china, day three

i'm slowly completing missing blogs -- here is day three of china!

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day three - beijing city tour
31 march 2009

as promised, our wake up call came promptly at 730, rousing me out of a deep sleep. bundled up in nearly all of my layers, shannon and i headed to breakfast, which was provided by the hotel.

chinese breakfasts are traditionally dumplings and rice, which is not quite my style. luckily there was oatmeal and fruit, along with some strong coffee. after assembling our group, amongst the other 150 sas kids milling about, we eventually made it out of the hotel, onto our purple bus and through the congested morning streets.

some students needed to use an atm so that they could pay for thier trips, so the bus pulled off to the side of a busy street. in waiting for the other kids to return, those of us left on the bus fell asleep. typical.

soon we were on our way to see the sights of beijing: tienanmen square, the forbidden city, the hutongs and the summer palace.

tienanmen square was a large open area with large governmental buildings on all four sides. clearly a tourist spot, there were large groups of chinese people following their guides, all wearing matching hats or jackets. guides were distinguished by the flags they carried, vincent's was yellow. we coined ourselves 'team vincent,' much to his dismay. i'm sure he got a kick out of us, but the flag was so helpful! that and his bright purple jacket and spiky hair.

out in the square, we were quite chilly and the street vendors took advantage of our lack of preparation. i was bundled up quite warmly, though i lacked a hat. many of the kids in our group purchased 'fargo' hats with red stars on them and they looked positively ridiculous. communist hats are not quite my style so i opted for the best option i could find: a panda hat.

positively ridiculous and most certainly the best 3 usd i've ever spent, my panda hat is absurd. it looks as if a panda is eating my head. but its warm! and i can't wait to wear it sledding. i'm not sure if i'll sport it on my way to class, but i have my halloween costume!

tienanmen square has a long history in beijing, not all negative, as many westerners believe. the people's republic of china was first announced by mao zedong in the square and festivals are often held in the area. protests are also common in the square, especially amongst students. vincent gave us a quick overview of the square but failed to mention the massacre that occurred in 1989. one of the girls inquired about the topic and we received little acknowledgment of the topic.

it was a widely discussed topic about how a google search of tienanmen square resulted in the photo of tanks and dead students in the states while the same search in china lead only to photos of the square itself. not wanting to push the topic, out of common sense and the advice of semester at sea, we dropped the subject. it would have been unwise to begin such a discussion, though i would have loved to hear what vincent thought of the true incident those days.

after clicking away at photos of the square, and of the people, we obediently followed vincent's yellow flag over to the far side of the square, to the gate of the forbidden city. mao's photo was everywhere, and there were scores of people lining up for pictures with his likeness. apparently mao's casket is also in tienanmen square, where his body is on display, in a crystal case. there was quite the line of people waiting to pay their respects.

our band of merry communist and panda hat wearing kids headed through the underground tunnel, a common phenomenon to avoid crossing the congested streets, and we entered the forbidden city.

there were so many large buildings, open spaces, other tourists and semester at sea kids throughout the forbidden city. we passed through several gates, which we had to cross over with our right foot first. we spent a good part of our morning wandering through the forbidden city, which seems to never end. we were always going through the large gates, which opened up to yet another square. vincent did his best to keep us moving; he kept promising us that a starbucks would be at the other side. throughout the forbidden city were groups of school children dressed in warm-up outfits. similar to the ones we wore when we were little, i think we called them swishy suits or something. it was a mutual exclamation that team vincent needed matching warm-ups!

as we were making our way to the final section of the city; it began to flurry! the snow made everyone excited, though i'm sure the locals thought we were crazy!

one of our last stops was a cabinet with the chinese symbols of happiness on them. supposedly, two of the symbols next to each other mean extra happiness; it is even used in weddings. so after touching the double happiness symbols, we exited the city and came upon the love tree. the tree is supposed to be lucky for couples and has been re-made over the years, which is a phenonmenon in china. sometimes, when things look historical, they may be replicas of the original. a few more photos and we walked back in the direction of our hotel.

lunch was in a traditional hutong. hutongs are the neighborhoods, found throughout the country. they are known for their narrow alleys and common bathrooms; a favorite place to live for those seeking community. vincent told us that he will not live in a hutong at this age, because if he has a girl over, everyone would know about it by morning. his parents, on the other hand, live in a hutong because they enjoy living so close to their friends and being able to gossip.

we ate lunch in a family's home, and had my new favorite chinese dish: garlic shoots with chicken. i know mom will want to try them! similar in style to the chicken and broccoli at home, the garlic shoots were so tasty! ah, i wish i could have some now! after receiving little key chains and good luck knots, we went on a rickshaw tour of the hutong.

teresa and i sat together, bundled in all of our layers and covered in a blanket. the bicycle rickshaws traveled in a pack, speeding through the winding neighborhood. it was a wonderful way to see the area and to take some photos. we passed locals who waved and smiled warmly, even on such a cold day.

following lunch, with vincent again (falsely) promising starbucks, we ventured to the summer palace. boy would it be great to have a summer palace! settled next to a large lake, the whole area was picturesque. i wanted to ride around in the paddle boats, but vincent said they don't allow it on such chilly days. a few group photos, trips to the happy house and general nonsense, we walked through the whole outside, admiring the kites as we walked by.

desperate for some heat and shopping, vincent had our bus driver take us to the pearl market, a popular spot for tourists and locals alike. the bus then left and we were to find our way back to the hotel on our own. luckily, we were all given cards with the hotels name, in chinese, as well as a map as to the location.

once we were set free into the market, things became hectic. stalls every, filled with knock-off bags, shoes, jeans, jackets, electronics and jewelry. as with many markets, the salespeople were vicious. calling out, "miss, miss, come look! you need ___?"

the experience was overwhelming but having gone in with a mission: converse sneakers and a duffel bag, it was easier to navigate.

prices were absolutely negotiable, and i must say that i am not good at it! i just don't like to fight over a matter of 2 dollars! teresa and i quickly picked up converses for about $12 usd, a great price for fake sneakers that would generally cost about $45 usd. the other girls went off in search of jeans and i did not let myself. tempting as it is to get knock-off seven/citizens for humanity jeans for $15 usd, i have too many pairs as it is! and i pay $12.50 at forever 21 for the same style, so i wouldn't be doing better to get jeans in china.

i wandered over to the bag area, and i knew i'd be in trouble. so many to choose from! the trouble with the vendors is that if you look or touch anything, you will likely end up buying it. the prices are not listed, as the vendors throw out ridiculous prices only after you've looked at or tried on the item. from there, if you decided to pass on the jacket or bag, the vendors would not leave you alone. becca, one of the girls on the trip, was chased nearly all around the market after deciding against a purse. they are so infuriating, many students said they just bought the item to get the salespeople to leave them alone. i try to have patience, knowing that this is how they make a living, but i do not tolerate people grabbing my arms and trying to drag me into their stall or trying to sell me more shoes/bags/etc after making my purchase. if i'd wanted a bag and a wallet, i'd have picked both out together!

despite the frustration and anxiety of shopping, i did manage to get a deal on a duffle and small bag. i will need the bag to carry things home!

a little while later, i reunited with my core crew-- mckendree, teresa, kelsey and mandi. we left the mall area and attempted to get a cab back to the hotel. being that there were 5 of us, it was going to be a challenge to fit in one taxi or to find two and split the group. insisting on the meter, taxi after taxi claimed that it would be cheaper to just pay 70 rmb ($10 usd) for the five minute drive. vincent had told us that the taxi should be no more than 25 rmb, so we knew that 70 was too much. claims that it was rush hour, that a meter would end up costing more, etc. were frustrating and we attempted to find our location on our chinese map, to see if walking was an option.

luckily, vincent found us! he had been moseying around outside the mall, playing with magic tricks. he was so cute! he helped us to catch the local bus back to the forbidden city, from which we could walk back to the hotel. he was incredibly helpful, even offering us the 1rmb that it cost to ride the bus. when our bus arrived, he informed the attendant where we needed to get off and asked her to please let us know when we were at our stop. the bus filled and we made our way towards the hotel. a bunch of 5 american girls on the local bus; i'm sure they didn't know what to make of us, especially with the communist hats mandi and mckendree were sporting.

we made it to our stop and trudged back to the hotel, resolving to find pizza for dinner. a slight mix-up with our room keys, which had been de-activated, and we were all soon able to change and head back out.

shannon happened to return around the same time and our group of six traipsed down the street, hoping to find pizza. the hotel desk had no idea what we were asking for, so we simply headed in the direction of the restaurants we'd seen the night before. luckily, we didn't go too far. at the end of the street was a little cafe, with a coffee bar, american menu and.. free internet! exactly what we needed!

a few pizzas, french fries and email checks made everyone so happy! the simple things: the taste of home and unrestricted email/facebook.

my most favorite part of the evening were the cats! and the kitten! a total of four, they all made me miss jack at home! i inquired whether they had rabies and was assured they were health. as the evening wrapped up, i put the kitten in my bag and wanted to take him home so badly! i didn't bring him back with me, but i was able to get a few pictures.

after our long day, everyone was ready to head back to the hotel. we had to check out in the morning, so i knew i needed to get myself organized for the great wall! we watched zorro on the television and i tried to call home, getting the answering machine. with my alarms set, i was soon fast asleep.