Snowy view from our apartment window
Snowball fight!
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Snowy Beijing
Last week we finally experienced snow in Beijing! It was nothing like you folks are experiencing back in New England but it was enough to finally introduce the word "snow" to our students and make small snowmen with them. We had a lot of fun in the park! See the pictures below:
We Left Our Hearts in Seoul
Two weeks ago we spent four amazing days in Seoul, South Korea, over our Chinese New Year break. The trip got off to a great start when we found ourselves in first class even though we booked economy tickets (funny because this was right after we chatted about how we will probably never fly first class...what luck!). The trip was destined for greatness! And that it was. Seoul is romantic and trendy and quaint, reminding us of cities we've been to in Europe. But still exotic and dynamic, reminding us of Beijing. We arrived to a rainy and empty city (they celebrate the lunar new year there as well) and our hostel was far from ideal, but we still were so happy and quick to fall in love with the city. On our way to the hostel from Gimpo International Airport, we immediately started comparing what we observed to life in Beijing. The first thing we noticed were the young couples on the subway: holding hands, giving each other genuine looks of love, sneaking a kiss. We never, ever see this in Beijing. The second thing we noticed was how people really seemed to express their individuality through their style. Everyone looked so put together and seemed proud of how their style reflected their personality...another thing that just isn’t the case in Beijing.
Our first night we explored the university district of Hongdae. We were amazed wandering through side streets and alleyways filled with trendy cafes and shops...many of them with a clear Western influence. Many shops had a storefront that matched the personality of the shop… it was truly something. After wandering a bit we treated ourselves to some Italian food (such a treat!) and ended up dancing the night away in a Korean bar.
Enjoying our first class accommodations!
Our first night we explored the university district of Hongdae. We were amazed wandering through side streets and alleyways filled with trendy cafes and shops...many of them with a clear Western influence. Many shops had a storefront that matched the personality of the shop… it was truly something. After wandering a bit we treated ourselves to some Italian food (such a treat!) and ended up dancing the night away in a Korean bar.
Treating ourselves to some Italian food!
The next day we met up with Lesley, a friend of Charlotte's from Tufts who has been living in Seoul. She took us to one of the most delicious brunches we've ever had at this trendy cafe called The Frying Pan, apparently frequented by KPOP stars. We exchanged abroad stories, and we were surprised by how surprised she was about many of the things we told her about Beijing (she was shocked about how poor the air quality really is). After brunch we wandered down the "5th Avenue of Seoul" with Lesley. We made dinner plans for later that week and then we were off to Bukchon, the area of the city with traditional Korean houses called hanoks.
Bukchon is gorgeous, and by far my favorite section of the city. With the misty and cool air, a view of the mountains, and streets lined with cute independent coffee and artsy shops, we felt like we were in a trendy mountain city. It was relaxing and refreshing just to wander. We had loose plans for the day so we walked up and down the hilly streets embracing whatever came our way. When the cold was just too much relaxed and sipped fancy lattes in a quaint coffee shop. Then we were off again. We had plans to go to Korea’s oldest running show, Cookin Nanta. So we headed over to the Myeongdong district of the city to see if we could get tickets.
We got ourselves some tickets to the show a bit early and decided to head back out to the busy streets of Myeongdong to explore a bit more before the show began. We walked in and out of a few shops and stumbled on this “photo booth cafe,” super intrigued we walked down the stairs and into this bright and colorful room filled with almost a dozen photo booths and giddy Korean teens. Everything was in Korean, luckily a girl who worked there noticed our interest and confusion and helped us through the process. We paid about $4 each and stepped into a big bright photobooth. She helped us choose funny backgrounds for our photos and then we had a few seconds to pose. After the photoshoot we edited our photos and put “stickers” on them...hilarious and so different!
Charlotte and Lesley after brunch
Bukchon is gorgeous, and by far my favorite section of the city. With the misty and cool air, a view of the mountains, and streets lined with cute independent coffee and artsy shops, we felt like we were in a trendy mountain city. It was relaxing and refreshing just to wander. We had loose plans for the day so we walked up and down the hilly streets embracing whatever came our way. When the cold was just too much relaxed and sipped fancy lattes in a quaint coffee shop. Then we were off again. We had plans to go to Korea’s oldest running show, Cookin Nanta. So we headed over to the Myeongdong district of the city to see if we could get tickets.
Streets of Bukchon
Exploring Bukchon
We got ourselves some tickets to the show a bit early and decided to head back out to the busy streets of Myeongdong to explore a bit more before the show began. We walked in and out of a few shops and stumbled on this “photo booth cafe,” super intrigued we walked down the stairs and into this bright and colorful room filled with almost a dozen photo booths and giddy Korean teens. Everything was in Korean, luckily a girl who worked there noticed our interest and confusion and helped us through the process. We paid about $4 each and stepped into a big bright photobooth. She helped us choose funny backgrounds for our photos and then we had a few seconds to pose. After the photoshoot we edited our photos and put “stickers” on them...hilarious and so different!
Myeongdong
Pictures covered the stairwell down to the shop
Inside the photo booth cafe
Our pictures! Funny, right?
Then we headed back to NANTA theatre and excitedly took our front row seats with no idea what to expect. It was an incredible show/experience. Essentially nonverbal (aside from a few English and Korean words thrown in there every now and then), it was hilarious and so entertaining. It was a mix of a cooking show, an acrobatics show and a drum performance. About halfway through the show one of the actors called Charlotte up on the stage for one of his skits. He got stuck in a trash can and he asked Charlotte to help him get out, she tried but to no avail. After a few minutes he had everyone clap for her and then he easily walked out of the trash can (LOL). Then in the middle of another skit the same actor started teasing Jacky. It was a great time. It really was a unique experience to go to (and be a part of!) a show in a completely foreign country and share laughs with people from all over the world.
The next day was freezing. It made us appreciate Beijing’s temperatures which hover around high 30s and 40s these days. We spent the morning at Gyeongbokgung Palace. It resembled The Forbidden City in Beijing, although it is much more modest. The main thing that we noticed was the colors on the old buildings, all much brighter than those at The Forbidden City. After we headed over to Naedaemun Market. It was frigid.. too cold. So we found a coffee shop to get warm and rest. Then we braved the cold to explore the market. The reviews for the market had us really looking forward to it. We love markets: hectic, loud, colorful, genuine markets. Maybe it was the cold, but we weren't too enthused. It was a lot of the same things and similar to smaller markets we’ve seen in Beijing. It also was a bit quiet.
In the afternoon we headed over to Dragon Hill Spa, a traditional Korean jinjilbang (Click here to learn more about jinjilbangs). What an experience! We paid about $11 and were given a uniform and a key for two lockers (one for shoes, one for our clothes, bag etc.). We got our eyebrows threaded (ouch) and then explored the different relaxation rooms. Our favorite was the salt rock room, filled with heated salt rocks. We sat and tried our best to relax but there were people talking and on their phones all around us, so although we enjoyed it, we didn’t really relax! Then we tried out the mediation rooms. We were really excited for them as we've been trying to meditate regularly...but we walk in and it was filled with couples spooning in these little cubbies..so we moved on to the next one and find the same thing and picked a spot in the back to sit down. We close our eyes and both fell asleep for a bit. We spent some more time in the “women’s only” section of the spa...filled with completely naked Korean woman nonchalantly watching TV, checking themselves out in the mirror and wandering in and out of the saunas. It was a really interesting experience. It seemed like people come here with their families, sometimes spending all day here and sometimes even sleeping over (you can spend up to 12 hours there for the admission price and it’s a 24 hour facility). After we were jinjilbang-ed out we headed to Itaewon, a foreign section of the city and had some fantastic Mexican.
The next day we got a late start. We met up with Lesley’s friend who was visiting Seoul (who also went to Tufts and who just happens to live in Beijing) Bruce. We met him at the famed “Gangnam” neighborhood (as in Gangnam Style) in hopes of finally getting some Korean food (indulging in Western food was just too enticing so we had yet to try Korean!). Charlotte had found a vegetarian Korean restaurant in this area with great reviews, but when we met Bruce we immediately started sharing Beijing stories, forgetting to pay attention to where we were headed. Realizing we were lost, and famished, we went into the first restaurant we saw, a Western cafe, and treated ourselves to some waffles (with ice cream on top) and coffee. After eating, we headed out into Gangnam, which seemed to be more of a business district with not too much to see (other than countless ads for plastic surgery). We got back on the subway and headed to “Lotte World,” the biggest indoor theme park in the world. Charlotte enjoyed taking pictures with this Lotty character (seems to be a lesser version of Minnie Mouse) and then we headed inside the park. It was unlike anything we’ve ever seen, I don’t know if I’ve ever said “cool” more times. The lines were long for all the “rides” and we realized the majority of the rides were for children, but we enjoyed walking around and taking in the splendor of it all. We ended the night back in Itaewon, the foreign area we went the night before. We ate burritos while we shared stories reflecting on similar experiences in Beijing with Bruce and then got a drink at a bar with decor that made us feel like we could be anywhere in the world. I drank a “Boston Tea Party” and Jacky and Bruce drank European beers...the world is small!
The next day was freezing. It made us appreciate Beijing’s temperatures which hover around high 30s and 40s these days. We spent the morning at Gyeongbokgung Palace. It resembled The Forbidden City in Beijing, although it is much more modest. The main thing that we noticed was the colors on the old buildings, all much brighter than those at The Forbidden City. After we headed over to Naedaemun Market. It was frigid.. too cold. So we found a coffee shop to get warm and rest. Then we braved the cold to explore the market. The reviews for the market had us really looking forward to it. We love markets: hectic, loud, colorful, genuine markets. Maybe it was the cold, but we weren't too enthused. It was a lot of the same things and similar to smaller markets we’ve seen in Beijing. It also was a bit quiet.
The entrance to Gyeongbokgung Palace
Gyeongbokgung Palace
Gyeongbokgung Palace
Naedaemun Market
In the afternoon we headed over to Dragon Hill Spa, a traditional Korean jinjilbang (Click here to learn more about jinjilbangs). What an experience! We paid about $11 and were given a uniform and a key for two lockers (one for shoes, one for our clothes, bag etc.). We got our eyebrows threaded (ouch) and then explored the different relaxation rooms. Our favorite was the salt rock room, filled with heated salt rocks. We sat and tried our best to relax but there were people talking and on their phones all around us, so although we enjoyed it, we didn’t really relax! Then we tried out the mediation rooms. We were really excited for them as we've been trying to meditate regularly...but we walk in and it was filled with couples spooning in these little cubbies..so we moved on to the next one and find the same thing and picked a spot in the back to sit down. We close our eyes and both fell asleep for a bit. We spent some more time in the “women’s only” section of the spa...filled with completely naked Korean woman nonchalantly watching TV, checking themselves out in the mirror and wandering in and out of the saunas. It was a really interesting experience. It seemed like people come here with their families, sometimes spending all day here and sometimes even sleeping over (you can spend up to 12 hours there for the admission price and it’s a 24 hour facility). After we were jinjilbang-ed out we headed to Itaewon, a foreign section of the city and had some fantastic Mexican.
Sporting our Dragon Hill Spa Uniforms
The next day we got a late start. We met up with Lesley’s friend who was visiting Seoul (who also went to Tufts and who just happens to live in Beijing) Bruce. We met him at the famed “Gangnam” neighborhood (as in Gangnam Style) in hopes of finally getting some Korean food (indulging in Western food was just too enticing so we had yet to try Korean!). Charlotte had found a vegetarian Korean restaurant in this area with great reviews, but when we met Bruce we immediately started sharing Beijing stories, forgetting to pay attention to where we were headed. Realizing we were lost, and famished, we went into the first restaurant we saw, a Western cafe, and treated ourselves to some waffles (with ice cream on top) and coffee. After eating, we headed out into Gangnam, which seemed to be more of a business district with not too much to see (other than countless ads for plastic surgery). We got back on the subway and headed to “Lotte World,” the biggest indoor theme park in the world. Charlotte enjoyed taking pictures with this Lotty character (seems to be a lesser version of Minnie Mouse) and then we headed inside the park. It was unlike anything we’ve ever seen, I don’t know if I’ve ever said “cool” more times. The lines were long for all the “rides” and we realized the majority of the rides were for children, but we enjoyed walking around and taking in the splendor of it all. We ended the night back in Itaewon, the foreign area we went the night before. We ate burritos while we shared stories reflecting on similar experiences in Beijing with Bruce and then got a drink at a bar with decor that made us feel like we could be anywhere in the world. I drank a “Boston Tea Party” and Jacky and Bruce drank European beers...the world is small!
One of the many ads we saw for plastic surgery
Lotty posing with Lotty
Inside Lotte World
We had such a memorable weekend in Seoul. Hopefully we will be lucky enough to go back again in the years to come!
Friday, January 31, 2014
A Music Video Debut
Just had to share this with you all - the music video that was filmed at our school with all my students in early December. I make a very quick appearance around 2:40! It was produced by our friend Jonathan, and he gracefully provides subtitles to the Chinese rapping. It's an awesome message that is we're so fascinated by. Enjoy!!
Freedom to Fly - Music Video
Freedom to Fly - Music Video
A New Year's in the Park!
Today we headed to the Sculpture Park by our house to try out chair skating! After we walked around and enjoyed the Spring Festival fair. Off to Seoul in the morning!
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Happy New Year! 新年快乐！
Yesterday we spent our day off from school wandering around Tiananmen Square and its surrounding hutongs. We enjoyed spring-like weather and, since most people had already "migrated" back to their hometowns for the holidays or were inside preparing their New Year's Eve feast, we felt like we had the city all to ourselves! We were a little disoriented when we discovered there were seats waiting for us on a nearly-empty subway and realized that we wouldn't have to push our way through the Square to take a good picture.
Around dinner time we took the bus over to the home of a girl I tutor, Suzy. Weeks earlier her father, Jack, invited Jacky and I to spend New Year's Eve with his family. We arrived and were excitedly greeted at the door by the whole family including Suzy, dressed in a beautiful traditional red qipao. We gave them a large box of nuts (a traditional New Year's gift) and gave Suzy a red envelope with an $2 bill inside (it's a tradition to give young children red envelopes with money inside on New Year's Eve). They invited us to the dining room table to make dumplings. We were amazed to see the dough was green! Jack explained that his mother had infused vegetable juice into the flour when making the dough, resulting in its green color. He told us that every year she makes the dough a different color. Generously catering to my vegetarian diet, the filling for the dumplings was egg and cabbage. Jack coached us in how to correctly stuff and close the dumpling, and was impressed when he saw that we already (sort of) knew what we were doing. While making the dumplings, Jack explained that dumplings are the traditional dish for Chinese New Year's Eve. When he was younger, they ate dumplings with their dinner and then again at midnight. Throughout the conversation we were frequently interrupted by the sounds of fireworks being set off just outside the apartment. At first, Suzy ran to the window yelling "Lotty!" signaling me to come join her to watch. But after the first few rounds, we all became accustomed to the blasts and the fireworks quickly became background noise.
After quickly boiling the dumplings, it was already time to eat dinner. Jacky and I were invited to sit down and watched as Jack, his wife and his mother brought out dish after dish...after dish...after dish. It was truly a feast. As we ate Jack explained that in Chinese culture, hosts can't be happy unless their guests "eat happy." So we made sure to eat as much as we could and say "hao chi" (literally good eat, equivalent to saying delicious) after every bite. The grandmother (who doubles as the family's chef!) kept a watchful eye as we ate, and every now and then would say "chi ba," playfully demanding us to eat more. While we ate, Jack offered us traditional Chinese rice wine. Being warned by friends of its high alcohol content and intense burning taste, we've never had the guts to try it. But he poured us a tiny shot and raised his glass. We laughed nervously, shouting "ganbei" (cheers) and tapping the glasses of our hosts. I don't think we'll be buying any for ourselves any time soon, but I didn't mind it!
After we ate we all headed to the couch to watch CCTV's New Year's special. We sipped on fancy red tea as we enjoyed impressive dance and musical performances, even a puppet show! It was truly a spectacle. But before we knew it that rice wine was hitting us, and we were nodding off with Suzy on the couch. While Jack drove us home, we watched out the car windows, awestruck by the fireworks shows going on all around us and people burning offerings for their ancestors at the sidewalk corners. We stepped out of the car, literally into the middle of two fireworks shows going on in the middle of the road. We ran home laughing in amazement through the red firework debris, the constant banging of thousands of fireworks simultaneously being set off ringing in our ears.
We spent the rest of the night glued to our large bedroom window, up on the 25th floor of our building we felt we had the best view of the show. We both agreed that it was the most incredible thing we've ever seen--unceasing fireworks in every direction, for miles and miles, being set off into the early morning. Standing there, watching the constant flare of fireworks lighting up every corner of the city, we felt the joy and hope that was felt throughout the city, and the entire country on this New Year. We felt the light of gratitude for being able to experience such a unique celebration and for being able to spend some of this next year right here in Shijingshan, a place that has become so dear to us.
Happy New Year! 年快乐！Especially to our horses out there!
Shocked by the empty subway station!
Wandering through Zhongshan Park
This guard asked to be in a picture with us!
Around dinner time we took the bus over to the home of a girl I tutor, Suzy. Weeks earlier her father, Jack, invited Jacky and I to spend New Year's Eve with his family. We arrived and were excitedly greeted at the door by the whole family including Suzy, dressed in a beautiful traditional red qipao. We gave them a large box of nuts (a traditional New Year's gift) and gave Suzy a red envelope with an $2 bill inside (it's a tradition to give young children red envelopes with money inside on New Year's Eve). They invited us to the dining room table to make dumplings. We were amazed to see the dough was green! Jack explained that his mother had infused vegetable juice into the flour when making the dough, resulting in its green color. He told us that every year she makes the dough a different color. Generously catering to my vegetarian diet, the filling for the dumplings was egg and cabbage. Jack coached us in how to correctly stuff and close the dumpling, and was impressed when he saw that we already (sort of) knew what we were doing. While making the dumplings, Jack explained that dumplings are the traditional dish for Chinese New Year's Eve. When he was younger, they ate dumplings with their dinner and then again at midnight. Throughout the conversation we were frequently interrupted by the sounds of fireworks being set off just outside the apartment. At first, Suzy ran to the window yelling "Lotty!" signaling me to come join her to watch. But after the first few rounds, we all became accustomed to the blasts and the fireworks quickly became background noise.
Suzy watching the fireworks
After quickly boiling the dumplings, it was already time to eat dinner. Jacky and I were invited to sit down and watched as Jack, his wife and his mother brought out dish after dish...after dish...after dish. It was truly a feast. As we ate Jack explained that in Chinese culture, hosts can't be happy unless their guests "eat happy." So we made sure to eat as much as we could and say "hao chi" (literally good eat, equivalent to saying delicious) after every bite. The grandmother (who doubles as the family's chef!) kept a watchful eye as we ate, and every now and then would say "chi ba," playfully demanding us to eat more. While we ate, Jack offered us traditional Chinese rice wine. Being warned by friends of its high alcohol content and intense burning taste, we've never had the guts to try it. But he poured us a tiny shot and raised his glass. We laughed nervously, shouting "ganbei" (cheers) and tapping the glasses of our hosts. I don't think we'll be buying any for ourselves any time soon, but I didn't mind it!
With Suzy
Jack changing the door decorations for the new year
CCTV's programming
After we ate we all headed to the couch to watch CCTV's New Year's special. We sipped on fancy red tea as we enjoyed impressive dance and musical performances, even a puppet show! It was truly a spectacle. But before we knew it that rice wine was hitting us, and we were nodding off with Suzy on the couch. While Jack drove us home, we watched out the car windows, awestruck by the fireworks shows going on all around us and people burning offerings for their ancestors at the sidewalk corners. We stepped out of the car, literally into the middle of two fireworks shows going on in the middle of the road. We ran home laughing in amazement through the red firework debris, the constant banging of thousands of fireworks simultaneously being set off ringing in our ears.
We spent the rest of the night glued to our large bedroom window, up on the 25th floor of our building we felt we had the best view of the show. We both agreed that it was the most incredible thing we've ever seen--unceasing fireworks in every direction, for miles and miles, being set off into the early morning. Standing there, watching the constant flare of fireworks lighting up every corner of the city, we felt the joy and hope that was felt throughout the city, and the entire country on this New Year. We felt the light of gratitude for being able to experience such a unique celebration and for being able to spend some of this next year right here in Shijingshan, a place that has become so dear to us.
Firework debris on a road near our apartment
Our view!
Preparing for the Chinese New Year - A Teacher Celebration
As the Chinese New Year was coming closer, we could sense the excitement in the air. The Chinese teachers we work with had made a schedule of when each of them gets to leave (most left early from school to go home to celebrate) and we quickly realized that the students' parents were doing the same thing, by the last day before break we had less than 20 students at school out of a total 80+. Everyone disperses from the city to head back to their hometowns to celebrate for up to a whole month with their families. The Thursday before the teachers started going home, the school organized a celebration at a restaurant a few doors down from our school - "Big Pizza." A buffet of western-style food (french fries, pizza, chicken nuggets, a salad bar) but of course, being in China, there was a very "Eastern" twist. There were very interesting types of pizza - we saw one that was called Chocolate and Strawberry Flavored Pizza and Potato and Egg Pizza. We found some safe-looking choices, got some french fries and a cup of hot tea and sat down at a table with some co-workers. We were shocked to see how much food they brought back to the table - we very rarely see these Chinese teachers eat much at all, but this night was a celebration and they made sure to feast! It was a lot of fun trying different foods and seeing what everyone chose. There was talk earlier that day about games that were being planned, and we were anxiously awaiting to see what they had in store.
The game was basically a game of Dares. Each person got called up one by one to reach into a giant decorated box and take a slip of paper with a dare on it. No matter what it said, you had to do it. Some memorable ones:
- Get up on a restaurant chair and squat down as if you're using a squatty toilet
- Find a random man in the restaurant and hold his hands and sing him a love song
- Walk from one end of the restaurant to the other pretending to sell something loudly
- Belly dance around the restaurant (our principal got this one)
The whole time, each and every staff member in the room had their phones out snapping pictures and videos of everyone's embarrassing task they needed to do. I'm sure you're all dying to know what we had to do…
There is only one male teacher at our school and his English name is Joey. I had to touch his chest with both hands, look him in the eye and say "It's too small!" --WHAT?! Cracking up, I did my dare with everyone around me erupting with laughter. Luckily, Joey was a great sport about it and pretended to show his muscles and be macho.
Charlotte had to stand in the middle of the restaurant and yell "I'M SO LONELY!" Lucky for her, it's likely that no one in the restaurant understood her. Haha!
It was a night of many laughs, reminding us of awkward middle school dances and games of Truth of Dare. These teachers sure know how to have a good time. Our abs hurt the next day from laughing so hard.
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