Welcome to my every day.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
R.I.P.
Rem Koolhaas tried to reinvigorate Beijing's monotonous array of cookie-cutter skyscrapers with two of my favorite buildings in the world, but sure enough, China decided it couldn't handle that.
I'll miss the Mandarin Oriental terribly. Its clean steel facade, crashing gracefully into the ground, was always a welcome sight along the Third Ring Road.
UPDATE: The YouTube videos of the fire have been blocked in China (pleasegodletmeleavethiscountrysoon). I highly encourage you to check them out. They're incredibly...bizarre. And of course, we'll never know what happened.
Another Update: Srsly, this was my favorite building! I always read it as a response to the fallen World Trade Center towers; its facade mirrors that of the Twin Towers, and from the Third Ring Road it looks as though that facade is peeling away from the main building as it sinks into the ground. The New York Times presented a delightful piece about government attempts to downplay the catastrophe this morning.
I'll miss the Mandarin Oriental terribly. Its clean steel facade, crashing gracefully into the ground, was always a welcome sight along the Third Ring Road.
UPDATE: The YouTube videos of the fire have been blocked in China (pleasegodletmeleavethiscountrysoon). I highly encourage you to check them out. They're incredibly...bizarre. And of course, we'll never know what happened.
Another Update: Srsly, this was my favorite building! I always read it as a response to the fallen World Trade Center towers; its facade mirrors that of the Twin Towers, and from the Third Ring Road it looks as though that facade is peeling away from the main building as it sinks into the ground. The New York Times presented a delightful piece about government attempts to downplay the catastrophe this morning.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Oh Hai, Nan!
Spring Festival is generally regarded as the biggest domestic mass exodus on the planet. In an attempt to be as "Chinese" as possible, Jared and I decided to travel to Hainan, China's answer to Hawaii, to enjoy a week of beaches, mountains, and weather that doesn't turn one to thoughts of suicide.
All was well for the first few days. We explored Sanya (the Honolulu of Hainan), ate and drank excessive amounts of unhealthy things, strolled along the beach, and joined the Chinese in celebrating the new (lunar) year by nearly killing ourselves with fireworks on the beach. The plan was to leave Sanya for the mountains via high-powered scooters, which we did. Traveling by scooter at 45kph, for a second-timer (Theo and I scooted around Rome for a few hours in 2002, but that barely counts), is somewhat of a terrifying feat. We finally made it to Wuzhishan, a city nestled in the 5 largest mountains on the island, in the hopes that we'd travel around and visit some Li and Miao (also known as the H'mong people) villages the next day.
On our ascent up one of the winding mountainous highways, we came to a blind curve. All was well until an oncoming car soared around the curve in our lane. Our lane! This obviously startled Jared, the leader of our pack, who swerved to miss certain death. His scooter crushed his foot, and with it our grand designs on the week were also crushed.
He's still in an immense amount of pain; I think it's broken but, understandably, he thinks it's easier to let it heal on its own than deal with the rigmarole inherent in a visit to a Chinese hospital.
Ultimately, we did everything we planned to on our vacation--we visited a few villages, I bought honey from a roadside bee colony, we sunbathed on a pristine, empty beach on the east side of the island, we enjoyed the weather and the distance we had from the mainland. It's just somewhat fitting that the nonsensical daily foppery of "some" "people" "here" would bring what would have been a delightful vacation to a halt. It was a lovely break, but would have been lovelier if actions and things made any sort of rational sense here.
2 months and counting!
All was well for the first few days. We explored Sanya (the Honolulu of Hainan), ate and drank excessive amounts of unhealthy things, strolled along the beach, and joined the Chinese in celebrating the new (lunar) year by nearly killing ourselves with fireworks on the beach. The plan was to leave Sanya for the mountains via high-powered scooters, which we did. Traveling by scooter at 45kph, for a second-timer (Theo and I scooted around Rome for a few hours in 2002, but that barely counts), is somewhat of a terrifying feat. We finally made it to Wuzhishan, a city nestled in the 5 largest mountains on the island, in the hopes that we'd travel around and visit some Li and Miao (also known as the H'mong people) villages the next day.
On our ascent up one of the winding mountainous highways, we came to a blind curve. All was well until an oncoming car soared around the curve in our lane. Our lane! This obviously startled Jared, the leader of our pack, who swerved to miss certain death. His scooter crushed his foot, and with it our grand designs on the week were also crushed.
He's still in an immense amount of pain; I think it's broken but, understandably, he thinks it's easier to let it heal on its own than deal with the rigmarole inherent in a visit to a Chinese hospital.
Ultimately, we did everything we planned to on our vacation--we visited a few villages, I bought honey from a roadside bee colony, we sunbathed on a pristine, empty beach on the east side of the island, we enjoyed the weather and the distance we had from the mainland. It's just somewhat fitting that the nonsensical daily foppery of "some" "people" "here" would bring what would have been a delightful vacation to a halt. It was a lovely break, but would have been lovelier if actions and things made any sort of rational sense here.
2 months and counting!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Chun Jie.
As I was awoken by a solo performance of firecrackers today (one achingly lit at a time for an hour), I think it's safe to say that China's largest holiday season, Spring Festival, has finally begun. The fireworks will continue through the end of the month and beyond; people will be traveling in droves around the country; markets and grocery stores will be flooded with people buying ingredients for the week's feasts.
As previously mentioned, my Aussie friend Jared and I will be traveling to Hainan, a small island off the southern border of China. We look forward to renting scooters or motorbikes and touring the mountains, minority villages, nature reserves, and beaches for the week.
Surely some unforeseen disasters will crop up, so if you enjoy reading about miserable things happening to me, don't change that channel.
As previously mentioned, my Aussie friend Jared and I will be traveling to Hainan, a small island off the southern border of China. We look forward to renting scooters or motorbikes and touring the mountains, minority villages, nature reserves, and beaches for the week.
Surely some unforeseen disasters will crop up, so if you enjoy reading about miserable things happening to me, don't change that channel.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
3 months and counting.
Today marks my nine-month anniversary in China. I've already begun planning these next, predictably-tumultuous months, complete with upcoming trips to Hainan (Jared and I are planning a Motorcycle Diaries-esque tour across the beautiful beaches and H'mong villages on the island during Spring Festival), Pingyao, and Hong Kong. I've alerted my boss to my departure on April 15--news that was not received well. I've eked forward in planning a tour of India at the end of April. And, even more hesitantly, I'm tiptoeing around meters of red tape blocking me from starting an alternative-certification program to teach high school English stateside in the fall.
Despite my lack of internet (1.5 weeks has passed now without service in my apartment) and the dry chill that ravages my very core, things are well here. I'm looking forward to leaving, but I'm already waxing nostalgic about my experience here.
A China: Part II might (have to) be in the works, so my trip home may be less of an anchor drop and more of a sand-bar beaching. We shall see.
Despite my lack of internet (1.5 weeks has passed now without service in my apartment) and the dry chill that ravages my very core, things are well here. I'm looking forward to leaving, but I'm already waxing nostalgic about my experience here.
A China: Part II might (have to) be in the works, so my trip home may be less of an anchor drop and more of a sand-bar beaching. We shall see.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Er Ling Ling Jiu.
Despite solar calendar observers' propensities to spend New Year's Eve in a haze of sour mix, sound-makers, and sadness, I spent my the last and first hours of 2008 and 2009, respectively, in a nongjiayuan (translation: "peasant family farmyard") on the edge of the JianKou section of the Great Wall.
I practically invited myself along with some friends for the voyage--a feat of bravery I have never attempted before, and yet it is somehow more acceptable for expats to do this, according to Cyndi.
We arrived at the Chinese version of a bed-and-breakfast (complete with three delicious meals cooked by the owners of the nongjia) at around 9PM, gazed at the uncanny masses of stars in the sky, lit fireworks, drank some Veuve Cliquot (most of my fellow NYE-ers are employed by embassies, multinational corporations, or are otherwise independently wealthy), and enjoyed the solitude of the village.
After a restless slumber on a kang bed (a stone slab heated by ever-dying coal embers underneath), we set off on a four-hour hike along a more "wild" part of the Great Wall. While most sections of the Wall have been restored with new, even stones and even handrails in some parts, JianKou has been left to nature's devices. Loose stones abound; weeds and trees have wormed their way into the cracks, making hiking somewhat treacherous. At one point, we had to climb a 10m-high vertical section which had probably collapsed many years ago.
I am so thankful for this crisp, clarifying beginning to my 2009. 2008 was nothing short of amazing in all aspects; I worry that I have spent all of my karmic collateral on one year and that the Year of the Ox will be filled with death, destruction, and bad haircuts. Nevertheless, I will approach it with the doe-eyed hopefulness I approached 2008.
Xīn nián kuài lè, everyone.
Also: http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE4BO0X420081225?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=69&sp=true
I practically invited myself along with some friends for the voyage--a feat of bravery I have never attempted before, and yet it is somehow more acceptable for expats to do this, according to Cyndi.
We arrived at the Chinese version of a bed-and-breakfast (complete with three delicious meals cooked by the owners of the nongjia) at around 9PM, gazed at the uncanny masses of stars in the sky, lit fireworks, drank some Veuve Cliquot (most of my fellow NYE-ers are employed by embassies, multinational corporations, or are otherwise independently wealthy), and enjoyed the solitude of the village.
After a restless slumber on a kang bed (a stone slab heated by ever-dying coal embers underneath), we set off on a four-hour hike along a more "wild" part of the Great Wall. While most sections of the Wall have been restored with new, even stones and even handrails in some parts, JianKou has been left to nature's devices. Loose stones abound; weeds and trees have wormed their way into the cracks, making hiking somewhat treacherous. At one point, we had to climb a 10m-high vertical section which had probably collapsed many years ago.
I am so thankful for this crisp, clarifying beginning to my 2009. 2008 was nothing short of amazing in all aspects; I worry that I have spent all of my karmic collateral on one year and that the Year of the Ox will be filled with death, destruction, and bad haircuts. Nevertheless, I will approach it with the doe-eyed hopefulness I approached 2008.
Xīn nián kuài lè, everyone.
Also: http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE4BO0X420081225?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=69&sp=true
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
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