flying cowgirl

We had an action packed Tuesday. Like everyday, we he had breakfast near the hotel/dorm we're staying in. Breakfast here isn't anything like it is back home. Half the stuff I can't quite identify and can't imagine stomaching, especially at 6:30am. My favorite parts of breakfast are the glass of warm milk and the fried bread. So after a hearty, and somewhat strange, breakfast we got on a bus and headed toward Qufu (Confucius's Temple, Grave, etc.) We arrived to find that a tour had been arranged for us.

I've never really been a fan of guided tours through ancient monuments, museums, etc. This was no exception. Our "English speaking guide" spoke to us as if she thought WE didn't speak English. She spelled out most words two or three times and was constantly repeating herself. And as if she wasn't obnoctious enough, like most people in Asia who speak just enough English, her favorite thing to shout at us was "Hello." Maybe my patience is beginning to dwindle after traveling for almost 8 weeks in countries who's primary source of income is tourism. Contrary to popular belief, Hello does not mean 'excuse me'. Hello is not a way to get my attention, nor is it something to shout as I pass by your store, booth, or cart. Hello does not mean 'follow me' or 'come this way.' Hello is a greeting... and it's supposed to be friendly. I'm so completely over Hello. End rant. Anyway, I had an okay time being herded through Confucius's Temple, though the parts I enjoyed most were sans tour guide.

We had an amazing lunch at a four start restaurant that serves us dishes that resembled the Americanized Chinese food I'm accostomed to back home. It was less salty, more familiar, and (like every meal) paid for by SUAD. We were running short on time so instead of hiking up Mount Taian, we took a gondola up to the top. Atop a beautiful mountain with abundant fresh flowing streams, there is a town built for tourists. Like most of the beautiful monuments we've visited throughout our travels, the tourist industry has inflicted unhealable wounds. People sell coffee, buttons, bracelets, pots, and anything else they think you might want. Some of the kids in our class succombed to the temptation and bought souvenirs. Sylvan and I, in protest of what tourism has done to beatiful and ancient sites, stayed away from trinkets and souvenirs. I did buy an ice cream cone only to discover that it wasn't really ice cream but some kind of banana syrup icey. It was not extremely delicious.

We had a very limited amount of time on top of the mountain but it was enough. Whether the cloud cover was thick or the smog was especially bad, the view was less than amazing and the monochrome sky and lingering haze made everything look a little grey.

That flying cowgirl is me.

i eat bugs

That's a giant locus. I ate two of them. Sylvan ate a bunch. They're crunchy and taste kind of like duck heart. Locus isn't all that bad if you can get past the fact that you just shoved a huge bug in your mouth and you'll have to floss its little bug-legs out of your teeth later.

art... in china

All of the students we are working with are juniors at Shandong University School of Art and Desing (SUAD). Most of them are 21 and look 14 but they are all incredibly friendly and eager to learn. We have enjoyed a very warm welcome here from students and faculty alike.

Li Li (or Lily) is my Chinese student-partner. She is adorable. She speaks better English than I do Chinese, but the language barrier is difficult. We've decided to do a video project together. Things are moving slowly, but I imagine that they'll start to pick up in the next couple days... especially since our exhibition in Sunday. I'm working on an individual project for the exhibition as well as my partner-project with Lily. I'm very excited to see how both turn out.

I'm still having a hard time adjusting to Chinese customs. Lily and Sylvan's partner, Jared, insist on paying for all of our meals, drinks, snacks, etc. Jared even bought some supplies for Sylvan at the school store. Lily and Jared insist that Sylvan and I sit together at every meal and if we're walking somewhere as a group, they always make sure that Sylvan and I are near each other. It's cute and at the same time very strange. Sylvan and I have done our best to argue for the bill but we because we don't speak Chinese, we seem always to be at a disadvantage.

My classmates and I have noticed that our Chinese partners are eager to work with us but that they are more eager to follow our instruction and make us happy. I have asked Lily several times what she would like to do, but she always defauts to my suggestions. I am under the assumption that creativity is not encouraged as much in the Chinese education system and that it may be unnatural for a lot of these kids to come up with ideas on their own.

Our days have been filled with partner-project time, meals, and various other activities. Every other day we take a trip to some famouse monument, temple, mountain, etc. The University is taking extremely good care of us to the point where I wish they weren't. It's nice to have a schedule, but unfortunate when you are rushed and herded like cattle from one destination to anther. It's also unfortunate that we don't have m0re free time to wander the streets and hang out with our new Chinese friends. I enjoy them most when we're walking from place to place or during meals when we can talk about our cultural differences and share experiences with one another. Today we were able to sneak away after lunch for a while and play ping pong. We also found a few minutes after dinner to play a short game of basketball as the last rays of smoggy daylight faded over the mountains.

amazing human being

Sylvan is quite popular with the locals. His hacky sac skills have helped bridge the communication gap and allowed him to communicate and interact with local people in a very unique way. Inside the gates of the forbidden city, we found a few groups of people playing the Chinese version of hacky sack. They don't play with a ball, but with a coin wrapped in leather and attached to a feather or a group of feathers. In Vietnam they play something similar and call it "kick kick." It's been interesting to see the transformation of these hacky sac like toys through SE Asia.



Everyone was impressed with Sylvan's skills and even though I couldn't tell what they were saying, it was easy to see that they enjoyed watching him kick they're toy around. At one point they even cheered and clapped.After Sylvan played with this group of people, they gave him one of their hand made hacky sacs. It's probably the most interesting and unique souvenir we've acquired on our trip.

After playing hacky sac, we walked around a bit more and found a man with two sticks and a baton. He was twirling and throwing the baton around and invited us to try it. He spoke very enthusiastic English and was overly impressed with our lack of skill. He told me that I was a natural, but that was nothing compared to the praise Sylvan received. The man was absolutely in awe of Sylvan's natural abilities. He said many things. Here are a few of the better ones:
"You must be great athlete!"
"Amazing human being!"
"It is an honor to watch you play!"
It was really hilarious. We drew a crowd. We seem to draw a crowd wherever we go. People are interested in what we're doing, no matter what it is, and many Chinese ask if they can take pictures of us.

oh good, they have pictures

Most of our meals have been as a group. All 14 of us sit and watch in awe as our professor and instrctor order for us in Chinese. The plates of food come one at a time and quickly fill the lazy susan in he middle of the table. Ying and Edwin have tried to expose us to the Chinese culture as much as possible and have encouraged us to try new things and local dishes. In China, if you eat a nice restuarant, it is taboo to eat all the food on your table and even more taboo to ask for a doggy bag (to go). If you are wealthy, you show it by ordering too much food and leaving whatever you don't eat (ususally quite a bit) on the table. This sounds silly, but it's kind of tricky. We went out to eat with some Chinese artists and they treated us to dinner. Even though we were supposed to leave food on the table, they kept encouraging us to eat and asking us if we liked the food. I'm not quite sure what you're supposed to do in those situations. I don't understand these customs.

When we manage to venture out on our own, our only hope is that the menu will have pictures. Otherwise, the only thing I know how to say is beef noodle soup and dumplings. Don't get me wrong, beef noodle soup and dumplings are delicious, but it would be nice to try some other things. So a group of us found ourselves near Tiananmen Square and hungry. We found a restaurant and sat down. Oh good, they have pictures. We looked through the menu and ordered one plate with meat, one plat of vegetables, and some dumplings. We tried to pick meat that looked like chiken or beef. When the dish came, it looked like neither. It didn't even look like the picture of the dish we had ordered. The pieces of meat looked like fingers. We were unable to identify what animal they had come from. We were also unable to identify what part of the animal they might be. We decided, after looking at the menu a second time, that they had brought us the wrong dish. Sylvan had clearly pointed to the dish on the bottom right hand corner of the page, and they had brought us the dish from the top left. Our waiter didn't speak English but I managed to ask him which dish he had brought us. He pointed to the one at the top left. I somehow convinced him that it was the wrong dish and he took it away and brough us the right one. It was fried in a batter and looked more appetizing, but unfortunately we were still unable to identify it. We at it anyway and enjoyed a meal we'd ordered on our own. Most of the meal was spent guessing what we were eating. Christian thought it was some kind of organ. I joked that it was duck butt. I just figured that since we'd sent a dish back, the kitchen staff was pissed and served us duck rectum or something. We were curious to see what we'd eaten so we took a picture of the menu and decided to ask our professor later that evening.

The good news is that both of the mystery meat dishes were duck... so at least we weren't eating dog. The bad news is that the one we sent back was duck tongue and the one we ate was duck heart. Another great adventure.

way to go mao

Big brother is watching.  The streets are unusually clean.  The transit system is efficient.  Cranes tower over the cityscape as buildings take root and begin to rise.  The Chinese flag is over every shop, on buildings, cars, and bikes.  Children wave it on the streets.  The city is growing exponentially and with the recent boom associated with the Olympic Games, Beijing is bigger and better than ever.  China is proud.

for the people

We visited a few art districts, explored the forbidden city, and walked the streets of Beijing.  The art was powerful, the forbidden city was big and ornate, but what I really loved was the people.