Happy Chinese New Year

Ni hao! Happy New Year!! Well happy Chinese New Year anyways!! It’s been a crazy last week or so as the China has started the year of the tiger with a bang!! Literally...fireworks have been going off for the last week at all hours of the day.

We spent the New Year’s night in Taiyuan and got to celebrate the holiday Chinese style. In China fireworks shows are not provided by the city government, rather you provide it for yourselves. At first, I thought this would mean some sparklers and maybe some bottle rockets...but it turned out I was wrong. It was almost like 20 mini Disneyland shows all going off at once. When the clock struck midnight (and even before it stuck midnight really), it seemed as if everyone in the city of Taiyuan was celebrating together.

Everyone was incredibly nice, and seemed extremely happy to have foreigners celebrating their biggest holiday with them. The hotel staff (who set off part of the ridiculous firework display you are going to see) brought us a huge box of firecrackers and told us to “play with them.”

Now, I tried to figure out how to describe how deafening the sound was as you stood in the streets of Taiuyuan, or how amazing it was to see firecracker after firecracker light up the sky, but I think I will just have to show you.

Enjoy! And Happy Chinese New Year!!

Huoguo

So, I was going to write about how my friends I and met a man doing water calligraphy on campus the other day, or how I have finally gained some knowledge of how the Beijing buses work. But, that is going to have to wait because the other day I ate....hotpot. Or as the Chinese call it huoguo.

Now for those of you who don’t know what it is hotpot is kinda like going to a restaurant and making your own fondu. They have electric grills that keep boiling pots of water warm and you put your meat or vegetables in it to cook. You basically decide for yourself when it is done. It is bu hao. (Chinese for not good)

Now I know what you are thinking, “Kim this sounds amazing why didn’t you enjoy it?” I will tell you why. It is because Chinese hotpot is much much different than the meats you would probably eat in the U.S.. You have your typical meats such as beef, lamb, fish...but you also get the pleasure of having...squid, tofu, cow’s stomach, etc. Its..interesting. Now I am I picky eater...I readily admit that, and some people really like hotpot. I am just not one of them. Anyways...I was getting on pretty well. I stuck to the meats I knew such as the beef and lamb, and stayed away from everything else. Until something happened. My boss (FYI I went with the people who work at the Red Cross where I intern) started to put food on my plate. In China, you do not refuse the food you are given from your elders. Well....you could but it would be very very bad manners. So, I said thank you and started eating; and it was going ok. I ate fish - not my favorite thing in the world, but it could be worse - until i realized it had small bones in it. In China, the small bones don’t really matter. People will just eat them. So I slowly ate it...and made it through..thankful she hadn’t put anything else on my plate. Until about two minutes later when she put a piece of tofu, more fish, squid, and what I think was cow’s stomach. It took everything I had not to refuse it. So I slowly... ever so slowly...ate the tofu -which tasted like wet cardboard...and then looked at the rest of my food. I couldn’t do it...I was not ready to eat cow stomach. So i ate part of the fish and tried not to grimace as I heard the crunch of the small bones.

Fun Fact #2: NO ONE uses soy sauce in China. Its a Japanese thing. If you ask for soy sauce, they look at you like you are crazy. They do however have vinegar which many people use very large quantities of on their food.

Kim’s Helpful Tip #1: If you think the stuff on your table is soy sauce, check before you put it on your food, or else you could end up with really vinegary bowl of rice. Not that I have done that or anything.....

Kim rides the subway.....and gets lost

China Fun Fact #1: There is no bill higher than a 100 RMB bill (about $15) in China, and all of the paper currency 1 RMB and above has Mao’s face on it.


The few days were filled with activities designed to get us used to living in Beijing and one of those activities was.....(big dramatic music please) riding on the subway. Now I LOVE the Beijing public transportation system. Well, at least the subways, I have not ventured onto any of the buses yet. Anyways, I love the subways for a few reasons.

1. It is one of the few places where you are not allowed to spit (yes I said spit) or smoke in Beijing. It is quite acceptable in China that when you need to spit you can just spit on the ground (outdoors at least). It is one of the few things that I do not like about Beijing. I find it a little.....unpleasant...to hear (and see) people spitting all the time. Everyone seems to want to haka lugi. (Wannahakalugi.....Finding Nemo reference.....anyone? anyone?)
2. It’s really really cheap and one of the easiest ways to get around the city. It is 2 RMB for a one way ticket (about $.30). So much cheaper than a taxi, and much more efficient. A subway arrives at the station roughly every two minutes.
3. All the maps are in both Chinese and English.
4. Most of the people on the subway are incredibly nice and welcoming. My friend and I once missed our transfer station on the way to our internship, but a Chinese couple walked us to our next transfer line to make sure we made it to our next stop. People also love practicing their English on you and will take any excuse to do it. One guy timidly asked me if I read Charles Dickens. When I told him yes, he proceeded to tell me Dickens was a very good author....and then just smiled and didn’t say anything else.


The subway is definitely my choice for getting around Beijing and I love it....but there are a few things you should know before attempt brave the Beijing subway.

1. (This is the important one) Do not get on the subway for the first time between 6-9am. This is the busiest time to ride the subway, and people are literally shoving themselves into the tiniest available space in order to get on the subway. There is no such thing as personal space. I didn’t know it was possible to fit so many people in such a small space before I came to Beijing.
2. Make sure you are getting in the right subway. It’s kinda important. Not that I have ever gotten in the wrong subway before.....
3. Figure out how you are getting to your destination before you get on the subway. There are eight different subway lines and 50+ stops. Here is a little guide I have been using http://www.explorebj.com/subway/#s10017. It’s an interactive subway map guide that will plot the easiest way for you to reach your destination. (Your Welcome in advance...well unless you never go to Beijing which in that case....never mind)

The Forbidden City

Today, Kim walked to the top of the mountain to get a wonderful view of the Forbidden City with some of her friends. The guy next to her on the left is J.P. He works at the Red Cross with her. The guy on the righ is Chris.
Thats all for now. ~Melissa (The little sister)