Hey, everyone! I'm taking off to go on a 15 day trip to Xi'an in about 10 minutes! It should be awesome and I'm sorry that I don't have time to tell you more. Ancient cities and lots of desert, here I come!
~Kelsey
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
忙(máng), busy
Hello, All！
I started writing several posts about how busy I am, but I was too busy to finish writing them. Classes started last Wednesday, and I've had my hands full with them, as well with all the other things that are going on around here.
Orientation was exhausting, but there were a lot of fun parts. We did two "Mystery Beijing" tours, in which we split up into pairs or small groups and had to get to a place in Beijing on our own without using a Taxi. My new friend Akane and I went to 南锣鼓巷 (Nán luógǔ xiàng), which is a reconstructed hútòng (alleyway), and a very trendy and somewhat touristy spot to hang out. We tried a treat that Akane's guidebook said was yoghurt, but had packaging claiming that it was cheese, and that tasted like egg. It wasn't bad, but it was rich enough that I couldn't finish it. The shops around that area are also quite nice, and they sell little stuffed piggies dressed as Mao Zedong for 70kuai, or 100kuai for a pair (about $15US).
During a different trip, we got lost trying to find the Purple Bamboo Park due to some conflicting leadership initiatives--one of the guys leading us thought we were trying to visit a strange broadcast tower thing, while the other was trying to get us to the park, so we ended up somewhere in between. We ended up finding the park, and it was quite lovely. It was relatively early in the morning (around 8:30am), so there were people fishing, practicing Tai chi, singing Chinese opera, and even some Bollywood dancers.
I have a lot of lovely pictures from these little excursions (and others as well), but I think the Great Firewall has thwarted my efforts when it comes to posting images. I'll keep looking for a way to get around that, but it's going to take a little more time. Until then, just believe me when I say that it's really amazing here!
Bye bye,
~Kelsey
I started writing several posts about how busy I am, but I was too busy to finish writing them. Classes started last Wednesday, and I've had my hands full with them, as well with all the other things that are going on around here.
Orientation was exhausting, but there were a lot of fun parts. We did two "Mystery Beijing" tours, in which we split up into pairs or small groups and had to get to a place in Beijing on our own without using a Taxi. My new friend Akane and I went to 南锣鼓巷 (Nán luógǔ xiàng), which is a reconstructed hútòng (alleyway), and a very trendy and somewhat touristy spot to hang out. We tried a treat that Akane's guidebook said was yoghurt, but had packaging claiming that it was cheese, and that tasted like egg. It wasn't bad, but it was rich enough that I couldn't finish it. The shops around that area are also quite nice, and they sell little stuffed piggies dressed as Mao Zedong for 70kuai, or 100kuai for a pair (about $15US).
During a different trip, we got lost trying to find the Purple Bamboo Park due to some conflicting leadership initiatives--one of the guys leading us thought we were trying to visit a strange broadcast tower thing, while the other was trying to get us to the park, so we ended up somewhere in between. We ended up finding the park, and it was quite lovely. It was relatively early in the morning (around 8:30am), so there were people fishing, practicing Tai chi, singing Chinese opera, and even some Bollywood dancers.
I have a lot of lovely pictures from these little excursions (and others as well), but I think the Great Firewall has thwarted my efforts when it comes to posting images. I'll keep looking for a way to get around that, but it's going to take a little more time. Until then, just believe me when I say that it's really amazing here!
Bye bye,
~Kelsey
Saturday, August 21, 2010
胜利!! (shènglì) VICTORY!!
Good news, everyone!
I have found a sneaky ninja way to get around the Great Firewall, so Beijing Ginger is back in business! And by the way, I'M IN CHINA!
I got here about three days ago, after a long but not terribly annoying flight. The taxi ride to my hotel was "exciting", but I managed to make it there while only getting ripped off 10元 (a little over $1.00US) by the taxi driver. And I made it! Which is good!
The hotel itself was nice enough, and I spent most of my time there in my room watching silly Chinese TV shows. The Warring States period in Chinese history seems to be a very popular source of TV show inspiration, and Zhuge Liang, the clever strategist from the Red Cliff stories, made several appearances during the two days that I stayed in the hotel.
Since coming to the IES compound, a task which included another, not as "exciting", taxi ride and the help of two separate security gaurds, things have been orientation, more orientation, and then orientation-related meals. By the time this orientation is done I'll be so orientated that I won't know which way is up, which seems to defeat the purpose of the orientation process.
I sadly haven't been taking many pictures, but I'll try to start taking some soon. The campus here is pretty enough, and there are a few little gardens tucked away in between the buildings. I plan on exploring it more fully later.
Hope everyone is doing well, and I'll try to write soon!
~Kelsey
I have found a sneaky ninja way to get around the Great Firewall, so Beijing Ginger is back in business! And by the way, I'M IN CHINA!
I got here about three days ago, after a long but not terribly annoying flight. The taxi ride to my hotel was "exciting", but I managed to make it there while only getting ripped off 10元 (a little over $1.00US) by the taxi driver. And I made it! Which is good!
The hotel itself was nice enough, and I spent most of my time there in my room watching silly Chinese TV shows. The Warring States period in Chinese history seems to be a very popular source of TV show inspiration, and Zhuge Liang, the clever strategist from the Red Cliff stories, made several appearances during the two days that I stayed in the hotel.
Since coming to the IES compound, a task which included another, not as "exciting", taxi ride and the help of two separate security gaurds, things have been orientation, more orientation, and then orientation-related meals. By the time this orientation is done I'll be so orientated that I won't know which way is up, which seems to defeat the purpose of the orientation process.
I sadly haven't been taking many pictures, but I'll try to start taking some soon. The campus here is pretty enough, and there are a few little gardens tucked away in between the buildings. I plan on exploring it more fully later.
Hope everyone is doing well, and I'll try to write soon!
~Kelsey
Monday, August 16, 2010
再见 (zài jiàn) Goodbye!
Hello, eveyone! Today was my last full day in the United States, at least for a while. I've got my things all packed, which I think is rather impressive seeing as this is what I had to stuff into my suitcases! So much for being a light packer...
My previous luggage turned out to be too heavy and too big to be of any use, so I ended up buying new luggage. Thank you Uncle Jim and Aunt Terri for providing the funds to make that happen! I'm sure this luggage will serve me well.
I hope to post once I arrive in China, but there's a chance that blogger.com has been "river crabbed", so we'll see how things go. If push comes to shove, I'll set up a separate blog under a different domain, and that should be the end of that.
My plane leaves at 9:00am tomorrow, so it looks like my sweetums and I will be getting up around 5:30am. I've said goodbye to most of my friends and family, packed up all of my things, and now it looks like the only thing left to do is to get on the plane and go! Wish me luck!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
大家好! Hello, everyone!
Hello, All!
I'm currently trying to get my non-techno savvy buns into gear when it comes to this blog, but I promise that I'll start posting regularly just as soon as I figure out how it works! Thanks a bunch for reading, and I'll try to post something substantial soon.
Also, lots and lots of thanks to my friend Dorothy, who made my lovely banner. It looks so much better than any of my attempts at banner-making, which include downloading Gimp and then getting frustrated with it.
TTFN,
Kelsey
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