sanlitun is an area of Beijing where I heard the bars and stuff were.  I mean, on my map there is a picture of a beer mug.  So, since I was in the mood for a beer (very rare) that is where we headed.  It is near the North Diplomatic Area of the city and really should just be called “AmericaTown.”  There were so few Chinese people walking around I could have easily forgotten where I was.  Granted, I am sure I was walking by many more nationalities than just my own, but the shops were just like home too.  We had burgers (salad for me) and fries for lunch.  Not only did I get a beer, I got a Newcastle.

And after lunch I saw an American Apparel, an Addidas store, and then we indulged in Cold Stone!  I know I know, I just said I was going to limit my trips to American chains.  But I had this feeling they would have green tea ice cream… and they did!  Yay green tea milkshakes!  Hey, at least earlier in the day I finally bought a prepaid card so I can eat at the food court in the mall.  I forsee many $1 bowls of delicious noodles in my future!

olympic venues

me playing in the musical fountains in front of the iconic stadium

With a few days off because of the holiday, it was time to get out and be a tourist.  We had heard that the Olympic venues were being opened up to the public for free that week, and since I had promised a friend back home to visit and take a picture of the water cube for her, off we went.

It was just the three of us, nobody even close to being fluent in Mandarin, so we just kinda winged it.  Taking the subway there was easy, except we couldn’t figure out how to transfer from line 10 to line 8, but the transfer station looked close to our destination so we just decided to walk it.  This was easy enough, there was a map when we got out and really you just had to follow the crowd.  When we got to the National Sports Center there were guards taking tickets, so we got in line to purchase some of our own.  Guess our source who mentioned ”free” was incorrect.  So we went into that area, went inside the stadium, which wasn’t all that exciting because it was where the equestrian sports were held.  Our experiences with horses being what it was, none of us had watched any of those events.  So we were in and out, continued walking around, not recognizing anything, and wondering what happened to the birds nest that had looked so close before we walked through the gates.  Eventually we saw it again and realized that to get there we had to exit the area we had purchased tickets for.  Unhappy about this and upset that we had most likely wasted 30 Kuai, we started walking towards it only to find that it was on the OTHER side of the large busy street.  So we walked, and walked, and walked.  It was right there, we could see it, we just couldn’t seem to get there because of the fence surrounding the area.  But we were not deterred and thanks to the swarms of people we were able to locate the entrance.  Luckily we didn’t have to pay again.  So it WAS free afterall!  The line through the security check moved rather quickly, but once inside… OMG the people!  All I can say is that if it was this crowded during the Olympics I am really glad I wasn’t in attendance.  And I didn’t have to worry about feeling like a silly foreigner doing touristy stuff because almost every person there was Chinese.

There in front of us was the water cube, I saw people going in, I saw lines and people with tickets, but I could not find a ticket booth.  So over we went to the birds nest (stopping to play in the fountains) and found the same thing.  Lines, people, tickets, no ticket booth.  At this point, the one of us who speaks the best Mandarin asked a volunteer where we could buy tickets.  She told him there were no tickets for sale.  Totally bummed, but there was hope when a scalper approached!  Unfortunately, my companions were not ok with the idea of paying more than face value.  So that was it.  That was our tip.  A few photos, A LOT of people, and we left.

I don’t know what is going to happen with these places now.  In the time that I am here, I am sure they have got to open up again, or be hosting some event I can buy tickets to.   Somehow it just seems lame to go out there and not go IN if there is the possibility to do so.

what’s in a name?

Xiao Ya Tou

Last weekend I was finally given a Chinese name.  I was wondering when this was going to happen, since most foreigners who spent any decent amount of time in China seem to have one.  I thought maybe we would do it in language class, but that hasn’t happened.  So on the way back from Taigu, when one of the Chinese fighters asked me what my Chinese name was, I jumped at the opportunity and told him I didn’t have one so he should provide one for me.  Unprepared for this response, he agreed to it anyway and after a short conference with some of his teammates he pronounced me Xiao Ya Tou.  Now, I know very little Chinese at this point, but I did recognize this term.  Coincidentally I had heard it the day before when we decided to go out for massages.  When the Columbian/American had asked the receptionist for suggestions/directions, she asked him what kind of massage he was looking for.  “Xiao Ya Tou?” she asked with a slight smirk.  When I asked him about this he explained it as meaning a cute girl in her 20s-30s, perhaps more friendly than others, but not that it implied “happy endings” or anything like that.  Unable to communicate this story to the guy who named me, I simply asked him what it meant.  Through broken English he also said something about a girl in her 20s-30s, beautiful, kind, makes people happy by her presence, clever, etc.  I had to take this as a compliment, but still wasn’t feeling real comfortable with the name.  Since the week that followed was a vacation and I couldn’t ask my language teacher or anybody else in the office, I decided to get the input of people online and joined a Chinese forum.  Here are some of the replies I received:

“Ya Tou is not a respectful way to refer to a girl, this isn’t a real name.”

“It’s a lovely term, mostly used on girls by people very closely to them. For example the parent may call its daughter Ya Tou, normally in a teasing and playful way… Many girls would love to be named so, or indeed even to name themselves Ya Tou (as a nickname or online username). Used by a stranger however, especially in the cities, it probably will mostly be offending.”

“Ya Tou can be both degrading and kind. My grandmother used to call me that when I was little, as an affectionate nickname.”

“Ya Tou means either a girl or a maid.  However, it usually carries a slave girl connotation.  Xiao Ya Tou doesn’t really mean maid at all. It really just means a girl (usually young). It’s a great nickname for your close friends or mother to call you. In that context, it really just means a young sweet girl.  However, if a stranger was to call you Xiao Ya Tou, it would almost always be an insult.”

So yeah, mixed reviews but I’ve decided not to keep it.

time to set some rules

me and Papa John

closeup of the man

The day after I got back from the long weekend I ate McDonalds for lunch and Papa Johns for dinner.  I think perhaps it is time to set some personal rules about how often I allow myself to eat at American chains.  Don’t want to come back home, get asked about food in China, and all I can talk about is the popular pork (I think) sandwhich at McDs and the Chinese Treasure pizza at PJs!  While I still want to do touristy things while I am here, the main goal is to immerse in the culture.  But then again, if McDs is continuously the most crowded restaurant in the area, isn’t going there immersing?  So maybe it is better to not go to these places simply for health reasons!

I haven’t tried KFC here, even though they are everywhere and people who have tried it say it is awesome.  I did treat myself to Dairy Queen on my birthday though.  There is also a Baskin Robbins and Subway in this mall somwhere.  So while I am going to try and not frequent these places, Starbucks is still my second home in this city.  I couldn’t be keeping up this blog without it!

it works!

Last week before that infamous weekend someone came over to fix my washing machine.  I didn’t get a chance to test it out until I got back, but it works!  No more floods to clean up!  So now that the biggest problem is taken care of, the smaller ones seem slightly bigger than before.  While living in LA I always hated having to pay to do my laundry, but now I would happily toss in my quarters to have access to a dryer again.  Before coming to Beijing I had never used a clothesline to dry my laundry so I didn’t know what to expect.  I was happily surprised at how quickly everything dried, however I am not so happy with how stiff everything ends up.  Am I doing something wrong here, or is that just the way it is?