I apologize for my absence! Things have been crazy busy recently and it’s taken me awhile to get back into the swing of things post-vacation. As it’s been awhile since I’ve written a full post, I thought I’d just give a general update on what’s been going on here.
We are well into the second module at IUP, (2 modules = 1 semester and 2 semesters = 1 academic year), having taken the midterm last week and preparing for our speech next week. After traveling around the Philippines and Hong Kong for two weeks, I was a bit frustrated upon my return to Beijing. My Mandarin had noticeably declined. Even in Hong Kong, I encountered very little Mandarin since Cantonese and traditional characters dominate the communication channels in that city. For the first week or so back, I felt like I had when I first arrived back in August – I was second-guessing myself before speaking, which only made things worse, and was forgetting basic vocabulary that I had learned back at Yale. After a week of many awkward conversations, things finally started to fall back into place. Recently, I have been feeling much more comfortable speaking the language both inside and outside of the classroom, and I’m reading a significantly larger portion of signs as I travel around town. I’m really excited to see this transition, as there has been a lot of hard work with what seems like little reward in the preceding months. As we finish up first semester, I’ve never felt more ready, nor did I ever think I would be so excited, to spend another four months at IUP.
One of my teachers, 钱老师, posing with the whiteboard after class
Hard at work...
While leaving Beijing did take a toll on my Mandarin, I was in desperate need of fleeing the Beijing bubble. Most of Beijing does not turn on the heat until November 15th, which is about a month later that I would have liked, and my friends and I had planned our trip perfectly so that we avoided the coldest two weeks. So, on November 1st at 1am in the morning, two friends and I boarded a plane to Manila. We spent the next week island hopping between Manila, Cebu City, and Bohol, and learning as much as we could about the Philippines and Filipino culture, of which I had previously known nothing. My friend, Ashley, grew up in the Philippines, and had sent me a long list of things to do, so we set out to tick off each item. In the process, we found ourselves going "mall-ing" in Manila, relaxing on the beach in Bohol, and everything in between. We even came across a cross-dressing Filipino man, who introduced us to Prony, a 26-foot long python.
My overall impression of Manila was that the city is a collision of three different cultures, namely Filipino, Chinese, and Spanish, thrown together in this cosmopolitan yet very much still developing country. Manila was more or less destroyed following the Second World War and has since then rebuilt its façade with a modern architectural landscape. In the midst of this development, however, Jeepneys, a remnant of WWII, zip around town, and Spanish style architecture survives in the walled city of Intramuros. There was not as much tourist activity as I had expected, so we ended up filling our time with some pretty outrageous activities, like getting lost in the Carbon Market one night and going on what we thought was a rollercoaster overlooking Cebu that instead turned out to be more of a casual ride circling the top of a hotel. We also heard a lot of karaoke. Coming from Beijing, where Chinese people love to practice their KTV, I was still surprised to find individuals practicing at bars in the broad daylight. So, after a day in Manila and a day in Cebu City, we were ready to get to the outer islands and enjoy the beautiful beaches we had heard so much about. And beautiful they were… The country is blessed with some of the most stunning natural environments I have ever seen…
After stepping off the ferry in Bohol, we were lucky enough to meet a very nice cab driver named Esteban, who ended up spending the rest of the day jetting us around to the six or seven major tourist attractions on the island, including the 1,268 coned-shaped Chocolate Hills, the island’s famous Tarsiers, and centuries-old churches and towers. Esteban was a man on a mission, determined to show us everything his home island had to offer. The three of us were happy to be along for the ride, but felt somewhat hopeless as we sat in the back of his taxi not really knowing what to expect, especially after meeting the 26-foot long snake named Prony. That night, Esteban dropped us off at the Bohol Beach Club in Panglao, and for the next three days, we enjoyed a perfect beach vacation, waking up to pristine, white sand beaches and clear, blue water only steps from our front door.
Nevertheless, I’m glad we spent the few days that we did in the larger cities, as that was when we were most exposed to Pilipino culture. After leaving Bohol, we flew back through Manila on our way to Hong Kong, where we met up with another friend, Nick, and spent a week trying to soak in as much as that city had to offer. Hong Kong is a really fun city with some amazing architecture around every turn. I really enjoyed the fairy ride across Victoria Harbor, and the view from the peak leaves you utterly speechless. Nick and I also found time to venture to the southeastern side of the island, where we hiked a beautiful urban trail called Dragon’s Back. The start is a mere 20 minutes outside of the bustling streets of the downtown district, yet we still found ourselves trekking through thick forest, passing rivers and small waterfalls, and taking in views of Hong Kong’s southern shoreline and outer islands. The trail ended at Big Wave Bay, a small beach town filled with surfers and seafood. I was in awe that over the hills was one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, yet we could not feel farther away in what seemed like a little oasis.
Another thing I enjoyed while being in Hong Kong was hearing so much Cantonese. While English is widely spoken, Cantonese is the dominant language on the streets. Growing up in a (half) Cantonese family, it was comforting and intriguing to be around my mother’s native tongue. I can only communicate very basically in Cantonese, as my grandmother speaks a mixture of Cantonese and English to me, and in recent years has begun to throw in some Mandarin. I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to order Dim Sum for our group, yet aside from that things pretty much went right over my head. Being in Hong Kong for a week, though, definitely spurred an interest to learn more of the dialect, and the differences between Cantonese and Mandarin cultures. Every module at IUP, students are required to write and give a speech on the topic of their choice. I gave my first one on pole-vaulting since most of my teachers had no idea what the sport was and why I would involve myself in such a thing. I’m hoping to take advantage of the second 演讲(yan jiang = speech) and research a bit on the Cantonese dialect and culture, perhaps learning a few more words than ha gaw and siu mai in the process.
Leaving Beijing for two weeks was great, and I feel very fortunate to be able to see more of what Asia has to offer. That being said, I am looking forward to settling into Beijing for the winter and continuing my studies and life here in the city. I have included a few pictures from Thanksgiving below – Nick, Simin, and I celebrated with our friends Lucy, Tyler, and Kevin, in addition to two of their friends, at their apartment. We cooked stuffing and a few other traditional dishes, but relied on Peking Duck and dumplings to round out the meal. I’d say it really was a Beijing Thanksgiving.
Part of Thanksgiving Dinner
Before digging in... The menu included duck, dumplings, bao zi, sweet potato rice, mashed potatoes, salad, and pie.
Kevin, Tyler, Wyatt and Nick 干杯ing (gan bei = cheers, literally "dry your class") with 白酒 (bai jiu = China's version of sake, shochu, or vodka).
