Acupuncture & Twigs

My listening exam turned out to be an epic failure. I honestly felt like I understood everything they were saying...how wrong I was! I guess it's similar to the many times when my roommate for the 2+ years before leaving for this trip and one of my best friends, Chris, would tell me his plans for the weekend and what he was making for dinner. I would ask him what his plans were for the weekend and what he was making for dinner an hour after he told me. I guess I'm not a good listener...even in English!

I went to a Chinese doctor over the weekend to try out traditional Chinese medicine. The hospital that Ashley and I went to was just as hectic and crowded as the regular hospitals I visited a couple of months ago. In the pictures, you'll see the 'pharmacy' where the nurses are filling herbal prescriptions. I got in trouble for taking the picture - I suppose they don't want people sharing the crazy things they give you!

I had to make up a reason to see the doctor because I'm thankfully not sick right now. So, I used my standard allergy problems, my lower back pain (try sleeping on hard wood for 3 months!) and my right knee joint as my 'ailments' to get in to see the doctor.

My doctor was easily in her early 70's (people work a lot longer here than in the States because there's no such thing as Social Security. In China, typically your child is your retirement plan). After Ashley and I told her what was 'wrong' with me, she took my pulse on both wrists and looked at my tongue. She asked me if I'd been sleeping and if I was digesting foods 'regularly'. I told her she sounded like my Mother! (I love you Mom!) After this line of questioning, she said, "you have a bad stomach". That was it. Nothing to address my allergies, back or right knee.

My prescription: acupuncture and some herbal liquid medicine. She put about 20 needles in my wrists, stomach, shins and feet. It wasn't the most comfortable thing I've ever done, but I managed to sit still for a solid 20 minutes. Imagine this: you're walking through a forest. You pick up dried twigs, weeds, grass, dead flowers and whatever else you can find on the ground. Now, grind those up, boil them and put them in little bags. I'm pretty sure that's what my herbal medicine is made of (or at least how it tastes!). Needless to stay, my stomach isn't getting what it supposedly needs because it's too disgusting to drink!

This weekend I'm finally going to the crazy food street to try out all the interesting things they have to offer. Also, I'm having a party in my room at 5 AM on Sunday morning to watch the Gators beat Alabama! Go Gators!

Zai jian!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! It felt a bit strange today to be eating Japanese food in China. No tryptophan-induced naps for me this year! Anna-Lina, Chloe, Ashley and I went to an $8 all you can eat/drink sushi restaurant. We ate more sashimi than I thought would be possible for four girls to consume! It was fantastic!

More good news: I found out that I passed two sections of my mid-terms, speaking and grammar/writing. I find out my listening score tomorrow, but feel pretty confident that I passed that too! Thank goodness for cramming and short-term memories!

Don't have much to write about in the way of adventures in China due to the fact that I was a 'hao xuesheng' (good student) last week! So, I'll spend a few minutes listing what I'm thankful for on this week's blog!

I'm thankful for my family for their constant love and encouragement. I'm thankful for my friends for the laughter we've shared, the memories we've made and for putting up with me! I'm thankful for the opportunities I have had over the last year - to dive with sharks in South Africa, to see lions hunt gazelles in the Serengeti, to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef and to watch the sunrise on the Great Wall. Words cannot express how much this trip has meant to me, and I'm thankful to all of you for believing in me. Keeping in touch with you has helped me still feel connected to the things I love and miss the most from home. (I also miss my mattress, Mexican food, western toilets, June's chocolate cake and Sunday night dinners but telling them just wouldn't be the same!) Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm a Horse, not a Sheep!

I have always thought that because I was born in 1979, it meant that I was a Sheep. I was shocked to learn today in class that I'm actually a Horse because I was born in January, prior to the Chinese New Year. All these years, I've been thinking that, according to Chinese zodiac horoscope, I was creative, intelligent, dependable and calm. Wrong! It turns out that we Horses are strong, energetic, outgoing and are extremely animated. The ironic thing is that I decided in Malawi this year that I hate horses. Cruel twist of fate! (Read previous blog for the background story on why I don't like horses anymore!)

There's a picture of my classmates, along with Dexter, outside of class one day. The countries represented in the picture are Australia, Germany, Sierra Leone, Yemen and two from Sudan. Dexter's the one in red with the cute little basket! There's also a picture to try and illustrate the amount of snow that recently fell in one night here! Anna-Lina, Chloe, Ashley and I had a lot of fun in the snow that afternoon, despite the fact that I couldn't feel my toes.

Anna-Lina and I traveled to Tianjin last weekend to escape the 'big city' life of Beijing. Turns out that going from a city with 16 million people to a city with 10 million isn't all that different! The trip to Tianjin took only 28 minutes by fast train...we got up to 330 km/h (205 mph)! I have never seen so many cranes and construction sites in my life. Tianjin will not look the same 12 months from now. There's some great architecture in Tianjin, influenced by French, Italian, Austrian, English, etc.

Tianjin also has their own local cuisine. We tried all of their specialties. Tianjin is famous for gouboli baozi (steamed dumplings) - they were fantastic. The tea soup, which the guy in the picture is making for us (the one with the dragon pot pouring the hot water) consists of rice flour, hot water, sugar, sesame seeds, peanuts and a whole bunch of other sprinkles (no idea what!). It had a consistency like pudding, although very hot and the color of dirty water. My description is not doing it justice because it was actually very tasty, and after shopping in crowded markets in the freezing weather, it warmed us up! Finally, we had mian tiao (noodles). The guy in the picture is hand making the noodles that I eventually ate!

Speaking of food, I'm not looking forward to eating rabbit tongue. Thanks to those of you who voted for the one thing I was looking forward to eating the least! ;) You have to crack the jaw open and pull the tongue out before you can eat it, so there is labor involved. I'm planning to go after I get through mid-term exams. I don't want to eat anything this week that would make me have to miss my exams due to violent stomach issues! I have 5 hours of exams this Friday, next Monday and Tuesday. I'll be tested on listening, speaking and grammar/writing. I've never failed a test before, so I look forward to this being my first F!

For those of you who are curious, no, Obama did not stop by to say hello while he was in Beijing. I didn't even get a phone call! I could have participated in a choir to sing for him at a 'Chinese' show that he and Michelle went to during their time here. However, I figured I would save myself and our country the embarrassment of hearing my voice outside of the shower! Back to the books....zai jian!

Picture Albums!

It has already snowed in Beijing 3 times; the earliest snowfall in 22 years. How lucky I am to have picked this winter, of all winters, to move to Beijing! The snow has forced me to hibernate and work on my photo albums. I've posted Africa, Australia and Thailand albums on Picasa. To view them, go to the following web address and enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/jamie1209

The Forbidden City, Duck and a Farm

 

The highlight of the last week or so was a visit from Truman, a friend I grew up with in Titusville, who was in town on business. Together, we visited several excellent restaurants in HouHai and Olympic Village and sampled Chinese beers in Sanlitun. We also toured the Forbidden City. The Palace Museum, as it is known today, is over 8 km long, running through the heart of modern Beijing. There are 9,999 palaces and halls totaling over 150K covered square meters. We didn't hit all of the rooms, but I'm pretty sure we went into at least a solid 1% of them. Truman, Mao and I took a picture together in Tian'anmen Square. We had the opportunity to watch the flag lowering ceremony in the Square. The precision of the soldiers was remarkable. And, as they were trying to prepare for the ceremony, they took their jobs of clearing the area quite seriously...we almost got yelled at. In fact, we might have but I didn't understand them!

By far the best meal we had was Peking Duck, a specialty here in Beijing. It may not be clear in the picture, but I'm holding half of a duck's head with my chopsticks. I proceeded to eat the duck's brain because it is considered a delicacy in China. Truman wouldn't look at me when I ate it, and I had to immediately wash it down with beer. I've never had brain before, so I had no frame of reference as to what brain should taste like. Strangely, it tasted like brain. I don't know how to explain that one without breaking off into a tangent on evolution and primal instincts. Let me conclude my thoughts on eating brain by stating that I have no idea what Hannibal Lecter was thinking...brain is gross.

Sunday I took a trip with 10 other tourists to an eco-village just outside of Beijing. The village houses over 800 people and is self-sustaining, producing a wide variety of organic fruits and vegetables. The ladies working the fields and greenhouses put us to work. A picture of my first time on a real farm doing manual labor is attached. Hold onto that one because I'll likely never do it again! It was muddy, it was cold and it smelled like manure! Speaking of organic fertilizer, I was shocked to learn that human waste is included in the fertilizer they use on the farm. I was very surprised to learn this, so I immediately asked who they export vegetables to. I'll never eat vegetables from Wal-Mart again without triple washing them, and I suggest you do the same!

China only allows 20 foreign films to be shown in theaters across the country each year. There was some serious lobbying over the summer to allow Michael Jackson's 'This Is It' to be shown as the 21st film for the year. I saw it tonight. Thank you Chinese government! For those of you who like Michael, I would highly recommend seeing it...what an amazing singer, dancer and entertainer he was!

Keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't snow anymore in Beijing tonight!

Halloween in Beijing!

Halloween turned out to be a lot of fun in Beijing! There were quite a few people dressed up and out and about in bars and clubs around the University (Haidian) District. I dressed as a guy magnet, which was quite fun to say the least. The Jihad guy in the picture was the funniest-dressed that I 'attracted'!

Leaving the club at 4 AM, imagine my surprise to find that it was SNOWING! I can thank the government for seeding the clouds to make it snow to combat a lingering drought in Northern China. The temperature dropped below 32, so they again shot chemicals into the air to produce some precipitation. I'm all for trying to protect the crops in order to feed the 1.3 billion people here, but it was freezing! It wasn't 100% terrible because the snow made Beijing look clean and the air was the purest that it has been since I've arrived.

I went to the infamous Silk Market on Saturday to finish Christmas shopping (had to get it done early so that it would make it home in time!). It was a crazy experience! About 8 floors packed with vendors selling everything from toilet brushes to fake Louis Vuitton bags. They grab you, talk to you and follow you just to get you to come to their booth and buy something. I vowed to only shop at booths where the vendors did not touch me or shout at me - it was my way of rewarding what I consider sane behavior!

I went to a nearby street market today to pick up some warmer socks and a long-sleeved t-shirt(2 socks and a t-shirt cost me $3.50...stuff is really cheap on the street!). The lady who managed the t-shirt booth looked at me and said, "this one will fit...it will stretch around your fat". I almost fell over I was laughing so hard. The lady laughed too and I bought the t-shirt. She was right! One of my most favorite experiences while traveling is connecting with someone from another culture through genuine laughter.

Mei Xian, my roommate, is being introduced to Western culture on a daily basis. Christian, you'll be pleased to learn that she is now a big fan of Prince. Also, I taught her the Gator Chomp and she does it anytime I mention the Gators. It's fantastic!