First Weekend and School Day at ACC

Arriving in Beijing - First Thoughts:

• Getting off the plane and leaving to airport, I was surprised to find that Beijing wasn't as hot as I thought it would be, although it may be because Nanjing was much worse, and coming from bad to not so bad, I was thankful for the improvement.
• The roads are really nice, but wow - so many cars! Traffic was jam packed, especially right around Capital Economics University where ACC is located.. It was a frustrating feeling always getting passed by pedestrians...

Random Observations:

• I'm surprised by the large number of foreigners in Beijing! On the other hand, it's probably because ACC is located in one of Beijing's affluent financial districts, and on the weekend, we went to San Li Tuan (or as Beijing locals like to call it, San Li Tunrrrrrr), which is where foreigners like to get together and party. Also, I thought it was be hard to meet up with other Yalies doing bulldogs and other language programs in Beijing, but this weekend, within an hour of arriving at San Li Tuan, I ran into most of the Beijing bulldogs and a whole group of friends from HBA!
• Everything in China may be cheaper, but instead of spending lavishly, we all seem to have become thriftier! I think it's because, even though determining the dollar amount for a meal means dividing the price by eight, seeing the RMB amount - which is usually in the hundreds - is often still rather startling. I've also noticed that when we students go out to eat, we order a lot less than the typical Chinese. Every meal we have leftover food and so we vow to order less next time. In contrast, when I ate with Chinese people in Yunnan and Nanjing, each time the table was crammed with dishes, and by the end of the meal, most plates were left almost untouched. And it doesn't even bother them that so much is going to waste! This of course has a lot to do with a show of politeness (kao4ke4), but I'm still surprised by this attitude. Having grown up in a family used to the traditions of China in the early 1990s, I'm not used to the mentality of these modern Chinese families; my parents scold me when I don't make an effort to clean every grain of rice from my plate, and so it's so strange for me to see so much food being wasted...

ACC News

• I placed into Level 4! (There are three levels at ACC: 2,3 and 4) Last night was kind of brutal - I had to really push myself to keep going, because I knew that if I stopped to take a break, it would be harder for me to start studying again, and then I wouldn't be able to finish memorizing my 80+ new word phrases. Today's class was really good! I really like ACC's class schedule with its Da Ban (Big Class [9 people]), Xiao Ban (Small Class [4 people]), Dui Hua Ban (Debate Class [2 people]), and Dan Ban (similar to Tutorial [one person]). These four classes comprise what I feel like is an ideal combination of lecture, drill, and independent practice. I've also perused the book and was happy to find that many of the lessons are centered around rather controversial issues; for example, our current lesson is on plastic surgery and how its growing prevalence is influencing society.
• I joined Jin Bu, the nearby gym that ACC encourages its students to join. AH, it's absolutely amazing!! I spent almost four hours there yesterday because I find the atmosphere really conducive to studying (apparently memorizing words is less painful when your physical body is also in pain, and there is a nice lounge with really good lighting). I’m also really impressed by how much emphasis the management puts on sanitation. Seeing people following the pool's rule of spitting in cups is a total contrast to the constant spitting that occurs in the streets!

Other ACC Students:

• There’s a mix of those who lie on the spectrum of cultural rejection and integration… A perfect example was when a group of us went out for lunch to celebrate the end of our painful two-hour placement test. The other students told me to pick out something “adventurous,” and I picked chicken feet. Some people were reluctant to try it, saying that the chicken feet looked like baby’s hands, while others were very enthusiastic and even wanted to ask the waiter for a recipe to make chicken feet at home... I think, however, that we're all slowly moving towards cultural integration, just that we all have our different starting points.

Thanks Light:

• Without the Yale medication that Light gave us, my first couple of days at ACC would have been hell. I woke up the second morning upon arriving puking my guts out as well as la du zhi (during orientation Jin Lao Shi explained to us how we better get used to talking about this issue, and that in China, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about, and so I’m following her advice). It was so bad that I couldn't leave the toilet.. I took the la du zi medication and almost immediately I felt better.

One Last Comment Before I Post Pictures:

• I’m beginning to develop a Beijing kou3yin1 (accent)! On one hand it’s a good sign because it means that I’m quickly adapting to my surroundings and frequently practicing my spoken Chinese (kou2yu3). On the other hand, I might get slaughtered by my Nanjing relatives. Ah, the North-South rivalry.

A Picture (plus a caption) is Worth a Thousand Words:

Rachel (fang1 rui4 xue3) trying chicken feet!
A closeup...
We couldn't help playing with our food....
At JinShan - people practicing calligraphy with water
There were so many people exercising, singing, dancing, etc at JinShan... We joined in on the jump roping - it was fun!

View of GuGong from JinShan, plus pollution
This is such a great pic
Tree on which the last emperor of China hanged himself... except the real one was cut down, so this one is one that was planted in the same spot



Mao's body is in there! It's not open right now because I think they're washing him...
Tian An Men

More Photos

Day 2
The next day, we visited a small village just outside of LiuKu called Xiao Sha Ba. Just a few months ago, the government relocated the residents of Xiao Sha Ba to what is called Xin Nong Chun (New Countryside). At Xin Nong Chun, the people may have picturesque, newly whitewashed houses to live in, but there is no room for their livestock, no fields to look after, and so far, no sign of government compensation.
Above - seen plenty of dogs in this position, but never a pig...
Below - in the middle of Xin Nong Chun




Above - a new school that they're building in the middle of Xin Nong Chun

Above - one relocated resident's old home in shambles


Above - with her ruined home as a backdrop, a grandma tells us her story about a government's unfullfilled promises and her tearful parting with her mango trees


Above - my tour guides collecting rocks on the banks of the Nu; many people collect and sell river rocks for a living... the dams and their impact on the environment may have become a huge controversy, but what about other forms of environmental destruction? If everyone takes a rock, what will become of the river and its banks?

Above - my tour guides took me to the hot spring baths... every year on May 5th, unmarried man and women trek down from their respective mountain-top villages to bathe in hopes of meeting a suitable spouse.


Above - me eating a mango dipped in chili powder and salt. At first, I refused to try it, the idea of a biting into an unripe and unwashed mango too far out of my comfort zone. But after a bit of persuasion and thinking back on Kelly's chart that spans cultural rejection to intergration (with me obviously wanting to be on the integration end), I decided to try it. It was surprisingly good! I ended up eating three before lunch and then taking a couple to go!

Above (2) - Thirty years ago, a Taiwanese businessman settled in Nu Jiang, married his fouth wife, and produced his first and only son. To celebrate what he believed was Buddha granting his greatest wish, he constructed this temple and statue. It has become both a religious and tourist hotspot.


Above - there are four forms of entertainment in Liuku at night: 1) the "discos" -- can be very sketchy (take it from me - I had an old guy grab my hand and place a cockroach in my poor unsuspecting palm); 2) k-TV, more widely known as karaoke, or known by me as really bad music, lots of smoke, and not knowning enough chinese to sing with confidence; 3) tea pavillions (and other pavillions that, thankfully, my guides did not ask me to go to); and 4) dancing minority group traditional dances in the street. I vote for option 4...



Above (2) - Liuku/NuJiang at night. Beautiful, but becoming a little too much like Shanghai's night scene for my liking...

Day 3/4
Above - me teaching English to Liuku's hotel workers (aka how I earned my keep)

Day 5
After teaching for a couple of days, I went on a road trip to Bing Zhong Luo (to give you an idea of its geographical location, if you keep going north you will soon reach Tibet).
Below - on the way to Bing Zhong Luo, we stopped at a small village that was having a market day, where farmers bring their crops and livestock to sell and trade (bartering system not completely extinct. In the picture below, a man is selling fur quivers and bows (still used by the DuLong tribe to hunt wild animals).


Below - (on the way to Bing Zhong Luo) apparently a popular way to express romantic interest in someone is to bury them in sand. I guess if you think about it, it's a pretty good gauge of how much your love interest likes you back... after all, it must be pretty difficult to properly bury someone if they're not willing. (I refused to be buried by my guide - he's married and has a kid, thanks)


Below - besides farming, the villages scattered in the Nu River Valley are sustained by logging


Below - we stopped at FuGong for lunch. Afterwards we went shopping, and I tried on clothing from many different minority groups in Nu Jiang. Here, I'm wearing a LiShu tribe festival head garment.


Below - I couldn't resist =^.^= ... I miss my cat at home :(


Below - still in FuGong, we witnessed a house-warming. There, buying a new house deserves the same kind of celebration as weddings and births.


Below - Shi Yue Liang (Translation: Stone Moon) - Can you spot it? My guide told me that it takes little girls like me a week to hike up to Stone Moon -- he and some of his friends did it in a day.



Day 6
In the evening of Day 5 we arrived at Bing Zhong Luo. The next day we got up early to hike 24 miles from Bing Zhong Luo to Qiu Na Tong, where we would donate some dresses, school supplies, and candy to the children of that village.

Above - ...so begins the long hike... in the morning, everything as misty, and the scenery was breathtaking..


Above - Bing Zhong Luo and its surround area is famous for its cultural diversity ... eight different minority groups live together, and thus integrating multiple religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, Daoism, etc. In the picture above, one of my tour guides (I had a total of three - I was so lucky!) is taking a picture of a Buddist ceremonial structure. I'm still a little bit unsure about what everything on it symbolizes... I'll research it as soon as I get to Beijing and my Internet isn't so darn slow.


Above - while hiking we saw many of these modest dwellings. The roof of the house in the picture is pieced together using slates of rock that the local people call Pian Wa Yan


Above - Shi Men Guan (Translation: Stone Door) ... In two pictures you will see what this sign is marking...
Below - chipping away at this, villagers obtain Pian Wa Yan for their roofs - isn't Mother Nature thoughtful?


Below - Stone Door! Absolutely breathtaking!


Below - on the way to the children in the mountains, we passed many other children whose curious stares and hungry gazes made me want to pull out the pens and biscuits from my backpack


Below - After crossing this bridge, the road became a lot more difficult. In the past, the stretch from this bridge to Tibet was known as a death passageway for merchants transporting rice and other products.


Below - my (guy) guide is amazing at finding edibles along the road. Blackberries!!!

Below - Now this, I believe, is not so edible...



Below - two comments about this photo: 1) I was wrong about China's yellow skies, at least here in Nu Jiang, and 2) action shot! This shifting is one of the first steps towards producing Nu Jiang's fine spicy white wine (hey, the legal age here is 16.. or maybe 18. either way I'm fine... and it's all for the sake of culture). Actually in all seriousness, drinking is a huge part of Nu Jiang's culture with knowing how to properly toast your tablemates an essential social skill. I left with a couple of drinking games and some drinking songs under my belt, as well as a higher alcohol tolerance from all the strong white wine they encouraged (that's putting it lightly) me to drink.








Above (2) - Working at such a young age!! ...Two adorable kids we spotted playing next to the woman making wine... They were so cute that we couldn't resist climbing up the hill and taking some close-ups. I think between me and my two guides, we had a total of twenty pictures of these two!


Above - Horse caravan (I think that's what it's called). Seeing these is very rare now on the trail that was once dubbed "death passageway."


Above - A Nu tribe child. I waved at her and took this picture right when she waved back... Gestures = universal language.


Above - the girl with her mother, who is collecting firewood.

Above - The difficult road soon gave way to an almost impossible trail with many collapsed sections as a result of rockslides...


Above - We walked across that section in the above picture... one step too close to the edge would have sent us tumbling straight into the Jiang...

Above - the next time we encountered a collapsed section, we decided not to risk falling into the river (with water flow of 6 meters a minute and laced with whirlpools, it's a challenge even for a good swimmer); instead, we tackled the vegetation...and as you can see, also rather difficult.



Above - we found a little yang2... (it's in the middle of bleating - cute!)


Above - ... and babied it :)


Above - mao2 mao2 insect (this picture I did not take....)

Above - After 4.5 hours of hiking, we finally reached Qiu Na Tong.. Unlike the general state of water in China, the water up in the mountains of Nu Jiang is pure mountain spring water that you can bottle and immediately drink.



Above - Qiu Na Tong houses


Above - I mentioned before that the Nu Jiang area is known for it's cultural and mainly religious diversity... The picture above is of an Anglican church. Also notice the jeep that's parked in the basketball court... It was driven up to Qiu Na Tong a year ago, and now because of the collapsed chunks of roadway, it can't leave.


Above - one of my guides writing a note to the children we are donating the supplies and candy to - at the time, they were all in school even higher up in the mountains (mind you, this was a Saturday afternoon - talk about an intense schedule!)


Above - I wasn't accustomed to seeing black pigs and so I had to take a picture of this little heartbreaker


Above - while eating lunch we heard a racket outside. It was this little chick almost drowning in a tub of water. The grateful bird even stayed still long enough for me to get this picture


Above - hahaha, again, I couldn't resist :)


Above - so cute!!! they're kissing!




Above (2) - On the long hike back to Bing Zhong Luo, we crossed paths with many students coming home to Qiu Na Tong for the weekend (which, in China, translated to just Sunday). Almost everything that they have on was donated to them (notice the boy wearing the Laker's jersey set)



Above - Liang Shan Bo and Zhu Yin Tai, China's Romeo and Juliet. The story: The heroine Zhu Yin Tai disguises herself as a boy in order to attend college. She is placed with a roommate, Liang Shan Bo, and they soon fall in love. Zhu Yin Tai, however, is excepted to follow through with her arranged marriage to someone else. To make a long story short, Liang Shan Bo ends up dying (guy dies first in this one - weakling), and Zhu Yin Tai flings herself into his grave to escape her loveless marriage. Out of this grave emerged two beautiful butterflies, and so every time people see two butterflies flying together, they remember the story of Liang Shan Bo and Zhu Yin Tai.


Above - Me crossing an old stone and wood bridge. All of the wood was rotting, and so I had to be careful to only step on the middle stone section.

Above - A grandma and her grandson



Above - so much for such a small frame!


Above - the head guide saw this picture and I got lectured about how I have to be more careful or I might fall victim (with only myself to blame) to a premature death


Above - a farmer in the fields


Above - Mile 23. About now was when I was ready to pass out. Actually, mile 22 was pretty brutal, and thinking about it, so was mile 21, 20, 19......


Above - a featherless chicken!! .. pecked out by the other chickens. Sure would be convenient to prepare....

Above - this kid stared at me for a long two minutes before I felt like I had to hand over the drink I had just bought at the grocery store.



Above - Nu Jiang first bend... looks a bit like Horseshoe Bend in Arizona


Above - it was raining that day and the clouds looked surreal


Above - Liu4Shuo3.... many locals use this method to cross the jiang - it was so much fun!


Above - me teaching again
Below - the typical rural bathroom (or, outhouse). See the pigs?