Beijing shenanigans

Today I gave Beijing some credit. Partial credit mind you, my heart will always be in Shanghai but today I doff my hat to Beijing. Why?! Because I think I heart Beijing opera.
I've been in Beijing for two weeks already and don't feel the big city buzz that was present 24/7 in Shanghai. Maybe because Beijing is more of China's cultural and political center and Shanghai's more cosmopolitan and is better known as the financial center of 中国 (Zhong guo - China).

I'm taking summer classes with Mount Holyoke here at Beijing Language and Culture University and I'm amazed at how many international students there are here. We actually outnumber regular Chinese students! As part of the scheduled activities planned by our Chinese department, we went to see Beijing opera today. I must confess that I have always been cynical about Beijing opera. A bunch of people with exaggerated make-up singing in annoying, NASAL voices in a language I didn't understand.
Well that all changed tonight. Ok the voices were still annoying and nasal plus even though my Chinese is much better I still didn't catch a lot of words they were singing. It was totally worth the experience though, being exposed to the history of Beijing opera and understanding the stories being performed in a cultural and historical context.

I do have some pictures for you!

My 3rd Year Chinese classmates. From left to right : Me (Ghanaian, Red, Gold, Green, Black star, for shizzle my nizzle), Glori (American), 

Tashi (Tibetan), Yu (Chinese), Natalia (Russian) and Li Laoshi (our teacher- Chinese).

Pretty diverse huh? :)

What a cool way to serve tea!

An actor getting ready by painting his Beijing mask on

And putting on his costume

Finally, proudly shows off his handiwork

Scene from the first opera 'A Dance and a Sword'

Scene from the second opera 'Midnight at the Crossroad'

Scene from the third opera 'The Stolen Token'

Instrumentalists on traditional Chinese instruments

Scenes from the fourth and final opera 'The Drunk Concubine'

I'm hoping to go back soon! If you're in Beijing this summer let's hook up ;)

At a loss for words...

I just read this article on The Wall Street Journal's China Real Time Report and I'm going through a plethora of emotions. Why? How? Is it us? Is it them? Did we all contribute to this? Why is it so? Do we treat them the same in Ghana? Why? Why not? Is this how it's going to stay forever? In every part of the world? Is it time to go home? Don't their businesses value us? Do we value their businesses enough?

Don't get me started on the comments posted. What do you think? I'd like to know. Please respectfully comment on this post.

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/06/20/africans-protests-highlight-tensions-in-guangzhou/

In and around China Pt 4

1. Shaoxing


Shaoxing is a tier 2 city about 2 hours south of Shanghai. It's famous for being the birth place of Lu Xun, the father of modern Chinese literature. Shaoxing is also known for its waterways, it's a beautiful water 'town'!

2. Dragon Well at the Tiger Mountain - Hangzhou


Hangzhou is most famous for its tea, the best being Dragon Well Tea. Dragon Well tea is popular for its flavor and the use of dragon well water from you guessed it, the Dragon Well! The story surrounding this well has been passed down for generations and is more of a myth. So the story is that there was an old blind monk who lived on top of the Tiger Mountain and had to descend every day for water and carry his buckets back up. He did this everyday without fail, even though he was blind and did not once complain. One night, he dreamt of a white tiger showing him a spring at the top of the mountain as a result of his hard work and good deeds. The next morning, he found the spring, took a sip of water and recovered his sight. He never had to descend the mountain for water again. The morale of the story is that hard work pays. Chinese stories are almost always didactic you see.


So the water from the dragon well is known for its healing and soothing powers and combined with tea from Hangzhou, can make you hear angels with every sip!

3. Zhuhai


Zhuhai is a small city located in south east China. It's quite famous for its pearls but we went to visit the Zhongshan Hot Springs Resort, where we spent the night. It was absolutely amazing. We also saw the lady of Zhuhai and went on the highest peak. 

4. Totale - Shanghai


Totale is a food processing company made popular by its famous chicken stock that Chinese women swear by. It is also a distributor of Nestle products. The company owns a Rolls Royce Phantom, kept in the company basement to give their VIP guests a treat. We paid a company visit and were taught to cook a few Chinese dishes by their chef.

5 things I wish I knew before coming to China

1.  Your dress size, pre, during and post trip will be drastically different. Just a heads up. And don't go looking for clothes with your US or UK size because this is China. The only country where a medium (ME) is an XXL overnight (not weight gain, just dress size thank goodness)! Advance notice.

2. Same goes for shoes. Make sure you have enough shoes suitable for the season (s) that you'll be in China. The Chinese typically have small feet so if you're like me (a good U.S women's size 9), don't be like me. A pair of Sketchers here cost me over $110. Sketchers!! Can you believe it??!! And I only bought them because it was the only brand that had my size. I tried to go shoe hunting but as soon as I mentioned my shoe size all the store owners (ok not all, THE majority) would blurt out laughing, saying to my face that it was not possible. One even told me that the only way I could get shoes my size in China was if I went to a factory and placed an order for customized shoes and stood by as they were made! The cheek of it all!

3. Things here are not as cheap as they seem. Yes, I know. You exchange money. You feel like the richest person in the world. You feel like the Taj Mahal should be your's by birthright. And everything is sooo cheap!! And you have so much money to blow!!!
Ha.
It's an illusion.
I hope you read this before you get TOO carried away. Things here (especially clothes) may seem cheap by China standards or in RMB but convert to USD or whichever major currency you prefer and compare the quality you're getting and what you're paying for it here versus anywhere else. You will be shocked. Stopped dead in your tracks. Stone cold. I guarantee you. Or your money back.

4. I wish I had thought to pack up basic medication and first-aid as I knew I should have. I cannot stress this point. When it comes down to medication and first-aid essentials, trust what you know.

5. I wish I had a heads up on just how 'peculiar' the Chinese are when it comes to an encounter with a black person. I still wish I knew how to deal with it but I don't. This is not a negative thing per say, it's just that for the first time in my life I have come into direct contact with racism, and it burns. And there are those instances of just plain curiosity. Again I cannot generalize as I have had a wonderful experience here with good Chinese friends. But I do wish I had a heads up. So if you identify as Black/African/African-American, please, brace yourself and figure a strategy for dealing with it.

There we go, my top 5 things I wish I knew before coming to China.

This isn't goodbye...

Whoa, where did the months go? Too soon, my semester in Shanghai is over and I'm sitting in my dorm room (which I'm getting kicked out of) thinking about my experience here and how much I've grown as a person and how much more confident I am in Chinese.


I remember my flight here, I was scared stiff! I would have taken a flight back home if I was offered one as soon as I disembarked in China! With only 3 months of Chinese under my belt, I was immediately overwhelmed by all these complicated characters strung together in my face wherever I looked. 


Now look at me, unconsciously registering advertisements on billboards, restaurant and shop names! That's not all, having conversations with taxi drivers about random issues from population control to materialism in Shanghai. I can even sit in my room and order in! It's amazing I tell you!


I've had the privilege of not only getting to explore Shanghai but also meeting extraordinary people in my program and making (hopefully) lifelong friendships. Every single person in my program taught me something and I was motivated to try new things. It definitely helped that we were such a diverse group, representing almost 10 different countries! 


It was wonderful being able to see other parts of China, especially with the group. It's sad it had to end but that's life I guess. One chapter's ending is another's beginning.


So what next? On to Beijing for the summer!! 


Here are a few pictures of my last weekend with my mates in Shanghai.

My teacher Yang Laoshi and I. The sweetest cutest teacher breathing yet!

From left to right : Momo, Menee, Mimi, MinMin and Moho :)

James and 'Gilly'; two of the chillest guys I have ever met.

Lujiazui, the financial district from our cruise ship on the Huangpu River at night. That's the Oriental Pearl Tower sticking out.

The girls :)

More Lujiazui. It's so pretty at night, gonna miss this!

The Shanghai version of the Wall Street Bull

Christine Hui, such a beautiful young lady.

The squad! Would've been the Asian tri-factor  if Gen was in!

Cong Tian enjoying all the attention.