Eating Dinner on the Great Wall of China

Last week, I had the once-in-a-lifetime experience of eating dinner on the Great Wall of China. And I don't mean eating an ice cream cone or drinking a coke purchased from one of the various vendors, but an actual dinner on the Great Wall.

As part of The Beijing Center's Second Decade celebration that was held over last week, TBC hosted a dinner for the Board of Directors who were in Beijing for their annual board meeting. I was one of twelve TBC students who were chosen to participate in this event. The dinner was shrouded in secrecy and all we were told was to dress warmly because we would be eating on the Great Wall. Most of us figured this was just a restaurant on the Wall, probably open to anyone who wanted to dine there.

However, upon our arrival, we realized it was much more than any other dinner.

We arrived at Badaling (the most touristy section of the Wall in Beijing - I've been told it's kind of like Disneyland) and realized that the entire place was empty except for us. The Great Wall had been closed so that TBC could have a catered dinner without any interruption from other groups of people. Tables were set up with hors de'vours where we mingled with the Board of Directors before moving to a lower section of the Wall where a catered buffet was set up for us to devour. And as the first all-American meal that I have had in China, I definitely made use of the knife and fork!

Afterwards, I learned that this was probably the most expensive meal that I would ever eat in China. The Great Wall is only closed off 3-4 times each year and usually only for special dinners held by international embassies. It was truly an amazing experience to sit on the Great Wall, gaze up at the stars, and enjoy a delicious dinner among an impressive international company.

On to more of my daily reality: we just had our Chinese midterm today and on Sunday, I'm off to Guilin (supposed to be one of the most beautiful places in China) for a week-long trip full of hiking, biking, rafting, and mud bath adventures.

Bike Rides (and Wrecks) during the National Holiday

For the first time ever, the Chinese government decided to make their National Holiday a week-long vacation instead of the usual one day holiday. However, with the entire population of China traveling during this time, it was impossible to find a train or plane ticket anywhere (affordable or available), so I ended up staying in Beijing to explore the city and enjoy a week without class.

In order to get around the city, I decided to follow the Chinese method and buy a bicycle. Everyone in China uses bikes to get around because they are relatively cheap and can often get you to your destination faster than trying to navigate a car through the heavy Chinese traffic. On the first day of our vacation, I found the perfect bicycle: a red, vintage-looking cruiser with shiny rims and a new basket and bell. And I decided to take it out on a cruise around town.

On my first ride, I was pedaling straight without any other people, bikes, cars, or buses around when my foot slipped off my pedal and got jammed between the spokes of my front wheel, propelling my entire body over my bike. Sprawled in the middle of the street in Beijing, my ankle was twisted in my bike in such a painful position that I was sure I was going to see bone sticking out when I turned around. As I laid there trying to remain calm (very unsuccessfully), friends tried to pry my foot out of the spokes, but it was stuck so bad that we had to wait five minutes for someone to find wire clippers to cut the spokes of my wheel and free my foot. And just by chance, some Americans were walking by at the time and one happened to be a doctor who assessed that my ankle wasn't broken, but only badly sprained.

So after that ordeal, I've been stuck in an ankle brace with a black-and-blue foot, icing and elevating. However, I didn't let this little handicap stop me from participating (and winning first place) in a scavenger hunt around Beijing. My friends picked up a replacement wheel for me, got the brake fixed that I had completely broken, and bent my basket back into shape, so my bicycle is once again operable.

The most amazing thing about the whole experience was the helpfulness of the Chinese people. Earlier that day, we had been discussing the seeming self-centeredness of the Chinese - everyone pushes to get first in line, no one cares if someone gets their coffee spilled on them, etc. - that is part of a culture where attempting to survive and stand out among 1.3 billion people is a daily reality. However, when I got in my accident, several Chinese people ran up to assess the situation and figure out a solution. People called the local emergency services. Foreigners stopped by to offer help and support. The Chinese police came afterwards to make sure everything was okay. It was an amazing interaction between people of different countries, cultures, and languages all working together to help me, and I couldn't be more appreciative.

And next time when someone cuts me in line, I won't become automatically aggravated at the apparent rudeness and impatience of Chinese people, but have some more understanding for life in this competitive culture that must balance the good of the collective with the survival of the individual.

Pictures from the Silk Road

Mongolian gers in the Grasslands

Traditional Mongolian horse race

Buddhist carvings at the Longmen Grottoes

Small Wild Goose Pagoda outside Xi'an

Entrance to Shaolin Temple

Terracotta Warriors

Fort at Jiayuguan

First Week of Classes

Into the 6th day of my sickness, the raging fever, sore throat, raspy cough, runny nose, and general all-over pain did nothing to help me get through the first week of classes. Nevertheless, armed with rolls of toilet paper (attempting to pass as facial tissues, but really only making me look like Rudolph) and many bottles of water, I managed to make it to all of my classes.

I'm enrolled in 15 credits here at TBC as well as an online course through BC. My Intensive Intermediate Chinese class will be one of the hardest ones. Meeting 4 times a week for 2.5 hours each day (in addition to at least 3-4 hours of studying every night), it is a lot of Chinese, but will hopefully pay off in the end as I attempt to learn the language. Lacking the necessary listening and speaking skills, it is a little hard to understand the professor at times, but my reading and writing placed me at this level, so I'll just struggle through it until I get used to hearing and using the language. Several of my friends are in this 8-person class with me, so that will also help as we have a good group to study and practice with. All TBC students also have their own personal Chinese tutor to help whenever we need it. Mine is named Jennifer (or Fei), but since I've been sick, I have yet to meet her in person.

State and Society taught by the Dean Russell Leigh Moses (apparently he's pretty big, you can Google or Wikipedia him if you want more information). It is an incredibly interesting class (although I missed the first 2/3 of this week's lecture due to getting a huge medical examination completed for my year-long visa) about how the Chinese government and Communist Party are structured and operate.

Chinese Foreign Policy is taught by a professor from Peking University (the "Harvard of China") who is a Party member and brings in interesting insight from that position. We will be looking at domestic issues (food shortage, water, health, etc.) and how they affect China's foreign issues, image, and goals.

Peoples of China is taught by a professor from the National University of Ethnic Minorities (?) and examines various ethnic groups around China. If all goes as planned, we are supposed to take some excursions to try different ethnic foods and have guest lectures from individuals of those groups.

Last but not least is my online course called Advanced Intercultural Communications. There are 6 students in the class who are all studying abroad in various locations throughout the world. Every week, we send in Electronic Journal Assignments about different topics assigned to us by our professor. The last two covered jet lag, getting settled, and shopping in our new countries. The one for next week is about our living arrangements and school campuses. It is very interesting to hear about other students' experiences and struggles as they study abroad and become accustomed to completely new lifestyles. There is a shared sympathy for all the hardships and an excitement for all the progress we're making.

So...with all that, I'm going to be very busy this semester: learning a lot about China, about myself, and about the Chinese language that really can tell you so much about this amazing country.

The Silk Road

What a trip.

Using planes, overnight trains, and buses, we traveled along the Silk Road from Beijing to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to Hohhot to Luoyang to Xi'an to Jaiyuguan and finally to the Gobi Desert in Dunhuang. It was an amazing experience that gave us a glimpse into the diverse country of China. And I am so exhausted.

Starting in the Mongolian Grasslands, we spent a night in traditional nomadic Mongol huts called gers or yurts. With a Western toilet and television in each ger, it wasn't the truly authentic homestay that many of us had expected. However, we were able to see a traditional horse race and wrestling performance and then we watched the sun come up over the Grasslands the following morning. Time in Hohhot was spent visiting Buddhist temples and trying Mongolian hot pot (a family-style dish where you put raw meat into boiling sauce/soup that cooks it right in front of you).

Then we were on to Luoyang where we visited the Shaolin Temple. Completely packed with tourists (mostly Chinese), it was difficult to experience the full effect of the monks in their temple at this historic kung fu school. We also saw the Longmen Grottoes where thousands of Buddhist carvings that span a distance of 1km cover the face of a steep cliff.

Next stop was Xi'an (personally, my favorite city on the trip due to the friendly environment and ease of getting around to different places). Almost a full day was spent at the Terracotta Warriors - the "8th Wonder of the World." It was really amazing to see these 8,000+ soldiers that are all unique and make up only a small percentage of the emperor's complete tomb. The Muslim Quarter of the city was located right next to our hotel and I was able to try authentic Muslim cuisine and buy touristy Muslim souvenirs. Interestingly, or unfortunately, this is a place where Han Chinese people avoid at all costs because they do not want to associate with the Muslim minority. Right before we left Xi'an, we rode bikes around the city wall - the only one that still stands in all of China.

Our time in Jaiyuguan was short and the major site of interest was the Jiayuguan Fort - the Western most fort along the Great Wall.

Last of all was Dunhuang - an oasis in the middle of the Gobi Desert. Here we spent the night sleeping in tents in the Gobi. And it was absolutely amazing. As we were driving out of the city to enter the Desert, all of the sudden, these huge sand dunes rose up in front of our bus. We climbed up and ran down dunes and watched the sunset before enjoying a bonfire with the whole group. In the morning, we got up before dawn (the stars were gorgeous - and something I've come to really appreciate here in smoggy China) and rode camels (I named mine Abe) up a sand dune to see the sunrise. Definitely one of the most beautiful parts of the entire trip.

We're all back on campus now preparing for the first day of school tomorrow. With all the traveling and a couple cold nights in the Grasslands and the Gobi Desert, lucky me picked up a cold and am now fighting a fever. But the exhaustion and sickness pales in comparison to returning to school to find that my computer hard drive crashed. I lost all of my photos, music, and files from the last two years of my life, but hopefully I can take it somewhere to try and recover some files. Fortunately, it was covered under warranty and Apple gave me a new MacBook. The best part was probably me sobbing in the Apple Store, attempting to Skype my family to explain the situation, and having the Chinese employee hand me a box of Kleenex.

With the trip and everything that has happened since, I am so ready to begin class tomorrow and start learning about China from within in China.

Ni Hao

Ni hao from Beijing!

I arrived in the very gray city of Beijing last Tuesday afternoon and have been slowly acclimating to the time, weather, and life in China (although today I woke up to a gorgeous blue sky - the first since I got here).

I'm participating in The Beijing Center (TBC) that is run through the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE). We spent the first 3 days doing orientation activities: meeting our Chinese host students, going on a tour of campus, and learning more about the program. We also had the opportunity to climb a section of the Great Wall that was supposedly more authentic than some of the touristy locations closer to Beijing. But the best part was getting to ride down in a toboggan at the end.

All of the international students are housed in the same building. The dorm rooms are decent with private, Western-style bathrooms; however the showers have no enclosure, so when you take a shower, the entire bathroom ends up getting soaked. There are 125 students in the program from other Jesuit universities across the US, so there are a lot of people to meet and get to know. I'm the only one from Boston College, but I know several BC students attending a different program at Peking University and plan on meeting up with them later.

This afternoon, I leave on a 2-week trip along the Silk Road. We will travel from East to West and highlights of the trip include: an overnight stay in the Mongolian grasslands, a visit to Shaolin Temple, seeing the terracotta warriors in Xi'an, and riding camels to see the sunrise in the Gobi Desert. It is a trip packed with sight-seeing and traveling that will keep us very busy. We get back on September 12th and then start class the following Monday.

That's just a little update of my study abroad adventure thus far. I'm meeting lots of people who are very excited about China and want to learn more about this amazing country. And even though my knowledge of the Chinese language is very minimal, I've been able to use it several times.

Keep checking here for more updates on my experiences and I look forward to keeping in touch with everyone!