Guiyang is the capital of Guizhou province, a poor province way down south. Guiyang has multiple translations, but all the locals that I talked to said that it meant “Precious Sun”, which gives you an idea of one major negative and one of the original reasons that we didn’t choose to live there. Basically, the sun doesn’t shine there. It is a wet place, and the city is usually covered in fog or clouds, which was true for about 90% of the time I was there. Due to it being so wet, there is also lots of trees and plants that grow without the help of thousands of Chinese workers planting them, which was different from Tangshan. It is hard to enjoy warmer weather if it is drizzling or not sunny though, and it is REALLY hard to enjoy cold weather when it is drizzling and there is no sun. This point is only enunciated by the lack of indoor heating in the south, which was really ridiculous during these trips. The second time I went to Guiyang, I went by myself to “market” and lead two European students around the city. Beijing was unbearably cold when I left, but I felt significantly colder in Guiyang. I was staying in the house of a Chinese family that was friends with my company’s contact down there, and they would leave the doors and windows open like it was summer! It snowed 3 inches one day when we were there! I am not a big fan of sleeping with clothes, but even I wore sweatpants when I slept. The focus of the house was the old fashioned stove in the dining room, where we would all huddle around everyday and night just because it was the only tolerable place in the house (the bathroom floor was heated so that was nice too). The family I stayed with was great and their house was very nice. They were typically gracious Chinese hosts, and their two kids, a 16 year old named Venus and 12 year old named Andy, were really cool and funny. I also slept with my Guiyang girlfriend during my stay, a one year old cockapoo named Mengmei, who immediately dove under the covers every night when I went to sleep because she was also freezing.

We did some things other than freeze though. We saw some random sights which were about the same as every other city that I have been to in China. We climbed a mountain which was populated by hundreds of monkeys, which was awesome because I love monkeys, but sad because most were obviously sick, had traps attached to their limbs, or were eating trash. One afternoon we went to a legitimate pig feast/slaughter. We got to watch them slice and dice a full sized pig which we were then served an hour later, which didn’t bother me other than the fact that it was raining pretty heavily. The bulk of our activities involved the Guiyang agent taking the three foreigners (me, a 16 year old Swede named Kevin and a 17 year old Fin named Venla (they were both awesome)) to local high schools and parading us around, talking with students, meeting the principals, and taking LOTS of pictures. I played basketball with a high school basketball team and nearly collapsed after like 15 minutes of them sprinting full speed (I am getting old). I also don’t know what is in the water in Guiyang, but people were acting like I was a supermodel. High school girls would giggle wildly and be shaking from nervousness, and all the student’s moms would constantly comment on how good looking I was. It was weird but something I could DEFINITELY get used to. The trip would have been pretty miserable with different travel companions, but luckily Kevin and Venla put up with the activities/lack of activities with a smile, and we had some good times.

I think that is a good post for now. I am back in Beijing and don’t have work for the next week because of Spring Festival aka Chinese New Year, so I will try to remember to post again a few times. Erin is off to Taiwan as we speak, so it is my week to have custody of our child/rabbit, Tutu. So, two Happy New Years to everyone, hope you are doing well. Peace.

死马当活马医
- means try to save the dead horse as if it were alive…the impossible is possible

Tuesday, November 22nd
After waking up multiple days with neck pain, I thought it would be appropriate to make my first trip to a Chinese chiropractor recommended by a friend. Having been to a few chiropractors in the US, I found the experience quite similar yet overall less comprehensive than past experience. Instead of taking x-rays and asking about my lifestyle, I just pointed to where it hurt, got a massage, an adjustment and was given some magnesium to ease muscle tension. The massage was a nice component, which I have never received in the states, as well as the doctor being bi-lingual (since he also practices in California.) However, I only spent a total of twenty minutes with him and was quite shocked to get a bill over 700RMB! I’m interested in visiting a more traditional office, but my Chinese isn’t good enough to go without a friend to translate.

That evening I attended Carol Liu’s inspiring documentary, Restoring the Light, about rural blindness and healthcare issues in China. The movie was exactly what I needed, a good cry and reminder of problems bigger than paying too much for the chiropractor. Professor Scott Rozelle from Stanford also gave an insightful talk about healthcare and priorities, illustrating for example, that eliminating one-third of China’s budget to reach the moon could fund vitamins, food and worm detection for all of the children in western, rural China. In my eyes, the event also highlighted another theme of local culture; China’s discomfort with allowing foreigners (or anyone) to highlight social issues. More than one Chinese audience member responded on the defensive to Professor Rozelle’s statistics regarding rural poverty and healthcare, citing that Obama’s healthcare plan also didn’t make significant strides in solving US healthcare issues. It’s unfortunate that this is the message gleaned from such fieldwork, but addresses some of the sensitivities present in beginning to accurately diagnose social problems in China.

Wednesday, November 23rd
I had the pleasure of meeting up with Malaika Hahne, the new Executive Director of Little Flower Projects. She took me out to their orphanage in Shunyi, where I was incredibly impressed by not only the facility and organization of the center, but the compassion and dedication of the staff. Although each ayi is responsible for two babies, many of the staff seem to know each child intimately. Malaika’s compassion to help these children was genuinely heart-warming, and her efforts seem to be paying off, as Little Flower Projects is making quite a name for itself in the local community. Nothing puts a smile on your face more than holding a little smiling baby.

For lunch I had a locally-sourced lunch made from Chef Sue’s trial-run dishes for a future class, and hosted a charity cooking class at The Hutong.

Thursday, November 24th
On Thursday I either completely lost my mind, or decided that I really needed to go all out during the last week of the challenge. Fighting off the urge to go across the street to Jenny Lou’s for soymilk and kitty litter, I ran in the freezing cold to Jinkelong. The run back ended up being much colder and difficult than I expected, and it took all I had to waddle home clutching my bag of litter with both arms and freezing hands.

Thursday night was Thanksgiving, which I celebrated with a group of expat and Chinese friends; turkey and gong bao ji ding was quite the combination!

Friday, November 25th
I spent the morning biking around the city doing errands and buying supplies for a corporate holiday party. In the evening I met up with Joel Shucuat from The Orchid, who introduced me to the social networking wonders of WeiXin. I spent the night leaving voice messages, throwing bottles out to sea, and shaking to find friends. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out the WeiXin app, it’s a great way for foreigners to make Chinese friends and practice their Chinese! We also snacked on some local Hainan chicken while Joel frantically arranged dinner preparations for the guests at his hotel.

Saturday, November 26th
I taught in the morning and was informed by the school nurse that there was 500+ API…perhaps the most polluted day I have experienced in Beijing. I waited til the air cleared a bit in the evening, and went on my last training run before the half marathon. I know I shouldn’t have run, but it was my last reasonable period of free time before the race. Although I noticed the cold a lot more than the air quality, my clothes reeked of coal when I got home. This was the first time I had noticed the pollution is such a tangible way, and was quite disheartened to think about how much Beijinger’s lives are affected by the poor air quality.

Sunday, November 27th
On Sunday I was a real expat. I helped plan a traditional American birthday party alongside my co-workers, which included homemade birthday cake, baseball and rugby in Chaoyang park and flipping burgers at The Filling Station in Shunyi. It was incredibly fun and decidedly UN-local.

Monday, November 28th
On Monday I recruited my friend Tom Pattinson to show me his favorite Shaanxi restaurant around the hutongs where we work. We chowed down on their famed roujiamo and dumplings, which was perfect a perfect meal for a cold winter day. That evening my friends arrived from the US and we had a feast at Jing Zun duck restaurant. Eating local is quite ful-filling!

Tuesday, November 29th
On Tuesday I became tour guide for a day and took my friends to Dong Jiao Market, one of my favorite spots in Beijing. I showed them around some food stalls, the wet market and tea warehouse. During an extended tea ceremony we bought way too much tea and learned more about Nanjing greens, Taiwan oolongs and Huyi Shan blacks. They liked the black and oolongs, while I preferred the greens and whites. It was so fun to briefly introduce friends to the Chinese tea culture I love, and pick-up a bag of awesome An Ji Zhejiang cha. That night we also had hot pot on Gui Jie!

Wednesday, November 30th -END OF CHALLENGE
Appropriately, I celebrated the last day of the challenge with KTV! The Hutong staff and I donned Santa hats and rockstar gear and belted out tunes from Michael Jackson to The Carter Sisters, to which my Chinese colleagues knew the lyrics better than I. Chinese culture never ceases to amaze me.

Thursday, December 1st
I promptly went to Jenny Lou’s and loaded up on Silk soymilk and cereal, the two things I missed most during this adventure.

Saturday, December 3rd
I headed off to Shanghai to run in my first Chinese half-marathon. Race day was a story within itself, but overall the race was a big success and despite gaining a few pounds, my predominantly Chinese diet did not prevent me from crossing the finish line with a personal best.

Conclusion:
I think it’s pretty obvious that my lifestyle is far from local. Throughout this challenge I bounced between feelings of guilt and satisfaction, but overall feel content that this personal quest helped me reflect on my expat lifestyle and motivate me to seek out new experiences in the capital. I realized that while I loved living in the typically Chinese city of Tangshan, it’s the ability to choose between western/international and Chinese options that makes me most content about living in Beijing. However, this experience made me miss my Chinese “hometown” so much that I’m writing this conclusion from a brief visit back to Tangshan.

To sum up my experience, I thought I would give a few tips gleaned from living and traveling for nearly two years in China, for us lao wais who want to have a more local China experience:

1. Learn basic Chinese. Although I haven’t taken formal classes, I often carry around a dictionary, notebook and ipod full of Chinese lessons. I can’t tell you how much more fun China becomes speaking a bit of Mandarin. Learning Chinese doesn’t have to happen in a classroom; I prefer getting one-on-one Chinese lessons from taxi drivers, masseuses, shop owners, co-workers and even my elementary-aged English students. Start with pointing in markets and go from there!

2. Make Chinese friends…but how? Cheesy as it sounds, lots of normal and friendly local Chinese use social networking sites like WeLiveInBeijing, BJ Stuff and The Beijinger to find language partners and friends.

3. Spend time in a smaller Chinese city. It’s nearly impossible not to learn more about Chinese food, hobbies and language if you live in a place with far less foreign exposure, and there are a variety of solid programs that will assist you in this experience. My friend Robbie Fried runs the Chinese Language Institute in Guilin, which I would highly recommend for this type of immersion. http://www.studycli.org/ Additionally, Tangshan is only two hours east of Beijing, and private English centers there are always looking for foreign teachers; I would be happy to connect you!
Click to view slideshow.

November 17th
Back on track. While grocery shopping I made it my mission to explore the nooks and crannies of Jinkelong, really trying to read packages and understand the contents of mystery jars instead of just assuming that I wouldn’t know the ingredients inside. To my surprise, I could understand more of the pinyin on the packaging than I imagined, and in general the aisles felt a bit more familiar than we I first arrived to China. I bought ingredients for a big stir fry, but still find it hard to produce quality Chinese meal without significant amounts of processed carbs like noodles, rice and bread, which isn’t the best diet for running. (Hence the WHS trip.)

November 18th
I finally checked out Bao Yuan Jiaozi restaurant with my co-workers from The Hutong, and was impressed by the décor and colorful dumplings! (I also went to a talk given by the founder of Heyrobics, and had a work dinner at Carmen.)

November 19th
I spent a good bit of the day biking around in attempting to collect my wallet because it was (miraculously) dropped off at a hotel near Dawanglu, and the management called my apartment complex when they saw my swipe card. Wow, complete miracle! I then headed with Chef Sue Zhou to check out some local spots in Tuanjiehu. She showed me a great baozi place called Bao Rong Xing Bao Jer, where I tried Si HuLuobuo fen tiao (carrot and starch noodle) baozi for the first time. Sue tells me that more and more restaurants are adding starch noodles as fillers, because it’s a cheap way to fill up the baozi. I also tried another bun with a surprise quail egg inside, very tasty! We also went to a typical Chinese pudding shop, where we had warm coconut and red bean pudding. Red beans are just about my favorite dessert, so it was the perfect snack.

November 20th
Typical Chinese-style lunch at school, otherwise not much to report.

November 21st
My friend Aveleigh and I checked out No. 8 Hot Springs Resort at Chaoyang Park West gate. These types of resorts are quite a foreign concept to westerners, but it’s definitely a must-have experience in China. First, the staff gives you silk pajamas before eating at their unlimited buffet. I get a kick out of seeing a whole room of adults sitting around in their pj’s eating food and relaxing. Next, it’s off to the spa! For 198RMB (including food) at No. 8 Hot Springs you can relax all day in the hot springs pool, sauna and steam rooms. The spa also offers other services at an additional cost, and I made the mistake of requesting a “peeling” thinking that this would be similar to a facial. Um, no. I got a somewhat painful full body scrub that polished every part of my body except my face… Overall though I felt like I was living in a fairy tale with pink silk pajamas, unlimited food and lounging!

November 21st
My bike lock broke on my bike, and I pushed it on its front wheel through the hutongs to the shop where I purchased the piece of junk. The owners smashed it off with a hammer in about thirty seconds and gave me a different type, no wonder so many bikes are stolen in Beijing. Then I met up with colleagues at the new U-Town Blue Frog for dinner.

Conclusion:
I wonder if the local local gods are spiting me because of all the Western food I have been eating. First it was a bike crash, then wallet stolen and finally a broken bike lock…
Well gods, I feel guilty enough about my non-local choices, so I don’t need the reminder! This week I realized more than ever that I do still work in expat circles, and many of these mealtime meetings were just unavoidable. Maybe it seems like I have failed this challenge, but every week I have managed to have had new cultural experiences and I’m developing a more clear picture of why it is tough for foreigners to integrate into local culture. Don’t count me out just yet!

Beijinger article.

On November 9th I popped in my Pimsleur Chinese lesson and biked over to Jie GuLou #147 for tea at Zheng Yun Cha She with local artist, Helen Couchman, and tour guide Jeffery Schwab. Jeffrey had been friends with the owners of the shop for some time, and although the boss was away on travel, his employee treated us to a traditional Chinese tea ceremony complete with Pu’er tea served from a 5,000RMB yixing clay pot! He also explained that one of their tea table adornments was a bull because its representative of the hardworking and obedient nature of the employees at the tea shop. I got the chance to teach my local experts a few things about Chinese tea before they broadened my horizons around the city.

Helen has been living and making art in Beijing for six years (www.helencouchman.com), and lives in a hutong off Guolou Dajie. She agreed to introduce me to her favorite Sichuan restaurant, and go easy on the spiciness. The two of us headed over to the corner of Gulou Dong Da Jie and BeiLuoGuXian on my bike (Helen pedaling, me holding on for dear life) and feasted on some of Helen’s favorite dishes. (I also brought my re-usable, eco-friendly chopsticks, courtesy of The Hutong www.thehutong.com.) We ate lazi ji, a spicy fried chicken dish loaded with hot peppers, ma jiang feng wei (fresh greens and sesame sauce) and san san hua dan dou huar, a salty soup with egg, tofu, mushrooms, tomato, carrots and peas.

Needing to get a bit of work done, I headed to Café Zarah and sipped more Chinese tea. (Perhaps this establishment is considered one of the gems of the expat community, but it’s locally run and I only ordered tea.) For dinner I headed to Sanlitun, but had a tang hu lu while waiting for a friend and then dined outdoors at the Han Zhou Xiao Chi restaurant. I ordered a standard xi hong shi jidan gai fan and tudou jiding, which I had never tried before and loved the flavor.

On November 10th my roommate helped me eat local by making an egg sandwich with bread from a local street vendor, and I managed to get a seat with fellow challenger Jessica Greene, at Noodle Bar in Sanlitun. That place was packed and rightfully so, as the flavors of the noodle dishes were excellent. Jessica and I talked a bit about the challenge, which had prompted her to cook a lot more at home and generally focus her Local Local efforts on not being so wasteful. Quite reflective of our experience Noodle Bar, she commented that even eating locally wasn’t necessarily a waste-free or inexpensive option, and we chatted about how the concept of “local” culture is constantly changing and quite hard to authentically capture no matter where you are.

On November 11th I shopped at Jinkelong for lunch and went to a traditional Chinese medicine treatment. I always find these treatments to be quite intriguing from a physical and educational standpoint, and this time I got huge needles stuck right in the middle of my stomach! I then proceeded to eat a roast and cheese, and drink wine at a dinner party, but I figure it’s only half as bad if I’m not paying…and I met the organizer for Monday Night Jiaozi nights, and planned to attend as part of my challenge!

I hate to say it, but by Saturday I was already getting sick of Chinese food. My school provides a ton of Chinese dishes for lunch, but thinking about eating all that oil before taking a run later in the afternoon was really not enticing. I had veggies (still doused in oil) and one of my favorite dishes, tangsu liji before purchasing some sunflower seeds and a red bean bun from Jinkelong. I was craving a western energy bar, but at least these snacks had a bit of protein. I also headed to a workout session that I won with fitness guru Tony Nicholson of 4 Point Fitness, who didn’t exactly support my attempts to eat more Chinese food from a health standpoint. I’m pretty serious about fitness, so that made it additionally hard to stick to the challenge.

(*Before I get attacked here, I realize that Tony is a foreigner and that personal trainers are a luxury, but he has lived here over ten years, speaks fluent Chinese and trains lots of locals…so we chatted a bit about the culture of exercise in China. This brings us back to the issue of what is really considered “local”?)

To make up for past transgressions, I really upped my local game on Sunday, November 13th. I woke up early to meet back up with Jeffrey at The Hutong for his Prophets, Prostitutes and Spies tour, and spent most of the afternoon at the Xi Xian Zhai Teahouse in the hutongs behind the Lama Temple. A group of us sipped Wu Yuan Mingmei Jiangxi Cha (婺源茗眉江西茶), nibbled on suan jiao (funny translation: “acid horn”) gummy candy, and ate a traditional vegetarian teahouse meal. and ate a traditional vegetarian teahouse meal. Next we headed north to Yuan Dynasty DaDu Park where Jeff amazed us with his skills as a Diablo master. For those of you that don’t know, the Diablo is a spinning top that can be made to do a variety of tricks as it spins on strings. This experience is worth an article on its own, but Jeffrey has been coming to this park for years and has fully integrated into the talented Diablo community. Everyone was so happy to see this American lao wai spinning his Diablo magic, and I could tell they respected Jeffrey’s ability and friendly nature. As Jeffrey puts it, “Playing diabolo replaces going to church…it’s my spiritual solace.” The masters graciously tried to teach me to get the top up and running, but I was almost a total failure.

To finish off the day, we walked around GuLou to visit some hot spots, such as the restaurant where Vice President Joe Biden recently dined. We then walked south to Man Fu Lu (满福楼) Xinjiang-style hot pot where we ordered an incredible feast of everything from mini jiaozi to pig heart…I think.

On a local high from my “Local Sunday,” I headed out to an organic farm with my co-workers, only to have my wallet stolen on the subway. Instead of basking in the glory of organic foods, I rushed home to cancel my credit cards. On a positive note, China Citic froze my account when the thief entered the wrong pin three times, and my co-workers came home with a pumpkin half the size of my body!

Conclusion:

This week I branched out from simply eating locally to participate in quite a few more local activities. I’m lucky to know people like Jeffrey, who are exceptional at integrating into Chinese culture, and are quite willing to share their interests with others. I think I did a better job of going local this week than last, but this was primarily due to a temporarily decreased workload. I’m quite worried about next week, when things really pick up again.

Editor’s Version in The Beijinger.

The following (for you loyal readers) is the full first installent from the Local Local Challenge, not just the editor’s cut!

It’s the last week before hosting the biggest event I’ve run in Beijing, I just moved to the expat-friendly area of Chaoyang Park West Gate, I’m training for a half marathon and I get a call from my friend.

“Hey, remember that local local challenge idea we were talking about? Let’s do it this month!”

Of course, being the impulsive and excitable person that I am, I don’t think twice and dive right in. The idea of the Local Local Challenge came about as myself and a few friends were discussing ways to more authentically participate in local culture in Beijing. The girls participating in the challenge and I have found our lives becoming increasingly western due to our jobs, lack of Chinese speaking skills and the comfort of participating in activities that are anything but local. We often hang out in Sanlitun, eat at burger and pizza joints, shop at Ikea, and buy groceries at Jenny Lou’s. To be honest, I probably would not have made it nearly two years in China without most of these creature comforts, but it’s a far cry from my initial six months in Tangshan, where I was one of the only foreigners in a “town” of 1.8 million people, was forced to carry around a dictionary because I couldn’t speak a word of Chinese, and avoided western restaurants because the only three were KFC, Pizza Hut and Alba Pizza. For a brief period of time I truly immersed myself in local Chinese culture, and still experience personal and professional benefits of that experience.

Since moving to Beijing my life has gotten a lot more comfortable, but I find myself less and less likely to explore the city and culture that initially brought me to China. Supported by my commitment to blog about my experiences for The Beijinger, I figured that this challenge would force me to re-discover Beijing, or at least push me to get outside of my increasingly expat comfort zone. The idea is simple; try to eat and play locally as much as possible. Chinese lessons and TCM are encouraged, as are riding bikes over taxis and supporting local farmers and food street vendors. My overall completion of the challenge, as judged by The Beijinger staff, will be based on a qualitative analysis of my effort to make cultural connections throughout the month of November. There’s no pretending I didn’t make a late-night McDonald’s run, or have a glass of imported Italian wine; opting for baozi and baijiu would be much more suitable.

The challenge began on November 1st, and I have been taking photos and notes about my experience for a week now. Day one started out quite strong. Breakfast consisted of a TCM-appropriate meal of oatmeal and a hard-boiled egg. I donned a sweater and shirt I recently bought at the Ladies’ Market in Liangmaqiao and headed off on my bike to register at the local police station. What could be more authentic than good ‘ol Chinese bureaucracy? Next I headed to Yoga Yard, which isn’t exactly the most local of activities, but the bi-lingual classes are a good place to practice my Chinese listening skills. Thinking about lunch was causing me anxiety as I headed to work in Guomao. My limited speaking and inability to read Chinese characters often dissuades me from conversing with local shop owners about what’s on their menu, because I have to point at food or simply ask if they have certain items on the menu. They often look at me like I’m a bit deranged, pointing to the poster-sized Chinese menu on their wall. Fortunately, I came across a di gua (sweet potato) street vendor and baozi shop when I purchased lunch with dou jiang (soy milk) for 9.5RMB. Simple, yet delicious and filling. Unfortunately my schedule was so hectic that I only managed to grab a quick peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner, but overall a good first day.

On Wednesday morning I biked down the third ring road and really paid attention to just how many breakfast vendors are out in the morning. Before 10am it’s quite easy to find these kiosks anywhere from Jinsong to Beitucheng along this route. I made a mental note and headed onward. I had to make a pick-up around Chaowai SOHO, and bought lunch at the very local but traditionally Chinese establishment of 7-11. I always get a kick out of seeing how this American franchise has adapted to the Chinese market, with slurpees and Doritos being replaced with Chinese buffets and to-go noodles. Clearly the strategy is working, as the lines out the door for 7-11 lunch in China far surpass those in the States. One culinary delight that is a staple in both countries are the hot dogs, mmm. I bought pears, chestnuts, to-go noodles and sliced bread. Incidentally, there is a great Chinese canteen on the 6th floor of Chaowai SOHO building A, but I didn’t have time to stop in. On my way back from work I stopped for the first time at the fruit vendors under the Tuanjiehu bridge and purchased bananas and persimmons for 16RMB. I was so happy I took a break to stop and chat, as the vendor a jovial guy who threw some free zao (Chinese dates) into my bag! I was a little disheartened to see that despite my efforts to buy local, the bananas were from the Philippines!

Thursday morning I was making program deliveries for Chi Fan for Charity to the Sanlitun restaurants, and really noticed just how little Chinese food exists in the Village. Since the evening food vendors weren’t out, I grabbed a quick lunch of fried bread with bean paste and lettuce (jidan guanbing) from the only vendor available, and staved off my extreme desire to get a mango and red bean ice drink from Herbal Café. I almost made the exception due to the red bean…but I’m committed! For dinner I was in a rush and stopped by for the first time to eat ma la tong on the Sanlitun food street. I soon realized that this dining style is not exactly the ideal selection for a quick meal, and ended up waiting for about twenty minutes for a bowl of veggies. I do miss healthy, quick options like sandwiches and salads…but I digress. A big bowl of ma la tong was satisfying and only 16RMB (1 kuai per stick.)

On Friday morning my roommate made me a “Chinese sandwich” with jian bing, spring onions, cured pork and hoisin sauce. A car hit me on the way to work (I’m ok, minimal bruising, and what could be more authentically Beijing?) and the Chi Fan for Charity silent auction team ordered a great Chinese dinner of dan chao fan (egg fried rice), tu dou si, di san xian and spicy green beans. (name?)

On Saturday morning my knee was a bit swollen, so I opted to take a cab to work. I teach at an international school on Saturdays and we always order a local Chinese feast for lunch. I stopped by Jinkelong instead of Jenny Lou’s to pick up some groceries and purchased a seasonal favorite, nan gua xiao mifan jo (pumpkin porridge.) Unfortunately for the challenge, after the porridge purchase my weekend morphed into an entirely indulgent 3-day expatty rampage. I helped run the 3rd Annual Chi Fan for Charity dining event and ate at Hercules and drank imported alcohol at Hatsune. However, we raised over 300,000RMB for local Beijing charities Bethel and New Hope, so that has to help me gain back a few local points!

By Sunday I was completely wiped out from work and thinking about going local. At the request of friends (and a party to which I had previously committed to help host) I bought German bread, imported cheese and wine, and generally failed to do anything local. On Monday the most local thing I managed to do was fix my internet with the phone company, and attempt to eat at Noodle Bar in Sanlitun with a friend. Unfortunately the noodle bar was completely packed and we opted for nachos and Vietnamese at Luga’s Pho Pho. Aya! I WILL make up for these non-local splurges!

Conclusion:
The intricacies of going local as an expat in Beijing are challenging in different ways than I expected. Yes, language and general lack of time pose significant barriers, but I found it most difficult to balance the inconvenience that it causes other expats in the bubble. After a long day of work, it was hard to suggest to a tired friend that we explore the city and perhaps have a frustrating experience in efforts to discover an awesome hole in the wall restaurant. Scheduling a business lunch at a local dive or food street isn’t exactly practical, and I run the risk of seeming unprofessional to make this suggestion with clients. I wanted to suggest going completely local for my friends’ party, but they were already excited to offer champagne and cheese, so I didn’t think it was worth a fight. Despite my best efforts to remain frugal, I still spent 642.50RMB (325.50 if you don’t count the party I helped host), which is far more than I should really need to spend. Overall I made much more of an effort to go local than during my previous time in Beijing, but I still didn’t get far outside the bubble.

My computer died a few weeks ago and I have been unable to access the blog until now. As you know, certain websites are blocked in China, and our blog is randomly blocked at times. I had a program that allowed me to bypass the firewall, but it stopped working right before my computer died. Now I have a new program so I am youtubing/facebooking/blogging like there is no tomorrow.

Quick update before a brief post about my most recent travel. Life is good. My lovely parents came back to visit me about a month ago which was amazing. I will make a post about our travels in the next few days, but it will require more energy than I currently have. I loved having them here though and we had a good time. I am going to find a new apartment in the next week or so because my company’s office if moving. I will be living with a Finnish guy who is currently in Thailand living the dream. I am still working in the same place and was recently sent to Edinburgh (pronounced Edin-burrow but with a Scottish accent), Scotland for a overseas partner “training”. Traveling places is one of the perks of working in the cultural exchange field, but I have to say I was happy to get back to Beijing (until I saw the pollution, which is completely out of control these days). Anyways, about my trip.

A distinct benefit of living in Beijing is direct flights. You can always get decent flights from Beijing to the world’s major cities, so a 12 hour direct flight to London and an hour long flight to Edinburgh was all I had to deal with. I don’t know what I have done, but for some reason I seem to always have the best airplane situations. I have only had one flight cancelled in my life and barely any delays. On my long flight to London I was placed in an exit row, window seat with an empty seat next to me. I watched a bunch of terrible movies and slept, landing in an already pitch dark Edinburgh at about 17:00 (5 pm, I am done with AM/PM though). Edinburgh was bigger than I expected and looked impressive from the plane. First thing I noticed was that it gets dark early. I asked a tour guide about this later, and he told me in late December, sun rises at about 10:30, setting at about 15:00. Interesting but I don’t think I could deal with it being dark so much in the winter and bright in the summer. I hopped in a cab, which cost 20 pounds for about 20 minutes, which is twice the amount I paid for my most expensive cab ride in Beijing (which was like a 50 minute drive on the highway). Ridiculous prices but the cabbie was funny and helped me practice my Scottish accent.

I got to my Hilton hotel where the conference was at, worried that I would have to share a room with someone that would snore, but it was only me in the room. I went to have dinner and met a lot of the people that work for the company we work with and other partners that work with the same company. I obviously had a lot of the same conversation while I was there (involving me working in China, not looking Chinese, etc), but people were friendly and it was a good time. We had one day of sightseeing where we went to Edinburgh Castle, which was pretty cool. It was never physically captured in its history, and when you get on top of the hill that it is on, it is easy to understand why it would be so difficult to storm the castle and survive. Scottish people were very friendly and I tend to like Brits sense of humor (no offense intended by calling Scots Brits). The food was not good, I was not expecting much but was still underwhelmed at the quality of the food. The weather, the food, and the prices would all be a big problem for me if I lived there, but for a short trip, it was fun. The weather actually turned out pretty decent save for one day, so I can’t really complain about that either.

Anyways, just wanted to make a warm up post before I tackle the larger content of my parents trip with me for a week. All the pics below are from Edinburgh, mostly of the castle, some of the hideous sore thumb that is the Scottish Parliament building, a picture of a store with my family’s name, my totally empty and awesome return flight (I was the last person to board, it was EMPTY), and some of tutu’s distant relatives. Hope everyone is doing well, new post coming soon(ish). Peace.

I arrived back into Beijing at 5am on Saturday morning from an overnight bus and spent the next few days furiously trying to get the charity ticket sales going. That’s has been one of my biggest work challenges ever, as I am NOT computer savvy and don’t exactly have a paid staff to help. Stayed up til 3:30am on Monday night finishing the Paypal integration and headed to Hong Kong at 6:30am for the beginning of yet another trip. Unfortunately my plane was delayed and I arrived in late in Wenzhou for my connection. I skipped baggage claim and headed straight to check-in, but was sadly too late. Despite my misfortune, I got two lucky surprises:
1. I actually understood (in Chinese) what the woman was telling me. (That it wasn’t their fault because I didn’t book directly through the airline, the connection was too short of a time, and that I would have to pay to stay in the Wenzhou Airport hotel til the next morning because there’s only one daily flight from Wenzhou to Hong Kong. Terrible news, but at least I was also able to express how I thought it was the airline’s fault!)
2. Another Singaporean girl booked the same exact flight, spoke perfect English, and agreed to share the hotel room with me.

SO… my new friend Christina and I have been in Wenzhou for the past 24 hours, in a hotel room that we’re paying for but at least eating free meals courtesy of China Eastern. She somehow slept like 20 of the last 24 and I’ve been catching up on work via the surprisingly fast internet. I haven’t ventured out of the hotel because of work, but I’m not sure I’m missing much, as my text from a co-worker kindly informed me:
Sorry to hear about the hassle for you, on the bright side wenzhou is supposedly the ugliest big city in China.

Soon headed to Hong Kong to help set up and participate in Erin Manfredi’s charity dinner and visit the Kligler’s, I’m hoping for better luck!

Buying tea in China can be an overwhelming prospect… where do you start?

Most Chinese teas are grown in Southern provinces; however, large quantities are shipped north to Beijing’s Maliandao Tea Street for purchase and export around the world. Although a lot has changed since the emperors ruled, this tea migration still mimics the journey of the finest teas that traveled from southern plantations to the emperors and on to the Silk Road. Today, Maliandao still houses thousands of tea shops, mostly family-owned, that represent the seven main tea-growing areas in China (Zhèjiāng, Jiāngsū, Fújiàn, Ānhuī, Hénán, Sìchuān, Yúnnán) and vast array of Chinese teas. The street has become a bit more touristy since 2005, but retains its authenticity through being the largest tea distribution center in Northern China.

Tea Basics…
Did you know that all “true” tea comes from the same plant? To call that beverage in your hand ‘tea’, it must come from the camellia sinesis plant. The camellia sinesis plant originated in China, near the base of the Himalayas. India also has a camellia sinesis plant native to their base of the Himalayas. China and India are known for their teas because, like grapes, aspects such as the age and variety of the plant can affect the overall taste. While a tea tree 50-60 years old would be considered “new,” some Chinese tea bushes are over 800 years old, which is why it’s nearly impossible to create a taste similar to that produced by Chinese tea plants. True teas include white, green, oolong, red/black and pu’er. Herbal teas made from ingredients like mint, chamomile, rooibos or mate actually form another category of brewed drink, called a tisane. Although they are commonly referred to as teas, this is an incorrect name in the technical sense.

Soil, climate and variety of plant affect the different overall tastes of the tea leaves, but the most important elements of distinction between types of teas are oxidization and fermentation. Oxidization refers to the amount of time tea leaves are exposed to the air and the process of the leaves turning dark, similar to a cut apple turning brown. Fermentation refers to the decay of the tea leaf and is a process that is continuous after the leaf has been dried.

White Teas
White teas are popular abroad and originated in Fújiàn, China. These teas are made from only one variety of tea plant. They are first oxidized (exposed to the air until the leaves wilt and turn slightly brown) and are left in sun to dry. These teas are light and sweet, and have wide appeal. Often tea drinkers who are turned off by the grassiness of green teas enjoy white tea. It is a common misconception that white teas do not have caffeine. The white tea leaf itself retains more caffeine than other teas that are cooked during processing, but its effect it less strong because the caffeine doesn’t come out while brewing. White tea is becoming famous for its many health benefits, one of which is its beneficial effects for arthritis sufferers.

Green Teas
Green Teas have a flavor closest to the camellia senesis plant itself, and perhaps surprisingly, have the highest caffeine content. Green teas are picked, sweated, cooked and dried. The variety of plant, picking time, picking technique, cooking techniques and drying techniques, all produce different types and flavors of green tea. Common Chinese green teas include Lóngjǐng (Dragon Well) from Zhèjiāng, Bìluóchūn (Spring Snail) from Jiāngsū, Mǎofēng from Ānhuī and Mǎojiān from Hénán. Taìpǐng hóuguí (also from Ānhuī) is perhaps the most expensive and renown green tea because it is China’s national tea. It is hard to ship and handle because it is processed in long, thin strips and stands up straight during brewing. This tea can last up to ten infusions.

Japan also has a strong green tea tradition, producing varieties such as Sencha, a powdered green tea called Matcha and Bancha. Bancha is a lower grade Sencha that includes stems and Genmaicha is Sencha mixed with toasted rice. Unlike Pǔ’ěr, it is best to drink green teas as soon as possible after their harvest to retain the most flavor.

Oolong Teas
Any tea with less than full oxidation (like a black tea) is categorized as an Oolong. Oolongs typically come from Fújiàn, Guǎngdōng and Taiwan. The tea variety, amount of oxidation and rolling techniques all significantly affect the end flavor. For example, Yùlán is a type of Oolong tea made from a bush that produces a flowery, Magnolia-flavored tea. Rock Oolongs or Yánchá are from from Wǔyíshān Mountain in Fújiàn and are highly oxidized, dried and toasted. Wǔyíshān is known to have thousands of different tea varietals, and Wǔyí teas are robust with mineral characteristics. Dàhóngpáo, for example, is famous because the tea tree grows in red soil on the rock mountain. Ānxī, a county south of Fujian is famous for producing Tiěguānyīn or Iron Goddess of Mercy. These teas are lightly oxidized, then bruised and tightly rolled. They are fragrant, fruity teas with orchid or peach characteristics. Oolongs are sometimes mixed with the Osmanthus flower, which is a small, yellow, fragrant flower grown in Southern China. Taiwan also produces a variety of high-quality Oolongs, such as Dongding.

Red/Black Teas
Black teas, known in China as hóngchá (red tea) are fully oxidized and seen less in China than other parts of the world. Common Chinese black teas include Zhēngshān xiǎozhòng and Diānhóng (Yunnan Imperial). Chinese black teas are robust and often malty. Red/Black teas are more like what you would traditionally find in Western countries in a teabag. Teabags are filled with crushed and broken tea leaves (those which aren’t good enough for loose leaf tea), with a high surface area. This creates a sudden, full burst of flavor, which quickly dissipates, meaning the teabag is really only good for one steep.

Pǔ’ěr Teas
Pǔ’ěr is a fully cooked tea that is made in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The pǔ’ěr name comes from the pǔ’ěr region of Yunnan, where this tea was originally processed in imperial China. Known in China as heīchá (black tea), pǔ’ěrs are created through a microbial fermentation process that involves both fermentation by organisms growing in the tea and oxidization. Pǔ’ěr is picked and cooked, often heat-blasted in a wok, and then dried immediately in the sun. The sun drying process creates a base material called Saiqing maocha, which is then further processed into shóu or shēng pǔ’ěr. Shēng pǔ’ěr is steamed and pressed into caked or bricks of tea and then baked to remove any final moisture. Shóu pǔ’ěr goes through wodui processing, which was invented by the Menghai pǔ’ěr factory in the 1960s to mimic the flavor of aged shēng pǔ’ěr teas. The process was a state secret for many years. Pǔ’ěr continues to ferment and change in flavor the longer it is kept, and is the only tea to increase in value with age.

Nowadays pǔ’ěr may be the most famous tea in China, but it has only been this way for less than 50 years. The combination of Chinese investment into pǔ’ěr bricks, the introduction of this tea into the international markets via Chinese immigrants in San Francisco, and the perceived health benefits of pǔ’ěr have caused the price and popularity of pǔ’ěr to sky-rocket. In fact, in efforts to regulate the quality of pǔ’ěr for investment purposes, as of December 2008, only teas produced in Yunnan province’s 639 towns and 11 prefectures and cities can be labeled “Puer.”

You can now see disks of pǔ’ěr bricks in most tea houses and lots of souvenir shops around China, as it has become a national phenomenon. Oddly enough, pǔ’ěr stored in Beijing may be less dark and flavorsome than when stored in other areas of the world with different climates and more moisture!

*The Hutong offers an 8-day Biking, Culinary and Tea Journey to the beautiful countryside and tea plantations of Xishuangbanna, so you can experience tea country first-hand, and even pick your own tea brick, and supports Tea Journeys, an innovative tea company that offers private tea ceremonies, unique flavor infusions, corporate gifts and more! http://www.t-journeys.com/

Email: erin@thehutong.com for details.

 
Helpful Chinese Tea Words

茶 chá Tea
绿茶 lù chá Green Tea
乌龙茶 wūlóng chá Oolong Tea
红茶 hóng chá Black (red) Tea
白茶 bái chá White Tea
黑茶 hēi chá Pu’er Tea
普洱 pǔ’ěr Pu’er Tea
生普洱 shēng pǔ’ěr “uncooked” pu’er
熟普洱 shóu pǔ’ěr “cooked” pu’er
茉莉花茶 mòlihuā chá Jasmine Tea
菊花茶 júhuā chá Chrysanthemum Tea

香气 xiāng qì scent
香味 xiāng weì taste
口感 kǒu gǎn ‘mouth feel’

好喝 hǎo hē tastes good
不好喝 bú hǎo hē tastes bad
我喜欢 wǒ xǐ huan I like it
我不喜欢 wǒ bú xǐ huan I don’t like it
很浓 hěn nóng very strong
很淡 hěn dàn very weak

斤 jīn Tea weight measurement=500 g
克 kè gram
一两 yī liǎng 50 grams

茶壶 cháhú teapot
茶杯 chábēi teacup
盖碗 gàiwǎn traditional Chinese tea brewing cup
茶具 chájù teaware

Click to view slideshow.
Compiled by and from: Sherry Zhang, Joel Shucat, Celestina Swanson, Sofia Courtney, Erin Henshaw, chinaculture.org and time.com

I know for the future that my personal survival pack for transferring to any new city must include:
-A map
-A bike
-Good cell phone
-Supportive company (got lucky with this one)
-Foreign Grocery
-Fun exercise group (here I love Heyrobics, The World Heath Store and Yoga Yard)
-Expat website or publications (The Beijinger and more…)

In trying to think about this post, I also came up with a few “you know you’ve been in China too long-isms,” so here goes:

-When you stamp your foot in a hallway when there’s a light switch
-You refer to your co-worker “Seamouse” without batting an eye
-You stand on the western toilet, because it’s too dirty to sit from all the squatters, and you don’t mind striking up a conversation between stalls, either
-You ride on your bike opposite traffic and weave through buses like an idiot
-You don’t wince (as much) when seeing a 2-year old stand in the middle of a scooter on a family trip
-Despite all efforts, you eat way too much rice
-You realize that Chinese people are not always mad at each other, they just speak in tones!
-You have become (almost) accustomed to hawking, honking and loud speaking, and feel like other cities are quiet.
-You insert “mafan” into English sentences because the meaning is so much more appropriate than saying “annoying”
-The answer, “because it’s China” has almost stopped inciting fury in your mind…and probably will next year

I’m dealing with a period of re-adjustment in many ways. I thought I would only be in China for a year, am trying to strike a balance between life and career opportunities, and understanding how to balance my Western desires with Eastern interests. I often feel like I’m cheating a bit living here, because I have transitioned from eating street food, living cheaply and learning a lot about the Chinese language and culture to working primarily with foreigners, living a quite comfortable lifestyle and indulging in things like western groceries and pricey yoga classes. I also work a lot more and travel a lot less. While thinking about all of these things, I constantly consider both sides to moving back to the US or trying to work in another country…but I still feel confident in staying here now.

I mean, I’m leading a group of Indian tourists on a bar crawl on Saturday night and a German family on a journey through Tiananmen and the Forbidden city on Monday…where else could I do that?! In between I will be furiously finalizing details for an educational student trip to Inner Mongolia, visa run to Hong Kong, and bike tour of Yunnan! Upon my return, the Chi Fan for Charity website will go live and I will soon be managing more events at The Hutong, ah!

Alright, in the future I plan on writing more about navigating Beijing as an expat, Charity in China, Traditional Chinese medicine and Chinese tea…but for now I’m pooped. Below are photos that nicely illustrate my attempts to live up the best of both Chinese and Expat culture here; Anne Baughman and I hitting up all the Beijing sites, Danny Boselovic and crew who flew in from the US for one night of DJing at Club Latte, the charity dinner I planned with Chef Jeff Powell at The Hutong and The People’s Olympics (an awesome, outdoor, big-kid field day event that friends put together in Chaoyang Park.)Click to view slideshow.

I was in Orlando for about 1.5 months working a summer camp that my Chinese company sends students to. I had to work a lot for the vast majority of the time and the camp had some major problems, but Orlando was a fun town and I was lucky enough to stay with my fams neighbors in NoVA (northern VA), the Shenefelts. They had a very nice lakehouse and were the most wonderful of hosts, letting me do whatever I pleased while I was there. Some highlights:

- Jetskis. I love Jetskis. Stealing a joke from Daniel Tosh..”Money doesn’t buy happiness?…Have you ever seen someone frowning on a jetski?”
- Ate a ton of Mexican food. I hit up every divey looking Mexican place I saw, and although it didn’t always feel good afterwards, it was amazing.
- Spending time with the Shenefelts, good people I didn’t spend a lot of time with in recent years.
- Going out for happy hour with the Shenefelts and Bill and Betty Sue, their 86 year old neighbors. Relaxing and spending time with good people when most of my time was dealing with chaos.
- Talking about politics. This is something I miss doing, one of the most underrated aspects of living in the USA and especially the DC area.
- Hanging out with students and group leaders from all over the world. The vast majority of people at the camp I worked were great, and the students put up with some major nonsense and for the most part didn’t complain. The Chinese leaders were also cool and very helpful.
- Driving around bumping rap music. I didn’t miss driving, but this is a guilty pleasure of mine. Actually, I don’t feel guilty about it.
- While in a standard, cheap, Chinese take out restaurant with two group leaders from China, who proclaimed it was the best Chinese they had ever had (LOLZ), I was told by a large guy in a southern accent, “You are the first redneck I have ever heard speak Chinese.” I was speechless.
- Blue skies and trees. I miss you.

After Orlando, I headed to NoVA for about 15 hours, briefly saw my fam and Ms. Stemetzki, a family friend. My fam is looking great and everyone seems happy which is good. There really is no place like home. I had my first flight ever cancelled while I was there and had to dash to the airport to be told that the other flight I was put on was also cancelled, then head to Union Station to take a train. I have taken the train maybe twice in my life, and did it twice while back on this trip (once to go from Orlando to DC with a girl that lost her Chinese passport…20 hours, wasn’t fun). I was off to New Jersey for an orientation and to spend time with the rest of the fam.

I stayed with my gparents in Westfield, NJ and Doylestown, PA. Spent some quality time with some of my favorite people that I don’t get to do very often seeing as I live in China. The hardest part about living in China is not seeing my fam and friends, and this trip was bittersweet in that I got to see people but knew that I would soon be on a plane back to China. I also had to spend an additional 3 days in Orlando so I missed my dad’s parents 60th anniversary reunion, but what can you do? It was still a great time, activities including shooting an old time photo, playing badminton with my cousins, having good food and just shooting the breeze. My family is awesome so thanks everyone.

This is a “bloggier” post than usual, probably because I am in a complete daze due to jetlag. Things in Beijing are different though. Erin and I are not living together anymore and are reevaluating our lives in certain regards. I just got back to Beijing and have already gone back to work and had to do a decent amount of stuff, so I am still getting my bearings and trying to readjust to the smog, food, and empty bed. As I am constantly telling everyone that seem stressed about my life, I am always fine and feel very happy to be who/where/what I am. Tutu (the rabbit) is twice the size but still hilarious and awesome. I was sad to leave and will need to re-acclimate to Chinese life, but re-acclimate I shall.

Aite, that is all for now. I wanted to conclude with a hello and happy bday to my bro (Aug 23rd), who is doing a great job being a dad. I met Holden (my nephew) while I was home and he seems like a dream baby. Andrew and Christine seem like dream parents so I guess it is just a dream family. I look forward to spending more time with him and everyone else…until next time.