A postcard.

I wish you all could come to Beijing.

I wish you could sit with me on the ledge outside my dorm, building six, drink a large (perferably warm) Yanjing beer and attempt to practice characters. As the sun perfectly hits the corridor in between building five and six, I wish you could sit with me and watch the world go by. These two dorms contain hundreds of international students. The corridor between our two buildings is our backyard. It is here that I watch russian women with pounds of makeup strut around, kazaks smoke three packs in an hour, koreans trade hipster ray ban glasses and ny yankee caps, french kids skip class, nigerians play the guitar, and americans drink and laugh until sunrise. It is my favorite spot in Beijing. 

I wish you could walk down Nanluoguxiang on an early saturday night. This street is, in my opinion, the most authentically preserved hutong in the city. Filled with tiny bars, backpacker cafes, and ethnic restaurants, it successfully makes traditional chinese life hip and trendy.

I wish you could walk around the central lung of the city--if only to get a glimpse of what Beijing could have been. It is in this district--around the Forbidden city, Behai Park, and Houhai lake, where you can appreciate the old city's beauty while simultaneously lamenting its ongoing destruction. It is here, in the center of the city, where the city almost feels a world a way--quiet lanes, shaded parks, and traditional lifestyles abound.

I wish you could wake up early one morning and go to the Temple of Heaven Park. I wish you could see the Chinese get up and the break of dawn to practice tai-chi, write calligraphy, sing opera songs, dance, and live life. This park is an open air museum of culture--yet the performances are not put on for anyone but the people themselves.

I wish you could walk out of a gonti club with me when the sun has already risen. Taking a taxi ride home in the twilight hours you feel as if Beijing is your endless playground.

I wish you could eat Sichuan hot pot. I wish you could understand the Chinese conception of spicy, a spicy that numbs your entire body and leaves a tingling feeling for fifteen minutes. 

I wish you could understand the love it or hate it TBC stomping ground that is Sanlitun. A home away from home, full of western restaurants, endless bars, and a state-of-the art outdoor mall--The Village. On any weekend night, this is the liveliest place in the city, where ex-pats from all over the world convene in the streets to eat chuar (meat on a stick), drink beer, laugh, fight, dance, and occasionally chase each-other around throwing chairs at one another.

I wish you could understand why this city is always new, always changing, always frustrating, and always fascinating. 

there's dangerous levels of hip here.

Beijing, China. One month remains and I feel like I have just scratched the surface of all there is to learn and explore in this vast city. This weekend made me more excited for this city that ever before. I went to two events that revealed a legitimate underground cultural scene in full force.

Friday night me and a few friends attended a local concert at a venue called Yugong Yishan. The venue was awesome, and on par if not exceeding the quality and hipness of venues in Chicago. Slightly larger than the Metro, this venue was set in one of the few remaining 'old' areas of Beijing and the site was a former imperial government. The space was packed (a rarity for any event in Beijing) and an interesting mix of ex-pats and Chinese. The band was Pet Conspiracy, an electronic band from Beijing, with one member from italy. They literally blew my mind. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen. Imagine CSS mixed with the Yeahs Yeahs Yeahs mixed with Justice. Their stage presence was unbelievable--they used flashlights as props, sang on members shoulders, made out with each-other on stage, and gave the crowd megaphones to sing with. I felt like I was witnessing a revolution on the stage. Yes, China is 'open' and modern now, but I never thought I'd see something like this. Everyone in the was singing, dancing, and smoking. Check out the band on myspace, but note they sound 1000 times better live:http://www.myspace.com/thepetconspiracy

The next night, I went to a gallery exhibition closing as research for my Ricci Scholarship. The exhibition focused on artist Ai Wei Wei and his photographs from his time living in NYC during the 1980s. The closing event was the showing of two documentaries about the artist. The gallery was in the Caochangdi distict, an alternative artist enclave that is formed in the backlash of 798. After a long and confusing taxi ride, I got out in what looked like the middle of the woods. This district is the most remote part of Beijing I have ever been to, I actually felt like I was in nature, not a cement block jail. The gallery, three shadows photography center, is aesthetically stunning. When I enter its gates, at least 200 people were gathered in the courtyard watching the documentary, drinking beer and tea, and enjoying the cool Beijing spring. It seemed a world away from the Beijing I was used to. Like the concert, the gallery was a nice balance of ex-pats and Chinese, even more of the latter. While looking through the exhibition, I was struck by how interested the Chinese seemed in the photographs. They did not all look like pretentious arty types either, they seemed rather ordinary, taking pictures of their own, quietly contemplating the works, and writing down notes. 

It took me months, but I have found the Beijing I was searching for.

zaogao.

'Spring Break' 2009: Sichuan Province, China.

I have just returned from what I hope will be the worst spring break I will ever have to endure. It was not all terrible, and both the good and bad aspects I am grateful for, but overall, I wish I had been lounging on a beach in Thailand instead (as some of my fellow classmates did). 

The trip was 'paid for' (aka we pay for it in our tuition) so it did not really make sense for me not to go on it. I also thought it sounded fun; Sichuan is one of the few regions outside of the big coastal cities I had heard of in China--a place described as having one of China's most laid back cities (Chengdu), most beautiful scenery (mountains filled with Pandas, among other wildlife) and most mouthwatering cuisines. I was disappointed by all three of these in Sichuan. 

We started our journey with a 25 hour train ride from Beijing to Chengdu. It was surprisingly pleasant. Everyone played cards, read, and snacked while the train meandered through China's diverse scenery: flat plains, wildflower filled mountains, and tropical hills. 

The good times continued the first night in Chengdu. We all went out for a meal of Sichuan's famous hot pot: basically raw meat and veggies you throw into a pot on your table filled with spices and let it cook for a minute before eating it. It was my third time having hot pot, but this one was by far the spiciest thing I have ever put in my mouth, ever. Sichuan is known for a second degree of spicy unfamiliar to the western world. It is a spiciness that numbs your whole mouth and gives your body this tingling sensation. It feels like a drug, and like most drugs, it has consequences (I'll get to that later). After dinner me and my two friends met some local Chengdoers and joined their table to have a few drinks. An hour later we were in a taxi with them to a Platform 9 3/4 (no joke) themed club where we had bottle service and danced all night. 

The trip was off to a great start. Then, in the middle of the night my stomach felt unnaturally full and in pain. Next thing I know I am throwing up my hot pot dinner (which was burning my throat as it came out) all night and morning. I spent the entire next day in bed and missed all the activities. I later found out that about 80% of my group also got food poisoning, some worse than me. 

Needless to say that put a damper on the trip. I could not eat, or even smell Chinese food for the rest of the trip and constantly wanted to sleep. Plus, the weather was awful--hazy, polluted, rainy and cold. We did go to two very cool sites later on in the trip, however: Leshan's Giant Buddha, the tallest Buddha in the world, and the Dazu Grottoes, a collection of Buddhist cave carvings miraculously spared from the cultural revolution. Check facebook to see photos later.

I am most grateful for this trip because it allowed me to see a different side to China. Our bus rides to the various sites passed through the most impoverished places I have ever seen. Trash ran rampant, shacks were falling apart while gleaming skyscrapers were constructed in the city of Chongqing, and pollution was so thick you could not see across the street. The most disheartening experience was one night in a stopover city, whose name I can't remember. The 'city' was straight out of a third world country. Yet the hotel we stayed at, right in the middle of the poverty, was nearly a five star. It was huge, having the capacity of thousands, and immaculate. Apparently this phenomenon is common in China: the government builds this grand hotels to distract visitors from seeing and experiencing the misery of what is around them. 

Anyways, this is a little longer than I had anticipated. I am glad to be back in Beijing. The weather is 82 degrees and sunny.

Office Space.

I am currently sitting on my very own desk at my very own internship in my very own China. How did I get here?

Well, a little over a month ago a little thing called college anxiety started setting in. I had this panic attack later than most of my peers back at loyola, who lost sleep everytime they had to register for classes out of fear that they had no idea what they wanted to do with their lives. I, too, had and still don't have any idea what I want to do with my life, but I have always loved the classes I've taken and figured I was headed in the right path. I instead focused my attention on studying abroad.

Then I came abroad. First to Rome, and now China. Yet, somehow, I feel farther away from gaining direction in life than ever before. I quickly realized my resume is shit, and I need to gain some experience if I wanted to do ANYTHING after I graduate. Thus, I found this little internship, working for Wild China, a travel company with Lonely Planet-like characteristics. In other words, what I thought would be my dream job.

Yet here I am, copying and pasting my days away, and wondering if this is what the rest of my life is going to be like. Granted, this is an internship, aka full of pointless work, but my coworkers don't seem to be doing anything mind-blowingly exciting either--other than instant messaging and organizing files.

Its weird to be experiencing this monotonous office work for the first time in China of all places. China--a place where at the moment I firmly believe is the most exciting place to be in the world. A place on the brink of change, a place that is delicately balancing modernity and tradition, a palce on an adruous search for identity, a place where the future looks both bright and bleak.

It is in this place that I am determined to find my calling in life, if such a thing actually exists. For this reason I have decided to remain here this summer, someway.

CJ.

that lovin' feeling.

I have a love/hate relationship with this whole Ricci thing. 

Pluses:

It is affording me the oppurtunity to live, learn, and explore two completely different cultures. 

It has given me a specific purpose in studying abroad; a lens in which to compare and contrast. 

It will (probably?) look good on my resume.

Are these reasons enough?

Minuses:

It was my main source of stress and discomfort in Rome and I fear that stress will return here in China seeing as I have a semi-over bearing 'mentor' who may expect too much out of me. 

I have become disillusioned with this world of academia and know it is not for me. 

It is weighing me down here in China because I would rather focus my energies on learning the language and experiencing things naturally in whatever way they come to me.

Well I am stuck with it. So in case you all were curious I am focusing this semester on Factory 798 in Beijing, a semi-commercialized art district that is widely visited by Chinese and Foreigners. I will be exploring the 'Chineseness' of this artist community and how, if at all it is unique to China. I also what to know the reactions of locals to the art itself. 

Zaijian,

CJ

Controlled Chaos.

Beijing is a city that will never cease to fascinate me. This past week the weather got suspiciously cold, even for me who is used to sudden changes in weather in Buffalo. Then it started to snow all week long.  Two weeks ago I would have never even thought it was possible to get rain, snow, or precipitation in this dry city. BUT, this being China, a place where everything cannot be taken as is, it turns out the government injected silver iodine bullets into the clouds to make it snow! It is getting to the point where ridiculous things such as this don't even surprise me anymore.

Anyways, an update on my life for those lucky few who care:

--My classes are going well but it may be the most challenging semester of my undergraduate career. I am taking 10 hours of Chinese a week, and the class counts for 6 credits. The class moves really really fast so it is really hard to not get behind. Plus, I am one of only four in my class who has never taken any Chinese before. Everyone else has taken a semester or two. Still, my teacher is good and I am going to start meeting with my tutor this week so hopefully all will be good. 

--I am also taking a Religions of China class, which I thought would be interesting but turns out is just incredibly boring. The professor is a nice Chinese man, but he doesn't exactly know how to command a classroom.

--By far my favorite class is my Journalism in China class, taught by a former NY Times correspondent in Beijing. He has never taught before, but he is the coolest guy and he have really really good discussions in class. He may slowly revive my passion for journalism. We are reading a book entitled 'factory girls'--you all should read it. now.

--I have not really started doing any research for my Ricci Project yet (surprise!) but I have met with my mentor and feel confident with where to go with it. I am going to focus on Factory 798, an art district here in Beijing. 

Last night me and a ton of people from my program went to a rave/dance party with some apparently famous house DJ Paul Van Dyk. It was nuts, we all wore the most ridiculous outfits and danced all night. The club had a hydraulic dance floor so it felt like you were on a trampoline when you were on it. It was insane. And completely random.

OK that's all for now. I find out on monday whether or not I got the internship at Wild China. 

Miss you all!

CJ

Belated Belated Yunnan Trip post

Hello all. About a week ago I arrived back in Beijing from a two week adventure through China's southern Yunnan Provice. I feel as if I learned a semester's worth of information and experiences in just two weeks. The trip was packed to the brim with activities both active and academic and was definitly one of the best experiences of my life. Yunnan holds special signification in China because it is the country's most diverse both in terms of geogrpahy (containing snow capped peaks AND rainforests) and people (it hols the majority of China's ethinc peoples.

The trip began in the region's capital, Kunnming. Warm, winter-in-california-like whether, the hippest looking Chinese people I've yet to see, and a very laid back vibe. This was considered a small Chinese city--just 6 million people(!). The next day we fly up to Zongdian (or Shangri-la), on the Tibetan plateau, where we experienced a high change in altitude that left a few of us mildy sick. We visited a Tibetan orphange and where the kids danced for us and we played games with them under the strong mountainous sun. Next we climed a mountain to a small tibetan buddhist temple. Definitly my favourite temple we visited on the trip, the surrounding woods were strewn with hundreds upon hundreds of tibetan flags. There was something about being so high up in the sky and listening to the sound the wind blew through the flags that allowed for a truly spiritual experience. Immediatly following we had dinner with local tibetan families in their homes and afterwards they performedtraditional dances for us which we emabressingly partook (sp?) in.

The next day we went to a large monastery that looked similar to the famous one you see in pictures from Lhasa. It was impressive but somehow felt hallow and done up for tourism. Then we were off to Lijiang. The driving in rural China is unlike anything I've ever experienced. There is never more than one and a half lanes, no shoulder, and the windiest roads you've ever been on. There is a constant presence of honking from our bus driver, who must manuever his way through rickshaws, bicyclists, old vans, walkers, and other means of transporation with varied speeds that share the only road in the area. Even still, it is clear this road was just built a few years ago. On thsi trip we stopped at the Tiger Leaping Gorge, probably the most impressive natural site we saw on the trip. Later we arrived in Lijiang, a very touristy but absolutely beautiful and impeccably preserved UNESCO world heritage site. We had a lot of fun going out as a group here and learning about the Naxi culture and customs. We also went on a breathtaking bike ride through the surrounding countryside and small villages the next day.

Next we took another harrowing bus ride to some famous buddhist grottoes. Then went on an other-worldly hike down to the village where we would be spending the night. This hike was part of the old Tea and Horse Carriage trail that tibetans used to transport goods from Lhasa into Dali. We then had a relaxing evening in Shaxi, a vacant town that is in the early stages of redevelopement and cultural preservation.

Next, after a failed woodcarving lesson, we were on our way to Dali, home to the Bai minority peoples. Dali is a city that has completely lost its soul. It has let tourism completely take over and it now solely caters to the needs of hippie western backpackers, selling bongs and tie dye in the stores, serving deep fried hamburgers in the restaurants, etc. Yet the worst were costumed ethnic women soliciting you on the streets to 'smoke some ganj' or pay for sex. One night i was asked 10 times if i wanted any marijuana--I was extremely disturbed all night and even had a dream that night about a chinese women coming into my hotel room asking if i wanted her favours. Maybe I'm just particularly observant of tourism effects, but I was extremely put off by Dali.

Next we were off again to the warm climate Xishuangbanna, an area of Yunnan with tropical whether and home to the Dai people. We went on a relaxing bike ride around the city of Jinghong and had a great relaxing day/evening, swimming in the hotel pool, eating Thai food (the region borders Loas and thailand), basking in the cool outdoors, etc. The next day we went river rafting down the mekong river to the town of Ganlaba. We then arrived at Mannuale Village where we had homestays with Dai families. This was THE best experience of the whole trip. The Dai people live in these elevated homes that look like large tree forts. We ate incredbile food every time we were in their homes, and the people seemed genuinely excited to have us and interact with us. One of my housemates, Kevin, spoke almost fluent Mandarin so he did most translating for us. At night they performed dances for us on the town stage aka outdoor basketball court. Then they lit off laterns which flew into the sky while we all danced to obscure english techno. It was fantastic.

The next day consisted of a grueling hike up Nannuo mountain, a blind message, and a weird chinese rave. The day after that consisted of a nine hour busy ride, aka death, and a halarious night out with Chinese people, one of which tried getting my friend Derek to perform sexaul favours on him.

Afterwards, we traveled to the Yi people village of Mushan for another home stay. This one was much less intimate than the last--my group stayed at a communist member home and slept in the cold under propaganda posters of women holding huge guns. As if communism and arctic conditions weren't enough, I woke up in the middle of the night desperatly needed to pee. Of course the bathroom is outside in a hut. Yet what do I find when I try to leave? The door is padlocked! Our host family locked us in! after pacing around the house debating what to do I decide to just grab a cup ( or two or three or four) and just let it go.

Finally, exhausted, dirty, and cold, we arrive back in Kunming for a grand finally. After a visit to the impressive natural wonder of the stone forest, we are out of Yunnan and back in Beijing.

This post is impossibly long and I don't expect anyone to read all of it. The end.

老外!老外!老外!

I am currently writing this from Beijing China at 6 am. Yes, thats right, Connor Dearing, who slept in past noon every single day this past month, is up at 6 am. Its been a whirlwind journey thus far though I have barely scratched the surface of what this country and program has to offer.

My flight was a long 13 hours but it was actually fairly tolerable. We left tuesday midday and arrived in Beijing wed afternoon, were rushed to dinner as a group then everyone pretty much crashed. Yesterday was my first full day in Beijing. Everyone woke up at like 4am due to jetlag though I managed to stay asleep till 6. We had a morning full of orientation talks and getting a few ID cards. Then we met our so-called 'host students'. Several host students, including mine, were gone from school because Chinese students just started break, so I had a makeshift host student along with a few others named Vannessa. She was very nice but stressed out looking girl who took us around to get travelers checks exchanged, buy cell phones and eat lunch. I don't know what I would have done without her. The language barrier is absolutely overwhelming and I havent even really had a direct encounter in which I needed to speak it yet. Also bureaucracy in China is sooo slow. It took so long to do everything yesterday with Vannessa. 

I am very eager to start learning the language. I feel embarrassed that I know nothing, especially since almost every student here has taken at least some Mandarin, and several can almost speak it conversationally. I think attempting to learn the language will be one of the hardest things I ever do but I am excited and motivated since being here. 

There are 96 students in the program and around 25 are returning from last semester. Last night I went out with a few kids. Everyone has such incredible things to say about the program. I can already tell it is a much better set up than last semester in Rome. We are part of a real, big university here in Beijing and its in a busy and comfortably westernized area. 

On sunday I leave for the Yunnan trip.

CJ.