Day 1
6/14/10
Plane flight to Tokyo - Sat next to korean exchange students from a high school in Madison Heights, MI. They thought I was Korean and tried to talk to me, but they were quickly dissapointed. The plane food sucked, and I can't believed i watched the tooth fairy, starring The Rock.
Plane flight to Beijing from Tokyo connector - Sat next to yet another exchange student in high school. made fun of me because I couldn't understand what she was saying in chinese. It didn't help that she spoke softly, either. After some awkward conversation in which we understood very little of each other, she jokingly put up her hands between us and said "Here's the gap between us. Look, it just got bigger!"
She's got jokes. I feel like a foreigner.
When we landed, I couldn't help but get caught up in the scale of the airport, which spans miles of flat runway and long, extensive terminals. The city is big, humid and smoggy, difficult to see much at night. I remain excited to check out what Beijing has to offer, but I can't get used to the funny looks i've gotten from people so far.
Day 2
6/14/10
We went to Mcdonald's for breakfast (16 RMB for a combo that would cost 4 US dollars in the states, which was cool). On our way in we witnessed a pretty intense shouting match between a young guy and three girls... the area they were sitting in was trashed and they had torn down a few signs. A girl was banging the door against the glass window and shouting and the man was freaking out and pointing his fingers. The people called the police and as we left they were still yelling at each other outside, as a policeman tried to arbitrate with a huge crowd of folks gathering. I can remember thinking from my readings on Chinese Garden design that traditionally, Asian culture was about balance, conservative and peaceful values, and seeking tranquility. I certainly was reminded that you can't really generalize or trust a book on gardens when it comes to people: Times have changed significantly with the intense growth and development of China in the last several decades, and as we know, attitudes do too.
Took a tour of the great wall and a Ming Emperor's tomb. Really interesting to learn about Jade and it's significance as a semiprecious stone to asian culture, as well as the wood-bracket construction of the temples. Traditional Ming culture was heavily invested in Feng Shui, an interesting concept that considers the movement of energy relative to the spaces and objects that we exist in. For example, Beijing's key places and monuments, including the tomb we visited, the Forbidden city, Tianmen Square, the temple of heaven and the Olympic Stadium all exist on a north-south meridian line, a boundary that regulates harmony and balance. Chinese culture, as our trips to the tomb and great wall have indicated, manifests itself in symbolism, finding deeper meaning in the everyday aspects of our lives.
Visited the great wall, which was pretty cool. Three million people died in it's construction, but our tour guide has stated that it was a long term investment.
That being said, the long term product is full of vendors selling cold water and cheap trinkets that have little to do with the great wall, trash and popsicle sticks everywhere, and black bear pits where all they do is eat carrots that you can buy to feed them, and consequently leave orange poo all over the place.
The best part was the rail-car system they had to get up to the wall, a mini roller coaster with greasy wheels and a camera taking pictures of you going down and for purchase later. It was basically an attraction to get to and from the attraction.... a distraction, I suppose.
Had a foot massage, part of the tour. A 14 year old boy pounded my feet for a good 10 minutes, doing every imaginable thing to them: knead, roll, punch, slap. I've never had anything like it! Just as it was the entire day, people couldn't stop staring at me. the guy was alternating between looking at my feet and taking awkward glances.
Wangfujing, a traditional alleyway marketplace full of vendors stalls, deep fried scorptions and street meat, cheap trinkets and fake jewelry, was quite interesting, juxtaposed with the expansive street mall that dominated the block around it, what with department stores and name-brand shops. My mind is spent just taking it all in. It is equally provocative to me that white people are a minority in the crowd, which is something I am not entirely used to.
I'm having quite a time! Hopefully I'll be seeing some classmates in Beijing soon. I'll get to uploading pics tonight.
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