More Dormitory Exploring

Here are some more features of my dorm room.



I have troubadours outside my room! This is Corey showing Kalah how his "guqin" works.




This is my awesome, tiny homework book. This is where I practice my characters and write sentences. Oh yeah, Mickey is hardcore.




This is my first assigned essay in my Chinese class. It is about introducing my lovely family! (If you are a Renes, you must learn Chinese to know what I have to say about you!)




The final feature in my Chinese dorm room. Here, I have a cell phone. I finally, somewhat reluctantly, entered the new millenium.... with the cheapest cell phone I could buy. I mostly use it as an alarm clock.

Thank you for joining me in this short tour of my dorm room in China!

Dormitory Exploring - Food and Drink

I decided to show some of the small details of my dorm room that show something about my time in China. There are a few things here in my room that you probably wouldn't find in my dorm room in the U.S. Let's take a look...



A Chinese staple, the water boiler. These are an essential here in China. You'll find them in hotels, we had them on our train, and I'm guessing there are in every home in the country. I can fill this up with boiling water at the end of the hallway. It keeps the water really hot for about a day. My boiler is pink and lovely.




My Chinese dorm room is stocked with tea! Right now I have some longjin green tea, which Hangzhou is famous for, and some perfumed tea. My tea cup has a filter that keeps me from chugging the tea leaves.




Cantaloupe gum! It's tasty.




Liquids are always good. Here in China I buy a lot of bottled water. Also, I like to get this orange juice. If you can tell from the label, it's the Minute Maid brand, but it's pretty different from U.S. orange juice because it's suuuper pulpy. But I do happen to like chewy juice. The middle bottle is a new discovery....apple flavor milk! It's actually more like a yogurt drink. I think it might be healthy because it has half of the word "nutritional" on it. Sometime it's hard to know.




Korean lunch to go! We have three Korean restaurants really close to our dorm and have been eating there more often lately. I like these sushi rolls that have ham, egg, and veggies. Also, it's not a Korean meal without some spicy kimchi.

What kind of massage?

I thought this was an amusing sign. I assumed it was a poor translation but found out there is actually some meaning behind it. In China, there is a tradition of having blind masseurs since you are usually not clothed while getting a massage. This way, you can maintain decency and still get a good massage! Not all massage places are like this, but if I want a blind masseur, I know where to go!

Digging into Chinese!

大家好！

As can be expected, my days have been filled with a lot of Chinese language study. It’s going pretty well, and I feel like I’m picking up words and grammar more quickly as time goes on. It was slow going at first, but now I’m starting to get more and more confident with speaking, listening, reading, and writing. It’s been really interesting studying a language in such a different language family. There are so many differences and “Chinese surprises” that keep me on my toes. Here are some of the most unique parts of my language study so far.

One of the most important parts of Chinese is the use of tones. They are very challenging to learn, but they also make Chinese very melodic. Tones are basically the different pitches used in speaking. There are four tones (plus one neutral tone) that make Chinese words differ in meaning. We have tones in English, but they mostly give nonverbal information about our sentences, like emphasis, surprise, or questioning. In Chinese, saying a word with a different tone usually makes it a completely different word. The common example is that saying “ma” four different ways can mean horse, mother, scold, or linen. For another example, today in our listening class we learned about the different kinds of teas. Green tea ( 渌茶 )is pronounced “lü cha” with “lü” as a falling tone. If you ask for some green tea, but accidentally pronounce “lü” with a rising tone, you are asking for donkey tea. This does not exist, and you probably don’t want to tempt them into creating that concoction for you. A lot of times as a language learner, you can depend on the fact that people will know what you’re saying because of context, but to be really clear you have to be very aware of your tones.

This is a really good link to see how tones work and what they sound like in Chinese. And there’s a game so you can test your tonal skills!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/chinese/games/tones.shtml

As we often say in class, 汉语语法不太难，汉字很难 - “Hanyu yufa bu tai nan, Hanzi hen nan.” In English, "Chinese grammar is not too hard, Chinese characters are very hard." Chinese grammar really isn’t too hard for a few reasons. First, Chinese tends to stick with single-morphemes, words without added parts. For example, verbs don’t have any conjugation to accommodate tense or the subject; tense is shown in context or with a word added. Also, while we like to chock our English sentences full of information, adverbs, and so forth, the Chinese tend to say just as much in fewer words. In English, we even borrowed the very efficient Chinese phrase 好久不见 – hao jiu bu jian --- or “long time no see.” There’s no denying that “long time no see” gets the point across that “I have not seen you in a long time.” We learned in class that if you plan to go see the doctor you can say 我要看病 - “wo yao kan bing.” Literally each word is “I want to see/look sick.” While this seems a little strange, it makes sense in Chinese because you’re saying that you are sick and you are going to go show the doctor that you are sick.

Measure words are another part of Chinese that is pretty interesting. There’s not much of an equivalent in English. Basically, measure words are always needed when saying there are a certain number of an object. In English, we can say “three books” or “five people,” but in Chinese you always need to put a measure word in between the number and the noun. It’s kind of like when we say “three pairs of pants” or “two pieces of paper.” Measure words can be pretty tricky in Chinese because there are many, many different ones for all the different kinds of nouns. The most common measure word (and the fall-back if you can’t remember the right one) is “ge” 个. There are lots more though, such as a measure word for books (“ben” 本), a measure word for things that are paper, but thinner than books like maps or newspapers (“zhang” 张), different measure words for drinks (“bei”杯，”ping”瓶，”he”盒), a measure word for writing utensils (“zhi” 枝), a measure word for vehicles (“liang” 辆), etc., etc. It can be a little daunting to try to remember all of the unique measure words. It’s just one of those things that you have to memorize until it’s instinctive. The cool part about measure words is that it sometimes shows how the Chinese categorize things a little differently than we probably would. For example, the measure word “tiao” 条 is used for snakes, rivers, pants, skirts, dragons, and noodles. It seems like a funny combination, but all of the objects are long and flowing. Makes sense, right?

Another part of Chinese that can be pretty amusing is the transliteration of certain words. Sometimes, these words sound pretty close to English, but it is different enough to be entertaining. For example, the Chinese really, really love their KFC. Here in China, the restaurant is called “kuhn-duh-gee” like Kentucky. Chocolate is “chow-kuh-lee.” One of my favorites, hamburger is pronounced “han-bow-bow.” A jacket is a “geeya-kuh.” We just learned today that if you say you drive a “gee-poo” car, you are the proud owner of a Jeep. I probably laughed the most when I heard the transliteration of Harry Potter, which goes something like “hah-lee boh-tuh.” It’s fun to hear these kinds of words that are reminiscent of English while keeping a distinct Chinese sound.

Between tones, grammar, and measure words, I’m keeping busy with Chinese! I study quite a bit to keep up with my classes and try to use as much Chinese as I can when I’m out and about. I’m not expecting to master the language while I’m here, but I think it will be a great souvenir that I’ll take home with me!

So for now, 再见！Bye!

In Bloom

The light slips through the trees and lands on the orange-zested ground. The air is buzzing with the smell of sweet nectar. I walk around the Hangzhou Botanical Gardens, and I am one of many who came to see the signs of the new season. The trees and ground are speckled orange and golden yellow with tiny flowers. Cooler weather in Hangzhou has started the shift from summer to fall, and these flowers are more signs of autumn --- cheerful and downward-floating. The osmanthus are in bloom.

I set out this afternoon with a book, water, and some snacks in my backpack. I was going to the Hangzhou Botanical Gardens beyond the west side of our campus, just a fifteen-minute walk. The night before, our program director had told us to start looking for osmanthus around Hangzhou. As he told us, osmanthus is the city flower of Hangzhou and usually blooms in early October. The sweet osmanthus tree is an evergreen that is very typical Chinese, and so the name doesn’t translate very well into English. In Chinese, the tree’s flowers are called “guihua.” After walking through the garden’s main gate, I could already smell something new --- I had found osmanthus! I slipped under the shade of the grove and took in my surroundings.

An old Chinese saying goes, “When osmanthus flowers bloom, happy events will come.” The blooms of “guihua” are associated with happiness for several reasons. I understood the enjoyment of the flowers very soon after I started walking around the grove. Though the “guihua” had just begun to bloom, the ground was already a carpet of creamsicle-orange blooms. It looked like a warm-weathered orange snowfall. Some trees had golden osmanthus blossoms, which blended a sunny yellow with orange. Slight breezes delicately brought down more flowers as I walked down the path. Chinese families and friends gathered in clusters in the shade, sitting at tables and drinking tea or picnicking on the ground. It was amusing to walk past and notice the people who had been sitting at their tables the longest --- the orange blossoms really stand out when gathered on top of a head of black hair.

Another enjoyable part of osmanthus is the sweet fragrance. My guidebook refers to the smell as “intoxicatingly fragrant,” and this is not too far from the truth. The little blooms have a surprisingly powerful smell, which is very sweet and borders on citrusy. Besides tickling the nose, the fragrant osmanthus is also practical. The flowers can make a sweet glace soup, osmanthus wine, and even perfume. It’s no wonder that the sound “gui” in “guihua” can mean valuable, as well as honorable and distinguished.

The positive enjoyment of the osmanthus flowers can be seen through years of Chinese history. An old folktale tells of sweet osmanthus trees growing on the moon and showering blossoms on temples and mountains. Those in the temples saw the blossoms as gifts from heaven. From this tale, feudal Chinese had the saying that anyone who passed the highest imperial examinations had “plucked the osmanthus branch from the moon.” Throughout history, the blossoms have continued to represent goodwill.

I walked further around the garden and found a seat to enjoy the scene. Through the osmanthus trees, gentle strains of light fell on those around me. Two older women napped on a bench while a third woman knitted. Chinese of all ages played cards and peeled fruit and shelled seeds. The delicate osmanthus blooms fell on each person. The colorful seeds didn’t miss one head of hair. In the relaxed and cheerful atmosphere, it was easy to imagine that life falls like the osmanthus --- tiny, fragrant bits of goodwill.

Back from Beijing!

We’re back! After a week in Beijing, all of us Central students have returned “home” to Zhejiang University in Hangzhou. The trip was very full: full of new sights, lots of walking, good food, and pictures. As the capital city of China and historical hotspot, Beijing had a lot to offer us. We got in on some very cool history, some wall climbing, and people pushing. I’ll try to fill you in on the highlights and new things that we learned.

The first highlight of the trip was the opportunity to see a new part of China. Just as the different sections of the U.S. have distinctions, there are a lot of variances between the regions of China. I wish I could say I knew some of these differences, but I’ve spent most of my time in Hangzhou, which is in the southeast corner of the country. Beijing is in the northeast corner of China; the character for “bei” in Beijing means “north.” A few things changed significantly after we went north. While it’s been really warm in Hangzhou this whole semester, Beijing was really nice and cool. We were happy to shiver a little bit since we sometimes felt like we were melting in Hangzhou. It always seemed a little foggy in Beijing but this was the “haze” that comes from the pollution in the area. Many of us had a hard time getting used to the difference in air quality and many got colds, coughs, and runny noses. Everyone survived though, and we enjoyed a couple of really nice clear days towards the end of our trip. Another change in the new environment was a little difference in accent. While Standard Mandarin Chinese is based on the Beijing dialect, the Beijinger’s tend to put an “r” sound at the end of lots more words. It was fun to pick up on a few of these differences between the regions.

Many, many people

Seeing 1 billion Chinese in 7 days

Beijing also introduced the new concept of an infinite number of people. Since our trip to Beijing was right around a national holiday, we shared Beijing with many, many Chinese tourists from all around the country. Beijing is already a very populated city. We spent a lot of time on the subway and had some fun experiences with being pushed and packed to make space for the greatest number of bodies. Our most crowded experience came in the Forbidden City, which made us realize the irony that it should be called the Least Forbidden City. Because we had so many crowds around us, we got a taste of some good Chinese nonverbal communication. Namely pushing and getting jostled around. When we visited the Beijing Museum, many of us were frustrated by people who would literally push us out of the way to see something better. I was also getting frustrated but I felt a lot better after a woman accidentally bumped into me, apologized, and then her cute little son apologized to me in English. While things like this bothered us, we took it with a grain of salt. I even became more aggressive when I walked through crowds, otherwise I would have gotten far behind the rest of my group. I could sense my idea of the “pushing practice” changing. With hundreds of people at a subway station, the flow of people would be so much slower if everyone stopped to let others in front of them and worried about bumping into each other. With the Chinese mindset, an empty subway can be filled in less than 10 seconds. Of course, aggressiveness is sometimes counterproductive like when people push onto a subway car before they let the other people off.

We conquered the Great Wall!

The Sights

Of course a big part of our trip to Beijing was seeing the sights. My favorite day by far was the Great Wall. Mao Zedong is quoted as saying that you are not a real man until you climb the Great Wall. We were all happy to become real men. We left early in the morning to get to the Great Wall and were driven by one of David’s friends Mr. Li. Right away, we knew Mr. Li was awesome when he stood up to a lazy guard at our hotel in heroic style. We all cheered. He also possessed the great Chinese ability to be a really aggressive and yet a miraculously safe driver. He and another driver drove us a few hours out to a less crowded stretch of the Great Wall. The weather was nice and cool and relatively clear. We climbed around for a good three or four hours, taking pictures and taking it in. Of course, it was beautiful. I had to keep reminding myself how much history was in each step we were climbing. It was fun to look out and try to imagine how far the wall stretches, compared to the little part that we walked along. We were all glad that we weren’t messengers who had to run along the stations of the wall.

Sadly, our program director David lost his famous cowboy hat to the wind. We all grieved over the fact that our leader would no longer have his signature hat, especially since it helped us find him in big crowds. After we climbed the Wall, some of us decided to take a zip line down across a body of water in the valley right by the Wall. It was a quick ride, but a great view. Also, a little less walking on our poor feet!

Chicken dinner!

After the Wall we had a “late lunch” in a nearby village. Since the village was so close to the Chinese border, it also had an ancient wall for protection. This kept the village closed in and those who lived there had to park their cars in an outside parking lot and then walk through the narrow streets. We were able to walk on top of the wall and peek in on the courtyards and gardens of the homes. It really opened our eyes to a new, more rural side of China. We had dinner in the courtyard of one of the homes. It was a delicious late lunch (at 6:00pm) and we filled up on meat, fresh veggies, rice, and mantou (steamed buns). We even got to see killing and preparation of the two chickens in our dinner. We drove home and slept very well that night.

Imbibing knowledge from David

Treasures of China

Other highlights of the trip include the historical parts of Beijing. Our first night in China we went to Tiananmen Square and saw the front of the Forbidden City all lit up. We were also able to see the Temple of Heaven, a very beautiful and huge complex built during the Ming Dynasty. We were also able to visit the Capital Museum, which housed hundreds of artifacts of Chinese culture and history. My favorite part of the museum was an exhibit called the Treasure Room that had examples of Chinese treasures such as calligraphy, painting, jade, carved ivory, and religious statues.


Tourist pose in front of the Temple of Heaven

One of the biggest attractions in Beijing is the Forbidden City. This is the huge complex in the middle of the city where the emperors of China lived. We walked through some of the city and got an idea for just how huge the palace was. There are huge courtyards and ornately decorated buildings throughout. As we could see, the emperor was well protected and well taken care of. Before the trip, we watched a movie that showed the life of the last emperor of China (called The Last Emperor) and I reverted back to scenes in the movie to try to imagine the Forbidden City without the crowds: just one emperor and hundreds of people devoted to him.

Forbidden City

Mmmm…yummy

The last highlight of our Beijing trip was the food. We had some great meals, including some new foods. My favorite meal was mushroom hot pot at a restaurant specializing in lots of varieties of mushrooms. The basis of hot pot is that it is a big soup that is cooked in front of you, and things are added right at your table. Our hot pot had a chicken, five different kinds of mushroom, green vegetables, and lastly, lamb slices. The broth was delicious, and I loved the mushrooms even though I’ve never liked them very much before. We also tried some Peking duck on one of our last nights. Beijing is famous for this dish. You can eat these slices of duck with a special sauce, some cucumber and onion, and then package it up in a paper-thin bread wrap. I’m glad to still be trying lots of new Chinese foods. Still, since we’re a group of American students we often talk about and share our food cravings. We all miss cheese terribly as well as sandwiches and pasta. One night in Beijing, we went to a restaurant called Cat’s Eye Pizza where we enjoyed some very authentic Western food. We were almost glad the restaurant wasn’t in Hangzhou because it would be too tempting to go there everyday!

Going Home

We wrapped up our Beijing trip with a trip to a few Buddhist and Confucian temples and dinner at our hotel. Our way from Hangzhou to Beijing and back was an overnight train. Thankfully, we got sleeper cars both times and had a pretty relaxing ride. I had a strange experience on the way back since I had the bottom bunk and mostly one Chinese family as neighbors. As I groggily woke up on the train, I realized that the whole family of six was sitting around me, one on my bed, and they were all watching me. The Chinese sometimes stare at us with a look that seems very close to amazement. It’s a look that is usually too fascinated and innocent to seem rude. This is the look that I was getting as I tried to wake up. They ended up being a very nice family who quickly sent their daughter to get me hot water when I started to try to make coffee. They also shared their food with me, and I taught them some origami when they looked curiously at the origami we had made the night before. It was fun to try out some of my Chinese with them and get to know their names and where they lived.

The rest of the trip home we filled with talking, snacks, Yahtzee, coloring, and relaxing. It was a good time to think about the trip that was wrapping up. We got to see so much while we were in Beijing. For me it was the kind of week filled with experiences that helped me keep some perspective of my time in China. I realized that there are so many facets in Chinese culture and people yet to be discovered. Since I live in an international dorm, it’s sometimes easy for me to see the Chinese as a big clumped-together group. It’s humbling for me to admit that I group the people of China together so much. I think there’s a barrier created by language, outer appearances, and those cultural differences that I don’t quite understand or put my finger to quite yet. Also, I’m dealing with a lot of changes and I think I instinctively simplify my concept of the Chinese people together to give my brain some rest. But I want to get to know more families like the one on the train and break down the barrier some more. I want to talk to some more people who have all different perspectives of China and life in general. Obviously the richness of culture is not in sameness but diversity, and I have to reach out to see more of that diversity. It will take some work.

We start classes again this week and will continue climbing the great wall of the Chinese language. My week in Beijing was a good, tiring, and full one. I am very lucky to see everything that I did and have this amazing Chinese experience!