The 30 Hour Train Back Home to Beijing: Christmas Eve in China

By Jessica Atwater
December 2008

As for the train ride, no crazy stories, it was surprisingly manageable. However, it started off a little rough due to the sick. My stomach hurt so badly that morning I actually thought to myself, "shouldn't have taunted death by writing 'I evaded death twice, ow tummy..." So I slept like the first four hours of the train ride. When I finally woke up I made myself some lunch and talked to a couple girls and a guy in his thirties that were in my little fangzi (room)--and of course everyone in the immediate area was listening/watching. We talked for a while, and they complimented me very highly by saying that "you don't sound like a foreigner, you sound like one of us." A man who walked by selling tacky waterfall holograms, however, apparently did not hear this and tried to sell me some of his stuff starting out with "chou chou ren," which translates as “smelly person.” Thank you sir, I know I need a shower. The other people laughed and said, 'ta ting de dong,' (she understands). That’s right I ting de dong. And then he laughed and walked away, it was a little awkward, but not too bad.
Anyway, I ended up making friends with one of the girls, she was on the shang po (top bunk) across from me. After lunch I slept a bunch again and watched a movie with English subtitles, but then later I talked with her again about Christmas, seeing as it was Christmas Eve. I guess in China everybody celebrates on Christmas Eve by going out shopping, guang jie[ing] (walking the streets), and eating apples. My friend asked me if everyone in America eats apples on Christmas Eve, of course they don't and I asked her why she wanted to know. I guess here Christmas Eve is called Ping An Ye, apparently pingguo de ping, so people eat apples. I told her in the US if we eat any special fruit it's oranges and tangerines, but not apples. She laughed and said that in China, Christmas is just a trend, people, including herself, think it's really romantic. I told her that it is very different in the US, has to do with religion, tradition, and family mostly, and that it's not really about romance, but that it is very renao (lively).
Luckily I slept in late the next day and then just chatted with my friend until we got to Beijing, after which we walked to the subway together (because I knew my way around better than she did cause she’s from Liaoning) and then she hugged me goodbye and said 'I won't forget you.' It was very cute. Hopefully she finds me on facebook, but who knows.
After that I just went to Gretta’s hostel and got myself a dorm room--with three other men, which I thought wasn't allowed in China, but it's been ok so far--and then took my badly, badly needed shower. I had hoped to go to Lush for a 15 kuai ham bao bao (hamburger) but I took too long in my much deserved shower, and so just went to Sichuan (aka Chengdu restaurant in my Xizhimenwai). It was a little weird not running into anyone I know, but it was nice to be back in the neighborhood. Our hostel is just in Xinjiekou, so it's like a 15 min. bus ride back over there.
Later Gretta's parents took us, Wang Ying, Chun Qing, and Wu Tao out for Beijing roast duck Christmas dinner, it was really fun. Gretta's parents are very nice and very curious about Gretta's friends. They also gave Wang Ying a stocking with her name on it, it was adorable. It was cool watching Gretta translate for her parents, they were very impressed. And I got to hear Wang Ying, Chun Qing, and Wu Tao speak more English than I'd heard them speak all semester. I'm glad I got to see all of them again. It was a very different, but enjoyable Christmas.

From Traveling Alone in Guizhou

By Jessica Atwater
December 2008

Today I woke up at 6:15am, only to lay in bed for another hour as usual, thinking to myself, "this better not happen tomorrow or I'll miss my train to Beijing..."
Finally I made my way in the freezing cold of the morning to the bus stop (right next to a giant trench in the sidewalk, of course) and took the number 2 to the bus station, which was a lot closer than I imagined. I feel very disoriented here, that will come in later. At the bus station I discovered I could not buy a ticket to the giant waterfall I wanted to go to, despite what lonely planet told me (it is actually out of date for quite a lot in Guizhou), and so just bought a ticket to the station halfway there, and THEN to the waterfall. At the waterfall admission was twice what lonely planet said it would be (not surprised) but I got a 50% discount cause I remembered my xueshengka (student card), hell yes xueshenka! And for some reason, it had not occurred to me that I might have to hike to the waterfall. I have been exhausted from being sick and not eating enough, because of the sick, so I was worried about the hike. However, it turned out to be more of a walk with stairs in some parts, so I didn't die, which was good. And on the way there was this really weird banzai/bizarre rock (that's what it was called) garden, strange. The waterfall was beautiful and the walking warmed me up. Not as big as I'd thought, but it is winter so it's at it's smallest, so still pretty big. It was really cool, there is a cave behind the waterfall that you walk through can see out of, which I did. There are pictures up on the picasa site. I also talked to some older men on the way out (in Chinese) a little about the economic crisis actually. They said that it would start to have an effect on China when the people in the U.S. started buying less, which is probably true. I was very glad we had had a chapter on economic related topics. Also, a lady grabbed by the arm on my way out and took a picture with me, of course.
On bus back, I was watching TV when I noticed the guy across the aisle was blatantly staring at me. He said hello, I said ni hao, and then he plopped down in the seat next to me. We were the only two on the bus aside from the driver. Although these sorts of things make me uncomfortable at first, we talked for a while and it was ok. He's 23 with a wife and baby, and asked if I was married. I laughed and said, “No, I'm 20 and still in school,” and then he said something along the lines of, “Oh yeah, Americans don't get married until they're like 30.” He then told me that I was his first American friend, and gave me his phone number and invited me to come to dinner at his house if I were ever in Guizhou again. I gave him my email in case he ever came to the U.S. It was funny, and he was very nice. We talked about how helpful and nice people are in China, and it is true, if people didn't help me here I'd often be screwed.
For example, this afternoon, when I got back to Guiyang and tried to take the bus back to the hotel, but caught it the wrong direction (there’s where disorientedness comes in). I only had 5 mao, and the bus is 2 kuai, and pretended I didn't understand the bus driver when he said to put more money in (first time I've done that I think). Then, after pretty much leaving the city, going through the slums, and THEN to the end of the line, at which point I was the only passenger on the bus, the driver chuckled and asked me where I was supposed to be going. He let me stay on for free and go back the right direction, even though I didn't pay enough, and after like another hour or so, I made it back to my hotel. Fun times. There was a live goose on the bus today. I may fear geese more than chickens.
Luckily the goose did not kill me (that's twice I evaded death today), and I made it back to my hotel and then finally ate (I'd only been eating almonds and oranges all day due to the bus factor). I then went grocery shopping for train food, and got excited to go back to Beijing, then remembered I have to entertain myself for 30 hours or so, and I already finished my book. So, now I'm downloading The Lion King while I write this (oh no, I almost wrote 'right' instead of 'write'), to my “iPod.” Hopefully I’ll sleep a lot on the train.

Me and China

China. The word is so loaded these days. Communists, Confucius, capitalism, propaganda, pagodas, population control, Buddhism, dragons, gold medals, human rights, the Great Wall, the Great Leap forward, all these varied pieces of China’s history, both recent and long ago, come to mind when I think about where I am. No place is the same as it was twenty years ago, but China, from what I hear, has really changed.
This is my first time in Beijing, I’m here as a student learning Chinese language. It’s odd how comfortable I’ve felt here so far. Sure I’ve gotten sick a couple times already and can’t even comprehend how many people surround me, but all in all I feel very safe and not too alien at all. I do still fear crossing the street though, those cars and even busses really don’t stop for pedestrians.
While I’m here my assignment is not only to further my command of Chinese, but to reflect on my experiences engaging in Chinese culture. What to focus on though? Chinese culture is only somewhat familiar to me and is quite multifaceted. I love international politics and their domestic counter-parts, I enjoy both contemporary and classical music and their social implications, I like to understand why people speak in the manner that they do, I love food and how it connects people, and in general I like to observe conflicts and the reasons behind them. I am also very interested in what constitutes a “good Chinese girl” these days, I’ve heard this phrase several times and I’m not quite sure what it means. And what exactly about China has changed? I know the basics, the booming economy, the internet, the big issue of retaining sovereignty while integrating into the international community, but how is this changing China’s culture? It seems to me that I would have had to visit during the 1980’s and then come back now to really understand the impact, but I can’t so I’ll just have to ask. I think what I want to do is focus on a particular facet of Chinese culture and try to ask how it has changed in the last generation, or perhaps how it affects China’s relationship with the U.S. Both of these options sound particularly interesting, I just need to figure our which aspect of Chinese culture I want to look at.
Perhaps, being a female, I’ll look at what it is to be a modern woman in China. But, as I am an international affairs major, I’d also like to see how people feel about China’s growing dominance on the international stage. I’d also like to observe and talk about how the Olympics may or may not have opened China up—for instance, will I still be able to read the BBC news in a couple days? Maybe I’ll try each topic out and see which one fits best…

Small World

So, as I was flying home to California yesterday, I was telling the person sitting next to me about how I'm about to go to China on the CET program. A girl sitting across the aisle overheard and asked if I was going on the CET Beijing trip, which of course I am. Surprisingly, her boyfriend is going on the same program! I was amazed at what a very small world it is. So, after talking with her a while, I have sort of vicariously met one of the other 44 students on our trip.
I feel like I've been waiting so long now to go on this trip that it's almost surreal that my flight is just days away. I am very excited to go, and meet all these new people and speak Chinese and just be in China, but I don't think it'll seem like it's going to happen until it does.