We don’t have class on Wednesdays this semester, so we used that day this week to study language, run some errands, and explore a new addition to the neighborhood.
Since we've been gone, a new mall opened up near our apartment. It has a humongous grocery store in the basement stocked with the entire Land o’ Lakes product line, a fantastic selection of produce, and all the expat products an expatriate could want. But the rest of the mall is under construction: we got on an elevator that took us up to five unfinished floors of the mall that had no carpeting, no heat, and no residents. (It would have been a litigator’s dream in the United States.) We did discover, however, that Grandma’s Kitchen has a new location on the fourth floor of the finished section, so we’re looking forward to enjoying quality American diner food without having to travel to the location in the Central Business District on the other side of the city.
After our exploration, we went to Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) to meet our language tutor, and stopped for a cup of coffee at a shop on that campus. As we were waiting for our 中杯咖啡 (medium coffee), two folks came up behind us and struck up conversation. Using three different languages, the conversation went something like this:
Only in Beijing…
On Wednesday night we had dinner with some Chinese friends, which is always an illuminating experience. The topics of conversation included the nouveau riche of Shan’xi province and their inability to spend all of the profits they rack up exploiting workers in China’s danger-ridden coal mines, whether or not American women find Chinese men attractive, why a native New Yorker would not miss New York when it looks so cool on “Sex in the City,” and Chinese New Year celebrations. This all occurred at a restaurant specializing in Sichuan food where we got to look our dinner in the eye before they gutted it, filleted it, and cooked it in a pile of chilies. Thank goodness they know how to dial back the spices for the uninitiated.
On Thursday night we had our most interesting class to date. One of our professors had some really frank things to say about the Taiwan conflict that we had not yet heard from someone of her position and reputation. Her take: such a conflict would result in a truly independent Taiwan because the international community would react so negatively. I’m not sure I agree, but it was interesting to hear her opinion.
The Lunar New Year festival celebrations concluded on Friday night with the “Lantern Festival.” We witnessed the largest self-directed, mass-popular display of fireworks we had ever seen in our lives, as it was the last day Beijing residents could legally set off their remaining ordinance. But Beijing residents were forewarned, via automatic text messages from the local government, about the regulated limits on firework displays. The message didn’t have much of an impact, however, as today we exited our apartment to find the lawn blackened and burned by liberal use of gunpowder-filled accoutrement, and used fireworks littering every square inch of the sidewalk. Also, a passing six year-old boy looked at us, pointed, and said “weiguoren!” (“foreigners!”) as we walked towards the complex gate.
Aside from the fireworks, however, there’s an interesting cultural tradition with respect to the New Year festival. Evidently there’s a superstition in China that if a female cuts her hair in the first month of the lunar calendar, that female’s uncle will die. Naturally, then, little Chinese nieces use the threat of a bob to extort cash from their uncles. Filial piety be damned, in some respects, but this tradition may not last much longer, given the one-child policy.
Since we've been gone, a new mall opened up near our apartment. It has a humongous grocery store in the basement stocked with the entire Land o’ Lakes product line, a fantastic selection of produce, and all the expat products an expatriate could want. But the rest of the mall is under construction: we got on an elevator that took us up to five unfinished floors of the mall that had no carpeting, no heat, and no residents. (It would have been a litigator’s dream in the United States.) We did discover, however, that Grandma’s Kitchen has a new location on the fourth floor of the finished section, so we’re looking forward to enjoying quality American diner food without having to travel to the location in the Central Business District on the other side of the city.
After our exploration, we went to Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) to meet our language tutor, and stopped for a cup of coffee at a shop on that campus. As we were waiting for our 中杯咖啡 (medium coffee), two folks came up behind us and struck up conversation. Using three different languages, the conversation went something like this:
Them: Hello!
Us: Hi! Where are you guys from?
Them: Mexico, 你呢？[Trans: and you?]
Us: Los Estados Unidos, en Colorado. De donde eres? [Trans: where are you from]
Them: Guadalajara.
Barrista: 你们都留学生？[Tran: are you foreign students?]
Them & Us: Yes!
Only in Beijing…
On Wednesday night we had dinner with some Chinese friends, which is always an illuminating experience. The topics of conversation included the nouveau riche of Shan’xi province and their inability to spend all of the profits they rack up exploiting workers in China’s danger-ridden coal mines, whether or not American women find Chinese men attractive, why a native New Yorker would not miss New York when it looks so cool on “Sex in the City,” and Chinese New Year celebrations. This all occurred at a restaurant specializing in Sichuan food where we got to look our dinner in the eye before they gutted it, filleted it, and cooked it in a pile of chilies. Thank goodness they know how to dial back the spices for the uninitiated.
On Thursday night we had our most interesting class to date. One of our professors had some really frank things to say about the Taiwan conflict that we had not yet heard from someone of her position and reputation. Her take: such a conflict would result in a truly independent Taiwan because the international community would react so negatively. I’m not sure I agree, but it was interesting to hear her opinion.
The Lunar New Year festival celebrations concluded on Friday night with the “Lantern Festival.” We witnessed the largest self-directed, mass-popular display of fireworks we had ever seen in our lives, as it was the last day Beijing residents could legally set off their remaining ordinance. But Beijing residents were forewarned, via automatic text messages from the local government, about the regulated limits on firework displays. The message didn’t have much of an impact, however, as today we exited our apartment to find the lawn blackened and burned by liberal use of gunpowder-filled accoutrement, and used fireworks littering every square inch of the sidewalk. Also, a passing six year-old boy looked at us, pointed, and said “weiguoren!” (“foreigners!”) as we walked towards the complex gate.
Aside from the fireworks, however, there’s an interesting cultural tradition with respect to the New Year festival. Evidently there’s a superstition in China that if a female cuts her hair in the first month of the lunar calendar, that female’s uncle will die. Naturally, then, little Chinese nieces use the threat of a bob to extort cash from their uncles. Filial piety be damned, in some respects, but this tradition may not last much longer, given the one-child policy.
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