慕田峪- MuTianYu- The Great Wall

So we went to the Great Wall on our holiday off school. Actually, I went with a lot of great people from BICF and we had a time of it. This is our wonderful lift up to the top. It was early in the morning when we arrived so the weather was perfect. Not too chilly and not blazing either. 

Most of the Great Wall is built on a series of mountain ranges. This was a strategic point so that the natural topography would aid the Qing and Ming dynasties in keeping out the Siberian Hordes. Also, makes for great picture taking. :)

Our fancy group from BICF had a VERY interesting cast of characters. We have people from Texas, Montana, Cali, and Hong Kong. So we have some interesting conversations and almost never run out of topics to talk about. 

The entire Great Wall is over 8000 km long (5,500 mi). But it is not very well known that the Wall is actually not continuous. Because it was such a large project it has been built by several dynasties and has been rebuilt and maintained since the 5th century.(source: Wikipedia) 

 Actually MuTianYu is one of the better preserved portions of the wall and really brings home the grandeur of the whole thing. It really took a lot to build this. 

 This section of the wall is basically built through a forest so there is a really nice amount of scenery to take in. We happened to show up on a day when the flower trees were blooming a  nice pink and purple hue. 

 Eventually I took it upon my self to climb the entire 3 km of our wall section. That might not seem too much, but let me assure you that it was enough. Most of these stairs were very steep and while a blast to go on, they were also really tall. Did I mention how steep they were?

 I have arrived alone and victorious, or something like that!

 You can't really tell from the pictures but after a thousand years or so the stairs weren't as straight as they used to be. Thus, walking up and down them gave a weird sense of imbalanced vertigo. I can't really explain it , so I guess you will just have to come see it for yourself. 

DongHuaMen Night Market--东华门夜市

So we recently, had a night off all the studying, and since there was nothing better to do we went out on the town. Where in town you ask? Why, none other than the DongHuaMen Night Market, which is complete with trinkets, clothing, pastries, kabobs, and of course fried scorpions. 

Our selection of food for the night was centered around these fine specimens. We have Starfish, Seahorses, an Scorpions (both small, yellow ones and the large, black ones) They deep fry everything so there really isn't any danger of getting sick... well at least in my case there wasn't. 

You can't really tell, but before they cook them, these things are still alive and kicking. Kinda adds to the atmosphere. 

They actually tasted pretty good. It had a nice crunch and not too strange of a flavor. If you were to press me, I would liken it to a flaky beef-jerky with legs. 

Charlie (the roommate) went for the larger black ones. They definitely had more of a crunch to them. But, about the same taste though. 

We dropped by the market pretty early on a Friday night so, although it wasn't full, it was still packed. A lot of  tourist both from inside and outside of China think this is the place to be. At first you wouldn't think it, but Beijing attracts a lot of people from within china as a tourist destination. It is kinda like New York for America. Everyone would like to go there at least once. For me, I prefer Beijing. 

Crazy masks and scrolls. I would never buy something here as I would have to barter for it, which is my LEAST favorite activity. 

Would you like, chopsticks, buddhas, wedding rings, sculptures... they have it all.

In addition to the more exotic food choices there were also some friendly favorites for me. Below is a common and delicious Japanese street food [takoyaki]. Also, there were plenty of dumplings, fruits, kabobs, and candies. Way more than I knew what to do with. 

The entire trip was really quite interesting because this little network of streets was nestled in a very upscale and affluent part of the city. I think it is just one of those interesting juxtapositions between old and new Beijing. Cheers.

Campus

These are the everyday views outside of my apartment. (The building on the right). I really like my apartment since it is well furnished for Beijing standards and is only on the third floor. The towers in the background are a pretty common sight. Since I have been in the middle of Beijing, it has been nice to see all of the important looking buildings and such on a daily basis.

This is the middle of campus here at BIT. They have a full soccer court and some pretty neat facilities that are in a really convenient location. They even have a professional soccer team on campus. That is right the university team was so good they just decided to go pro!! 

Also this campus was used as a sight for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I think this is the Volleyball court building. I haven't been inside but it sure looks important...not to mention funky. 

A very nice nightly stroll on campus. It is actually really nice to go for a walk at night because the haze of the city has a nice tint to it. You kinda feel like you are in a movie.

Well, remember what I said about that pollution? I present to you "good day" and "bad day"!

Uh ..I don't go running on bad days.

Social Hour

As you know I am studying Business and Mandarin here on campus. The business classes are clearly outlined and the language classes are intensive and engaging. I expected as much to be honest, and I like it. However, what I didn't expect was the make-up of the international student population over here.

The language school has been set up in a very interesting way. Of course, its language courses are for the international students only. No self respecting Chinese would take these 5th grade level mandarin grammar classes. Thus, our building is a microcosm of its own within the campus setting. This leads to some interesting social interactions. I think I have said previously, that myself and Charlie are the only two Americans on campus. That is actually to my liking as it means that when we socialize it has to be in Mandarin and it has to be interesting for sure. Our student population at the international student is ridiculous! We have students from Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Arabia, Mexico, Korea, and Japan just to name a few.

For example, last night I hung out in the lounge of the student center and had a very interesting conversation with a guy "Berik" from Kazakhstan. He was trying to practice his english so we had a really fun time. What is more he speaks Russian, Kazakhstani, Mandarin, Uighur, and English. I was really impressed with his experiences and all the languages he knows (I was jealous to be honest). But we talked about his home town and the differences between China and Kazakhstan and Russia. It was enlightening to say the least. Halfway through the conversation he called over his friend from Turkmenistan and they proceeded to teach me the small amount of Russian that my brain could handle at that point. By the end of it, we had a nice laugh and we ended up chatting in Mandarin for a bit.

Needless to say it has been a an eye opening experience as I can put faces to all of these countries. Also I think for them to see an American who isn't trying to be a jerk is helpful. You know the rest of the world isn't exactly fond of us. So anyway it has been fun. I also have some other Russian and Mexican friends who are in my same-level classes. We have had some interesting convos as well. Remind me to tell you about them some time soon.

Catch ya later. I have class.

A Long Week

Well, the weekend has passed well for me here. It was an intense week of classes. With my schedule fully worked out it looks like I have International Business classes for about 8 hours each week and then intensive language courses for 17 hours. The classes are well mixed so the week seems to go by quickly. Honestly the class schedule has come as a bit of a surprise. Originally I was only expecting half of my present class load, but on a different level I am thankful to be involved in such an intensive language program. It really makes me notice that I have HUGE room for improvement.

The Mandarin language classes are arranged in a very nice way. Instead of going through one thick textbook with one teacher, our classes are differentiated into their topical learning styles. Thus I am taking: Speaking. Listening, Grammar, Reading, and Test Prep. All of these courses have different teachers so even though we are in class most of the day. It doesn't really seem too troublesome. What is even more fun is the makeup of the student population. So like most language learning schools this department is comprised of a wide variety of international students. Most of my classmates are from Russia, Kazakhstan, Korea, and Mexico, with a little Singapore and Filipino mixed in. Needless to say that of all things Mandarin is the common language between us so it means we have to push ourselves to speak and listen to one another.

My business classes are an interesting thing all on their own. They are all internationally based courses that are taught in english. The coursework is very comprehensive and for the most part on par with the classes stateside. However, I have noticed that while all the textbooks are in English, a significant portion of some classes are in Mandarin. On the one hand it makes sense, because the teacher needs to help out the Chinese-born students with less english experience. On the other hand, there is only so much I can decifer about International Trade Practices in Mandarin...haha. Oh well, I think it will just be a challenge and for the most part-- I like it. I think I'll do just fine... I hope.

On a technical note. There appears to be chronic problem with my internet connection and loading pics. So it looks like you will have to wait a bit to see all the fun stuff. In the meantime may I interest you in a witty comment or a pun?

Pictures-a-plenty

I woke up to a nice blanket of snow. Taken from my apartment Window. 

Remember that street food I was telling you about. This is some of the best of it!!! Egg Crepes 

The main building on campus

The classic Tian-an-men square. It was really cold and quite far to walk to. 

It was so cold in fact that the rivers froze over. Yes, a whole river.

Lol!!

Now THIS is a street lamp.

I think I should make a point here. Take a look at this sky. The sky is blue.
That might seem like a no brainer, but I am in Beijing and the sky is blue.
I couldn't believe it (It's b/c of the snow)

Hump Day

So the first week has been passing by and there a quite  number of things going on.

Primarily, I am pretty much finished settling in. I know where the best place is to get groceries and where I can find some great street food. The food on campus is really good and really cheap. Keep in mind that this statement is coming from me. I’m kind of a freak when it comes to trying new food, so you might not like some of this stuff so well.  It is definitely all Chinese and all pretty, well, unhealthy. Most of it is rice of some sort and different spiced meats and such. That is fine every once and a while, but I can tell that eating all of that all the time might not be the best. So yeah, I should probably search for some of the more green options in food.

Oh, and on the subject of food and its close relatives. I have found what I have been looking for. COFFEE. Now of course they have plenty of coffee over here. There are a number of coffee shops; but what surprises me about these shops in China (a traditionally cheap country) is that the coffee is even more expensive over here. It is sold at a slight premium to our prices back in the states. I suppose that is due to the rising middle class and their desire to seem as American or refined as possible. So, while I am spending a whopping $1.00 on lunch every day, I would end up tripling that for a cup’o’joe. Somehow that just doesn’t sit right with me. So this process has led me on a search of Coffee beans to use in a French press in my apartment. And what do you know NOBODY has them. All the supermarkets sell is the little premade powdered coffee flavored stuffs. I’m not a terrible coffee snob, but premade coffee in little packets should be a federal offense. Anyway I stopped by the olefaithful Starbucks and got me some Esspresso Roast, and I am set. It may not seem like much, but –man- a cup’o’joe and some toast in the morning is just the thing for this guy!

My mornings-ummm!

I think you might be interested to know that things in my classes at the University are interesting to say the least. We (the roommate and I) are the pioneers (guinea pigs?) for this new program from State. It is a really great program set up, but between you and me and the rest of the internet, it has been pretty frustrating getting all of my information for classes. In short not too far from a goat rope. But hey that is what I signed up for and I’ll keep you up to date on all the crazies going on.

Oh and I thought some of you might like to know that I found a group of believers over here for Sunday mornings. The meeting place is on the other side of Beijing and it is strictly for passport holders (ie, foreign visitors), but it is really neat. This Sunday I will be going there again and I will be sure to get some more pics for ya.

BICF.org