Up on the Great Wall

Winding wall at Mutianyu

I have another blog post in the works, about leaving Chengdu and saying goodbye to my new friends there, but I’m having trouble putting that in perspective at this point.  So I’m skipping that for the moment to move on to what I did today:  visited the Great Wall.  Despite the fact that I specifically chose to route myself through Beijing in order to make this visit, it has been in doubt for the past several weeks.

Ever since I arrived in China, every single person I’ve spoken with has warned me about how crowded Beijing is, and also how incredibly crowded the Great Wall is.  They warned me about pickpockets, told me not to wear any jewelry,  and basically made it sound like an altogether unpleasant experience.  I’m not big on crowds (what do you expect from someone who grew up in small towns in Alaska and Montana), and I have been on the fence for at least two weeks as a result.  I have seen some pretty impressive things in the past month, especially the Grand Buddha and the DujiangyanIrrigation System, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be impressed by the Wall, and more importantly be oppressed by the crowds.  When I mentioned this to Liu Liu on Tuesday, she very wisely advised me to go.  She told me that it was possible I would be disappointed when I got there, but that I would regret it if I didn’t.  I’m so happy I listened to her, because what I experienced today was amazing.

First of all, it only took a little bit of searching to find that there is more than one option to visit the Great Wall.  The place that everyone says is really crowded is called Badaling, and it is about an hour’s drive from Beijing.  But there’s another place called Mutianyu that is only 90 minutes away.  That extra 30 minutes makes all the difference in the world.  I found a tour via my hotel that only went to that section, didn’t include an “authentic Chinese lunch” (I’ve had enough of those), and came back with only one stop at a “silk museum” (aka sales pitch).  While it was slightly overpriced compared to others, it was convenient and was exactly what I wanted so I booked it.

Do I look nervous?  I don't like heights!

We arrived at Mutianyu a little after noon and took a gondola ride up to the ride.  I’m not big on heights, but it was essential to not have to hike an hour just to get to the wall.  There was plenty of hiking to do once you got to the top.  We had about 90 minutes to hike around, and I set off to the left see how far up the hill I could get.  It was promised to have the best view, and I figured that all my hiking would prepare me just fine for this trek.  That didn’t exactly work out as I thought it would as this section was incredibly steep.  I had to break it up into 50 steps – every 50 steps I would stop and take a breather and then set off to the next one.  I didn’t make it up as far as I wanted to go, but I did make up ¾ of a visible hill (the top was my original goal).  If I didn’t have to get back to meet the group, I would have kept on going.  However, it would have been better if I had my hiking supplies from home (hat, camelback, hiking friends).

Steep stairs leading to the highest tower landing I made it to.  There were more!

Can you see how red my face is?  That was a tough hike!

At this tower, there was a woman there selling water, soda, snacks and postcards.  She somehow hikes these things up there every day.  One of my fellow tourists pointed out she must have some sort of shortcut, but there's no way she doesn't have to haul it up the portion of the hill right before the tower.  I can't imagine doing that every day, but it also made me think about how they got the materials to build the original wall up there to begin with.  The scope of that is just mind-blowing.  The entire wall is over 6000 kilometers, which is an awful lot of stone, brick and mortar to haul around with primitive technology.

On the way back down I had the gondola all to myself (no crowds, no lines, no sharing), and I almost overcame my fear of heights.  It was actually a fairly smooth ride down, and the views were gorgeous.  This area must be absolutely spectacular in the fall, as the trees turn all gold and red.  

On the gondola ride back down the mountain.

I'm so glad I didn't let myself be scared away from the Great Wall.  I will happily remember my time up there for the rest of my life.  

See all my Great Wall pictures on Flickr

Earthquake Story

Me and my friend Jake hanging out at the bamboo park.

There was an earthquake in the Sichuan Province yesterday, which was somehow not on the list of things that I anticipated needing to deal with on this trip.  Many people died and many many more were injured in the quake that was centered about 70km from Chengdu, the capital of the province, and where I am staying.  Perhaps I should have considered an earthquake as a possibility as this area was hit by a major quake on the same fault line in 2008, when 90,000 people died and entire towns were destroyed.  But I don’t consider earthquake risks before I go to California, so why would I consider that here?

I’m not sure when you know an earthquake is starting (someone mentioned a specific rumbling noise that she heard), but for me I was glued to my computer following the news of the Boston marathon bombing suspect being captured when I started to feel the building shake.  At first I stopped to consider if a truck was merely going by, or if there was a train somewhere near (there’s not), when I realized it was shaking much harder and much longer than anything I’ve ever experienced.  My mind registered that it was indeed an earthquake and I jumped up trying to remember what to do.  It’s been many many years since my grade school earthquake drills, and I couldn’t remember what the proper response was.  Hide under a desk?  Go into the bathroom?  Stop, drop and roll?  I saw people outside and realized that must be it – get the heck out of the building. I threw on some clothes, grabbed a phone and dashed out the door.

Ultimately no additional quakes were felt immediately, and I briefly went back inside to get my purse, Chinese cell phone and brush my teeth before heading out again.  I still didn’t know how big the earthquake was but I decided to quickly Skype call my mom so that she wouldn’t worry if she saw a news blurb about an earthquake in China.  I basically am cut off from the outside world once I leave my hotel room (my Chinese cell phone is pretty much local use only) and I didn’t know when I would return to the room. 

I headed off to the haven where I knew I would feel comforted and I could assess the situation:  Starbucks.  During the 20 minute walk to the mall, I scoured the landscape trying to see any evidence of any damage, but found none.  There were people milling about different residential buildings, but other than that, there was no visible damage and there were people going about their business like nothing happened.  By the time I was ordering my grande vanilla latte, I had calmed down and reconnected with my host friend Liu Liu.  She was worried about me, and in fact was on campus looking for me.  Yet again, I was struck by the kindness of the people here.  Liu Liu invited me to spend the day with her family, and I headed off to meet her.  Before the end of the day her 11 year old son “Jake” and I were great friends, and I was the beneficiary of Jake’s encyclopedia knowledge of all things automotive.

In fact, I had almost forgotten how the day began, with a major earthquake.   I’ve been reminded, of course, many times since then.  Sometimes by the news, that announces that the death and injury toll keeps rising.  Then there was the large crack in the wall of my friends’ 17^th story apartment I saw this morning, but wasn’t there when I visited them on Friday night.  And finally I’m reminded, ever so strongly, by the aftershocks that continue on more than 24 hours after the original earthquake (one woke me up at 5am).  Each time I hear a small rumble and the building shake, I feel my heart race again and I wonder if this is the one where I need to escape quickly.  Thankfully they all pass quickly, and all I’m left with is an adrenaline hangover.  I’ve decided that earthquakes and I just aren’t meant to be BFF.

Do You Believe in Miracles?

What was once lost has now been found.

Do you believe in miracles?  I know I do.  This week started with a miracle for me, and then ended with another one.  I almost can’t believe my good fortune.

First of all, let me preface this story by saying that despite my lack of international traveling experience, I’m really not a travel novice.  I’ve been in almost every major American city, tons of small ones, more airports than I can count, more miles of interstate than I’d like to remember and I did make it to London and back with only a lost bag of hand sanitizer and lip gloss as casualties.  Yet this week I made not one but two rookie traveling mistakes, but was saved both times by the kindness of strangers.

First off on Monday, I went with a lovely librarian from Sichuan University named Yongmei to the Wenshu Buddhist temple.  We took a taxi across town at the tail end of rush hour, so we had plenty of time to chat with our friendly taxi driver.  He was the best driver I’ve had since I’ve been here, but I’m grading on how scary the ride is (he didn’t drive very fast).  He had a few questions for me about traffic in the United States, and we had a nice ride across town.  As I got out of the taxi, I heard a robotic voice say in English to be sure to take all your belongings with you when you leave.  I thought to myself, of course I have everything, but you know some people are stupid and leave stuff behind all the time.  Well that day I was the stupid one. 

An hour after strolling around the temple trying to figure out various Buddhist mysteries like why are the statues of the gods by the entrance so darn scary, we left to go to our next destination.  It was getting sunny so I opened my purse to get my sunglasses on only to find them gone.  I knew in an instant that I was the idiot who left their prescription sunglasses in a taxi in a major foreign metropolitan city, and that was that.   I had already mentally spent the $600 to replace them as soon as I got back to Phoenix (you can’t live through a summer there without sunglasses) by the time I mentioned to Yongmei what I did.  She immediately found the taxi receipt, called the dispatch office who confirmed that the super nice taxi driver had found them and would bring them to the office as soon as he had a break.  Yongmei then arranged a driver from the library to go get them (the office was very far away) and I had them back in my hands by Tuesday night.  Thank you travel miracle #1.

So fast forward to Friday.  I was spending a lovely day with a young library staff member named Shi, which included a stop at Du Fu’s Thatched Cottage, lunch of Sichuan snacks (although I didn’t eat this one), and then the Sichuan Provincial Museum.  We enjoyed seeing the sites but also comparing notes about life in our respective countries.  Shi is the awesome young woman who took me to the mall, Starbucks and Ikea last week because I  wanted to see where normal people liked to shop.  Anyway, we left the museum and took yet another scary taxi drive across town to a nice café.  We were just getting settled when I went to fetch my iPhone out of my purse so I could hook up to wifi when I realized it wasn’t in my purse.  I knew it immediately – I had left it on a bench in the museum. 

What a ridiculously stupid rookie move this was and I felt sick.  You don’t leave your phone anywhere, but certainly not in a fairly public space with lots of tourists.  Plus it was a needless loss because I didn’t even need to have it with me today. I’ve been carrying it around primarily so I could use the Chinese/English dictionary app.  However Shi’s English is practically perfect so I didn’t need it,  except when I was telling her about a café I found that had smoothies and bagels.  She didn’t know what a bagel was, so I tried looking it up in the dictionary app.  And then I somehow left the phone on the bench.  Major. Rookie. Mistake.

After emptying my purse to ensure it wasn’t hiding somewhere, I knew we had to go back to the museum.  We immediately dashed out of the café and down the street to try to hail a cab, which of course wasn’t as easy as we thought.  Taxi after taxi passed us, without their magic “available” light on.  While we were waiting, Shi called the museum office, but they told her they didn’t have any phones turned in.  We finally got a cab, and I endured yet another eyes-closed-pray-for-my-life ride across town.  Only this time it was eyes-closed-pray-for-my-iphone-to-not-be-gone-for-good ride.

When we arrived at the museum we ran up the stairs, through security and quickly went to the spot near the gift shop where we had sat earlier.  When we turned the corner we found three museum employees sitting on a bench who immediately flagged us down, one of them waving my iphone. I nearly wept with relief. I had been dreading not having a phone when I got back, not to mention paying hundreds of dollars to replace it (I’m pretty sure Apple Care doesn’t cover lost phones).   The museum workers told Shi that they remembered seeing me earlier sitting with Shi on the bench, as they don’t get many foreign visitors to their museum.  When they found the phone and it was in English they knew it was mine.  They thought I would call it to find it, but someone noted that it didn’t have service, so they decided to wait for us to come back, knowing that we would.  Miracle number two.

Shi and I marveled at my good fortune this week as we went back outside to hail yet another cab.  What were the chances that I would recover not one but two expensive lost items in one week?  And in such a huge city?  What I’m going to take away from this is that this is a wonderful reminder that people are basically good, no matter where they are.  Sometimes I lose track of my core belief that people are basically good, no matter where they are from.  From now on, I will be reminded of the goodness of people every time I put on my sunglasses or pull out my phone.  And we all know that that will be hundreds of times a day.  People are good.

Power of Packaging

You don't have to read Chinese to know exactly what this is.

At home I do my best to eat whole foods: fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, things that don’t come in a package with food labels.  I’m not perfect, but I try.  However, since I’ve been in China my diet has been very laden with packaged food.  It’s not that I can’t get regular food here, I can, and do.  It’s that when I go to the market to pick up groceries for my room I can’t seem to help myself and the incredible feeling of “home” that overcomes me when I recognize something.

If I wasn’t so lazy, I would go look some information up on the psychological aspects of packaging design.  But let’s face it, my internet connection is very reminiscent of dial up circa 1995, and I’m just not that motivated.  Instead let me tell you what the outcome is:  I’m wandering through the stores here, and I’m overwhelmed with stiumuli.  Not only are there packages of familiar things that I don’t recognize, but there are unfamiliar products as well:

File Spicy Duck Tongue under "Things I won't find in the Tempe WalMart"

I can’t read any of the writing on the packaging, and I can’t understand the words to the songs playing in the store.  On top of that, clerks will approach me asking to help me but I can’t understand a word they are saying.  If I’m truly motivated to find something (like when I wanted to buy a spoon) I will whip out my iphone and consult the Chinese/English dictionary app.  But most often I just smile and walk on. 

So my head is spinning, and I start to feel stressed.  I just want to pick up whatever the minimum items I need (sometimes just water for drinking and teeth brushing) and get out as soon as possible.  But I turn down an aisle and all of a sudden my eyes fall upon something that I recognize.  It doesn’t even have to have visible English on it – colors, packaging shapes, cartoon characters, etc all make up packaging elements that bring about a sense of recognition that happens before I know it.  The first product that did that for me here was coke and coke zero, but soon thereafter I found this section

Oreos!  I see the package, I recognize it as something I know , and I feel happy.  It’s like my brain can take a breather and say, finally, something that makes sense, even if it is cookies.   I can’t tell you the last time I bought Oreos at home, but I’ve eaten them here.  I’ve also gotten my fill of these

Now I’ve also seen and recognized these:

But just as at home I think that Pringles are just a little overpriced here.  You pay a premium for the non-broken chip can design.  Also, who wants to eat seaweed chips? 

Cheese isn’t a big favorite here, so it took some scouring the dairy aisles, but I finally found this somewhat familiar gem:

I’ve eaten several wheels of this stuff.  I’m not sure it’s real cheese, but I’ve seen it in the refrigerator cases at my local Safeway at home, and it’s all I can get here, so I bought it.

I have the same response to fast food brands.  I recognized the Pizza Hut “Hut” logo before I ever saw the English words.  Interestingly enough, Pizza Hut is very upscale here with fancy dining rooms and everything (I’m supposed to eat there Sunday and I hope to report on that experience). 

My heart leapt when I saw the Subway branding on the side of the mall.  The experience of ordering was slightly different (the line moved from left to right instead of right to left and the workers didn’t understand English.  There were lots of pointing), but I was so happy just looking down at the “Subway “ logo on my sandwich bag I didn’t care that the concoction wasn’t quite delicious when I ate it.  I accompanied it with that mini Snickers bar. from the local market.

The professional lesson that I’m taking away from these observations is that the branding elements the university provides really can evoke strong powerful emotions in our audience, even unintended ones and hopefully they are all positive.  But we have to continue to use them consistently so that they are recognizable and representative of “home” even if found in another country, in another language.

Rules of the Road

I have no documentation of the worst of the traffic because I'm usually so scared I have my eyes closed.

For the past two weeks I’ve tried to figure out how to explain the traffic here.  Sichuan University’s main campus, where I’m staying, is situated in the middle of Chengdu, a large city.  It is bounded by several major roads, and so any time I need to go to a bigger market or a restaurant or café, I have to face the traffic.  I’ve also ridden in a variety of vehicles including small cars, minivans, and taxis.  From a distance the traffic flow seems to be normal, but up close, it is more like terrifying.  On Friday I was so scared during 20 minute taxi ride out to Ikea I spent the entire ride with my eyes closed.  At one point the driver passed two cars who were in adjoining lanes, complete with lane lines, by squeezing BETWEEN the two vehicles, riding the dotted white line.  Ugh.

Finally yesterday my friend Olivia, a veteran world traveler, offered this description of the traffic phenomenon:

When you're in a car, does it feel like everyone is just trying to make space for themselves? Kinda like a swirling school of fish?

I think this is an excellent description.  Imagine a school of fish that is all clumped together swirling around, but somehow manages to move forward.  You never quite know how they figure out how they fit together, but somehow they do.  That is how it feels, especially in the middle of an intersection.  There is a kind of order that makes sense, but out of nowhere someone will back up, or go around someone else, and abruptly change direction.  Occasionally a vehicle will just decide to go against traffic.  And in the midst of all of this are a billion motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, pedi-cabs, and pedestrians of all ages and agility levels.  To add to all of this visual sensation are the endless  din of car horns going off all the time.  Drivers honk all the time – not just to jar someone in front of you to move when the light is green.  No, they honk to tell all the cars, bikes, that they are there and to watch out. 

The only rule of the road I have successfully figured out is this:  pedestrians never, never, never, never have the right of way.  Never.  At the same time, it was also described to me that everyone, drivers and pedestrians alike, has to be selfish, or they will never get anywhere.  Waiting patiently to take your turn will not pay off.  It will just leave you motionless forever. 

When I’m on my own trying to get places, my strategy has been to find some other pedestrians crossing an intersection and follow closely behind them.  I’m betting on two things:  that they are natives and understand the rules of the road that I can’t  figure out; and that if I keep just behind them if an accident happens they’ll get hit but I’ll have time to move out of the way.  Remember – the key is to be selfish and think only about your survival.  I guess I learned something.

Camping and China: Things in Common

At the Dujiangyan Irrigation System

People who have known me for a long time are well aware of my stance on camping.  I’m against it.  Totally against it.  It’s not that I don’t like nature.  I love nature.  I can spend all day outside, hiking, walking around, napping in a hammock (who’s kidding who – the nap is an important outdoor activity).  But at the end of the day, I want to go home, take a shower in my own bathroom and sleep in my own bed.  I think I came about this philosophy honestly:  when I was a kid I lived in Alaska, and that’s what we did all the time.  We did stuff outside, went to the rec areas for picnics and ran on the beach, but we always came home at night. 

This morning I was Skyping with my friend Priscilla and she asked me what I liked about China.  I thought for a minute, and then responded honestly that I have enjoyed almost everything about it.  The people I’ve met have all be wonderful and interesting, and I am enjoying seeing the sites and learning new things.  But, after over two weeks on the road, I feel about China the way I do about camping.  I’m happy to be out in it all day long, but I really wish at the end of the day I was going to my own home instead of my hotel.

Today was a good example of this.  I went on a day trip with a very nice man named Lai Wei, who will actually be coming to Arizona on this same exchange next year.  We went to see the  Dujiangyan Irrigation System, an irrigation project that was created 2300 years ago.  It was truly fascinating to hear how this engineering feat made it possible for the city of Chengdu to grow and thrive, since it provides basically all the water for this area.  Also at this site there is a beautiful bonsai garden which was so peaceful – it made me want to sit and read for a while (impossible for a variety of reasons, including it was cold and rainy) .  After a short break for lunch we headed to the Qingchen Mountain, the site of several Taoist temples.  We hiked for an hour, pretty much straight up.  Lai Wei said it was very easy, but my legs say it was a workout, and my FitBit said it was 97 flights of stairs.  We met our goal and found one of the major Taoist temples up on the hill.  We took a break and visited, and Lai Wei broke out a small pack of Chips Ahoy cookies he brought for us, which touched me.  Maybe they like Chips Ahoy in China, but I’m going to believe that he (or his wife) thought it would be nice to bring an American snack for me to enjoy.  Then we headed back down the mountain, very very carefully.

It was a good day, a day spent out appreciating nature.  I learned new things, and tried new things, and got a great workout.  And all I could think about on the very long drive back to Chengdu was this:  I really want to sleep in my bed tonight.  That doesn’t mean I won’t be happy to go out and explore again tomorrow, it just means that tonight, as tired as I am, I wish my bed was a little less hard and a little more familiar.

Fellowship and Fries

It may say "Big Mac" on the box, but it didn't say it on the menu.

Let’s get to the point:  I ate McDonalds today.   I refuse to feel guilty about it.  It’s what I wanted and what  I needed.

Backstory:  I have always thought it was ridiculous when people ate at McDonalds when they were traveling in other countries.  I don’t eat McDonalds at home, why would you want to on the road?  Well, let me tell you why:  1) it’s predictable; 2) It’s cheap; and 3) their fries are good and sometimes you need fries.   

The food here in Chengdu has been really good.  I’ve enjoyed every meal I’ve had out with my hosts, and especially have appreciated the opportunity to have them share their favorite dishes with me.  I’ve discovered, to absolute no surprise, that I love dumplings.  They have several different kinds of dumplings here, and I love them all.  But I’ve tried fish, pork, vegetables, rice, noodles, and it’s all been good.  I’ve gotten sick a couple of times after meals, but I think it’s because they use a lot of oils in the local cooking, and I’m not used to it.  But overall, I’ve loved the food.

But for the past couple of days, I’ve been craving fries.  I want the texture and the salt, and the familiarity.  I considered going to a nicer restaurant, but who knows how good their fries are but really what I wanted are plain old McDonalds fries.  So I went out and got them.  But I ended up getting so much more.

When I arrived at the counter, I was faced with a menu on the wall that had pictures, but only Chinese writing.  Thinking the easiest thing would be to order the quintessential McDonalds sandwich, whose name must be the same everywhere (ok, I forgot the whole discussion of it in Pulp Fiction – forgive me, I hated that movie), “Big Mac”.  Only they had no idea what that meant.  I kept talking in English and eventually they pulled out a card with pictures for me to point to.  I still ordered the Big Mac meal – why change course at this point.  While I was waiting the man next to me said hello – I looked up to see an American who immediately started a conversation with me.  When our food came, he invited me to sit with his family, and I eagerly agreed.  I haven’t had a conversation with a native English speaker in two weeks, so this was a treat.

I ended up talking with this family for over an hour.  William and his wife Becky came to China as missionaries, but are a bit unique.  They aren’t affiliated with any official organization, and in fact, William is a student at SCU, studying Chinese.  They’ve been here for 9 years, and have three children, with another due soon.  They also own a café that serves bagels and smoothies, which I’m going to hike to tomorrow (it’s a good 30 minute walk, so it will balance out the calories of the all carb breakfast).  Their 9 year old son was very friendly and imaginative, and I enjoyed chatting with him. William and Becky gave me some tips about local sites to see, and places to eat, but that's not what I enjoyed most about talking with them. It just felt nice to have a friendly conversation without worrying about my word choices, and to have a meal that I didn’t need to stress about using chopsticks.  When it was time to go (the 1 year old was clearly past her expiration point), I thanked them for being so generous with their time.  I would describe our conversation as good old fashioned fellowship, which may have been the last thing I expected to find at the McDonalds in Chengdu. 

Burger, fries and a side of community.  I’ll take that.

At the Movies

Movie popcorn and Coke: universal movie snacks

One of the things that has kind of surprised me while getting to know some of the librarians here at SCU, was how popular American tv shows.  They tell me they watch tv shows online, or buy DVDS (which are not produced by the studios/networks/production companies).  I’ve been asked how accurately life in the United States is portrayed by the shows.  I had to explain, more than once, that no, not everyone lives in the kind of house or subdivision as they show in Desperate Housewives, and no, teenagers aren’t all like the ones on Gossip Girl. 

It turns out that American movies are quite popular here as well.  They are shown in regular theaters (not a special “foreign film theater”), and almost always have the original English dialog, with Chinese subtitles.   Liu Liu offered to take me to the movies today, another day off, and I happily agreed.  I was curious to see what the experience was like, and how movie theaters comare with the ones at home.

First of all, the ticket window looked very similar, but I couldn’t read any of the film titles, so I couldn’t tell at first what American film was being shown.  Liu Liu then pointed to a poster with no English words on it, but clearly depicted Oz:  we were going to see “The Great and Powerful Oz”.  I had been curious about it when I saw a trailer for it a couple months ago, so I was happy.  Actually I was thrilled because it had been suggested that perhaps I’d be stuck watching that terrible Nicholas Sparks movie that was out in February.  Thankfully I was spared that. 

Similar to the new AMC theaters at the Biltmore, you get to pick out your seat when you purchase your ticket.  We chose some in the middle, and then headed to the concession stand for popcorn and a coke.  I had been told that movie theater popcorn here was the same – with butter – so imagine my surprise when it turned out to be sweet, like a cross between kettle corn and caramel corn.  Liu Liu insists that all movie popcorn here is sweet.  I kind of liked it, but I was missing the salt a little bit.

When we got settled in our seats I noticed some ads running on the screen, but couldn’t tell what they were for.  Then all of a sudden the movie started.  No previews / trailers.  I was disappointed – I was totally looking forward to what trailers looked and sounded like here.  Plus – isn’t that often the best part of the movie experience?  The seats themselves were rocking seats, very much like the standard seats at Harkins Theaters.  Also it wouldn’t be a movie outing without someone in the audience taking a call on their cell phone, and having an extensive conversation to boot.   It’s amazing how many social behaviors are universal.

The movie itself was nothing to be excited about.  But I had to try to explain the original “Wizard of Oz” movie to Liu Liu afterwards, as she has never seen it.  It was fun to try to connect the story and characters from this film with that one.  I hope she watches the original sometime : it was a much better film.

Pandas, Art and Fine Dining

I'm a little envious of these pandas' napping ability.

The last two days have been all fun, and no work.  Wednesday Liu Liu took me to the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Park, and then yesterday she took me to meet a friend of hers who is a local artist.  Both days were wonderful in very different ways.

The Panda Park was absolutely beautiful.  I’ve been amazed at how green and lush the landscaping is here.  There were long windy shady paths that led to the different enclosures, as well as to a Swan Lake filled with carp.  I’m not sure what I expected of the pandas, but they were fun to see.  They all were napping in various positions, many high up in the trees.  I don’t understand how they got up that high, as many of the branches didn’t look to be that strong. 

The park was filled with school children visiting on a field trip.  I loved seeing their happy faces and hearing their high pitched voices.   Many of them had back packs with familiar cartoon characters (Mickey Mouse, Transformers, Cars), and some of them made a point to yell “hello” to me as I passed by.  Liu Liu kept commenting on how noisy it was, but it didn’t feel as bad as most American amusement parks.  I guess it’s normally quiet and peaceful though.  We did have a lovely picnic lunch on a park bench and wandered around for quite some time.

I also encountered the first Americans I’ve seen since I arrived, and instead of feeling a kinship, I felt embarrassed.  There were signs all over the place, in both Chinese and English, to speak quietly to not disturb the animals.  I turned a corner at one point and standing directly across one of these signs was an American couple and their child.  The mother kept yelling – loudly – at the kid, reprimanding him for some minor infraction.  Her voice sounded harsh and discordant, even among the din of the school children, and the juxtaposition with that and the sign asking for quiet was too much.  Instead of saying hello and having the conversation in English I had been craving only the day before, I walked by, not wanting to connect with them at all.

Liu Liu (left) with her friend artist Shen Yunquing

Thursday marked the beginning of a national holiday, which I believe is “Tomb Sweeping” day,  a holiday to visit the graves of deceased relatives.   Things were quiet on campus, but it did seem like many businesses were still open.  That afternoon Liu Liu picked me up and took me to visit a friend of hers, a local artist named Shen Yunqing.  I enjoy art, even though I’m not knowledgeable about it, and appreciated the opportunity to visit with an artist and ask about her work.  The studio was in an industrial neighborhood about 10km from campus, and was in a block with several other artists.  Shen has worked with many different materials, including iron, bronze and paper.  I couldn’t believe how many beautiful pieces were in her studio, on dusty shelves.  Two sets of works in particular drew me in:  one was a series she did for the Beijing Olympics depicting athletes in different activities (two of these pieces remain in Olympic Park), and another was a set of dancers.  I took a few pictures (like this one of a discus thrower), but they don’t do the work justice at all.

After the studio visit, we went to dinner at a restaurant recommended by my boss Sherrie.  It turns out Shen is a bit of a local foodie, and has connections with local restaurateurs.  I got to sit back and relax, and let Shen and Liu Liu order an amazing array of dishes.  Some were typical local specialties, and others were new to Shen and Liu Liu as well (they had never tried fennel before – I had to draw what one looks like for them).  I did at one point give up on my chopsticks – I was too hungry and darn it I wanted to eat this good food so I did make use of a fork for a while.   Imagine my surprise when the final dish of the night arrived : a small plate of oranges and grape tomatoes, accompanied by, of all things, a fork.   

Motivation

I know this is fruit and not vegetables, but I forgot to take a picture of my lunch.

If at first you don’t succeed, try try again, right?  I’ve been avoiding the hotel restaurant after my unsatisfying experience last week.  Food here is so cheap that I haven’t really cared that I could eat for free at the restaurant, plus I’ve gone out a few times with Liu Liu.  But I decided that one can live only so long on savory pastries, chips, peanut butter, ice cream and the stash of protein bars I brought with me:  I started craving produce.  First I conquered buying fruit at the market (they have weighing stations in the produce area – someone weighs it first before you take it to the check out stand), but I hadn’t figured out how to get vegetables.  I was told not to eat raw vegetables here (due to the water), so I couldn’t just buy things at the market as I’m not allowed a microwave or toaster oven in my room. 

Not too long ago I would have laughed if someone told me I would be willing to face confusion and awkwardness again in a quest for vegetables, but there you have it.  I confessed to Liu Liu that I hadn’t been eating at the restaurant because I didn’t understand how it worked (part of it you order, and part is self serve, and the menus aren’t on the table), and she felt really bad, which is why I didn’t tell her to begin with.  I couldn’t quite explain to her that’s a personality quirk of mine – I hate not knowing how things work, and it’s worse when you can’t ask anyone to explain the process.  So after our morning meeting yesterday she came back with me to the hotel, spoke with the staff and explained  the process and menu to me.  The first dishes I tried are pork with mushrooms, and a big plate of mixed vegetables.  It came with rice, and I added a soda and the entire meal only cost 32 RMB (about $5 USD). 

The meal was delicious and filling, but was very rich.  So rich, in fact, that I can’t quite imagine eating there multiple times in one day.  But I’m happy to have that as an option, and I’m sure I will be returning to sample more dishes, and to have my servings of vegetables.  But for now, I think I’ll content myself with some cheese, crackers and an orange.

Counting Steps

My FitBit readout for Monday April 1, 2013

A couple weeks before I left, my sister Aimee and I got FitBits: these small devices that measure your activities (steps, mileage, flights of stairs) each day.  The basic goal is to try to hit 10,000 steps a day, to have a decent level of activity.  What I found out in the time leading up to my departure is that even on days when I felt like I was walking around campus a lot, it was very difficult to reach 10,000 steps if I didn’t go for a hike or run.  I guess I’m much more sedentary than I thought.

Things have changed dramatically since I arrived at the Sichuan University campus.  I had forgotten what it is like to live on a campus:  you walk for transportation everywhere.   Do you need some bottled water?  You need to walk three blocks to the market.  Coffee?  Go to the south gate and find the café (15 minute walk).  WalMart? Walk out the west gate, across the flyover and down the street.  Work?  Walk to the library.  I haven’t had a “workout” since I’ve been here, yet I’ve been over 10,000 steps every single day except one. 

On Monday, I had a particularly active day, and was at 10,000 steps before dinner.  I was in my hotel room at the end of the afternoon and decided I wanted to find a western restaurant for dinner.  I wasn’t particularly craving western food, but I just wanted to order something in English – and maybe even have a banal conversation with my server.  I did some research online and found a place that seemed to be within walking distance that promised decent burgers, and seemed to be fairly well-known to local ex-pats.  I triangulated it on the map with two places I knew well (the North Gate and Pete’s Tex Mex – another western restaurant), found pictures on their Facebook page of their signage, and headed out.  I strode across campus and out the west gate with confidence, crossed the busy street on one of the “flyovers” (high pedestrian bridges), and … never found it.  I walked and walked and walked, and walked and finally gave up.  It wasn’t meant to be, at least for that night.

While I was disappointed that plan didn’t work out, I only briefly considered going to McDonalds or Hooters (can you believe that’s here?) for a burger.  But I realized that neither of those options would leave me feeling good about the night, so I implemented plan B: going to the nice supermarket Liu Liu showed me on my first day, and deciphering the dairy case for yogurt and cheese, and the produce section for fruit.  This market is at the far opposite end of the main road as where I was trying to find the restaurant, so I walked and walked and walked to get there, including through an incredibly dangerous construction site that seemed to not care one bit that pedestrians were traipsing through the area.  I finally reached the market, and finished my quest.  I even used my dictionary app on my otherwise useless iphone to ask a clerk the location of forks and spoons.  I managed the check out process fine, somehow even conveying my regret that I forgot my own bag, and headed back towards campus feeling a bit satisfied with the outcome of my evening. 

When I finally made it back to my room, I looked down at my FitBit and was astonished to see the reading:  20,000 steps.  In my bizarre quest for conversation and groceries, which were only half accomplished, I had walked the equivalent of an entire day.  What I have to say about that is:  thank God for Clark Privo shoes, because even after 20,000 steps and many many miles, my feet didn’t hurt one bit.