YANGZHOU: DAY 2

Our second day in Yangzhou involved less time spent on the tour buses and more spent playing around. Good thing too, as a fair few of my classmates were nursing hangovers, if not from alcohol than from nearly ingesting poop.

Our first stop was the Wudaotai Mansion (误道台宅第), a sprawling, walled-in residence many centuries old. Our group, having already had its numbers by those who had decided to sleep in and explore the city on their own, evidenced even less interest than the day before in the barking tour guide, and more interest in looking at whatever caught their eye, regardless of its cultural or historical relevance. Personally, I rather liked the goldfish pond,

an altar to my girl Kuan Yin:

and all the wall hanging composed of slabs of rock with patterns that resembled Chinese landscape paintings:

My classmates continued on their campaign to terrorize Chinese children,

and the teachers continued their campaign of posing cutely.

After a reasonably good lunch of local specialties we were delivered to the He Garden (何园) and given a couple of hours to roam around and enjoy the flowers, the rocks, and all the strange little doorways, dead-ends, and corridors.

My classmate Ryan doing some sort of rock climbing/yoga hybrid. He actually hung out like that for a while.

Later, as a few of us were resting on some rocks and chatting about socialist states, a young girl and her grandfather passed by, the grandfather indicating us and explaining: "Those people are foreigners; everything they say we can't understand, everything we say they can't understand." We were all so stunned at the lesson of the futility cross-cultural communication that none of us had a chance to correct him.

Graffiti etched into bamboo:

During the last part of the day we were unleashed into the center of the city, modern in most every way, save for some ancient pagodas in the middle of traffic circles and these tranquil old canals.

I joined a few similarly aimless classmates for some urban explorations. I remember we discussed finding a snack street that we had heard about, and that the possibility of getting neck massages/head washes was raised, but all other options were nixed once when we found the local amusement park/arcade.

I sucked at everything but air hockey but enjoyed watching the boys draw crowds around them as they played the tyco drums or shoot-em-ups. My classmate Chris pointed out this little boy standing on top of a basketball game, while his grandfather shot baskets from the side, noting that it summed up a whole lot about modern-day China.

Outside the arcade there were some really cool activities for kids, including this inflatable floating gerbil wheel:

and these miniature paddle boats:

It was with much gleeful excitement that I spotted yet another game of bumper cars near the carousel. There were four of us, Chris, Ryan, Ned and myself, and we each got our own car, aiming for nothing less than total 碰碰车domination.

I performed pretty well, having done some warming-up the day before, but the most impressive crash of the day came when a car containing two little Chinese girls aged about 7 and 5 rear-ended me with a dramatic jolt that caused my ass to leave my seat for a few brief seconds. The crowd of curious onlookers, bored parents, and people waiting in line was quite obviously delighted by the spectacle.

YANGZHOU: DAY 1

Last weekend was IUP's Spring semester field trip to Yangzhou in Jiangsu Province. As with last semester's trip to Xi'an, we took overnight trains in both directions, spending just one night in town. Our group of roughly 70 students, teachers, administrators and assorted companions dominated a train carriage filled with merriment, mockery and the generous sharing of snacks and drinks.

Views from the train heading south:

Morning on the train. Bunks are in rooms to the left and there are fold-out seats and little tables in this narrow aisle, through which carts of snacks and drinks intermittently pass.

Arriving in the morning our group was divided between two tour buses and deposited at this tourist site, Ge Garden (个园), a place apparently under the guidance of the "Jiangsu Provincial Steering Committee For Ideological and Ethical Advancement. Thank goodness.

One of the most famous ancient gardens in China, the place was absolutely packed and thus not particularly relaxing. The presence of our megaphone wielding tour guide made it even less so. These pictures give some idea of the crowds.

This was a cool little shrub with branches tied in dozens of loose knots. I never figured out the exact meaning, but I'm sure there was something mighty auspicious about it.

I mostly gave up on photographing unmolested scenery and instead took pictures of the people, including my cheese-loving classmates.

From Ge Garden we exited into a maze of hutongs filled with rickshaws and old men.

I think they liked us.

Eventually we arrived at this vast old dwelling, the name and significance of which I never got around to learning. Happily it was almost empty and we were allowed to wander around at will through dusty old bedrooms, leafy courtyards, and ancient corridors. To no one's surprise, it turns out the elites have always lived well.

Our next stop in Yangzhou was to the famed Slim West Lake (瘦西湖), apparently a popular tourist destination since the 3rd century A.D. The lake was long and noodle-y and very pretty, though admittedly thronged with people. There were bridges, boats, pavillions, and gardens, but my favorite part was the Cherry Blossoms. They made me think of home.

Escaping the crowds on the shore, Ding Ding and I wandered up the hill and were confronted with this surprising sight:

I demanded that we investigate.

It turned out to be a small amusement park with the above "crescent moon flyers", and other assorted kiddie rides, including go-carts driven by speed-crazed little emperors:

and these surprisingly good bumper cars (碰碰车, or 'bump bump car'):

5RMB (about 70 cents) bought us each our own car, and it as soon as it was over I was totally ready to do it again. Unfortunately we had to get back to the group.

On the way back towards the lake, we passed some performers in traditional Peking Opera garb. This old woman smiled at me sweetly and waved hello with an elegant swoosh of her long sleeves.

Leslie in a patch of purple flowers:

At the south end of the lake:

I skipped out on the last sight of the day and checked into the hotel early. The room I shared with one of the teachers was surprisingly deluxe, with brocade linens, mini-bar, and a dining room table and chairs. The bathroom had the usual freebies along with a basket of, erm, special products, including this package of "Senior Woman Trousers":

There were also several lotions and potions with hilarious English translations that I really wanted to take as souvenirs, but since they were 10RMB each and our rooms had already been paid for by IUP, I feared the eventuality of checking out and boarding the bus, only to have the teacher in charge of the trip demand I pay for the ox-head phallic stimulants I had removed from the room.

I joined a dozen or so other students for dinner at a local restaurant serving local cuisine but skipped out on the clubbing that went down afterwards. In the morning I discovered what a good decision this was after hearing from my classmates that one of the establishments had delivered to their table a number of glasses, one of which had feces on it. Yes, actual feces. The club staff agreed it was such, but provided no refund or remuneration. Incredibly, my classmates remained at this bar another hour or so and finished their round of drinks.

Perhaps some people through they might as well get some use out of all those Hepatitis vaccinations we all endured... or maybe all this studying is finally just getting to us.

CHANGE OF PLANS

As many of you already know, I am the lucky recipient of another summer language study fellowship and will officially be staying in Beijing through the summer. Thank you Department of Education for deeming my language study and future research important and worthy of support!

I am still waiting to hear back from the Anthropology department on whether or not they have approved my plans for summer feasibility research. If that comes through I will be a very busy lady. Hopefully Siano doesn't have high expectations for me as a travel guide.

I am of course extremely excited for Mark's visit, even though I am dreading being here during the Olympics (except for the part where I get to watch handball). It is going to be very hot n' humid, insanely crowded, and unbearably nationalistic. On the upside, I'll be able to see if the barrage of government-sponsored civility campaigns have had any effect on Beijingers' bad behavior. My classmates and I have gotten a lot of entertainment value out of all the billboards, commercials, signs, and subway announcements (we heard one yesterday that translates roughly as "respecting the old and caring for the young is one of China's beautiful traditions") that have appeared over the last seven months. They have even designated certain days of the month for things like "queuing" (the 11th) and "offering up one's seat" (the 22nd).

Many of the civility campaigns feature the Olympic mascots, the fuwa (福娃）. Propaganda was never so adorable! The commercial below (only the first 2 minutes of this clip) plays constantly on TV and on the subway. It depicts a bizarre anti-Beijing, in which skies are blue, buses stop for pedestrians, orderly queues board public transportation, and subway train passengers display regard for each other. Not that I wouldn't be totally down with Beijing dispatching a cartoon army to help the city run smoothly during the Olympics, especially if that meant tiny pandas would be on hand to give directions to bicylists:



The banners being carried at the end of the commercial say:
迎奥运 = Welcome the Olympics
讲文明 = Stress Civililized Behavior
树新风 = Establish a New Spirit

I booked a ticket last night for my return to the US of A. I'll be getting back to Seattle early in the morning on August 19th, after a long layover in San Francisco that I hope to spend with some peeps. This won't leave me with much more than a week before I have to head back to Indiana to start classes, but I am delighted that I will be able to attend the Elston-Gallagher nuptials on the 22nd!

Still, it is such a long way away. I miss you guys. Stay civilized!

INSIDE THE CANTEEN

"What exactly", Montana bravely asked me on the telephone a few weeks back, "do you eat there?" It was a good question. Many Chinese people admit that it is true what the Japanese say of them, that they will "eat anything with four legs except for a chair". I eat nothing with any legs at all if I can help it, but in a country where beef or pork is added to tofu dishes as a matter or course, strict principles will only leave you malnourished. Without going into excessive detail, I eat ok here. Visits to foreign grocery stores keep my cupboards stocked with familiar, reasonably healthy foods, Jessica cooks up lots of great dishes with locally grown veggies, and we go to our favorite sushi restaurant about once a week. But since much of my life revolves around school, what I eat sometimes depends on what I can find in the Tsinghua canteens, or "shitang (食堂)". Yes, that is what they are called. Maybe I should just stop now.

This semester I've had my four hour block of classes from 8am to 12am, which means I can go home for lunch. In the past, I've usually packed lunch more than half the time, but I still eat in the canteen about once a week. Cafeteria food in China is heavily subsidized and so the meals are extremely cheap, even by China standards. They are also served on a familiarly vast scale. Tsinghua claims to house the biggest student dining hall in Asia, and boasts that the school's canteens provide meals to 35,000 people daily. Of course I'm not entirely sure I should trust these statistics, coming as they do from a newsletter which states:

"Chicken cubes with peanuts, braised pork joint, cabbage with sweet and sour sauce, uncongealed bean curd -- these are just a few of the hundreds of delicious dishes you can enjoy in one of Tsinghua's student canteens..."

This is the biggest cafeteria I've been to on campus and one of the closest to my school. I don't know that this picture captures the enormity of the place, which easily seats hundred of students and faculty.

Number 7 cafeteria has a real barracks feel. They serve the legendary carrot dumplings here.

The following meal is from one of the classier (and pricier) cafeterias on campus, dubbed "wan ren (万人)", or '10,000 people' in reference to its multiple floors of food dispensing facilities.

Marinated cucumbers, rice, bag o' yogurt, and tofu.
Cost: 3.6RMB (about 50 cents)

On the left is a meal you make by pointing at the items you want (in this case several kinds of greens, tofu, and glass noodles) which are placed in a metal tray and boiled for several minutes in a salty, spicy brew before being served up with a peanut-y kind of sauce. It is actually pretty tasty, but very, very salty.
On the right, dumplings. They had meat in them but I ate them anyway. I love dumplings.
Cost: 3.60RMB (about 50 cents)

Also, from wan ren, salad of red cabbage, soup of spinach, egg, and glass noodles, and entree of tofu and veg (do you see a theme here?)
Cost: 7.5RMB (about $1)

This was my least favorite meal of the bunch. White rice with a serving of mixed greens (plus chunks of unidentifiable animal parts) along with a serving of a traditional dish of egg and tomatoes (which tastes nothing like any American combination of eggs and tomatoes on account of the added sugar and MSG).
Cost: 4.10RMB (less than 60 cents)

I shared this meal of tofu, greens, broccoli, and a heap of carrot dumplings with my classmate Jason. I don't remember how much we collectively paid for it, but I do remember that because it was shared, it was delicious.

Wait, that was a lie. Mealtime with friends is pleasant indeed, but cafeteria food -- not so much.