Quick entry (?) before heading to bed...school on a saturday (tomorrow!)

*Sigh* Finally got a few minutes to try to catch up on blogging...I am only, what? a week behind? Not to mention all of the Yangjuan stuff. There was also a personal entry I wanted to post...personal meaning that this topic has alot of meaning to me...and that my writing will contain alot of my own reflections. I will get to that later. As to how to catch up...I feel like what is usually holding me back from finishing my entries is the amount to time it takes for my pictures to load. So...tell you what. I will post, in words, as much as I can to catch up. Over the moments I have around my apartment...I will start to multitask and upload pictures while doing other things like reading. I am hoping to calm this "I-will-never-catch-up" feeling.

Let's being where I last left off. That would be the night of the 22nd. That Friday, my roommate, Li Yun, finished taking the first part of her GREs. To celebrate, we wanted to eat out. Haha...and we ended going to the most unlikely place: KFC. See usually I wouldnt want to eat at a fast food resturant in a place like China...but I am curious about what they cater to the Chinese. So, we headed over. I had seen KFC commericials and one of the things I had been dying to order were their egg tarts. I would have to say that they are one of my upper top ten favorite desserts. And KFC did not disappoint! Yeah...it was a bit expensive...6 egg tarts for 20 RMB...but they were damn good egg tarts. The rest of the food wasnt as great...at least I didnt think so. China doesnt really do juice. Everything here either tastes like its punch...or its a version of Sunny Delight. We had some kind of "juice" drink, some Beijing styled chicken legs and wings, and some chicken wraps. I feel like the first thing we noticed when we first arrived was how different food can be here. I'm not really talking about the food itself...but rather...what's considered classy and what's considered fast food. Our connotation of fast food in the States is that its fast, its not so good for you but tastes good, and its cheap. Well here in China...it's exactly the opposite. The food is expensive, mostly the more well off citizens eat there, and the food doesnt really taste all that great...yeah...it tastes the same as it does in the US...almost. But, at least for me, I feel like I like Chinese food here alot better. Just compare. I think the total price for our meal at KFC was about...90 RMB. If you divide that by 8...yeah. That's about right. Compare that price with the price of, say, a bowl of noodles at the shop right beneath our apartment. 10 RMB for the both of us. That's a bit over 60 cents for a meal for a single person. Big difference. Anyways...it was an experience...and I think my adventures for food brands imported from America will stop there.
What was the most interesting part of our meal was not so much the food but rather our 2 hour long conversation after dinner. We talked about alot of things...from the one child policy to what *if we can even find a place to begin* are some of the things that makes our *American and Chinese* culture so different. I wont go much into the details...but I do have to say that this conversation gave me alot of insight into what it's like being a teenager/young adult here in China. It has made me rethink some things...made me wonder whether some of the things we talked about is applicable to an Chinese-American. :) I will stop going around the subject...and move on to our tape finding adventure.

After dinner...I wanted to stop by some *any* store to pick up some tape. I have so far gotten two huge maps...one of China and one of Chengdu. The walls here arent made like the ones in America. Rather than sheet rock....they are all cement. I tried sticking a pin through the wall to keep my maps up...nope. Didnt work. So...I needed tape. We didnt find any at the store we were at...but we did end up buying to bottles of beer. Since I turned 21...I realized I hadnt utilized my privledges and bought myself alcohol. :) So...that night, I bought my first 2 bottles of beer. It was also to celebrate Li Yun's completion of her section 1 of her GREs. Funny thing though. When we got back to our apartment...we forgot we didnt have a beer opener. And the beers we got, Heinekin and Carlsberg, well, you cant open them simply by twisting. Man...imagine this. 2 girls who never really drink trying to open 2 beers without a beer opener. Inexperienced people are funny people. For the next hour...we tried everything. Teeth? Nope...didnt work. I tried whacking it open on my desk, that didnt do anything by damage my desk. We tried sticking the cap part into the hinge part of our bathroom door...didnt work either. We then tried using a knife...but that looked a bit dangerous. Lets see...we tried getting it open with our kitchen table top, tried sticking it in between the wires of our cutting board/utensils basket, tried sticking it into our metal rimmed, push around drawer, tried the handle bars of our kitchen cabinets, even tried getting a beer bottle opener from our neighbors. All without success. Yes...it was pitiful. VERY pitiful. I ended up giving up...mostly cause my parents called. Eventually..after 2 hours...Li Yun got it open. How? With a scissors...slowing prying loose the sides of the bottle cap and then getting the last bit with her teeth. Should drinking a single beer on a Friday night be that hard? I should think not...but maybe for us. So yes...that was my experience. Man. So embarassing.

On Saturday, we went to Carefore and picked up some necessities. Oh, the beer story goes on. I guess it was drinking an entire beer or something...but it did something to my stomach. I ended up not doing much shopping...but instead, met Li Yun at the front. We headed back to our apartment just in time to meet two for her friends. We went out to Lao Ya Tang. It's much like Hot Pot...without the whole ma la part. We ordered a bunch of side dishes to add to our duck broth and made sort of a stew...with alot of vegetables, and...yeah...other Chinese specialities like liver and duck blood. They then came over to our apartment and we chatted about American music. Alot of people here seem to really like Mariah Carey. *Shrugs* She's okay. That evening at 7, Sarah had her birthday celebration. After they had their Sichuan cooking class, we all headed over to ATT to karoke. The place was really nice...more fancy than the karoke places I have been to in the States. Man...we sang on through the night....Michael Jackson, Christina, Spears, Chinese songs, Carey, the Spice Girls, Eminem, and more. I ended up going home around 12. Tiring...but fun.

Sunday, I met up with Laura and we headed on over to a church gathering she had been going to recently. The entire time there, I felt like I was back in the States. The weirdest feeling was walking outside to find myself back in China. There were quite a few people there...mostly Americans and Europeans. Prior to entering, there are a few people outside checking your passports. They wont allow any non-foreigners in. That afternoon, Sean, Jack, and Chole came over and we had quite a night telling each other stories. Sean, Jack, and Chole are SU students who, like Li Yun, came to UW last year as exchange students. These people crack me up. It wasnt until around 11 that they left.

On the 25th, a couple of us, Sarah, Matt, Tabitha, Ben, Andrea and I, sat in on an American Culture class taught by our history teacher. It was really interesting, mostly because...I really dont even know what is classified as American Culture. Ok...maybe I do have some clue...but I dont usually notice what is American and what's not. Perhaps on a shallow, outter understand, yes, but...I mean, American Culture isnt defined in America. What did we know? The class was pretty much full. Chinese students, we were told, were really interesting in learning more about America and I guess our culture. So...that night, we learned that Americans have 3 characteristics. Of course these are generalizations...but 1. we are self-independent. There isnt a strong emphasis on what the Chinese usually call guan xi or relationships/connections. 2. we emphasis freedom...all sorts. We regard fairness to be extremely important. 3. Americans are hardworking...and seek wealth. The American Dream. After hearing the lecture...I started to remember the subtle teaching of these concepts back in middle school under the school subject of Civics. Half way through the class...we were asked by both the professor and the students in the class to give a lecture on American Culture. Haha...it ended up being more of a Q&A session. What did we know about giving lectures on American Culture? We figured...Q&A was probably more worth their time...especially if they had specific questions they were wanting to ask. We got questions from...why are you studying in China? to Are you happy that Osama BinLaden is dead? to What do you think about the war in Iraq? Honestly...most of them were tough questions. Some were difficult to answer cause..well...they are hotly debated topics within themselves...i mean Iraq? How long have people been talking about that? Most of the time, we just ended up giving them personal opinions. The class was really interesting...and I would love to hear more about what the Professor has to say about American Culture.

On Tuesday, the international students headed on out to visit Chengdu's pandas. What can I say about pandas except that they are cute and I would love to hold one. We did get the chance to see 3 baby pandas...2 that were 90 days old...and one that was 20 days old. Absolutely adorable. We also had the opportunity to see red pandas...also on the endangered species list.

Wednesday, we had our weekly meeting with Andrea. This time, we ended up in Roberts Hall...although...it's really more of a room than a hall. It is the designated UW room on the SU campus that our exchange students use every year. I have to say that being there was alot like opening a time capsule and Christmas morning put together. Last year's UW exchange students left us alot of stuff...stuff we could have found really useful if we had known about it earlier when we first arrived...or when we were looking for stuff for our apartments. I ended up grabbing a bamboo painting for our still barren apartment walls. That night...I went out to hot pot with Sunny, Tabitha, and their landlords. I think I will end this here.

Chengdu Address and Contact Numbers

Hi everyone,
I finally have everything in regards to contact info. figured out. FINALLY. So...here is the list. To start...address. The address I will give in both Chinese and English. My advice is that if you are to mail anything...the best thing to do is to copy and paste the Chinese version...print and then paste it on the envelope. I feel that that is the safest way to get anything sent here. So, here we go.





Address
English

Overseas Students Office
Sichuan University
29 Wangjianglu Chengdu
P.R. China 610064

Chinese

四川大学留学生办公室
中国 成都 九眼桥望江路 29 号
610064

Cell Phone
011 86 13438482639

Apartment Phone
011 86 28 85230254

Skype Screen Name
FrAeIlTyH

G-Chat Screen Name
FrAeIlTyH@gmail.com

Around Campus & Apartment

Hey everyone. A few "announcements" before I write today's entry. It has been a while since I last blogged. I have been wanting to blog a bit every night so that I dont have to do several entries all in one sitting...but, I ended up not getting to it at all this weekend. So...that is what I will be blogging on. I think that instead of just doing it all in one blog...I will make several so that I can separate by day if not by subject. Hopefully...I will be caught up in regards to daily life by tonight.

I do have to say, though, that I have decided to continue my blogging for Yangjuan starting this weekend. Next week is China's National Holiday and we have the entire week off...well...almost. To make-up for some time lost due to break, we have class this Saturday as well as the following Sunday. *Shrugs* I guess that's just how it's done. Anyways...there's still quite a bit more to tell in regards to Yangjuan...the killing of the yak, the trek to green pastures, the eating of wasp larvae...etc. I still have a couple of more photos to upload into Yahoo. I will do that all next week. I am, as of now, not really planning on doing much this holiday. I would like to travel around Chengdu and just get some of the local attractions down, like, the opera, the changing masks, some of the temples, visit a couple of tea houses, things like that.

Last time I got caught up talking about my family and ended up not posting the rest of my "adventures around campus" photos. I took a couple more since then...and will add them here...including a picture of my apartment complex. So...to start out with, Mao. I dont know what it is that fascinates me about his statues...maybe it's because freshman year, our professor for my international health class discussed the changing economic environment in China. First he showed a statue of Mao...and then zoomed further out to find that there was a huge billboard for...what was it? CocaCola? I guess it just reminds me of how time really passes by fast...and sometimes...the unexpected may happen. Li Yun and I went to the local electronics store the other day...and I have to say that this 5 story shopping mall totally pushes places like Best Buy outta the league. Everything dealing with electronics you could find in this one place. We ended up getting a...splitter? Right now, only one of us can get on the internet at a time. So, we got one so that both of us can. So...the first picture is of Mao...in its entirety. As opposed to what my professor did...I zoomed in to find this bird, perched on top of Mao's head. Rather interesting. :)

The following pictures are a few of the places I often go...mostly to pass through or to take classes. The first is the Humanities building. This is where I am taking my Chinese politics class. As of now, we are talking about Confucianism. I am not a huge philosophy buff...but it is important to understand this as background knowledge so that I can understand modern Chinese politics. The following that one is of the SU Museum. It is mostly a museum regarding anthropology and archeology. This is where I am taking my archeology class. Last week we talked about early human history in China and some of the remnants that archeologists currently use to determine the activities of their daily lives. We are going to take a class fieldtrip to Xi'an sometime during the semester. I am rather excited. Although I have been there before...it was during my first trip to China. I feel that since then, I have gotten a bit more knowledgable in the realm of Chinese history...but I know that after this class...I will at least be able to understand what it is that I am visiting. Of course there's going to be the Terra Cotta Warriors...but we are planning on stopping in a few other areas as well. If anyone is unfamiliar with where I am at...I am studying at Sichuan University. I took the liberty to take a picture of a sign around campus...but pretty much...it's just named after the province I am currently in now. There are a few interesting things you can find daily within the university. One of them is rickshaws. I havent had the chance to ride in one...mostly cause I've been getting around on my bike. These ones in the picture are the ones you can ride anywhere on campus for 2-3 RMB. I'm not sure how much the ones outside of campus will cost...but I do know they are alot more expensive. It's amazing to me what people with wheels can do. When I was waiting for my Chinese politics class to start...I saw this lady pushing a wheeled cart loaded with what looked like a bunch of wood pieces. I have seen everything from stacks of modems to piles and piles of organized discards. It is rather impressive what they can load up, even just on bicycles. This is the IMA equivalent here at SU. I havent been in it yet...but I do know that right next door they have a small skating rink. :) When I say small...I do mean small. But there's one nonetheless. I have included a picture of one of the student dormatory. I cant start to describe what their dorms are like. You think the ones at UW are bad? These...in my opinion of course, are pretty bad. First, all dorms here have curfews. That means...you have to be back before 11 or 12...otherwise, you get locked out of the dorms for the night. I was talking to Jackie the other night we went karoking and asked him whether or not he was going to be able to get back into his dorm...it being close to 12. He said that he was going to be okay. The last time he and Eugene went karoking...they didnt finish until 3 in the morning. Knowing they couldnt get back into their rooms...they went to the outdoor stadium, got the school bus door to open, and the two of them slept there for the night. He also mentioned that the people who manage the entrance into the dorms of the guys' dorms are easily convinced to allow them in if it doesnt get too late, unlike the girls' dorms which may be more strict on getting back home on time. I have heard that up to 8 people can live in a single room. The floor is all cement, one bathroom, one sink. There is no hot water...so, if you wish to drink tea in the morning, you have to go down to the public hot water area and fill your canister. Showers are in a separte building. You have to walk to the place with everything you need...and there is a time retricting too. I think they open the "bath house" at around 6 and they close it at 9. So, you really have to manage your studies around these times. I believe Li Yun also told me that the lights go out at 11 or 12. With these conditions...many people choose to study in the classrooms. The last time I was at the library helping a friend...it closed at 10. However, these classrooms are accessible until midnight.

So...my apartment. I live outside of West gate...but I am really close to South gate also. The campus has four gates, North South East and West. However, they are not really organized in a fashion that has each of the gates opening in each of these directions. West gate is considered the area that is most "westernized" (i wonder how they arranged that!) Most of the western style foods are located on the street right outside of my apartment. There is a Tex-Mex resturant called Peter's Tex-Mex (I have to regrettably say that I have been there twice. I know! When I was in Texas...I didnt go to a Tex-Mex place...not even once. But to eat Tex-Mex here in CHINA..not once but TWICE!?! Yeah...a bit overboard.) There's also Casa Mia...an Italian pizzaria, a few coffee shops, etc. There is actually a Taiwanese place really near where we are. It is part of a food chain..but I know it because whenever I lived in LA...my family would always pick up my grandparents on a weekend and we would head over there for breakfast. It is absolutely my favorite kind of breakfast: hot soybean milk, sweet and flaky bread, fried dough, pickled cucumbers and vegetables, fermented bean curd, and hot and spicy beef noodle soup. The last dish was something my brother and I always got. My mom would always end up taking the broth home so that we could just add more noodles into it and have it for dinner too. Besides these places, right next door to our apartment complex is a small square full of Chinese resturants. One of them is Saoko (sp?) or Chinese BBQ. We went to one of the places in that square for Laura's birthday. It is good stuff...although I still like my sheep-on-a-stick better. These are just a few of the places I could squeeze into my frame. So, right next to these is our apartment complex. I actually have one of the larger balconies in this building. I am not sure if you can see it...but it's one of the outter apartments on the fourth floor. Our apartment complex is called Sakura Holidays....or in Chinese, it is written this way.

Alright...I think that's enough of a introduction to the places I visit most often. Next, I will start with my experience in KFC. NEXT BLOG!

***I'm having some trouble posting the rest of the pictures...I guess they will have to wait.***

a quick geographical lesson

hey...I realize that Chengdu isn't exactly a city that everyone hears about often...but it is considered to one of the biggest cities in China...it ranks 3rd in having the most cars. From my own personal opinion, yeah...there are alot of cars here. Anyways...so...here are some maps that I just grabbed from the internet. Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province. It is known for its Giant Pandas *my Chinese class is actually going to go visit the pandas next tuesday* and its local foods. Here is a website that provides alot of information about the city: http://www.chengdu.cn/english/
Granted...it's a touristy kind of website...but it provides some information.



Here's a map of where Yangjuan...cept...it may not be too clear. It is where the red dot is. I'll try to find a better map somewhere. Matt had his GPS when we were there in Yangjuan...so he got down the coordinates. Maybe I'll try looking it up on Google Earth and post pictures.

my 1 month anniversary!

The last two days havent been as eventful, so I decided to go around campus and take some photos of SU. Foremost is a picture of my bike. Although Chengdu has been rather cloudy these past few days, it was still a descent enough day to take pictures. I have classes everyday from 8:30 to 12 with a half hour break in between. These are my Chinese classes. Having a bike has made my life so much easier...well...almost. Yesterday, while going home in between 12 and 2 *On Thursday, we have an extra Chinese class at 2-3:30*, I discovered I had a flat rear tire. I went and got that fixed and chatted with the bike repair man. At first, it was hard to communicate with him, mostly cause he only speaks Sichuanese...and I am just getting used to understandle that dialect. Matt came along cause he wanted to look at bike seats. Most of the bike seats here in China have some sort of "spring" action, but for some reason, his didnt. With the roads and sidewalks that we have here...not having springs makes riding a bike a bit tortuous, especially for guys. As the repain man was changing Matt's seat, he commented on my English. :) He didn't think I was a foreigner. I have been getting that alot. I used to think that my Putonghua would clearly show that I wasn't English, "Me too. I'm from Seattle." Totally throwing people left and right here. It's a from around here...but I have been shocking people with my "true identity." The same for some of the foreigners here. The other day when Li Yun and I were waiting for the elevator in our apartment, there were these 2 American guys chatting, Nate and Bill. However, cause I was talking in Chinese...they figured I was Chinese. In the elevator...we all wanted the fourth floor. Nate turned around and said that he knew me. I don't even know my neighbors! I asked him in Chinese if he was sure...and he asked if I lived in this particular apartment room. I replied no...but then replied with the question "Are you from America." He said yes...and I answered inbit odd. When I first came here...I was feeling a bit like an odd ball. Among my UW friends...I felt different...mostly cause I look like the rest of the people here...and I can speak and understand. However, when I am among my Chinese friends and even with strangers...I still felt like an outsider. I actually talked to Andrea about this one night when we were having our usual Monday meetings/dinners. For a few weeks during the beginning of my stay, I guess I was having an identity crisis. See, even here in China, I am still considered different. Not only am I an American, but I am also the child of parents born in Taiwan. In all of this...it's really hard for me to pinpoint where exactly I feel like I belong. Sure, being in Seattle and especially at UW where there are alot of Asian-Americans, I feel like I sort of belong. But, I have also lived in Oklahoma and Georgia, and those places are a different environment in themselves. I certainly don't exactly fit the mainland China profile...mostly in regards to culture, history, and spoken language. And then there's Taiwan. I dont really feel like I have that strong of a tie with Taiwan...sure, my parents were born there and then grew up there...but my interest in this island has never been really immense. Speaking of which, our Chinese politics class did some reading regarding the Early Republic...the history of the early relations between the Chinese Communist Party and the GuoMingDang. Granted...this is one of the few books I have read regarding this era...but I was surprised to read alot of the stuff the GMD did. I began to wonder how much of history I have miscontrued. It also got me curious as to what my family's exact history was. I know that my grandfather is from Nanjing, my grandmother was an orphan from Beijing, my grandma was from Beijing, and my grandpa grew up in Jiangsu. Both my grandparents on my dad's and mom's side came to Taiwan before 1950. Here...let me provide some pictures. I am really interested in making a family tree. As to how and when I can get that done...I'm not sure. I guess to start...I'll add some pictures with these descriptions. The first one is of my grandfather's mother. The lady in the back is her niece, my grandfather's cousin, and her family. I don't know much about her...nothing more but I guess what this photo can tell me. The next picture is a picture of my grandparents on my dad's side. :) You guessed it...that's my dad when he was young. It's surprising...but even at that age, I can still recognize facial features. This picture is taken in Taiwan...where exactly, though, I'm not too sure. The following picture is a picture of my greatgrandma. I, again, don't know very much about her. These next two pictures are of my grandparents on my mom side and the last picture is of my mom when she was still in Taiwan. In regards to my current thoughts to everything...I still have alot to think about. But in the meantime, some thoughts about being here in China for the past month...I am really loving it here. Of course...there have been downsides...but for the most part...everything is still so unreal. Like, riding my bike among the many cars, pedistrians, and bike/motorcycle/scooter riders. Getting around is really scary sometimes...but...mostly in the mornings...when riding alongside everyone else...it makes you think, "WOW. I am actually here." I am really glad to have Li Yun as a roommate. I have learned so much about the people here...my people, their culture, their traditions, their perspectives, their motives. We often have tons and tons to talk about...sometimes...we talk until really late...and we can't really talk anymore. There's still so much to understand...but I feel, looking back at this past month, I have already learned so much, done so much, and experienced so much...and I still have another 10 months to go! I am so grateful for this opportunity to come to China.

Well, it's getting pretty late...and I'm getting pretty sleeping off of this Heineken. I'm not sure whether it's the alcohol *Li Yun and I went out to KFC for dinner. I have the best dessert there...egg tarts! Afterwards...I wanted to buy some tape for my maps...but we didnt find any. We ended up getting beers...to celebrate the end of her first portion of the GRE* or whether I'm just tired. I just finished talking to my mom over Skype...surprisingly...Skype has extremely good resolution! We chatted for about an hour and a half...my mom and brother just came back from Taiwan and Japan. James is going to head over to Seattle tomorrow.

I'll finish posting pictures from around our campus..including some of our Mao statue, where I have classes, etc. Good night!

DVD's in China & my room

So, since I'm in China, buying pirated DVDs is probably an inevitable action. I, however, have not gone all out and bought tens of hundreds of DVDs. I, have, however been unable to resist buying these. Honestly, how can anyone resist when they are only 24 RMB??? That's $3!!!! I watched the first one the first night I bought it cause I only wanted to test the quality...honest! *The quality was great...I think China is getting better and better at this whole dao ban (or pirated) DVD stuff* Although...after starting...I didn't have the heart to stop it...so I watched the rest of it. Li Yun also bought this Japanese cartoon DVD...it has 141 episodes...and I am up to episode 13 now. You guys have to watch her sometimes. She reminds me alot of Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes. She is absolutely adorable...in a sort of too-wise-for-her-age sort of way. She is called: 小 丸 子 (Xiao Wan Zi).

So, when I'm not watching cartoons or the Godfather...I am in my room doing Chinese homework...or readings for my other three elective classes. So...in regards to talking about my room...here are some pictures of my apartment. Some of it is still a bit barren. Largely, that's because we really havent gotten around to decorating it much. I've been busy getting settled *which I will be after this Friday when I go pick up my passport and my resident's permit* and my roommate is actually taking her GRE's this coming Friday. So...we are planning on doing some celebrating on Saturday by going around town. Also, on Saturday, we are going to go celebrate Sarah's 21st by going karoking. Not sure where yet, but there's a pretty big karoking place across the street from where I live. As the time goes by, I'll introduce some of the places I regularly go to, like Trust-mart, the Overseas Education building, the four gates we have here at ChuanDa, and some of the local eateries. I have to say that the food is one of the things I like best about Chengdu. It makes me not want to come back to the States. Food is everything to people here. Everywhere you go, you can always catch people eating...not even because they have to eat on the go...but because it's just something you do. :) I'm even getting into that habit. So...as things settle in and I have more time, I will introduce some of the great foods here in Chengdu. In the meantime...my apartment. This first picture is part of my room. It's where I study and blog. They dont really have closets here...rather...they dont have closets here at all. So, I bought myself a portable one. It's working out pretty nicely. The next picture is my bed. I love the windows...gives my room plenty of natural sunlight. I think the only downside to it right now is the fact that right across the street, a new complex is being built. So, every morning, regardless of whether is Mon-Fri or Sat. and Sun., there are always workers working on that building. Next is our living room. Don't ask about the red couch...we didn't pick it out, our landlady did. It's suitable enough. It actually folds out to be a bed...which will work out handy when visitors come. After that is a picture of our porch. We actually have a pretty large porch. It's nice to step outside after dinner and just enjoy the evening breeze and watch people walking around on the streets. That's another thing that's different between Chengdu and Seattle. In Seattle....there are hardly any people out and about after 8 or 9. Here...everyone goes out at night. Li Yun told us that they thought Seattle was strange cause all the people were gone when evening rolled around. Honestly...I really like the night life people have here. Makes going out at night and grabbing a snack at the local outdoor stand really convenient. For example, on the street between West Gate and Trust-mart, people often sell stinky tofu. Tons of people gather around and chomp down these 1 RMB snacks. Also, there are lots of people who sell various things around trustmart at night...including puppies! I will have to take a picture of them sometime and show them all to you. They are absolutely adorable! There are usually 20 or so of them...and they are just week old pups. I asked Li Yun and she says they sell for about 200 RMB...that's only a bit over $20! Some look like they are pure breeds. Li Yun is getting pretty tired of it...but everytime we go...I always spend at least a couple of minutes petting them. People also sell chestnuts on the street. Passing one always makes me think of that Christmas songs..."Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..." Let's see what else...vegetables. People sell alot of those...just alot of things. Chengdu is really great for trekking out in the evening to just experience and try some of the more local "small foods" or xiao ci.

fast food, cultural food, and a hair cut

A couple of things have happened since I last blogged. One, a bunch of us went to McDonald's yesterday to see whether or not there are very many differences. I couldn't help it...I havent had cheese in a long while...so I ordered a Big Mac. But I did try to stay adventurous and got 2 pies...one was green bean...and the other was sweet taro. Neither were really bad...the only part I didnt enjoy too much about these pies was the fact that they were fried rather than baked. A bit odd. Other than that...everything didnt seem too different. Oh...except the poster advertisements they had inside the store...very...erotic. I didnt have my camera with me yesterday...but Sarah did take some pictures. Let me see...I think she has them up. Just going to copy and paste real quick...so the first one is just eating...me with my Big Mac...that's Ben on the left and Sunny on the right. Here is a picture of my pies. The last picture from McDonald's are those erotic posters. There are several of them...but I think that these are enough to get the point across. We thought they were very odd...anyways...here they are. So, after we had lunch there...I headed back to the Overseas School to pick up my bike. I have been having some problems with my bike lately. One of these days...I'll take a picture of it and post it in blog. For something that only cost me 60 RMB...it's a pretty okay bike. But the chain keeps coming off. So, every once in a while, I have to stop and hook the chain back on. At first...it took me a bit of time to get the hang of it...but now, 5 secs? I also had a flat tire the first day I rode it to school...but I had that fixed on Monday. So...want to know how bikes are sold here in China? You could always go to the local bike shop and pick up a new bike...that will probably cost you around 500 RMB or more. However, if you want a second-hand bike...well...things get a bit shady here. When the Chinese talk about second-hand...they are hardly talking about a bike that was sold to its current owner who is trying to sell it again. Nope...majority of the second-hand bikes here are stolen. I'm pretty sure my bike was stolen from someone else. That's why when I went to the "bike alley," I couldn't really tell that the place was a place for selling bikes. We crossed the street...and there were a couple of houses that were killing chickens and selling live fish. However...walk a bit longer and people will start coming up to you to ask if you are looking for a bike. So...we were walking (we being Li Yun, Violet and me) down this street and this vendor comes up to us. She asks us if we were looking for bikes and we told her we were. She told us that she had one that she could give to us for about 70 RMB...so we followed her. The entire time, from the point we met her to where the bike was, she wouldnt walk next the us. That was because a cop car was driving in front of us. Usually....whenever vendors are selling stolen bikes...you could always figure a cop was around when you see them hop on bikes...or just start taking off in all directions. A few minutes later, they all reemerage and continue their business. Anyways, back to my bike...we arrived at this abandoned stripe mall area. There, on the corner, was this lonely bike. I honestly thought that that wasnt the bike she was talking about. It looked like someone had just parked it there. But...as we got closer...she signaled for us to come closer and that was when we started bargaining. It doesnt look old...but it doesnt look new either. Perfect for me cause I really didnt want to deal with a bike that could stolen. Haha...it took both Li Yun and Violet to bargain the price...but we settled at 60 RMB...and an additional 10 RMB for a lock. Not bad for China's most convenient (and cheapest) form of transportation. So...thats my bike.
Last night, there was a lecture on Tibetan history. It was given by a Tibetan professor who teaches at the ethnic minority college here in Chengdu. He started with their origin story and then talked a bit about their various kings. Next week...he'll be back to talk about Tibetan Buddhism which I am excited about.

Today, after class...Ben, Matt, Tabitha, Sunny, and I went out to this one resturant. It had Uygur food. Uygur are an ethnic minority group here in China and they live in Xinjiang. Alot of them are Muslim. So...at that resturant, we had sheep on a stick *which were probably the best kabob I've ever had* and a sharable dish of wide noodles, green peppers, cubed chicken with bone, potatoes, cinnamon sticks, ba jiao, and garlic. Everything was really, really good. And everything was only 58 RMB...between 5 people. Gotta go again sometime.

After lunch, Matt wanted to get his hair cut. Sunny and I figured we could get a trim...Tabitha came along to watch. It was quite the experience. I dont really like Chinese hairstyles...alot of them have their hair thinned out in the back and then the hair on top cut really short...so that it kind of frizzes out. I was sure I didnt want that kind of hair cut...but...the guy cutting my hair convinced me that my cut wouldnt be so bad...so, I was reluctant to ask for anything else. I figured...he knows what he's doing. I did ask, though, that he not cut the top too short and that I wanted side bangs. Everything else was up to him. It turned out okay. Better than I expected. So, here is our after picture. :) My hair may not look too different...but that's cause I kept it at the same length. But...maybe tomorrow I'll take another picture...and post. It is different though...in a good way...I think.

A Lazy Sunday afternoon...continuing my entry on Yangjuan

I think I'm going to start writing my daily entry along with an entry for Yangjuan. Otherwise...I don't think I will ever catch up. I am already 2 weeks behind. So...I guess to start off with...I will write as much as I can about what has happened ever since I came back from Yangjuan. And then...after all this...I will continue writing about my experience in Yangjuan.

I came back to Chengdu on the third, taking an overnight train again from Xichang. As I arrived at the train station, I called Song Li Yun and arranged to meet her at the international dorms so we could head on over to an apartment she had been looking at. I was completely exhausted after the trip...but if I didn't work on getting an apartment...I would have to stay at the international dorms for another night...at a price of 160 RMB a night...that's $20. Although that may not seem much...it is a really high price for one night. Other students who are actually living in the dorms permanently on the other side of campus pay 40 RMB a night...or $5. See the difference? So...I met up with her and we headed on over to the copy and print shop to photo copy her student ID and my passport...necessary documents for our landlady. I still had my camping backpack with a week's worth of dirty clothes. Walking to the apartment was going to be quite a journey...but Song Li Yun had her bike. So...we did what the Chinese do often. She rode and I sat in the back where there's this flat area used to hold things. We made it on time...but...as the Chinese perpetually are...our landlady was about 30 mins late. We went up to our apartment and it was descent. My favorite part of the place is the large, spacious porch and the glass doors. The majority of the wall between our apartment and the porch is glass. So...during the day, our apartment really lights up. My room is the same deal. An entire wall is made up of glass. We signed an agreement contract with our landlady, paid 6 months worth of rent...then headed out to the local store to buy some of the basic necessities. We weren't able to leave our stuff there yet...mostly cause the landlady hired a girl to clean up the place.
The local place to buy most of the things you need is called Trustmart...or in Chinese 好有多 (hao you duo...good and much). We bought me a desk light, some hangers, etc. Afterwards...carrying many bags out of the store...we realized...what are we going to do for the next few hours? So, Song Li Yun called up her friend and we headed on over to her dorm. We chatted a bit and just hung out. Soon, our landlady called and told us that the furniture company was going to drop off our beds, bed stands, couch, and coffee table later that evening. We headed back to our apartment with our stuff and found the landlady's sister at our apartment. She had decided to let her sister take care of everything else regarding our apartment. We were highly disappointed...and rather frustrated. They did hire a girl to clean the apartment...and she spent the entire day in the apartment. But...what was odd was that nothing was clean. We later found out that the floor was still grimy, some of the cabinets still had mold growing, the bathroom was a wreck, and all of the windows were still hazy. We tried to tell her that honestly...the place was still a mess...but the landlady's sister kept telling us that the girl worked all day. I really dont know how things work around here in China...but I do have to say...things just dont get done. Either they are perpetually late...or...things just arent done. For example...our furniture. We came back to the apartment around 6...thinking they were going to arrive around then. We waited...and waited. We even decided to just give up and head on over to my friends place to pick up my luggage that I had left at her place during the week I was in Yangjuan. Then we came back...and still we waited. It wasnt until 11:30 that they finally showed up. We later learned that that night was only the beginning to a list of other things Chengdu was going to bring us.

Before I start again on our apartment business...let's talk about school. I had classes the following day after arriving back in Chengdu. Unlike my other UW classmates...I had a very difficult problem. That being that I can speak and understand Mandarin...but my reading and writing was really poor. It had been a while since I actually did any writing and reading...and when I did take Chinese classes...it was only once a week. Honestly...when you have no reward for studying...and classes were only once a week...you dont learn very much. In regards to speaking and understanding...I use those skills everyday talking to my parents. But...I never practiced reading and writing. Unlike at UW where heritage classes are offered...everything here is for beginners or for people whose reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills are on the same level. So...they had a hard time placing me. Or rather...they thought they placed me in the right class...but I honestly felt that I should have been in a lower class. The problem with only being able to speak and understand is that when I am taking those classes....classes for speaking and listening...our workbooks and our exercises still require you to be able to read Chinese. For example...they play a tape and ask you to answer A B C or D. Well...I understand the questions completely....but I couldnt read the answer choices. So it took me 3 full days to find the right class for me. And I had to do it pretty much by myself. Almost all of the teachers I talked to reassured me that I would be okay. None of them really helped much...sometimes...they even seemed a bit annoyed. Well...anyways...I have my Chinese classes figured out. It's really boring sometimes...mostly cause there's alot of "repeat after me." So...during those times, I practice my Chinese characters. Alright...enough about Chinese classes...lets talk about my elective classes. UW is different from other schools who send their students to SU. They either come here to strictly learn Chinese...or they send along a professor who will teach them elective classes. Well....UW allows us to take Chinese as well as elective classes. You have no idea how much time my friends and I spent on trying to figure out exactly what we could and couldnt take. Prior to leaving for Yangjuan...we were all given a list of about 20 different classes. We all thought that these were classes open to all international students and that all we had to do was register for it. Nope. It was a list of POTENTIAL classes. So...when we came back...we thought all of our elective classes would be easily resolved. All we had to do was tell the administrators which classes we wanted...and then that would be it. We spent DAYS trying to contact the administrators trying to understand what was going on. It ended up being that only a couple of the classes were open. And they were open because PLU students had arranged to take those classes. But the problem is...PLU students dont take the Chinese class load we do. We are all taking 20 hours of Chinese a week...but their's is a bit different and they dont take as many. It ended up being that all of the classes we wanted to take conflicted with the Chinese classes we were taking. So...it ended up that only one of the classes, since it was on Thursdays at 7:30 PM, was the only non-conflicting class. AGH. We were so disappointed! And when we headed on over to talk to the administrator...we felt as though we were brushed aside. We ended up calling up Andrea and she came down and chatted with us. In the end...after she made a visit to the administrator...3 classes were opened up to us. So...this is my schedule now: 20 hours of Chinese Mon-Friday, History before the Yuan dynasty on Monday afternoons, Chinese Archeology on Tuesdays, and Chinese Politics on Thursday nights. I have quite a handful of classes...but the 3 elective classes are only once a week. I still plan on doing more stuff once I get used to my schedule. There have been offers of me tutoring English...one to an 8 year old girl who currently speaks no English...and another college student who wants to learn. I am still unsure what I plan on doing...but those sound like fun. Also...I'm looking into doing some shadowing while I'm here. Those arent finalized yet though.

Alright...back to the apartment business. When we moved in....and after the furniture arrived...we still had a few things lacking that the landlady promised to provide us with. One was a washing machine...which we have now. Another was a fridge...which we also have now...but you have got to see the size of it. It's no bigger than a small cooler. It's rather ridiculous. Oh...but it's not the landlady we were having problems with. It's the guy downstairs. He manages the buildings water, electricity, and gas. See...in China...you usually go through a middleman to get anything done. Song Li Yun didnt want to have to deal with them...mostly cause you usually have to give them 1/2 a month's rent for their services. So instead...she went and tried to find apartments herself. She found one...the one we are staying at now. But when she found it...it was via a flyer that was posted downstairs in the main lobby. Because it was lacking a contact number...she went to the front desk to that guy and asked if he knew the number. He made a call for her and the landlady came and talked with her. This is where the problem started. After that day....he consistently comes and seeks us out and demands that we pay him a middleman fee. How much you ask? 800 RMB...or $100. $100 for one measly phone call!!! And it gets worse. Besides pouncing on us everytime asking us for the money...he stooped as low as to turn off our electricity because we wouldnt pay him that amount. So, yes...we went a day without electricity. But that didnt just happen once...nope. Twice. The second time was when electricity was crucial. I came home *my friend was out with her friend cause it was her friend's birthday* and sat in the dark for a few hours. The entire time I was venting...not believing that this would happen AGAIN. When my friend came back...we called the landlady and told her about this situation. We went down to the garage *that's where he lives with his wife and child* and argued with him over over 30 mins about the payment and electricity. We made two phone calls to the landlady and had her talk to him. What was upsetting was that every time he talked to her...he was very polite. But right when he hung up the phone....he was really rude to us. After awhile...we got the payment down to 300 RMB and told him we would pay him the next day. Only after that did we get electricity. The truth is....after all of this passed and I saw his son sitting in the garage at the table studying Chinese characters, I started to think. What made people here in China value money so much that they would do things like this? Song Li Yun and I talked about this for a bit. Maybe the economic structure of China made society the way it is now. Honestly...everywhere you go...people are trying to take advantage of the fact that you are a foreigner. But then again...I wouldnt blame them. Being here makes me think about how wasteful America can be sometimes. If you walk into a department store...there are so many employees there...you feel like you get bombarded by them. Is it that way though because there's so many people here that supply beats demand? I really dont know how to feel anymore about the way things are here. Everything is just so different...but the thing is...you have to look at everything here from a different perspective. The traffic here is awful...theres no such thing as pedistrians have the right of way. Why is that? In the meantime...though...I guess I'm just waiting to learn more about everything here...and maybe understand what is actually going on. Song Li Yun's perspective is that the economic reforms from Deng Xiao Peng's era shifted peoples priorities. It seems as though people would throw away anything...culture, history, relationships for money. From what I have seen so far...I feel that that is true. But...I dont think I can really make my own opinion just yet...I have only been here for what? 3 weeks? There are still many MANY things for me to learn.

Song Li Yun's parents came up to visit us. They brought us so many things...including a water dispenser, rice cooker, pots and pans, dishes, fruit, meat, the list goes on. We cleaned our apartment last night because we knew they were coming...but her mom went ahead and cleaned the entire apartment for us anyways. We were feeling pretty bad about that. She also made us some pork soup with mung beans and seaweed....one of my favorite soups. I do have to say, though, that everything looks alot homier. We will shortly fall into a routine...and not have to deal with so many unexpected, frustrating surprises.
I think thats just about it. Oh...I forgot to mention in previous entries...something about the first day I got here. I really dont want to write much about it...but when I arrived in Chengdu at 12 AM...there was no one at the airport to pick me up and no toll phone booths to make any phone calls. I eventually asked an internet cafe to borrow their phone, called Song Li Yun (who thankfully didnt turn off her phone...which she usually does everynight...her mom says its yuan fun...or fate) and she and her friend Irene picked me up via a taxi. It was really quite frustrating...but yeah. :) Enough about that.

So you can see...there have been good times...and equally, bad times. At the moment...everything is going pretty good. I have an exam this coming Tuesday...but...yeah...thats about it. Today has been a rather rainy day. I will take pictures of my apartment as soon as the weather gets better and post them.

And now, back to Yangjuan.
August 27, 2006
After visiting the first bimo, Steve wanted to head on over to 猪 场 (zhu chang). It's another village thats nearby Yangjuan...but not as close as 偏 水 was. It's about a 30-40 minute walk from the elementary school. There are 2 bimos in 猪 场, a father and son. However, when we got there...neither of them were there. So...we walked around the village a bit more, trying to find people to talk to. None of the men in the village were home...mostly cause they were out herding sheep...or, although illegal, making charcoal up in the mountains. We found one lady in her 20s with several children. She married into the family...so she didnt know much about the economics in that area. On our way back the Yangjuan...we met another lady, more elderly, and we talked to her for a bit about hua jiao and the sunflowers. Everyone was surprised at how quickly the villagers switched to sunflowers. Supposedly, compared to hybrid corn, sunflowers are alot easier to manage. They dont require yearly purchases of seeds to grow the next year...and require alot less water irrigation ad such. We headed back to the school and just kinda hung out for a bit until 7. That night....Steve was going to hand out scholarships to the some of the graduated students so that they can go on to middle school.
This is where I would love to have you guys help me out. All of the scholarship money that these kids get come from calendar sales that UW students sell every year. Basicly...its $15 for each calendar. The calendar's pictures are all taken by UW students who have gone to Yangjuan and are compiled by the students once they return. All of the money from sales are then collected and given to Steve. With this calendar money...as well as some private donations...he creates scholarships so that the kids here could go to the middle schools they test into. From my discussion with Steve, each year, the kids are testing higher and higher. However...because of finances...some of the kids may not be able to afford getting an education higher than elementary school. So...if you guys would like...please buy a calendar to support these kids. They are really bright and deserve the opportunity to go to school. The person you would contact would be: Katherine Liang. As of right now...I dont know her email...but every year...I get an email from her regarding these calendars. I have gotten them the past 2 years...and they are really, really nice calendars. Thank you so much! And ask if any of your friends would like to get one too. It would mean alot to me...but even more to these kids here.
There were actually two ceremonies...one on the night of the 27th...and one on the 28th. The one of the 27th was for the students who were going to be attending their 2nd year in middle school or 8th grade and the one on the 28th was for those who just graduated and was going to head on into 7th grade. Those who tested high and got into really competitive middle schools, and thus the ones with higher tuitions, got 1200 RMB, the 2nd group of students 800 RMB and the last group of students 200 RMB. I was the camera person...so I took alot of photos from both ceremonies. For me...it was a rather emotional scene. Some of the parents and the students had tears in their eyes. For someone who came from America...where education up through high school was free...it was really something different. I have been over to one of the girl's homes and studied English with her for a bit here in Yangjuan. They have a single lightbulb and a small fire in their one-roomed homes. That is all they have to light their study space. Not only that...but prior to having the elementary school in Yangjuan...they had to walk to another village called Bai Wu for school...which is about a 40 minute walk. When they have night classes...some of these kids dont get home until after 9. They then have to do their homework...chores...and then go to bed to wake up early so they can go to school the next day. Not only for kids in the villages...but I have been to Song Li Yun's dorm. Here at SU...some dorms may have up to 8 students living in a single room. All of the floor is concrete...and their desk is no larger than a desk we would see in a 1st grade class. They have curfews as to when they have to return back to their dorms...and lights turn off at 11. The washrooms are separate from the dorms...and the have designated times as to when they open and close. I feel ashamed sometimes. With the wide availability of resources and living conditions in the US...I still dont study and test as well as these kids here. Anyways...back to Yangjuan. The picture above is one I took right before the evening scholarship ceremony. On the left is Li Xin Xin...he is a professor in Chengdu and one of Song Li Yun's mentors, the person in the middle is Steve, and the elderly man on the right is Ax Pu. These pictures are of the family...and Steve handing out the scholarships. The pictures to follow are those who just graduated from elementary school...some with their parents. The women in Nuosu culture traditionally wear those colorful skirts and have these headdresses. I'm actually going to start a new blog...and I'll have those pictures in there. I feel like I have to drag the picture all the way down here.

onward from yanyuan to yangjuan

The last time I blogged...I left with you all the picture of the cook making knife-cut noodles. I found the website that I used to learn some Yi back when I was still in Seattle. Here is a sample of their writing:
*i'm hoping this will show up...I had to download a program for this earlier...so it may not show up*

ꐋꀨ，ꆏꇿꄉꇁ？

Remember what I wrote in my last blog? Well...this is the writing for "Friend, where are you from." The pin ying for this is: qop bop, ne kat da la?

Different isn't it? One of the differences between the Nuosu language and Mandarin is that the Nuosu language uses characterization much like English. You have designated letters for each type of pronounciation. I asked my friend/interpreter while I was Yangjuan how many of these characters they had and she said there were 891.

August 26, 2006
As we continued on by road to Yangjuan, the roads were made from dirt rather than being cemented over. So...the last few hours of our journey were rather bumpy. However, the scenary was absolutely breathtaking. Just this year, Nuosu villagers began planting sunflowers as a cash crop. This new addition brilliantly painted the landscape with greens and yellows. When we arrived, we were greeted by ꀉꁌ (ax pu) and the Ma family. They warmly welcomed us to the school and we got settled in. Steve had a meeting with some of the people at Yangjuan, so we hung out with the Nuosu kids. You can't but just love them. They open their hearts out to you despite the language barrier. I have always felt that children have a way of communicating with you without the need for actual words. Some of the kids, though, could speak Mandarin. Others, though, couldn't at all. Either way, we followed a group of kids around to the nearby bridge and through a sunflower patch. Never having had the experience of walking through 7 feet high sunflowers, it was really something. The kids often run around the fields and play in the stream eating freshly picked apples and sunflower seeds. This was also the first time I have ever had unbaked sunflower seeds. They were nothing like I expected - better. I took several pictures of the kids - both in the fields as well as at the school. Here are some of the kids we met: I could'nt catch all of their names...but I did get the names of the two right-most girls in this picture. The one in the center is Ni Vu Zhri. Ma Chu Ge is the little girl holding up her little brother. They were rather shy at first...but candy always has a way to coerce kids to open up. Sara brought Vita-balls from the states. Soon, all of us UW students joined the kids in blowing gum bubbles. In exchange for candy, they gave us walnuts. We had a bit of trouble cracking these nuts open...but they were nothing for the kids. What you have to do is hold the walnut in the palm of your hand. Then, taking care not to smash your fingers, whack the nut into the ground until it cracks. Be sure to take off the outter most peel of the edible part of the nut. If you don't, the nut will taste really bitter. It took quite a bit of tries before we got it. The kids? They were pros. Later that evening, we played basketball with the local boys. It was Sarah, Sara, Matt, Alex, and me against 5 Nuosu boys. Did we get owned or what! We played until we couldn't see the ball anymore. This was about the time when I felt breathless. The altitude in Yangjuan is alot higher than it is in Chengdu. Running across the court was hard work. Before going to bed that night, I learned a new card game: Hearts. We played several rounds before heading on to bed: girls in one room, boys in another.



August 27, 2006
This morning, we got up around 8:30 AM and had a breakfast of hard boiled eggs, a sort of Nuosu pancake, and congee. Soon after, the five of us went our separate routes, Alex and Sarah to seek out interviewees regarding hua jiao or flower pepper, Matt to catch frogs, and Steve, Sara, and I to 偏水 (Piang Shui). This was another Nuosu village near Yanjuan, only about a 15-20 minute walk from the elementary school we were staying at. Today, we were seeking out Er Ga Ga, the bimo in that area. I'm not sure everyone knows this yet, but my research in Yangjuan concerns the impact the Cultural Revolution had on the ethnic minority. In particular, I am interested in investigating how the CR altered people's belief system. What's so important about the bimo? Well...he is the clergy/healer/historian of the Nuosu people. I feel that by understanding how people view the bimo, I can begin to unveil the influence the CR had on the people in Yanjuan. There's still alot more to my research...and if anyone is interested...they can read my research proposal. It's fairly lengthy...but if anyone is interested...I can post it. Anyways, when we arrived at Er Ga Ga's place, we were welcomed into his home and given a cha er wa (a sheep-hair woven cloak worn my sheep herders during colder days) to sit on. Er Ga Ga was in the midst of brewing Tibetan tea when we arrived. Tibetan tea is a concoction of butter, hot water, and salt. When brewed, it has a color similar to that of chai or English breakfast tea with milk. The taste? Different. It has a strong, nutty taste to it.
Er Ga Ga is 64 years old and the only bimo in 偏水. His health hasn't been too well for the past year...and his vision had also started to deterioate. Steve brought him some vitamins, medicine, and tea. We didn't stay very long...but we did get to introductions. He was heading to Yanyuan tonight...when he comes back, he'll be willing to be interviewed. This place is unbelieveable. It seems so surreal to be in this place after three years of planning...but, here i am!

the comment situation

For those who commented on wanting to comment on my blog...I have gone ahead and changed the setting so that everyone can comment. It was set to only have registered users blog. Anyways...I hope to post more later this weekend...but my electricity will be out for 1/2 the day tomorrow...and I have a few tests and papers due this week. Hope everyone is doing well and I look forward to hearing from you guys!

love,
deb

New Website for all of my pictures

Hey Everyone,
I just wanted to post a quick message regarding my pictures. I decided to use Yahoo to post all of my pictures...largely cause I wont be posting them in my blogs. Some I will add as visuals to my blog...but since I have taken so many pictures...I cant possibly have them all up in the blog. So...the site for my photos is: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/fraeiltyh/albums

Hopefully...I can post them and provide captions to them soon.

love,
deb

the trip to Yangjuan

Hey Everyone!

*Sigh* I finally have internet in my new apartment. It has been what? Nearly two weeks now? Anyways...I am going to start posting about my experience in Yangjuan. It will probably take several entries for me to get everything in...and the pictures. I took so many...I dont think I will be able to put them all in here...at least not with my poor blogging management skills. So...what I think I will be doing instead is posting some pictures here...but post a majority of my pictures in a separate link. I would love to stick everything in here in these entries...but I dont think I will be able to. So...as soon as I get a link made...I will be sure to share. Let me just say...Yangjuan was an amazing place. Just wait till you see the place. So...I didnt make any entries on the 25th or the 26th. Both these days we spent getting to Yangjuan. Thus, my journal entries start on the 27th...

August 27, 2006
Today is my second day here in Yanjuan. We arrived yesterday afternoon around four. The journey to this Nuosu (Yi) village was long and tiring. We took the overnight train on Friday after our hectic day around Chengdu. Our TA, Andrea Elliot, flew in the previous night and Steve had arranged for us to meet her. Andrea spent last year in Chengdu working and studying traditional medicine. She is currently shadowing a Chinese traditional medicine doctor, a man I am eager to meet. When I first heard about her field of work, I was really excited. She would be the perfect person to talk to about my interests in Chinese medicine. Since our first meeting, we have talked about setting me up to shadow some doctors here in town and possibly talk to a couple friends of hers who are doing various types of medical research. For example, one of Andrea’s friends is doing a project concerning HIV/AIDS in the province of Yunnan. When she first mentioned this, I could not believe it. For those who aren’t as familiar with my proposal ordeal, I had initially written a proposal regarding HIV/AIDS. Based on what I could gather from the articles I read, a portion of the infected individuals in the Yunnan and southern Sichuan province contracted the virus via drug using, in particular, those along the heroin trafficking route in that region. Of course, as it may already sound like, the research includes a lot of sensitive issues. So, during spring quarter of last year, I rewrote my proposal. Although my current proposal still centers on a sensitive topic, the Cultural Revolution to be exact, it is a bit more possible to investigate. Anyways, I will talk more about my research proposal in these next few entries. So much has happened since I last wrote and since I didn’t have my computer in Yangjuan and no internet this past week, I think it may take me a while to organize all of my notes and journal entries into a completed blog entry.

In the meantime, back to the story of just getting to the village. The only other time I had ridden a train in China was last summer when I was touring China with my mom. We took a night train from Guangzhao to Hong Kong. Of course, that ride was only a couple of hours not an entire night. Our train left around 11 PMFriday night and we were to arrive in Xichang at 7 in the morning. For my first time sleeping on a train, I would have to say it was rather restful. The only downside to the trip was my own laziness. I didn’t take out my contacts prior to going to bed (in my day clothes) and so when I woke up in the morning, my eyes were so dry. Good think Sara had some eye drops. They were lifesavers. Oh, by the way, I should mention who I took this trip with and why they were going. Of course, Steve Harrell, my UW advisor, went with us. He has been going to Yanjuan for the past six years now, each time to visit the elementary he and a couple of other people erected. For the past two years, (so this year was to be the third time), Steve brought money from the States obtained from calendars sold to fundraise for this school. The money is transformed into scholarships and given to graduates of the elementary school. Yangjuan elementary school is a primary school for both Nuosu boys and girls living in the area. Prior to this school, the only other school close enough for children in Yangjuan to go to was in another village/town called Baiwu. By foot, it is a 40 minute walk one way. You can imagine what it would be like for them to walk home at night after night classes. They have excellent night vision. None of the roads are lighted, but they still manage to find their way home. Haha. It must have been a sight having us Americans with our flashlights trying hard to peer into the night, trying to avoid tripping over rocks and stepping in cow/horse/dog/sheep/donkey manure. Anyways, I am getting way ahead of myself. Back to introductions, next are Sara and Alex. Both of them were in the UW-SU exchange program two years ago. I know Alex cause we some classes together…I think one was SIS 401 IPE? And the other was our honors seminar for writing our proposal. I know Sara from her project regarding Yi embroidery. Anyways…Alex came with us to Yangjuan to gather more data on the economics of Yangjuan…in particular the market for Hua Jiao and this time, sunflowers. Sara brought with her a lot of fun things for the kids including Vita-balls, bubbles, finger paints and paper, and some gifts for the lady she worked with on her research. From our exchange year we had Matt and Sarah. Matt is interested in capturing and photographing some of Yangjuan’s frogs. Sarah’s project deals with air quality/air particulates in Nuosu homes. The Nuosu use coal stoves if not just a fire pit in the middle of their homes. A lot of smoke builds up in the house, largely because there is no exit way for the smoke to leave their houses. Winters can get really cold, so their homes are built to prevent warm air from leaving the houses, which inevitably means no smoke from the cooking pit can leave either. Last but not least is Song Li Yun. She was an exchange student to UW last year...and I currently live with her. We were just talking the other day. In China...theres this saying...yuan fun. A translation would give something like fate. We were saying our meeting...especially since both of us have the same surname...was something like fate. So far, living with her has been awesome. So, now that I have made the introductions, let me add some pictures to these descriptions.
For my first picture, this is what the train compartments look like. There are three levels...lower, middle, and upper. The lower bunks are the most expensive...largely for convenience sake. We got the middle bunks. There are several rows of these beds...and you pretty much just spend your time just lying there.

There was really nothing much to do on the train...so Song Li Yun and I just chatted about Taiwan, religion, etc. until we both fell asleep.

We arrived in Xichang at around 7:30 AM. You could really tell the difference in location. Everything around us seemed more agricultural...not to mention the signs had not only Chinese characters...but Nuosu characters as well. I wish I took some pictures of those characters. I might try to copy and paste some of those characters from my Nuosu class website. I took an independent once a week class with Song Li Yun and Alex on the Nuosu language. I was hoping to learn a bit prior to coming. The most complete sentence I can say is: "Hey friend! Where are you from?" I would put the ping ying in...but it doesnt help. Their ping ying is really different from Han pingyin. Anyways, here's a picture of Xichang as we were pulling in:

We made a quick breakfast stop here in Xichang. It was at this small noodle broth shop. SO GOOD! We pretty much sat in the kitchen eating our bowls of rice noodles. I think I may have a picture...one sec...nope, nevermind. I have a picture of lunch...but...first...getting from Xichang to Yanyuan. Yanyuan is not Yangjuan. Yanyuan is more of a city while Yangjuan is a village. Yanyuan is the closest city to Yangjuan. To get from Xichang to Yanyuan, it takes 1/2 by bus. The worst part about this portion of our trip was the winding mountain roads. For someone who gets a car sick...not a pretty sight. No one in our van got sick...but people who take the public bus usually do...and so often times, you can hear people vomiting out the windows. Yeah, thats how bad it can get. We got the Yanyuan at around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. We had lunch in Yanyuan. Oh, if any of you guys ever get to try Chinese speciality noodles, I highly recommend Dao Xiao Mien...or knife cut noodles. They are absolutely delicious! Pretty much all it is is some good hearty broth with noodles made from shaving pieces of dough and boiling them in water. Here is the guy making the noodles:

Okay, well....I am going to leave it at this for now. Tomorrow...or when I find the time to...I will continue writing.

Take care!