Picnic on the Great Wall.

While I was in Beijing the first week of Feb I was able to go to a secluded part of the Great Wall. I went with Teammates of mine. One family and one other single woman. We had a blast. The best part was that due to the time of year and the place we only saw 5 other people the whole time we were on the wall. So fabulous!!! We ate lunch in the middle of the Great Wall. Wow!

The small hostel/hotel at the base of the Great Wall. We paid the owners 2 kuai ( 40cents) per adult to traipse through their back yard to get to the Wall.

The small river and dam below the Wall.

The view from the hike up to get on the Wall.



Right next to the Wall.

Self taken photos are so tricky.

These are our Senior Pictures on the Great Wall!!

Goodbye Wall!! So good to see you again!!

2011 Year of the Rabbit!

This Feb 3 began the Year of the Rabbit. The year of the rabbit includes people born in these years: 1905, 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, and 1999. "People born in the Year of the Rabbit are articulate, talented, and ambitious. They are virtuous, reserved, and have excellent taste. Rabbit people are admired, trusted, and are often financially lucky. They are fond of gossip but are tactful and generally kind. Rabbit people seldom lose their temper. They are clever at business and being conscientious, never back out of a contract. They would make good gamblers for they have the uncanny gift of choosing the right thing. However, they seldom gamble, as they are conservative and wise. They are most compatible with those born in the years of the Sheep, Pig, and Dog."

The new thing that I have recently learned about having a year that belongs to you is that when it is your animal year the custom is to wear red every day of the year. Sometimes this custom is only associated with certain age groups depending on what part of China you live in. This custom could be very difficult for some people. Although most people may not have enough red articles of clothing to wear something red everyday of the year, I know that for Nebraskans it shouldn't be hard at all!!! For those of you who are not from or live in Nebraska the Chinese have come up with the perfect solution. RED UNDERWEAR!!

In December and January the streets and shops were filled with them. To an extreme level that I asked someone about it and discovered that they sell so many red underwears (both men and women) so that those who are supposed to wear red everyday can. My favorite part of this story is that the packages of the red underwear actually had pictures of bunnies on them just to make everyone aware that it was for the year of the rabbit!!!

One of the things I find most interesting about the Chinese Zodiac Calendar is that when someone asks me what animal I am and I tell them I am a monkey, they just know that I will get along with someone who is a dragon or a rat. For example: My friend asked me what year I was and I told her monkey and her arms flew up into the air in surprise and excitement as she exclaimed "That is why we get along so well!! I am a Rat!!" I on the other hand still have no idea who goes with who or even what my personality is supposed to be like according to the Monkey. Sigh. Somethings are just over our heads.





Sources: http://www.c-c-c.org/chineseculture/zodiac/Rabbit.html, http://gochina.about.com/od/chinesenewyear/qt/RedUnderwear.htm

Pictures of Chengdu!!

We, Faye and I, went to the Chuan Ju (Sichuan Opera) while we were in Chengdu.
It was a delight to almost all the senses. These first three pictures are from the traditional mask changing performance. Where the dancers had colorful masks on that would change at a moments notice.

These next four pictures are from the comic drama of the evening.

It was a physical comedy with lots of tripping, falling, face pulling, and acrobatic feats.

There was a storyline that had something to do with a husband who likes to gamble and the wife who wants him to stop.

Next were one of my favorite acts!!

The young man who performed these hand shadows looked to be about 12 years old.
The hand shadows fluidly flowed from one subject matter to another with no story but the music played while he performed just set the tone of each subject matter.
It was really marvelous to see his hands appear to be animals or other forces of nature.

The next three photos are from a warrior play that had actual singing during it. I don't really know the storyline at all. Sorry. The costumes and face paint were quite colorful.

Okay so these next two pictures are hard to describe.
The woman is actually an elaborate hand puppet. But she was so intricate that each of her fingers could move and function like a real hand. The man's head in the corner of the first picture is the man orchestrating her dance. She sang and danced.
I believe that the singer was off stage but her body movements and face movements were so detailed and amazing it was like watching a small person really dancing. So Crazy!!!

These are a villain and king story that had some sword play.

These elderly men were the ones playing all the music for the entire event. They got to be in front for about 10 min at the very beginning of the performance so that we as an audience could "meet" them. Are they not the cutest little orchestra?

On our travels in Chengdu Faye and I came across the trusty YMCA!!!

The Old Navy prices were almost double what you would pay in the United States!!
Bu Hao!! Not Good!!

The Fashion Strip was in full form in Chengdu.
Here are just some of the bright and shiny stores!!

I ate a foot long Subway sandwich every single day while I was in Chengdu!!!
Even now I wish Kunming had one. Sigh!!

New Passport!!

I know that most of you are unaware of the passport drama I had last year around July, but let me fill you in.

1. I had my wallet stolen and sadly my treasured Nebraska Drivers License was inside.

2. I had to renew my Student Visa and when my school's secretary looked at my passport she informed me that the Chinese Gov't would most likely not accept it as a valid passport. The reason for this was because my passport had suffered some water damage. The story behind this lovely damage is as follows: I had gone to the large International Import store called Metro and had purchased several items. Most of them non perishable items such as dishes or trash bags but one of the perishable items I happened to buy was frozen hamburger. Here in China you are not given grocery bags, you have to bring all your bags with you. And I had, I had two large bags plus my backpack to carry everything home with me. I put the meat into my backpack. Now I had brought my passport to Metro because like Sam's club you need a card to get in and so I had applied for a card that day with my passport, student visa, and letter of residence. Now the trip home took an inordinate amount of time and while standing on the bus for hours isn't necessarily a terrible burden, when you have meat in your bag that melts and drips bloody hamburger meat all over the bus is. And although the bloody drips all over the bus provided me lots of breathing room while on the bus (for people didn't tell me i was bleeding they just stayed as far away as possible) I would rather have been crowded and not had my passport all bloody. Needless to say the damage was slight but to some noticeable. Thankfully, not noticeable to the Student Visa Official. For I was issued a new Student Visa last July to last until this March.

3. However, this drama made me nervous about accuireing a new one. I did a lot of research to determine what i would need to do to renew and discovered that water damage to a passport is considered "a damaged passport" which cannot be used as a form of identification when renewing your passport and two other forms of personal identification must be presented. One that is a valid picture id. Which sadly I didn't possess any longer since my wallet had been stolen.

4. What to do? So when I returned to the U.S. last Aug my mom was going to act as a witness to my identity and we were going to renew the passport in Chicago....alas the passport location in Chicago said that I couldn't get an appointment until I was in the states and once there it would take too long to process the application and I would have to file something or other in order to expidite the passport....plus they would confiscate my "damaged" one and all the visas in them would be invalid...blah blah blah....all in all it was ma fan-which is Chinese for troublesome (but has a more deep meaning that is perfect for so many situations and indicates an emotional aspect to it).

5. So in the end I didn't do anything while in the states and just prayed that no one would notice that my passport was damaged. Which on my exit of China in Aug and my reentry at the end of Aug no one mentioned or suggested any problems with my passport. So the next step was coming here to have it renewed.

6. Today I go to pick up my new passport- in precisely an hour and a half I will pick it up and I am again nervous that some one some where will have noticed and i will meet with opposition to the new passport issue. Truthfully, I know that everything will work itself out because Father is in control, but there is a little niggle of worry deep inside. Please ask that my trust would deepen as I move forward from this day.

How Chengdu is like Kunming

So Kunming is a city of about 5,740,000 people. It is legitimately a city. Despite its cityness though, there is a small homey feel to it. There are small neighborhoods that break the city up and deflect from the bustling nature of a true city. Most buildings in Kunming are at least 7 stories tall and in the center of Kunming there are much taller buildings. We have some newly built malls and some very upscale stores such as Nike, Adidas, Levi's, Zara, Marc Jacobs but these stores are highly outnumbered by the vast number of knock off stores or Chinese brand stores. We have McDonalds and KFC, Papa Jon's, Pizza Hut and Dairy Queen. And I know that having Western or American products or stores does not make a civilization more civilized, but for me it makes it more comfortable.

At this point in this trip to Chengdu I am challenged to find the similarities and differences between my city and this one. Chengdu's population is approximately 10.44 million. There are vastly more people here. And so I will give to you 7 ways Chengdu is different and 6 ways that they are the same.

7 Differences:

1. There are buildings everywhere I look. Which isn't really a difference, the difference is that I cannot see any blue sky. Any amount of sky is filled with buildings or with clouds.
2. Chengdu has a very nice subway.
3. People only cross the street when the light tells them to walk.
4. There is no taxi tax, meaning that what to meter reads is what you pay. In Kunming, once the meter is stopped you pay 1 RMB on top of what it reads for petrol tax.
5. I have seen people sitting on public park benches without putting down newspaper. This strikes me as very odd indeed, for in Kunming, no one ever sits down on public property unless you have wiped it down or are sitting on something you put down first.
6. It is a lot colder here, in Chengdu.
7. Chengdu has a Mexican Restaurant called Pete's Tex Mex-worth every kuai.
   

6 Similarities:

1. People still spit on the sidewalks.
2. Both cities are under heaps of constructions which not only makes traffic bad but going places on foot slightly dangerous.
3. A river runs through both cities.
4. Around 5:30-7pm it is impossible to catch a taxi because either they are all full or they are off duty.
5. Food fenders are common, not legal in either city, and come out chiefly at night.
6. Foreigners hang out in foreigner spots.
   

The tourism committee needs to put together better maps, for I have gotten lost at least twice. The huge road closest to my hostel is filled with upper up scale stores such as Tiffany's, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Burberry and many many others. Yesterday, I went walking and came to a mall that boasted that within it's walls lived: Calvin Klein, Old Navy, Victoria Secret, and others. I ventured in to take in the joy of going to an Old Navy and purchasing the in fashion at home. However, it was a huge disappointment. Dear Friends, what you can buy from Old Navy for 20 dollars the lovely Chengdu Old Navy wanted to sell it to me for 288 kuai. I counted 9 Starbucks while out my first day and now thanks to the Starbucks Marathon of 2011 have visited 6 of them.

I attended the Sichuan Opera the other night with a friend and it was so amazing. The performances ranged from playing the traditional erhu musical instrument to the fasinating art of hand shadows and finally ending in a crescendo of mystery during the mask changing dance. It was really such a jumble of experiences piled into one night that I was breathless with enchantment and truly do not know how to describe the evening.


I will post pictures later.

American Consulate Experience

So, I have traveled to the northern and bustling city of Chengdu. My purpose is to renew my passport. Destination: The American Consulate. Now this place "the consulate" is a place of mystery. I had fabricated a wonderland of everything that is American in my mind. I envisioned a vast space that was warm and inviting and filled with vending machines that dispensed things like: Dr. Pepper, Skittles, 5 gum, Cheetos, and Diet Coke. I think I really imagined that it was just like a really great Coffee Shop where American citizens just hang out and be really friendly toward each other while they wait for their appointed time to see an official. My grandmother had sent me 20 US dollars last year and I have been keeping it safe so that I could spend it at the consulate. I also was led to believe it was going to be a mecca of young American military men in uniform. How little I knew. Sadly, all those dreams were not to be. Here are the four reasons the Chengdu American Consulate is like going to the doctor:

1. If you arrive earlier than your appointment, they can fit you in earlier.

2. You have to sit on a cold surface.

3. You get scrutinized by a man or woman who has higher credentials than you.

4. Your name gets called into the waiting room and you still jump like you have done something wrong.

Here are the four ways the Chengdu American Consulate is not like going to the doctor:

1. Your appointment lasts only 10 min.

2. All the doors are opened by armed men. (in this instance Chinese Military)

3. You have to wear a guest pass.

4. All your belongings had to be left at the front gate.

Four things you may not know about consulates or renewing a passport:

1. I didn't see one American Marine at the Chengdu American Consulate.

2. To petition for a non-citizen relative, such as a husband or adopted child, finger prints and lots of paperwork is needed.

3. Consulates are not all knowing or the final authority. Some things need to be validated by the State of Florida and then the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C.

4. A renewed passport will have a new number, but they give you back your old one so you can use the current visa and if you have booked flights using the number from the old one.

Four things I am thankful for about the American Consulate"

1. The office clerk (is this the appropriate term for a consulate worker?) was very patient and kind. He answered all my stupid questions and allowed me to leave to retrieve the passport pictures I left in my bag that the gate guards made me leave at the front gate.

2. The fee to renew a passport was less than I anticipated and I was able to pay in RMB.

3. There was one chair left in the waiting area for me to sit one while waiting.

4. People smiled at me.

Now, I wait. I was told that it would take 7-10 days for my passport to be processed and that the Consulate would email me. So for the next 10 days I will bide my time in Chengdu. When I return to pick up my passport I will see if any additional observations crop up.