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Zao shang hao! (Good morning!) It seems that it has been months since my last update, even though it has only been two weeks. We’ve reached the midpoint of the program which brings with it the excitement of our weekend trip to Shanghai, the realization that time is running out, as well as these ridiculous things they like to call “Midterm Examinations”.

Somehow, in between memorizing as many Chinese characters as my mind could possibly hold, I’ve also squeezed in a few more adventures across Beijing. I’ve visited three different shopping markets in Beijing now, full of young Chinese girls screaming prices at me, trying to get me to buy different things in their stores. Two weeks ago, we went to the Silk Alley which was a famous marketplace, but has since been relocated into a nice 8-floor air-conditioned complex, now renamed the Silk Market. We were able to speak to the owner of the Silk Market and his hopes for a foreigner-friendly English-speaking marketplace as the Beijing Olympics approach. What was really interesting to me, however, was being able to contrast this foreign-friendly marketplace with the Zoo Market, a marketplace definitely geared towards locals. At this market, I was forced to speak all Mandarin and I soon realized that the clientele was almost 99% local Chinese, which meant the prices were significantly lower! I had fun bargaining with the shopkeepers, and bought a few clothes for myself.

The idea of Western influence also carried over to our amazing weekend trip to Shanghai because Shanghai has been historically a port and international settlement. It was great just to see another city in China and especially one that has such a rich history. We took a 12-hour hard sleeper train to Shanghai, which was my first experience on a train! Haha. Our hotel was located right along the Bund, which allowed us to easily compare the new Pudong area (which is rapidly becoming an international economic center and represents the NEW Shanghai) and the old Westernized Nanjing Lu with remnants of the British Concession. These two areas are separated by the Huangpu River. One of our professors gave us a walking/taxi tour of Shanghai and we were able to visit the Shanghai Urban Planning Center, which includes an extensive and complete model of Shanghai on its third floor, and the Shanghai Historical Museum. Even though I did not know much about Shanghai’s history before our visit, I was still able to get a real sense of the Western influence on Shanghai (which I was able to compare with Beijing).

We just returned from Shanghai two days ago and classes have already resumed along with essay due dates and scary exams! It’s nice to be able to study really hard but also still be able to explore the city of Beijing and try to put the language that I’m learning into practice. I’ve gotten a little bit more comfortable speaking in Chinese, but it’s still disappointing that in order to try to converse with my roommate or anyone outside the walls of our foreign dormitory, I have to reduce myself to the vocabulary of a three-year-old or younger. It’s hard to convince the other party that I really do have adult thoughts, I just can’t express them! The immersion experience of living in Beijing has been a humbling one, though, and I realize how much I really shouldn’t take language for granted.

Although there is the definite shock of being immersed in a different language environment, I think it is also important to remember that there is a significant cultural divide between China and the US. In my 21st Century Beijing class, we just studied the Chinese mind and Chinese culture. I found it very interesting to see remnants of Confucian thoughts and mindsets even in my mentality because I am Chinese-American. I don’t think I’ve ever consciously recognized these tendencies before, but I realize that my heritage has influenced more than just my race, but actually the way I think. In many ways, I have not experienced as much of a culture shock than my Western classmates. However, that is not to say that there aren’t cultural differences; it’s still a learning experience for me living daily among Chinese people.

Ahh yes, I return to writing boring posts about what I’m doing. Haha. Well, I guess they’re more exciting, now that I’m in China. Today I went to this huge marketplace where you can bargain for clothes. My Chinese friend helped me to bargain, and I bought a silk traditional Chinese shirt for 90 kuai (or about US $11). It was a little annoying listening to them bargain down prices and trying to not get ripped off, especially when their English was so good and they were experts at complimenting and bargaining with customers.

Yesterday night, I visited a 24-hour tea house that offers for 18 kuai (US $3) all-you-can-drink tea, coffee, milk tea, yogurt smoothies, fruit juices, sorbet, ice cream, and other snacks for 2 hours. It was a sweet deal and in that short amount of time, I drank taro milk tea, mango sorbet ice, pearl ice, and raspberry juice. It was great that we just randomnly stumbled upon this place! Hehe. While at the restaurant trying to order a drink:

Me: Wo yao yi ge zhe ge (I want one of these)
My Friend (as if translating for the waiter that clearly spoke only Chinese): (in plain English) She wants one of these.

I guess we’ve just been doing so much translating back and forth, we can’t get it straight!

Later on that day, one of my Chinese friends was saying that Chinese people do not say “Thank you” or “Please” to their friends because it is not right. In fact, it almost insults their relationship, resembling a sort of distance between the two people. In Chinese culture, it is supposed to be the responsibility of a friend to do anything for their friend: taking care of them, treating them to dinner, etc. Thus, to say “Thank you” means that you do not consider them such a close friend and did not expect them to fulfill their duties as a friend. I just thought that that was an interesting cultural difference and it made me treasure the Chinese idea of friendship.

Even though I have only been in Beijing for a mere two weeks so far, it seems as if I have been here for much longer because we have so many different activities and things to do. My classes started last week. I am taking three different classes: intensive Chinese language, 21st Century Beijing, and Chinese Pop Culture & Media. I definitely think that my Chinese has improved already and I’m even starting to order in Chinese at the local restaurants that we visit. I am also really enjoying my Pop Culture class because we’ve been able to watch Chinese movies and Chinese TV with our roommates and friends and discuss the different topics, influences, and techniques used in Chinese media and how that differs from the familiar Western entertainment.

The past few days have been crazy and filled with adventures to a gourmet coffee shop, a cute little bakery, a gigantic 8-story shopping mall rumored-to-be the largest in the world, and the breathtaking Great Wall of China. The Great Wall was definitely a sight to see, although I was not expecting the hike up the mountain to get to it. It took about 20 minutes just to climb the endless stairs from the small village outside the section of the Great Wall we were visiting to the actual wall itself. When we got there, we had to climb even more stairs in order to travel from tower to tower. I didn’t realize that when they said “Great Wall Hiking” that they really meant hiking! It was a fun workout though and when we finally reached the highest point, there was an unbelievable view of the winding Great Wall from below. (Attached is a picture one of my friends took. I can’t connect my camera to the computer to upload my pictures yet, but this is a picture of me and my friend Nicole, also a Vandy student)

And, how could I write an update on my life in Beijing without mentioning the amazing food? I recently discovered a small gem only a few blocks away from campus. They have jiaozi (steamed dumplings) and shaolongbao (pork dumplings covered in a more bread-like wrapper) for only 3 kuai ( 7.7 kuai = $1 US dollar) per basket! I also ate some amazing lamb dumplings, Korean barbeque, and other foods that I can’t even begin to describe. I still can’t get over how cheap and delicious all of the food here is! It’s amazing! I’m definitely enjoying the food and it’s fun to be able to order it all in Chinese and be understood by the waitress!

I really like being able to live among Chinese students and talk to them about anything and everything. It’s interesting to see “what’s in” in Beijing and what they think about life, history, and culture. Sometimes we don’t agree and sometimes we don’t always understand each other (probably because of the language barrier), but it’s nice to have a refreshing view and a sense of variety. I’m learning a lot of Chinese conversational skills just being able to talk to my roommate and I think she’s improving her English too. I’m looking forward to learning even more Chinese and really being able to talk to some of the locals some more.

There’s a strange sense of finding myself, traveling back to my heritage country for the first time. I’m still not used to people coming up to me and speaking to me as if I am a native speaker and then having to explain that I am ‘meiguoren’ or American and that I can speak very little Chinese. If I had to keep track of how many people have thought that I am Chinese, I’d run out of numbers. In some ways it’s advantageous to look Chinese: I don’t get the stares that my Western foreigners do and I can seemingly blend into the culture. But beneath the surface-level glance, I’m as foreign (and probably even more) as my friends.

But not only that, coming here links me to my past and to my family heritage. 阎玉卿 is the Chinese name that my father gave me and every time I introduce myself saying “wo jiao yan yu qing” and prefacing it with informing them of my American background, the native speaker will always be amazed at how beautiful (or piao liang) my name is. It’s like a lasting memory that my late father has etched into me. It’s a bittersweet return and I am excited about learning more Chinese and really being able to immerse myself into this culture and understand what it really means to be Chinese. I think I’m pretty good at blending into the American culture, but I want to be able to hold on to my Chinese culture too.