I know what you did last Summer Camp

Photos

This week saw the demise of my bike, Guava I. She finally broke when I was too far from home to walk her back, and it was too late at night to find someone to fix her. I feel like a bad mother, I had to leave her where she fell, so to speak. It was very sad.

But I do need a bike in Beijing and had already been looking for a new one since Guava started to break down. I had to complete my journey home on foot nearly had a dozen time in the last few weeks so I had already decided that despite the advice to the contrary that good bikes just get stolen, I want to get a really good one. One that doesn't have that flimsy look about it, that if it falls over it'll break. I've been on the lookout for good one secondhand but they are rare to find and you have to be fast.

But remembering that I saw a bike shop on my way to Chinese class, I looked it up and found that yes, they should sell secondhand bikes there. Making the trek on foot in the searing heat, I found that sadly the shop was smaller than I remembered and when I asked if they sold secondhand bikes they said no. They didn't have the good brands and I didn't want to buy a bike of the kind that they had in that shop, as they are cheap but aren't build to last "Forever" as their are optimistically branded (my favourite Chinese irony so far) but sensing I didn't want to walk all the way back in the heat to where ever I had some from, this woman had my number. She immediately pulled out a cute shiny pink and silver bicycle and my normal shopping look of disinterest obviously slipped. She had me and she knew it! We negotiated a price (I still paid too much) and I insisted she give me two locks, not just one, to their great amusement. A good bike thief can make short work of both locks in 3 seconds flat but it makes me feel better to have two. So I pushed off home with it and it was like riding a cloud. I didn't realise how stiff and grinding my old bike was until I got on this one; it was like driving a sportscar after having a clunky old Datsun 120Y.

So, I love Guava II but am still on the lookout for a really good secondhand one, so hopefully I find one. Oh, and the punchline? I rode to class again the other week past the bike shop I bought Guava II from only to find the actual bike shop I had originally seen and was looking for only 50m further down. It is twice the size with the good brands I am looking for. I did think the first shop was a little smaller than I remember... I will stop by there one afternoon and ask them if THEY have secondhand bikes, so maybe I will tell a tale of Guava III in the near future.

On the weekend I went to my first work excursion. I was all excited, thinking I was getting out of Beijing but it was actually only 3 hours outside of the city (which means not far due to the traffic). It was beautiful actually, the Summer Camp was conducted at an Education Centre at the beginning of a walking trail that winds it's way along a creek and between these beautiful steep green hills. The trail acutally goes for a couple of hours into the North East, almost to the Hebei, the next province over. The weekend was marred slightly by the fact I was not very well, but it was nice to actually finally be involved in some real work and to see what my NGO does.

The Summer Camp was for kids from a few local schools that are involved in a project where kids design and submit their own projects for making their schools and communities more sustainable. Some of the projects are awarded a small amount of funding, and at the end of the year there is an award ceremony for the best projects. So quite a cool little programme, but it is sponsored by SHELL, of all people. I was looking at the room full of students, teachers, volunteers and staff who were all decked out in their hats, bags and bandanas and it was just a sea of the SHELL symbol (forgive the pun). Odd dilemna, accepting funding from a company in an industry that has argueably the worst effect on the environment. Should we allow ourselves to be walking advertising for them for their (relatively tiny) donation? Is it good enough that they are trying to do something good for the environment? Or is it really nothing when you look at the big picture? And on those grounds, should we actually refuse their money? I think probably not, but still, an odd dilemna that I ruminated on for awhile.

So, I didn't actually have much to do, other than constently ask "What are we doing now? What are we talking about?" But I was given a job in the main activity, the Treasure Hunt. In groups, the kids have to walk along the trail, doing activities, to receive coloured sticks which they have to bring to me at the very end. I sat in a pagoda for 3 hours waiting for them to come. Not the most exciting time of my life, but at least I couldn't complain about the scenery. Other notable activities included learning to make jiaozi (steamed dumplings) which we then had for lunch, and painting little felt pouches with "nature" themes. Mine were woeful but everyone was very sweet saying how pretty they were. We all had to have a "Nature Name" while we where there and I chose Goldfish, so I (tried) to paint one. Not very successful.

But possibly the best part that made it all worth it (even the fist-sized mosquitoes) was the the night walk because it was the first time I had seen fireflies) They were so beautiful, everyone just fell completely silent when they came out after we turned our torches off. It was a lovely moment, it was really great to see the kids really enjoying nature and having a moment that I know they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Markets and Museums

Photos

Not the most exciting week, but I continued my search for the Holy Grail in China: shoes and clothes that fit me. We found where there are two markets referred to as the "Russian Markets" which boded as a good sign I'm told, as the Russians are hard bargainers and need real sizes. So I went with friends and hunted out the "Alien Market" and "MEN Market" and did some damage! The markets were quite good actually, a bit touristy in a slightly different way and it was a little bizarre to have the shop keepers calling out to us in Russian! Not understanding them, we just smiled and looked around but clearly they didn't believe that we weren't Russian because Tash heard one shop keeper say something along the lines of "They understand, they are just ignoring us". She turned around and said "Ying wan" (English) to them, to which they suddenly were all smiles and gestured us into their shop with the customary "Come looky, looky!"

The shoes were very cool but still too small, clothes ranged from kinda cool to downright garish, but we did get lots of great tea and misc tea accessories. I will definitely go back I think, as they had household stuff which seemed quite cheap. My list of items for the house is still quite long I'm just on the hunt for the best bargin now. Shopping on, we went to Yue Shou Clothing Market nearby and stocked up on clothes (Tash and Andrea, not me. Ok, I got one top, but it's very cool!) then finally to the Ya Shou Market where we continued the shoe and bag hunt with slightly more success. Not for shoes, but I found a very cool bag for a great price in the ultimate non-haggling experience I've had so far.

I looked at a small brown leather bag and asked if it was real leather. The guy said, "Of course!" and held a lighter flame to the bag, which I hate them doing. I know it won't set on fire but really, the bottom floor in the back corner of a bustling market is not the place you want to risk such a disaster because I KNOW I wouldn't make it out alive! I said, sorry but nevermind I can't afford a leather bag (which is what all the other shopkeepers told me when I told them what I wanted to pay) but he said how much? I told him I only have Y50 to spend (and it has a pricetag of nearly Y600) so I want something that's not leather, but he of course said "400!". I thanked him and walked on to which he called to me "200!". I laughed, explained I wasn't haggling, I really only had Y50 for a bag, to which he said "100!". Again, I smiled, and kept walking (really, I wasn't haggling, I knew he wouldn't drop that far), and he caved, amazingly enough. Goes to show what kind of mark-up they put on in some places! So I unexpectedly have great little brown leather bag, which he told me conversationally that he does quite easily sell for Y200. Silly them, I said.

On Sunday I went to the Capital Museum which is quite an impressive building, all modern and slanty. I had a "proof I am actually here" photo taken of me in front of the big slanty thing that was so intriging. First we went to see the "Treasures of the Louvre: Greek Art" exhibit as it was it's opening day. It was quite good actually, but a lot of the items on display were reproductions which was a little disapointing. Among the real stuff though, there were some beauties, but I found the most intruguing thing to be the Chinese habit of lining up (pushing aside, more like actually) to get to a piece, not to see it but just to take a photo of it! I don't think many people there actually really LOOKED at any of the items, they just took photos. To be able to show people what they didn't really look at, I suppose...

The permanent exhibitions were quite good, I liked the History of Chinese civilisations exhibit with artefacts from different dynasties and a cool multimedia piece where the set was of the roof of a fortress and you looked over a "wall" and watching a projection on the wall of the mongul hoards attacking over the plains. Awesome! I really liked the timeline they had around the circumfrence of the exhibition space. It started with the dawn of man (which was in China of course!) and traced historical events all the way to the present. It really made the point about how ancient the Chinese civilisation is, with dynasties rising and falling while people in the rest of the world were still basically rubbing sticks together. By the time you got to the European historical events, well, dynasties were still rising and falling but they had been doing so for 2000 years.

The slanty thing is also an exhibition space as well as the most eye catching thing in the museum, as you walk the the foyer you just want to step back to take it all in. The exhibits in the slanty bit were cool, one level for various forms of Chinese art like calligraphy and painting, but I loved the jade exhibition. Some beautiful, delicate pieces absolutely to die for. Walking down through the section was quite unnerving because the ramp spiraled down following the outer wall and it felt like you were intoxicated because you couldn't walk straight. We were all quite dizzy by the time we got to the bottom.

Finally, Sunday night I met a girl whose contact details I was given by someone who previously lived in Beijing. She was so lovely, and took me out to eat Yunnan food in a new part of town for me so I discovered a new cuisine, a new area and a new friend. It did unfortunately storm like Thor has a bee in his helmet, very unexpectedly, and we had to abandon our meal halfway through to run into the restaurant. I was very upset I was about that, and is testament to how bad the storm was for ME to leave food on the table! We did have dessert though, so all was not lost...

Offically a tourist, offically a local

Photos

I did my first touristy thing this week, which made for some nice photos. Tash and I went to the Temple of Heaven which is just gorgeous. It's in a huge walled area full of trees, a rare spot of quiet and greenery in Beijing. I might go back just as a place to chill for an afternoon. We came in the West Gate which I read was the best way to go in because that is how the Emperor used to enter the Temple. His entrance was a majestic affair which no member of the public was allowed to see. Literally, they were forbidden to look out the window as the procession of elephants, horses, and lots of soldiers went past. And in complete silence too, how they kept lots of horses and elephants quiet I don't know. On pain of death I suppose, if anything went wrong you were executed before you could say "shhhh".

The Emperor would go to the Temple of Heaven twice a year in his duty as Son of Heaven to seek the blessing of the Ruler of the Universe. Firstly at the beginning of the Chinese Lunar calendar to seek the blessing for a fruitful year, and again in the winter solstice to burn sacrifices (read: a whole bullock) and report of the previous harvest. So we saw the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest which was gorgeous and the three tied roof was made without a single nail or screw, just interlocking slats into the columns. It was closed unfortunately, so I don't have pictures of inside. We also saw the Round Altar where as I said they sacrificed, um, whole animals. It was pretty amazing actually to think that so many years ago Emperors were standing where I stood and completed their most sacred rites.

And while out at dinner with Tash that night, we were approached by not one but two groups of people asking us to help them find places so we must have made the look of a local about us, which I was quite proud of actually. I had my bike which probably helped, but I'm sure the air of confidence and assurance surrounding us.

The next step is to speak like a local and in Week 5 I started my Mandarin lessons. I now take classes twice a week, 2 hours a night, for a total of AUS$20 a week. My teacher, Angela, is totally wonderful and I actually look forward to class. I've been taught phonetics three times now but this was the first time I really GOT it. She says my pronunciation is very good but gosh I have to concentrate and still bob my head when concentrating on getting my tones right (imagine one of those bobbing dash ornaments over a 4WD track). My listening skills are not so great but a big part of that is my pitiful vocabulary hopefully. I was having private lessons for awhile while I waited for someone to join my class but now there are actually 6 of us, so we've had to split the class and I'm now waiting for them to catch up with where I am and I'll be back at class soon.

Finally, on the language thread, I wanted to share something I remembered from a few weeks ago. It was when I was still living with friends in apartments almost exclusively full of expatriates due to it's proximity to the embassies (and price). There are a lot of French expatriates there, we'd seen a young boy and girl in the lift once and they were just adorably French, complete with the Coq Sportif on the boys football shirt and the girl with her dress and pigtails.

Anyway, one day I got into the lift with a red haired lady and her two Chinese boys, only a few years old. I'm fairly sure the boys were Chinese not Eurasian, and I've seen a lot of expat couples who have adopted two or three Chinese children so it's fairly common. So she spoke to the boys in French and the eldest boy replied in French. The youngest started to repeat a few of her words over and over as toddlers do when learning to speak. I was rapt with fascination by the juxtaposition of being in China and hearing two little Chinese boys learning French as their (presumably) first language. I mean, I of all people should know to look beyond where people look like they're from, but it entranced me. And the clincher? They got out of the lift before me and I held the door as the little one toddled out, expecting the woman to say "merci" or maybe "thank you" (presuming she would think I was English speaking). But as she left she turned to me with a polite smile and said "xiexie" (thank you). Without missing a beat, I replied "bu keqi" (not at all).

As the lift door closed behind her, I had a very profound moment. With people, as with Life, expect the unexpected because you will never stop being surprised. And that was a wonderful, wonderful feeling.

Hot, Steamy Beijing days...

Photos

Well, late last week I thought I would have nothing of interest to share with you this update week, so I went out and had extra big adventures. No, I didn't really, but being China, something unexpected was waiting just around the corner for me.

On Saturday, I jumped at the invitation of two friends to join them on a day trip out of Beijing. We were originally going to a mountain reserve about 80km outside of Beijing but the buses took so long (1 and a half hours to reach halfway) we wouldn't have had time to get up the mountain. We got off the bus and had a bit of an adventure finding the bus station to our new destination. We found ourselves in the Huairou district which is quite large and modern, but had the feel much more of a rural city. It was quite nice actually, but I was SO glad I was with my friends as they both speak fluent Mandarin (Annie is Taiwanese, and Charlotte studied Chinese) and it still was very hard to find what we were looking for.

Walking through the city toward the bus station, a man sitting on the road looked at us as we passed and said something rather loud to his friend. Both Charlotte and Annie both turned around and made very indignant noises at him. Annie replied, "She's my friend!" (I think) and we walked off. I shot him a dirty look for good measure, but then hurried to catch up and whispered "What did he say?". He apparently said, "Look, they brought a translator" which understandably offended them both! I thought to myself later that I wonder what people say about me quite audibly but I don't understand. It seems ironic and a bit sad that it's the people who have made the effort to learn the language and love it here are the ones who actually have to bear the brunt of the few rude people and their careless remarks.

Anyway, having found the bus station eventually, we made our way to our Plan B, a kind of Buddhist temple "theme park", which wasn't as cheesy as it sounds. It was originally a famous and revered Buddhist temple. It was quite beautiful actually but did have it's quirks...

Such as the snail thing. It's formal name is the "Temple of Magnificent Light" but it's always been known as HongLuo Xi, the Red Snail Temple. There are these snail structures lying about the place and the story goes that two princesses of the Jade Emperor were incarnated as red-glowing snails (as you do) and guard the temple. What I want to know is, why snails? If I was a princess I would turn into a tiger or something. What exactly can you protect as a snail?

The temple grounds are surrounded by beautiful forest, which made it lovely and shady. And humid. I'd say it was about 95% humidity. So, while exploring we took the turn off the a second temple, and the path started to go up. And up and up and up. The temple, as it turned out, is on top of a mountain (so we got our mountain climb after all). By the time I got to the top, I was DRENCHED in sweat. I mean, I was beyond dripping, I looked like I'd had a shower with my clothes on. It was so humid, and still over 30 degrees, and at the very least I thought when I reached the top that I could look forward to a cool breeze but there was not breath of air up there. Looking at my book now I see it says that if you want to see the second temple "you'll need to prepare yourself for a pilgrimage up a tough flight of stairs" which I swear appeared was not there when I read the page the first time. Annie and Charlotte breezed up the hill but boy, did I struggle. It was that point that I decided that I needed to go back to the gym. A lot.

Another quirk was the garden of 500 arhats, or 'enlightened monks', that also guard the temple. Between the two red snails and the peace loving Buddhist monks, this is one heavily guarded temple... Described in the guide book as "dressed to impress", each arhat had a brightly coloured cape on (like the real temple monks of yesteryear) and the effect of hundreds of statues with orange or red capes on was quite impressive. Though, and I know it's so wrong, the jokes were SO easy. Like, each arhat was doing something slightly different, one was sleeping, one was happy, (grumpy, happy, bashful, sneezy, doc...)



Back to Beijing and the most satisfying shower of my life. And the electricity didn't even go out in the middle of it this time, bonus!

So, last Friday I joined the gym, which was an interesting experience as gym lingo wasn't covered in my survival training. I called Annie to interpret over the phone, bless her, and joined for the year at a rather reasonable Y1099 (AUS$170-ish). That was all fine, and after only a short session as I needed to get to work, I managed to ask for a locker all on my own by repeating the word for lock and miming a, well, locker! They sold me a combination lock and the lady walked me into the changing rooms and pointed to a locker. Proud of myself I left a towel there as I didn't really have anything else, and left.

Flash forward to Monday morning: resolved to get back into shape after my pathetic mountain climbing effort I go to the gym before work, go to the changing room, and my locker is open and empty. Like robbed. Completely exasperated (it was first thing Monday morning, I hadn't found my tolerant hat yet) I had to call poor Annie yet again and explain my stuff was gone from the locker. She spoke to the man again and as it turned out, lockers are only for the day and are BROKEN INTO AND EMPTIED AT THE OF EVERY DAY. I had to pay for a locker (which is actually what I thought in the first place, but when they sold me a lock and "gave" me a locker I figured it was included in the cost of the membership).

I then had to go through the rigmarole of playing language tag (now you look blank, now my turn, ok back to you etc.) and trying to properly get a locker. At this point, the man found a manager who spoke English to help me fill in the form and get a locker. I asked him if I could have my stuff back and explained what happened. He gave me the most quizzical look and said "So, you did not empty the locker at the end of the day?!".
No, I explain grimacing as nicely as I could, I didn't.
"Oh," he said, equally quizzically.
They did give me back my towel and lock which they neatly CUT OPEN and the lady took me to another locker in the changing room and gave me it's key this time (a good sign I felt).

Going back out I thanked the man for his help, and took advantage of having him there to ask a few more questions. I had seen a girl walk into the gym wearing a swimsuit under her clothes so I asked him if there was a swimming pool or sauna. He said no pool, but the "dry" sauna was next to the shower. Figuring that was why the girl was wearing a swimsuit, I asked if it was OK to wear a swimsuit in the sauna. He gave me another of his deeply quizzical looks and repeated "Swim suit?". I tried to explain swimsuit in a different way, to realise he understood what I meant, just not why I was asking.
"Why do you want to wear swimsuit?" he asked even more confused, but this time with a little amusement.
"No clothes then?" I replied sheepishly.
"Yes. No clothes," he said, definitely amused this time.
Yes, I did feel rather silly at that moment.