tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53778131022721415032024-03-05T21:23:17.926+09:00Pass the RubiconIdiom:
to cross or pass the Rubicon, to take a decisive, irrevocable step.<br><br>Say the <i>Eco Pledge of Allegiance to the 3Rs!!</i><br>"One EcoGeekdom, under Mother Nature, with liberty and recycled materials for all."Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger170125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-2868495734403143582011-03-06T03:00:00.002+09:002011-03-07T21:44:46.359+09:00Rainy Days and Mondays<div style="text-align: left;">Our time in Seoul was met with certain obstacles, starting with a very rainy Saturday. It was our only full-day in the city and we knew the weather forecast would dampen any outdoor activities, so we planned accordingly: City tour bus!A one-day pass only costs 10,000 Won--which is actually less than $9--leaves every 30 minutes and allows you to get on and off at the thirty-some stops, as you please. It also includes free entrance into a number of museums, and is--unsurprisingly, for Korea--fairly high-tech. Each seat is equipped with headphones that tell you about each stop, in any of three Asian and two Western languages. Well...I was impressed.One of J's friends, Soi, met us around 10 o'clock to go on the tour with us. It was great to meet her and have a Seoul native along for the ride. We decided to go to the <a href="http://www.museum.go.kr/main/index/index002.jsp">National Museum of Korea</a> since the rain was still coming down pretty hard outside. On the bus, I was hoping to get a glance at the city as we rumbled down the streets, but the windows fogged up so quickly that it was easier to just sit back and listen to the audio tour.The museum is a rather new complex, opened in 2007, and is an impressive structure. Peter met us there as well, and we all had lunch at the museum's Korean restaurant, Hancharin. I had a dish called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tteokbokki"><i>Tteokbokki</i></a>, which is rice cake sliced into a penne-shape and stir-fried. It is supposed to be a spicy snack food, but the dish I was served was neither spicy nor a small portion, and was garnished with shredded egg, mushrooms and beef slices. Soi, Peter and J all had <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibimbap">bibimbap</a> </i>(see pic), a bowl of rice topped with veggies, chili pepper paste, meat and a raw egg, usually served in a piping hot stone pot.</div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwmNSGxfmAzLPxRbrO2tIEr22Pbj2OYum_Fbso1EZe_lMTXnFiqjvxpdOSqCT7OAHy0SgZD6I1moYiaTZHf_B2XSKa5kvD91-ehlpcXMN4v7GatKP3Ql9Qt2Vkr5t01xVj6hfeOkFFHiL/s320/China2011+594.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581317671142545026" /> After a quick tour of the first floor exhibits, Peter and Soi headed to their respective homes (Peter to go to church, and Soi having a family gathering that night) so we bid them farewell. We checked out the rest of the museum and then, since the rain was subsiding, jumped back on the city tour bus to see what else we could find.<br /> <br /> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-76589702580829186292011-02-26T22:44:00.000+09:002011-02-27T22:42:05.399+09:00Welcome to SeoulAfter a bit of a delay at the airport in Shanghai over the viability of J's visa, we were finally able to check-in. Luckily we'd arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare, so we grabbed some lunch and then hopped on flight, arriving in Seoul around 7pm. <br> J had contacted her friend Peter, a classmate of hers in Chicago, and he met us at the airport. I hadn't seen him since the summer of 2009 myself, so it was great to catch up. Our first impression of Seoul was how clean and modern everything is, complete with Samsung and Hyundai products seen at every turn. <br> Although it was near 8pm, Peter said he'd be happy to take us to the N Seoul Tower where there is an observatory. We took the A'REX airport train to Seoul Station, then jumped in a (Kia) taxi to the top of <i>Namsan</i>, the southern mountain where the tower is located. The "N" in N Seoul Tower stands for Namsan, apparently. <br> Peter told us that usually we would have to show our passports at the gate to the entrance road up to the tower, since only foreign visitors are allowed to take cars and taxis up. Koreans all take the bus or walk. It looked like a pretty steep climb to me, but Peter insisted that it was easy. Indeed, at the top of Namsan, there were gaggles of young people whom mostly looked to be on dates, dressed fashionably and enjoying the excellent evening weather. <br> Up on the observatory deck it soon became apparent as to why there were so many couples. The entire railing surrounding the deck is covered in pad-locks. Not just a few, but probably thousands. This is due to the tradition of couples putting a lock on the railing to symbolize the strength of their love, and some of the locks were indeed heart-shaped, or even had little love notes written on them. We hadn't come prepared with a lock, but Peter was nice enough to take our picture to commemorate the occasion. Then we went to a cafe inside the tower and all had some hot chocolate!<br> Around midnight, we hopped on the last cable car heading back down to level land. It put us near the center of town, and from there we grabbed a taxi to our guesthouse. <br> The guesthouse is a simple affair for budget travelers who still want a bit of comfort. It has clean sheets, fast internet, a massive, flat-screen LG television, and other amenities in the room, with access to a communal kitchen on the first floor where we could get coffee and toast with jam for breakfast the next day.<br> It all sounded great and the bed looked extremely comfy at that point, so we said goodbye to Peter and drifted into dreams. <br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-62056821703038500962011-02-26T22:21:00.001+09:002011-03-07T21:28:48.006+09:00Shanghai Expo<div style="text-align: left;">We had the morning free in Shanghai before we had to head to the airport, so we took the subway over to the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_2010"> 2010 World Expo</a> site where the Chinese Pavilion is still open to the public. According to Xinhua (the Chinese news agency), there were so many visitors to the Chinese Pavilion during the actual expo (which ended in October last year) that they announced it would be reopened for six months in 2011. This likely gave more foreigners a chance to view the pavilion, whereas locals could wait until later to check it out.</div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdrw-0EvRxf_x6fymYVwcJsgqI5-Grp1iFyMasykCe0fnMmz59OYuKlXtfzhA7VCs5aPu-WkJY8QyDIuhXoPk91Hf7KYbyw_sN1uysD4ZW7rLSfOqu7QipogOMab24kEAmI6q7IP-9Zdj/s320/China2011+523.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581313702046872818" /> We did our best to arrive early, and made it there about quarter to 9, just before it opened. There were already people heading toward the site in droves, but no massive lines. We did a speed-walk, bought tickets and joined the crowd inside. Although it was crowded, the staff did a great job in directing people where to go. And probably more than anything, the way the pavilion was designed and set up made it bearable for large crowds, and still be able to see everything. In fact, I believe Xinhua had noted the pavilion had a capacity of 4,000 people per hour, which is pretty amazing by any measure, but after going through the pavilion, I believe it.<br /> I wouldn't say the actual exhibition was anything "museum worthy", but it was a show of what China is <i>all about</i>, from architecture, to history (there was a National Treasure on display, although it took 10 minutes of waiting in line and about 4 seconds to shuffle past it in a darkened room), to art, to the environment and the future. The architecture "tour" was done on a mini roller-coaster. People were diverted into multiple lines and the cars left every minute or so, meaning there was hardly a wait at all. The cars rolled past scenes in colored lights, showing ancient and modern bridges, old matrix-based joints for wooden structures such as temples, and newer architecture in the cities.<br /> After about an hour, the pavilion tour was over. The exhibit was impressive in many ways, and it did make me wish I'd seen the pavilions of other nations as well had I visited last year. However, it was a good experience and will prepare me for what is to come should I have a chance to check out the next <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_world%27s_fairs#2010s">World Expo</a> in, say, 2012 in Yeosu, South Korea, or in 2015 in Milan, Italy.<br /> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-14216108444805266842011-02-26T09:48:00.000+09:002011-02-27T09:46:36.048+09:00Friday in Shanghai<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> <div>After checking out the alleyways of 'Old West Gate',we looked around for a good place to grab some breakfast. We finally settled on a place that had <span class="Apple-converted-space"></span><i>rou jia mou</i>, what I would call, basically, a Chinese hamburger. It is braised meat, shredded and put between an English-muffin-esque bun<i>.</i> We ate two each, as well as a rice porridge (<i>xiao mi zhou</i>), a hard-boiled and an over-easy egg, so needless to say, it all tasted great. J chided that the restaurant staff was probably thinking, "dang, these two eat a lot!"<br> Well, the rest of the day we did enough walking to more than make up for the big breakfast. Our next stop was <i>Xi Tian Di</i>, literally "new sky earth".<br> Xin Tian Di is a newly developed area of Shanghai which caters to foreign tourists. It's mostly restaurants and souvenir shops, all done in a very fashionable, outdoor-shopping-along-a-promenade type style. We passed up the Starbucks, but couldn't resist the coffee and free wireless internet connection at The Coffee Bean.<br> It was nearing 1pm, so we headed over to the Shanghai Museum, where we easily spent 3 hours checking out the exhibits on the four floors. The museum was certainly a highlight of the trip, and it was fun to get the audio guides to get some background information on many of the pieces, such as 5,000 year old iron wine vessels, and spectacular <i>Jingdezhen</i> "China porcelain" with under-glaze cobalt blue designs and stunning <i>wucai</i> (five-color) vases and dinner platters. J commented how amazing it was to see pieces that she'd only seen in books up until now, and I to agree that looking at 5,000 years of civilization was nothing less than breathtaking.<br> Nevertheless, the museum closed at 5pm, so we shuffled out of there, and headed over to <i>Yu Gardens </i>where they have a famous take-out shop for Shanghai <i>xiao rampo</i> dumplings, filled with pork and crab. We had to wait in line for about 30 minutes to buy 16 small dumplings (for about $3), but each one was a steamed bun of perfection. <br> After that, we strolled down to the riverside to take a look at the skyline from the west side of the Huangpu River. As we walked along the pier, we could see the old British and French buildings ahead of us, which have been preserved in all their splendor. As it was nearing 10pm, we searched for a ferry to cross back to the east side of the river, where our hotel was, and were lucky to find the last one leaving at 9:45. We paid about 2 yuan each (about 0.20 cents!) and the ferry delivered us to the other side in just 10 minutes. Later, finally back at the hotel, we collapsed into bed, exhausted and having had a great time.<br> <br> </div> </span></span> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-666167706841504092011-02-26T09:00:00.001+09:002011-02-26T09:00:36.908+09:00Old West GateWe made the most of our only full day in Shanghai, heading out around 8 am and not returning until 11 pm. I'll have to break-up this day into a few different posts so it's not too long. So for now I'll just say...<div> Our first stop was the "Old West Gate" (<i>Lao Si Men</i>). We got there by taking a bus, which was unbelievably crowded (although I suppose it was "rush hour"), but the ride provided an interesting insight to the honesty of Shanghai's public transportation users. With no more space at the front of the bus, when we would stop at the next station, people would pass up their electronic bus card and ask someone to tap it against the receiver so they could then go to the rear door of the bus and try to squeeze in there! That happened innumerable times, a few people even passing their cards up after getting on in the back of the bus, and having their card passed back through a long line of people. <br> After we got off the bus at Old West Gate, we wandered through the old Shanghai alleys, which are well known for the narrow streets and ubiquitous scene of wet laundry drying on wires crossing above the alleyway. People were going about their daily business and there didn't seem to be too many tourists around--so I'm sure both J and I stood out plenty since we were taking pictures like crazy!</div> <div>(more to come later...) </div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-53547227018842722562011-02-26T00:14:00.000+09:002011-02-26T00:15:10.114+09:00Shanghai PearlWe arrived in Shanghai yesterday afternoon, a little behind schedule due to a slight flight delay. After stowing our luggage at the airport, we took day packs and hopped on the subway. The airport is about 45 minutes away from the city by subway, but the ride is pretty smooth. After getting checked in and settled at our hotel, it was nearly 3:30pm, so we decided to forgo the 2010 Expo Chinese Pavilion tour (until Sat morning, at least) and headed straight for downtown where we planned to see the Shanghai Pearl Tower at night.<br> Before that we figured we might as well get a bite to eat, so we grabbed a taxi and J struck up a friendly conversation with our driver. The driver was extremely friendly, a woman in her late-30s, and she suggested an area with good food that wasn't as expensive as the area right next to the Pearl. It was still about 4:00 when she dropped us off at a nice looking hotel restaurant, so we noted the spot and then took a stroll around town.<br> The Pudong area of Shanghai is the central, cosmopolitan area, filled with shopping malls restaurants, newsstands and other small shops. I was a bit surprised to see a big Best Buy, not to mention a Papa John's Pizza (which in Chinese is, <i>Ban! Yuehan</i>, which roughly translates to "Great! John"). We ended up finding another restaurant that J thought looked like it might be good, and since it was 5:00 and the dinner places were all opening, we decided to give it a try. Lang Yi Fang had stupendous food, at least what we tried of it: a papaya-coconut appetizer, sweet & sour pork ribs, a tofu and crabmeat dish, tofu-chicken eggrolls, and pumpkin fried bread. <br> After dinner, we kept an eye on the Shanghai Pearl Tower and walked for about 20 minutes until we got there. Seeing it up close was even more impressive than seeing it lit up from afar. It is truly an amazing structure, with a massive sphere near the bottom, a mid-size sphere in the center, and one more near the top. You can take an elevator up to the second sphere for 120 Yuan, but we decided to stroll down to the riverside instead. From there, we could see much of the skyline on both sides. It was a beautiful and unseasonably warm evening, and it felt great to be outside. <br> Shanghai made a great impression on both of us, and we went back to our hotel looking forward to what tomorrow would bring.<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-5785855085370408312011-02-23T22:15:00.001+09:002011-02-23T22:15:59.495+09:00Mandarin FriesOur last dinner in Dalian, we went out to a local restaurant nearby with J's parents. This place serves excellent dishes, including familiar ones with a little extra pizzazz. For example, the sweet and sour pork (<i>go lao rou</i>) was sweetened not only with pineapple, but also a touch or orange. They also cut the pork along the edges which allowed it to be fried lightly and absorb more of the flavor. <br> My favorite dish at this restaurant, however, is quite simple, and my fav because I haven't seen it elsewhere (although I'm told it is available at other eateries); I absolutely love their pumpkin fries! They are almost like a potato "french fry" but made with a sweet squash. I think <i>MaiDangLau </i>(i.e. the golden arches in Chinese) should serve these and call them Mandarin Fries. I would super size them in an instant.<br> We also had a calamari with <i>miso </i>sauce dish and a shrimp and cloud-ear mushroom dish, which were excellent. Not to mention a couple bottles of SNOW Beer... a few days ago I wrote I thought this beer was called "Mons", until I realized I was reading it upside-down!<br> In any case, that is all for now for dispatches from Dalian. Tomorrow we are off to Shanghai, and then Seoul for a short stint. Maybe I'll discover some Canton Fries or Kimchi Fries along the way.<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-26088729976867336892011-02-22T12:26:00.000+09:002011-02-23T12:43:07.522+09:00China's Answer to Dunkin' DonutsFor breakfast today we had <i>doufu nao</i> and sweet bread, which J said is sort of an old standby Chinese breakfast. Cubes of bean curd are mixed in a soy sauce-based soup thickened with potato starch and flavored with different fragrant spices. The exact spices used depend on the shop that makes it, and it's a closely kept secret--a secret sauce, if you will. Nevertheless, no doubt the sauce had some <i>nira</i> (leeks) since I could see some of the herbs from the leek mixed in as well. <br> The sweat bread is sort of a long, fluffy, French cruller; it's just sweet enough to balance out the slightly salty, and just a tad spicy<i> doufu nao</i>. I followed J's lead and took a spoonful of the soup, then bit off a piece of sweet bread. Before trying it, I didn't know what to expect and was a bit hesitant; however, after the first bite, I nearly didn't stop until it was all gone. And then I had seconds.<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-89325989286108369882011-02-22T11:55:00.000+09:002011-02-23T12:43:01.708+09:00Navigating Unexpected TurnsYesterday J and I went downtown to catch the new photo exhibit at the <br>Dalian Art Center. We'd gone earlier in the month for a painting exhibit <br>by local artists, mostly landscape paintings of the seaside town of <br>Xiamen. At that time they told us the photo exhibit would be open on the <br>22nd, so we planned accordingly.<p>We also planned to pick up a family picture we'd taken just before the <br>Chinese New Year at a photo studio in town. After that, we'd meet J's <br>friend at one of the city parks, go out to dinner and then maybe do a <br>little karaoke (which they abbreviate as "KTV" here).<p>Well, it turned out that the photo exhibit wasn't open yesterday and J's <br>friend had something come up and couldn't meet us. We called her cousin <br>to see if she wanted to go out, but she was unavailable as well. J tried <br>calling the Dalian Shell Museum, a huge, sandcastle-like structure in <br>the south o the city, to see if they were open, but the line had been <br>disconnected (apparently the museum is closed now). Luckily, we were <br>able to pick up the family picture without a problem.<p>In the afternoon, we ended up at a bookshop where we were initially <br>looking for a sort-of "coffee table book" of Dalian. They didn't have <br>one that we liked, but we started looking at all the maps, both local, <br>national and world, that the store had available. It was a lot of fun <br>just checking out geography of different places, including a molded <br>plastic map of the world that showed elevation, so there was a big chunk <br>of the world raised high above the rest where the Himalayas are located. <br>On a Chinese map, that's closer to the middle of the world--the U.S. is <br>stuck near the right margin. We ended up buying two huge wall maps: one <br>of the whole world in 1:25,000,000 scale, and one of China in <br>1:4,500,000 scale, both written in English and Chinese.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-42419696612377622492011-02-20T15:46:00.000+09:002011-02-21T16:02:02.748+09:00Reservoir MarketThis morning J's mom took us out to the local morning market, which is <br>set up along an old water channel leading from the nearby reservoir <br>that's no longer in use. We walked along with market stalls set up on <br>both sides along the length of the channel. The entrance to the market <br>is actually just up the street, but J's mom took us around to the end of <br>the market so we'd end up back near the house. She said that in the <br>summer, the market extends much further, but since it was winter, maybe <br>only half of the channel is filled.<br>The first person we came across was a man sitting on a small stool <br>spinning a black iron canister hung horizontally over a fire to make <br>puffed corn. He was selling it for 1 Yuan (about 15 cents), so I picked <br>up a bag and handed him the money. It tasted great, and I couldn't <br>resist throwing a few in the air and catching them in my mouth.<br>We headed further down and came across a clothing wholesaler getting rid <br>of old merch, "Anything in the pile for 10 Yuan!" There was some good <br>stuff, all of it in piles laid out on top of a big tarp. J found two <br>nice tops in the pile and we continued further down.<br>Next was a man selling a vegetable cutter. It was like he'd been <br>transported off a home shopping network. He had a headset microphone <br>with a small speaker projecting his voice to anyone who was interested <br>to hear. "You want chopped cucumber? Why chop endlessly with a knife?!" <br>He demonstrates with--and there's no better way to describe the common <br>kitchen knife in China--a big, honkin' meat cleaver. "Instead, you can <br>use this and it's as easy as One, Two, Three." With each number, he <br>slides the cucumber across the grater. "Want sliced carrots? Even <br>easier!" He changes the blade on the grater, "One, Two!" <br>and--shebang!--there are finely sliced carrots in front of him. J was <br>mesmerized, but thinking of our luggage limit and the fact that we were <br>still just 10 minutes into the market, I told her there were similar <br>outlets for such a device in the States.<br>After that, we passed a number of mostly meat, veggie and fruit vendors, <br>although there was an interesting "CD shop" selling karaoke versions of <br>old Chinese favorites. The guy had quite a large crowd, including one <br>old woman who looked about 90 hunched over leaning on a cane reading the <br>list of the 1,000 songs featured on the CD (set?).<br>We passed by a table with four piles of different shellfish (I think <br>scallops, clams, muscles and oysters). The guy behind the table was <br>shucking huge oysters and putting them into plastic bags for customers, <br>eagerly buying them up. We ordered a kilo of scallops and he dragged a <br>small hand rake across the pile and onto a metal tray for the scale. A <br>closer look at the pile and I could see some of them were still moving, <br>proving them fresh caught from this morning. I suppose they were <br>gathered out of the Bohai Sea this morning and brought straight to the <br>old reservoir, which certainly proved to be an interesting place to <br>spend some time.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-74634741489072302602011-02-20T15:09:00.000+09:002011-02-21T16:01:56.623+09:00Lamb SoupThe Marx Brothers were known for their movie "Duck Soup"; the restaurant next door from here is known for its delicious lamb soup. <br> The restaurant has big, red letters in it's window that say <i>'yang tang' </i>(样汤). You might think that means "Beware of Ram" considering there is a feeble-looking ram chained to a tree near the entrance. However, the letters do indeed mean lamb soup, and although that particular ram is still intact, I suspect there was a different one there last week. <br> In China, people like to see that their food is fresh. The best example is when Wal-Mart first opened in China and had to change from only "fresh frozen" seafood offerings and include tanks of live fish which customers could select and take home. In short, like the chicken soup I wrote about in this space before, seeing a live lamb, sheep, ram, whatever in front of a restaurant advertising lamb soup tells the customer here that it is only of the best, freshest quality.<br> We headed inside, grabbed a table and ordered a round of lamb soup. J's cousin also ordered a stir fry of green pepper and pork intestines, and then a tofu dish which, ironically, was hardly touched. The lamb soup is served with the broth kept rather bland since there is a bottle of vinegar and four different spices on the table with which to flavor it to your liking. I put in a good dose of vinegar, a bit of salt and pepper, a dash of chicken consommé and a spoonful of red pepper. The soup had different lamb bits in it, including cubes of congealed lamb blood, and after getting over the novelty of the whole thing, the taste was quite good. Everyone tried each others soup broth and J's cousin by far had the spiciest, but I thought best, balance of ingredients. I added some more black and red pepper to mine, and ate heartily, nibbling at the tofu and pork intestines too. <br> As we ate, we could hear a dog whimpering in the back somewhere. I'm always on the lookout for possible dog meat on a menu, but I was assured it was nothing of the sort. It turns out the owner was raising a puppy in the back, and he took us back to see a beautiful two-month old Husky. The dog was friendly and playful. I'm not much for petting dogs (especially ones I don't know), so I just snapped some pics of J's cousin playing with him. <br> As we left the restaurant, we awkwardly decided to pet the ram out front too, which I also have pictures of. I'm a bit hesitant to say, but I don't know if I'll be able to look back on that photo and not imagine dousing him with vinegar and red pepper. <br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-54776343270170238542011-02-20T14:20:00.000+09:002011-02-21T16:01:48.846+09:00Four HoursIn the last four hours or so I've ingested the following:<br> 1. coffee and a chocolate cupcake<br> 2. sunflower seeds<br> 3. a bowl of fresh strawberries<br> 4. drinkable yogurt from Inner Mongolia<br> 5. a bag of puffed corn (not popcorn) sold by a vendor at the local market, made in a contraption that looked like a cannon ball might shoot out of it.<br> 6. grape juice<br> 7. a grilled flour and egg wrap stuffed with scallions, and a fluffy, fried cracker with a spicy sauce (called<i> jian bing guo zi</i>) made by a street vendor<br> 8. a flour wrap stuffed with stir-fried and salted shredded potato (called <i>juan bing) </i>made by J's mom<br> 9. half a kilo of boiled scallops, also prepared by J's mom<br> 10. celery, cabbage and minced pork won-ton soup, (yes, made by J's mom from scratch this morning. although I was full at that point, who is going to pass up won-ton soup? not I)<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-91375312855395934642011-02-20T14:06:00.000+09:002011-02-21T16:01:43.244+09:00HaircutAfter nearly a month, I decided it was time for another haircut. I've <br>had my haircut in Brazil, Ethiopia, Thailand, Japan, of course the U.S., <br>and now China. I figured that if a hairdresser in Addis Ababa can cut my <br>hair pretty well, a hip and savvy Chinese salon worker would have no <br>problem. And for less than $3 for a hair cut, I figured I'd give it a <br>shot (btw, that's the same as it cost in Ethiopia, whereas Brazil was <br>about $10, and Japan runs between $15 to $50 depending on where you go <br>of course).<br>We went to a shopping center that had three different hair salons right <br>across from each other to choose from. The first place we went to said <br>there was a 20 minute wait, so instead we went to the place next door, <br>which said they could take us right away.<br>The salon had a fair mix of men and women getting their hair cut or <br>colored. My hairdresser commented how amazing it was that my hair color <br>was natural, and said people would have to go through hours of bleaching <br>and coloring to even come close. J was translating for me, and she <br>mentioned that people in the States used to tell her that her jet-black <br>hair was so amazing. Sort of a grass is greener thing, yes.<br>The last thing I'll mention was his hair drying technique, which I'd <br>never experienced before. The cut turned out pretty good, and although <br>we told him I wouldn't need any wax or anything (we were just headed <br>home afterward) he gave my hair some lift by using the back end of the <br>dryer to suck the hair up (like a 'Flowbee', I think they were called; <br>the old haircut vacuum attachment).<br>Luckily the cut turned out pretty good. There's generally no tipping in <br>China, so we just thanked the staff, gathered our things and we were <br>off. But before heading home, we took a once around the shops with my <br>new do, just for good measure.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-2252097050529282122011-02-20T13:15:00.000+09:002011-02-21T16:01:33.701+09:00WholesaleSunday afternoon we decided to check out the local wholesale market, <br>located on the other side of the Dalian train station. It is a massive <br>complex jostling with people moving stuff on dollies, bringing in new <br>merch. The sellers are not hawking their goods, as you might imagine. I <br>suppose since it's a wholesale area, the people operating the shops can <br>be considered "suppliers" that take a more subdued middle-man attitude <br>than a shopkeeper who deals with the end-customer. We walked around <br>quite a bit, but after a couple of hours we still only saw a small <br>fraction of what is available: fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, booze, <br>meats, seafood, car seat covers, pots n' pans, batteries, kitchen <br>gadgets, beads, jewelry, stationary, clothes, clocks, telephones, <br>crochet kits, oil paintings, toiletries, and on and on. At the end of <br>the day, we didn't end up buying anything except for a bottle of mineral <br>water to quench our thirst after a long, but very interesting afternoon.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-79788436481489140732011-02-18T16:38:00.000+09:002011-02-21T16:01:28.376+09:00Dinner with ClassmatesMy last day of Chinese class was on Friday. We had finished the first <br>textbook early--15 chapters in 4 weeks (and I arrived only for the last <br>2 weeks and had to catch up!!)--so the last two days we did Chapter 16 <br>from the second textbook. That was done by 10:00, so for the rest of the <br>morning we watched the Disney movie "Mulan" in Chinese. I kept an eye on <br>the sub-titles and my ears open for words I could recognize, although I <br>have to say that there wasn't much in the 16 chapters we studied about <br>war tactics.<p>In the evening, the Director and a few of the university staff and <br>volunteers took us out for dinner. We went to a restaurant nearby the <br>school and they ordered a massive amount of food and drinks. We sat at a <br>big, round table with a large, glass "lazy susan" in the center. After <br>everyone did a self-introduction in Chinese, the Director said a few <br>words to toast. We all held up glasses of Mons beer (from Harbin); in <br>most other countries I've been to, people sitting at large tables <br>struggle to clink glasses together, or give each other an understanding <br>nod, but in China they tap the glasses on the table a few times instead. <br>We commenced eating and drinking, and since all of the other students <br>were Japanese, there was a mixture of talk in Chinese and Japanese.<p>Near the end of the meal, the Director gave another toast, telling us to <br>all continue in our studies, and that we were all already great Chinese <br>speakers. Then she presented us with our course completion certificates. <br>They came in somewhat ornate envelopes, along with the group photo we'd <br>all taken together a few days prior.<p>We finished dinner and everyone walked out together. I bid the Director, <br>staff and other students farewell, as they were all headed back to the <br>school and the dorms, and I jumped on bus 708 back to Xishanshuiku. It <br>was the second night of the full moon, and out the window of the bus I <br>could see it looming large in the sky between the buildings. As the moon <br>begins to wane, so does our time in China, but it's certainly been an an <br>illuminating experience.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-23296366189169178632011-02-16T21:40:00.000+09:002011-02-17T21:39:06.130+09:00Chinese PaintingToday I participated in a Chinese painting class at my school. The <br>teacher was obviously very talented with a brush, and he showed us <br>numerous examples of works he'd done himself or that he had in his <br>possession. I'm not really sure which, though, because he was speaking <br>in rapid-fire Chinese about a topic I know nothing about...and still <br>know nothing about, except that I've tried my hand at it. After almost <br>an hour of him "explaining" Chinese painting to a classroom full of <br>exchange students that probably didn't understand more than 10% of what <br>he was saying, we were given paper, a brush, some black ink and water.<br>Everyone did their best to draw a bamboo grove, with long, straight <br>strokes for the trunk of the bamboo, and then a few thin branches here <br>and there, with short, quick strokes for leaves. The teacher made it <br>look so easy. Mine was alright, although I think it was probably more of <br>a bamboo jungle than a sparse grove.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-47344602548074791572011-02-16T21:34:00.000+09:002011-02-17T21:32:40.940+09:00New Year's ...Day? HA!The Chinese must hear of other countries celebrating New Year's with a <br>bit of revelry, a countdown and maybe the Synge de Lang, along with one <br>day of rest and recoup on January 1st, and laugh at the simplicity of <br>it. The Chinese also celebrate the Gregorian New Year with the rest of <br>the world, but the big celebration is the lunar new year.<br>I'd heard before that it is comparable to Christmas in the States, where <br>people begin shopping the day after Thanksgiving (or even the evening of <br>Thanksgiving, from what I heard recently!) and keep their Christmas <br>trees up until sometime during, say, the first week of January. People <br>in China begin preparations for their New Year at least a week in <br>advance, and the 1st day of the new year--which is the first day of the <br>new moon--is just the start of official celebrations. It kicks off a <br>week of holiday from work, which is spent visiting with family and <br>friends. Most companies will start up again on the 7th day, blasting off <br>fireworks in the morning. Things are relatively quite again, until the <br>15th--the day of the full moon.<br>If anyone has any firecrackers or rockets still lying around, they are <br>all set off on the night of the first full moon of the year. J said that <br>no one lights even a sparkler after the 15th. So celebrations are out in <br>full force, maybe with almost as much force as on the 1st. Fireworks <br>blast off, bursting in the air, the blasts setting off car alarms around <br>the neighborhood.<br>So while Gregorian celebrations may countdown to midnight, in China it <br>is a minimum 15-day countdown. Happy New Year Days!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-85240743505461503162011-02-16T21:20:00.000+09:002011-02-17T21:18:59.997+09:00How much H20?I recently feel like I've entered the ranks of Jedi in hot water use. <br>This morning I managed to wash my hair, shave and make a cup of coffee <br>with about 5 cups of hot water I boiled on the stove-top. You see, on <br>account of the solar-only, roof-mounted hot water heater we have here, <br>it's more timely to do things this way. It's not something I'd want to <br>do all the time, but it's interesting for the time being.<p>We have a plastic bowl that fits in the bathroom sink, which I pour some <br>hot water into, and then mix with cold from the faucet until I get a <br>good temperature. I use just enough to wet and shampoo my hair, and I <br>don't mind a final cold rinse.<p>To shave, I fill a small cup halfway with hot water and mix with cold <br>again, and use a safety razor. I've always done it this way, actually, <br>so it's no big change.<p>Finally, I have a "french press" style coffee mug, so I put some coffee <br>grounds directly in the mug, pour in hot water, and then, after letting <br>it seep for a couple minutes, push a screen down to keep the grounds at <br>the bottom of the mug.<p>I'm so used to having "all the hot water I need" that I never really <br>think about it. The same goes for electricity and other amenities, such <br>as internet. When I've gone to developing countries, I remember being <br>surprised by the frequent blackouts (sometimes--such as in <br>Ethiopia--planned during certain hours on a neighborhood basis due to <br>seasonal shortages), the occasional lack of running water and going back <br>to using dial-up on occasion. Here in China, the electricity and water <br>is always available, wi-fi is more of a rarity, but internet is readily <br>available. The lack of constant hot water during these winter months <br>(for reasons I outlined in more detail previously) has reminded me, once <br>again, that until we develop our infrastructure and utilities to run <br>efficiently (and year-round) on renewable sources, that we need to be <br>more conscious consumers both when out shopping and at home.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-22134071338580174952011-02-15T22:56:00.000+09:002011-02-16T23:00:36.635+09:00Wedding AnniversaryThe other day, J and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. The week before we had been walking around downtown and decided to suss out some places where we might have a nice dinner to celebrate, and maybe even stay in a nice hotel downtown. We checked out the 4 and 5 star hotels in the vicinity of the central square, <i>Zhongshan Guangchang </i>(中山广场), such as the Shangri-La, the Furama, the Ramada and the Bohai Pearl. After taking a tour of the hotel restaurants and seeing some of the rooms, we made our decision and ended up making a booking at Dalian's newest five-star, the Intercontinental at Friendship Square (<i>Youhao Guangchang</i>).<br> On our special day, J met me at DUFL-School of Chinese Studies, which is near one of the old Japanese sections of town. There are lots of Japanese restaurants in the area, so we went to a place called "Man" (萬: meaning "10,000" or <i>bountiful</i>, I suppose). J had a sashimi and tempura lunch set and I had the grilled mackerel (<i>shioyaki sanma</i>) set, both of which were excellent, and ended up costing less than we'd probably spend for the same meal in Japan. <br> After lunch, we found the weather had taken a turn for the worse. It was snowing and bitterly cold outside, which put a cramp in our plans to head over to the old Russian section of town and check out the art center there. At the same time we realized that we'd forgotten to bring the credit card that we were planning to use to pay for our lavish dinner and room at the Intercontinental. So we jumped on a bus and went back to J's place, where her parents were surprised to see us back. We explained what happened, grabbed the card, warmed up a bit, and then headed back out.<br> The dinner at Cafe 6 at the Intercontinental was amazing, and we felt all the more pampered since we were the only two people in the restaurant. Since it was still during the official Chinese new year holiday, most people were still outside of the city and no one was making business trips that would require staying at such a hotel. So J and I chose any table in the place and had about 4 people waiting on us the entire evening. <br> We took our time and enjoyed the atmosphere, along with a bottle of white wine we'd brought from Japan (which the staff kindly chilled and served for us), a dish of <i>farfalle</i> bow-tie pasta <i>di mare</i> with calamari, and a roasted rack of lamb with a rosemary breading, followed by some <i>creme brulee </i>for<i> </i>dessert. <br> Our room was like a small apartment, located in the corner of the hotel with massive windows overlooking Zhongshan Square. We woke up early the next morning to see the sunrise over the Bohai Sea beyond the nearby port, and soon after 7am, from the 34th floor, we saw a number of companies blasting off spectacular firework displays in the middle of downtown to start off their first day back in business in the new year. Back at Cafe 6, we enjoyed a maddeningly diverse buffet breakfast with everything from smoked salmon and capers and cheese platters to <i>dim sum</i> Chinese dumplings to pancakes and pitchers of fresh juice. <br> It was heart-aching to have to leave for my Chinese class after that, but J stayed at the hotel for the late check out, taking advantage of the wifi network and desk in the room to get some work done, looking like a high-powered executive perched in a penthouse. After my class, I came back and met her at the hotel and, with the weather looking better that day, we did manage to make it over to the old Russian street.<br> It was an anniversary to remember and I hope we can celebrate future ones even half as well. <br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-57321776349755507712011-02-15T22:17:00.000+09:002011-02-16T23:00:30.169+09:00Cats and DogsThere are plenty of stray cats in Japan, although I hardly ever saw a <br>stray dog. In the States, stray animals are usually picked up by the <br>pound, and attempts are made at adoption. In China, however, I see <br>plenty of stray cats and dogs; they are not overrunning the streets, but <br>they're ubiquitous enough for me to notice. Today on my way to school I <br>saw, possibly for the first time "live" (i.e. not in a cartoon), a cat <br>being chased by a dog. The dog was actually smaller than the cat, and <br>the whole ordeal looked somewhat playful. But two other dogs, seeing <br>their comrade making his case against the feline, decided to get in on <br>the action. So picture, if you will, a nimble cat high-tailing it around <br>a corner followed by a pint-sized mutt and two scruffy friends.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-39343599740835602232011-02-15T22:11:00.000+09:002011-02-16T23:00:16.301+09:00Doting DadSince 1979 the Chinese government has insisted that its citizens will only have one child. The one-child law has received plenty of attention, especially when it comes to the adoption of little (supposedly "unwanted") little Chinese girls by people in the U.S. I suspect that the incentive to make these daughters-of-China available to potential parents in the U.S. has more to do with economics than a gender preference, although there is something to be said for parental expectations in terms of whether they will raise a boy or a girl; given the quota of one child for your entire lifetime, I find myself sympathetic without condoning a straight-out gender preference. <br> However, before I get too far off on a tangent, this post is not about gender so much as it is about doting parents. The little boys in China are popularly known as "Little Emperors" (小皇帝: <i>xiao huangdi</i>) because their parents put their full and complete energy into raising them with every ounce of their being. I saw this first-hand the other day on the bus when a young boy of about 10 years of age and his father got on one stop after me. All the seats were taken, but the father found a good spot for his son to stand and then proceeded to stand behind his son in a protective stance to make sure the boy didn't get jostled too much as the bus lurched and swayed down the avenue. <br> The man and his son got off the bus one stop before me and I watched out of the corner of my eye as the man steadied his son poised toward the exit, then hanging on to him and I suppose telling him to wait until the bus slowed down before they headed for the door. Then, as the bus came to a sudden halt, the father lost his footing slightly and ended up knocking his son to the floor of the bus. It was the last thing the man meant to do, but he lost control. The son looked embarrassed beyond belief, quickly picked himself up and they both shuttled themselves off the bus. I watched out the window as the man tried to make amends with his son, reaching to give the boy an encouraging pat on the back. But the boy would have no more of this father's doting, and pulled himself away repeatedly.<br> In the U.S., this would be seen as nothing more than an example of an overbearing parent, but in the context of the 30 year old birthing restriction in China, it is common enough I'm sure. As for little girls in China, there are plenty of them and they are doted on all the same. Amy Chua's "Tiger Mother" book, and accompanying article in the WSJ, has received plenty of attention for a Chinese mother's role as the Rule Enforcer, and on the bus I saw the mother's counterpart: the doting dad who would give the world to his baby, even if it means he sometimes loses his own footing in the process.<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-59112260846046027412011-02-14T23:43:00.000+09:002011-02-15T23:41:51.704+09:00CardTonight we played cards. I'm not sure what game it is that we played, <br>but it's the game that everyone here in China seems to play. The four of <br>us sat on J's parents' bed with a cushion in the middle which we put the <br>cards on. In the game, you pair up with the person sitting across from <br>you, so I was paired up with J's mom, who incidentally seems to be the <br>best player. We did fairly well, although J and W did throw down quite a <br>few good hands. In the end, after about an hour or so, we called it a <br>wrap. I think I have a handle on the basic rules now though, so I'm <br>ready for the next round, which knowing China's love for card games, <br>won't be too far down the road.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-70392544678240913682011-02-12T12:32:00.000+09:002011-02-12T12:33:18.836+09:00Xi'an SquareYesterday after my Chinese class, I went out with some of the other students. Two of the guys were leaving that evening to travel around China a bit (Beijing, Qingdao, Tenjin) before going back home to Korea. A lot of the students here are Japanese, actually, so we ended up going to a Japanese restaurant, which everyone agreed made great food.<br> After that, one of the Japanese guys, NT, joined me and we met up with J and two of her friends at the Xi'an Square shopping district. Dalian has a lot of public squares, and many of them are the center of shopping districts, so the city is pretty much built around that structure. Xi'an Square is not too far from J's place, so we've been there a few times.<br> We stopped at Uniqlo, a Japanese clothing store (maybe similar to the Gap?) which is currently pretty popular in China, so that my friend NT could buy some warmer undershirts. Then J and her friends went to the kids toys and book shops. NT has been studying Chinese for a bit over a year, and has become a pretty good speaker, but J's friend was quizzing us on a few things in the kids books, like the names of fruits and vegetables in Chinese. <br> After that, we had dinner in the shopping center, everyone getting different dishes and trying everything. Everyone agreed that the one J's friend picked out, a spicy Shichuan noodle dish, was the best tasting. We washed it all down with some Qingdao/Tsingtao beers and I had a chance to practice my Chinese some more. <br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-88907690020764027812011-02-11T22:27:00.000+09:002011-02-12T22:53:37.981+09:00Bath House AttendantI was thinking today, while at the bath house again, that there are just too many things in an average day here that I would never see or experience anywhere else. For example, I wrote before about the bath house attendant that offers patrons a <i>"cuo hui"</i> body rub. Today, as I was in the shower, he had finished with one patron and decided to light up a cigarette. I don't think I've ever been in the shower with someone smoking before. <br> Then, as I was leaving the shower room, I looked over to the other side of the room where there was a door open to another area. Inside was a pile of garbage. There is a restaurant in the same building as the bath, so maybe it was a separate entrance to the restaurant's dumping area? That's the only explanation I could think of.<br> As I was changing after my shower, the attendant went into the break room, which is located next to the changing room. A few minutes later he came out wearing pajamas. Another patron who had gotten half dressed and then decided to smoke a cigarette in his underwear asked the attendant, "<i>Ji dian ma?</i>/What time is it?", and he answered "<i>7 dian</i>". I glanced inside the break room and saw that there were blankets on the sofa in there. I finished changing, put on my coat, and went out to wait for J in the sitting area next to the front desk. <br> As I sat on a long bench, in front of me on the floor was a massive rice cooker. Steam was billowing out of it, and every time someone would come in or out of the building, letting in cool air, the steam would seem to fill the whole room, along with the smell of freshly cooked rice.<br> Like I said, there are too many things like this in any given day. <br> <br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377813102272141503.post-45583785947465490332011-02-11T22:05:00.000+09:002011-02-12T22:53:29.600+09:00Dalian International Tennis CenterI don't know what was international about the tennis center we went to <br>today, although I heard that one of their instructors lived overseas for <br>a while and can speak English. However, J and I decided to forgo a <br>lesson today and just rent a court for ourselves. It was the first time <br>we've played tennis together, and I was impressed how well she returned <br>the ball; we even had a few fairly good rallies.<br>We had the court for two hours and were pretty tired afterward, but it <br>was fun. We also saw that they have badminton courts, which seemed to be <br>more popular. On our way out, J asked at the front desk if those courts <br>are usually open during the week. The guys said they are, so we might go <br>back sometime in the next week.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com