Long Overdue but it's Midterm Week So Yeah

Yesterday night whilst I was doing my homework/watching House/studying Chinese/watching Gossip Girl I heard a strange loud noise outside. No, it was not the ubiquitous drone of construction, turns out it was just some really really crazy wind. Thankfully that dafeng blew all the gross pollution away that had been plaguing our air all week. So I woke up and was overjoyed to see blue sky and mountains! But then not so much when I discovered that it is now about 50 degrees outside, plus still windy.

It's crazy to think that just this Sunday I was chilling outside in my bathing suit at the hotsprings. And the day before that, I was rowing a boat in a tank top across the man-made lake at the Summer Palace. Now I'm breaking out my boots and coat and wondering if I'll need to buy another down coat while I'm here. We leave for Nanjing Saturday night and it should be a bit warmer there, but as our two-week trip for history class progresses, we're going to move farther north and it'll be pretty darn cold by the end of it. Oh, then also we're thinking about going to Harbin for our second long weekend in November, and that'll be the coldest of all. Think ice sculptures and... practically Russia.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. First I would like to complain that planning trips in China is HARD. Like, it should be easy and relatively cheap, but I've mostly given up because the resources just aren't there. You'd think if I can plan a 10 day 3 city multiple one-way plane ticket trip in Europe (including booking hostels and researching things to do in those cities) I could figure out some decent plans for travel, and follow through. But no. The planning is there, the execution is excruciating. So that's why last weekend we had four days and yet pretty much everyone on our program ended up staying in Beijing (except the boys who went to Qingdao to drink beer). Which was fine, but for the next weekend we all really want to go somewhere cool (China, actually, has many of these places) and I really really hope it works out.

So while we were here in Beijing we made the best of it and took a river cruise up the canal to the Summer Palace. We were slightly disappointed because 1) we had to change boats 3 times in like one hour 2) the boat didn't actually take us into the Summer Palace lake, like we imagined, but dropped us off right at the South Gate. Took away some of our dreams. And as it was our second time going there, it was cool but not thrilling. I'm glad Cheng made us rent a rowboat though, because that made the experience worth it and was quite fun.

I had wanted to go to the hot springs before we got here, but wasn't sure how I was going to make that happen. Luckily my friend Rosa really wanted to go too, and together we figured out how to get there and made it happen. Rosa, Vanessa, Cheng, and Cheng's friend from Qinghua Laura went out to the crazy outskirts of Beijing. We took the 5 Subway line all the way to the end, got off, then searched for a taxi for awhile (all that we could see were black cabs and we weren't chancing our luck). The taxi was 27 kuai and about 15-20 minutes farther north to the resort. When we got there we were told there were indoor and outdoor hot springs, and that the indoor ones had more things to do.

Problem was, the indoor hotsprings was basically just an indoor water amusement park, complete with a rapid river with intertubes, slides, and fountains. Not exactly what we were looking for. So we went outside to check out the outdoor ones and found them much more to our liking (and cheaper!). Of course the water in most of the pools (there were several small ones with different water types: salt, Chinese medicine, rose, tea etc) was waaaay too hot. 40-42 celcius! I couldn't even stick my foot in! But some were actually really nice and it was good just to get in the hot water and relax. Then we discovered our entrance ticket included a massage and that made things all the better!

Unfortunately Monday had to come and this week has been really busy in terms of work. We just finished out Chinese midterm and now, since we're going on this trip for history, we won't have Chinese class for two weeks! Crazy. But it sounds like we're going to be very busy with history stuff. Oh! And I am most excited that while we're in Nanjing we're going to take a day to visit Suzhou. My tutor went to school there and she told me it's really cool. We're also taking a day to visit Zhengjiang (I think is the name) and then moving on to Xi'an and Yan'an. I'm definitely looking forward to it but I don't know how good the Internet access will be while I'm there. I'll try to update whenever possible. In the meantime, have fun celebrating Halloween and the election results... I'll be on a train somewhere in the Chinese countryside.

Thunderstorms

Day 2 in Beijing except that it feels much longer. There was more random orientation lectures today and those in between running around the city trying to find the basic necessities (money, cell phone, towels and shampoo in that order) I am now exhausted at 10 AM again. It’s kind of annoying that they have all these things planned for us when I just really need time to get out in the neighborhood, buy some things, and take in my surroundings. On the other hand, it’s been nice getting to know the staff and teachers; everyone has been really friendly and there’s a good deal of individual attention, since our program is so small.

We had lunch at a nearby Chinese restaurant and the academic coordinator outlined our trips for the semester. Apparently we are taking a long weekend in Shanghai very soon… in a couple weeks, I think. Then for our long trip at the end of October, we are spending a week in Nanjing and then a week in rural Yenan (I think that’s the name… not quite sure. Definitely not Yunnan though). I’m very excited for these excursions! And just plain excited for classes in general, though they seem like a lot of work. We also have to do an outside research project that we will present in a symposium at the end of the semester. So yes, classes seem like a fun challenge, but no I’m not quite ready for them to start yet. I need to get oriented to my surroundings first!

One cool thing that happened today: on my way to get my cell phone, one of the RA’s volunteered to take me to the store since it was too hard to explain how to get there. So he showed up with a bike and was like, “We have a ride.” My job was to sit on the back of the bike on this metal bar thing, keep my balance, and hang on for dear life. In that order. I managed not to fall but I have no idea how Chinese people can do that with such ease. I’ve seen people sitting on the back holding umbrellas and such. They must have abs of steel, is what I’m thinking. And short legs probably helps too. But the bike made the trip much shorter and dodging traffic really wasn’t as terrifying as I expected. Beijingers are no doubt used to the crazy mix of cars/bikes/mopeds/pedestrians/buses and there’s an odd synergy in traffic flow that follows the seemingly chaotic combination. (Though I can’t imagine how much worse things will be at the end of September, when the cars come back on the roads in full force.)

I’m meeting up with Cheng tomorrow evening, finally! It seems like so long ago that we parted at the airport but it was… yesterday. I’ve clearly been kept busy, but I wonder what he’s been up to? Also, I’m really glad I didn’t go out to a bar tonight with some of the kids—it’s pouring buckets outside now, with thunder and everything. Knowing my luck, my brand new cell phone would’ve been ruined.

Word of the day: qianming 签名 TO SIGN ONE’S NAME (as in, on the traveler’s checks that the Bank of China won’t let me cash unless my mom is here. Sigh.)