the last typical Saturday

As this week marks many of my "Beijing lasts", today exemplified the last of what I would like to call a "typical Saturday".

As with all of my Saturdays for the last four months, this one started early. I met Carmen at the train station at 7:50 (we had planned for 7:30, but again as in all usual Saturdays, we always run late). We hopped on the ditie, and rode line 13 to the Xizhimen stop, got off, and walked really quickly to the bus stop (in order not to miss the bus like we usually do). After grabbing a breakfast jiaotzi (sp?!), we hopped on the 632 and rode to the Kindergarten at Shuguong Huayuan.

Today was our last day of class. I was really prepared to be sad, to get all mushy with the kids and say goodbye and how much I was going to miss them... well, that didn't happen. It's probably a good thing. The performance that we had prepared for parents and other family members turned out to be mass chaos, with kids walking around everywhere, not sitting where they were supposed to, everything going for shorter than we anticipated (thus ending about 30 minutes early), and other students coming late and missing their performance. I guess it was a typical Chinese get-together. After two hours of running around, herding stray children and leading them in song and dance, I was ready to say goodbye. And although I will miss them and their cute little Chinese English... I truly hope this was my last foray into teaching children. Yes, even teaching my own children. For as cute as they are, there is something a little annoying about trying to tell a group of 20 kids to sit down and listen when they really don't understand a word you're saying.

the little rascals

Phew, I'm tired even writing about that morning. SO, after the end of the semester performance for my class, Carmen and I had our last "after-teaching" ritual (so it seems my life is a little "ritualistic"... I can neither confirm nor deny that). Often after an exhausting day of teaching, we indulge in a little Xinjiang food, and then hop across the street to the Shenmei. I know I have written about this before, but the Shenmei is seriously one of my favorite Beijing experiences. The Shenmei is a place where you go to get your hair washed, cut, colored, etc. We are officially Shenmei regulars, and I feel like I know all of the staff (despite the fact I can't talk to them). Unfortunately, I have not yet been bold enough to do a China cut or color, but when we go we pay 20 yuan for what is supposed to be an hour massage and hair wash, but it usually ends up being about 2 hours (plus, we get our hair dryed by the super cool "laoshi", or teacher). We told them today that it was my last day and after a little mourning that I will "hui guo"-ing it, we decided to take some friendly pictures (and promptly walked next door together to get copies made). Ahhh, I will really miss my friends at the Shenmei.


I think that's all for now. I don't have much more to report (or that I'm willing to report at this time in a blog!); I'm spending all of my time with people, sleeping, or working. Maybe after I sit on a plane for 15 hours, I'll have a little time to reflect and write something worth reading.

I will return to America on July 2nd. Please be friends with me when I get back.

Ah, some time in Fuqing China

Per usual, my blogging record has been less than stellar. Once again, my apologies. I was chatting on the phone the other day with my mom (and by "phone" I mean Skype), and she started telling me how much everyone LOVES my brother and sister's blog because theirs are so interesting, and they always update it, and their lives are so exciting, yadda yadda, but since I don't update mine, none of her friends read it. No pressure. So this one is for all of you who aren't reading.

Life in the Zhongguo has been really busy lately, but really good. Of course, as I'm gearing up to leave Beijing, things start going really well--I'm starting to really enjoy Chinese and learn a little more (although my teacher might strongly disagree), work stuff is really starting to fall into place, and I've been busy with buddies. It's one of life's funny ironies. Anyway, busy but good.

Last Wednesday and Thursday, my boss Bruce and I took another trip to explore some business opportunities. This time, we went down south to a city called Fuqing (yes, really, foo-ching, laugh all you want) in the Fujian province. Fuqing is right off of the ocean, and right across the sea from Taiwan, so pretty far south. It was actually a really great trip. In all honesty, I was dreading the trip a little bit. I'm coming to the end of my time in Beijing, and just felt ready to stick around here and really soak up life. But, something nudged me a little bit, and I decided to make the time (and significant financial) commitment to take the trip to Fuqing. AND... I'm really glad I did. Out of all the business options that I've explored, I think this one holds the most potential for the goals we want to accomplish. So hopefully, I can whip up a quick business plan to bring home (and to prove I was doing a little bit of work while here).

In addition to being a really exciting business opportunity, the trip to Fuqing was just really interesting. We stepped off the plane in Fuzhou (the nearest large city) and were greeted by green grass, palm trees and ridiculously humid air. I felt like I was on a tropical vacation. Our contact, Jeremiah, led us across the parking lot, past all the beautiful, shiny black cars (that surely had air conditioning) to an old, beat-up, Gordy Wilson-style Ford van, complete with the rusty wheel wells and Chinese driver sleeping with legs on the dash. After a swift bang on the side of the van, the driver was quickly alert, and greeted us with the biggest smile I've ever seen. Seriously, this guy was just happy. So, we piled into the van, backed out of the spot, drove over a few sidewalks to avoid waiting in line (really, no need to wait when you can just hop over a sidewalk), and were soon on our way, bouncing down the road to Fuqing. Now, I've heard China driving horror stories, but have really yet to experience anything that I would consider "unbearable"... until now. If one thinks that Beijing traffic is bad, you have another thing coming. We're driving down this highway, two lanes with a grass median, and naturally one would assume that one lane is for traffic going one direction, while the other lane is used for traffic going the other direction. But, this is China, and as we've noticed, the rules are never quite "the rules". We are whizzing down this highway, much faster than anyone else, and cars and motorcyles and bicyles and oxen and goats and people are just wandering lazily down this road (the motorized vehicles drive in either lane, there isn't quite a rhyme or a reason). Keep in mind, this is a legitimate highway, like I-35 or something, with people and cars and animals going every direction. So, we're speeding and bumping along with no AC, dodging whatever is in our way, with the driver grinning the whole way. Needless to say, we're thanking the Big Guy we're still in one piece.

All in all, Fuqing was just a really interesting experience for me, because it presented a side of China I haven't seen yet. It was rural, but in a different way than the rural I saw in Taiyuan, or the China I've seen in other smaller cities. It had this bizarre combination of extreme wealth and poverty (massive, and ugly, 6-7 story houses built for one family, right next to a family living in a shack that is falling apart), of modernity and old ways (beautiful cars and buildings and every sign of progress, surrounded by animals walking in the streets, men leading their oxen on ropes and people carrying water on their back through the fields). It was a really great and intriguing experience.

So, now that I've rambled, I better get back to... everything else I've been missing out on the last few days. Hopefully more to come before I fly back to the Meiguo.

Beijing Musings

As I was walking home from the subway station this afternoon (after a frustrating day of teaching little, poorly-behaved Chinese children), I thought to myself: "How can I best utilize my free afternoon? Should I send e-mails (which I have recently neglected to do--my apologies)? Should I do laundry? Should I sleep? Should I eat?" But after some deep contemplation and soul searching along the roadside of Chengfu Lu, I decided, "You know what... I'm going to blog. Maybe people are interested in what their long lost friend is up to... maybe they aren't, but at least I tried."

So, here we go. Unfortunately, there are no significant occurrences or events in my life at this time, so you won't get to witness, via my internet journal, my vast array of personal breakthroughs and areas of growth. I know, I know, you are disappointed. Maybe next time.

So, my time in Beijing is starting to come to an end. As of today, I have 25 days until I depart to the US of A. I'm not going to lie... last week, I was really ready to go. I was ready to stop fighting every day with my water heater (luckily, I'm up to about 75% of my showers being warm...), ready to live in a clean apartment without a rotting bathroom door and uncontrollable mold, to wear clothes that were really clean (and dried!), ready to drive a car and not fear for my life, ready to ask questions in my own language, ready to see my friends and family, and pretty much just ready to be resident of one of the best nations in the world. But, of course as my luck would have it, this week I'm feeling really nostalgic and not ready to go. I'm really going to miss this place! After spending three months struggling with culture and language and food and directions... I'm starting to understand. I'm feeling more comfortable in my own skin. I know at least 3 Mandarin phrases that will get me help when I need it. I like my little (chaotic) neighborhood. I like my elevator attendant. I loooove street food. I'm addicted to 20 kuai ($3) manicures and 48 kuai ($6.95) hour and a half massages. I think it's really funny that Chinese men are always pulling up their shirts, and that Chinese women always wear ankle-length nylons with capris and shorts. In all honesty, this bizarre (and lets face it, sometimes really aggravating) culture has weaseled it's way into my heart! And I'm going to be sad to go.

This is probably what people refer to as "reverse-culture shock"... only I'm preempting what I will feel before I even go. I'm soaking in all of China I can before I return to Minnesota, and who knows how long it will be until I come back to China. For me (and I can't speak for everyone), there is something really... great (sorry, I can think of a smart word) about living overseas. It is full of "grrr" moments, angry fists raised in the air, ambiguity, confusion, and unending frustrations. BUT, there is also this sense of belonging that comes from un-belonging, a sense of comfort that comes from knowing that your discomfort is completely expected, even welcomed and shared by all. Maybe for me, there is also this sense of addiction (again, wrong word!) to learning about, existing in, and adapting the values of other people that I exist with from all around the world; not only what I've learned about Chinese culture and people, but what I've learned about life from my friends that are from various parts of the United States, from Australia, from England, from Israel, from Nigeria, from Korea, from everywhere. And although sometimes it feels like "East vs. West" creates chaos and a great deal of misunderstanding, there is also a ridiculous amount of similarities.

Ok, I'm done, again, being all novel-esque, but really, I am sad to go.

In other news, Carmen and I treated ourselves to a foot and back massage yesterday after our Chinese classes. I usually love massages, and am always asking people to "push harder!", but yesterday, I met my masseus match. As I sat in this recliner watching the women around get their backs cracked and their arms yanked behind their heads, I should have known what I was getting into. But I thought I could handle it, I thought I could be strong. It all started with a back massage, and that felt wonderful... but then he stopped being kind and decided to dig in. The guy literally put his whole weight behind rubbing my neck and shoulders, and I told him (in broken Chinese) "It's a little to hard", but it didn't work. I'm feeling the effects today. I went to put my hair back this morning, and my neck was tender to the touch! Who knew a massage could do such things. But, as they say... no pain, no gain. I think in the end, it was worth it.

I think I've done enough rambling. I'm going to make me some lunch, and enjoy my Saturday afternoon. I'm currently reading Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry (lent to me by a friend), and it is a really beautiful book--slow, but rich in meaning and beautiful descriptions, just my kind of read. So, I am going to enjoy. Hopefully I'll be a little more faithful about the writing, at least before I leave Zhongguo to return to Meiguo.

Zaijian.

Beijing Bicycle (and other thoughts on China)

Today, I had the privilege of having my very first Beijing Bicycle ride. As many of you know, the bike is one of the most common forms of transportation in Beijing, and probably in China as a whole. You are swarmed by bicycle riders the minute you step foot on the street, and I'm pretty sure bike riding is an art, attempted by only the brave. There is even an excellent film made called "Beijing Bicycle", depicting the story of a Beijing resident that really could be any average resident's story. If you have the opportunity, I suggest you check it out. Anyway, back to the bike. My co-worker Carmen is headed to Hong Kong for the week, so she said I could borrow her bicycle while she was gone (I really should have bought my own, but now it's too late for the investment). Regardless, I felt pretty ecstatic about this offer, and gladly took her up on it. This means INDEPENDENCE in transportation in Beijing; no crowded subway, no smelly bus, no ridiculously long walks. My own transportation. Yesssss.

So, this evening, I went for a leisurely ride. Since I'm still a newbie at city bike riding, I just rode across the street to Tsinghua University (which is now officially my favorite place in Beijing because of all the open spaces). Tsinghua is my biking paradise, because there are very few cars, wide streets, lots of other bikers, and many many trees (a rare sight for Beijing). Bike riding in Beijing is a scary thing for me; I'm used to my car and lots of room to maneuver. No such luxuries here. And, sorry to say, Carmen's bike isn't the most sturdy (sorry Carmen!), but I'm wobbling down the street, using about all the man power my little arms can muster just to stay on the road. I think it's a pretty funny sight for people to see a white blonde girl on a bike. So, I rode through Tsinghua and made my went to the center of campus where there is this beautiful lake and trees and gardens, and I had a sit in the sunshine and journaled some China thoughts. Other than the occasional blog, I haven't had much time to reflect on China, so I decided to write down a few thoughts and share them. I wrote this after reading a novel, so please forgive me if my language is a little cheesy romance novel-ish.

From the park bench where I sit, I can view all of my favorite things about China (minus the street-food!); I see a traditional Chinese structure sitting on the edge of the lake, with its ornate tile roof and up-turned corners. The building has faded from what was once a brilliant red to a dull brown, but the ornate paintings that line the top still speak strongly of the years this place has seen. Through the openness and columns of the structure, I see willow trees drooping over the lake, their stark green spring leaves reflecting on the water and swaying in the ever-present Beijing wind. And then there's the people. I think volumes could be written about the Chinese people, and still no justice would be done to the complexity that surrounds them. Right now, I'm watching the classic grandpa/grandson pair; the grandpa leads his grandson near the water, then they go chasing each other around the tree in the courtyard. I see the young couple, sitting together very sweetly and overlooking the water, always holding hands. I see the mom with her baby, naked baby butt in the air. And then from across the water, I see the inescapable reminders of poverty: the old man working hard, hauling tree branches across the park, the other old man in rags digging through to garbage to find plastic bottles to trade in for money. And these scenes to me paint a vivid picture of modern China--the inseparable space shared by progress and history, old and young generations, tradition rubbing against modernization, the wealthy and educated rubbing shoulders with those who can barely survive. I know that sounds really cliche, but that's China. A melting pot for stark contrasts, the struggle for change and progress in a system weighed down by tradition and control. How will China come out? I think the world is waiting to see!

And, as I wrote that, there was some guy taking pictures of me, and another guy drawing a picture of me. And again, that is China.

the average life of a girl in china.

I think I read on my friend Bjorn's blog lately some comment about not having much to say. I must admit that that's where I'm at right now... I haven't blogged for awhile because life has been pretty average. I guess one could argue that the life of a Westerner in China is never quite "average", which is very true. But after a little while, what once caught my eye as being funny, interesting, or even exciting has sadly turned...just average. So, I'll just update you on some "current events" in this waiguoren's life.

At the beginning of this past week, I took a trip to Shenyang with my boss to check out a "business opportunity" up there. Shenyang is a city that is northwest of Beijing, and also pretty big (8 million people)---it will host the Olympic soccer, which is exciting. Unfortunately, I didn't really get to see much of Shenyang because all we did was business. Bor-ing. I guess that's adulthood creeping up on me... travel with no fun included. Anyway, we DID get to kick off the day with a bang. Our office branch that is located in Shenyang has connections with this kindergarten, and we happened to be there for their "English Olympic Performance" (I don't even know if that's what it's called, but it was something like that). Being that I am a foreign person, I usually get special duties and responsibilities. On Monday, I happened to get the privilege of singing and dancing impromptu in front of 1000 students. Awesome. However, the kicker was right before we were going to sing; there were these little girls on the stage (who were going to sing with us) in these elaborate dance recital-ish outfits, and it was part of the routine that they ask us some questions before we all sang. The conversation went like this:
little chinese girl: (yelling at me) Hello! How are you today?
me: I am fine, thank you.
little chinese girl: (still yelling at me) Would you please accept this gift to you from our school (hands me a sticker).
me: Ok.
girl puts the sticker on my shirt
little chinese girl: (yelling a little less loudly) Will you please sign on my hand?
I sign the girls hand
little chinese girl: (turning around to face the crowd and thrusting her fist into the air) I have received the signature of the foreign visitor!

Maybe it was one of those "you had to be there" moments, but... oh China. I'll try to link a video of some other kids that were singing and dancing to Jingle Bells (yes, in May). It isn't very steady, but you can see just how cute they were! (its at the bottom)

This morning, my co-worker Carmen and I had our usual Saturday morning classes. Since her birthday is on Monday, we decided to treat ourselves this afternoon! We had Xinjiang for lunch (a province in the Northwest of China, with delicious food), and then went to treat ourselves to a hairwash at our favorite place, the Shenmei (down the street from teaching). I think every trip to the Shenmei is an adventure. For all of my Minnesota friends, I just want to let you know that we get an hour (usually hour and a half) head and shoulder massage for 15 kuai (a little over $2). It is ah-maz-ing. Anyway, today we went, and as usual, the person massaging me started asking me some questions (in Chinese). I smiled and shrugged and said "ting bu dong" (I don't understand), but did that deter him? Never. He kept asking me questions, all the time, and I stopped even telling him that I didn't understand. I think he just wanted to be friends but... I think you have to at least have some common language to do that. Also, I think he was fascinated by my hair. While the special "Shenmei hair expert" came over to dry my hair, this kid just stood there and would pick up strands of my hair and stroke it, and turn it over and look at it. It was a little bit cute. It was a wonderful and relaxing experience (except for all these questions I just didn't understand).

Pretty much my entire life is really eventful and non-eventful all rolled into one.

Also, I feel like I keep writing about my life... and while I know this is ever-so exciting to hear about, I want to know what's going on with you too! E-mails, letters, cards, packages, flowers, gifts, chocolate (ok, really just e-mails) from home are always a real encouragement and fun to read. So, keep up the good e-mailing.

Lastly, I do want to add one thing. Although my life may be anti-climatic for the time being, life is anything but for thousands of people in Southern China. The amount of people struck by the earthquakes in Sichuan is devastating, and it is heartbreaking to think of how many fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, teachers, co-workers and friends were lost in this natural disaster of gigantic proportions. I know from first hand experience that sometimes events across the world don't phase us much, but I urge you to keep the families of China in your thoughts as they struggle through such a grief-stricken time. I guess I could be an advocate for many international injustices, but the people of Burma/Myanmar are also facing a tragedy of astronomical proportions, so keep them in your thoughts too.

chinese men's stomachs must get really warm...

Beijing’s summer comes much quicker than summer in Minnesota. In Minnesota, we (usually) have a long winter, followed by a pleasant spring that sometimes decides to turn back into winter, and then stays spring for at least a few months before it gets really hot in the middle of June. Beijing? Beijing doesn’t mess around with the concept of “spring”. Winter turns pretty quickly into summer. Last week I was wearing a coat and long sleeves to work everyday, and this week I’m wearing t-shirts and sandals (and feeling the stickness of the summer heat).

One indicator that summer is here to stay is that many Chinese men have started to wander around with their t-shirts rolled up, exposing their apparently-all-too-warm stomachs. When I first saw this amazing phenomenon, I thought it was a one-time thing, like some farmer who must have wandered into the city and started getting really hot, forgetting his city-manners and acting as you would expect someone from the country to act. But as the weather gets warmer and warmer, the more male midriffs I’ve been seeing. The men roll up their shirts past their protruding stomachs, and even puff out their stomach a little bit (further proving their masculinity), and usually there is some sort of stomach rubbing or patting going on. I still need to take a photo, but I will post one when I have it. One more of the many, many things I love about this city.

In other news, this weekend the national May holiday. Everyone gets Thursday, Friday and Saturday off of work (or they’re supposed to), but is supposed to make up their day of lost work on Sunday (???). I’ve spent the early part of this week debating how I should spend these sacred few days off: should I travel? Sightsee? Sleep? In the end, relaxation won out (as it always does). I decided to spend Thursday satisfying my introverted need for some quality alone time by hitting up Starbucks (where I’m currently sitting and enjoying a beautiful caffeinated beverage), followed by an afternoon of sight-seeing (destination still unknown). Tomorrow I will head out to visit Alli (out by the Great Wall), where we will explore the unknown sights of outer-Beijing. I’m pretty excited for the adventure. Overall, a few days of relaxation and exploration sounds like the perfect recipe for fun in Beijing.

I think that’s enough adventure for now. Until next time.

Nuts and Bolts, Nuts and Bolts...

It’s official. Lindsay & I got screwed over.

However, first things first. I have been an infrequent blogger this time because of visits from dear friends (it seems I always have an excuse). My great friend Lindsay took the leap over the big pond and visited me here in the great city of Beijing. What a blessing! It was fun to have her here and show her around and let her experience life in China.

But, we did have a few interesting experiences. Most recently was the time we got screwed over by the little Chinese man. It all started on Wednesday. We had a full day planned at the Mausoleum, Tiananmen, Hutongs, Forbidden City, and then on to some shopping, so we were full-speed ahead at every stop, rushing around so we could get it all in. We arrived in the Square with just enough time to get a quick glance of the Chairman in his “Mao-soleum”, so we were rushing to get in. This little official-looking Chinese man pulled us aside and motioned to us that we weren’t able to bring our bags into the Mausoleum (which turned out to be true), so he grabbed my arm and started running with us across Tiananmen. We were pushing people aside and running into people as we bolted to get to the place where you can keep your stuff. When we got there, he told me “20, 20”, which I assumed was 20 yuan to hold our stuff (which was also true). So we paid the money, put our stuff away, and then literally ran again back across Tiananmen, all the while still running into women and small children everywhere. We arrived back to the line that leads us into the Mausoleum with 10 minutes to spare. He then shoves us into the fast-paced crowd of people heading to see Mao, but still keeps tugging at my arm saying “20, 20 to get in”. With all the flurry and commotion, Lindsay and I both got really confused (was it 20 to get into the Mausoleum? what was he saying?). Lindsay pulled out her 50, and said “all we have is a 50”, and the little man took it and shoved us back into the crowd of people and disappeared. That was just about the time we realized entrance into the Mausoleum was free…

I guess you just need to get used to those things happening to you in China, huh? When you can’t speak the language, you are bound to get taken advantage of.

BUT, all in all, the Fulmer visit was successful. We saw all the sights in a short amount of time (Olympic Synchronized Swimming, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Pearl Market, Silk Market, Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen, etc.), and even threw in a quick trip to Inner Mongolia. Well, I made her go… I had a work commitment, but when it’s your first trip to China, everything is an experience.

This is a picture of how happy we were after we ran into our little Chinese-man friend:
But then, the little Chinese baby-butts always make us happy again.

Until further notice...

conquering the "china badittude"

Ok, I admit it… every now and then I have a bad attitude. I get a little cranky, and don’t work that hard to get rid of it. It happens to all of us at some point. However, living in China makes it especially easy to get such a badittude. For the most part, I really do love living here, and I love the people here and the culture and the food, but sometimes… all you can do is raise a fist at the frustrations of daily life.

I think my bad attitude first reared it’s ugly head on Sunday afternoon. This weekend started out so promising! My good friend Alli came in on Saturday, and we had a wonderful chat over Starbucks iced coffees, and then went for a peaceful two-hour stroll around Tsinghua University next door. It was fabulous, being outside on a beautiful day, walking around one of the very few areas in Beijing that has green grass, tree-lined streets, and open spaces. After the walking adventure, we then decided to perpetuate our day of goodness by making a trek across town (and really, getting across town is quite a feat--it took us over an hour via public transportation) to grab some dinner with friends at Pete’s Tex Mex. On our way home, we bought some obviously illegally-copied books from a guy selling them out of the back of his bike on the street for 15 kwai. If there’s one thing that makes me happy, it’s cheap books. All in all, these events made for a great day.

However, Sunday rolls around, and the attitude slowly changes. It started out with a cold shower (very little good comes after a cold shower). Alli and I grabbed a quick breakfast at an old fav down the street, “The Bridge”, and sat on the roof, eating our yogurt and granola in the beautiful sunshine, watching…the subway across the street (so, it’s not so scenic). We then caught a taxi (going the wrong direction, and consequently making us late) to fellowship. After considering a few lunch options, we decided to grab a quickie lunch and head across town to grab tickets for this week’s much anticipated “Good Luck” games. The Good Luck games are a sort of pre-event events for the Olympics (my baseball game a few weeks ago was a “Good Luck” game), and I’m not exactly sure of the purpose of these events, but they’re fun. We were really looking forward to getting some tickets for the Synchronized Swimming event this week; Lindsay is coming to visit (yay!), and I thought it would be fun to take her to an event in the infamous blue Aquatic Cube built for the Olympics. We thought we would just head down to the Cube and get tickets… but obviously, things are never that easy in China. It is quite a hassle to get anywhere, but especially to the Olympic Stadium, because the subway lines that take us there aren’t open yet, and it is a little spendy just to go by taxi… so we trekked over to the subway and crammed into this hot, smelly subway car, rubbing sweaty arms with the people next to us (it was close to 78 degrees F on Sunday). We rode this way for awhile, then had to switch trains, and ride this way for another while. THEN, we had to catch a taxi to the stadium. We arrive around 4:30, hot, sweaty and exasperated by the torturous travel request to get to the actual stadium… only to find that they sold out of tickets by noon. Argh. Apparently, they are selling 300 tickets a day, for five days, to be bought only at this inconvenient location. Everything is harder in China. So, we left the stadium, hot, sweaty and defeated…our bad attitudes oozing out of our pores. I was ready to give up on the “Good Luck” games, but… I would not be defeated by China.

So yesterday, we re-made the stupid long trek and got our tickets. Victory.

It is just another example of how life in China is consistently inconsistent. Ahhhh.

life as usual

As the title implies, I'm officially back to living "life as usual"... at least for now. After a slew of family related visits over the span of about two and a half weeks, I have gotten settled back into a more normal routine. I guess to say "normal" isn't quite fair, because China is infamous for never having anything be "normal". Case in point: last Saturday morning, my co-worker Carmen and I headed for our bus stop to catch the bus to the kindergarten where we teach. Low and behold, the bus stop was longer there. Seriously, the bus stop was moved overnight. I walk by that bus stop every day, and overnight it was moved... seats and signs and railings and all. Luckily, they just moved it down the block.

Another interesting "only in China" moment happened last week. I was walking down a well-traveled street in my highly-populated neighborhood to go visit my parents (while they were still here). I was just watching life happen, and noticed an elderly couple strolling on the grass near me. Suddenly, the lady just pops a squat and starts going to the bathroom. On the side of the street, on a busy street. I just looked at her, and laughed, and kept on walking. Seriously, I love living here.

All other aspects of life are going well. It feels good to be back and work and to jump into a new project. In the midst of doing work for my company in Minnesota, I'm working on a few projects for my company in Beijing. We have decided to re-design our website, and I get to play a big role in that, so it's nice to be busy at work. Language courses are also going pretty well... I decided to re-take the first few lessons of Mandarin, so I joined a class that was just starting, and I feel pretty proud of myself because I'm catching on to everything pretty quickly. I suppose it helps that it's the second time I'm taking it in a few weeks :) I think next week will start to get harder. At times it feels near impossible to learn the language--the characters, the pinyin, the sentence structure; I wish I was here full time to study because then I might actually see some progress! People are here for years studying language alone... my 7.5 hours a week might not get me far. But it's a start.

Life is good. I have met some really wonderful people who I have been so blessed by. I work with such a wonderful staff and have had really generous people take me under their wing to get accustomed to life here. It was great having family around, and Lindsay F. comes next week which will be SO great! We will have a great time buzzing around Beijing (and even making a visit to Hohhot in Inner Mongolia).

Thanks to everyone who has been sending e-mails... they are the highlight of my day! I hope everyone is doing well, and I would LOVE to hear from you if you have time.

the delinquent blogger

I am officially a delinquent blogger. And I apologize. But really, I've been busy, yadda yadda...

Actually, I have been really busy because I've been visited by FAMILY! Anna came and visited for 10 days, and my mom came a little later (and is still here, sharing a room with me and snoring as we speak...). Despite all of my anxiousness surrounding their visit (trying to book a decent hotel room with people who only speak Chinese, figuring out how to get from point A to point B), it has been wonderful to see them. It has just been fun being able to experience China with them, laugh about our cultural... differences, and being able to just be comfortable. Words can not express how wonderful it was to shower at my mom's hotel room... a consistent stream with hot water and good water pressure. Goodness beyond description.

Since it was their first time in China, and I hadn't yet seen the "Beijing sites", I've been taking some time off of work, and we have visited almost everything there is to see in Beijing: Lama Temple, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen, Hutongs, as well as eaten more food than we would have thought possible. It has been a fantastic two weeks of sight-seeing, family-enjoying, great-food-eating fun. Here is the mandatory picture of us at the Great Wall.

I feel like I'm starting to get a little more into the groove of life in Beijing. I'm starting to notice the patterns in my daily routine, who usually stands where on the street and what they sell, how people interact with each other (they virtually don't do this with strangers), how often public transportation arrives and how physically aggressive people are to get an ideal place on the subway. I was waiting in line for the subway today, and as the car pulled near, people started crowding me and getting super close to the door. I just stood there and thought how funny this is, adult people pushing and shoving people out of their way on the off-chance they'll get a seat on the subway. Ahhh, life in Beijing.

Another apparent aspect of life in Beijing is how rapidly change takes place. I was walking to work today down my normal sidewalk, only to find that in the last 4 days, they had completely ripped up the old sidewalk, and re-routed walking traffic to a new sidewalk. And things like this happen all the time... one day you'll walk by a familiar place, and all of a sudden a new structure is there. It is crazy. It is really a fascinating time to be living in Beijing. Stating this may be completely obvious, but the Olympics are such a big deal for China. The more I'm here, the more I fully understand what hosting this event means for China. It is their international recognition, they are inviting the whole world to come and see their progress, to enjoy their city and to prove that they are worthy of being equal. This means big-time work for China in every aspect; adding to and re-vamping current public transportation, cleaning up (trust me, this is no small issue), making sure food and hotels and public places are up to international standards (this too is no small issue). It is fascinating to see the amount of change that has occurred even in the short time I've been here. I can't only wait to see what else this city has up it's sleeve...

MLB in Beijing

A very rare occurrence happened in Beijing today---baseball. America's favorite past-time made it's debut in China with the San Diego Padres playing the LA Dodgers. Even though I'm not really a baseball fan (and quite honestly didn't even pay attention very well), the game was super fun. It was interesting attending such an "American" event in China; it felt like life as usual until I looked outside of the stadium to see very the Chinese-looking, halfway constructed buildings and watched the Chinese dancers/cheerleaders on the field in between each inning (maybe the Twins should be consider cheerleaders?).

Anyway, here are some photos.

Other than that, life is moving along really quickly. I'm still in the midst of learning to live life in a culture that is so different (and really, "different" is an understatement) from what I'm used to. It is good... a lot of experiences, and everyday I'm learning how much I still have to learn. It is a little exhausting, and at times overwhelming, but on the whole, it is good, and I am glad I'm here. However, there are times when I would give just about anything to drive my car somewhere (and not be stuck in traffic), or to be able to order off of a menu in my own language, or even ask a stranger a question. But, that's the price you pay for living on the other side of the world.

It is definitely past my bedtime.

hutongs and wangfujing

As an attempt to start fulfilling our "Beijing Bucket List", my friend Alli and I decided to visit some Beijing hutongs this weekend. For those who are unaware (like I was until 3 days ago), hutongs are a traditional-type Chinese home which looks like a long, winding corridor. I can't really explain it, so you might just have to google it. Anyway, we met up on Saturday afternoon and headed to the center(ish) of Beijing to check out a section of hutongs that were still intact and being lived it. It was great, because so often in Beijing, you feel like you are just in another big city, but the hutongs felt like a more authentic "China" experience. I think that the hutongs are a really neat source of community for the people who live in them since everyone lives in such close quarters. Unfortunately, most hutongs are being destroyed in the country's efforts to "modernize". Anyway, I'll try to post pictures, but it was really interesting.

Next, we met two friends in a highly commercialized area called Wangfujing and ate a glorious double cheeseburger value meal from McDonalds. We then made a trip to the foreign language bookstore (also glorious), and then visited the market behind all of the commercial stuff. This was another fun "uniquely China" experience, seeing all the little street vendors and the food. Trace and Jason, the two guys we were with, decided to try fried scorpion...delish. That's on Alli & I's agenda for the next Wangfujing visit.

In other news, I moved into a new apartment today. That's exciting! I'm not living with my boss anymore, which was actually a little sad when I left them because they were beginning to be like family to me! But I moved in with two girls (one girl is out of town until the 22nd, so I haven't met her yet). It will be interesting, living with two random girls in a new part of town. BUT, I know that He will work in the ways He needs to, so it will turn out well.

I think I'm going to get ready to hit the hay... it's been a long weekend, and I'd like to rest up. Hopefully the next post will be a little more entertaining.

one week down.

Today marks my ONE WEEK anniversary as a Beijing citizen. I'm already feeling very proud of that fact. More and more, I'm starting to understand life here (I think I will probably write that in every entry, so just bear with me).

The weather in Beijing has been BEAUTIFUL--sorry all of my Minnesota friends. Currently (and forecasted for the next 10 days), it is supposed to be in the 50's-60's and sunny. Really, smoggy Beijing has proved to be quite lovely! I think that definitely makes adjustment a little easier.

This week I have started to settle into a routine (which will no doubt be unsettled the minute I get used to it). I have a 1.5 hour Chinese language class every morning, and then I hop back on the subway and head into work until around 5. Then, I go home and... read or watch movies. That's because I only have one friend in Beijing, so I spend most evenings with my boss and his wife :) The language class that I just started is really kicking my butt. The first day, we just had speaking practice, so that means repeating tones, and learning the generic "Ni hao, ni hao ma", but it got progressively harder from there. Also, the first day I was the ONLY English speaker in my class! My teacher didn't even speak English, and the rest of the students were Korean. It took me half the class to give myself the pep-talk I needed to finish the second half and stay focused! But actually, I have come to think it is better that there is so little English because I am really forced to focus and figure out what's going on. Plus, there are now some more students in our class (most of whom speak English), which makes that a little easier. Today in class, our teacher decided that we really need to learn our characters (the Chinese writing), so she stopped using pinyin (English letters for Chinese words), and just started writing characters all over the board and expected us to know what it said. AND, most students actually understood! I was sitting in my desk, trying desperately to match the characters in my book to the ones on the board, and then I heard her say "Kay-tee", and she pointed to some characters. All I could say was "I have no idea what you are asking me". She laughed at me and moved on... so I think she understood how lost I was.

Other than that, life in China is never boring. I walk down the street from my office to the subway, or sit on the bus, or pretty much do anything and all I can think is "wow, I am seriously living in China". Life is so different here. There are people in every inch of space, rushing to get to where they need to. There is no concept of personal space (trying riding bus during rush hours--there are not even words to describe this), no concept of "pedestrian rights" on the street (I am so thankful every time I cross the street and am still intact), and such a fascinating blend of "new" and "old". I walk down the street from my bus to work and I look at these new, beautiful and huge office buildings while I'm being knocked off the sidewalk by a man in a rickshaw and street vendors. There is really no other place like it.

Some news on the apartment front: I have a few options, but nothing is definite yet. One option is to live in a lower-cost place, but it would take over an hour to commute to work (including a 30 minute walk to get to the subway). The other option, which just presented itself today, is to live close to work (and right next to my language class), and right in the middle of a district where many young foreigners and students live, but for almost 3 times the cost. SO, I'm waiting to weigh out my options... but I am thankful that I have them.

OK, I should get to work. Blessings to all, I love hearing from you!

learning to live

I have officially survived 4 days living in Beijing. I'm not going to lie, I feel pretty proud of myself! The last few days have consisted of my "rites of passage" to becoming an official Beijing citizen. It all started on Friday when I made a trip to the local police station to register as a foreigner who is not staying at a hotel. After the stop at the station, I received my Beijing cell phone! I can officially call someone (in Beijing) when I get lost. I'm also still in the process of finding a more permanent place to live; I think we're making some definite progress on that, which is encouraging.

On Friday, I had lunch with the two American people around my age who work in the office directly next to mine. They are here working with an organization that provides micro-loans to people in China, as well as all around this side of the world. It was fun to sit and have lunch with them. The girl invited me to a party that she was hosting at her apartment, celebrating leap day (naturally). So, I met the boy and some of his other friends for dinner, and then we walked over to her apartment. It was so fun because there were about 25 other Western people about my age there, so it was a good chance to feel like I was in a familiar place and meet people my own age that I could communicate with!

However, on the way home, disaster struck. This is inevitable living in a city of 15 billion where you can't speak the language. I left the party thinking that I was giving myself plenty of time to catch the bus home, but, of course, the bus had stopped running an hour before. So here I was, stranded at this bus stop in the middle of Beijing, and I had no idea how to get home (or even where I was). I couldn't just grab a taxi because I can't communicate with the taxi drivers, I couldn't walk because it would take me an hour and 20 minutes, and it was a Friday night, and I wasn't too excited about that. Luckily, this Chinese man with pretty good English approached me and asked me if I needed any help. I told him that my bus stopped running, and I needed to get home... so we stood on the street for a half an hour, trying to find a taxi! All the taxis were full because it was Friday night and the buses had stopped running. So anyway, we finally caught a taxi (after fighting with another woman to get it who let us have it because I was a foreigner), and he rode home in the taxi with me to make sure I got where I needed to go. When I was riding in the taxi with the strange Chinese man, all I could think was "he could be telling this guy to take me anywhere, and I would have no idea". Luckily, I was blessed to have everything turn out, and I made it home.

Yesterday, I met a new friend of a friend Alli, and we spent the day yesterday and today together. It was such a blessing having someone in Beijing! She showed me around to some "Beijing hot spots", and helped me to navigate my way through the city a little more. This morning we attended the big fellowship in Beijing, and afterwards went out to lunch and did some shopping with some of her friends from the fellowship. It was just a great afternoon of hanging out and connecting with some more people.

I really have been blessed in being able to meet like-minded people thus far, and have been able to go out and explore the city. I look forward to trying to check of my "Beijing Bucket List" (hopefully with Anna and Lindsay when they visit!)

Ok, I need some sleep.

we're not in kansas anymore...

So... I have arrived! After a 17 hours+ plane ride, many tears and months of preparation, I have officially arrived in Beijing. I actually arrived yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, but was too tired to write last night. I had my first full day in Beijing today, and it hit about sometime this afternoon that I actually was in a really foreign place.

So, here's what I've been up to thus far: I arrived yesterday, and was picked up from the airport (I considered that my first great accomplishment; I was nervous that wasn't actually going to happen). We took a taxi from the airport to the apartment I am staying at right now, somewhere on the West side of Beijing. I am staying with the couple who run the company I am working for until I find more permanent housing; but for now, it's been so nice to stay with people who are also foreigners to Beijing and can show me the ropes. ANYWAY, last night when I got here, the couple hadn't yet arrived from Australia, so another employee took me out for dinner, and then we got wonderful head and neck massages. Apparently Asia is known for their massages, and they are super affordable. Ahhh, it was a good way to end a long day.

This morning I woke up super early (boo jetlag), and headed into the office for the first time. The couple I'm staying with showed me which buses to take, where to get off, etc. We went into the office and I met everyone, saw where I'm going to be sitting, etc. etc. Then, Audrey (host mom) and I went on a trip using the light rail to sign up for Mandarin classes. I signed up for a class that starts next Monday morning, and I'm in it all by myself. Ahh! I really hope that I'm able to keep all of these names and streets and bus stops in order, because if I'm lost, I'm really lost. I thought that most people would at least know a little English here (after all, the Olympics are coming, right?), but that is sooo not the case. Communication will be a toughie. Case in point: this afternoon, I tried to put money on my re-loadable bus pass, and the bus attendant didn't understand what I wanted to do, so she just took my card and money, left it sitting on the counter, and starting helping everyone else. I was so confused! I was just standing there... I had to have Audrey help me.

Like I said, it was about after that point when it really hit me: I am not at home. I've been waiting for that to hit since I left (for an anxious person, I've done well thus far), but I think this marks the beginning of a tough journey. A good one, but a tough one. I stood next to another Westerner today as I was about to cross the street, and I just wanted to hug him! I felt like we were related or something, but we just had the same skin color. I laughed at myself because I knew that was ridiculous.

I'm hoping to start making friends here pretty soon... I think the folks at my company have some good connections with foreigners, especially through the big fellowship here in Beijing, BICF. We meet this weekend, so I am really looking forward to meeting some other foreigners in Beijing who are around my age.

So, that's all I have to report for now. Stay tuned.

getting ready to jump

I've tried my hand at blogging before, and that turned out to be slightly disasterous. So, hopefully this time it will be different! I'd like to keep you, my dear family and friends, updated on what I'm doing... and let's face it, it's easier to do this than send you a mass e-mail. So, hopefully this will provide you with a little clarification on what exactly it is I'm doing over in China.

Anyway, right now I'm sitting here in my nice, cozy Minnesota living room watching the Oscars next to my fireplace. Tomorrow I leave for the cities, departing for Beijing Tuesday morning at 7 am. After tonight there will be no more relaxing at home. No more seeing my family, watching TV in English, and using a regular toilet. No longer will I have the ability to blend into a crowd (I feel like there might be a shortage of tall blond girls in China). So I'm soaking up every minute of being at home, in familiar surroundings, and being with those I love.

I'm sure you are probably asking yourself: "What exactly is she doing over there? I don't really get it." Don't worry, you're not alone. I don't think that I even really know what I'm doing over there. But, here's the plan as I know it. I've been working for a company in Minnesota that would like to start an English language program in China. I've worked with them since June, writing a business plan and researching the viability of such a venture. Our organization, through various industry connections, has ties with a company in China that helps start and manage such programs (I know, a really awesome coincidence). So, my next four months will be spent with this organization in China, being an "intern" for them and learning how they operate, what their schools look like, if we should partner with them, etc.

Other than this overarching "plan", I have no idea what I will be doing. I don't know what my tasks will be, what my daily life will look like. Honestly, I don't even know where I'm living next week! But I'm so excited. I feel ready to embrace the adventure (and all the uncertainties that follow), ready to experience life through a new lens, to meet and connect with people from all walks of life, and to live what I feel called to do right now.

So, all that being said, I would love to hear from each and every one of you! As of now, the best way to do that is using e-mail (katelynnrae@gmail.com), OR, if you have skype, doing that (I think my skype name is katelynn.rae).

So, I'll close out this first post because I'm not even in China yet, so it's not that interesting.

Love you all!