Chinese New Year in Kunming

My parents and I are currently in Kunming, where last night the Chinese New Year was celebrated through the setting off of fireworks, launching flaming Chinese lanterns into the air, and of course the traditional Chinese custom of drinking lots of beer. My parents got to feel young again (whether they wanted to or not), which led to us all not sleeping as much as we would have liked. Today it was kind of cloudy and overcast, but definitely warmer and less polluted than Beijing. We did some walking around, weaving our way through the crowds. I am pretty excited because tomorrow I get the key to my new apartment and can start moving some of my stuff in. I am looking forward to having a home in one place for a while after a lot of moving around over the past two months or so. On Wednesday, my parents and I set off on our week of trekking. We are hoping that it won't rain on us too much while we are in the woods. We have been eating well.

Ramie and Steve!

It has been quite a while since I last wrote. I have been many places, and like always I am not quite sure where to start in trying to explain it all. Meaning, I will probably ending up writing about it all in the most non-sequential, rambling, and confusing way possible. I will also probably embarrass myself by showing how I have lost the ability to speak English correctly, or even to realize when I am not speaking correctly. So, sorry. I am going to start actually saying something now.
My parents are here! They are actually here, in Beijing, in our hotel room, in their beds, sleeping right now. It is really bizarre, but also really fun to have them here. They got here on the 20th, which was a crazy day. Sarah and I made good use of our morning, eating two solid meals, going to a temple and a park, and doing some last minute bargain-shopping before I sadly had to bring Sarah to the airport. A quick run-down of some of Sarah and my last week's highlights include visiting the Terracotta Warriors, hiking to the biggest Buddha in the world that is carved into a mountain, being treated to a dinner of beef and yak butter tea by a Tibetan Monk, and of course...feeling our hearts melt at the sight of snuggly baby pandas. I was really sad to see Sarah go. I wanted to force her to stay by confusing her by making her agree to things in Chinese, but I didn't.
Within an hour of Sarah's departure from my life, my exhausted, overwhelmed, but also smiling parents emerged from the magical arrival gate at the Beijing International Airport. I allowed them no down time before I swiftly shoved them onto Chinese public transportation, then forced them to drag their suitcases up many flights of stairs, and finally shoved them into a taxi where they were exposed to their first taste of Beijing opera music...a genre that to the western ear is somewhat less than melodious. But they did great. They have proved themselves adaptable and hearty, especially since Beijing has decided that it is a good idea to be so cold that being outside is kind of like hiking through the arctic tundra. We have eaten a lot of good food and I think my parents have already learned the difference between Jiaozi (dumplings) and Baozi (steamed buns). I am very impressed.
We have seen the sights in Beijing and tomorrow we make a quick trip to the Great Wall before getting on a plane to Kunming, where I will be living for the next six months. From Kunming I take my parents trekking through the beautiful wilderness for a week. I think it will be great, as long as my dad can deal with no ESPN and my mom can deal with no western style toilets. Even faced with such huge adversities, I think it is amazing that they are here and that I can show them around in this country that I have come to feel pretty comfortable in over the past five months.

The Adventures of Sarah and Lexi

So much has happened since my last update, that I am not even sure where to start. I was in Beijing until the 1st, when I said goodbye to Yan and his family, and spent one final night in a really cool hostel right near Tian'an men Square. The next day I went to get my wonderful friend Sarah, who magically appeared at the Beijing airport on the 2nd. Every since, we have been taking on China together, and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. It is really fun for me to see everything again through Sarah's eyes and to think about how far I've come in terms of the things that she thinks are really weird, and must have been really weird for me in the beginning too, but are now so normal. She is constantly asking why, questioning the logic behind the bus, train, taxi, subway, hostel systems...and generally my response is just, "well that's the way it is." So far we have traipsed our way through my hometown of Hangzhou, visiting my favorite teahouse and jazz bar one last time, roaming around West Lake, hanging out with my good friend Peipei, and of course eating the amazing and cheap food at the back gate of my school. Then we were in Shanghai for a few rainy days, where the highlights included the enormous Shanghai Museum, friendly tea shop people, buying beautiful art that was either done by Beijing art students or really skillful con-artists, ascending to the 88th floor of the tallest building in China, and eating a lot of delicious food. Then we got on a 20 hour train to Xian. We had bought the cushy-est beds, which made our 20 hours very enjoyable. Our compartment-mate was very nice and helped me to acclimate to the Xian way of speaking Chinese, as he was returning home to Xian to celebrate the Chinese New Year with his family. So far I really like the feel of Xian. The buildings are smaller and the roads are narrower, and their are a lot of people. We are staying in a hostel right in the downtown area, and we are close to the Muslim area, where all of the good food is. After Xian, we will head down to Chengdu for a couple of days, and then back up to Beijing. Everything has been going really well, despite a few inevitable travel snags that are the result of traveling in general, aggravated slightly by the impending Chinese new year, when everyone travels home.
We have also been complimented on our noses a lot. People in China seem to think that we have perfectly sized noses. An old lady on a bus told us this, and several other random passerbyers. Also, people generally think we are either Russian, from the eastern part of China called Xinjiang, Middle Eastern, or basically anything but American. An old man today was so vehemently sure that we were not Americans that he asked for some identification. We declined pulling out our passport in a crowded train station, but it was pretty funny anyway.

The Mysterious Cultural Practice that is "Ka-La-OK"

I have decided that today, instead of trying to write about everything that I have done in the past two weeks in Beijing, it will probably be better for everyone if I just pick one particular experience or phenomenon and attempt to really get to the root of its cultural meaning.
Today's topic: Ka-La-OK (Karaoke)
It is very hard for a person who has never been to Asia, who has never taken part in this unique cultural experience, to understand the complex and fascinating tradition that is Ka-La-OK. Ka-La-OK in China does not resemble Ka-La-OK in the U.S. Yes, Chinese Ka-La-OK does involve singing songs off-key, but besides this one small coincidental similarity, they are completely different animals. I will explain.
In China, Ka-La-OK does not take place in seedy bars where people (usually under the influence of alcohol) embarrass themselves in front of a room full of annoyed strangers. To get an idea of the mainstream nature of Ka-La-OK, on a Friday night it is a perfectly ordinary and not at all weird for a group of friends to decide to go sing together. In fact, they think it is weird that we think this is weird.
Ka-La-OK establishments are often either themed, (Hello Kitty, House on the Prairie, A Small German Village) or decorated for the holidays, (Halloween, Christmas) and usually their employees are wearing especially interesting costumes that coincide with the surrounding decor. There are all levels of Ka-La-OK places, ranging from cheap hole-in-the-wall places that are possibly offering services above and beyond a sing-along, all the way up to really fancy expensive places that are decked out with huge sparkling chandeliers, sweeping stairways that are straight out of the Sound of Music, and beautiful well-dressed people waiting to open the door for you. These are the types of places that the rich business men go when they have want to sing. And that isn't a joke.
Once you are inside a Ka-La-OK venue, you are escorted to your own private (sound-proof) room that is equipped with your own personal big screen T.V., Ka-La-OK computer screen, two microphones, and usually either a tambourine or a few maraccas, so that even if you are not participating in the singing, you can still add your own artistic style choices. Atleast at the high-end places, your personal touch computer screen means that you have thousands of Chinese and various other language songs at your fingertips. I was particularly impressed by there English Language selection, which allowed me to sing songs such as "Cecilia" by Simon and Garfunkel, "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia, "The Piano Man" by Billy Joel, "Wannabe" by The Spice Girls, and of course "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne. Besides this excellent selection, possibly more important, was the videos that were playing in the background while I sang my heart out. To give a general idea, they usually involved average looking white people, often from the 80's, doing such exciting things as walking on the beach, going to the country fair, or driving in a car. There was an entire video of a desert. There were no people. Just pictures of a random desert while I sang "The Piano Man." This aspect of the evening really helped to elevate the experience to the next level.
Something that I haven't mentioned yet is that my most favorite Ka-La-OK outing involved my friend Yan, his mom and dad, and I. I have been told in the past that the ideal number of people to go sing Ka-La-OK with is 4-6, because if you have too many people you just don't get to sing enough. I would have to agree. I would also strongly reccomend bringing people who speak at least two languages and have an age range of at least 30 years, because it really increases the variety of songs that you can sing. For instance, you can sing Chinese Revolutionary songs , modern Chinese pop songs, heartfelt Taiwanese love ballads, and if you have an American, she might even sing you some Third-Eye-Blind.
In addition to dscussing the endless choices that Ka-La-OK presents, I think it is also really important to at least try to explain the Chinese Ka-La-OK attitude. Because this is what makes the experience truly different from Ka-La-OK in other places. Ka-La-OK is not a joke. It is serious business. Yes, it is entertainment, but the Chinese friends that I have gone to Ka-La-OK with approach it with almost an academic energy. They give it their all, they don't feel self-conscious about their less than perfect pitch, and singing without holding the microphone firmly in their hand is not an option. (and these are relatively small rooms, making the microphone not exactly necessary.)
In conclusion, Ka-La-OK in China is ubiquitous, it is enjoyed by people of all ages, and it is very serious business that is not to be mocked or questioned. Even when you are forced to get up at 8 a.m. on a Tuesday morning to go sing Ka-La-OK when the rooms are the cheapest.

Reflections

There is a lot going on in my head right now, which has made it hard to sit down and write a coherent and entertaining blog that will leave my many loyal readers feeling satisfied. I have just finished my 4 months of study in Hangzhou. I have finished exams, graduated, put on a butt-kicking kungfu performance (see above), packed up my things, said goodbye to the many good friends that I have grown to love and depend on in the past few months, and then I got on a plane to embark on my next great adventure. It is truly a case example of one of those times when your head is in many places all at once.
I am someone who loves traveling, the excitement of going new places, facing new obstacles and overcoming those obstacles. Yet somehow, everytime it is time to leave a place that I have grown to love, and more importantly, to leave people that I have grown so close to, there is that inevitable tug in my stomach. Sometimes it feels so nice to be comfortable.
It is amazing to me how Hangzhou so quickly became a home to me. When I first arrived in this foreign city after way too many hours of travel, I felt displaced and unconnected. The relationships that I made with my teachers, friends, roommate, and random people in restaurants, shops, and on sidewalks all have played a part in turning this strange city into a place that it was always nice to come back to, even after only a weekend of traveling.
The start of this program was really hard for me. I came knowing no one, with a relatively low level of Chinese. I think the most difficult aspect of the whole thing was feeling like I was losing my ability to be independent. Chinese turned me into a small child, I needed to hold my roommates hand when I crossed the street, and I often asked questions like " How do you say orange?" I did not know how to eat or what to eat or what I was eating.
At first I was afraid that I might always be a child in China, that it was just too hard, that I would never be able to do this impossible task that I had so romanticized in my mind. But somehow I have come out of this semester a happy, relatively-self sufficient person who speaks Chinese pretty well, has made some life-long friends, and has also learned an important life lesson that doesn't really have anything to do with China. I have learned that it is okay to let people help you. I don't have to do everything by myself.
I am currently in Beijing staying with my good friend Yan and his family, and I am letting them help me a lot. I am not yet sure how I feel about Beijing and I have been having a lot of trouble trying to understand the Beijing accent, as I have been studying in the south all this time. Still, I am really enjoying being here and getting to know a new city.

My Haircut

Yesterday I had my first Chinese haircut. This may seem like a small, unimportant, humdrum event, but many weeks of thought went into this decision and many hours were spent agonizing over whether this choice would have positive or negative effects on my personal well-being (and my appearance). I eventually decided that my rats nest, broom-like, super-long hair was not going to make it a whole year without being cut. So, I figured that it was safest to take my friend Pei-Pei up on her offer to take me to the place that she gets her haircut. It was on the pricier side for China (80 kuai or $12), but I figured that it was the safest bet to go with my friend so she could help translate my hair needs.
The first part of my haircut experience was great. I got a head massage, an ear massage, I had my hair washed with shampoo (but no water) and sculped into various troll like sculptures. He went through several cylces of foaming up, removing foam, replacing foam, using foam to wash my ears, etc. All very good. Then I got to lie down while the foam was washed from my hair and then I returned to my chair for a full upper body massage. Shoulders, back, arms, hands. I also had my ears cleaned for me (a personal first), which involved sticking a long piece of cotton down into my ear until I starting laughing hysterically because it tickled so much and he stopped. I think it helps to picture the whole scene if I tell you that my Chinese friend was switching back and forth between playing her PSP and taking embarressing pictures and videos of me at various soapy-wet stages. I would try to describe the unique style of hair that the person who was massaging me was sporting, but I just don't think I could do it justice.
After about an hour of washing and massaging, I moved to another chair where the actually cutting was to take place.
My stylist was dressed stylishly, and his hair was also styled in typical assymetrical, poofy, kind of sticking up asian punk boy style. I guess this should have been some sort of warning about the type of haircut that I was about to get, but at the time I thought nothing of it. I merely sat down, tried to communicate a little bit of what I wanted, and then just let him do his thing. It's just hair right?
Everything was going fine for a while. He was really an artist, pulled my hair in all sorts of directions to achieve the layering and slanting that he desired. It felt much more like an artistic process than previous haircuts that I have had in the States (there also may have been a little bit more guess and check involved). I really felt that he was trying to create a thing of beauty. Unfortunately, sometimes Chinese standards for what are beautiful do not coincide with what I see as beautiful. This became very evident to me when he started teasing my hair in sort of an 80's punk rock fashion, hacking off random chunks of hair about two inches from my head, and pulling my hair up into a little poodle pony tail on the top of my head. Fortunately, my Chinese is good enough at this point to communicate the fact that these style choices were not okay with me, and that they must be stopped at once before I was turned into a 80's punk, poodle, female mullet, or anything equally horrifiying.
In the end, I think I have come out of this experience with a deeper understanding of how cultural our own standards of beauty are, and how even if I say that I am open to Chinese culture and traditions, this does not necessarily mean that I am ready to sport modern day Chinese styles, especially when they involve my own head.

Adventures in Shanghai

It is about 6 o'clock in the evening on the most gruelingly academic day that I have had so far and China, and I am very glad that I have gotten through it alive and with minimal injuries. Because last Thursday was Thanksgiving, they decided it would be a good idea to move our normal Friday tests to Monday. So in addition to 5 hours of normal classes, I also had two hours of testing, not to mention I had to hand in about 3,000 characters of essay today.
Okay, really, I should stop complaining, but all day what I was thinking was that I am a soft American whose relaxed work-ethic cannot keep up with the intense Chinese standards that are expected of me.
But don't think that I let the insane amount of work that I had ruin my weekend. Oh no. That would not be in character at all.
On Friday morning I had a wonderful video chat session with my family who were all gathered together on Thursday night. Then I went to Shanghai. I am only about an hour an a half away from Shanghai, but until this weekend had yet to spend anytime there. It was great. It has a completely different feel from Hangzhou, at times I felt like I was back in the states, at times I felt like I was strolling down a European street, and at times I was in Latin American. It is a truly international city, and it has a fabulously convenient subway system. On Friday night we went to a Club that has a live Latin band and dancing, something that I have been missing and craving for some time now. The musicians were mostly from Cuba, and the audience was from various far-off Spanish speaking countries. I am pretty sure I did not hear any Chinese spoken the whole night. It is really too bad that I don't speak any Spanish anymore because Chinese has taken over my brain. I'm hoping that someday maybe I can get it back.
After the music and dancing was over we ended up hanging out with some of the band members and some of them were guys who had been in China for years and years. It was really fascinating to hear about how they all got here, and the reasons why they stayed for so long.
On Saturday I got to have lunch with an old friend of my friend Kayla. Kayla lived in Shanghai for eight years and this woman knew her as a little girl. It was lovely to be in a home and eat home-cooked dishes and chat.
So I definitely had my fun in Shanghai, and then it was back home to Hangzhou, where I had piles and piles of work awaiting me.