Waiting for Easter

 It is not more surprising to be born twice than once; everything in nature is resurrection.  --Voltaire

Krista sometimes thinks it is helpful to speak of herself in the third person because she gets to adopt some other arbitrary identity and try to look at her life from an outsider's perspective.  Today, she has decided to exercise this practice in blogging about the past week of her life, partially because Good Friday is a good day to be reflective, mostly because she is looking for a way to make this blog more interesting and did not take many pictures this week.

On Saturday, Krista woke up in the morning and suddenly felt her throat was sore and her head a little warm.  She spent much of this week feeling sick, but is now mostly recovered.  Despite her sickness, Krista mustered the energy to attend a field trip with the other students in her program to the National Museum of China.  Though she does not know much about the long, complicated history of China, Krista enjoys looking at artifacts of dynasties past enshrined behind glass displays.  She gazed fixedly and took an excessive amount of pictures of things which would have just been every day items in their time.  This gives her a sense of appreciation for the times she currently lives in and the rich past China has.

A Qing Dynasty Bell

That's a tobacco sack on the left.

Bunch of silk.

Old fashioned telephone.

Old paper currency.

After perusing the museum, the students Krista went with regathered and began to head to a Sichuan style restaurant for dinner.  On the way, they passed through the Beijing Legation Quarter just east of Tiananmen square.  The students marveled at the history of the place they were walking through as explained by their revered program director, Mr. Thompson, who once worked as a diplomat in China.  Krista enjoyed meeting more students in her program while gorging on some delicious, spicy Sichuan food.  After dinner, she joined a friend to go to nearby 前门 Qianmen where there were alleyways of stores and food stands housed in traditional Chinese buildings.

Beijing Legation Quarter

Sichuan appetizers

Large Chinese Starbucks in 前门Qianmen

前门 Qianmen

The rest of the week was difficult for Krista because she was fighting sickness while course load was beginning to pick up.  She has been studying for midterm exams and completed her first Chinese writing assignment this week, writing about Chinese American history.  The process reminded her of family and friends who ask her for help with English writing, and has helped Krista empathize with them a little better.  She enlisted the help of her language partner and even called her dad over the phone to ask for help.  Since Krista has not taken Chinese for three years prior to this, she was uncomfortably reminded of times in her childhood when her parents had to scold her to get her Chinese homework done.  At the same time, the tables have turned because she was the one asking for help while her dad was the one complaining that Krista was keeping him up too late while he edited her grammar from the other side of the world.

Even though Krista was sick this week, there are many things she is looking forward to now that she is mostly recovered.  She is now part of the swim team at Peking University and will be able to get back in shape with the sport of her childhood while getting to know some Chinese students.  Next week is 清明节, the Tomb-Sweeping Holiday.  Since most international students in China have ancestral tombs here to sweep, it's their chance to travel since there are three days without class.  Krista bought her first bullet train tickets to 西安 Xian where she will be visiting some friends and enjoying time away from crazy Beijing.  The weather and air quality has also been improving.  Krista rarely needs to wear a mask or thick jackets anymore and has been using the opportunity to walk around campus more often and appreciate its beauty.  Spring is finally here!  And Easter and 清明节are next week!!! :-)  In the meantime, Krista will continue studying for midterms.

West Gate

Boya tower and Weiming Lake

Today, I feel like becoming a food blogger

Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.  --Mark Twain

You've probably all figured out one of my favorite things about being in Asia is the food.  Perhaps it's because I was raised in a family where dad did most of the cooking and dad also dislikes Western food.  I used to hate it as a kid when I wanted to go have McDonald's or Olive Garden, but now I understand why people tell me the older I get, the more I'll become like my parents.  So after thinking for a while about what to write this week, I decided to dedicate a whole post to food.  Maybe it's because I'm waiting for pizza delivery as I write this.  I've never been much of a foodie since I tend to like most food and don't really know how to critique it, so I really am quite the amateur food blogger.  Not to mention, I'm just using an iPhone camera to take all these food pictures which really doesn't do the flavor much justice.  (I can refer you to foodporndaily if it's viewing pleasure you want.)  Nevertheless, I cannot hide my love for good food.  Hopefully this will tempt some of you to come to China and share in a good meal with me.

On campus, there is a food stand called Taiwan Pancakes which sells these flatbreads stuffed with goodness. 

I like grabbing a friend to go to the dining hall with so we can split this thing of dumplings. Only 3RMB! 

四川担担面 Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles from the dining hall. Oh how they make me long to go to Sichuan for the real thing!  

I am a　广东人 Cantonese.  That's the excuse I give people when they question my penchant for sweets. My one complaint about dining halls here are that their dessert options are lacking.  (I'm such an American.)  On the bright side, they do have these 艾窝窝 and 马拉卷 which are kind of like mochi stuffed with red bean and a Chinese corn bread.  I'm trying to resist getting one for every single meal.

There is this great yogurt drink in the dining halls! Along with a lot of other drink options like walnut milk, milk tea, pear juice....I will have to take a picture of the drinks section sometime.

麻辣香锅 is a type of hot pot with the　麻辣 ma la spice. I looked up 麻辣 in my Chinese English dictionary and it defined 麻辣辣 (ma la spicy) as "(of a pain) searing".  I personally think it gives your tongue a really numbing sensation.  In our dining halls, we can pick the ingredients we want, they cook it for us, and then we share it with friends.  It's great.  

A friend I shared 麻辣香锅 with.  She is not a student, but works at a cafe on campus and sometimes gives me free coffee.. hehe..

Eating with friends=sharing=more options!

The pasta dinner I had for my suite mate's birthday.

I know I said I don't like Western food as much as Asian food, but this breakfast which I had for dinner is a welcome reminder of college life in the US sometimes.

My study snack at the Bridge Cafe: a black forest cake.

My first time having McDonald's here.  Not bad, actually.  But not worth the price.

 

The real kung pao chicken. 

Fish balls with curry and lobster balls with hot sauce. 

双皮乃 shuang pi nai is kind of like Chinese pudding.  I got these from a place famous for these in Beijing where the line went out the door.  Well worth the wait though. 

I saw a bakery that made specialty cakes and just thought this was really funny.

There are some pretty good Japanese options here, too!

Speaking of which, I had my first taiyaki here.

 Now for the miscellaneous non-food section of my blog:

I went to the very poorly maintained Beijing Zoo. It was depressing to see how some of the animals were treated, but so exciting to see pandas!

There are some interesting talks given by professors on campus. This one was given by a psychology professor on the Triangular Theory of Love.  I tried, and failed, to understand most of it.  Thank you, Wikipedia.

It snowed this week!  Ridiculous...

I got a full-body Chinese massage and 刮痧 guasha treatment. Now my back looks like this.

"If you dare to preach, people will believe." --Allen Yuan

Last Sunday, I attended a three-self (government approved) church near campus.  A friend and I arrived at 10am sharp, only to find we were late.  Crowds of Chinese were waiting outdoors either to be let in one-by-one to the sanctuary where room could be found or to be ushered into the overflow room.  We opted for the overflow room where we stood in front of a small television screen displaying lyrics to all the Chinese hymns and occasionally panning out at the packed sanctuary audience singing along with the choir.  By the time the pastor began preaching on Jesus' flesh and blood out of John 6, the overflow room began to feel like the Beijing subway at rush hour.  A woman standing behind me seemed to breathe down my neck as she proclaimed "阿门！阿门！ Amen! Amen!" to the pastor's words.  At the end of the service, the whole congregation sang a welcome song to the newcomers and I left surprised at myself for having understood a good proportion of the service and even more so by the sheer scale and fervor surrounding the whole experience: a sort of mix between the enormity of American-style mega churches and the population explosion of China.

Beijing Haidian Christian Church.  We were a little worried we wouldn't be able to find the building, but that didn't turn out to be much of a problem.

Everyone's attention on this little overflow room TV.

On the way out after service.

Can't really read my church bulletin.

Later this week, I attended an event at the Bookworm International Literary Festival, featuring Mark O'Neill introducing his new book, My Missionary Grandfather, on the missionary work of his grandfather, Frederick O'Nell, an Irish Presbyterian.  O'Neill spoke and showed pictures of the emotional and physical hardship which existed for his grandfather and many missionaries to China at the time.  Boxer Rebellion violence, harsh Manchurian winters, separation from family, the renouncement of a comfortable middle-class life, etc.  In the Q&A session which followed, many people seemed to want to discuss the contemporary impact of such missionary work in China.  Mark O'Neill consistently pointed out the incredulity of the Chinese church today, how it went completely underground, surviving the exile of foreign missionaries and the Cultural Revolution, only to flourish in the hands of indigenous Chinese leadership.  I had heard, and even seen for myself, the reality of Chinese Christianity's growth in many religious settings.  However, this was the first time I heard it discussed in a secular space with some really high-up expatriates (ambassadors, diplomats, and other sophisticated looking folk) making comments I would expect to hear in, say, a Christian missions conference.  I even found out later from a conversation with Mark O'Neill's Cantonese-speaking wife that Mark, himself, is not a religious person.  All this in an officially atheist country made for some interesting sociological theorizing.

Introducing Mark O'Neill.

Future ambassador, Lily, with the current Irish ambassador.

Bought the cheaper Chinese translation of the book.

There was a long line for book-signings, but I managed to snap a quick picture with the author.

I had another encounter with religion in China this week, this time in a much more traditional setting.  After another day enjoying street food at 南锣鼓巷Nanluoguxiang, I went with some Japanese friends to visit the 雍和宫Lama Tibetan Buddhist temple, another piece of religion which managed to survive the Cultural Revolution.  Tibetan Buddhism is said to be on the rise among new Chinese upper-class, as are many other religions in this country.  I walked out of the subway station and was immediately greeted by hawkers trying to sell us their incense sticks and then entered the temple to be flooded with the scent of that same incense smoldering worshipers' wishes to the gods.  Picture taking was prohibited in most parts of the temple, but the exquisite detail of design in the buildings and shrines made the temple a worthwhile place to visit for both tourists and worshipers alike.

Front entrance.

Walkway to the temple.  Japanese people sho cute    ^_^.

Outside a shrine.

My one forbidden picture.

The tithe offering?

Tourist info.

Endless bowing everywhere.

I couldn't take a picture of it, but Lama temple had a huge Maitreya statue about 5 stories high, all carved out of a single sandalwood tree according to this sign.

And some other non-religious things which happened this week:

Free drinks for the ladies on International Women's Day!

I joined in on a Kung Fu club meeting and (almost) mastered some Tai Qi moves .

I will probably never get sick of the street food at 南锣鼓巷Nanluoguxiang. This here is the delicious stinky tofu.

Meals with friends.  Hi Shirley!

Visiting cute DIY craft stores and not buying anything.

Celebrating my suite mate, Sally's, birthday with a western dinner.

Chinese people are into punishments whenever you lose a game, my Chinese teacher included. Here she's blasting "Call Me Maybe" on her phone and forcing the losing group from a taboo-like Chinese game to dance in public.

口语 Spoken Chinese class requires presentations on current events in our country. I gave one on gun control reform.

Not an uncommon sight, but I'm impressed every time a see the big loads migrant workers bike with.