Re-return

The end. On Monday January 30 I will return to the United States. I'll land in Dallas, TX and then fly to Minneapolis. It's really hard to believe that my time in Asia has come to end. This last week in Tokyo has gone outrageously fast. I have enjoyed it, but it's amazing how much of the moment is ruined when money gets involved. The cost of living in Tokyo is higher than the U.S. and even higher than in Beijing and it really just discouraged from traveling or going out at all. The month has flown by and I've had experiences that are really irreplaceable and in reality, probably once-in-a-lifetime. While I can always come back to China or Japan again, the feeling will never be the same. It will be more of something like a homecoming rather than an adventure.

This month I gained an appreciation for home, but also for China and Japan. While it's easy to look down on China for it's various social, economic, and political problems, the country is really a diamond in the rough. While the health standards are skeptical, in general the food and area is clean. The people are also kind, helpful, and welcoming. Having an American income is amazing as Beijing becomes a nighttime playground. Anything and everything is possible. In contrast, in Japan it's nearly impossible to let loose and be reckless and young. Traveling is expensive, nightlife entertainment is expensive and it's incredible how quickly the cost piles up. But in general, I was able to have an amazing month for $400-$500 U.S.

Regrets from the month? Not many. I only regret not letting loose more. I regret not falling asleep in class every day. I regret not having a camera. I regret not getting a suit. I regret not having more money at the silk market or sanlitun as well as not having more suitcase space.

Successes from the month? Many. Addison's birthday week. Sunset on the Great Wall. Ultimate with Chinese kids. Getting lost in Beijing. Knock off Rayban's for 20 kuai (<$5 U.S.). Riding a sled down a mountain. Site seeing. Chun'Jie (Chinese New Year). Helen's. 去难( very poor translation of "Go Hard")。D. Rose jersey.

I could go on for hours, but I don't have the time. I'm excited to be back in the U.S. but China will always have a special familiarity for me. Will I return? Who knows?

Best wishes,
Vinh

Chinese New Year and Japan

So I have been in Japan now for one whole day. So far so good. Japan has been excellent so far but I, as well as many others, find ourselves missing China. Japan is awesome in it's own way, but China just had something that we all eventually grew fond of. China allowed us to live like royalty, there was a somewhat familiarity with the language, and there was something about the bars we had come to know and love. While one of our old favorites closed down for Chinese New Year (which really ruined a few things for us) we found a new favorite in Helen's, another bar nearby. The workers were friendly and just genuinely happy to see us every time and we had all grown to adore them. Now that I am in Japan, I feel so hopeless. Everything I see has no meaning and I have no understanding even when I consider context. I cannot communicate with any of the people to tell them what kind of food I want or what I am looking for.

Back to China for a second though, our last night was New Year's eve and it was incredible. Any dream you have ever had with being with friends and celebrating in the middle of the street pales in comparison to what happened. First off, I started the night going with a few other students to a homestay. We helped make some dumplings, not without disaster unfortunately, and then we had a huge feast. Once we had eaten beyond our fill, we walked to chilly streets of Beijing to watch some fireworks. People didn't only have the weak fireworks that were all bang and no flash, there were some serious fireworks going off. The hilarious thing is that people didn't clean up after themselves at all. They just kind of left whatever was left in the street or wherever they happened to set of their fireworks. At about ten o'clock we headed to Helen's for unlimited beers for 10 kuai (about $1.60). We were merry, played some games, and then at midnight the real fireworks began. Even though fireworks had been going off all day, the entirety of Helen's headed out into the street where it sounded like we were in the middle of a war zone. The workers at Helen's set off some massive fireworks and being right underneath them was awe-inspiring. Ashes were falling from the sky and there was trash and stopped cars all over the streets. After about an hour, we all made our way back in and stayed until close, hanging onto Helen's until the end. We said tearful goodbyes to the staff and Beijing all in one go. Thinking back now on the previous 3 weeks I am in disbelief with what has happened. The things I have done, the things I have seen, the people I have come to know. It feels like I've lived another life. I've met people from the US, staying at the same dorm, and realistically I will never ever see these people again. They were great people, but I will never ever know what will happen to them. That idea and feeling is really unsettling to me.

The transition from China to Japan has not been very smooth. I find myself instinctively trying to speak Chinese to people I don't know and I find myself constantly counting pennies when it comes to prices. The upgrade in luxury has been nice, but at the same time I feel like touching/using/doing anything with anything that I don't know how to use properly will ruin it. Using a spraying toilet/bidet for the first time was hilarious. The whole time I was laughing and I honestly don't think I enjoyed it. We went to a hot spring today which was simply ridiculous. We soaked in hot water for about 3 hours and by the end my skin felt so new and it felt like time had stopped all together.

Overall, it has been an incredible month, but I am more than ready to be back at St. Olaf, being in the company of friends and playing Ultimate. While I've enjoyed my time with the people on this trip. There is a side of me that I feel like they don't understand or appreciate like the Ultimate community at St. Olaf. Maybe I'm just weird.

Best wishes,
Vinh

Safety regulations = No fun

I woke up today at about 8:50 am. Recently that hasn't been much of a challenge, but this morning was especially difficult considering I had stayed out until 3 club/bar hopping with some friends and the RAs here. I got up so early because a group of us had decided we were going to attempt to make a day trip to the edge of town and hike a small mountain in order to ride a toboggan down. We rode line 1 west to the last stop, then took a bus to it's last stop. We entered our park and found a really nice gradual descent. We clambered up, saw a lot of natural scenery, but also got an amazing view of Beijing. The sky was also clear and blue, so we were able, for once, to actually see and realize the size of Beijing. As we climbed we also stopped and visited various prayer sites where people were lighting incense, praying, and generally celebrating the New Year.

The toboggan ride was a lot of fun. There wasn't a lot of safety involved (no helmets, no guard rails a majority of the way down, no seat belts), but there was a guide and warning signs. The 5 of us went down the 5 minute long track and it was really a blast. The turns could be taken as fast or as slow as you wanted and it was exhilarating to really let the descent of the mountain to dictate your speed. By the end we were all smiles.

When we were leaving the area, we saw a man renting our these chair-sleds to ride on a frozen pond. We all hoped on and laughed at the rusted metal poles intended to be used as ski poles. We had a lot of fun sliding around on the ice, racing, bumping into each other and generally being rowdy. We created quite the buzz and soon the ice had several people following our lead. There were a few accidental stabbings that luckily did not break skin. There were some spills onto the ice and there was also collateral damage with some parents with children. Luckily, no one was harmed or seriously stabbed with these poles.

It's funny because today I paid 70 yuan (about 12 or 13 US) to do two activities that would either a)never be allowed in the U.S. or b) so heavily safety regulated that the thrill of it would have been diminished. Not that safety isn't fun, but sometimes there's more fun to be had when caution's thrown to the wind. Tomorrow I am celebrating the Chinese New Year at a home stay near the dorms. Then Monday brings Tokyo.

Best wishes,
Vinh

Ultimate in Beijing

Chet and I did the coolest thing today. After class we were kind of just bumming around the dorm. We decided to get outside and throw a frisbee around. We headed to a nearby park and there were some very young children (about seven years old). It didn't take long for the frisbee to peak their curiosity. Soon we were surrounded by a few kids wanting to play along. Luckily, Chet and I have the vocabulary of a seven year old and we were able to talk with them a little bit and even teach them how to throw. After a while, Chet and I were barely even playing. The kids were having a good time even though their throws were more like chucking rocks haphazardly off a cliff. The crowd kept coming as some oldsters came to use some nearby exercise equipment. They were also intrigued by the novelty of the frisbee, but there were a few who were not amused. Nevertheless, Chet and I played with these kids for a good hour or so and it was honestly one of the coolest and cutest things I've seen since I've been in Beijing. Towards the end there were three girls left and they were throwing with one another and it was amazing really how the kids interacted with one another. Chet was impressed with the fact that they were all so friendly with one another despite not knowing each other. There was definitely something refreshing about the youthful exuberance and joy the children had that is really missing from an adult world filled with skeptics, malice, and deception. I'm not at a bar right now, but if I was, I'd toast:

"To Children. May their youthful naivety and innocence always provide a source of hope and reason."

Then I'd rage like it's my job.

Best wishes,
Vinh

Last week, mistakes, and shopping

It's hard to believe, but my time is Beijing is drawing to a close. As of today I have one week before I leave for Tokyo and then before I know it, I'll be landing in Dallas back in the United States. It really evokes a bittersweet feeling. My Chinese roommate moved out today and I think a home stay student is moving in with me, but it's a bummer to leave people. My roommate and I got along well, we weren't best friends but we talked about some things and I got good practice with my Chinese. Before he left he got me a Bass Guitar lighter. I'm excited to be back in the States because I really miss my friends at St. Olaf and I miss playing Ultimate, but at the same time Beijing has been an incredible adventure. Between trying to find a place to eat, trying to figure out what we are eating, and overall trying to get around in a country where communication doesn't come easy creates an appreciation for the simplest of things. Last week we really got into a routine of just having class and then doing as we pleased. We explored Beijing, went to markets, alleys, and overall engulfed ourselves in the city.

This last week a group of students got stranded in a bar area because public transportation had closed down for the evening and taxis refused to give them rides. This did not deter us from bar hopping on Addison's birthday. We celebrated it Thursday night and it was a great time. There was dancing, laughing, singing, and general cheer. Class Friday morning went a lot better considering the circumstances and we were back at it Friday night. I personally, didn't partake in all of Friday night, but from what I've heard it was very much the same as Thursday night. On a different topic, we had our interviews this last week. They went relatively well? A lot shorter than I was expecting, but still very interesting. I struggled to understand a lot of what was being said to me, but the parts I did catch surprised me. Chet's home stay father told me about his childhood, his family, his dreams, and his thoughts on the world today.

We had our first free days this weekend and a lot of us used to the opportunity to get some school work done. Chet and I completed a walking tour, a set of ethnographic observations and some language notes. I also took the opportunity to go to some of the markets and do a little of bargaining. It's really interesting to bargain with these shop owners as they will start with a price that is grossly high. I usually responded with a price that was grossly low in comparison. They would usually say that it's unacceptable and offer a slightly lower price. I'd stick to my original offer, they would lower their price again, and then I would pretend to walk away, they would continue to lower their price, I would continue to walk away, and they would either chase after me still lowering their price or finally accept my offer. At first it was really uncomfortable offering such small amounts of money for these impressive knock offs of signature brands like nike, polo, northface, etc. but then I remembered that these things were fake. I really like the idea of bargaining because it makes you pay a price you are comfortable with. I picked up a pair of knock off ray bans for 20 yuan which is less than 5 US dollars. This is great because I always wanted to get sunglasses for 5-10 US dollars, but I could never find a pair that I liked for that amount. The markets are great because in terms of style you can get anything you want for very little money. Although the quality is relatively poor, things like clothing will still last plenty long. I don't think things like electronics or watches is worthwhile though since you never know how long those will actually last. Addison actually purchased a 3 piece suit for 1100 yuan which is about 172 US. Pretty sweet. I'm planning on getting one made tonight. The suit shops also have ridiculous turn around times, Addison was measured and they told him to come back the next day to have it fitted/pick it up.

This last week in China I'm planning on finishing up my school work, checking out some final places, and buying some final keepsakes before Japan.

Best wishes,
Vinh

The Great Wall and Rural China

I just got back today from our Great Wall trip and it was easily one of the greatest experiences of my life. We traveled with another group from Austin College. Starting out, many of us prepared for an extra cold trip under advisement from various guides and instructors. I wore 3 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of pants, 4 shirts, and 2 jackets. At the beginning of the day, all of these clothes were unnecessary, but by the end more wouldn't have been unreasonable. We started out traveling up the Great Wall where we trekked for about 2 hours. The view and feelings present are indescribable. I found myself laughing in disbelief constantly at the idea of where and I was and what my eyes were taking in. The wall was beautiful and so were the hills despite the winter time. Photos can't really do justice as to how hard it is to climb the wall, but by the time the group got up there we were all sweating from the effort. After our hike, we then hiked through a valley for about another hour or so to a village where we were staying. Going into this trip, I didn't have high expectations for the village. I wasn't expecting any modern amenities, which I was okay with. After all, a majority of the Chinese live in poverty. In actuality when we arrived, the village had relatively modern facilities and lighting and I was a little upset. I felt robbed of an opportunity to essentially camp in the Chinese country side. 

Getting into the village, we all ate delicious food provided by the villagers and hung around a camp fire. I found myself again laughing in disbelief. After all, who imagines that they would  ever be in the Chinese country side growing up? Unfortunately a full moon robbed us of a brilliant night sky, but the company was lively. We sat around a fire and talked, the Austin kids were interesting, but also forgettable. Most of them retired to their room early. The girls didn't seem to have much depth to their personality and the guys were your pretty typical frat boys. Anyway, seven of us piled into a freezing cold room wearing all of our layers and slept. We awoke at 5:50 to the call of roosters and prepared to hike up to the Great Wall to watch the sunrise. We hiked for about 2 hours in the dark and reached the top as it was getting light. The hike was difficult because of snow and ice as well as low visibility, but the view on the mountain better and better as our altitude increased. The view from the highest point on the wall was outrageous, awe-inspiring, and surreal. I couldn't keep myself from smiling and laughing. We gazed across the clouds and saw the wall running along the mountains for miles. It was hard to realize how high up we were until we moved across the top and saw the steep drop off near the side. Despite being extremely cold, I felt perfectly fine as I gazed towards the horizon. The serenity of the moment was like something I've never felt. It was nice to realize the fog I saw was probably clouds rather than fog like in the city. As the sun rose over another peak, the world lit up beautifully and for a moment I saw the world how it was meant to be seen, simply beautiful. Naturally, this moment was too brief as the sun eventually rose too high and became blinding.

The descent was difficult. We hiked down for two hours, I soon realized the steep inclines that were difficult to climb had become dangerous declines where falling, sliding, and slipping were very likely. There was a lot of falling, sliding, and slipping and luckily no one was hurt on the descent. When we finally reached the village, I was extremely content. When I woke up that morning I was considering not leaving the slightly warm bed for the bitter cold, but I knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. And it truly was a once in a lifetime opportunity. We ate a delicious breakfast, thanked our generous hosts, and hiked out of the valley to our buses. The hike out was more memorable than the days before as we could see the natural scenery better in the day time. The great thing about these hikes is it allows a lot of conversation. It's amazing how much you can talk about with someone over the course of an hour or two and how much you can learn about them.

I know I've been updating a lot, but it's because we have done so many things since arriving and it'd be a shame to let these experiences be kept secret. This week will start to become routine as we are getting into a regular class schedule. Chet and I will have to finish up our walking tours this week, I will interview his home stay parents and he will interview my roommate, and I believe we are going to attempt to have suits made this week. A group of us are also attempting a weekend trip to another city because why not?

Best wishes,
Vinh

Failure and Transcendence

After an incredible visit to the Capital Museum on Friday, Chet and I embarked on our walking tour. We decided to adapt an "adventurer" mindset and took a risk. We attempted to go through the walking tour without our directions. We made it to the first location and discovered it was quite a walk from the subway station to the actual entrance. We paid the entrance fee and proceeded to be floored by the size of the Temple of Heaven Park. Inside there was an outrageous number of trees creating a very beautiful, natural (read: artificial) scene. Once we reached the inner area of the park I was amazed by the size, detail, and overall view of the Temple as well as the surrounding area. Chet and I ended up spending about 2 hours wandering around the location seeing the different parts of the park, but we had to move on without seeing the entire park for the sake of brevity. We also ended up having to walk around the entire perimeter of the park trying to find our next location. We failed miserably, settled in a nearby McDonald's for a quick snack. We then went to a Nike next door just to look around. I felt pretty miserable about not being able to complete our tour, but we gave it the old college try. 

I finally met my roommate later the same night. I hadn't met him previously because he was finishing finals and was staying at another location on campus so he would not have to disturb me while he stayed up to study all night. His name is Tony and he speaks good English. He seems very curious about American culture, but also doesn't have a strong desire to travel to the United States. Instead he has a strong infatuation with Japan. We talked about some things like what we studied, where we live, and he told me a little about his previous American roommate. I gave him a slinky as a small present and I watched as he showed genuine confusion. I thought that a slinky would make a good gift as the novelty and familiarity of it would bring a small amount of happiness, but Tony had never seen a slinky before and I honestly can't tell if Tony likes his slinky. He seems extremely flexible, understanding, and reasonable which is great since that makes living in a foreign country that much easier. 

Saturday I woke up to snow. Which was really beautiful and added a special element to the Beijing scene, distracting momentarily from the smog. There wasn't a lot of accumulation, but it was nice for the morning. Our weekend excursion to the Great Wall was postponed to tomorrow as the roads leading up the mountains had become dangerous, especially for a bus. Rather than allow the day to waste a group of us headed to the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City brought on more of the same feelings of awe that the Temple of Heaven brought. The Forbidden City was large and the amount of detail within the buildings was unreal. There was a certain mysticism present within the palace walls. After exiting the city we climbed a nearby hill that was the highest point surrounding the city. The view was surreal and unbelievable. We were able to see the entire area of the Forbidden City, but the surrounding Beijing area was hidden unfortunately by fog. Beijing has some spectacular and surreal views that evoke a very welcomed transcendent feeling. Tonight a group of us are planning on heading to a karaoke bar or a pub for some fun. There's something special about being in good company and enjoying the world. 

Best wishes,

Vinh 

Making it in China

So I officially landed in China at 11:21 PM January 3, 2012 local time. As soon as I came out of the runaway, it was an open mouthed experience. Everything I saw had a novelty that made it incredible. The airport was amazing in both size and architecture. Security was surprising lax as immigration made the process fairly simple and customs was nonexistent. We honestly walked through a room with some officials and that was it. We then left the airport and drove through the city, which was impressive, but also disappointing in the darkness. I was anticipating a sensory overload, but the morning fog/smog/grogginess made it difficult to see and appreciate the city. There were some trees that had lights to give off an Avatar-esque effect. When we arrived at the University we were all very excited.  The buildings didn’t look beautiful in presentation, but it also looked like there was quite a bit of construction. We reached the dorms with Signee (our class TA for the semester who is actually a recent St. Olaf grad and an alum of this program) and we were greeted by a petite Chinese woman. We exchanged passports for room keys, under the advisement of Signee and headed up to our rooms. The rooms were barren, but suitable. They could have more aesthetic appeal, but provided everything that I really needed. My roommate was supposed to already be living in the room, but when I opened the door but nobody was present, but evidence of his existence was. I unpacked a little and then some friends and I decided we wanted to head out a little. We asked Signee how to get back into the building and began our fiasco. Our first stop: a KTV karaoke café and bar right next door. We left at 2:00 AM and that was exactly when the bar closed, so we left defeated. Next stop: The corner of the block. At this point we decided to call it a night and returned to the dorms. I went to sleep expecting my roommate to return, but when I woke up in the morning there was no evidence that he had ever come back.

This morning we had orientation which really bummed me out. I was really excited for this trip to see the city, but it felt like they were asking us to do quite a few planned activities and reading. While I don’t mind this, I was really hoping we’d have a lot more freedom to travel as we liked. After orientation we headed to a impressive vegetarian restaurant which was skilled as imitation meat. We then had a small tour seeing some old litigation builds and ended up Tiananmen Square. Here our group attracted quite a bit of tourists which was but also slight uncomfortable. After Tiananmen, we split into some groups and were thrown into the city to find a location and bring back evidence that we had visited. My group stumbled out of the gates as we searched first for an ATM for currency. After struggling to communicate with some bankers we found an ATM and then began our actual quest. I was the only Chinese student in my group so it was up to me to find directions. Everyone I talked to was willing to help, but I had difficult either understanding them or I only understood enough to get a general direction. After spending some time walking in the general direction we hopped on a bus after further inquiry. The bus took us right up to our location which turned out to be a Market/shopping center. It was impressive, but also lacked finish at the same time. While we finished this relative quickly, returning to the University took a lot longer than we would’ve liked. We stumbled around for an hour and a half searching for a subway, then took the subway for about forty minutes and then finally walked another hour or so back to our University. The walk back was taxing, but also rewarding. We talked about how humbling the city of Beijing was and although I felt my Chinese was inadequate, it was just enough to get us back.

Tomorrow we have class and a visit to the Capital Museum followed by another group lunch. The afternoon Chet and I will be conducting a trial run of our walking tour, which means more or less the same as today. Good grief.

Best wishes,

Vinh

P.S. I just tried to get some pictures from my camera onto my camera to attach to this post, but it was a no go. Camera troubles led to a loss of pictures from today, which is unfortunate, but it could also lead to photoless-trip which is really disappointing. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be?