Call of the World

Adieu Asia (for now)

2009-10-05T16:52:00.006+08:00

Half a year ago, I was just starting to settle into my internship at the Embassy in Beijing and excitedly rediscovering China and exploring a new city. The following months, were filled with new encounters and experiences, passed quickly and I became quite at home in Beijing. Now, after two weeks in Seoul, my time in China already seems rather far away again. Considering I set foot in the city for the first time two weeks ago, I already feel rather familiar with it.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen much of Korea beyond Seoul, but that's just a reason to come back again!

For now, it's time to pack my suitcase. Tomorrow, I am taking the bus back to Incheon airport, from where I am flying to Zurich, via Munich. Cross-continental traveling is nothing new for me, and I am more curious about the second lap of my flight. I have a ticket for a flight on Air Augsburg, an airline of which no one seems to have heard before. I am hoping that they will nevertheless get me to Zurich safely, from where I'll be in the hands of the Swiss train and bus system before reaching what will be my final destination for the time being in Lucerne.

But before I start all this traveling, I want to conclude here with a few words and pictures from my last couple of days in Korea. Since both my activities and photography have reduced towards the end, it shouldn't take too long (though I'm sure I can stretch it out...).

First, here's the picture from the dinner on Saturday evening that I mentioned previously.

On Sunday morning, I woke up to an apartment once more full of people. A bit later, I got to enjoy a belated and reduced Chu-seok breakfast, as the parents had brought back a few of the specialties prepared and eaten at the grandparents' house.

I spent the rest of the morning at the apartment, as Su Yeon was busy doing some school work.
At noon, I finally went outside for a quick run in the neighbourhood. Afterwards, we ate a small (especially I, since I felt as if I had just had breakfast) before Su Yeon, her mother, and I drove to a nearby shopping center.

Su Yeon and I walked around the huge underground complex while her mother did some grocery shopping. When we went back to meet her mother at the store (which was in the basement of a big department store), we used the opportunity to try some of the samples that were available at the various stands in front. Since we shared an interest in such free tastes, we even went back into the main store. In exchange for my guides' introductions of Korean foods, I also tried to explain some of the available western foods that were unfamiliar to them.

Eventually, we left the store and drove home again. In the evening, Su Yeon's aunt, uncle, and cousin arrived for dinner. Although I was unavoidably rather isolated from much of the conversation, I was very glad to enjoy such a family evening. As they had done before, my hosts expressed a slight worry about how I felt about really seeing all facets of their life, but for me the chance to truly be a part of the everyday routine of a local household was one of the best parts of my stay here in Korea.

This morning, I started my last day in Korea with another neighbourhood run. When I came back, I found that the rest of the family (except for Su Yeon, who had already left for university) had also not had breakfast yet, since the father had another day off from work today. So I got to enjoy another family breakfast before making a last trip into the city to walk through some of my favourite streets and areas again. Unfortunately, I couldn't buy much to take home in my already full suitcase. I did purchase a couple of things (including some boxes of Swiss cookies found in another department store basement grocery center) to leave with the family as a small gift in appreciation of their great hospitality these last two weeks.

Along the way, I stopped at an eatery to enjoy a roll of gimbap, which is the Korean version of sushi (as in the version I had in my breakfast box last week). Apparently, I was already partially out of tourist mode, since I didn't think to take a picture until I was more or less done with the meal. But it was probably more exciting to eat than look at anyway...

A bit later, I bought a small fish for dessert. And while I have by now eaten fish in all kinds of versions and situations, this one didn't involve any actual ocean product and was instead a tasty little cake filled with some red beans (which I have now learned to quite like in some contexts). I did take a picture of this, after first walking away a few steps before thinking of turning back to do so.''

Eventually, I took a last subway ride in an appropriately full train back to the apartment. In the evening, I joined Su Yeon and her parents to walk back to the area in which we had already eaten dinner two days ago. This time, we went to a restaurant serving ra men noodles. As usual, the table had a big burner at the center, on top of which the waitress placed a large pot of broth. Into this, various ingredients were added, including a couple of squares of the curly dried noodles I was until now only familiar with in their instant noodle pot form.

(I realise that many of these meal pictures look quite similar, as it's hard to distinguish the different contents of the pots)

Once again, it was a tasty meal and took yet another Korean favourite off my list of foods to try. Of course, there are still plenty of things to try, and I hope I'll get the chance to do so sometime in the future.

At the moment, I am once again sitting on the sofa in the living room, where the other family members are working and/or watching televisison. Once I finish this entry, however, I should busy myself with my luggage. Even though I've kept my suitcase more or less packed the whole time, I do want to try to assemble the contents a bit more effectively. I also need to redistribute between suitcase, backpack, and bag in the hopes of somehow getting all of my baggage throug the weight restrictions.

So I am going to end this writing and hope I can also quickly add the few remaining pictures. I'm not sure how I'll be using this site in the coming months. Although living in Switzerland is also quite a new adventure for me, I don't know that it will provide as much interesting content as the last few months (assuming these were in fact interesting) and I will probably not be adding to it regularly. Nevertheless, I will keep the journal here, ready for when the world calls again!

Chu-seok Cheer

2009-10-03T19:46:00.008+08:00

Now that Su Yeon has some time away from the university (and her family is out of the city), we've been enjoying some rather leisurely days.

Yesterday, we set off around noon to Daehangno, which is a theater and university area in the northern area of Seoul. We first walked a bit up a steep hill in the attempt to find some public art displays Su Yeon knew about, but we eventually gave up the search. Instead, we went into a simple eatery to try a small snack.

I was interested in trying the Korean "sausage," so we asked for one serving of this to share. In this dish, the traditional intestines are stuffed with a noodle filling instead of the more common meat. I wondered what gave the sausage its dark colour, and since Su Yeon also didn't know, she asked the woman who served it to us. Their conversation resulted in the claim that I might not want to eat it if I knew, but of course I wouldn't settle for that answer. Not to my complete surprise, they then confirmed that pig's blood is used in the preparation.

While not necessarily my first choice of food, the knowledge wasn't enough to deter me from eating (and not just because I wasn't going to be the delicate foreign eater). Still, we didn't end up finishing the plate, which was quite big for a single serving. I was also comparing the food and service we received for the small price of this one dish. For about the price of two bottles of water, we had the sausage, small dishes of kimchee and pickled radish, some broth for both of us, and unlimited drinking water. And in Switzerland, one couldn't even get one glass to drink for the same amount!

I would show you a picture of the sausage and meal here, but unfortunately I for once left my camera at the apartment yesterday. I did take a picture with Su Yeon's camera, but so far we haven't downloaded it from there.

After eating, we walked around the neighbourhood for a while. After a while, we went into a coffee shop with the plan to get something to drink. When we saw the selection of gelato, however, we decided to try some of that as the second course of our lunch. I thoroughly enjoyed some of the darkest chocolate ice cream I've ever seen. The only problem was that when we finally moved on, the temperature had cooled down quite a bit and some wind was blowing, leaving me wishing I had chosen the hot chocolate instead!

Nevertheless, we made the bus ride into the city to a bookstore, where Su Yeon was looking for a book she needs. I was quite impressed by the size of the shop, which is supposedly the biggest one in Korea. So it was even more unbelievable that they didn't have the one book we had come there for!

Thus, we returned home with the day's plans partially complete. Su Yeon had to go out again in the evening to give her tutoring lesson. I wanted to walk around the neighbourhood a little and used the need to buy some milk for breakfast as an excuse to explore the local supermarket. It was fun walking through the shelves and seeing the different available products. I bought some freshly prepared dumplings outside the supermarket entrance and spent the rest of the night in the apartment. On my look through the hundreds of available TV challenges, I even found the end of a movie in German!

This morning, I got up quite late but started the day slightly more actively by going for another neighbourhood jog. Later, we left the apartment at around noon again, this time headed for Namsangol Folk Village. Today is the main day of the Chu-Seok holiday, and Su Yeon knew that this "museum village" in Seoul's center was hosting performances and displays of various traditions. Although we at first thought that there might not be too many people since most people go home for the day, we soon saw that there were plenty of people who were celebrating the holiday with a visit to this site.

Along with hundreds of others, we wondered through the square and courtyards of the recreated village viewing the various displays and activities.

Swinging

Standing see-saw

Metal-hoops

Kite-making

Corn-popping

Rice candy pounding

The traditional altar table (the holiday is used to honour one's ancestors)

Like the girl practicing her hoop-guiding above, many of the visitors (especially the young girls) were dressed in traditional costumes.

There was also the possibility to get dressed up in the traditional dress, as this couple did.

After looking all around, we bought some of the traditional rice cakes and found a place to sit down for a moment.

Sitting at the edge of a small pond, it was almost possible to ignore the fact that we were in the middle of a crowd. This picture quite effectively hides the dozens of people that were sitting immediately beside or behind us!

Once we had enough of the crowds, we left the village and walked north to the small stream I had already passed a couple of times earlier in the week. For the first time, we walked down the stairs to actually walk along its banks for a while. It's a nice spot, but not especially exciting. Although we first thought we should have come at night instead, when it is apparently quite a popular destination, I soon realised that trying to walk in the midst of the crowds on the small paths and adjusting the pace to other's speed might not have been all that great either.

After climbing back to street level, we wandered around a few more streets before once again finding an entrance to the green line and taking the subway back to the apartment. Along the way, we passed this old belfry tower.

We spent some time sitting in the apartment, but in the evening we went outside again. Looking through one of my brochures on Seoul earlier, we had seen that I have tried quite a few of the mentioned Korean food specialties. One that was still missing from my list was dakgalbi, which is a dish of marinated chicken, rice cakes and other vegetable cooked, like so many Korean meals, in a big pot at the center of the table. Since we didn't know if we'd have another chance, we decided to use tonight to try this specialty.

It was more or less the first time that we left the apartment in the evening since I came here, and after walking through a few deserted residential roads I was surprised to find myself in quite a busy street full of restaurants, bars, and other entertainment venues.

The dakgalbi turned out to be quite tasty, although in the end we both thought we would have liked to find more vegetables in place of some of the meat inside the pot. It was the spiciest dish I've had in the past two weeks. Though it was not too much so, I did feel some of the heat, unlike some of the other dishes that I was initially warned against.

(I took a picture of the dinner, but since I just downloaded my camera before leaving and don't want to take it out again, I will try to post it with the next entry.)

We left the restaurant quite full to walk back to the apartment. The evening air has gotten quite chilly, and it was nice to come inside. We also just received the message that the rest of the family is on their way home, so by about midnight the apartment is going to be full again.

Around the City

2009-10-01T16:17:00.005+08:00

The past two of days haven't been especially adventurous, but I did get to a couple of neighbourhoods I hadn't seen yet. Although I'm not getting far from Seoul during my stay in Korea, I am at least getting a quite thorough view of this city and think I will have experienced most of the significant areas by the time I leave.

Yesterday's new destination of the day was Yeouido Island, which I've seen described as Seoul's Manhattan. It's a significant commercial center and also houses the Korean Parliament. When I arrived there, however, I found that, while built up with many buildings, it is not quite a match to similar areas in Shanghai and other cities.

There is quite a nice park along the river on the northern side of the island.

At the end of the island, I reached the Parliament building, which proved to be quite as unexciting as I expected.

Walking around the island required crossing some wide roads tha cut across it and connect the two sides of the river.

There are some pretty wide roads cutting across the small island.

I didn't get as close to Building 63, which is the tallest building in Korea.

Even though I was tired, I had a couple of subway rides ahead of me before I could rest like these two men I walked by in a little park.

Today, I met Su Yeon after her last class before the long weekend. We ate lunch together at a restaurant close to her university. She chose a restaurant which serves a form of kimchee stew, which is cooked in a big pot at the center of the table.

Afterwards, we walked through the campus of the university.

Yonsei University is one of the best and most famous universities in Korea.

Korean Ivy League

From the back gate of the university, we took a bus to continue our program. Once there, we walked through a small park dedicated to memorialising Korea's independence.

Independence Gate

Independence Hall

Through this park, we reached the entrance of Seodamun Prison, which was built by the Japanese when they invaded Korea in the early 20th century. It was used to house Korean independence activists, who were treated badly and often tortured in the attempt to break their resistance. In today's the bright sunshine and peaceful calm, it was difficult to imagine the horrors that took place there not too long ago.

We were both quite tired, so we came back after the prison tour to rest instead of attempting any further city exploration. The apartment is relatively empty, since the rest of the family has left for the grandparent's house to celebrate the holidays.

North, South, and In-Between

2009-09-29T19:51:00.009+08:00

It's been a rather tiring day and I've been wanting to go to bed for a while now. But I wanted to first add a short update first. Considering my energy-level and mental-awakeness, however, it is mostly a picture overview. This a rather incomplete entry on what was an interesting day in a thought-provoking area, but that's all I am capable of at the moment. Besides, it's hard to fully comprehend the complexities and challenges of the situation anyway. But here, for now, is an abbreviated attempt.

My friend ended up being asleep in the morning afterall, but I still got up on time to catch the first subway of the day to get to the United Service Organization (USO) office in Seoul by 6:30, half an hour before the required arrival time. Along the way, I was eagerly waiting to open the box I was carrying along, which I found to have the following tasty content:

A lengthy check-in process, misty bus ride, and an initial restroom/souvenir break later, I and the other hundred people on the De-Militarized Zone tour reached our first destination of the day: Camp Bonifast just to the south of the DMZ.

As we entered the presentation room, we each collected the pass that would allow us to enter into the zone a bit later.

Two different buses took us into Pamjunmon, where the two sides meet within meters of each other. Photography was prohibited along the way, but once we arrived there were opportunities to record the unusual location. Though of course also only within the clear boundaries set out for us.

From our assigned position, we took in the view across the border towards North Korea.

The replacements arrive for the photography front lines.

And we took their place inside the Conference Building, which is located on the border and has doors into both North and South Korea.

Here, only a row of microphones divides the two sides.

On the borderline

The next stop took us to an observation tower, from which the Republic of Korea observes the border zone.
Unfortunately, the morning haze hadn't lifted and there wasn't much to see.

Although not yet noon, the next program point brought us to eat lunch, which was a satisfying meal but not necessarily the highlight of the trip (but I didn't expect it to be).

With our stomachs full, we drove to the next, and most active, portion of the tour. The buses took us to the site of the third of a total of four North Korean built tunnels that have so far been found leading towards South Korea. A steep access channel brought us to the main tunnel 73 meters underground. After a walk along some of its length, we then had to make the steep climb back to the top again. At least the air underground was significantly cooler than outside, where it had gotten quite warm by this point.

Once again, there was no photography allowed within the tunnel, but I did take a picture in the small exhibition hall to honor the Swiss presence in the zone. Along with Swedish colleagues, representatives from Switzerland handle claims of armistice violations and similar issues.

By this time, the haze had lifted somewhat, and the surprisingly flexible organisers let us know that we would return to the Observation Tower for a slightly clearer view.

Picture-taking here was limited to the area behind a yellow photo line.

It was indeed possible to see some of the DMZ and some of the North Korean area directly across the border, but my attempts to capture the panorama from behind the line was rather ineffective...

That was the last stop of the day, and a final bus ride took us back to the bustling center of Seoul. When I went into a small shop to buy something to quell my thirst, I thought it would be fitting to rehydrate from the day's activities with some DMZ water!

Walking around the surrounding area to balance out the mostly seated morning before riding the subway home, I passed below Namsan Mountain, which I was looking down from a day ago. The view would have probably been better at this time.

A few subway rides later, I was back "home" again.

Here, it is now time to go to bed!

Monday Movement

2009-09-28T18:09:00.009+08:00

I quite literally began the new week with a running start. After a week long break, I also left the apartment when my friend set off for university for a short jog in the neighbourhood. I didn't have any ambitious goals but wanted to at least make sure my legs wouldn't completely forget what they're supposed to do before I get into a more regular routine again.

The neighbourhood track

The neighbourhood is actually quite suitable for running, since a nice lap of sidewalk around a few blocks is "paved" with the same springy material which covers athletic tracks. I did draw some curious looks along the way. This area of the city is not a place most foreigners ever have a reason to visit and I have yet to see a non-Asian on my walks to and from the subway. So people tend to wonder about my presence anyway, and seeing me in my sweaty running state must have been an even more unaccustomed sight in the neighbourhood.

Back at the apartment, I showered quickly and when I was ready I could sit down to the breakfast my kind host had kept ready. While she worried and apologised for the fact that I had to eat alone, I was as usual almost uncomfortable at being served like this, especially when I was eating later than all the rest of the family. But I think I will not convince her that she doesn't have to prepare the food for me and will instead just enjoy the tasty local food I'm getting to experience this way.

Continuing the day with an active theme, I decided to make a trip to Namsan Mountain, which is located at the center of Seoul. There is a cable car, as well as a bus route, to the peak, but I passed by this easier option and tackled the stairs instead. After all, Namsam "Mountain's" 26t2 meters aren't an overwhelming challenging. Though that is not to say that there were still plenty of steps to reach the top!

Starting out

Climbing along

Almost made it, looking down at the approach

Slightly before the top, there was a small "picture island" platform over the panorama of Seoul. Unfortunately, the weather was quite overcast, so that it wasn't possible to fully enjoy the extensive view. Nevertheless, it was still a nice spot to watch over the seemingly endless expanse of city around the backdrop of the surrounding mountains.

A few more steps later, I finally reached the peak. I didn't buy a ticket to take the elevator to the viewing level on the N'Seoul tower and instead satisfied myself with the platform around its base.

The view was nice but once again limited by the weather conditions. However, the peak provided some other interesting sights. Most notably, much of the fencing around the platform was completely covered by locks and chains with messages left by countless previous visitors to the spot.

There was also some flying scultpure art.

After thoroughly taking in the scene, it was time to start the descent. While the climb up had been more tiring, the way down, as usual, also presented its discomforts in the steep paths and countless steps.

I did find a distraction along the way in a small exercise area (which can be spotted all around the city). Along with body twisting apparatus and strength bars, there were also a couple of machines designed to massage the back and waist.

Further distraction came along the way in the form of some wildlife.

Another gym further down the hillside, this one more fully equipped and in use by several elderly exercisers

Once at the bottom, I didn't have much of a plan except to continue walking. To do so required getting across some roads. As with many other aspects of life in this city, such crossings are quite neatly organised, with separate markings for the pedestrians as well as the cyclists from both sides (though I can't say I have seen these strictly observed in actual practice).

Later, I passed over the Cheonggye Stream. This is a canal-like waterway through the center of Seoul, located several meters below street level and recently redesigned to welcome people to wander along its banks.

However, I stayed on the street above and kept walking to the Dongdaemun Gate, which is Seoul's historic "Great East Gate."

After a bit more walking around and looking at the various street stands and small stalls in the area, I once again made the subway trip back to the south side of the Han River to the Songpa neighbourhood.

Tonight should be an earlier for me than some of the previous ones, since tomorrow will bring an early wake up. My friend has already agreed to wake me up at around 5am, until which time she is planning to stay away studying for an upcoming exam! A breakfast box is supposedly already waiting for me in the refriderator, although I once again emphasised that I could organise my own food. I actually bought some snacks this afternoon in preparation, though I did make sure not to select anything perishable...

Local Leisure

2009-09-27T17:52:00.005+08:00

After a week of touristy traveling, I've now enjoyed a weekend sharing more weekend activities. On Saturday morning my friend and I enjoyed a lazy morning at home before taking the subway into a university neighbourhood in the west of the city. We walked around for a few minutes looking at the streets full of shops, restaurants, and clubs before meeting two of her friends. Together, we went to a Japanese restaurant to share some fried meat and sushi.

Following lunch, we walked to a cafe my friend had been at before. We had to wait for half an hour before being awarded with a table in the small establishment. Instead of its name, the sign over the door simply spelled out "Chocolate Cake." Accordingly, we ended up with a chocolate-full dessert. The three girls ordered the whole range of hot chocolate. While my "normal" cup was already deliciously choclately, my friend's "advanced" version, was more or less simply molten chocolate served in a small expresso cup. The third girl had the same strong version, though in her case poured over a scoop of ice cream. Together we also shared a small cup of warm chocolate cake, and all together I think all of us were quite satisfied with our chocolate consumption for the day!

My friend and I wandered around a fun crafts market in the neighbourhood until it was time to get back on the subway. While on our way back, her parents sent the message that they would pick us up at the subway stop to drive to dinner at a restaurant. So, though only a few hours after our chocolate feast, we still enjoyed a tasty meal of grilled meat and cold noodles. After that, there was not much left to do but watch Korean TV, read, and eventually go to sleep.

This morning, we had an earlier morning and the whole family and I were on our way before nine o'clock. We drove to the city of Incheon, which lies on the coast west of Seoul. Among other things, it is home to the port and airport serving the Korean capital. We headed to Songdo, which seems to be a huge development zone. As far as I understand, my friend's father works for an engineering/architecture company which is quite involved in the area and he spent some time driving around and pointing out the different projects.

Nearing completion

Building a city

After a while, we stopped at a newly built residential complex to look at the apartment into which the family will move early next year. I never object to seeing a new floorplan! Although the rooms are relatively small, I was quite surprised at the amount of closet space and the well-equipped kitchen.

Residential park

Apartment View

Neighbourhood under Construction

With the apartment inspection complete, it was time to eat. Before setting off in the morning, we had eaten a small half-meal of some different rice "breads" but for the first full meal of the day we drove to a small restaurant. Everyone automatically received the same pot of broth filled with rice, bean sprouts, seasoning, and an egg. Of course, the table also already had the standard range of accompaniments. While not an extraordinary meal, I was really happy to be in the simple place, where I would definitely never have gotten by myself.

Breakfast Spread

Our meal complete, we got back in the car to drive to the site of the Incheon International Fair and Festival. Among other things, the grounds included pavilions featuring different construction and technology companies, tents displaying various technology, a street with stands and foods from a range of countries, and a small amusement park.

Fair Grounds

We started out at the presentation of the father's company, which featured a small 3D cinema experience "flying" over the development zone. We skipped a half hour high-tech animation presentation after realising it was targeted for young children but spent time walking around some of the other exhibits. The final highlight for me, however, was our final stop at the "Teddy Bear Museum," where the stuffed bears were dressed and arranged in all kinds of scenes...!

The Imperial Korean Bears

Alone in the Crowds

2009-09-25T19:11:00.006+08:00

Another day in Seoul is coming to an end. As well as visiting a couple of new places, I also enjoyed wandering around some areas I've been to earlier in the week in my own time this afternoon.

Like yesterday, my first destination this morning was one of Seoul's palaces. Changdeok Palace can generally only be visited as part of a guided tour, so I made sure I got there for the first English tour of the day at 11:30. By the time I started, I was far from the only one waiting at the gate. So besides the cloudy weather (unlike the sunny light and blue skies on the previous days), picture-taking also required careful maneuvering around the crowds that could potentially obscure the view. Staying at the front of the group helped to some extent.

Our guide (who's English was much better and more understandable than the one yesterday) led us through the historic palace in her traditional hanbok dress.

A look back at the following crowd

The remaining Korean royal family lived in the palace until 1989, in this more simply decorated section of the complex.

It is also empty now, as there are no direct descendants of the dynasty left.

Changdeok Palace is especially known for the "Secret Garden" in the rear of the main buildings. This includes a small pond and collection of buildings in a shady forested park. The following pair of pictures demonstrates the changed scene after the arrival of our touring crowd.

Perhaps these stairs replaced the gym for the palace-bound royals?

The palace also boasts a couple of powerful gates.

This gate, carved out of a single piece of stone, supposedly prevents aging.

And walking through the passage at the back of this picture (with a lagging group member posing at the center) promises promotion to genius-ship within about ten minutes!

At the end of the tour, I set off southwards. My walk took me through some more simple commercial streets, which for once definitely reminded me of China. I passed sections seemingly specialising in gardening machinery, paint, tiles, bathroom fixtures, and lights, among many other useful wares.

As my colleagues had told me, there are not many places in Seoul where it is not possible to buy anything. Even these stairs to the subway presented a large assortment.

A while later, I reached my next destination by the City Hall. I had gotten on the subway just a block away from this center yesterday. Since my host then told me that there is currently a market featuring food from all over Korea at this location, I thought that that was a good reason to make an actual visit. It turned out to be a good decision. While I had expected stalls offering various snacks or small dishes, I instead found vendors offering differing local food products. This included multiple stands presenting a variety of kimchee and other pickles.

All of these products would have been interesting enough to look at, but to my happiness several of them could also be sampled. So I used the chance to expand my kimchee horizons and try a few other foods as well. This exciting discovery quite eclipsed the "Changing of the Guards" ceremony that was taking place in front of the gate of yet another palace right beside the city square. Besides, I think I've fulfilled my palatial quota for a while.

Once I had taken in all the sights the market offered, I walked on again, this time towards the Namdaemun Market I had already seen on Tuesday. While I had been glad for my explaining guide then, today I also enjoyed wandering around at my own pace. In the process, I got quite disoriented in the various alleys and certainly passed at least one spot twice, but I eventually made it out of the market lanes and into Myeongdong, where we were also on Tuesday. I didn't stop at the closest subway station and instead decided to walk a bit further above ground. I was I did so when I stumbled (by this time, after a few hours of walking, the term is not completely inaccurate...) by the entrance to a market alley. Seeing piles of dried fish and various other offerings, I knew I couldn't pass by without exploring a bit.

Eventually, I did reach my targeted subway station and thought it was probably time to descend undergound and finish my day of exploration.

Evening commute on the subway

Back at the apartment, I just saw Su Yeon as she was headed out. She was going back to her last class of the day after spending a good hour resting at home. Last night, she didn't end up getting to sleep until the early hours of the morning, so I think she didn't mind having a bit of a break. Hopefully we'll get to spend some more time together on the coming weekend.

Palace and Palates

2009-09-24T19:52:00.006+08:00

As on the previous days, most of the family had gone off to work or school by the time I got up this morning. I do feel a bit embarrassed sleeping later but also don't see the need to get up before eight o'clock these days. At least my friend's mother was up and of course had breakfast ready for me. After cereal the past two days (and even small pancakes yesterday), today she apparently decided I was ready for a more local breakfast. So I appropriately started into another day of Korean explorations with rice, broth, kimchee, and a few other bowls with the various small dishes that accompany any meal. Though not my normal breakfast, I was actually really happy to be sharing this typical version instead of being provided with an exceptional alternative. As is, I still feel strange having meals more or less waiting for me when I get up and, often, when I come home in the evening.

Once I had eaten and gotten ready, I set off (convincing my host that I did not need her to drive me to the subway station, as she often does the other family members) for further tourism. The destination for the morning was Gyeongbok Palace, which is one of five historical palaces in the city. I knew I would miss the English tour scheduled for 9:30, so I was happy to find out there would be one at 11:00 (luckily I was standing by the entrance just as they were announcing it). After the hour long tour, I spent some time wandering around the grounds by myself and enjoying a few moments sitting on a bench in the quiet areas at the back of the palace.

Main entrance

The king was there to greet us...

Our guide

At one o'clock, I met Su Yeon in front of the palace, as she had an afternoon free between her morning and evening classes and we could thus spend some time together. We walked around a series of rather steep hills, where there are many of the traditional Korean hanok buildings. For some reason, the neighbourhood, aside from some of the Asian archtiecture, felt like it wouldn't be too out of place in Switzerland. It wasn't the first time I felt that way over the past few days, and sometimes I almost feel closer to Europe than to China.

Steep alleys...

...and stairs

Looking down from the top

Once the hilly walking had encouraged our appetite, we stepped into a small restaurant for lunch. We followed the waitress's recommendation to order a plate of large mandu (Korean dumplings) and a bowl of homemade noodles in shell soup. Once again, these two main dishes were accompanied by several other small plates and bowls, and the table seemed quite full even before the large soup bowl was placed on it.

We started to digest the tasty meal on a walk up and down the street before finding a seat inside a small and simple teashop, which Su Yeon knew to be quite famous though she had also never been there herself (in fact, this was only her second time in the neighbourhood). Although our stomachs were still quite full, we still ordered a bowl of red bean "soup" and roasted rice drink (which was sweet and cold). Though I was not a big fan of red beans in the past, I've grown to like in certain contexts and I quite enjoyed this famous brew, though it was rather sweet and thick for so soon after our lunch.

Any remaining hunger now definitely satisfied, we walked back down the hill with Su Yeon heading back towards university. I decided that a bit more walking couldn't hurt me and continued towards the Insadong street, where tradition and tourism seem to blend in the countless stores and stalls specialising in Korean handicrafts and tastes. I wasn't sure whether I should have been happy or sad about the fact that I was too full to think about trying any of the products at the various stands, since there were plenty of interesting options on offer to tempt me. As it was, I satisfied myself by looking, including watching the demonstration by a man making a batch of "king's beard." To make this traditional candy, he pulled a hard piece of honey (frequently dusted in corn starch) into over a thousand threads, which are then rolled into a small nut-filled bundle.

Of course, there were also some options I could pass quite easily...

A long subway ride later, I once again returned to the apartment. I shared another meal with my friend's mother while the rest of the family was out and am now expecting my friend to arrive home from her last class soon. She got out of class a bit after nine o'clock and still had the subway ride ahead of her before getting home for the night. Considering she left the house while I was still lying sleepily in bed and will probably have homework to finish when she arrives, I am finding hard not to feel somewhat lazy these days... At least I've now updated another day's worth of Seoul exploring and will hopefully also be more successful with picture uploading today.

Change of Scenes

2009-09-23T22:19:00.014+08:00

As sad as I was to leave Beijing two days ago, I haven’t had much of a chance to think or be unhappy about the departure. The immediate start of my visit in Seoul and travels in Korea have kept me quite busy. So, instead of the announced final update on China, I am continuing with an account of my first two days in Korea. Thanks to uncensored Korean internet, I can even add pictures! There are plenty of them in this post which I hope can begin to make up for the image-less entries the past months.

After a rather rushed last few hours (including a half hour wait at the bank before finally being told that they could not change RMB to Korean won there) and an uneventful, though rather delayed, flight, I finally arrived in Seoul. At my friend’s apartment, I was greeted by the whole family, of which the mother still seems the same, the brother is quite incomparable to the eight year old I last saw and the father I met more or less for the first time.

Since my friend was as usual busy with university the whole day, her mother kindly led me around several areas of the city yesterday (Tuesday). We started at the Namdaemun Market, which consists of a neighbourhood of alleys filled with stalls and shops selling everything from fresh fish and prepared dishes to jewelry and hats to toiletries and kitchenware. My guide was helpful in explaining some of the different food wares, which I found quite the most interesting part of the market. The explanations, as well as the day as a whole, also proved to be a good language practice for both of us. Since her English is quite limited and I am happy when I remember how to say hello and thank you in Korean, we communicate with each other in Chinese.

Fish and other food from the sea

Famous fish stew

Kimchee, anyone?

Ready to Eat (though the models on display are mostly plastic)

We also made a brief stop into the National Bank of Korea to look at its small museum and then made our way through a few streets of a somewhat more modern shopping and entertainment area to the Myeongdong Cathedral on top of a small hill. Being used to China’s Buddhism (or complete secularism), I find it quite strange to see manifestations of Christianity here in Korea. Although Myengdong Cathedral’s gothic brick construction is different from most European versions, I had to remind myself that this stands in eastern Asia (especially also once I was standing inside of it).

Home of the Won

Seoul Street Scene

Myeongul Cathedral

After this visit, it was time to eat lunch. My guide’s first suggestion was an outlet of an apparently westernized chain of burger restaurants, but I convinced her that I was quite eager to enjoy some more local food and even don’t mind some spiciness. Based on this discussion, she led me into an eatery where both of us got a large bowl of ox-bone soup, which was accompanied by the standard bowl of white rice and selection of kimchee (the Korean national dish, which consists of cabbage, turnips, or other vegetables pickled in spicy chili sauce), which at this restaurant was stored in large metal canisters set into the table top.

With this tasty fortification in our stomachs, we headed back to the subway towards home. But we went one station further to make a final visit of the day. The Bongeunsa Temple is in the midsts of a business district and directly opposite Seoul’s large convention centre, but within its boundaries the compound feels surprisingly calm. The temple is still in quite active use and the many individuals who were actively studying sutras, meditating, or praying distinguished it from some of the more museum-like temples I have seen in the past.

Main building

Korea's largest Buddha

Old before New

A final bus ride took us back to the neighbourhood, and by the time we reached the apartment I was quite ready for a break. Though it didn’t seem like an especially exhausting program, somehow the new sights and travels through the city still left me quite tired. My friend arrived home sometime in the evening, but after a quick dinner (prepared, as usual, by her mother), she received an acquainted high school girl, whom she then tutored for about three hours. She does this twice a week, all in preparation for the girl’s upcoming university entrance exam.

Today, I left my host in peace for the day and went out when my friend when she left for university in the morning (which, unlike yesterday, wasn’t until after 9 today). We went a few subway stops together until I had to change to another line. A third line and a bus ride later, I arrived at the Korean Folk Village which is more or less Korea’s version of the “Ballenberg” outdoor museum in Switzerland, with many houses and constructions representing the country’s traditional buildings and life performances illustrating the folk customs and skills.

When I arrived I immediately hurried for the scheduled performance of a traditional Korean wedding ceremony. This presentation ended with a procession which cleverly ended right by the marketplace and bazaar area, where I had planned to go anyway, since by then it was already past noon. I decided on the kimchee stew. This main dish was once again accompanied by some white rice and three other small bowls of accompaniments, including one with the plain version of kimchee! I guess I’ll be getting my vegetables in the spicy version the next two weeks!

"I do" in Korean

Lunch: Kimchee with ... kimchee!

With my stomach satisfied, I walked to the performance space to catch the second presentation, which was a horseback-riding show. The riders demonstrated a series of tricks on the moving horses, although with a few failed attempts to pick up the dropped scarves. Following their final bows, I finally took some time to more walk around and more leisurely explore the various buildings. I was especially impressed by the Buddhist temple that I found on the side of a hill on the edge of the park. None of the village was crowded at all, but the temple was itself was almost completely abandoned (maybe because it was up a small hill and slightly away from the main paths.

Horseback feats

Architecture Intricacies

Gates:

Simple...

...and ornate

... Temple Peace ...

Farm decorations

Two hours later, I completed the program by watching the other two performances available at the village. First was a traditional dance and music presentation, with men spinning around and swinging the long ribbons attached to their head coverings. The final entertainment came from a man who moved along a rope stretched a couple of meters above the ground. His movements alone were quite impressive, but I apparently missed the humourous part of his performance, since the Korean audience regularly broke out in laughter at his narrative.

Tradition Performed

In flight

Ascent

Balance

By the end of these performances, it was time to find my way back to Seoul. My friend had helped me identify a bus that would avoid the multiple subway changes. Finding this bus was slightly complicated by the fact that the nearest bus stop is apparently being completely rebuilt and did not have any kind of identifying sign. I missed one bus that I saw pass, but I eventually saw other people waiting at the unmarked stop and got on the next bus when it arrived. Contrary to my friend’s worries, I also had no problems changing from the bus to the subway and found the apartment. So I successfully navigated my first day alone in Korea, with nothing but hello, thank you and sign language to help me along the way!

Theme of the day: Kimchee

Vessels...

... and star ingredients!

Being able to use pictures again isn't without its own problems. For some reason, my first attempt failed to load due to an html error and I ended up having to upload each picture at least twice. But I think it should be okay now.

Faring Well

2009-09-17T11:33:00.002+08:00

With my current posting rate, I could almost have ended up on the auspicious 88th entry (which, it has been pointed out to me, is different on my administrator count than the one that shows up on the homepage and thus this might in fact be the 88th post now). As expected the final few days in the city are proving to be quite busy. I don’t actually have to work as much, since I’ve been able to use my remaining two days of vacation time (I’m taking the other eight days to leave China before the official end of my internship) to take my last four afternoons off. The remaining mornings, however, have been quite full, as besides the regular press review I also have various forms and assessments to complete and should also leave the ongoing reports in a state from which my colleague can continue after my departure.

Beyond the office, I’ve spent quite a lot of time eating with various friends and colleagues. After spending most of the past months preparing my own meals, I’m now enjoying a whole series of meals at various restaurants. I’ve had lunch with the colleagues from both the political section (three French-speakers, though they kindly spoke in English most of the time) and the economics section and have another couple of “farewell dinners” to look forward to. And earlier in the week, I had a welcome and good-bye dinner in one, when I finally met the GWU friend who is living in Beijing and whom I randomly saw on an intersection a few weeks ago!

I’m happy to have the chance to have a full final experience of the city’s culinary choices, but at moments it seems almost a bit too much of a good thing! And when I think to myself that it’s only a few more days, I remember that I am then going to Korea, where I am also expecting to taste some of that country’s great food! I’m not complaining at all, but I think by the time I get to Switzerland (for which I have now definitely booked my ticket), I will be quite ready for some basic wholesome foods (and long runs outside…). I might even have to postpone my return to baking for a while to allow my system to rebalance a bit!

But until then, I have plenty of things to keep me busy. Although packing my 20 kilos of luggage won’t take long (the biggest challenge probably being to make sure it is actually only 20 kilos…) there are still other arrangements to make. On the weekend the new roommate should start moving his possessions into the apartment, and on Sunday I will be handing over my bicycle to a Belgian intern I met last week. So, even as I am dissolving my ties to life in this city, the necessary activities are distracting me from the fact that in only a few days I will really be leaving this home of the past half year.

So it seems strange to think that this might be my last posting from here in Beijing. But since I’m, at least officially, at the embassy until tomorrow (Friday), I am not sure whether I’ll have another chance to add another entry before my departure. If not, I will make sure to add a final update from either Korea or Switzerland, at the latest. After all, there are some benefits to leaving China, one of which is the full access to the internet without authoritative interference!

Music Mix

2009-09-14T16:44:00.000+08:00

Considering the ending of my last post, I should probably reassure you that, despite the lack of recent updates, I have not been off on last-minute a honeymoon! Instead, I have been trying (to varying degrees of success) to make the most of the days I have left in Beijing.

On Friday evening, for example, this took me to a Mongolian throat-singing concert. I was expecting a rather folkloric performance, but that didn’t quite turn out to be somewhat mistaken. The featured band, Hanggai, combines elements of rock music and traditional Mongolian singing with a surprisingly good result, considering the significant difference between the two genres. With this unique blend of styles, Hanggai has recently enjoyed growing success, including performances in various European venues. Although the coffee shop that hosted the concert on Friday seemed quite small (and empty) at first, it quickly filled up and by the time the band started tuning their electronic guitars and Mongolian banjos there was quite a crowd. The songs they played, all with Mongolian lyrics, varied in speed and intensity, but most of them featured a rhythm strongly reminiscent of galloping horses.

Besides the obvious mixture of two musical styles, it was also interesting to notice similarities to even further genres. I am far from an expert (or even decently literate) on the subject, but at times the music reminded me quite a bit of American bluegrass that I have heard in the past. Especially since I couldn’t understand any of the words, many of the songs did start to sound a bit similar to each other, and by the end of the concert I was quite content and satisfied with this dose of Mongolian-rock. The atmosphere in the space certainly contributed to the experience, and listening to the music on CD probably wouldn’t be the same. I don’t think I would seek out a similar concert regularly, but I definitely did enjoy the experience of hearing something quite different from anything played by any other band.

If you’re interested, I think you can hear and see a sample of Hanggai’s style here: http://www.hanggai.co.uk/

Airy Cycling

2009-09-09T17:27:00.001+08:00

On my bicycle outing this weekend, a certain bump in the road left me fearing that I had just punctured my tire. Although the glance back reassured me that no such damage was done, this visual inspection prompted me to think about the status of my tire pressure. For some reason, the idea that I might need to replenish some of the air hadn’t crossed my mind until then. Once I thought about it, however, I did see that the tires were looking rather flat and that pedaling around was somehow more laborious than I seemed to remember from earlier in the summer. It was at least a partial relief to find that this was probably due to the weakened quality of my tires rather muscles.

As usual in such situations, I couldn’t see any of the otherwise common bicycle support stands (after I passed one I noticed a bit away from the road, sure that I would soon come across another. On my one trip out of doors on Sunday evening, however, I finally found a stall equipped with a pump. After making a sufficiently awkward attempt to use this device (which was just a long tube apparently attached to some air mechanism rather than a traditional pump like I was familiar with- though I doubt I would have been much better at using such a one), one of the attendants even helped me accomplish the task. Riding away, the change was quite noticeable, and the 2 mao (0.2 yuan, or about 3 cents) it cost was certainly a wisely spent investment!

The newly pumped tires are not the only improvement to my recent bike riding, as the autumn-y crisp morning air has also encouraged me to approach my daily commute with much more enthusiasm. While before I was often glad to just stay in motion, I am now rediscovering the joy of energetic pedaling and speedy progress. I know I will miss this convenient form of transportation. Though I think I will be able to live without the people, cars, and buses which inevitably disrupt the path- most irritating of which I find the pedestrians who choose to walk (at a determinedly leisurely pace) in the bicycle line next to several yards of completely unobstructed sidewalk.

On a completely different note, if you are planning on getting married but don’t know when, you should hurry and complete the process today (assuming you are reading this within a few hours of my writing, with the advantage of time zones if you are in the western hemisphere). Since in Chinese the number nine is phonetically identical to the word “long time”, today’s date of 09-09-09 is especially auspicious for entering into a lifelong union in a century. This opportunity won’t occur again for a century! Even if you don’t currently have any matrimonial intentions, maybe it is possible to take advantage of the rare occasion for other long-term commitments…

In other numerological news, today’s entry here also happens to be the 88th installment. Eight is generally considered by Chinese culture to be the luckiest number and is often carefully considered and incorporated when planning important events, so for example the Beijing Olympics last year, the opening ceremony for which was held on August 8th, 2008. For a while, I thought I might end up using the 88th post as my final entry from Beijing, but now there are still some days left after all. As fitting as it might have been, I am glad that I don’t place too much importance on such symbolism and will continue to add some final updates, even if it means ending on a more mundane figure.

In other numerological news, today’s entry here also happens to be the 88th installment. Eight is generally considered by Chinese culture to be the luckiest number and is often carefully considered and incorporated when planning important events, so for example the Beijing Olympics last year, the opening ceremony for which was held on August 8th, 2008. For a while, I thought I might end up using the 88th post as my final entry from Beijing, but now there are still some days left after all. I am glad that I don’t place too much importance on such symbolism, as fitting as it might have been, and will resign myself to a more mundane figure in order to continue this journal to the end of my stay here!

Getting Serious

2009-09-08T16:18:00.000+08:00

As much as I am trying to ignore it, it’s getting increasing difficult to avoid facing the reality that my remaining days in China are quite numbered now. Over the weekend, I posted an advertisement to find a replacement for my room. After several “interviews” and quite intense discussions with my roommates about their expectations and wishes in a new co-resident, I am now waiting to receive a deposit from the guy who committed to taking it last night. With this definite step taken, I also went on to take the next one this morning and booked my flight to Seoul, where I am going to visit my friend from Shanghai. The booking process was efficient and this afternoon I could already receive my ticket from (and hand over the cash to) the agency’s deliveryman.

Considering these unavoidable signs of my approaching departure, I had wanted to make full use of this past weekend. These plans, however, ended up being impeded by more (though equally uncontrollable) reasons than the damp and dreary (and much cooled down) weather. Saturday started out well enough, and I even repeated my bike-journey to the market I cycled to a couple of weekends ago, this time starting out early enough to reach it before closing time. As I noticed the crowds of people, bikes, and cars around the area, I questioned the wisdom of going there on a weekend afternoon but decided to continue on, as I was already there.

I walked into the closest building, which I found to be several stories tall, each filled with uncountable vendors arranged in a veritable maze of stalls. Perhaps most impressive was the one floor (which, like all the others, was of quite a sizeable area- I would compare it to the size of a soccer field, though I am bad at such estimations) that was filled almost exclusively with merchants selling jeans! At first, I just spent some time going up the escalators to all the different floors, feeling quite overwhelmed by the mass of merchandise and crowds of people. Besides, I knew that I didn’t even have to consider trying to find a pair of jeans (or some other more tailored clothing) which I could wear.

Eventually, however, I caught the consumerism in the air, aided also by the awareness that I won’t soon find similarly cheap goods (even without bartering) anywhere. Although there was no chance of trying on the tops (and I don’t think any dressing rooms in the entire building), I figured that, at the price, it was a worthy risk to buy a couple. The time passed quickly and soon the market was getting ready to close, by which time I was also quite ready to leave again. I only looked at a fraction of the available stands in the building, which was only one of several similar ones in the neighbourhood!

Unfortunately, consumerism wasn’t the only thing that caught up with me in the market. At first I attributed the discomfort I was feeling to shopping exhaustion, perhaps combined with a need for water or food. Back at the apartment, I didn’t feel any improvement, but decided not to change anything in the plan to go eat with my roommates (partially intended as something of an early goodbye dinner!). It was a rare occasion that I couldn’t manage to feel excited about trying some new food. I also didn’t end up eating any, since I just waited until after we (actually they, since I didn’t care much about the choices) ordered before deciding I would feel much happier back in my room.

Although I wasn’t overly ill, it was enough to give me a restless night and left me rather unrested the next morning. Tiredness, combined with the continued discomfort, overruled any previous ideas of undertakings worthy of my last days in Beijing. At least the weather played along, since the drizzly rain and windy cold made it quite an ideal day to stay inside. It’s just that I am sure I will have plenty of opportunities for such lazy days in the coming months and only a limited amount of time for other activities here in Beijing! But sometimes such developments are simply beyond control, and after all it could have been a lot worse.

By now, I am feeling much better again (though still not especially eager to leave so soon) and the weather is also looking more promising again. Yesterday it felt quite like autumn already, and as usual I am enjoying the beginning of this season. Somewhat twistedly, I am also happy about the knowledge that even colder days are not too far away now, since thinking of the icy months ahead will help limit some of the regret at leaving the city. Until that moment, though, I’ll try to enjoy the next two weeks as much as possible!

Damp Disruptions

2009-09-04T16:27:00.000+08:00

As if in response to my praise of cycling yesterday, this morning effectively reminded me of the drawbacks of this form of transportation. I saw puddles on the ground when I woke up, but it seemed to be dry for the moment. When I left the building, however, I found that it was raining quite a bit after all. Although I donned my bike-cape and the downpour even let up for part of the ride, the watery combination streaming down from above and splashing from puddles below was enough to leave me quite damp when I finally arrived at the embassy. My shoes were especially soaked and took a long time to dry, and I was glad that I had my backpack with me for the planned trip to the gym after work. After walking around in my socks (which was surprisingly comfortable and made the office seem rather “homey”) for a while I just put on my running shoes for the rest of the day!

The wet weather is predicted to last through the next few days, which will rather dampen (quite literally) my plans to take full advantage of one of my last weekends in the city. I do still want to take on some new destinations, but I guess it definitely won’t be a good chance to make use of my newly fixed camera!

Wheels of Change

2009-09-03T17:24:00.000+08:00

An article in today’s China Daily newspaper quoted a recent survey which revealed that less than a quarter of Beijing’s residents now use a bicycle as their primary mode of transportation. Less than ten years ago, in the year 2000, the number was still at 40% (and I assume it was even higher before then). Of course that still leaves plenty of bikes on the streets, but they are no longer as dominant as in previous decades. And, according to another recent statistic, about a third of the two-wheelers in use now are of the electric variety.

While I have plenty of first-hand experience of some of the problems associated with cycling, I still think that it is the best transportation option in many cases. The ministry responsible for the latest study (which is admittedly biased, considering their desire to encourage the use of bicycles) even calculated that it is statistically the fastest mode to get from one point to another in today.

Nevertheless, there are still more and more people turning to private cars (besides the large-scale public transportation system of buses and subways). While I can definitely appreciate the comforts of a confined and climate-controlled vehicle, driving in Beijing also can’t always be comfortable. And it seems that learning to drive is even more frustrating. A few days ago, I observed a young woman who was apparently taking one of her first lessons in the embassy neighbourhood.

While there is almost no traffic on these quiet streets, it didn’t take long for two impatient taxis behind her to start non-stop honking and attempt distracting maneuvers to try to pass her at her admittedly frustratingly slow pace. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to venture into the real chaos of Beijing traffic. But I imagine it doesn’t take too long to get used to it. After all, a few months ago the idea of biking in this city seemed quite intimidating to me. Now I’ve caught myself a couple of times crossing certain roads while local cyclers are still waiting on the other side…

Shortening Days

2009-09-01T16:49:00.000+08:00

The days keep passing by, and now there are only three weeks left on my Chinese visa. After that, it will be the end of my internship at the embassy and my time in China (at least for now). While I am still in the midst of living and working here, one of my two suitcases (and thus almost half of my worldly possessions, apart from those I’ve deposited with my parents) has already started it’s journey to Switzerland.

One of the Swiss colleagues from the visa section is returning to Switzerland at the end of the month. In contrast to the 20 kilos plus carry on baggage I will be allowed on my flight, he has an entire shipping container to transport his household. I called him on Saturday and he kindly agreed to take on one suitcase for me. I had found out on Friday that the packing staff was coming to his house on Monday, so I spent a while on Saturday collecting, sorting, and packing the items I can live without for the next couple of months (but don’t want to abandon here when I leave).

The 12 RMB taxi ride to bring the suitcase to him on Sunday morning was definitely worth the savings in shipping costs! Now I will probably just have to take a trip to Basel once the container arrives in Switzerland sometime in November. And hope that it doesn’t get too cold before then, as I packed my warmest (and heaviest) winter coat!

Besides my dwindling time in Beijing, the days themselves are also shortening. As night already falls earlier and earlier in the evening, the temperatures have also finally begun falling quite noticeably. A couple of nights ago I actually woke up feeling quite chilly and actually put on some socks (though still with shorts and a tshirt) before going back to sleep. Last night I also closed the window more or less for the first time, since I’ve kept it open day and night for the whole summer. The beginning autumn season is considered by many to be one of the best for Beijing and I’ve enjoyed some of the beautiful weather lately.

Already, however, there are some hints of the ways in which winter’s cold can be quite as unpleasant as the summer heat in this city. For example standing under the apartment shower, which has only one on and off tap and sprays a stream in unpredictable temperatures ranging from icy cold to burning hot (I’ve experienced it mostly on the cooler side, though one roommate once only got unbearably hot water). While cold water is not a problem in the summer, my showers on recent mornings have reminded me that, although I will be sad to leave China, I can also be glad that I will be spending the winter in well insulated and reliably plumbed Switzerland!

Accomplished

2009-08-28T17:30:00.001+08:00

Although my afternoon off yesterday was certainly not the most exciting, at least I succeeded in my main mission for the day. The quite comfortably warm weather made the bike ride into the center quite comfortable and I didn’t have any problems finding the described location. Once inside the mentioned building, I realized that the advice had been good, since the place seemed to be a major Canon camera repair center. When it was my turn, I handed over my camera and the staff told me they would check whether they could fix it immediately or not.

As I waited for an update, I began to fear that they wouldn’t be able to handle my rather outdated (in digital age) camera. A few cellphone Tetris levels (a rather inferior alternative to reading the book I wished I’d brought along) and a growling stomach (I left the office at lunchtime and decided to see what progress I could make with my camera before eating) later, however, I was happy to be reunited with my camera, including a fully functioning shutter mechanism. Now I am hoping for a nice weekend so that I can catch up on taking some pictures, since I haven’t been taking any in quite a while.

Holiday: Traditions and Trade

2009-08-27T12:29:00.000+08:00

Just a bit more than half a year after the original, the Chinese yesterday celebrated their own version of Valentine’s Day. The QiXi Festival originates in an ancient tale of two lovers and falls onto the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. I read about the occasion in the newspaper and other media over the past few days but failed to remember the holiday from our earlier stay in China. Talks with several Chinese individuals seem to confirm that, although the holiday itself dates to many centuries ago, the celebration of the day as a Chinese Valentine’s Day is indeed a relatively new development. I am sure that florists and restaurants were quick to embrace the new practices, if they weren’t in fact leading actors in reviving the tradition in the first place.

Today, I am now taking my own personal mini-holiday. Before I started working earlier this year, I didn’t know how I would experience the concept of working through the year without the regular breaks I was used to from the previous decade and a half of school. But now, five months later, I find that the weeks, interrupted only be weekends and a few official holidays, have passed surprisingly easily. Today, however, I am making use of my remaining holiday time to take the afternoon off. This first (half)holiday, however, is for a quite pitifully unexciting occasion. Rather than visiting an impressive site or attending a memorable event, I am going on a (hopefully) practical mission which may or may not be successful: an attempt to get my camera fixed.

The thin plastic shutter over the lens, which is supposed to open and close automatically, has recently gotten somehow unhinged. Although the problem seems minute in one way, it’s also crucial, since taking completely black pictures isn’t especially exciting! On the weekend, I biked to a Canon store, only to find that it specialized in the company’s printers. The salesman directed me to another location which should be able to help me, but this is unfortunately only open during the week. So, since I still have all my holiday time available and do want to make sure my camera gets back into functional condition, I am taking a break from the embassy for the afternoon in the hopes of being rewarded with the ability to record my remaining time in Beijing in pictures as well as words.

Okay, that’s all for today. I should leave the embassy before I end up spending half of my time off in the office! I will already by coming back again in the evening, as the minister is hosting a reception for the Swiss business community to welcome our new boss.

All that Glitters is not Clean

2009-08-26T17:24:00.000+08:00

Over the last week or so, I came across two or three teams apparently working on some form of a street beautification project. With the large number of cars on the road, as well as the general smog and pollution, anything that is exposed to the Beijing air for any period of time gradually takes on more and more of a dusty gray coat. Some authority seems to have decided to work against this process, at least in its effect on the metal poles and frames holding up road signs. But instead of washing these structures, as I would have expected, the workers I passed were busy spraying silver spray over the dirt that was obscuring the original colour of the material!

It is true that water shortage is a serious problem for Beijing, but somehow the extensive use of chemicals emitting all kinds of fumes doesn’t seem much better to me, especially since the activity only focused on a specific set of posts. Even with their new colouring, these didn’t stand out from the rest of the structures, and in any case they will soon look like all the others again. Having only observed this project in passing on my bike, I may have missed an effective aspect of the activity, but from what I did see I wasn’t too convinced about its value!

Week-ended

2009-08-24T17:56:00.000+08:00

Already it is Monday again and another weekend has passed by. It was quite a good one as well, though I didn’t undertake any major adventures. The weekend began well on Friday evening with the intern event I mentioned on Friday. Cycling to the Dutch embassy, I was momentarily confused by the herd of miniature cows decorating the front lawn, as I associated them more with Switzerland than the Netherlands. However, I quickly realized that the dominant orange colouring indicated that I was in the right place after all and followed some others into a very beautiful and modern residence.

Besides a few Chinese interns from a couple of UN bodies, the event was quite dominated by western-European representations. I met several Danish “neighbours” (whose embassy is right next to ours), talked to a few Germans, and even encountered a fellow Swiss (who’s working at the UK embassy). Almost all the embassies appear to have multiple interns and I only heard from one other person who is alone at an embassy. While being the sole intern definitely has advantages and I probably have a more varied set of tasks than many of the others, having some peers at the same embassy would also have its benefits. So I am glad I at least had the chance to meet some fellows from other embassies.

Saturday brought some of the best weather we’ve enjoyed in quite a while. It was comfortable enough outside for me to feel eager to go on an extensive bike ride, which hasn’t held much appeal in the recent hot weeks. I settled on a large market on the west of the city as an approximate goal to give my ride some direction. This is supposedly the wholesale source where the vendors at the more famous markets in the city get much of their merchandise. By the time I crossed the city and reached the place, however, I found that the market had actually closed an hour before I got there. So it was lucky that, in traditional travelers’ fashion, my destination was secondary to the journey. Since I also wasn’t really in the mood for crowded halls and tiring bargaining, I really wasn’t disappointed and instead just got back on the saddle for the return journey.

Passing Days

2009-08-21T17:17:00.001+08:00

One advantage of my new office is that my Chinese colleagues go home quite punctually at the end of their working day, unlike most of the Swiss coworkers. In the old office I was generally the first one to leave, even though I often stayed past my official working hours. Since it’s Friday, most of the Chinese staff have left even earlier than during the rest of the week. Today, however, I am not following them as soon and am still at the embassy (along with many of Swiss colleagues). I don’t have any urgent work to complete but am waiting since I am staying in the area for the evening anyway. An active intern from the Dutch Embassy has organized an event to bring together some of the many interns working at various embassies in the city. It sounds like he received a good response to his emailed invitation, and I am quite excited to meet some fellow interns. Besides, it should be fun to visit another ambassadorial residence (thanks to the kind Dutch ambassador).

The next week is also already looking to be quite a full one. The past few weeks I’ve been making many calls to various people, only a few of which actually brought the desired answers. I’ve finally been able to arrange at least a couple of meetings that should help my colleague and I complete a report on the free trade agreement between China and ASEAN. Outside of working hours, there are also some lunch and evening activities on the agenda, so I’m sure the week will pass quickly. Since the current week actually seemed rather longer than usual (not too long, but it somehow didn’t pass as quickly as others have in the past), a bit of excitement and diversion should be quite welcome. Even if it does mean that the waning amount of time I have left in Beijing will go by even faster than it already is!

Independent Cooking

2009-08-19T16:33:00.000+08:00

I’ve gotten into the habit of waiting until just before one in the afternoon to have my lunch. By that time, the embassy kitchen is usually relatively empty, since most of the Chinese colleagues start their break quite punctually at noon (and the Swiss coworkers don’t eat in the kitchen). Nevertheless, there are still people coming and going at various times and are sometimes curious about my lunches. Today, for example, the man who serves as a custodian/cleaner for the embassy wanted to know whether I cook my own food every day. He seemed quite impressed when I said that I at least regularly cook large enough portions to have some every day. He also warned me that I couldn’t keep food in the refrigerator for more than a couple of days (I reassured him that I know, though I regularly eat older food without any consequences).

His reaction was not unique, as most of the other colleagues I see in the kitchen have responded similarly. Part of this may be due to the fact that I am the only non-Chinese staff member who regularly brings her own lunch instead of going out (or buying a sandwich from somewhere). But I think that is not the only reason. Even though most of them also bring a home-cooked meal to eat, almost all of these are cooked by the respective mothers and many of them have little experience with cooking themselves (which was demonstrated during our economic section cooking class, where our Chinese colleague chopped vegetables and stirred a wok for the first time). Pretty much all of the (unmarried) coworkers still live at home, so they have little need to make their own meals. So their surprise at my own cooking is probably connected to the general fact that I, although the youngest, am quite accustomed to living by myself while many of them have probably never been beyond the care of their parents.

Olympic Day

2009-08-17T17:40:00.001+08:00

Saturday

I started the weekend with the usual relaxing/tiring combination of sleeping in and completing my longest run of the week. I’ve found that, up to a certain pace, I can actually run and read (a magazine) at the same time, which makes spending an hour on the treadmill a bit more bearable. Back at the apartment, it was time to take a shower. This was a bit of a challenge today, since my roommate (the short Chinese girl, not the tall Mexican) somehow managed to completely break off the pipe holding up the shower head overnight. There is also a spout close to the wall at about half my height, which I used as (a rather inconvenient) alternative. There is a positive outcome of the accident though, since the landlord now installed a new shower head to replace the broken old one.

For the afternoon, I had another small excursion planned. The destination was determined by my officemate yesterday, when she gave me a spare ticket to the inside of the “Bird’s Nest.”. I cycled by the outside of this famous stadium in the spring and was quite content with leaving my Olympic tourism at that point. But with a free ticket and no other plans for the day, I was interested in seeing a bit more of the place that was a center of the action exactly one year ago. As hard as it is to imagine now, my first visit was motivated by my desire to get out of the chilly apartment and warm up on a spontaneous bike ride. In today’s temperature, I didn’t even consider repeating such an expedition and instead left my bike at the most convenient subway station.

Three subway rides later (after which I have now ridden on all of the existing lines in Beijing), I arrived at the center of the Olympic site. My first across-the-highway view (which I now realize was of the “back,” or less active, side of the construction) had left the impression of a rather deserted venue, but once at the immediate scene I quickly saw that this was far from accurate. It was quite impressive to see the entire site, especially the broad and lengthy expanse of the avenue connecting the major venues, on which I made my way to the Nest’s entrance.

Once inside I saw more or less what I had imagined the inside of a (very) large stadium to look like. Perhaps most impressive to me were the large number of visitors, who filled quite a few seats in the section closest to the entrance. When I eventually sat down for a moment myself, I found the rather small seats surprisingly comfortable. Nevertheless, I’m not sure the experience would have been worth it to me if I had to buy my own ticket. Although I realise that the operators need to finance the upkeep of the huge construction, I think the ticket price (50RMB) is quite high for local conditions. Yet that doesn’t seem to stop a large number of visitors, and the Olympic site has reportedly come to be the most visited Beijing destination for domestic visitors.

I walked a lap around the stadium (although the loop along the first level of the spectator tribunes isn’t as glamourous as the Olympic track, I figured that it’s superior at least in distance) and left the stadium thinking that a swim in the neighbouring Water Cube might be quite nice. Although that’s not as impossible as it might sound, since at least some of the pools have been opened for public (though not free) use, I passed by this second recognizable architectural legacy and instead continued down the Olympic Green Green (which is more concrete than plant) back to the underground coolness of the subway. This was itself a product of the Olympics, since the short line to the venue was built specifically for the occassion. I was glad I made the trip to see the famous venue up close, but after several repetitions of “Beijing huan ying ni” (“Beijing welcomes you”- one of the theme songs of last summer) played over the loudspeakers, I think I have now filled my quota of Olympic reminiscence.

After returning to the apartment, I made a final trip for the day. In the past, I decided that my salary (paid in cash) was probably just as safe at the embassy as in my room. I’m sure that’s still the case, but since I found out we have to pay rent tomorrow, having the money at the office wasn’t very helpful. Once at the embassy and seeing cars in front, I at first thought that a couple of colleagues were working on a Saturday evening, until I realised that they were probably enjoying a more pleasant time at the pool.

I almost regretted not thinking of this option myself but was also quite eager to get back for the night. But, after already setting off on my bicycle again, I decided that, with my swimsuit still hanging in the bathhouse, there was no reason not to take advantage of a quick refreshment. So I turned around and got my swim after all! Going swimming generally seems like quite a project in packing, but in the end a swimsuit is all that’s really necessary (technically, I guess even that is optional, but with the minister and her son and the consul with her family both eating dinner next to the pool, I think it counts as a requirement).

Drier Routines

2009-08-13T15:59:00.001+08:00

Although I don’t have any exciting news or impressive discoveries to report, I did want to add another update as another week is already approaching its end. After the changes at the beginning of the month, the last few days have been rather more routine. On Tuesday, we welcomed our new roommate into the apartment, and so far we’ve managed quite well together (though, after talking for quite a while the first evening, I haven’t also seen much of him). Mornings are getting slightly busier in the apartment, especially compared to the first weeks, when I never saw anyone up before I left. But I still get up early enough to avoid any bathroom conflicts.

At the office, probably the most note-worthy moment, at least for me, was a short phone call on Tuesday. After writing last week that my Chinese was still not sufficient to make calls myself, I was quite proud of myself for completing a complete, if rather short, professional exchange. Although the outcome was just an arrangement for sending a fax to repeat the meeting request I had presented (and I benefited from an immediate translation from the colleague next to me when I met one term I didn’t understand), I was quite happy to realize that my Chinese skills are not completely unsuited to use in a relatively professional context. And that despite the fact that I’ve quite shamefully neglected my limited (but initially quite consistent) independent studying.

A slight change appears to have taken place in terms of the weather. After several muggily humid weeks, the past couple of days appear to indicate a return to the drier heat I experienced earlier in the summer. While still as (and occasionally probably more) hot, I still prefer this. Somehow, the heat seems much more bearable without humidity’s stickiness. Perhaps because sweat mostly evaporates, rather than constantly sticking to the skin! In any case, the drier weather also motivated me to return to the embassy pool yesterday to end a lengthy break from swimming. It just didn’t seem appealing when just walking outside felt quite close to swimming already! And of course the clear blue sky and sparkling sunshine, compared to the previous gray fog/smog also contributed to the improvement.

Expect the Unexpected

2009-08-10T16:12:00.000+08:00

Saturday

I enjoy spending my time around the neighbourhood areas and feel that just pursuing the normal daily errands is a good way of experiencing life here. After all, the locals also don’t spend their weekends visiting Beijing’s famous landmarks. Nevertheless, I do want to also get a view of some other parts of the city and am realising that I have a limited number of weekends left for exploring. I read of a mosque in the southwestern area of Beijing, which is reportedly one of the oldest ones in the region. It is located on “Oxen Street,” which was also described as the center of the city’s Muslim community (which is quite sizeable, though still only a minority among the whole population). I didn’t know how much there was to see in the mosque or on the street, but I was interested in getting a sense of a community which is not generally associated with China and settled upon it as an appealing destination to get me out of my northeastern corner of the city.

After a trip to the gym and waiting in the apartment to meet another potential roommate, therefore, I got on my way. The closest subway station was a few blocks away, and I was glad to walk along the street and take in the setting. There were a few snack stands and restaurants specializing in the cuisine of the northwestern part of China, where Muslims are predominant in many areas, but other than that it was quite like a busy road anywhere else in the city. When I reached the mosque, I first passed the entrance because I was expecting a rather larger structure. The complex also doesn’t look much like the conventional image of a mosque and could quite easily be mistaken for a Buddhist temple with its grey bricks and red-tiled roofs. For supposedly being an important center for a large community, the whole compound seemed rather small, but probably just the fact that it exists is significant.

I wandered through the couple of courtyards and looked at the few memorial structures. There were only a few other visitors and in general it was quieter than almost any place I’ve seen in the past few months! It didn’t take long to look at everything there was to see, and I went back out onto Oxen Street. Walking back towards the subway station, I passed the entrance to the “Muslim Supermarket.” It only took a few steps, however, for me to turn around and go in. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to explore the wares of a new grocery store. Much of the store was quite the same as the other supermarkets I regularly visit, but there were some different items.

Most grocery stores here have a counter of tofu products, among which there is usually a selection of dried and marinated pieces of the bean curd. I buy these quite regularly and actually like to cut them up and mix them into my produce salads. The Muslim supermarket had an especially large assortment of such tofu, especially featuring several kinds that were produced to resemble various meat products. I had already bought a sample of little pieces of traditionally spiced chicken and beef on the way to the mosque but was curious to try these imitations and asked for a small amount of three of them.

As I continued on my way, I tried a small piece of each out of the bag. Although one that is formed like a small sausage didn’t taste especially appealing, the other two seem to be quite tasty, especially the one in the traditional “yu xiang” flavour. Besides the possibility of mock pork, I’m not quite sure why this particular store happened to have such a variety of this kind of tofu. I associate such vegetarian “meats” more with Buddhist cuisine. I have even heard of a Buddhist restaurant which produces a surprisingly realistic vegetarian version of the popular Beijing duck! Since I’m not sure I’ll have the chance to try one of these places, I was happy to find a small representation in this store.

Before getting back underground for the return trip, I made one last stop. Right before the subway entrance there was a woman with the typical bicycle cart of fruit. Unlike the others, however, I didn’t recognise the fruit she was selling. Here, too, I first walked past without stopping, but then I reconsidered and decided I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to try another new food. I guess it was just the day for it today. I really couldn’t identify the small brown and green fruits, but thanks to the internet I now know that I’ve had my first taste of fresh jujube. I’ve read about this fruit and eaten it in dried processed form, but I’m quite sure I never had the fresh product.

When I did finally get back on the subway, I was quite glad for the air-conditioned train. Although it hasn’t been quite as hot as it was a few weeks ago, it was still far from cold and rather humid, as it has been for the past few weeks. So the two hours or so I spent in the neighbourhood were enough to leave me rather sweaty. Especially since, n consideration of restrictions on mosque entrance, I was also wearing jeans instead of the skirts I’ve been wearing most of the time this summer.

Now I am back in the apartment and waiting to find out whom I’ll be sharing it for the next month and a half. Last night, we showed the apartment a Mexican English teacher (his English was good, and it seems like anyone can teach English in China anyway- as long as they look foreign), but he is in fact looking for a completely Chinese-speaking apartment as he wants to improve his own skills. The person we met this morning is quite an unexpected roommate candidate, being a 69-year-old man (German but usually living in Australia) here to learn Chinese! We were curious to at least meet him to see what he was like.

He seemed nice enough, and I think it would be interesting just getting to know him! The girl who wants to share it with a friend is also still interested. She just came by with her sister and another friend (maybe for moral support or negotiation power) to meet us. Now we are waiting for the “old man” (we can’t keep ourselves from referring to him as such, and he must realise his not exactly in our age group…) to call our roommate to let us know whether he wants the room or not. So, unless there is another last-minute request for the room, it looks like we’ll be sharing the room with either someone who could be a grandfather or two job-searching graduates…!

Okay, time to end this lengthy update and figure out how to turn my collection of real and imitated meat pieces into a dinner! I think combining with lots of fresh vegetables can’t go wrong…

Monday Update

“Erstens kommt es anders, und zweitens als man denkt…” This German saying (which translates roughly as “firstly, things turn out differently, secondly, than one expects”) came to mind yesterday. In the morning, the update was that our senior candidate had found another room he preferred. This would have left the room with the double occupants, except that the departing roommate had received another message from Friday evening’s visitor. Apparently, he regretted his move into an all Chinese-speaking residence and wanted to relocate to our apartment after all. We agreed that one guy should be better than two girls (and it should also be better for when I have to find someone to take over my room) so we now finally know who will be moving into the room tomorrow. I wonder whether he’ll last longer with us than in the room he moved in for the weekend…

Changes (continued)

2009-08-07T15:46:00.001+08:00

The changes the past few days have brought are turning out to be mostly positive. Although (in a physical paradox) the top floor is colder than the one below and I’ve been shivering somewhat in the air-conditioning, I am generally happy in my new space. So far, I’ve even been successful in keeping at least some of my conversations with my new office mates in Chinese. It’s encouraging to find that I get relatively far with it and have the chance to use the language throughout the day. Besides, listening to their regular phone conversations (while occasionally distracting) gives additional exposure to the language, and especially to some of the relevant vocabulary. I still can’t quite make Chinese phone calls myself (for example to the Korean embassy, where I even had to be reconnected to someone who spoke Chinese rather than just Korean), but at least I am now next to someone to whom I can pass the phone when the need arises!

At the apartment, I continue to enjoy the tidier space, which has been getting even better. It seems that maybe I was not the only one overwhelmed by the previous condition. When I came back yesterday evening, I knew that our “ayi” should have come in the morning, but I didn’t expect any significant difference. So I was rather surprised to hear my new roommate praise her work when I arrived, especially since she had also been a bit sceptical at first. It seems that the results of our effort encouraged her to continue our project. She tidied up some of the kitchen cabinets we had left as good enough for the time being on the weekend. Since we threw out some of the contents, there was space for to reorganise some of the remaining items. Once we found the relocated pots, plates, and bowls (in space we created by throwing out previous cooks’ abandoned supplies), we were both quite pleased with the contribution. Especially since her previous exertions seemed limited to the basic exteriors.

So I’m quite happy with these developments, both expected and unexpected, but I’m afraid that further changes might not be as welcome. My German roommate is flying back this weekend and thus leaving the room for a new inhabitant. Earlier in the week, she had told us an Italian girl was planning on moving in and wanted to meet us first. However, the next evening we waited for her in vain (though that no longer surprises me) and later found out she changed her mind after all. Earlier today, she (the leaving roommate) let us know that she found another interested girl, but that she wanted to move in together with a friend. My cleaning partner and I are both not too eager for such an arrangement, so we hope that we can find another solution. Discussions continued through the afternoon (I even decided that the situation allowed an occasional exception to my usual avoidance of private email during the day…) and we’ll see what the next day or two brings…

Happy weekend!

Technicality

2009-08-06T17:52:00.001+08:00

Just a short message to satisfy my need for accuracy:

After I had written and uploaded my post yesterday, I realised I had been slightly inaccurate. The dialogue that took place month was in fact the Sino-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), not the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED). A series of SEDs were held under the Bush administration along with a Strategic Dialogue. I realise that it doesn’t sound much different and in any case probably doesn’t make any difference to you. Nevertheless, the terminology is not completely irrelevant, since this most recent S&ED (besides being the first dialogue under the Obama administration) covered a wider range of issues and featured more senior participation than the previous meetings. Although there were few concrete results, the top-level delegation seems to reflect the importance both sides attach to the bilateral relationship.

Okay, that’s enough for today. Hopefully I’ll have a more interesting update next time!

Brief-ly

2009-08-05T17:43:00.002+08:00

In case you think the title implies a change in my wordy writing habits, I have to disappoint you, since that is not the case. Instead, I am only referring to a couple of relatively interesting opportunities I’ve had this week, which took the form of two briefings on the recently concluded Sino-US Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED).

Late Monday afternoon, as I was moving up my belongings and materials to my new desk, the deputy head from the political section told me he had just found out that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs was holding a briefing about their perspective on the SED. Since our newly arrived section head was busy sorting out his air fright, he asked whether I had time to come. Since my only plans were for my regular gym visit, I was happy to go along for the experience. And the MFA seemed a reasonable excuse for a missed workout! We made it through rush-hour traffic in time to join representatives from several other embassies for the briefing. This itself wasn’t anything spectacular (and I would have been surprised if it were), but I did enjoy the chance to go into the MFA building for what was a relatively typical/routine diplomatic occasion.

For yesterday (Tuesday) I had also registered the new head as well as myself for the US Embassy’s version of a post-SED briefing. I didn’t expect any significant updates there either, but it was a good opportunity to get inside the US Embassy, which was just recently moved to a new compound. Access was much more complicated than at the MFA the day before. We had to submit names and passport numbers in advance and then also show our ID at the door (our head doesn’t have his passport at the moment and we were told that even an officially stamped copy would not be enough- luckily he had another ID they accepted). Once inside, electronics (including a USB memory stick I had in my bag) had to be deposited, after which we were directed to the conference room through a maze of doors and corridors, with a couple of staff members standing at every turn!

Again, the briefing itself was not especially exciting (and in any case also not for public discussion). The funniest part of the event actually took place as we were leaving the embassy. The area in front of the entrance was full of all the cars that had brought all the diplomats there. As we walked outside, we saw the boss’ minivan standing ready with doors open and the driver ready to pull out of the others’ way. So we quickly jumped in, he in the front and I in the back. It was only then that we realised that it wasn’t actually his car, just one that looked the same! I’m sure the woman already sitting in the back row was almost as surprised as I was. So we got out again even more quickly than we had climbed in and laughed at our mistake as we turned to find the right car!

Environmental Changes

2009-08-03T16:21:00.000+08:00

As planned, the past couple of days have yielded quite some changes in living and working spaces. After a rather late start to my weekend on Saturday morning, my new roommate and I spent the afternoon clearing out our apartment. We generously discarded most of the things that didn’t belong to a current inhabitant, much of which also had little use left to it. Finding several pieces of aquarium supplies and jars of fish food, we almost feared we would encounter the demised star attraction of this equipment, but we were spared at least that surprise. Nevertheless, we still managed to fill quite a few plastic bags with items no one will miss. In the midst of our project, I also met our landlord. My roommate had called him to check that we didn’t end up throwing away any of his belongings in our cleaning rush, and he showed up a bit later to rummage through the already filled bags. Apparently, he was looking for some kind of television channel receptor he had last seen a few years ago. I’m sure we didn’t come across anything of that nature and think he should probably give up on ever seeing it again!

After he left, we continued with our project until we decided to try to take out some of the bags before the downpour that was in the air started. Though the apartment is still far from being in perfect condition, we did make quite some progress and I feel quite happy with the changes. Besides a large stack of old magazines and newspapers that’s waiting to be picked up and be recycled, remaining projects include de-icing the freezer section of the refrigerator (we’d welcome any advice on removing an inch-thick layer of ice, with taking the whole appliance outside definitely not being an option) and tackling the six-legged inhabitants of our residence (which ironically seem to be even more present after our cleaning session than before). We left that for another day and braved rain and puddles to a celebratory dinner (for once I didn’t feel like too eager to make my own meal). Despite my only stated preference being against seafood, dinner ended up being another hot-potted fish. I guess it’s just unavoidable! It was fine, if rather oily, and a good chance to talk some more with the new roommate. I think we’ve already chatted more than my combined conversations with the other two!

On Sunday, even the weather seemed to reflect the improved conditions, being one of those much-touted blue sky days which make it so much easer to forget about the health-endangering levels of harmful particles inhaled with each breath (although my currently sore throat acts as a reminder that this air is not exactly pure, whether it’s gray or blue). Although I postponed my intentions to see a bit more of Beijing, the time spent grocery-ing, exercising, Bookworm-ing, exercising, laundrying, pre-cooking, and hair-dressering (the results of which I am, as usual, still getting used to) left me feeling quite settled again and hopefully prepared for more exploratory activities next weekend. The day’s biggest development, however, was probably the one that required the smallest amount of effort from me. In the afternoon, my roommate arrived back at the apartment with a man in tow to handle our internet issues.

It only took him a few minutes to fix whatever the problem was with our transmitter and ensure that we can use flawlessly access the wireless network. I almost couldn’t believe it, and now I just wonder why none of the people I asked could point me towards this simple source (my roommate apparently found the man at a computer/internet office in the neighbourhood) for a solution. O would have quite happily paid the full RMB30 myself to pay for such expert-service two months ago! But better late than never, and I am glad to spend the rest of my time in the apartment happily surfing and skyping from the comfort of my own room! In fact, the prospect seems quite overwhelming at first, since I’ve become quite used to my reduced access and adapted to it. So maybe I should be glad that the higher authorities’ control still leaves some restrictions, including the inability to access some sites including facebook and this one you are reading right now.

Now, once I move offices this (Monday) afternoon, I will start into this last third of my internship experience in quite a changed environment. Luckily, so far it seems to be going in a positive direction!

Partner in Anti-Grime?

2009-07-31T16:49:00.000+08:00

One of the aspects that make my current apartment feel especially dirty and unwelcoming is that there is a collection (if that term can be applied to the random assortment) of unclaimed “stuff” cluttering all of the public space. This has to be a result of the revolving succession of inhabitants, many of which probably simply abandoned their rejected goods rather than packing or discarding them when they moved on. This includes piles of old periodicals (older even than the outdated magazines my colleagues pass on to me) in the living room, jars and tubes of varying emptiness in the bathroom, unidentified containers of liquids in the kitchen cabinets, and even a couple of motorcycle helmets next to the refrigerator. While I was happy to find a necessary computer cable in a drawer under the television (which also doesn’t seem to be in complete working order), that seems to be one of the objects that have some potential use.

I thought a few times about clearing out some of all this debris, but besides not quite knowing where to start or what to do with the unwanted things, I also wasn’t sure exactly what still belonged to one of the existing co-inhabitants and didn’t want to annoy them by asking about everything. Though I wondered how the others were apparently so oblivious to the condition, I did my best to ignore (or work around) it myself for the few months I’d be living in it. After the one roommate moved out last weekend, however, I had renewed thoughts about taking action. As the other roommate arrived shortly before me and hasn’t had any time to amass more than what I recognize as hers, I know now that most of the remaining accumulation is truly unclaimed. So I thought that late is better than never, especially since I will still have to live in the apartment for a few more weeks, and made plans to do at least some clearing out this weekend.

When I got back to the apartment yesterday evening, I found that this might turn into a more cooperative project than I had thought. After our German roommate left with a friend for a weekend in Shanghai, our newly moved-in roommate asked me whether there might be some things in the apartment from previous inhabitants. When I told her that this was definitely the case, I was happy to hear that this bothers her as much as it does me and that she agrees that we should make an effort to create a somewhat more comfortable space. Although I was hungry and quite ready to finally make my dinner, I was still glad to look around the rooms and point out all the items we could remove. We even discussed the possibility of no longer paying the “ayi” to clean once a week and instead take this task on ourselves. I would be quite happy with that arrangement as long as I know I won’t be taking over sole “ayi” duty myself. Though her service isn’t a huge cost, she also doesn’t do anything we can’t easily do ourselves. Especially if we invest some of the savings into a new mop and some other cleaning supplies!

Even more than being excited at the prospect of spending the rest of my time in Beijing in a more comfortable and clean environment, I was relieved to find someone who has similar views on the issue. It’s reassuring to know that there are others who think it’s important to take some responsibility for one’s living space. So, although we threatened our departing roommate with hosting a wild party in her room, we now hope to accomplish a rather different weekend project. I wonder whether she’ll notice when she gets back? In any case, it seems a fitting project to celebrate the 1. August Swiss national day with some traditional Swiss cleanliness and organization!

PS
There are other ways in which this change in roommates might be quite a positive development. It seems that she is also interested in having a livable home, and since she is planning on staying for a while and can communicate easily with other Chinese people (such as the landlord), she has both the motivation and skills to achieve some improvements. This includes trying to figure out the internet issue. She is apparently having the same problem with this as I am, so it’s not just my computer after all! I’ve quite given up the idea of having access from my room and by now have adapted to the situation, but maybe that will still change in the coming weeks.

Moving Times

2009-07-28T17:47:00.000+08:00

Our Chinese roommate moved out to fly back to her home of Shenzhen on Saturday morning, after which I spent most of the afternoon waiting for her replacement to arrive. Although I would have been quite surprised if she had showed up at exactly the arranged time of three o’clock, I also didn’t quite expect having to wait until shortly before seven in the evening to let her in! At least I hadn’t made any great plans for the day, so having to wait for her was partly a good excuse to stay in the apartment being lazy! But hopefully it won’t be quite the same when the next room change takes place. That’s not too far away, since the other roommate will already return to Germany in two weeks.

Embassy busy-ness, however, makes up for the reduced weekend activity. My colleague in the economics section started her two weeks’ trip to Japan on Friday, leaving me a to do list of issues to take care of in her absence. The new head of the section isn’t arriving until next week and the outgoing one is kept busy in her promoted role as Minister, as which she is second in the hierarchy right behind the ambassador, who also just left for his vacation. So I’m taking care of much of the correspondence and follow-up on some of the ongoing issues (along with the section’s Chinese assistant).

While it’s a bit challenging to address some issues with which I’ve only been passively (or not at all) familiar until now, I am actually quite enjoying the opportunity to be more actively involved and keeping track of the various activities rather than completing more individual assignments as I tend to do otherwise. Not that there’s anything especially important going on or that I am acting without frequently consulting with the minister, but it does feel different not sitting next to someone to ask at any point. So far I think it’s going quite well, but if you hear about any disasters in Sino-Swiss economic relations, you’ll know whom to blame!

On Friday, I was even completely alone in the office. This week, though, the office mate from the political section returned from her month in Europe, so my personal office experience was of short duration. But the office arrangement will change even further in the coming days, as the embassy completes a drawn out process of office reorganisation (following the completion of a new visa building earlier this spring). Although both my colleague and I will move upstairs, so that the section will all be on the same floor, we won’t be in the same office any more. I’ll be sharing space with two of the Chinese assistants, which I think we’ll be a somewhat different environment (though not necessarily better or worse).

Neighbourhood Watch

2009-07-24T17:15:00.001+08:00

Yesterday evening, some of my neighbours showed themselves from a helpful (and watchful) side that makes up for some of the annoyance I’ve occasionally felt at others. While I was alone in the apartment assembling my dinner salad, the apartment phone connected to the downstairs entrance rang. I went to answer it, though I wasn’t expecting anyone. A woman was on it and asked me whether I had left my bicycle downstairs, and whether it was locked. At first I wasn’t quite sure what she wanted, but thinking back to my arrival a bit earlier I realised that I might have forgotten to put in the lock. That has happened a couple of times, and is not too surprising considering I’m usually juggling several bags of various sizes and weights).

In any case, I said I would come down immediately to see. When I reached the entrance, I saw that the woman and a couple of elderly men were looking at my bike, which was indeed unlocked. I quickly put the lock in place as the woman told me that the two men had spent a while watching the unlocked bicycle until she came by and called me. As far as I understood, they were concerned since even locked bikes get stolen and thus an unlocked one was in still greater danger. I’ve seen the woman sitting outside with her grandson as I come and go, so I wasn’t too surprised she knew the bike belonged to me. I do wonder, however, how she (who lives on the ground floor), knew in which apartment to call me!

It was a small but heartening experience and reminded me to appreciate the kindness of the people in whose community I am living. And I’m starting to think that there might be a bicycle-deity somewhere whom I’ve managed to please somehow. There are many warnings about bicycle thieves, but none of my occasional lapses in vigilance (whether conscious or careless) have had any consequences to prove their activity. While I’m not planning on repeating overly tempting mistakes (such as leaving my camera in the basket while shopping…), I’m also strengthened that in other situations a bit of trust in the goodness and honesty of the majority of the population is not necessarily too naive.

Chart Topper

2009-07-23T16:30:00.001+08:00

Yesterday afternoon, the sky started looking rather ominous, and I decided to quickly shut down my computer and pack together my things before a full rainstorm broke out. Of course, I managed to get out of the building just in time for the start of the downpour, which lasted just about as long as it took me to reach my destination.

While I would have been quite happy keeping my sneakers a bit drier, the sky-washing can’t have hurt the city’s air. In the afternoon, a colleague had sent around the update from the United States embassy here in Beijing. According to their independent measurements, the particle pollution level reached 429 at noon. The Environmental Protection Agency’s chart lists everything above 150 as unhealthy for all population groups and indicates an alert for very unhealthy conditions (suggesting the avoidance of heavy or prolonged exertion) at a level of 200. Anything above 300 isn’t even included on the chart…

Today, there were plans for an after-work grill/barbecue party by the residence pool. At a different time and in a different place, I couldn’t have passed up such an opportunity to bake something sweet to share. Considering the key absence of an oven, besides other smaller obstacles, I settled with chopping up various vegetables and packing them into different plastic containers. I would have to mix them in a borrowed large bowl, since that is also missing from our limited little household (I considered a large metal pot buried in the corner of a cabinet, but concluded that I wanted to avoid showing this rusty and beat-up container if possible).

In the end, however, it was all for nothing anyway. Since the weather threatened another rain storm and did in fact turn out even more dramatic than yesterday (with almost complete darkness outside at four in the afternoon), the event was postponed under general consensus. I guess I’ll be eating a big bowl of salad this evening! That won’t be much of a problem, since I’ve been doing that quite frequently anyway. And I guess it’s better than having a whole batch of uneaten cookies would be, though I could probably have distributed those despite the cancelled party!

The Chinese

2009-07-20T17:14:00.002+08:00

On Saturday I was more successful in visiting the gallery district I gave up on finding a few weekends ago. I ensured I would actually reach my destination (and not be too sweaty by the time I got there) by only cycling to meet a colleague who lives relatively close to me and then taking a taxi with her. We went to the opening for an exhibition of photographs taken by two Swiss photographers (Mathias Braschler and Monika Fischer) in China. They spent several months traveling through most of China’s provinces and taking portraits of a whole range of individuals from various components of society (and being detained three times in the process). Although it may seem a bit ironic to travel across the city to see an exhibition of “The Chinese,” which after all surround me wherever I go, I’m glad I went and enjoyed the impressive pictures.

Part of the exhibition’s success, I think, is exactly the fact that many of the subjects are people one can imagine just seeing on the street and the remarkable photographs highlight them as individuals separated from a simple crowd of faces. It’s impossible to adequately describe pictures, which in this case also successfully used the backgrounds of the subjects’ natural surroundings to support the image. The captions only gave a few words’ description of each individual, but these sometimes told quite significant stories. Perhaps most revealing in this context was the portrait of a man balanced on an external balustrade dozens of floors above ground, with many other high-risers in the background. The caption identified him as a window cleaner as well as former farmer on the same piece of land now holding the sky-scraper…

PS
I just found that you can see at least some of the photographs, though without captions and in a necessarily reduced format, online at: http://www.mathiasbraschler.com/ (under the China section).

Bring Your Own

2009-07-17T17:46:00.001+08:00

I realised after adding my last entry that my unconcerned attitude to Beijing’s chaotic traffic may have left you wondering about my safety. I don’t think, however, that my cycling is especially dangerous. At least not any more than living in this city itself, whatever value that reassurance may have…

In any case, I thought I’d balance any lingering fears with a more light-hearted short comment before I abandon my unrestricted internet access for the weekend. The unintended humour that often results from amateur translations has long been a source of amusement for foreigners in China. In preparation for last year’s Olympics, authorities made significant efforts to correct many of the public mistakes (a program that is subject to some debate, at least among several western advocates and critics), but “Chinglish” is far from eliminated in Beijing.

Inside each locker at the gym, there is a small sign listing several points members should consider in keeping their valuables safe. I see this each time I store my various bags but don’t generally pay any attention to it. Last week, however, I for some reason read through the message, which was when I noticed that one of the sentences clearly asked patrons to please “bring your own locker.” Though not a significant mistake, it nevertheless struck me as humorous as I imagined each member carrying their own cabinet with them! I’m rather glad that that is not quite necessary and that my little “lock” is sufficient to keep my things safely in the provided “locker.”

Now it’s time to leave the office for the weekend and venture outside. At the moment, there even seems to be a break in the rain that’s been falling off and on for a while. The precipitation has brought a significant (and welcome) drop in the temperature. And even the bike ride this morning wasn’t too bad, since this time I actually had my surprisingly effective rain cape to protect me. Unlike on Monday, when I had decided to leave it in my room and then of course looked outside in the afternoon to see heavy rain streaming down…

Just a Matter of Time

2009-07-15T17:20:00.001+08:00

When riding a bicycle along Beijing’s busy roads and crowded bike lanes, it’s probably inevitable to eventually clash wheels with a fellow cyclist. A while ago I already brushed another’s wheel while she was crossing the lane in front of me, and at various other times I had to make an emergency stop to avoid a complete crash (with pedestrians, taxis, and buses as well as other bicycles). This morning, not even such a maneuver was enough when, as I was going along in what I think was a straight path, an old man slightly ahead of me made an unexpected swerve to the right. Fortunately, the collision wasn’t serious (one advantage of the generally leisurely cycling) and both bikes remained upright. I couldn’t help a spontaneously exclaimed “ai!” but my fellow crash-ee only looked at me with a look I couldn’t quite identify as angry, apologetic, or astounded before we both re-saddled and continued on our way.

Despite such occasional minor disruptions, I don’t generally feel afraid cycling around the city. Even navigating the crowded double-lane roundabout on my way home doesn’t seem all that scary. The fact that it is usually crowded with many vehicles doing more honking than driving also means that the danger lies more in getting stuck than in avoiding speeding cars. Neither was much of a problem when I was cycling back last night after the evening rush hour. One of my embassy colleagues coordinated a group dinner (for those who are still here working while many co-workers are off on holiday…) at a pizza restaurant in the area.

The venue proves its claim to offering an American dining experience with the huge size of the pizzas, which support the stereotypical view that everything tends to be bigger. We ordered two of them (admittedly in the largest offered size) for our group of nine and still ended having a half a piece left at the end! The one piece that was quite sufficient for me was tasty, but I still wouldn’t have sought it out myself. I rather use the breaks from supplying and cooking my own meals to explore the many Chinese (and other Asian) food offerings. But sometimes sociability just takes precedence over my own individual preferences.

Adopted

2009-07-13T12:38:00.002+08:00

The weekend passed relatively unadventurously, with most of Saturday and Sunday filled with household-ing, grocery buying, exercising, cooking, and otherwise generally staying in or close to my room. At least I ventured somewhat farther on Friday evening, both in distance and activity.

My Swiss friend whom I met here a while ago (the one with whom I chatted for five hours by the embassy pool one weekend) had already been in Beijing for a year in the past, which she spent living with a Chinese family. We’d talked about (among other things…) the fact that despite being surrounded by millions of Chinese people, it can be quite difficult to find closer contact to them. Knowing of my desire for some more local interactions therefore, she put me in touch with her host mother before flying back to Switzerland last week.

I appreciate that this woman was willing to “adopt” me and was excited to meet her. We arranged to meet (through text messages, which I was writing in Chinese for the first time) Friday evening on the west side of the city. The meeting place turned out to be a large modern shopping and entertainment complex (of which there are countless numbers in Beijing, with new ones opening regularly) that was accessible directly off the metro station. After a couple of phone calls, I found Zhang Yang and we went to eat something together. Since she doesn’t speak any English, it was a good opportunity for me to do my best in Chinese. While our conversation stayed on a relatively basic level with no in depth discussion of any topic, we could at least continue talking on something or other for the entire time we spent together. Her daughter is currently finishing a year of studies in Germany but is returning to Beijing later this month. Although her fluent English will make my efforts in Chinese less crucial, I am still looking forward to meeting her. As far as I understand she’s working on a master’s in international studies or a similar subject, so it should be especially interesting to get to know her.

In contrast to our relatively successful conversation, the meal we ate along with it wasn’t one of my better culinary experiences here (although one of the most “up-scale”). I soon saw that my hopes of a good guided experience in local cuisine were to be rather disappointed when we walked into the modernly furnished eatery supposedly focused on “Taiwanese style Chinese.” I let my new friend make the selections for “a bit to eat while talking.” First was a small bowl of pumpkin soup for each of us, followed by a “block” of sweetly mayonnaise-y mashed potato/potato salad and an arrangement of four rolled up tortilla halves. The final highlight of the meal, however, was the last course, which was in the form of a Taiwanese interpretation of an ice cream sundae. These arrived as mounds of ice cream placed over a base of mashed and cubed fruit (mango in mine). The main attraction, however, was the fact that the bowl was placed in a larger container, out of which streamed large wafts of dry-ice smoke! The dish itself was expectedly sweet, despite the server’s reassurance that it wasn’t especially so. Despite seemingly not eating all that much, the combined creaminess and sweetness of the meal left me feeling almost slightly ill, but after all I hadn’t gone for the food. And now that we’ve met, I’ve been promised an invitation to their home, where I’ll hopefully have the chance to enjoy some more local home-cooked food!

Winds of Change

2009-07-09T12:31:00.001+08:00

Although it started rather violently, considering that my first deliberate act of the day was killing (a mosquito- part of a species I don’t quite include in my love for animals and protection of life), today is promising to be better than the first half of the week. The sun is shining, a gently cool breeze blowing, and even the humidity has dried up. Regardless of my talk about adaptation and adjustment, I guess I am just not quite a hot weather person, and the cooler temperature has done much to lift my energy and mood. It also helps that I slept better last night than the last few days. It was finally bearable to close the windows even without the air-conditioner and the new mosquito incense was also more effective (my victim, as well as a more fortunate companion, only attacked me after the coil burned out sometime towards morning).

The change is welcome, especially since yesterday was definitely not my day. When I stopped at the supermarket after work, I also bought a mosquito-repelling liquid as an additional line in my defense. When I got to the apartment, I soon opened it to apply a first layer to my legs, which are a key target for mosquitoes hiding under my desk. I set the glass bottle on the slightly uneven top of the washing machine in our bathroom, checking for a moment to see that it would stand. It did for the time I was watching it, but within a few seconds it toppled to the floor and promptly broke into pieces, spilling the strong-smelling liquid across the bathroom floor. I did my best to clean up the mess and collect the broken pieces (which fortunately had shattered relatively cleanly, with only a few small splinters) and tried to comfort myself with the fact that at least our bathroom should be mosquito-free for a while now…!

As an unrelated amendment to a comment I made a while ago about cars in Beijing, I wanted to point out that yesterday morning I did in fact see a Smart car parked in the city. During the same bike ride, however, I also noticed a Hummer H2 monstrosity, including crystal-studded trimmings. A Chinese company is actually supposedly taking over ownership of the Hummer company, although I understand there are still some incomplete approvals. Some leaders and commentators aren’t too enthusiastic about the purchase, considering that production of the superlatively inefficient vehicles doesn’t exactly fit into the frequently proclaimed commitment of making China a more environmentally friendly and energy efficient country!

Dreary and Drowsy

2009-07-08T16:38:00.003+08:00

Anyone looking for valuable insight to China (for example in the context of the ongoing conflict and tensions in the Western Xinjiang area, which is indeed quite shocking and leaves various questions about future developments) or exciting accounts of my life in Beijing, today’s paragraphs will be even more disappointing than usual. If, however, you are interested in reading about my reflections on a variety of minor, but sometimes maddening, nuisances, feel free to read the following update from a muggily dreary day in the Chinese capital…

Yesterday, I came close to abandoning my independence of the air-conditioner in my room and turning on the cooling machine. This despite the fact that the weekend rain has brought somewhat cooler (though much more humid- I think I would willingly take a few degrees warmer in exchange for the previous dryness) temperatures to the city. It wasn’t directly to combat the heat that I was tempted, but rather a realization that it would bring several related comforts. I was considering my higher than usual lack of energy, intolerance of noise, and irritability with the activity around me. Of course, these are all related to each other, and I especially thought back to the previous night, which had been far from ideally refreshing.

Most Chinese apartments (with their inhabitants) seem to shut down for the night relatively early, but one neighbouring my room appears to be some sort of late-night gathering place. The sounds of active talking, excited laughter, and background television, along with my roommate’s conversation through the wall behind me, weren’t helping me get to sleep. I took out the airplane earplugs I’ve treasured for such moments, but sadly they’re quite worn out and have apparently absorbed their quota of noise (I’ve tried to replace them, but have been unsuccessful so far- the staff at the supermarket suggested I try a store that supplies swimming equipment, but I’m not sure diving plugs would have the same effect). I then tried closing the window, but, aside from not keeping out the noise effectively, shut out what little refreshing breeze there was. I reopened it again and eventually managed to fall asleep. But I was woken up again in the early dawn, since I also left the curtain open to allow as much air movement as possible.

So cycling back from the embassy later in the day with a slightly headachy feeling (not improved by the usual noise at the gym), I thought that I would give up my self-imposed limitation and turn on the machine in my room. After all, I reasoned, many of the people coping with high temperatures in the past also developed cultures adapted to the climate, for example with the inclusion of a refreshing afternoon siesta, while I should still be productive and active regardless of outside conditions. And while the temperatures itself weren’t keeping me from sleeping, the idea of closing my windows and curtains and enjoying the cooling fan of the air-conditioning (its droning fan acting as an additional insulation to outside noises seemed very appealing.

When I finally got to the apartment though, I almost disappointedly realized that it wasn’t quite as bad as I had been thinking of it, and thus I didn’t feel the need/justification to turn on the air-conditioner as planned. Although it was relatively quiet, multiple mosquito bites reminded me of another potential advantage of closing windows. Although they are covered by a screen, those annoying buzzers always seem to get in somehow anyway. And the version of chemical incense coils I selected last time based on the store staff’s recommendation don’t seem to be effective in keeping them away. I’m planning on buying more of the ones I had bought the first time, which were at least partially effective.

Of course, my noisy neighbours returned just as I was settling down to sleep, looking forward to an unexpectedly quiet evening. In the end, however, the mosquitoes remained the main obstruction to a restful night. I regularly woke up to their buzzing, but they have a frustrating ability to just disappear completely just until I’ve finally settled back into a light sleep…So I’m not feeling much more cheery today. In contrast to my evenings, the days at the embassy have been drowsily quiet, since it’s holiday time and about half of the staff seem to be on holiday. And while I appreciate the quiet, a bit more busy activity in the building is usually a good motivation to be more productive myself. I might have to revisit the air-condition question this evening. After all, I don’t want to allow a stubborn resolution to keep me from sleeping. And using my bicycle as my energy-friendly standard mode of transportation is already one positive contribution to the cities (and the world’s) environment. I did leave the door to my room open this morning (I usually close it when I leave the apartment) in the hopes that the cross-apartment breeze would blow out some of the stale air. I’ll see how that worked when I go back in a little while, and hopefully I’ll soon also refresh my brain and thoughts again!

Unplanned and Unexpected

2009-07-06T09:25:00.002+08:00

Sunday

It’s the end of another hot weekend here in Beijing, and despite the high temperatures I actually made a couple of excursions beyond my usual apartment – market – gym – supermarket routes. Yesterday, I set off on my bike towards the “798” area a bit northeast of the city center, which is a collection of galleries and studios collected in an old factory building. I’d never visited before, but since our noodle-making teacher, who is active as an artist, sent me an invitation to an exhibition in which she would be showing her work, I decided to make the trip. After a lengthy cycle, however, I eventually had to admit to myself that this time I had overestimated my ability to find a destination based on looking at the map back in my room. I first considered asking someone for directions but passed the couple of people that might have helped me without stopping and finally decided to give up on the gallery visit for this weekend and instead simply take the trip as a chance to explore the area a bit. Without a clear destination, I cycled around for a while until I was no longer quite sure exactly which way led most directly to where I came from. But I enjoyed getting a picture of some neighbourhoods I’d only known from the map, seeing everything from modern apartment blocks and landscaped parks to aging alleys and busy street food stalls. Eventually I reached a corner that was familiar to me thanks to my early apartment searching and turned in the direction of home. By the time I was back, I’d spent over two hours on the saddle and was correspondingly sweaty and thirsty, but nevertheless happy with the unexpected afternoon outing!

This afternoon, I undertook another short expedition, though this time by subway. At least a couple of these trains were cooler than anywhere I’ve been this weekend (though another one was uncomfortably sticky and stuffy), and I thought that if I knew a line that was reliable empty enough for me to find a seat, I would consider taking a book and just spending some time going around the line! But today I was just using the subway to get to the Wangfujing pedestrian street, which is a collection of large shopping centers and famous brand stores close to the central Tiananmen Square. I wanted to go back to the big bookstore to buy the next volume of my practice book, since I’ve reached the last chapter of the first one I bought (though I can’t claim to completely know everything in the preceding chapters). After I bought what I was looking for and came back to the entrance, I (along with many other customers) was quite shocked to see the heavy rain falling outside.

I was only a couple of entrances away from the center connected to the underground station, but there was enough water coming down to drench me within those few meters. I didn’t care too much about getting wet, but I wasn’t sure how my simple shoes would survive the soaking. Somewhere else, I would have quite seriously considered just taking them off for the short distance, but I wasn’t quite prepared to do so on one of China’s busiest shopping streets. Not only because I’d rather avoid running over whatever may be covering the ground, but also considering the dozens of people standing around all the entrances. There are times when I already get stared at enough to make me look down to check I didn’t forget to get completely dressed. I try to ignore this (along with the shouts of Hellooo?, which leave me varyingly amused and irritated, based on my mood and the tone in which it is said), but wasn’t eager to encourage even more. So I stood around with everyone else, until the rain lessened somewhat and I fought my way through the crowd standing in the entrance. By the time I reached the other doorway, the rain had already stopped almost completely, though large puddles still remained.

Now back in my room, I found that though the rain came in through my open windows, it wasn’t enough to bring much of the cooling effect that made it quite comfortable outside. And it also hasn’t dampened the construction work going on in the apartment next door, though I am hoping that the end of the working day (whenever that may be, considering it’s already approaching seven o’clock) will take care of that eventually. So I’ll be able to enjoy a quiet end to the weekend, which I hope passed enjoyably for you as well!

Embassy Comforts (and City Discomforts?)

2009-07-03T16:52:00.001+08:00

According to the newspaper this morning, Beijing is currently past the tenth day in a heatwave that has brought higher temperatures than the city has seen in over half a century. It is definitely hot, but at the same time it still feels quite bearable, at least after some adjustment. And there are also some rather pleasant aspects to the warm temperatures, at the moment especially in the form of my new habit of lunchtime swimming. Until now, the thought of getting all wet, changing clothes, and having to get back to work afterwards discouraged me from taking advantage of the pool, but yesterday I finally decided to try it. After all, in this dry and hot weather, it doesn’t take long to dry and don’t even need to bring a towel (which is good, since I’m already loading my bike up with multiple bags most days anyway). Somewhat to my surprise, I’m not even the only one, as several of the female Chinese coworkers also visit the pool over lunch (though we discovered different views on whether it’s best to swim before or after eating). It’s definitely a more refreshing break than staying inside the building the whole time, and a bit of active movement during the day doesn’t hurt either. And after all, I cannot expect my future workplaces to have such convenient pool-access!

Though discomfort is a false description, chosen for the sake of a good contrasting title (after unsuccessfully trying to find a better alternative), a few recent scenes and experiences have reminded me that I am living in a foreign culture with sometimes differing approaches to living among the fellow city-inhabitants. Yesterday, for example, I was on the escalator descending to my basement gym. When I reached the bottom, however, I had to maneuver around a man who had been in front of me, as he had simply remained standing there in discussion with his friend. In the gym itself, I’ve recently squeezed myself into a free corner to do some floor exercises, while a couple of women sat comfortably chatting next to me in the space for such activity. In both cases, the others seemed quite unaware that they might be inconveniencing some one else. But on my way to work one morning this week, I observed a more conscious obstruction, though fortunately only as a spectator.

I had stopped at a red light on the bicycle lane, which is separated from the main road by a planted strip of land. Though officially designated for cyclists, other vehicles are also frequently seen, especially taxis picking up or dropping off passengers. One such taxi approached the intersection and started honking, as the group of waiting bicycles was blocking his way. Most accordingly moved to the sides, but one man right in front of the bike seemed oblivious to the sound, and he in fact moved more to the middle of the lane. After more drawn-out honking, he finally turned around to yell at the driver, revealing that he was in fact quite aware but not about to move out of the way. He shouted at the taxi whether he couldn’t see that it was red, though the taxi driver indicated he wanted to make a legal right turn. The stand-off continued until the lights finally changed, at which time the two exchanged departing shouted comments with each other, which I did not understand (and probably wouldn’t want to record if I did). But I know they weren’t wishing each other a nice day! Though I admit that I frequently get rather irritated (to an extent that varies with my own mood) at the constant and often unnecessary honking, I also don't see how this willful reaction helped address the already difficult traffic situation in any way…

Seeing Stars

2009-07-01T16:45:00.000+08:00

When I woke up some time before one this morning, it took me a few moments to realize it was because my phone was ringing. When I answered it after a couple more moments, I found it was my apartment-mate, who was standing in front of the door without a key. As I understand, she has recently quit her job and now seems to come and go at all times of the day (and night). Last week I heard her apparently cooking at about three in the morning! She’s supposedly starting a master’s program in England in the autumn, but I’m not sure what her plans are until then. Hopefully she’ll just remember to keep her keys with her.

Anyway, before getting back into bed (onto bed would be more accurate, since there’s no need for much covering these days), I stuck my head out of the window to see whether it was cooler outside. It wasn’t really, but I was surprised to see a few stars in the sky. Of course, it was no comparison to the starred sky I saw from the Canadian forest earlier this year, but I didn’t expect to see any at all through the air and light pollution. Maybe there is something to the claim, published again in today’s newspaper, that the air quality in Beijing is better now than it has been the past nine years. Though it has also recently been reported that the American Embassy here in Beijing has started collecting and distributing its own calculations on air quality, which give a rather different picture from the official Chinese analysis.

BJ to TJ and Back...

2009-06-29T10:00:00.007+08:00

...and a long recount of what lay in between!

Saturday

Despite various ideas and plans, I haven’t managed to get myself to do much today. Since coming back from the gym, the heat has kept me from doing anything too active. I’m too stubborn now to turn on the air-conditioner, although I considered it seriously after sweat literally dropped off my face while lying on my bed reading! But for now I’ll stick to drinking more water and eating some cool watermelon. And I am finally braving the additional heat produced by the laptop to at least write out the preannounced update.

The ending of my last entry might have exaggerated the excitement, yesterday was an interesting day nonetheless. The occasion for the unusual excursion was the annual embassy outing. This year, this trip led to Tianjin, the growing harbour city newly connected to Beijing by a high-speed train route. After taking almost an hour to reach the train station on the buses, the trip to Tianjin took only half an hour, with the maximum speed reaching over 300km/h. Tianjin is one of four Chinese cities with an independent status on the provincial level, directly under the central government (the others are Beijing, Shanghai, and Chongqing). It is a growing industrial and commercial center, with various high-level projects and investments.

When we arrived, two other buses were waiting to take us to a new Airbus production plant, which opened less than a year ago and just delivered its first airplane to the Chinese customer airline last week. Although the planes we saw in various stages of completion looked rather small (partially because they were relatively small models), it was still impressive to see the huge assembly hangars. The factory is set to deliver ten more planes this year, and once they reach full production in a couple of years will be producing 48 planes a year!

After this tour, we climbed back into our rather more simple transportation. We’d already had a rather long drive to the Airbus plant, and this next stage proved even more nerve-testing (growing hunger probably added to the general impatience). After entering one highway, our (large) bus suddenly stopped and proceeded to make a U-turn, promptly followed by the second bus behind us. But once we started on the alternate route, the driver apparently realized that the jam that he had turned to avoid was in fact on this second road. So after some heated discussion between the driver and guide, we experienced another U-turn, this time with both buses turning simultaneously parallel (and sometimes only a few centimeters apart) from each other. All under the nose of a police car right beside us. We proceeded on our initial route, which was also not traffic free, and at one point one of the Swiss colleagues got out to stop a van to make room for our bus, which was stuck behind an apparently immobilized truck.

We finally arrived at the restaurant about an hour behind schedule and sufficiently hungry for the “light lunch” that was on the schedule. This was at a restaurant that’s part of a famous Tianjin chain, the original of which is one of the oldest restaurants in China. It’s called “gou bu li,” which means “dog won’t care/eat” and refers to legendary “bao zi” (filled steamed buns/dumplings) served in the restaurant. The source of the name is explained by a variety of stories, one being that the first owner, who was supposedly nicknamed “dog” soon grew so busy serving “bao zi” that he no longer care about other matters. Although we were excited to try these famed buns, they were preceded by some other dishes. Once there were about six large platters of delicious dishes on our table and still no “bao zi,” we started wondering what a “heavy” lunch would have been! But I still managed to try one of both the traditional pork-filled buns as well as one with seafood. They were tasty, although I wouldn’t have identified them as anything greatly different from other “bao zi” I’ve eaten.

Our first afternoon destination was the Tianjin port, which we reached after once more maneuvering the crowded roads. We were welcomed for a tour on a large boat, which we later found out belongs to the government and is used for official VIPs (which explained the luxurious cabin and presence of a conference room). Despite the heat, we sat on the open deck to see the impressive un/loading docks and uncountable stacks of containers, which looked rather like lego blocks. In contrast to the size, the port was surprisingly quiet, explained by a weekly schedule with unequally busy phases as well as the general economic situation and the significant reduction in exports.

Back on the bus, we drove only a few minutes before stopping at an official building, where we listened to an overview of the plans for development and expansion of the port and its surroundings (Tianjin is also the site of a free-trade zone and economic development area). I admittedly missed parts of the short presentation to make a stop to the restroom, but it seems that the city wants to develop a recreational/tourist center along the coast parallel to the economic expansion. So when we got back on the buses, we drove to make an unscheduled stop to one of the components of this plan, in the form of an artificial beach. The scene reminded me of my family’s early holiday on south China’s Hainan Island, where the few bathers were always outnumbered by dozens of Chinese tourists tentatively putting their feet into the water and often getting their pants or dresses wet in the process.*

After a while we got back into our buses (at this point I had realized that I should probably stay away from bus-traveling and the constant getting on and off at various sites this seems to entail) and started back towards the main center of the city. By this time, it was Friday afternoon rush hour, and the highways and other roads were even more crowded than earlier. The port is quite a distance away from the city anyway, and after a while we started to fear that our third program point, which was to be a visit and tour of the historical city center, might have to be sacrificed to leave time for the dinner before our train back to Beijing. Thus I was not too surprised, though somewhat disappointed at not really seeing the actual city, when we finally did stop in front of the restaurant. Here we passed by a whole series of water tanks filled with various ocean creatures to our tables for a seafood dinner (which was good, though I found the somewhat lower-scale lunch tastier).

A bus, train, another bus, and bicycle ride later, I was finally back in my room. Although much of the day was spent seated on buses (and eating), it was surprisingly tiring. Part of this doubtlessly was due to the heat, which accompanied us the whole day, since, in contrast to the train and buses in Beijing, our buses in Tianjin were only limitedly air-conditioned. It was an interesting day and I enjoyed the chance to see the airplane production and port harbor, as well as enjoying some traditional food. Nevertheless, I think that unfortunately my most lasting impression of Tianjin will be the frustrating bus riding and the view of crowded roads and unattractive economic development. The old center supposedly has some nice architectural remains from the colonial era, but so far I’m not too tempted to return anytime soon, despite the easy train connection (which was by far the most efficient experience of the day). There are plenty other places in China I’m much more eager to see.

For today, however, I’ll be glad if I can just get out of the apartment again, at least to go to the neighbourhood store. Maybe tomorrow I’ll even venture back to the pool (the paradox being that it seems too hot to get there…) or complete some other local trips.

(I just realized that my recount of the day has grown even longer than I thought. As I was scrolling up, I was surprised to see that there were in fact two pages before this one, instead of just one…)

*The scene in Hainan must be quite different now, as the island has developed in a major tourist development. Just this week I saw an article in the newspaper about the various world-class five star resorts along the southern coast. Many of these are concentrated in a scenic bay, which must be the one I remember stopping at on our way to the airport and unbelievingly hearing the driver’s explanation of the construction plans for the untouched site we were looking at.

Some Like it Hot…

2009-06-25T09:34:00.001+08:00

Wednesday Evening

…but I am not necessarily one of them (though I have been adapting to it). There have been some hot days over the past few weeks, but today was quite another heat experience. While some recent days were stickily humid and others brought burning sunshine, today was much more comparable to a dry but hot sauna. When I walked out of the embassy in the afternoon, the air seemed comparable to that coming out of a hot open oven! Whether in the shade or in under the sun, the temperature felt quite the same. And while riding on the bicycle usually gives the sense of a slight breeze, this time the moving air (as much as there was any at my lethargic pace) felt more like having a hairdryer directed on my face! In other words, it was quite hot outside today. I wouldn’t mind weather a few degrees cooler, but I do also have to say that, at least until now, I still prefer this dry baking to the humid soaking that’s been a part of most of my previous experiences with high temperatures. Just as I would prefer a sauna over a steam room, though I am not a big fan of either and would usually choose a swim in an icy river over both heated choices!

Despite my dislike of the heat, however, I’ve been quite limitedly using my air-conditioner. Although I’m glad I have one in the room, I’m trying to avoid turning it on as much as possible. That’s partially in an attempt to keep my electric payments as low as possible, but beyond that I also feel somewhat guilty whenever I turn it on when I know I could get by without it. Of course air-conditioning, as well as all other electric uses, has environmental impacts everywhere, but they seem even more immediate and significant to me here. Not only the regular reports and articles I read on the issue but also the sight of thousands of units installed on all the buildings emphasizes the huge impact such usage can have. And while the unparalleled scale of the issue may make it easier to give up any individual efforts, I feel that it can’t hurt me to adjust myself to a limited use. For a while, I would turn it on for about half an hour before going to bed, but the past couple of days, probably the hottest yet, I haven’t done even that much. I’m just looking at the heat-induced drowsiness as a good way to go to sleep earlier and quicker! After all, people managed to live in climates equally or even more hot without any problems before the first air-conditioners, and much of the world still does.

Thursday Morning

This evening, I will for once avoid my usual after-work bike ride, which I paid for with a long walk to the embassy (though it wasn’t as uncomfortable as feared). After some indecision (I know, that’s very uncharacteristic of me…) I finally registered for a “Young Professionals Forum” event organized by the SwissCham. These are held every few weeks as an opportunity especially for young Swiss people in Beijing to hear from experienced individuals as well as meet each other. I haven’t been to one before, but since my swimming/chatting friend as well as a couple of embassy colleagues are going, I thought I’d go and see as well. This time, the chairman of Nestle China as well as the president of Oerlikon China will supposedly talk about their companies’ approach to leadership, so I’ll see whether they have anything enlightening to say! In any case, it should be a good chance to hopefully meet some other co-patriots.

Tomorrow also brings prospects of exciting excursion beyond my usual Beijing, and it will probably be Monday before I get a chance to add another update.

No more “looki-looki!”

2009-06-23T17:17:00.002+08:00

As my family traveled to various Chinese destinations while living here ten and more years ago (!), we were often greeted with calls of “looki, looki” from vendors eager for us to look at, and of course buy, their wares. At sites with especially many foreign visitors, the merchants might have slightly advanced English, often listing the names of their most popular items. I especially remember our visit to the Great Wall accompanied by calls of “Hello, Mr.! Ice cream! Water! Hello! Mr.! Beer!...” Now, while vendors are still as eager to sell their products (ideally at raised prices) to foreigners, it seems to me that many of them have improved their ability to communicate with English-speaking customers.

This weekend, my to-do list once again led me to Yashow Market, the four-story center of fake fashion and other goods to be bought by mostly foreign visitors and local expatriates. In the attempt to use any opportunity to practice my Chinese (as well as distancing myself from other foreigners and taking advantage of making a claim as a “local” in bargaining discussions) I refuse to speak English with the vendors and always respond to their “Hello”s and “Just have a look”s in Chinese. Nevertheless, I saw that the salespeople could also communicate surprisingly well with potential buyers with no Chinese knowledge at all. I may not remember market observations from ten years ago completely accurately, but it seems that these involved more pointing and entering numbers on calculators to overcome language gaps. Of course, Chinese is still helpful for conversation that goes much beyond asking for different colours or discussing prices (and explaining that as a recent graduate I simply cannot afford to pay more than a certain amount…), but most sales people have a basic English level that goes far beyond “looki, looki.”

And it is not just the foreign-oriented markets that show an increasing presence of English language ability in the city. Last week, for instance, I was holding my bicycle next to a large intersection while responding to a text message (at which my speed might just be about able to keep up with that of many people two generations older than me…). I must have looked rather lost, because after a few moments a Chinese student approached me and asked “excuse me, can I help you?” Which surprised me, not only by his confident use of English, but also by the fact that he came up to me at all and (implicitly) offered to help. I didn’t need it then, but I would have welcomed some assistance when I was moving and struggling with heavy suitcases and spilling bags under the unperturbed eyes of several curious onlookers last month!

Yesterday also provided another example of increasing English knowledge. When I returned home yesterday, there was a young boy playing with his skateboard in the middle of the small gate through which I wanted to enter the neighbourhood. As soon as he realized he was blocking my way (and had accidentally partially closed the gate) he not only got out of the way and hurried to reopen the door, but also repeatedly apologized with an English “sorry.” While much of these new language skills are concentrated in the younger generations, it seems to be only a matter of time before the emphasis of learning English will lead China to develop into an increasingly bi-lingual population.

For now though, I’m not abandoning my attempts to slowly rebuild and expand my Chinese skills. They’re still quite useful, and might be even more important to keep up with China’s increasing language level in the future!

Sino-Swiss Triathlon (with breaks)

2009-06-22T14:06:00.000+08:00

Sunday Morning

After a relatively late start Saturday morning, I began my day’s activities with the usual trip to the gym. I took advantage of the relatively emptiness for a longer run on the treadmill. When I was finally finished, I cycled home to quickly change, eat, and gather my things together before setting off again to meet my Swiss friend at the embassy. We had made plans to finally take advantage of my access to the embassy/residence swimming pool. This is open for embassy staff and their visitors every day after noon, but so far I have only sat next to it a couple of times for lunch. It was a hot day, and after my speedy cycle (I was running late, due partially to a wait for the shower and some last-minute watermelon carving), I was quite excited to get into a cool pool. We found ourselves there alone and immediately enjoyed the secluded quiet of the residence grounds, which is quite a contrast to most of Beijing.

Before getting in the water, we sat down on two lawn chairs and started chatting. This turned into quite a while, and by the time our minister with her family showed up to grill their dinner we had to admit we still hadn’t been in the water. When my friend checked her watch and we were both surprised (though the darkening dusk should have been a sign) that it was already after eight in the evening! I still can’t quite believe we just sat there for almost five hours, doing nothing but chatting and eating some watermelon (and getting bit by mosquitoes)! Although our eagerness for the pool had lessened with the disappearing sun, we decided that we should at least get in for a little bit. I’m glad we did, and we swam a few short lengths (and I thus completed my “triathlon” for the day).

After a while we started getting rather chilly and got out to take a quick shower in what is the nicest shower I’ve been in since coming to China! Not that it was anything unusual, but I no longer take for granted having the choice of how much hot or cold water comes out of the shower head and being in an actual shower separated from the rest of the room. By then, we were both quite ready to eat some dinner, so we crossed the ring road out of the embassy area (maybe the only neighbourhood in Beijing without a small eatery at every corner) to a local Chinese restaurant. After studying the menu for a long time, we ordered two dishes (tofu with peas and a form of mustard greens and beef stirred with vegetables). Both were tasty, even though the beef dish was balanced much more in favour of meat, while it had seemed the other way round from the picture. When we had finished this meal, it was quite late and time (for me) for a last cycle ride of the day to get back home after an enjoyably relaxed day.

Now I have a lengthy list of errands and tasks to complete today, before it’s back to the office tomorrow morning (but nothing too stressful).

I hope your weekends passed as comfortably as mine!

Still Here, Still Observing

2009-06-18T14:06:00.000+08:00

The week so far has brought little news or excitement, aside from some rather impressive weather, with a storm which turned the view out of our window office into night at 11:00 in the morning. I’ve been lucky to escape the rain during my bike rides so far this week, but I have prepared for the probably inevitable occasion when I won’t be so fortunate by finally buying a bicycle cape. Now the discomfort of the next rainy commute will be at least partially offset by the chance to try out this new investment!

With nothing else taking up my after work time, I’ve been continuing my regular gym visits, and the observations these provide. So far I’ve restrained myself from adding further comments on the topic in fear of seeming too critical or overly concerned about my fellow members’ exercise approaches, but now I think I’ll take that risk to share some more of my observations.

As varied as the gym visitors is the attire in which they pursue their activities there. Of course, a good number show up in the tennis shoes and sports wear that would be expected in such a location. For girls, this generally involves longer pants and sleeves than typical in western gyms and although there are others in shorts and sleeveless shirts, I’ve found myself in the rather unaccustomed position of feeling rather under-covered in comparison! But then I probably also wouldn’t get quite so hot if I were just slowly strolling on the treadmill…Besides this difference in quantity, there are occasionally also some rather ineffective clothing choices. Even if it’s far from necessary to have the latest in sports wear, I question the comfort and effectiveness of running in jeans or dress shoes. At least the man I saw in plastic flip flops stayed in the weights area, although even there I wouldn’t feel too comfortable with such unprotected feet!

The most puzzling attire, however, is some sort of an armless full-body plastic suit which looks like it would be much more suitable for waist-deep fishing than gym exercise. I’ve seen several (female) members regularly exercising in such an outfit, which is probably the last thing I would choose to engage in a sweaty activity. I’m assuming that this is connected to the frequent perception that more sweating means more results. Besides the fact that this theory is quite disproved by science, it’s also a marked contrast to the more common general approach to the gym, especially for girls, which seems to place socializing first and sweating last.

In terms of accessories, it is difficult to find someone who doesn’t have their cellphone with them while exercising. There’s nothing wrong with that, although I do find it rather distracting if someone on the next machine is talking (or, in some cases, yelling) into their device. And I wonder how effective a yoga class can be if the participant leaves the room to take a call or answer a message. Although maybe being so occupied indicates that these individuals are most in need of the class. Personally, I have to admit that the idea of doing yoga in a room crowded with dozens of other participants (and a large glass wall open to the rest of the noisy gym) doesn’t seem all that relaxing to me to begin with.

I also find it interesting to note the varied re-hydrating choices. Many exercisers do have water (unfortunately often in just as un-environmentally-friendly plastic bottles as in other countries), but others have more questionable choices. It was only a few days after I wrote my first gym critique that I was quite surprised to see a girl casually pedaling on the reclining bike while sipping on a McDonald’s cup. I guess it could have been water, but I’m not so sure. Similarly, I’m always amused to see members stepping onto the digital scale while still holding their varyingly full water bottles. If I was going to go weighing myself, I’d at least want to make sure the measurement was consistent…! On the other hand, I did see another girl taking off her platform shoes (I think/hope she was coming back to weigh herself after changing out of her exercise outfit!) before stepping on the scale.

Now I think I have thoroughly filled my daily quota of critique-ional exercise and will end here for the moment. Time to go heat and eat my lunch (I wrote during what I will count as the first half of my “break”)!

Local Activities

2009-06-15T12:35:00.000+08:00

The noodle-pulling lesson on Friday was a fun experience, even though my success (and that of most of the colleagues) was expectedly limited. It took place at The Hutong, which is a center opened by two Australians in the middle of one the typical alley-neighbourhoods and offers a variety of classes and programs. When we arrived, we had a short tour of the building, with its tea-ceremony room, large activity space, and rooftop terrace, from where we enjoyed the view over the neighbouring rooftops. After a rest in this comfortably breezy space, however, it was time to our aprons, and start working to make our dinner. In the kitchen, we met our teacher. Gulistan, now an art professor here in Beijing, grew up in China’s western Xinjiang autonomous region and is of half Uygur ancestry. So she was an authentic guide into the art of noodle-pulling, which is traditionally from this area.

When watching expert noodlemakers, it always looked like they were starting out with one big ball of dough and quickly pulling it into individual strands. After we finished making our dough (which I think is probably half the art, since we didn’t have any set amounts and simply added water and kneaded to reach what should have been the appropriate texture), however, we rolled it out into about thumb-thick “sausages”. These were left to rest in oiled pans while we prepared the sauce. As we were chopping the vegetables, we found out that Bill, our Chinese colleague, had never cooked before in his twenty-five year old life! Although he quite adamantly refused, we finally got him to at least symbolically stir the mixture in the wok. So now he will at least have cooked once!

Once the sauce was complete, we remembered that the hardest part was still ahead. The noodle-dough was waiting for us, and we now had to roll the thick pieces into even thinner strands. The (ideally probably up to a couple of meters long) strands are then woven between the fingers of the two hands in a way reminding me of the string-games we used to play as children. By slightly shaking the hands, the strands should then be stretched into their final thickness. Of course, this looked simple when the instructor demonstrated, but my own attempt (already weakened by the fact that my strands were far from even and had partially also broken into shorter pieces) resulted in more snapping than stretching…

The end result, in all its varying lengths and thicknesses, however, was still welcomingly tasty, especially with the lamb and vegetable sauce we ate with it. In fact, I think the broken pieces were superior to the more ideally formed noodles at least in being rather easier to eat with the chopsticks! When the coordinator announced that we all had to list our names for a lucky draw, we already suspected that the “lucky” winner would be assigned to clean up. So I wasn’t sure what to think when my boss’ young son pulled my name out of the bag. My attitude quickly changed however, when I was presented with a gift certificate to a store called “Pantry Magic”! I’m looking forward to visiting this exciting-sounding shop and seeing what I can find within the voucher’s price range!

Sunday Morning

A few weeks ago, I made the rather generalizing statement, based on my observations at the gym, that the Chinese do not seem to be weekend morning exercises. That had somewhat surprised me, considering the traditional morning gatherings for martial arts and dancing that always seemed to take place in parks and squares around China. And today showed me that it would probably have been much more accurate to say that the Chinese are not late-morning-at-the-gym exercisers.

During last week’s language exchange meeting with Mary she told me that she was also changing apartments, and we found out that she moved into the same neighbourhood compound I am in now! Yesterday evening, she sent me a message to ask whether I wanted to go jogging with her this morning. I was rather surprised, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity, although I hadn’t actually planned on getting up that early. So I met her at seven this morning and we ended up jogging to the little park next to my old apartment building, where we were far from alone.

As we made several laps around the small lake along with other walkers and joggers, I also observed a whole range of other morning activities including fan-dancing, taichi, senior-gymnastics, sword dancing, badminton, backwards walking, unidentified martial arts weaponry, water calligraphy (using water to write the characters, which quickly disappear again as they dry up), as well as general socializing. All of this taking place while I am usually still sleeping, still far from starting my own workout at the gym (which doesn’t even open until nine).

Now I’ve been back for several hours at a time when I am usually about setting off to start my own day. So I am also quite happy that it’s almost time to finally go to meet my colleague, who invited me for brunch this morning! Considering that I can hear lunch preparations from the neighbouring kitchens, I think it’s probably time to at least start with my breakfast now!

Pulling Meals Together

2009-06-12T11:04:00.000+08:00

Happy Birthday, Papi!

Although I can’t celebrate my father’s birthday at home with him, I do have a fun activity ahead of me this Friday evening. One of which I think at least my mother (hallo Mami!) will be rather jealous. It’s time to finally realize the section’s farewell gift to my internship predecessor, who is still in the city for a Chinese language course. My colleagues gave him a Chinese cooking lesson, to which I am luckily also invited along with the rest of the section. Any such culinary session would be interesting (I don’t think I’ve actually every had a cooking lesson at all), but my colleague scheduled a special lesson: making Chinese hand-pulled noodles! Along with many others (including of course my mother), I’ve always been quite fascinated by the skill and speed with which professionals can transform a ball of dough into a long bundle of evenly shaped noodles. I’m quite skeptical that a short lesson will be enough for us to recreate this feat, but I am excited to learn about the process and at least try it myself. I’ll let you know whether we end up eating balls of dough or something that at least somewhat resembles noodles!

Lunch today should also be more exciting than usual. I usually bring my own lunch (often the second half of the previous dinner) with me and eat it, either in the embassy’s kitchen or in the office itself. Although I am an exception among the Swiss colleagues, most of which go out to a restaurant or to buy a sandwich, most of the Chinese staff do the same. Thus the small kitchen (with microwaves to reheat the food) can get quite crowded. I can generally avoid the rush, however, since I don’t go downstairs until 12:30, while the Chinese are quite set on eating more or less exactly at noon. Today, however, I am joining a whole group of colleagues for a Chinese lunch. Since it's difficult, or almost impossible, to enjoy a typical Chinese meal without at least a few more people, I’m happy to go along for this opportunity. Especially since eating Chinese also tends to be cheaper than the various international cuisines that are available. Although many of these are also not expensive by foreign standards, they are still on quite a different level from the food available in the markets or local establishments of various categories. So I am quite happy to supply my own lunches, and this also makes the occasional exception more of a treat.

Now, though, I should first get some more work done...

Happy weekend (and Friday, for those of you on the other side of the planet)!

Testing Days

2009-06-09T08:50:00.002+08:00

Monday Evening

If you see a smoky cloud rising on the horizon these days, it is probably coming from the amassed brain-activity here in Chinese. For Sunday marked the beginning of what must be the largest simultaneous intellectual testing event in the world: the Chinese national college-entrance examinations for high school students. This “gao kao” (literally “high test/exam”) is the sole determinant for university acceptances, and thus preceded by months of constant revision for this culmination of all the academic pressures faced by Chinese students. Contrary to earlier predictions of record numbers this year, significantly fewer students have signed up to take the exam than last year (implying that a college degree may no longer be seen as the definite path to a successful career in these times), but that still leaves well over ten million examinees. About two-thirds of them will be offered a university-place, though generally with little choice in institution.

Maybe the weather here in Beijing today was to serve as a backdrop to this intense period. It would have been a nice day, if I could have stayed inside, enjoying the noticeably cooler temperatures and listening to the rain pouring outside. But, it was time to get out to start another work week and so this extremely wet day wasn’t too welcome. While getting up, I thought quite definitely that today would be a day to treat myself to a taxi ride. By the time I was showered, however, my plans weren’t so clear anymore. I realized that everyone else probably had the same thoughts, and by the time I found a taxi I would probably be quite thoroughly wet as well. The traffic would be frustrating and slow as well. Taking a taxi also brings the prospect of having to walk home in the evening, since two taxi rides in one seems quite too excessive. So, although the prospect had seemed quite impossible while still in the comfortable bed, I decided to keep to my biking commute.

As I have in similar situations, I remembered the times last year when we went rowing before sunrise in temperatures so cold that the water froze to our blades (oars) or the day we had several practice outings in weather including rain and hail, along with icy temperatures. So, if nothing else, my rowing experience has at least given me the assurance that it’s surprisingly easy to overcome initial reluctance and find that the feared conditions aren’t all that bad. Of course, I didn’t have to spend a full working day after these wet outings, but a bit of preparation also makes that possible (with the hope that my office-mates don’t mind my sweatpants draped across the chairs…). I did regret not having already bought one of the typical bicycle rain capes, which seem to do a surprisingly good job of keeping the wearer as dry as possible. As it was, I my Swiss hiking raincoat at least kept my upper body (with the exception of the tip of my nose…) protected, and probably made me clearly recognizable as a non-native, even though barely any part of my body was showing.

At the moment, I am waiting for Beryl’s (my Chinese roommate’s) technologically-adept friend to help us out with our own technical limitations. After countless frustrated attempts, I’ve rather given up even trying to figure out my wireless, since I can only repeat the same few steps anyway. While trying again earlier this evening, the other two roommates suddenly found that even they could no longer access the internet. So at least I’m not the only one with a problem and I don’t feel quite as bad that this helpful advisor traveled here to help. I’m not allowing myself to hope too much, but it would be a nice present to finally be able to use the internet again on my laptop (though the blogging site still seems to be blocked anyway).

Well, “Frank” just arrived, so we’ll see whether he can solve this puzzle for us!

Tuesday Morning

As feared, Frank the IT expert couldn't identify the problem with my internet access. After working on my computer for quite a while, all he could tell me was that, for some reason, my computer was not connecting to the wi-fi system. Which I had figured out as well! The most frustrating part is that the network connections list indicates a strong signal, but whenever I try connecting a message comes up telling me that the connection is unavailable. One of the other roommates has an external wireless receiver, which might be a possibility for me as well. But I’m reluctant to buy anything before I know whether it will really solve the problem.

At least the general problem with the internet connection for the rest of the inhabitants was solved. After a series of calls, Beryl admitted that the reason they couldn’t get online anymore was because the telephone bill had not been paid…Melanie will try to rectify that issue today (with me also contributing a share, despite not having had much from it) so hopefully I’ll at least have some indirect access again soon!

Time to work...

Not (quite) so bad

2009-06-05T16:29:00.005+08:00

For anyone worried about the safety of my health or mental condition after my previous entry, I think I can reassure you. On Tuesday I wrote while still somewhat under the shock of my unplanned transition and the conditions I encountered upon my immediate arrival in the new apartment. This may have led me to slightly exaggerate, or maybe I’m already adjusting, but I think the next months shouldn’t be quite as bad as possibly implied earlier.

When I first visited the room, I found out that the roommates hire an “ayi” (literally translates as “aunt” but also standard term for domestic helpers/cleaning ladies, which are employed by a wide range of households) to come once a week. Although I wouldn’t necessarily make such an arrangement for myself, in this case I rather welcomed the idea of someone (other than me) cleaning everything regularly. When I returned from Tuesday after she had supposedly been there, however, I wondered what this lady had actually done. Except for some tidying in the kitchen, the apartment still looked quite the same as when I left in the morning. Although I can (and did) take the trash (which was rather overfull) out myself, I thought that it would be the least this paid assistant to do. So, after already resigning myself to an extended cleaning session this weekend, I was quite relieved (for myself as well as the reflection on Chinese cleaning standards) to find out that the ayi hadn’t actually been there and was coming on Thursday instead! And yesterday evening, there was indeed a noticeable, though of course not miraculous, difference.

Contrary to my early fears, based on initial observations, the other housemates are more or less cleaning and tidying after themselves as well. Of course, there are still moldy patches on the bathroom joints and rather more scuttling nighttime visitors in the kitchen. But those are problems probably common to many Beijing apartments, at least within my price range. I’m doing well adjusting to it, though I admit I will also be happy to see other conditions again!

As predicted, yesterday’s historical anniversary passed with tightly controlled silence. There are always disparities between the domestic and foreign media, but yesterday the contrast was truly remarkable. While the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post was full of articles about Tiananmen over the past week and most foreign newspapers had prominent headlines on the occasion, the event was completely absent in the official Chinese media. The only mention of Tiananmen was in the context of a ceremony held for retired military officers in a location by the famous square. Today, there was also a brief message criticizing Hilary Clinton’s statement, but without providing any information on what the Secretary of State had actually said.

Over the past few days, the (foreign) press reported on calls for the Chinese public to dress in white to pay tribute to the day, but yesterday showed no more white on Beijing’s streets than on any other day. But then that’s not too surprising, considering that most Chinese citizens probably didn’t know about the effort (though I think that most probably wouldn't have participated in such an action even if they did). In the culmination of the restrictions of the preceding weeks, authorities disrupted access to a wide range of online social and networking site. The official explanation referred to a National Website Maintenance period, which was declared from Thursday until Saturday and required these sites to post messages accordingly to explain why they were temporarily inaccessible.

I now have a vague hope that the end of this enforced large-scale internet refreshment will also bring a reopening of the blogging site, though I’m not counting on it by any means. Even if it does, it won’t make much difference for me at the moment, since so far I still cannot access the wireless internet in my apartment (which by now is frustrating me just as much as, if not more than, the physical conditions).

Happy weekend!

The website is showing up strangely even here today, so I'll have to be satisfied with posting as is, without adjusting to the usual colour scheme... (though I guess this doesn't look that bad either)

(Un)Clean and Controlled

2009-06-03T17:09:00.001+08:00

While returning the key (and borrowed suitcase) and getting back my deposit yesterday evening, I found that my old room is already re-occupied: with one of Shan’s friends! So I’m slightly suspicious about the “personal circumstances” required my immediate departure. In any case, I have now completely transferred to the new room. Besides figuring out why I can’t access the wireless internet in the apartment with my laptop, I’ll just have to register myself with the local police station again, as is required for foreigners living in residential areas. After that, all that’ll be left for me to do is readjust my expectations of cleanliness and adapt myself to varying standards of hygiene.

I recognize that my need for order and organization is probably above-average, but I didn’t generally think that my sense of basic cleanliness was especially strong. My various accommodation experiences, however, seem to indicate the contrary, though I still can’t believe so many people seem completely unconcerned by the state of their living environment. Since complete change is probably hopeless, I’ve taken the immediate step of putting all my open food in sealed containers and will plan on working to keep a basic standard and learn to look past the rest for the next few months!

By now, I think it’s clear that re-opening of access to the blog site from the Chinese servers is not to be expected soon, or at least not this week. Indeed, the trend is in fact in the other direction. Today, there are reports of blocked access to Twitter and hotmail. While those latest restrictions (especially of the former) don’t affect me personally, they do indicate a significant tightening of control over internet activities. The government has also published several guidelines and warnings for authorities to increase their monitoring of online communication and interaction. Internet users (consistently referred to as “netizens” in the Chinese press, which I find a bit distracting, since they are obviously also normal citizens, but maybe the implied separate online identity is actually rather appropriate) have become a major source of protests against a whole range of incidents and policies.

Much of the stricter online control, as well as many other recent security measures, is attributed to the historical nature of this year in Chinese history. Tomorrow is one of several sensitive dates, as it marks the 20th anniversary of the military intervention to crush student protests on June 4th, 1989. October will bring another important day, as China will celebrate the 60th anniversary of Communist control. There are already indications of increased restrictions on visas issued to foreigners for this period (although the government, as usual, denies these reports) as the authorities are doing everything they can to prevent any disruption to the large-scale ceremonies planned for the occasion (which will contrast with the expected silence on tomorrow’s anniversary).

In this context, online restrictions serve as a clear reminder that, for all the reforms and developments, China is still controlled by the Party. At least to me, it sometimes seems especially drastic because, in so many other aspects, living here doesn’t feel significantly different from many other places in the world, at least in terms of general freedoms and lifestyle. Though that perception will rather change if I find that I can’t renew my visa, which will expire before the end of my internship…

"Short Update"

2009-06-01T16:06:00.002+08:00

Today, the new head of the economic section arrived for a preliminary three weeks in Beijing. We went to lunch together with him, so I don’t have my usual break to write a longer report. But since I announced a Monday return last time, I did want to add a quick update.

The move to the new apartment should work out as planned. Yesterday, I made one trip with two full suitcases (I could borrow one from my current roommates, since I can’t quite fit everything into the luggage I came with anymore) to deposit in the apartment and handed over a pile of cash (the largest note is for RMB100, and I had to pay two and a half months of rent as well as one of deposit). It is a slightly strange feeling having a good proportion of my belongings beyond my access. Though I’m not really worried, I’ll still be glad to have everything together in my own space again. My predecessor should be moving out this afternoon, and I’m planning to transfer the rest of my household (or “room-hold”) after work this evening. I’m getting quite proficient with this moving. After all, I’ve had a bit of practice, this being my fifth relocation since I arrived here a bit over two months ago!

By this time tomorrow, hopefully, I will once again have taken possession of a room for myself (and the kitchen!) and also gotten to know my new roommates a bit more. For now, I’m hoping that the weather forecast holds true and the rainy-looking clouds don’t indicate a break in the predicted sunny dryness. I’d rather not move in the rain, but by now even that wouldn’t make too much of a difference anymore.

Happy Children’s Day (which is celebrated in China on 1 June)!

(As you can see, I am rather incapable of writing a “short” update!)

Off and On

2009-05-29T13:33:00.003+08:00

Wednesay:

As I set off to look at a third room this afternoon, I was both excited and nervous. I really hoped that this would be a good option and thus end my search, but also afraid that I’d be disappointed and would have to go back through the listings to try to find something else. For once, however, my optimistic hopes were not misplaced. The room is in a three bedroom apartment in a standard Chinese apartment compound. The other rooms are occupied by two girls (German and Chinese) and the apartment in general is probably as good as can be expected in the price range. After all, I have seen quite a few to compare now!

The guy who’s in the room at the moment already had another person scheduled to come look at the room later today. So, since I felt quite comfortable with the room and don’t think there would be much point in looking further, I committed to renting it immediately. I was a bit scared to make such a quick decision, but I feel quite confident with it. And it would have been worse to wait for a bit, only to find that someone else is taking it! He’ll be moved out by Monday, and I’m now trying to figure out the best way to already take over some of my things over the weekend, so that I won’t have to do it all during the week. I’ll be glad once everything is moved but already feel a lot better about this unplanned relocation.

Although I will have to find another source to make my daily fruit and vegetable purchases. The new apartment isn’t too far away from where I am living now, but the stand I’ve been stopping at will no longer be on my way home. There are many others like it though, and I’m sure I’ll get to know the new neighbourhood’s soon enough (and the owners will get to know me)!

(Sorry, it seems that due to some setting on the embassy computer I can't upload pictures as I do - or did - on my own laptop. Maybe I'll eventually find out that I need to do something different, but I'm giving up for now)

In case you’re worried that this afternoon room-searching activity has led me away from my internship duties, I should reassure you that today is in fact a holiday and thus another day off. It does seem like there have been quite a few of those, but I think this one is the last one until the August 1 Swiss national day. Today, it is Duan Wu Festival, which literally translates as “Solar Maximus Festival” but is generally called Dragon Boat Festival in English, which refers to one of the traditional activities connected to the day. Although there are different explanations of the holiday’s origin, the most common one describes it as a commemoration of a famous poet’s suicide many centuries ago.

Besides dragon boats, another main tradition for the day is eating (and making) “zong zi,” which are bundles of glutinous rice (with a variety of possible fillings) wrapped in bamboo leaves. According to legend, such zong zi were first made to throw into the lake in which the poet had drowned himself, so that the fish would eat the rice instead of the body. Although I don’t find these rice packages remarkably tasty (especially the common version with a red bean paste filling), I still wanted to eat at least one to celebrate the day. And also take a picture to share with you (although there are of course many other much better pictures easily found on the internet). And, in the end, I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would!

(Again- although I sent the pictures to this computer, I can't add them on here at the moment. So if you're interested, you'll have to look at the previously mentioned superior versions online!)

At the Swiss event on Monday, representatives from the Swiss Society mentioned that their monthly “Stammtisch” gathering would be on Thursday. The Stammtisch refers to the big table in traditional local eating and drinking establishments, at which the same group of regulars (generally men) will meet, as well as this group itself. I didn’t know what to expect from the Beijing version of such a meeting, but Alexandra and I decided to venture to find out together. In the end, we ended up sitting by two other embassy colleagues whom I of course already knew, but it was a good chance to talk to them and also meet some other members as well. Especially for Alexandra who, unlike me, rarely sees other Swiss people. Along with several others, I drank tea, which is a beverage that would hardly be allowed on any self-respecting traditional Stammtisch! The only problem here, however, was that my caffeine-deprived body did not respond well to it (especially since it was black rather than Chinese green) and even though I didn’t get back too late there were only a few hours of night left by the time I finally fell asleep.

So I am especially glad to have a quiet one-day “workweek” now before another weekend. Most Chinese institutions and companies are in fact closed today and will instead work on Sunday. While this creates a nice three day holiday, I’m quite happy to avoid the six-day workweek that will follow it.

Until Monday!

End of Brevity

2009-05-27T16:41:00.000+08:00

When I started using this site, I ended up rewriting my first two posts because I couldn’t get my Word text to copy correctly. A test at lunch today (Tuesday), however, showed that that must have been due to a mistake of my own, since I had no problem with it this time. So I should be able to continue updating again without having to take up work or lunch time to do so. It doesn’t look like the current block is going to be lifted anytime soon (Youtube is also still inaccessible), so I’m glad to have a way to circumvent it. There’ll be some delay, but if I write in the evening and post in the morning, it will actually be just about “on time” in the Americas! That is, if I can actually get it to post again.

(I also have a few pictures I wanted to add, but that will be another step)

Since my last few regular updates, my life has more or less continued without any major events or excitement. The embassy has been rather quiet, although this week there are several former and future colleagues visiting. Two weekends ago, I had arranged to meet with Mary, a Chinese girl who is learning German and interested in a corresponding language exchange. As usual with such partnerships, it’s a bit difficult finding a balance between the two languages (and not reverting to the English that is easier for both of us), but it’s better than not doing anything.

This past weekend, we met again, this time at a large bookstore where I wanted to look for a practice book. There was a large selection, but, as expected, it was rather challenging finding an appropriate one. The more introductory ones are a bit easy, but then there is often quite a jump to the intermediate level, with books that are almost completely in Chinese, even for instructions and explanations. In the end, I did end up choosing one and will try to work through it a little bit at a time.

My comfortably settled routine received a bit of a shock when I returned from work on Friday and found an email from my apartment-mate. Due to personal circumstances of their own, they’ve told me that I’ll have to move out after June 4th, until which I’ve already paid the rent. As you may understand based on my earlier accounts of my frustrating room search, I wasn’t too excited about restarting such a process. Nevertheless, I didn’t have much of an alternative and promptly went to look at the now rather familiar classified postings. Two rooms I looked at on Sunday didn’t leave me very impressed, and I’m hoping I’ll have more luck later this week. At least it’s easier looking for a room in the neighbourhood than from the other side of the world!

Monday evening, SwissCham (the Sino-Swiss chamber of commerce in Beijing) organized an event to “Meet the Swiss Platform” through introductions to the various representatives of Swiss interests and institutions in China (Embassy, Presence Switzerland, Pro Helvetia, Business Hub, Switzerland Tourism, Swiss Society, and the SwissCham itself). Since many of these are housed within the embassy, I knew most of the speakers and didn’t learn anything especially new (though it was interesting and rather worrying to hear from Switzerland Tourism that, due to the H1N1 spread, all outgoing tourist has been stopped for now).

Nevertheless, it did turn out to be a good evening. I met another Swiss girl who’s studying Chinese here in Beijing. Since I still feel most at home in the “student” age group, even though I remind myself that I am no longer one, I was glad to meet her. We spoke together while eating some of the choices from the small buffet that was available after the presentations. It was a true showcase of typical Swiss dishes (many in scaled-down versions) and quite a change from the local food we both usually eat. In fact, I don’t think even anyone in Switzerland ever eats such a combination!

We both had to go back in the same direction on the subway and left together. After we changed lines two times (although the system has been expanded significantly, there are some inconvenient corners and connections), we successfully got to the last stage of the trip. After a couple of stations, however, both of us realized at the same time that we were in fact going in the wrong direction! That’s never happened before to either of us, but we were both talking and more or less following each other in the assumption that the other was paying attention! It was a circular line and we would have eventually gotten to the right stop, but we did get out and changed direction (although she lives a couple of stations further on than me and would have been back almost as in the other direction). In any case, it’s probably best if we just meet at the destination next time!

Censored

2009-05-21T13:05:00.001+08:00

Apparently, the Chinese authorities have blocked the blogger website in the country. Fortunately, the embassy seems to be on an external server, so I at least have some "emergency" access. Others, most of which have more significant (especially politically...) are not so lucky. There has been some protest at this latest censorship, which I read about in the South China Morning Post (from Hong Kong) but hasn't been mentioned in the domestic newspapers. It seems unclear exactly why the website has been banned at the moment. A few weeks ago, YouTube was also blocked after videos were posted of Tibetan protests.

I think it's time to end my lunch break and I won't flaunt the official restriction any longer. Hopefully the block will be lifted soon, so that I can get back to my more regular (and wordier) updates!

Don't Worry

2009-05-18T14:19:00.003+08:00

For the past few days, I haven't been able to open this website on my computer. I now checked here at work and found that I can access it from here. I'll have to see if it's working on my own computer again now this evening. For now, I just wanted to let any interested readers now that I haven't updated this journal completely and I will get back to updating it once I can open the site out of the office. My life has been continuing quite uneventfully the past few days, so you haven't missed much!

Back to work (though it's a quiet day in the office today for me)!

Dry and Wet

2009-05-14T20:17:00.003+08:00

Today one could already feel the rain in the air in the morning, and by the time I was ready to leave the embassy it had finally started drizzling. I went to the gym anyway, although I feared that by the time I got out again it would be pouring. So I was quite relieved to find the same drizzle (which really didn't make a difference at that point, since after sweating for half an hour I wasn't dry anymore anyway) and am now safely back home. I did find that the corner I've been using to park my bicycle is now occupied by an abandoned sink. Hopefully that will be moved again soon (though I'm not counting on it), or I might have to do so myself. For now, I've parked it in a more exposed part of the hallway. After my experience with my first bicycle (which was of the Chinese "Forever" brand- a rather exaggerated name, I think!), I've consistently taken my new "City Star" inside.

In contrast to the wet weather outside, I struggled all day today with my contact lenses, which were feeling much too dry. It wasn't the first time, and I've concluded that what are usually monthly lenses don't last quite as long in Beijing (and looking at the computer screen all day probably doesn't help either). I'll definitely have to remember to bring my glasses with me, and I'll probably start just wearing them to begin with more often. My colleague said that she has the same problems, and that the more simple, less high-tech lenses she buys here are more comfortable, since the increased air access of the more advanced versions actually turns out to be a rather unfavourable feature in these city conditions!

Report-ed

2009-05-12T20:02:00.002+08:00

Aside from the daily press reviews, delegation logistics, and regular administration, my major assignments so far have also included writing two reports: an overview of China's healthcare system and the recent plans for its reform for the economic section and a report on sustainable development in China for the political section. And today more or less marked the completeness of both of these projects. In the morning, I sent the sustainable development report to the central Swiss agency which had requested it. The one on healthcare I'd actually finished working on quite a while ago, but my colleague didn't have time to look at it this week. I now added the few points or changes she suggested and corrected the German grammar mistakes (although I'm happy to be able to write in German, I guess the almost complete lack of schooling in the language does show!) and now have the report ready to send to those individuals and agencies who might have an interest. It will definitely be added to the semi-annual economic report, which is now the next big project (on this I am not working alone and only contributing to some sections).

On a sadder note, today also marks the one year anniversary of the tragic earthquake in Sichuan province. Although I of course knew of the catastrophe last year and read about the disaster, reading all the recent articles about this event reminded me that it all seemd quite far away then. And, as sadly is so often the case, I had, if not quite forgotten, at least not kept it at the front of my mind. Here in China, and especially the affected area itself, however, it is still very much an issue. Especially the large death toll among students continues to cause tension, as parents and activists claim that many of the schools collapsed due to their faulty "tofu" construction and demand official acknowledgement of the government's responsibility in this issue. There have been recent announcements of improvements in school constructions as well as general responses to environmental threats, but even the reconstruction of what was destroyed a year ago is still an ongoing project (the status and success of which is reported quite differently by the goverment and external observers).

Weekend Clips

2009-05-10T19:22:00.003+08:00

Almost at the end of another weekend. Although I didn't undertake any major expeditions, I did manage to fill up the time anyway.

With the weather getting warmer (though the past couple of days have been refreshingly cooler) and my hair not getting shorter anyway, I thought it was time to get my hair cut again. There is a hair salon inside the building of the larger supermarket I go to. Several times now, one of the hairdressers talked to me while I was in the check out. As far as I can understand, they are offering me to come inside to show me some options or suggestions, after which I would be free to decide whether to actually do anything or not. As I almost expected, the same happened again yesterday, but I didn't really feel to eager for this particular experience, and also wasn't quite sure what would expect me if I accepted the offer. So I said I didn't have time for it today.

I then cycled a couple of loops around the neighbourhood looking at the various other hairdressing options (there is no lack of those). I finally settled on the one closest to the apartment, which made a simple appearance and had staff without the crazy hairstyles seen in many of the others. It also looked like it wouldn't be an expensive option, but to avoid any surprise I still asked first. With the price confirmed, I settled down to see what my hair would turn out to look like. With my limited Chinese skills it was even more difficult to explain what I wanted, and I was ready to accept whatever I ended up with. This turned out not to be too bad, and I'm quite happy with my Chinese hairstyle! And 20RMB (including getting my hair washed, and they would have washed it again after the cut, but I thought three washings in one day would be a bit excessive) was affordable even on my intern budget!

Today, I had made plans for lunch and some neighbourhood exploring with Evelyne, whom I'd met at the Swiss university evening. After a bit of delay (I never got her message saying she'd be late, so I wated for a while), we did finally meet and set off to find a place to eat. Or, I should say, to decide on which of the many options we would eat at. I'm not sure whether I've mentioned that I live very close to a stretch of road known as "Ghost Street," which is famous for the countless restaurants offering food all day long. I've passed through it several times but have never eaten at any of the restaurants. Today, we eventually went into one, which claimed to specialise in fish.

Once inside, we saw that this referred to a hotpot-style arrangement, with a "sour" soup in the middle of the table to simmer the fish and other added choice. We decided against the recommended "magical fish" and settled on the somewhat cheaper snakehead fish, which we were then promptly shown in a plastic bucket for approval. This was followed by a debate about the price, since we noticed that the price listed on the waiter's Chinese order form was quite a bit higher than the price we had seen on the English menu. We told him that even if it was outdated, it wasn't fair to show us a different price list without telling us about the changes. Eventually, we made a compromise and turned to fishing (sorry) our meal out of the big pot of soup. It was more expensive than my usual meals (though still cheap for a restaurant meal), but worth it for the experience as well as the food.

After this meal, we spent some time wandering through the nearby hutong alleys. Once again, it was interesting to find the neighbourhoodly atmoshpere in these alleys, which seems quite incongruent with their location in the middle of a huge city. I enjoy watching the daily life that unfolds along these alleys and always find plenty to see. Though I would like to capture some of the scenes, I am always reluctant to take out my camera. I'm sure it's obvious enough that I am a stranger in these quarters, but I still don't want to act like a complete tourist. When Evelyne took out hers, however, I thought I might as well get mine out as well and at least took a picture of one of the larger alleys (many of the other ones don't have any cars at all). But I think it is also interesting for the contrast of the traditional alley in front with the modern buildings in the background.

Back from this exploration, I got on my bike again for another trip to the supermarket. Along the way, I saw a typical Chinese furniture transport, and since I still had my camera in my bag, I tried to take a picture of it:

Settled

2009-05-08T20:41:00.007+08:00

I've successfully survived what was only my second full working week and can now look forward to another two days off. The five days actually passed by quite easily, but of course I still don't mind not having to go to work tomorrow!

My time here in general is going by quite quickly. I've already been in my room for over a month now and just paid my second rent this week, so I thought it's time to share some pictures of the apartment beyond just my individual space. I've been planning on doing so for a long time now, and now I feel so settled here that it feels almost strange to be sharing "new" pictures of it.

When I was taking the pictures earlier this week, my batteries were just on their last bit of energy. I now see that the pictures thus turned out rather blurry. I took some more just now using the flash, and these aren't much better. But I don't think I'll ever be much more successful, so I'll go ahead and add these.

Here's the most important part of the apartment- the kitchen, of course!

Although this kitchen is quite large for Beijing standards, it's still quite a bit smaller than most kitchens in America. Though I have no problem with the size, I was at first surprised by how empty it is, especially considering that Shan also likes to cook. But by now I'm quite used to it and it's become another valuable lesson in how little one really needs. Besides the shared rice cooker, wok, and cutting board I have a bowl, plate, cutting knife, fork, spoon, pair of chopsticks, and a selection of plastic containers (notice the lack of plurals on all but the last point). With that, I make more or less all of my meals and probably cook more than many people do in much larger western kitchens full of appliances and utensils! And so does Shan, who has a few more plates and bowls, but not all that much.

Actually, I left out the saucepan I use to make my morning oatmeal everyday from the list above, but that's not really mine or Shan's). I found it in one of the cabinets and thought that I would just start using it. When I once asked Shan to make sure that was okay, she said that that wasn't hers and was the landlord's (or the previous tenants'). Along with a few other things, she's just kept it as she found it, with no plans of using it. In my opinion, anything that's left in an apartment one is renting cannot be considered off-limits and have continued to use it (just as I use the ironing board in the covered-balcony/storage corner, which has a similar ownership)!

This is the space I was just referring to- it's what would usually be a balcony but completey walled and glassed in to form an additional storage space:

And last, but still quite important, the bathroom:

The shower is in the left corner of the top picture, with only the shower curtain to separate it from the rest of the room (and that only on one side). This is another thing I thought would be somewhat uncomfortable at first, since it means that the bathroom floor gets more or less flooded whenever someones takes a shower. But by now I've gotten quite used to it and it's really not as much of a problem as I anticipated. Though I do still wonder what would be so much more difficult about building a small ledge to keep the water contained a bit more.

And here a couple attempts to give a general overview of the apartment (and show the largest room, which is also the one that probably gets used the least by anyone). This is the view from the entrance:

The door in the center goes into my room, beside it is the door to the "balcony," the kitchen is behind the refridgerator and table on the left, and the bathroom would be a just a bit to the right.

A slightly different view (the entrance door is just to the left of the picture and the door to the bathroom on the right. I was standing with the back to the door leading into Shan and Robert's room):

(The storage/balcony area is usually emptire- right now I have my laundry hung all over the borrowed ironing board to dry!)

I know it's hard to give a good sense of what the apartment is really like and you probably still can't quite see it the way it is. But I've tried and you can at least get a general idea.

Out again

2009-05-06T20:24:00.008+08:00

Today, there was yet another event outside of the office. I still traveled on my bike in the morning, but instead of to the embassy I cycled to the Swissotel hotel (which is even closer to my room) for a "Breakfast Briefing" about the recent workshop hosted by Swisscham (the Swiss chamber of commerce here in Beijing). The ambassador as well as one of the business participants presented some of the discussions and outcomes and answered questions from the Swisscham members who attended. For me, the event also once again highlighted the vast price differences that can be found in this city. The membership price for the event was RMB150 (about US$20), which my colleague described as quite cheap for such an event. That may be the case, but I still thought about how many days' worth of food I usually buy with that amount. And I'm still quite far from the subsistence level on which many of the Chinese residents live.

Since I'd biked there, I also had to use the same transportation to get to the embassy after the event was over and it was time to do some work. The temperatures have jumped quite a bit the past few days, and I was wearing my new skirt today (I'm finding that in this climate I rather enjoy wearing skirts- quite a change from my past reluctance to wear them). I already made the skirt-wearing bike-riding experiment on Monday, but I think I still need to work a bit on that technique, especially when there's quite a bit of wind as well!

In any case, I decided to change into my sweat pants for the way back in the afternoon, when I cycled to the gym as usual. I didn't plan on doing much today as I ran quite a bit on the treadmill the past few days but thought I'd still go to stay in the habit. But even after I was fully changed and starting a first set of exercises, I still didn't feel any energy for it. I guess it was just time for a break (or maybe it was the lack of my usual energising oatmeal this morning?). So I ended up leaving again, having spent more time in the changing room than in the actual exercise area. Instead, I enjoyed getting back to the apartment a bit earlier than usual and having plenty of energy to write another entry here!

So (since I'm already on the subject) I'll also add a list of comments and suggestions for the gym that I've been compiling over the past weeks:

- During the after-work busy period, the gym tends to be very full and it is often difficult to find an empty machine. I realise that this is to be expected and also accept that the low membership price will come at the cost of some convenience. Nevertheless, I do think that based on the already crowded situation, it might not be the best idea to keep having staff members handing out flyers in front of the complex. Especially since many of the people walking by are actually coming from or going to the gym, while many of the others probably walk by every day and probably won't be much more likely to join after receiving a flyer for the tenth time. Maybe the money that goes to the cost of printing the material and paying the up to half a dozen people at a time handing it out could be used to make up for the slightly lower membership number. Or at least to fixing the multiple machines that are apparently permanently "out of order."

(There's also the added frustration at having to wait for a machine while watching another who has been occupying one of them for up to an hour reading or talking on the phone while barely at a regular walking pace and quite unconcerned that anyone else would like a turn as well, but that's quite another issue altogether...)

- While I quite enjoy seeing the wide range of people that come to the gym and pursue quite varying exercise patterns, I do sometimes think that some limitations might be helpful. I was especially surprised to see a mother exercising while leaving her about seven year old daughter more or less use the gym as a playground. Not only is it rather distracting to others, but it also doesn't seem especially safe. Repeated warnings to be careful are probably not enough, and having the girl try to walk on the (same) treadmill behind her mother didn't appear to be any less dangerous!

- The locker policy also shows some inconsistencies. There are signs in all the lockers asking patrons to remove belongings when leaving and that full lockers will be emptied overnight. However, I've been there when the gym was almost empty (as I've mentioned before, the Chinese are not morning exercisers...) and yet found at least half of the lockers occupied.

- Although the lockers are apparently not cleared as often as threatened, I unfortunately had reason today to discover the lack of a lost and found system. When I returned home yesterday, I realised that I must have left my (reusable) water bottle in the changing room. When I asked about it today, there seemed to be no hope of it having been collected and saved anywhere. I doubt anyone else would have taken it, so I wonder whether they just threw it away?

As I already said, I don't expect any luxuries from the gym and am just happy to have regular access to exercise opportunities. I also appreciate the diversity among my fellow gym patrons and generally look at the disparities in their approach and activity as interesting and sometimes entertaining observations.

Now I think I've redirected enough of my additional time this evening into writing this post and will finally finish here for now.

Field Trip

2009-05-04T21:02:00.003+08:00

A while ago, the ambassador received an invitation for a briefing at the local office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). He opened up the visit to others at the embassy with an interest in learning more about the organisation's activities in the region, and I was happy to take the opportunity. So were several others, and this afternoon we ended up taking the embassy van for our mini field trip.

Once there, we were introduced to many of the staff members, most of which are actually Swiss. The center in Beijing is responsible for the ICRC involvement in Mongolia and the Koreas as well as in China. Unlike other areas in the world where the ICRC performs an active operational role, this section is focused on more passive preventive activities. Much of their work is towards spreading awareness about international humanitarian law, for example by providing resources to universities and professors who teach related law courses. A major task in this is simply translating all of the relevant material and documents, and about a third of the staff members is involved in this time-consuming but crucial process. The ICRC is also involved in working to bring more emphasis of humanitarian law to military training programs, although that is relatively limited with the Chinese army at this point. The delegation also works (or tries to work...) with the national Red Cross organisation, but apparently this is not always easy. Challenges also exist with programs to inspect and approve new weapons, though in that case it seems that the ICRC probably has quite a difficult task in many areas of the world!

After the introductions and presentations from the staff members leading the various programs and projects, there was some more casual mingling and discussion. I talked to the woman in charge of cooperation with the national Red Cross, who is as much of a newcomer to Beijing as I am. She arrived in China last month after six years in Africa (most recently in Chad), and for her Beijing is a great improvement in lifestyle! Just the fact that she can go outside of a controlled compound and walk around by herself is a huge change. I have little problem with China myself, but I imagine some other foreigners, having moved here from more comfortable western lifestyles, would probably be rather surprised to hear China described as a luxury assignment. It just serves as a reminder that so much is simply a matter of perspective!

Weekend Pasttime

2009-05-02T20:38:00.004+08:00

After spending the morning and early afternoon at the gym and in my room, I finally got myself outside later in the day. Since I once again didn't have any specific plans in mind, I thought it was a good time to go and join in one of the favourite local activities- shopping! I wasn't really too eager to head into the chaos and first spent some time cycling around and enjoying my new bike. In the end, however, I parked my "City Star" by the Yashow Market. This is one of the famous clothing markets and especially popular among tourists and local expats. It's a five-story building which houses countless little stalls filled with shoes, belts, accessories, toys, and of course clothes of all kinds.

At first, I just walked around without any specific idea of buying anything today. Despite the large amount of wares for sale, many of the merchants have exactly the same models for sale. So one of the hardest parts of the shopping is deciding which one of the stalls to buy from! I didn't have any interest in most of the merchandise, but with so many choices there are always a few exceptions. However, I was rather hesitant to get involved in any purchases, as this requires serious negotiations about the price. I was never too fond of the haggling process, and by now it's been a few years since I last practiced this "art." While looking at some shoes, I did test it out and apparently offered a price too low for them to even consider, as they didn't even try to start negotiating and just told me to go somewhere else then. So at least I wasn't paying too much for anything!

Once I had looked around all of the floors, I did notice a skirt that I think I could wear quite a lot and didn't think there was any point in waiting for another day. So after quite a bit of discussion, I did finally make a purchase. Once I had overcome my initial fear, I decided to go back to the shoe floor to make another attempt. Here the process repeated again, with the sales lady claiming that I must be joking and she would make a loss at the prices I offered and me saying that I really didn't have any money and wasn't like all the other foreigners who had their Western incomes to spend...In the end, we did come to a point at she agreed to sell me the shoes. I have no idea whether I paid a good price for both of my purchases, but I do think I did make quite an effort.

In both cases, the sales ladies started by telling me that they usually charge RMB350 but would give me a "your Chinese is so good so I'll give you a special friend's price" of RMB300. After my first experiences, when I had responded to this opening price with an offer of RMB20-30 and had been sent on my way without further negotiating, I this time raised my initial offer to RMB50. In both cases, I slowly compromised this up to the RMB80 the sellers agreed to accept. This may still not have been the best price, but I think I at least matched their complaints of losing money on doing business with me with my claims that now I couldn't buy any food, since I was only a poor intern!

And, just to conclude (hopefully) my recent bicycle tales, here are a couple of pictures of the new and old.

First, my rust-frame, now retired in a corner of the building's hallway (I seriously considered just leaving it to the helpful bike fixer, who would probably find a use for it, but in the end decided to keep it at least for now):

And here is my new mode of transportation:

Despite my usual tendency to keep away from most things in the pink colour spectrum, I did actually chose this colour over the same models in blue or gray. For one reason or another, most of the bikes I've ridden regularly have in fact been pink (and in fact usually far brighter than this, which barely qualifies as pink at all), and so I decided that I would continue the tradition!

Bicycle Tales, Volume II

2009-05-01T22:06:00.002+08:00

Sorry about the relatively cycling-centered focus of these recent entries. Anyone tired of reading about bikes should probably skip reading and wait for the next one!

This week I have yet another three day weekend, as today was off for the international labour day. It's been nice to have some additional free time this past month, but it seems like almost too much of a good thing. Especially since it will now be several months before another holiday. And I also calculated that "my" half of the work year has almost exactly half the amount of official holidays as the other six months! In any case, I enjoyed sleeping in this morning. When I finally went downstairs for a morning trip to the gym, I found my bicycle once again lying on the ground in an entangled group with its neighbours. Once I got it upright and wanted to set off, I found out that this time the chain had come off. Not wanting to deal with that issue at the moment, I decided on walking instead. That wasn't much of a problem, although I did find myself walking in the bicycle lane at one point, before I realised that I should in fact be on the sidewalk!

Although I knew that fixing the chain would be easy, this last little problem took most of my remaining faith in this bicycle. It seemed increasingly likely that the bike wouldn't stay in riding condition for the next few months, or at least that I would have repeated hassles with it. So instead of spending more effort and money trying to treat the current issues, I thought it would make sense to go ahead and buy a new one now. Although it seems a bit much to buy two bicycles within a month, I look at it as doing my part for the ailing economy! I set off to walk to Carrefour (a French supermarket chain that is quite well represented in China), which clearly reminded me how much slower getting around is on foot. Once there, I first hesitated a bit, but in the end realised that I really had quite made up my mind to buy a bicycle and that there was no point in waiting any longer. Thus, after test-cycling a couple of models around the holiday-crowded aisles, I left the store with a brand new bike and enjoyed a much quicker return trip.

Back in my neighbourhood, I found a bike repairman to help me transfer the lock from my old bicycle to the new one. I at least partially consoled myself about my misguided first bicycle investment by calculating that after accounting for the cost of the lock and the fact that it served as one month's worth of transportation, I didn't lose too much from it. And when I cycled the old bike (on which the helpful bike specialist fixed the chain with one hand) back after being on the new one for a while, I immediately noticed the huge difference!

Among the benefits of my new purchase are the fact that I can now take full advantage of my legs to pedal, the absence of any noise, a basket that's neither bent or rusted, handlebars that don't leave my hands grey after five minutes, a cover that provides at least some protection from the greasy chain for my pant legs, and a stand that stays firmly in place. So I think that I made the right decision and I'll be glad for this smoother ride, especially as the weather is heating up and will soon make cycling uncomfortable enough on any bike.

A Tale of Two Wheels

2009-04-29T20:54:00.003+08:00

After mostly travelling around by taxi the past couple of days, it was back to my usual bicycle today. The condition of this, which was already far from new when I bought it, is quite rapidly declining. In one of the very windy nights some days ago, it (along with most of the other ones standing around it) fell over and I found it with a rather smashed carrier case. I could bend it back into a usable shape, but it looks more worn than it already did before. To avoid a repetition of this topple, I changed to a spot by the entrance of the building, which is more protected from the wind but also more crowded. When I got it on Monday evening, someone had moved it, and when I started cycling I noticed that some part had obviously moved or broken, since it makes a loud rattling/squeaking sound as the wheels rotate, which gets louder as I speed up. I can't quite identify the source of the problem myself, so I think I'll have to ask one of the many bike menders to take a look at it.

However, I'm a bit hesitant of investing more into this bicycle (even the small amount it will probably cost), since I'm starting to think I might end up having to buy a new one eventually anyway. A little while ago I was surprised to realise that it was raining outside. I hadn't expected precipitation at all, (though there was quite a bit of humidity in the air) and left my seat uncovered (not even with my velvety cover!). Thus the process of disintegration of the seat's padding will undoubtedly continue. Along with the rust, the mishapen basket, and the unmistakable noise, it is starting to get rather embarrassing! But for now I can at least still use it to get around, and I've already gotten rather used to the noise (which also compensates somewhat for my lack of a bell, as it makes my coming much more audible). Whenever I see someone looking at me because of it, I start puzzedly looking at my bike and pretend that I've also just noticed the sound!

Recently, I've also gotten a bit skeptical about the previous owner of this bicycle. A few days ago, while spontaneouly skimming through the posted classifieds, I noticed a used bike ad with language that reminded me of the one I'd responded to (they both pointed out that the bike "rides smoothly"). And, sure enough, when I looked up the posted phone number I found that it was the same one. I find it rather suspicious that the same poster would have a used women's bike she doesn't use any more and then a similarly used men's bike a few weeks later...

Delegation-ing

2009-04-27T22:16:00.003+08:00

After many hours of planning and preparing, the Swiss economic delegation finally afternoon, and by now we are already halfway through the workshop. Yesterday evening, there was a briefing and reception for the Swiss representatives at the ambassador's residence, which is immediately behind the embassy itself. Besides one delegate who apparently got lost in a taxi, everyone arrived as planned and the planning seemed to work out. I also saw Urs Eller, whom my family knows well from Shanghai, and Mr. Guertler, another old Shanghai acquaintance, who was surprised to find out who my parents were! Mami und Papi- greetings from both of these old friends!

Today started by meeting the delegation at their hotel to walk them to the conference location. This is in a neighbouring hotel, and the two are connected through an underground shopping center. Besides a wide range of stores, there is even an ice rink within this underground complex! Once everyone was signed in and registered, the actual conference started, of course opened with speeches from the several delegation leaders. Since presentations are made in Chinese and English and not everyone understands both of these languages, there are three interpreters who take turns simultaneously translating everything that is said (which the participants can then listen to on little headsets). It really is quite impressive, since they have to listen and at the same time communicate everything in another language. I already experienced this translation at Friday's IPR conference, although the interpretation there didn't seem quite as smooth and occassionally there was just a complete silence for a few moments- probably an indication that some things were getting lost in the translation!

Tomorrow, the workshop will continue with some more presentations. The conference will conclude with a dinner, to which Switzerland has invited the Chinese delegation as well as the remaining Swiss representatives (the Chinese Vice-Minister hosted a dinner tonight, but to a more selective group of participants). The meal will be at a traditional restaurant for Beijing Duck, which is probably the most famous local specialty. After that, the main portion of the workshop will be over, and I'll return to the office on Wednesday and get back to writing the daily press reviews!

Gone against the Wind

2009-04-25T18:05:00.008+08:00

The "High Level Conference on Intellectual Property Rights" yesterday was interesting, though still not quite as impressive as the name implies. The large hall was filled with rows of chairs (most still empty when I got there an hour before the opening speeches would finally start) that were to be occupied mostly by Chinese participants, with a rather small international attendance, although this was of course much referred to. I went to the embassy after the opening session to work on my weekly press review (until the power in the building was shut down for an hour) and then returned again in the afternoon for a session on administration/enforcement.

I also want to let you Swiss taxpayers know that I did my best to limit my refundable expenses, while also making some diplomatic connections. A couple of seats away from me were two representatives from the Mexican embassy. When I saw that one of them was also leaving after the afternoon session when I had to return to the embassy, I asked him whether he was going back, and if so how. Since the Mexican embassy is Switzerland's immediate neighbour, it would make sense to share the cost of a taxi. He, however, was being picked up by a driver in van. So I ended up getting a free ride back (although I still missed the briefing meeting for the workshop, which was moved up half an hour while the conference had gone over by half an hour, so that it actually only finished when the briefing was already starting at the embassy- but that wasn't really a problem).

Different agencies (customs, IP office, public security and even INTERPOL) presented their functions related to IPR. While it gave some insight into the issue, there were also lots of statistics that didn't really explain anything and references to cases and operations already several years old (and probably already discussed at last year's conference...). I did take many pages of notes, but very little of it seems to be very important or especially useful in getting a better sense of the actual present reality. The presentations generally reminded the audience that there are many challenges, but ended with an optimistic "so let's join hands and work together for future success!"

Today, I started the weekend with an unexpectedly pleasant time at the gym. Unlike the crowds of people and waiting for machines during weekday evening hours, it was relatively empty for once- the Chinese are clearly not weekend-morning exercisers! In fact, by the time I left, they were quite outnumbered by foreigners (who are usually a definite minority). For once, the music was also listenable and not overwhelmingly loud, so I didn't really have anything to complain about!

It's another windy day here in Beijing. It was quite fun on the way to the gym, as for a stretch I didn't even need to pedal and only had to make sure the wind didn't blow me off course. The way back against the wind, however, was rather less fun, especially after already spending an hour on the treadmill! Due to the cold weather the past few days, the apartment is also quite cold again. When I was still cold while reading a couple of chapters covered by my blanket, I finally made myself get outside in the hope that the sun would warm me up despite the wind.

When I first got on my bike, I didn't have a clear destination in mind and the only plan was to stay in the sun. After cycling for a while, I decided that this was a good day to make what seemed like an obligatory sightseeing trip. So, an hour later and definitely not cold anymore, I was finally in front of this sight:

Although I was happy to find it and glad I went, it was rather a "okay, now I've seen it" kind of moment. I think the Bird's Nest looks rather more impressive in some pictures I've seen of it (especially the ones where it's lighted up). I didn't feel too bad about not trying to get across the highway to get a bit closer to it. The Water Cube was also mostly hidden behind the elevated road, but I've also seen plenty of pictures of this, so I was happy with this limited view of it:

I actually thought this other building in the area looked quite interesting as well (and realised when I got back to the apartment that on a day as clear as today, I can actually see it from the corridor to my apartment):

By the time I took these pictures, proving I had actually been there, I was looking forward to the ride back, especially since I was hoping that it would be easier now that I'd no longer be fighting against the wind (although at times it seemed I was going against it no matter what direction I was cycling in!).

On the way back, I passed the building (I assume the main office) of the China Daily. Considering that this is one of the major news outlets for the world's largest country, it seemed to be a rather small building. But I guess they don't require as much space for investigative reporters and critical analysts as some other newspapers....:

(Taking this picture also got me some curious stares from the workmen that are in the bottom right of it - the two in the back are sitting on the trailer of the three-wheeled bicycled pedaled by the one front.)

A bit farther on, I also crossed a bridge over this peacefu-looking canal with a small park area on either side. Another example of the little green spots than can still be found in this crowded and dusty city:

Before coming back to the apartment, I spent about an hour looking through a crowded supermarket and buying a basketful of groceries and other supplies for a total of RMB 60, or less than US$10. I realised that I bought few prepackaged foods and many things were in bags that I filled from various bulk containers- rice, dried beans, fresh tofu, raisins, dried sweet potato sticks (which I really like as a snack), a small amount of salted/dried beans of some sort to try, and even some seasoned dried tofu (also a typical snack- though this is actually in bulk in individual packages, so I guess it doesn't quite count). Now I'll go take a walk to the vegetable stands on the next block, as I didn't buy any of those at the supermarket. The produce area was very busy, and I also knew I wouldn't have enough room in the bag I brought with me (in most supermarkets plastic bags are not free and have to be paid for if required, which is an environmentally-friendly solution rather ahead of the US, in my opinion).

The fact that I could add the above pictures to this post proves that China is probably safer than most other places in the world, despite even the frequent mention of stolen bicycles. When I came out of the supermarket, I found my bicycle- with my camera in the carrier basket! I'd taken the camera out while cycling along and must have overlooked it when I took out my bag to go into the store. So while I was leisurely browsing the aisles, my camera was sitting outside the whole time, and plenty of people must have walked by it. Maybe it was so obvious that it looked too much like a trap, but seeing it still there (along with giving me a shock at my own carelessness) renewed my confidence about trusting the general safety here. But I still reminded myself to be more careful in the future- I don't want to tempt fate quite that openly!

PS
I'm now back from my vegetable shopping. Since I don't know how much time I'll have to cook the next few days, I decided to make a big wok full of vegetables (and the tofu I bought earlier) today. Since I do have plenty of time this evening, here's a picture of my purchases- for a total of RMB 19.5 (less than US$3):

Nothing too unusual or exotic, but a large amount of any vegetables is always exciting enough for me!

Travelling Business

2009-04-23T20:31:00.003+08:00

At the moment, the commercial section is almost completely occupied with preparations for a workshop next week. A delegation from Switzerland's department of economy and representatives of Swiss business (including, in fact, an old family friend from Shanghai) are arriving on Sunday for two days' worth of sessions with their Chinese counterparts. With participants coming from both Switzerland and other parts of China, there are plenty of logistical arrangements to be made. This afternoon, we travelled to the conference location to meet the team organising the Chinese delegation, look at the event venue, and also talk to someone from the hotel at which the delegates will be staying. While at this point I don't have a big role in the actual planning and am mostly helping out with various support tasks (updating the budget, calling representatives, answering emails...), it's still interesting to see what all goes into setting up such an event, from the huge issues (what are the prospects of trade relations between China and Switzerland?) to the rather minor, but sometimes just as important (should there be three tables of ten people each or two tables of fifteen each?).

Tomorrow, there is another conference happening in the city, at which there will be various discussions on the issue of intellectual property rights (IPR) in China. Since I'm not as crucial to the last minute organising that will need to happen tomorrow, the section head (who's recently also been promoted to Minister) asked me to represent the embassy at the event. Though I imagine the opening speeches are going to be rather ceremonial and not too exciting, I am looking forward to attending it as well as the afternoon session I will have to go take notes on. So, while it's all within the city, I am getting some opportunities to travel a bit beyond the embassy!

Today, I also had another transport experience, as it was the first day I had to cycle in the rain. While in the morning I got outside in my jacket, raincoat, and sweatpants (to change out of at the office) only to find that the rain had stopped, it was quite pouring when I had to bike back (after stopping at the gym) in the evening. But at least I stayed dry in the morning and could immediately change out of my wet clothes when I got back a bit earlier. In the morning, I somehow felt that drivers seemed to be even less considerate than usual in the rain. After a while, however, I also realised that, in my raincoat and hood, I was quite unrecognisable as a foreigner. Now, I usually get honked at as much as the other cyclers and there are no cars stopping to let me pass, but I think that most drivers probably still prefer not to actually hit a foreigner. So perhaps the difference in driver behaviour was simply a more realistic experience. Or maybe the drivers were just more aggressive today. Or maybe I was just less patient than usual... In any case, I'm quite happy that tomorrow I'll be able to take a refundable taxi drive to the IPR event (thank you to all of you Swiss taxpayers)!

Here to Stay

2009-04-22T20:51:00.002+08:00

This morning, the archivist at the embassy asked me to send in my street address to add to the staff contact list. I knew I should do so eventually, but somehow I still felt that it was rather temporary. Only a few hours later, I had a telephone call from Robert (Shan's husband and my apartment-mate) to ask whether I had decided to stay after the one month we'd agreed on as a trial period. Since I haven't found a reason not to and in any case don't think I'll find a better arrangement, I said I would. So it looks like I should start thinking of this as my home for the next half year (which, in many ways, I've already gotten used to)!

When I came back to the apartment, Shan also asked me whether I was staying at least three months. Apparently, Robert is in fact starting to learn Japanese next month- in Japan! Which means that it will only be Shan and I sharing the apartment. Although I had no problem at all with Robert, I was actually also quite happy to hear about this change. It'll be especially convenient in the mornings, which right now are the intersection point at which all three of us are ever around at the same time! Shan leaves just as I'm getting up, and Robert usually comes home from work at about the same time as well. Since he wants to shower when he gets back and I do before I leave, the usually empty apartment suddenly gets a bit crowded for exactly that half hour!

Weathery Days

2009-04-20T20:32:00.003+08:00

The housewarming on Saturday turned out to be quite a fun evening, with several new people to meet and the chance to get to know some of the embassy coworkers a bit better. Since it was too far for even me to think about cycling, I took the metro. I had to change lines twice and didn't know exactly how long it would take, but I soon realised I wouldn't be there quite by the time the invitation was for. Although I assumed it would probably not matter too much, I was still typically anxious about not being too late. I did my best to speed through the stations, only to find that (when I got there fifteen minutes "late") I was the first one there!

Not surprisingly, there were a few people from the embassy as well as several other Swiss people there. Most of the people I've met recently have been Swiss, and as ironic as it may be, I think I'm probably in more regular contact with countrymen and women than I have been since leaving Switzerland! Though it would be wrong to spend all my time with other Swiss, I am also enjoying the opportunity to establish a somewhat closer social connection to my "homeland."

Yesterday, the weather gave me a good excuse for not going too far away from my room. Although it rained in the night (it was just starting to drizzle when I left the housewarming Saturday night) and was quite through the day, it stayed grey and damp enough to make going on any lengthy expeditions quite untempting. Beijing's been dry for quite a long time now, so the rain definitely didn't hurt. I also didn't mind, though I did find my bicycle seat cover too wet to sit on and removing it showed that the seat underneath it is not in the best condition any more! I learned my lesson (not counting on the continued dry spell anymore) and my seat is now covered with a plastic bag and the velvety cover safely inside.

Today was much sunnier again, but strong winds replaced the earlier rain. Already in the morning I struggled against the wind on my bike, and I probably used about twice as much energy cycling back this afternoon than usual. At least I managed to stay on the bicycle! Now, sitting in my room on the thirteenth floor, I can hear the wind gusting around the building. This kind of weather makes it all the more clear how limitedy sound and weather proof these constructions are! It's a good night to get to bed early and enjoy the warm blankets. And remember that soon I'll probably be wishing for slightly cooler weather and some wind to blow away the stale city air.

Weekend Again

2009-04-18T12:28:00.004+08:00

With another four day work week, the last couple of days went by quickly and I'm already enjoying another weekend. In fact, this is the first normal one, since the first two since I started working were three or even four day weekends! I've already made a morning trip to the gym and came back to find that apparently there is to be no lunch break upstairs today! At least they've moved on from the complete demolition phase, but there is still plenty of hammering and drilling going on throughout the day.

Although I can only claim one month of summer courses at a Swiss university, Christine from the cultural section gave me an invitation for Swiss university networking evening anyway. This took place on Thursday, and after work I found my way through the "hutong" alleys on my bicycle to the "Bed Bar," which is hidden in one of the typical old courtyard houses. I first talked to a couple of teachers and representatives from a Chinese university before meeting a Swiss girl currently studying here. After talking for a while, we were surprised to find out that both of us have the same name- the only other "Evelyne" either of us had met before! Not only that, but she has grown up quite as internationally as me. And her parents now live in Guelph, about an hour away from my parents in London, Ontario! We don't have the same birthday though, which we checked just because it would have been a bit too unbelievable if we shared that too!

Tonight, I'm invited to a housewarming party at the apartment Gabriel from the embassy has recently moved in to. By now we've figured out that he is in fact my second cousin (if that's the right term for someone whose mother is my father's cousin)! I guess you could say that we're not exactly in close contact with that part of the family. But it was fun to find a relative in such an unexpected place, especially since I don't have many direct cousins and don't see much of the ones I do have. I think there are quite a few people from the embassy going to this housewarming ("apartment-warming"?), so it will be nice to get to know some of them a bit more.

Until then, I'm waiting to hang up some washing, and then I think I'll take another trip to the Carrefour. It should be quicker this time, now that I have a bike and also know exactly where to find it!

For those who are interested, the weekly press reviews are always published on the same website I listed a while ago (http://www.sinoptic.ch/embassy/presseschau/).

Roads: Reality and Rules

2009-04-15T20:39:00.004+08:00

Now that I've been a Beijing bike owner for almost a week, I'm starting to feel quite comfortable using my two wheels to ride around. Even with my slow bicycle, I can get to the embassy from my apartment in about 15 minutes. This week I even figured out that, by maneuvering through the traffic a bit, I can avoid cycling through the loop that's signposted for crossing the major ringroad that's between my apartment and the embassy. This added quite a bit to the distance and, most importantly, was the only part that wasn't quite flat, so I don't mind having to stop for a few cars to avoid it (and will be even happier to do so once the temperature gets even hotter). It seems that most of the Chinese cyclists feel the same way and almost no one completes the other loop.

After making a couple of detours earlier in the week to find a place to cross to the other side of the road in sections were the street is divided in the center, I now also simply cycle in the bicycle lane in the other direction until I can move onto the proper side. I don't know whether there are any laws against this or not, but I'm definitely not the only one doing it. And as long as I don't know, I can claim innocence. In general it seems that bicycles are left to do as they please and are just responsibility for their own safety. The concept of trying to use hand signals to announce changes in direction seems completely unknown (as does the idea of actually using the blinkers in cars). Since I still don't have a bell, I've resorted to using a German "Achtung" to avoid imminent collisions and this, as long as it's audible enough, seems to work all right as well. It all leads to some sudden breaks and quick swerves, but that just adds some excitement (though, depending on my mood, also significant frustration)!

Though cars also seem to generally follow their own rules, they don't always have as much room to maneuver. There were already a large number of cars when we lived in Shanghai almost ten years ago, but there are even many more by now. Just today I read reports of Volkswagen's record sales last month in an article that also stated that in March 1.11 million domestically made cars were sold in China. Considering that in many rural areas car ownership rates are still very low, this means that there are lots of new cars flooding onto the streets of the major cities, which is a trend that has been going on for a long time now. And the scene on the road is quite different from the Santanas that seemed to dominate the streets of Shanghai. I've now seen jeeps and all sorts of luxury SUVs (even a Hummer), but I have yet to see a Smart car, which would seem to be more suitable for Beijing's crowded streets!

Because, with all these cars, parking is a serious issue in the city. Another article I read recently explained that most cities need about 130 parking spaces for every 100 cars for a stable parking situation. Beijing apparently has about 70 (I can't quite remember the exact number, but it was definitely between 60 and 80). Which means that it's simply impossible for all cars to be parked at any one time. Whenever I walk (or bike) past a destination where many people are trying to park, I am very glad I don't have to deal with finding a space and then maneuvering into it. Often there are no clearly defined spaces and it seems quite likely that occassionally a car will end up trapped with no way of getting out without the cars that arrived later to move as well.

Besides the individual hassle of driving and parking, which I happily avoid, there is of course the issue of the fumes that are released by these car masses, which unfortunately are not limited to those producing them. As I mentioned before, Beijing recently decided to continue limitations first introduced for the Olympics, and the newly adjusted regulations went into effect this week. Every day, one fifth of the city's cars (based on license plates) is banned from driving within the fourth ringroad around the city during the day. The government credits these rules for at least some of the success in increasing the number of "blue sky days" in the city. For March, the city reported that 80% of the days had fallen into this category. As other reports have reminded, blue skies do not mean the absence of harmful substances in the air, but they make it significantly easier to ignore this reality! So, after the past few smoggy days, I was also very happy to see today's sparkling blue skies! And I even led myself to believe that the strong wind overnight did in fact blow away some of the undesirable fumes...

Unplanned

2009-04-13T19:43:00.004+08:00

Today once again showed that if I don't plan on doing anything specific ahead of time, the day ends up just going by without any major activities. Besides going to the gym in the morning, I didn't have anything specific in mind for today, and that's just about what all I ended up doing! Once back from the gym, I enjoyed the quiet over lunch and then didn't really feel motivated to do much else. Thanks to my visit to The Bookworm yesterday, I at least had a book to keep me occupied (though I'm not sure whether selecting a book based on its size and the fact that the first two sentences set it in a hotel in Zurich necessarily leads to the best choice).

In the evening, I got back on my bicycle to at least make another trip to the supermarket. I needed to buy a small lock for the lockers at the gym, as these are not provided. And as always, I bought some vegetables for dinner. Although so far I've stayed mostly with vegetables that are somewhat familiar (carrots, tomatoes, greens that at least look recognisable, garlic...), I do also want to gradually try more adventurous options. Today, I chose some mushrooms, which I've never really cooked with before, as well as a bunch of greens that look like something that would grow in a Swiss meadow. I also bought some tofu, and, thanks to my inability to decipher the characters for the different varities, ended up with a form rather softer than what I expected. So my cooking always stays interesting (and so far also edible). With the prices of produce, it's also easy to try a selection. Vegetables are generally quite cheap, and staples such as rice and noodles even more so. The biggest portion of my food budget probably goes to regular fruit purchases, but even those are not expensive in comparison to most European or American prices.

While I'm adjusting well to buying and cooking food here, I'm starting to think that I may just be too noise sensitive for living in a (Chinese city). After as usual being woken up by hammering upstairs (so much for yesterday's claim that they were almost done with the demolition part of the process), I cycled off for my first visit at Hokay. It felt good to be back in a gym, even though I also saw how much slower I've gotten! But thanks to the beating music(?) that was playing the whole time, the noise level wasn't much more comfortable than at the apartment. I simply don't understand the need for so much sound at the gym, especially since most people listen to their own music on headphones anyway. I tried to do the same, but attempting to listen to my song over the gym's soundsystem just made it worse! I guess when the gym is busier, the sound of all the machines running at the same time is at least going to drown out some of the music...I really think I need to invest in some earplugs, but have no idea where to even start looking for those here!

But tomorrow it's back to work, so I'll have to get up in the morning anyway. Which probably means it will actually be quieter than the past four days!

Just because I haven't shown any food photos in a while, here's a picture of tonight's wok-mixture (which will also serve as tomorrow's lunch):

Membership

2009-04-12T18:20:00.003+08:00

It has turned out to be a relatively expensive day, but I think they were all payments that will turn out to be quite valuable. Today is by far the smoggiest day I've seen since arriving in Beijing, so while out running this morning (during which I soon gave up any ideas to a bit farther today in order to avoid inhaling any more of this pollution soup) I decided definitely to join a gym. Besides, it will also be hotter soon, which will make running outside even less appealing. I'd talked to Shan about a couple of options yesterday, and after enjoying the quiet of the lunch break upstairs, I set off to find out more.

I cycled to the Hokay Gym, which is on a road that goes off the one I take to work everywhere (and would thus be relatively convenient for after work stops). A staff member first showed me around the various workout rooms (relatively standard cardiovascular, weights, group classroom, spinning...) and then started talking about the payment options. A half year membership would usually be 799RMB but today she could give it to me for 600, she said. When I said I didn't really want to decide immediately, she claimed that if I came back tomorrow I might not get the same price, as I was the 9th person out of the 10 they could give this particular promotion to...I didn't quite believe this particular argument, but in the end, after also talking to an English-speaking client and her western husband, I decided that I might as well just complete the deal. It really is probably the best location and about the same as any other choices. Though it seems a lot for here, it's probably a well-spent $100 (or less)!

Once that deal was complete, I cycled on to The Bookworm, which was to be my first visit to one of the regular local expat destinations. Especially over the past couple of free days, I've missed having anything interesting to read, and The Bookworm seems to be the answer to that problem. It's a combined bookstore/coffee shop/restaurant/reading room/and (most importantly) lending library. I invested in a membership here as well, which (for 200RMB) allows me to take out two books at a time for the next six months. The walls of the two main rooms are lined with bookshelves (which are of course filled with books) so, although not quite a match for the Bodleian in Oxford or even the Gelman library at GWU, there are still quite a few titles to keep me occupied for the next half year.

So, after having already arranged for my basic housing, eating, and transportation needs over the past weeks, I think I've now also taken care of my physical and mental fitness and general leisure activity! Considering that I'll have to cycle back to the library for every two books, the two even somewhat merge together. I think it's one of the benefits of being "only an intern" that I can, probably more than anyone else with somewhat more responsibilty, really leave my work behind in the office. Which means that, although I have a more rigid work schedule than ever before, I also have plenty of time in which I can really do as I please without two much worrying about upcoming assignments or projects that should be worked on. And while I intend to use some of this time with more exciting disoveries and encounters, I'm happy to have the gym and a regular access to books to fill some of the rest!

Before coming back to the apartment, I wanted to stop at one of the roadside "bike fixers" to ask whether it is possible to raise my seat slightly (I fear that if this was ever possible, it might be rusted into place by now). These seem to be everywhere all the time, but, as so often tends to be the case, I didn't see any while specifically biking around in search of one! Once back inside, I was eager to take off the clothes I'd worn outside and wash. I'm starting to understand this habit of people living in similarly polluted areas, as I really feel like I am bringing all the dirt and pollutants inside in my clothes and my body itself.

I tried to take a picture of the sun, or rather the inability to really see it through the "fog." It didn't turn out too well, or maybe that's really the point. Though the quality may also have something to do with the fact that I took it from my moving bicycle...:

On the subject of western holidays in China:
From the park next to my apartment (the one I went to on Friday), there regularly comes the sound of music. I think these are often harmonicas, or at least that's what I saw yesterday. While passing it yesterday, I thought the tune sounded familiar, and after a moment I believed to identify it as "Jingle Bells." Coming back today, I once again noticed the tune, even when I was not particular listening for it. Now, my musical abilities or admittedly limited, but either the Chinese have a folk tune that sounds very similar to "Jingle Bells" or this particular group of musicians have developed a liking for the Christmas song and continue to perform it unknowing (or despite) it's original context!

Redecorating continues...

2009-04-12T11:21:00.006+08:00

Based on the amount of debris (including wood panels, doors, wood panels, tile pieces, window frames, and anything else that makes up an apartment) that I watched the workers from upstairs remove yesterday and the continued demolition noise, I'm not only fearing another headache but also starting to be afraid that soon one of them is going to drop through the floor into our apartment! After all, it doesn't seem that there can be much left up there! I can't even be too mad at the workers themselves, since they're the ones working close to twelve hours a day (and even closer to the noise the whole time), but I sure wish they'd finish this project soon! Robert (Shan's husband) left this morning to spend a week with her family in Chengdu, where he can continue to work at night and sleep during the day. We all hope that by the time he comes back they'll have moved on to a quieter stage of redecorating, though I'm starting to realise that this might turn out to be a lengthy process...

As planned, I went out yesterday to escape some of the noise. Though the city is never completely quiet, it's still generally not quite as uncomfortable as consistent hammering. While I made much faster progress on my bicycle, I also found that this requires a bit more attention to navigating and avoiding any collisions and allows for less leisurely observation (or photographing) along the way. But I at least I got to my decided destination of the Houhai (Back Lake) area much sooner than I would have by foot and had time and energy to go around most of the two lakes (the southern, larger of which is also quite divided into two separate sections). Once I found the lakes, I first started around the northern one, which was relatively quiet. There were fishermen waiting with their rods in the water (I wonder how many fish they actually catch) and once again several brides getting their pictures taken among some scenic rocks, though yesterday was a much less ideal day for it than last weekend.

I also took some detours through some of the traditional alleys, which are still relatively common in the area. This one turned out to be a dead end and in a "redecorating" process that reminded me of what I had left at my own apartment:

After cycling around this smaller lake, I moved down to the larger lake:

The lake itself was full of various watercraft, including a surfer:

The southern lake closer to the central area of the Forbidden City and also much more densely visited. much more "touristy." There were entire caravans of bike-rickshaws transporting around tour groups and of course also plenty of pedestrians. Especially as I continued south along the lake, there was an increasing number of people as well as countless restaurants, cafes, and bars (the area is also known as a nightlife destination, I believe).

Not a sofa store, but one of many similar sidewalk cafes/bars:

According to the calendar, it's Easter today! Unlike Christmas, which (in its commercialised identity) has been quite incorporated into the Chinese calendar, the same is not true for Easter and there are is little sign of it to be seen anywhere. And, as is plainly obvious from here in my room, work is continuing as usual! I also have to admit that until this Thursday I myself had the 19th in my head as the date for Easter (probably due to mistakenly looking at a listing of the Orthodox holiday a few weeks ago). Because I was rather disappointed to find that the holiday had crept up so suddenly without be being able to properly enjoy the excitement of its proximity, I've decided to keep next Sunday as the end of my personal Lent. Maybe by then I'll also be able to enjoy a nice Easter breakfast in relative quiet! But, for all of you following the normal calendar, Happy Easter!

No Relief

2009-04-11T10:28:00.001+08:00

If anyone ever needs to extract any information (or anything else) from me, about two days' of immediate exposure to Chinese "redecorating" would be a good method to use! For guaranteed results, choose a time when I am already not feeling too great, and I think by the third day at least I'd be willing to give up quite a lot!

In other words, my (optimistic) hopes for a quiet Saturday were quickly shattered this morning and by eight o'clock I had to give up any attempt to continue sleeping through the resumed work upstairs. I'd gone to bed early yesterday (both because I was tired and in anticipation of another early awakening) but was still not exactly happy to be woken up, and especially to find out that today would not be any quieter than yesterday!

At least, it was good motivation to get outside for a run. The weather was still relatively comfortably cool (though the past two days have also been the first truly smoggy ones since I've arrived) and it felt good doing something for my physical health to balance the recent damage to my nerves! Among today's sightings along the bike path: an old man cycling along with a cuckoo clock in his carrier basket!

As I returned to the apartment, I had quite forgotten about the noise I would find there and was looking forward to finally enjoying my breakfast. But as soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I was quickly reminded of the ongoing work. At the moment, I've identified the sound of at least two hammers and two drills. Looking out of my window (which, along with the all the other windows, I quickly closed), I even saw another person doing his best to pull off the iron frame in front of the balcony windows. Some of the hammering sounds rather aimless to me and, based also on previous observation of Chinese workers, I am starting to suspect that this redecorating (which seems to be more demolition) project could probably be completed a bit more efficiently and with less unnecessary noise.

Evidence of "redecorating" (these piles have grown quite a bit since I took the picture yesterday- it's surprising that so much can be pulled out of such a relatively small apartment):

A couple of views from the hallway leading from the elevator to the apartment:

Looking northwards:

Yesterday, I finally collected my energy and motivated myself to leave the apartment. First, I made a stop in the little park/pond that lies right behind my building and which I've passed by multiple times but never gone in before. This isn't very big or especially attractive, but still a welcome spot of green. At about three o'clock in the afternoon, it most resembled the yard of a nursing home with old men and women clustered around tables and benches talking, enjoying the sun and playing card and board games. There were also a few toddlers scratching around in the dirt in their slit pants (which eliminate the need for diapers...).

The pond and fountain (which looks rather Gaudi'esque to me):

At least for me, they could have saved the cost of this warning (though, according to the information panel at the entrance, there are also "swimming areas" within the park):

(Many of the signs around the neighbourhood include a Russian version, often without the corresponding English. The Russian embassy is only a couple of blocks away and most of the non-Chinese I've seen close by appear to be of Slavic origin)

After sitting on a bench for a while (from which I could also hear hammering coming from some corner of the park), I got up for my retail therapy of choice: grocery shopping! However, once I got to the supermarket, I found the bustle of the other customers and the sound of the staff noisily calling attention to current promotions rather too exhausting. So I returned home again to eagerly wait for 5:30, when work would supposedly be done for the day, though it ended up being a bit later.

Now I am again waiting for a break, as I am counting on the dependable meal routine to create another welcome hour of relief at noon. I'll use it to enjoy some quiet and prepare myself to go outside to wait out the rest of the working day once the hammering and drilling resumes.

Different Schedules

2009-04-10T11:37:00.000+08:00

So far, my Easter (long) weekend hasn't started quite as comfortably as I had hoped. My plans on enjoying a somewhat later morning were quickly disrupted by the sound of loud hammering from upstairs. Now I understand that just because I have a free day doesn't mean that no one else has to work. But, thanks to an uncomfortably sore throat, I already didn't sleep well during the night (or the couple of nights before), so I would have appreciated if they could have waited until after 6:50 to start! But instead, I now just have a headache in addition to the sore throat!

I'd already heard some noise the past couple of days, and yesterday Shan said that the apartment above ours is being redecorated for the next week or so. I don't know what kind of "redecorating" they're doing that requires this amount of hammering and other tool-use! This isn't just hanging-up-a-picture hammering- more like tearing-down-the-walls hammering! My attempt to cover the noise up with music was completely futile and unfortunately it looks like the ear plugs I'd saved from some long-ago flight seem to have been left behind at the hostel (where I was also glad for them).

Apparently, Shan already called the police this morning to complain. She said that yesterday her husband Robert ended up going to a friend's house to sleep (as he has to sleep during the day because he works at night), and it looks like he's done the same again today. She just let me know that I could also call the police again as it's supposedly illegal for them to be making this much noise at this time of the day. But I'm not sure I'm quite confident enough in my Chinese skills (or the Chinese legal system) to go that far! Besides, her call this morning doesn't look to have had much of an effect. I'm hoping they'll take a lunch break soon. And then I'll just have to finally get outside (even the noisy streets should seem relatively quiet in comparison), although I really don't have much energy for exploring at the moment!

Now I just hope that they won't continue working throughout the weekend, though I'm not counting on that yet. However, I think at least my prediction about a lunch break might have been true- it's been quiet for a moment now. I don't think the Chinese would let anything keep them from their regular meals!

Two Wheel Drive

2009-04-09T19:29:00.000+08:00

First, here's a quick flashback to a form of "two wheel drive" I was practicing less than a month ago (Sibylle, I hope you don't mind the picture!):

(Because sled dogs are, not surprisingly, quite strong animals, the standard method for moving them around when not harnessed to the sled is to lift them up on their hind legs and lead them hoppingly along. They didn't even seem to be too bothered by this, but then I guess they're also used to it!)

As I got on my new "two wheels" this morning, I could already feel the lingering remains of yesterday's ride. Hopefully, my sitting surface will soon get used to perching on a saddle again! In any case, I successfully made my way to the embassy, in heels and with my dress pants tucked safely into my socks! Besides the fact that it only took about fifteen minutes, I think the best part was cycling by the crowds of people waiting for the (also already crowded) buses!

Here's a picture of my "steel donkey" (direct translation of a common Swiss term and not my own creation):

I think it actually looks better in the picture than in reality, but that makes it easier for me to leave it outside without worrying much about anyone taking it! Despite the somewhat rusty condition, however, it still rides decently well. It also included the basket and lock, so the only piece missing is a loud bell. That would be quite important as I try to safely make my way along all the other bikes, tuctucs, buses, pedestrians, taxis, and whatever else ends up in the bicycle lanes! It should probably also be a bit taller to be quite comfortable for me, but I don't intend on entering any triathlons with it! I did pass one guy "hotter-ing" (there's some Swiss German for you, Oma!) along on his motorised version, but quite a few also passed me!

To my surprise, I found out today that my work week is already over now! I knew the embassy would be closed on Monday, but I hadn't realized Friday would be off as well. Now I just have to figure out what to do with all this time! I should probably take advantage of the new mode of transportation at my disposal!

Mass Commuting

2009-04-08T20:27:00.000+08:00

I think today I made use of all the common city transit options. In the morning, I caught bus #635 towards the embassy, as did quite a few other people! Although maybe not quite as extreme as can sometimes be seen in pictures from India or other similarly crowded places, there were still enough people to make the ride rather uncomfortable and I almost regretted not just walking. After the time I waited for the bus and the slow progress through traffic, it probably wouldn't have taken all that longer.

After work, I did walk, this time to the subway station relatively close to where I now live. Until now, I'd never actually used the underground system, but I was going to the other side of the city to test my potential new bike. Through my regular checking of the ads in "The Beijinger" online forum, I saw one yesterday from a girl selling her old bike. When I finally met her at the arranged subway station, I saw that the bike is certainly not new anymore. But after testing it for a few meters, I decided that it still drives well enough for and that I might as well take it. For 150 yuan (about 20 US dollars), you can't really expect too much. Besides, this is probably the safest insurance against bicycle theft!

Once we agreed on the exchange, I looked around and was rather intimidated by the multiple lanes and elevated roads that surrounded me. This time I couldn't take the subway back again! With the help of the old bicycle owner, I maneuvered across the intersection and found myself on the bike lane of the second ring road, weaving my way along besides taxis, motorcycles, buses, and other bicycles. Thirty-five minutes and a few sudden stops later, I was finally in familiar territory again. Now the ride to work tomorrow should seem quite simple in comparison! In any case, I think I am now quite set for my life here in Beijing!

A Room of My Own

2009-04-07T19:32:00.000+08:00

I'm back from another run (after returning from work, even!) and feeling very happy to finally be getting back into this habit. Though, as I was making my way along the ring road today, I wondered whether there are indeed any net benefits to this activity once all the smog and fumes I inhale along the way are taken into account! On the other hand, I also thought, while making my way back in the falling dusk, that I should be grateful for the fact that in this city of millions I never feel afraid to be out by myself, whatever area I might be in or whatever time of day it is, and don't think I am being too reckless or naive in this. And in terms of the pollution, I can at least take some relief in the fact that the Beijing government just announced the extension of traffic limits introduced for the Olympics. This uses a system based on license plate numbers to keep one fifth of all the cars (excluding emergency vehicles and public transportation) off the street on any given day.

Speaking of which, here's a link to an online posting of the weekly press review I sent out last week for any one who's interested in knowing more about what's going on in China at the moment (or what I spend my mornings reading about). I guess the fact that the credit goes to Gautier (who works in the political section and usually takes care of the South China Morning Post component of the news, though I even temporarily took that over from him last week) is just one of the aspects of being an intern! Or maybe it's only a reflection of incomplete updating....

http://www.sinoptic.ch/embassy/presseschau/

But now I'll finally get to the promised pictures of my room. Though not big, it was hard to get a complete picture of it, but here are my attempts:

Standing in the corner, on the bed:

From the other corner:

An attempt through the doorway:

The view from my window (I'm not sure what the purpose of the concrete ledges in front are for):

And a closer look, thanks to the camera zoom:

Now it's finally time for dinner (I wonder how soon I'll tire of the rice stir-fried with vegetables and egg I've cooked for several meals in a row now? I think at least not quite as quickly as the pot noodles I was eating before having access to a kitchen), and I should probably also check to see how my attempt to cook some black beans in the rice cooker is going...!

PS
I do not recommend cooking beans in a rice cooker! Maybe it would have worked with a smaller amount of beans or on one of the other of the half dozen settings, but in this case I'm just glad I've had a chance to clean up the mess before Shan got back to see it! I think next time I'll make do with cooking them in the small saucepan. Woks are great, but just not that convenient for boiling beans! It has been quite an educational experience however, since I also found that black bean does not equal black bean everywhere. Although these looked similar to ones I'm familiar with, they now look rather green and are in fact green and quite crisp inside (more like edamame or something like that). Now if I only knew whether this is how they're supposed to be, or whether they still need more cooking....?

Now I'm really going to make dinner, in the just cleaned again kitchen!

Up and Running (Finally!)

2009-04-06T18:35:00.000+08:00

More or less exactly two weeks after my farewell run through the quiet Canadian neighbourhoods of Byron, Ontario, I at last put on my running shoes again to jog through the rather different streets of Beijing! It was rather dangerously easy to forget my habits after a few days, and the prospect of going running in the crowded city wasn't especially enticing either. But now that I'm quite settled I could no longer use that as an excuse. So, especially since the apartment is still quite frigid while it's comfortably warm outside, I pulled myself together and ventured outside. And with my sunglasses on (rather movie-star like!) I decided to just ignore any curious stares from the local neighbours: after all, I am local now too!

I found that running along the second ring road highway, though not the most scenic of routes, at least allows a relatively consistent run without constant interruptions at crosswalks and stoplights. It's also less populated by other pedestrians and mostly limits any staring to the passengers in passing cars, which are much easier to ignore! I could definitely feel my recent inactivity, but thankfully Beijing is quite flat, which I was quite happy about for right now. So I wasn't breaking any records, but in the end I did at least run a whole thirty minutes more than I have in all of the past 14 days. And I even saw another (of course equally "long-nosed") jogger along the way.

Gyms seem to be gaining popularity here in Beijing. I've collected several flyers being passed out in supermarkets and on street corners to advertise new openings and special promotions at gyms in different corners of the neighbourhood. Few actually list any specific prices and it's still on my to do list to find out more about these possibilities. But until I decide whether, and if so which one, it makes sense to join one of these, I'll try to at least make more regular use of the neighbourhood sidewalks.

Now I'm alone for the evening. Shan works all day (until the restaurant she works at closes) on Tuesdays, and her husband Robert has already left for his work-night (working American hours from here in China). While I was outside, the rice-cooker dutifully did it's work, so now I can go and cook up some more recently purchased vegetables for my finally earned dinner!

(I am planning on adding some pictures of my new room soon for anyone who's curious to see. First, however, I need to reload my camera with new batteries - again. I don't know how long my minimal internship pay can keep up if this rate of battery consumption continues! Besides, I also have to wait until all my laundery dries, since my lack of a drying rack has led me to make some creative use of the room to spread out all the clothes I finally had a chance to wash today!)