photoez

I uploaded some pictures to my facebook, because I don't like blogger's uploading format and also don't feel like uploading a crapton of pictures twice.




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THINGS I HAVE LEARNED IN CHINA: AIRPORT EDITION

I'm sitting at the airport and I'm a bit tipsy after my lunchtime
cocktail and have decided to write a sort of conclusionary blog on
things I've learned while I've been here.

If you're a foreigner, people will stare at you. It really doesn't
matter what you look like or if you have blonde hair and a nose ring,
people will incessantly stare at you. Get used to it. If you get
annoyed, stare right back at them. They'll look away. Probably.

Never pay more than 1 quai for a bottle of water. If you do you're
stupid.

Bring your camera everywhere. And make sure the memory card is in it.

"nai lau" means cheese and you can order almost anything by pointing,
nodding, and paying.

"xie xie" means thank you. It is the most important phrase you will
ever learn in Chinese. Use it often.

If you are stuck out in the middle of a lightning and thunder storm
and some stranger comes and puts his umbrella over your head, thank
him profusely until you reach your destination. Try not to fall down
on the way.

Whilst bargaining, start out offering about half of what you are
willing to pay. Pretend like you don't understand any Chinese until
the very end, then whip out "taguela" or "tai duo" and give them the
death stare. If all else fails, walk away.

Green tea pocky is the best. Buy it often.

Always ask the cab driver for your "fapiao," or official receipt. If
you don't get it they'll sell it to someone who can then be reimbursed
by their employer.

People are people. They're basically the same everywhere. Be polite
but always aware of your surroundings and you'll be fine.

Confucius Say

I got to sleep in today for the first time in almost the whole trip, which was nice. I woke up around ten and bummed around the dorm for a while, doing some cross stitching and watching Aftershock. Around noon I showered and headed out.

I took the subway from Xitucheng to Huixianxe Nankou, then to Yongheghong. I set out to find a restaurant that my guidebook recommended, which took me about half an hour considering that it was in this weird commercial hutong that actually did not connect to the main street. ohhh well. I found it and had really good eggs benedict, pita, and hummus. I'm still full from lunch. yum

After lunch I headed to the Confucius Temple and Imperial College, where I managed to get them to sell me a half price ticket. I am a local now. I walked around there for a while, but the tour guides kept thinking I was a part of their group and instructed me to do/not do a bunch of stuff. It was obnoxious. However, I really did enjoy the Confucius Temple and wish I had left the dorms earlier so I had had more time there. I had to head out around 3:30 so I would have enough time at my next destination:

the Lama Temple. I think I'm going to convert to Buddhism now because this was the most beautiful thing that I have seen on my trip to Beijing so far. The monuments, history, and architecture of the Lama Temple along with the numerous revernt Buddhists (both monks and non-monks) left me in awe. I wish I could post a picture of the 9-meter high buddha that was carved out of one tree, or the extremely detailed and ornate buddhas that were scattered throughout the various temples-within-the-temple left me in complete awe. I wish I could post pictures, but alas I cannot. Monday, Monday.

Once I left the Lama Temple I took the subway from Yonghegong  to Huixianxe Nankou, transferred to Line 10 and traveled six stops to Tanjiehu, where I once again walked down to Yashow. I forgot a couple things last time I was there, and also wanted to kill some time. I've also begun to enjoy haggling with the girls there, who all call me "pretty" or "sexy" and ask where I'm from. They're all surprised when I say that I've been living in Beijing for a few months. It also causes them to lower their prices a bit when I expel that information. heh heh

day day day

Today was our last day of classes, and it was bittersweet. In the morning we watched a film called Shattered which was about a brothel in Northern China and the brothel owner's aging father. It was a bit slow, but interesting nonetheless.

Following the film we had a discussion with James Tweedie concerning documentary ethics. My opinion is that documentaries are SO varied that there cannot possibly be such a thing as "documentary ethics." Your ethics if you're making a film about food will be totally different from your ethics if you're making a film about criminals. I didn't really get a chance to voice this opinion, though, because nearing the end of the course I sort of felt as though my comments and questions were either unwelcome or altogether ignored and not listened to. Maybe it was just me. Maybe I'm just tired. Who knows?

After our discussion and lunch a few students shared some photos and videos from their experience on the course. I shared a photo from an art gallery, a photo of a monument to the 90 year Communist Party Founding anniversary, a photo of me and Tara in front of the Forbidden City, and a photo of a modern art piece that had some Communist kitsch. I'll edit all of my posts with photos when I get back. Some of the memories were cute and pertinent, others were a bit off topic and confusing.

For dinner we had a really good Peking duck dinner, probably my last real Chinese dinner because I will most likely be eating quick things this weekend or dinner with one person. I know that I'm going to a North Korean restaurant with Gen, a student from Harvard, and tomorrow I will have the day to myself at the Lama Temple and Yashow.

I am tired

KJ Gate

Today was our last day of official programming, and it was a good one. We started off the day at CNEX, or China Next.

CNEX is a sort of documentary-making NGO that produces documentaries about China and Chinese culture made by filmmakers from around the world. First we watched a film entitled KJ, about a precocious young musician. He played piano with professional orchestras from the time that he was very young, and then he conducted a children's orchestra in Hong Kong. The film explored both his career and his relationship with his father on many different levels. I quite enjoyed it, and they're selling copies of it at the DVD store... I might pick one up next time I am there.

Following the film, we spoke to one of the administrators of CNEXT. He gave some insight into the unique organization that attempts to bring new Chinese documentaries to the forefront of Chinese cinema. He discussed his difficulties with the Ministry of Culture as well as his success in places like Taiwan and Hong Kong. After our discussion with him we watched China Gate, a film about young Chinese students taking an SAT-like exam that determines their place in university. I really enjoyed that film as well.

Now I'm in the internet cafe by the dorm reading email and brainstorming for my final project. Much of it has already been filmed, I just need to start editing. I also need to finish up with my reading reports. And stop eating so much food. And sleep more. And shake off this cold that I have. And pack for Europe. And and and and and.......

great great wall

We went to the Great Wall today. There isn't really much to say about it in writing because the experience is pretty visual/physical, but I can tell you that I was amazing to see that piece of history. I can also tell you that it rained the entire time we were there, which was fun. 

I am incredibly exhausted, both in mind and body. We climbed about 1800 stairs today for around three hours, and that's a low estimate. I had a mild asthma attack and had to sit down for a while and got separated from the group for about half an hour, but I found them and all was well. After we got to the end of the tourist section, we walked on to a part that said "do not walk" (Yomi doesn't read English well, at least that was his excuse), and beyond that to a part of the Wall that had not been reconstructed. It was really cool.

I wish I could post pictures, but right now I'm going to read some more of Tina Fey's Bossypants (really good) and nurse my sore legs, back, arms, and ankles.

Wu and Karaoke

Today was (sadly) our last visit to Wu Wenguang's studio. We watching
an incredibly moving piece that he did about his mother. She had died
two years ago today, and so he thought of the film as a memorial to
her. It discussed his childhood with his mother, as well as how he
felt about her death. There were movement pieces included in it, and
it was quite beautiful. I even cried a little, thinking about how
lucky I am to have a Mom who cares about me and loves me as much as
Wenguang's mother cared about and loved him.

After we left the studio Di, Tara, and I went to Cash Box Party World
for karaoke. After I got a couple beers in me I rattled off some hits
like David Bowie's "Heroes," Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run," (for
you Mom) and a few ABBA songs. Chinese karaoke is really funny,
because when they don't have stock footage for American songs they
will put some random Chinese guy (or girl) singing really
emphatically. I got the same Chinese guy singing under green laser
lights for both "Born to Run" and Joan Jett's "I Love Rock n Roll." We
also ate some surprisingly good buffet food at the karaoke place.

Once our time in our karaoke room was up we found that it was pouring
outside and had to cross streets that had turned into rivers to grab a
cab. As I was hopping across a puddle I didn't... exactly look where I
was going and...........may have run into a bike. Oops. The woman
riding the bike said that I scared her but I'M FINE MOM and really.
I'm okay.

I'm calling tonight an early one because I have to be up at 6am to go
to the Great Wall tomorrow. Six days until I head home. ahhhhhhhhhhhh

Hutong and Yashow

This morning Tara and I went to Gulonguexiale hutong so I could finish up shopping for all of my friends and family. Which I did. Everyone who I like should expect gifts when I get home! And good ones too. . All the way from China. I also found a cross stitching store (I guess that's popular in China? who knew) and bought some cross stitching things. We ate lunch at a Western place called Passerby Cafe. They have a bunch of travel books everywhere, and I picked out the one for Berlin while Tara read the one for the Mediterranean. I love Lonely Planet travel guides, I hope to have a bunch of my own someday... escape to places that I have been and still want to go to. sigh......

Once we got back to the dorms I rested a while and then headed over to Yashow to finish up my shopping and buy a suitcase. I was a pretty good haggler today, though by the time I got to the suitcase I kind of gave up. I spent 300 quai on it, about $45. Which still isn't bad, but I probably could've gotten her down to 200. Oh well. I was tired!

After returning to the dorms Tara and I grabbed dinner and went to the DVD store. Now I'm watching To Live and getting ready to call it a night. Tomorrow is my last Monday here.... I can't really believe it.

Forbidden City/Joy City

Today Di, Tara, Shelley, and I ventured out to the Forbidden City. We
got an early start, around 8:00am... it was good but really didn't
seem to make much of a difference in the crowds, haha.

When we got there it was just quite amazing.. I really... there aren't
any words to describe it. You see the front (w/ the portrait of Mao)
in pictures all the time, but it's really nothing like being there. I
don't want to talk too much about the Forbidden City because it's
really better illustrated in pictures (which I guess are STILL not
working on my blog, I will have to update with pictures when I return
to the US).

After the Forbidden City we went to a mall called Joy City and had
some yummy Taiwanese food, and then came back to the dorms to nap. We
were going to go back out to Sanlitun tonight but it's currently
thundering and lightning and even if we were able to get a taxi it
probably wouldn't be the best idea to venture out into this storm
right now. Tomorrow we're going to a touristy market so I can pick up
presents for everyone at home. A week from tomorrow I will be packing
up to leave Beijing! I can't even believe it. :(

Beard Papa's

I FINALLY got some clean laundry this morning. phew. It was pretty
cheap here, dry cleaning all of my undergarments, two dresses, and
seven shirts cost 155 quai, or $ .

After picking up my laundry and lunch, we were introduced to Chris
Berry. He will be leading our discussions and lectures for the next
week, and I think that he is one of my favorite lecturers yet. He is
discussing the Chinese documentary movement with us. Some of his
lecture is definitely review, such as discussing the difference
between cinema verite and direct cinema, but I think that he listens
to when the students speak and doesn't take up too much time rambling
on by himself. He has facilitated more of a discussion atmosphere
rather than just lecturing all day. He also discussed Fred Wiseman at
length, which was great because Wiseman is a filmmaker who I admire
and enjoy discussing.

Once we were done with class for the day, Di, Tara, and I headed over
to Spice Spirit in Wudaokao. We THOUGHT we had coupons there but when
we got there it turned out that the coupons were for lunch, not
dinner. Oh well. We had a good dinner, and I really like the Kung Pao
shrimp they serve there.

It took three weeks for it to happen but it happened--I accidentally
ate some meat. It was a tiny, TINY cube of pork. I'm feeling kind of
queasy now, I hope I don't get sick. We went to Happy Lemon and Tara
ordered me a refreshing Lemon drink, then we headed over to the Lotus
supermarket so I could get some crackers in case I get sick later. I
ended up buying lots of Pocky (surprise surprise) and some unusual
snacks for friends at home. I wish I could bring you guys back some of
the chicken feet that they sell here.... but I don't think customs
would like that.

On our way out of the supermarket I found a Beard Papa's and got a
cream puff. yummmmmm

Tomorrow we're going to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. We're
calling tonight an early one so that we can get up early to go there
and beat the crowds. Then tomorrow we're going back to Sanlitun for
dinner and bar hopping. Seriously, I cannot believe I only have one
week left here. I'm tempted to stay!

Chinese swear words and Family Guy

This morning I headed over to 798 with Shelley, where we looked around
a few galleries. I bought a pretty necklace and some postcards of some
prints that I liked in one of the galleries. We had lunch at a good
Western place called Timezone 8 (apparently their head chef used to be
head chef at the Ritz Carlton) and then went back to Cao Changding to
Wu Wenguang's studio.

We saw two more films involving the Folk Memory Project today, once of
them centered around dance and was very inspiring to me. I talked to
the girl who made the dance film and she invited me to come back and
show them the film I'm planning to do in Europe that is similar to
their project. We ate dinner there and had a good talk with Wu
Wenguang and the rest of the students there.

After dinner we came back to the dorms, where I snacked and talked
with Di, Tara, and Melanie. They taught me some Chinese swear words
and I showed them an episode of Family Guy. They told me that I'm a
local now because I know so much Chinese! haha. I'm getting better at
it. I can't believe I only have a week left here, it's really
strange... next weekend will probably be spent tying up some loose
ends and packing, so this weekend is probably my last weekend "out" in
Beijing. sad! I will miss it here, but I definitely think I'll be back
soon.

Xie Fei and Laundry Day

I'm feeling a lot better today than I was yesterday, but these bug bites persist. I'm going to try and get to a Chinese medicine shop tomorrow and get something that will kill these things. They are really awful, giant bug bites and I don't know how the bugs keep getting into our room. blah.

Director Xie Fei of the Fourth Generation of Chinese directors came in and gave us a lecture today. He discussed the meaning behind each of the generations of Chinese directors and gave us the names of many films that had inspired both him and his coworkers. He gave a great Q&A session afterwards as well.

Later this afternoon we watched Xie Fei's film Black Snow, which was the story of a troubled youth (played by Jiang Wen) trying to rehabilitate himself after a stint in jail. It was one of the first times that the Fourth generation of directors had used an Urban setting, and it was an interesting film.

We had a lecture from James Tweedie and Yomi after the film, and they both discussed Youth Cinema and Youth Culture in China. After that we took the incredibly crowded subway at rush hour to Wudaokao and searched around until we found a good Yunnan place for dinner. After dinner Shelley and I went to a place called Happy Lemon, which serves milk tea. I got an orange-mango smoothie and then we took a cab home.

Tomorrow we are going back to Wu Wenguang's studio, and I am excited to see and hear more about the Memory Project.

Wudaokao

I got to sleep in today for one of the first times in three weeks...
SOOOO nice. I woke up around ten, showered, and Di, Tara, Shelley, and
I headed over to 798 for lunch. We ate at the At Cafe, the first cafe
that was built in 798. I had a tuna sandwich and fries... I had been
really craving some Western food and I got my fix for lunch. I only
crave Western food every once in a while, and it's nice that there are
places around here to satisfy my cravings.

After lunch we went to Wu Wenguang's studio. I met a woman there who
leads free dance classes every morning and I am thinking about going
on Thursday. She welcomed me to come since I told her about my
background in dance.

At Wu Wenguang's studio we learned about a project he is doing with
young filmmakers called the Memory Project. Each of the filmmakers
goes back to the village where they were born and attempts to fill in
the gaps in Chinese history, most of which occurred during and right
before the Cultural Revolution. One young man asked villagers about
the things that are in modern history books, most of which are altered
or just untrue. They were reluctant to talk to him, for obvious
reasons. If anyone in the government got wind of what they said they
could very possibly be in trouble.

Another young woman made a film about the famines in the countryside
during the Cultural Revolution. The film was heartbreaking, touching,
and shocking. I don't know if anyone knows about the famines during
that period of Chinese history, but basically the government
stockpiled food in order to show that they had as much food as other
advanced nations at the time. There was also a shortage of food
production due to starvation of factory workers. It was quite a
difficult time in Chinese history, and most of my fellow students who
I talked to who were educated through high school in China said that
their history books quoted the famine as being part of a "natural
disaster."

The young woman's film was fascinating to watch, and made me wonder if
I could do a similar project and interview people who were in East
Berlin before the wall fell. Ask them what it was like, how they
remember things... and also interview them about how they felt when
the wall fell. It's a good thing to tuck away for now.

I also learned that Wu Wenguang will be in Berlin during my time
there, at a festival at the Hau Theater. I will definitely pay him a
visit, he welcomed me to do so.

While Yomi and the rest of the group deliberated on where to eat for a
group dinner, Shelley, Tara, and I snuck off to Wudaokao to find
somewhere to eat. After a while the group dinners get tiresome, and
having someone order food for you can be kind of a drag. We went to a
popular Sichuan place and had a really good dinner, and then did a
little shopping at the BHG department store. I bought a pretty
dress... hopefully tomorrow I can get some laundry done because I'm
almost out of clothes.

I'm going to watch a movie now and then call it a night. I am always
incredibly worn out after we're out and about in Beijing. I also have
huge welt-like bug bites all over me. blah

lazy lazy days

Sunday and Monday were relatively calm and uneventful, other than the
fact that I think I am getting sick.

Sunday we went to Wuifangjang night market and I bought some souvenirs
for my family. Monday we again went to Songzhuang and saw some film
screenings. I think the movie theater's temperature made me sick. I
hope I get better soon. That's really all for now...

police men, rugby, Mongolian food

Yesterday was incredibly fun, and I was only in the dorms for about half an hour before I came back and CRASHED so I didn't have time to write about it. 

We woke up pretty early to go to Songzuahong, an artist's village on the outskirts of Beijing. The ride there was not long at all, and I read a bit and talked to Sam. Sam is a student from Oxford and he had been living in Beijing last year for his year abroad. He had some interesting insights into Chinese street culture and it was nice talking to him.

Once we got to the village we relaxed a bit and then saw Fang Liu's Last Train Home. It was by far the better film that we saw that day. Last Train Home was a documentary on migrant workers in Guangzhou. It was an incredibly touching and sad story of a family torn apart when the parents leave their Sichuan home to go work so they can provide for their three children. After the film was over we had a Q&A with the director who had some wonderful insights into making documentary films. This was probably also my favorite Q&A because the director certainly knew his subject and was very interesting.

I'll be honest here and say that I fell asleep for most of the second film. It was hot in the theater and I couldn't help it. What I saw of the film I didn't like though, and that seemed to be the general consensus.

The director of the second film told us the name of a good Mongolian food place in Songzuahong and "led" us there. We got lost a few times. The food was decent but the main dish was lamb so I didn't really partake in a lot of food.

Di, Shelley, and I made our way to Sanlitun bar district. At the second bar we went to we met an international rugby team who were staying in Beijing for a bit. They were all really nice... and very cute. Someone spilled their drink on Di's shirt, so we decided to call it a night.

Today is probably going to be pretty mellow, I'm going to go to a mall and pick up some clothes and attempt to drop off laundry somewhere. The laundry machines in our dorms don't work, so I need to take clothes I want washed to a dry cleaners. Then I'm going to come back and get some work done... I hope.

cabbage everywhere

Today was quite relaxing, and finished up with a free dinner, which is always lovely. I didn't sleep well last night, so I elected to take a half day today. We're allowed to have one free day a week, so I took half of today to catch up on my sleep. We ate lunch at the BFA restaurant and then returned to class.

Our guest today was director Liu Giang (I don't have my notes with me so I probably messed that up horribly). She directed Ox Hide 1 and 2. Her insights into film making were very interesting, and I particularly enjoyed asking her about a woman's place in the film industry in China. She said that women held the same position as men in the film industry here, and that she has never run into any difficulties being a woman in the industry, which was quite interesting. She also commented that men were more focused on their work, which in my opinion is a statement that sorely needs to be changed. 

After she left James Tweedie came and gave us a short debriefing about her films in relation to others. We then went out to dinner, coincidentally at the same restaurant that Di, Tara, Shelly, and I went for lunch to last Wednesday. It was very good, and conversation was great. I taught Di and Shelly how to count to five in Greek, and also how to say "thank you very much" and "hello." They taught me "good night," "watch your step," and how to count to five in Chinese. I'm learning slowly!

I'm in an internet cafe right now so I can update my Kindle and get some more books for tomorrow. We're going to a village that I can never remember the name of. It's an artist's community and there will be two film screenings and Q&A's with the directors afterwards.

Sanlitun-finally!

Today was a pretty long day. I considered not going to class today
just because I'm so exhausted, but I thought better and got out of bed
and went. I'm glad I did because today we started discussing video
art, and I had a sort of epiphany during class.

Our guest today was Tan Tan, a Chinese video artist and video art
teacher. She showed us some of her recent projects and then discussed
the history of experimental video and Chinese video art. She was very
interesting and during her discussion I came up with an idea for a
short film of my own. It was something that had already sort of been
gestating in my mind and I'd discussed it with a few people, but
somehow listening to Tan Tan and seeing her work inspired me. I don't
want to jinx it by discussing it in too much detail, but if all goes
well it should be done before I go to Europe.

ANYHOW, after class Gen (an American student from Harvard who has been
studying in China for the past two years), Poppy (a Scottish student
from Edinburgh Uni), Fay (a student from Bennington College in
Vermont), Ripple (a fellow UW student), and I went out to dinner in
the Sanlitun bar district. We walked around for a bit and then arrived
at the Bookworm cafe, a Western cafe where I had a really good cous
cous salad. We went to the Yashow clothing market where I paid WAY too
much for a pair of shoes (I really need to work on my haggling
skills), and then got some drinks and headed home.

I'm incredibly tired... I don't think I'll go out tomorrow night,
probably just to dinner and then to the internet cafe to get some work
done. This program is incredibly intensive, everyone else seems to be
just as worn out as I am and the heat certainly isn't helping.

Until tomorrow!!

Chinese Pizza Hut

Today was a very long and tiring day, but a good one. I have pictures from today and I'm going to try and put them up so we'll see how that goes...

First we went to a restaurant in Chongwen named after a famous Chinese author... the name is escaping me now but I'll edit with it later. It was really pretty, and good Shanghai food.

the roof of the restaurant

the entrance to the restaurant. There was a fountain on the other side but it wasn't going so I didn't take a picture.

This is me, Shelley, and Di all looking very full after lunch. This is not a cute picture of me. Gross.

After lunch we went to the Temple of Heaven. It's where the ancient Imperials went to pray for good crops and good fortune for the year to come.

The palace through the trees.

Me, Di, and Tara in front of the Temple

A good example of Ming dynasty architecture.

After the Temple of Heaven we went to the Silk Market in Chaoyang. It was nuts, seriously. All of these young women hawking their wares to you and calling you "pretty lady" in as many languages as they think you'll understand. You have to haggle to the DEATH, this one woman wanted to sell me a "jade" necklace for 350 yuan. When I walked away she CHASED after me and offered it to me for 30 yuan. I didn't buy it but that just goes to show you how much they inflate their prices. I ended up buying a pretty silk jacket and two rings. 

We had an INCREDIBLY long taxi ride back to the dorms, and when we got back Tara wasn't feeling well so we decided not to go to Sanlitun as we had planned. I hadn't eaten dinner yet, so I walked to the Pizza Hut by the dorms. I only learned the word for "cheese" because I thought it was going to be a normal American Pizza Hut but the Pizza Huts in China are NICE. They're like... sit down restaurants, I'd equate it to a California Pizza Kitchen in the US. I wish I had taken pictures, it was one of the nicest restaurants I've been to here! haha. I got take out and grabbed Zhang Yimou's Under the Hawthorne Tree at the DVD store. 

Tomorrow is back to class, and then we're going out to a village for some film screenings this weekend. I am tired! I can't believe this trip is already half way over. After last night seeing the "real" Beijing I want to stay even longer :/

Bai He and Houhai

Tonight was my first night ~out~ in Beijing and it was FUN. First we went to a vegetarian restaurant that has apparently been in a few famous films put out in the past year. It's called Bai He (Lily) vegetarian restaurant and is in the film If You Are the One, which my roommate says is a very good movie. I'll have to check it out when I'm back. We had some AWESOME fake meat, including sweet and sour pork, spare ribs, and sausages. It was really fun and everyone wants to go back there soon.

After dinner we headed over to Houhai, which is a bar district surrounding a man made lake in west Beijing. It's hopping, even on a Tuesday night. As you walk along the street, bar workers hawk their wares at you.... it's so funny, they speak any language they think you'll understand in order to get you to sit down and have a drink. One empty bar even offered us 30% off, but the rule of thumb in Beijing is not to go into a place if it's empty. There's about twenty million people in Beijing, not counting the tourists. Nowhere should be empty.

After walking around for a while we settled on a bar called Bar Sambal. I had a couple cocktails and some good conversation. I explained the ins and outs of Judaism to my Chinese classmates (who were not taught about any sort of religion in school), which was incredibly interesting. We shared popcorn and french fries and a man spun me a sugar mouse because I am a foreigner. Although now my Chinese classmates say that I am not a foreigner anymore, I am a local. Because I live here! haha. I'm slowly learning some Chinese and my roommate, Di, and friends Tara and Shelley are eager to help me learn Chinese as well as learn some American colloquialisms.

Tonight was great, I wish I had pictures to share but a) apparently that doesn't work and b) I took my camera out tonight..... with no memory card. Good job, Rachel.

Tomorrow we're going to the silk and pearl markets, the Temple of Heaven, and the Sanlitun bar district. We have the day off class so we planned a full day of shopping and sightseeing. This is the Beijing that I wanted to see.

three bug bites

I'm going to write about today now, because Di, Tara, and I are going out to a vegetarian restaurant and then bar hopping in the Sanlitun, I think.

We started today off with watching a film called Old Dog by Tibetan director Pema Tsedan. The film portrayed daily Tibetan life by showcasing one family's struggles with it's old sheep herding mastiff and a husband and wife's struggle to overcome fertility issues. It was a documentary-esque narrative film that was a bit slow at times but a great look at Tibetan life. 

After lunch director Pema came in and spoke to us about Tibet, Tibetan film, and the film industry in general. His discussion and answers to our questions were incredibly interesting. I have never closely studied Tibet before, of course I know the general history and present day situation, but his insights were nothing short of fascinating. He described the struggle that minority film has in China with the censorship bureau, saying that the censorship screening alone for Old Dog took six months. Can you imagine? Six months in talks solely about what the government does and doesn't want in your film. He also discussed the difference between films about Tibet and Tibetan films, as well as his own experiences receiving his MA at the BFA and working with an all-Tibetan film crew.

(As a side note, I've heard that the firewall here will censor certain words that it doesn't like, which may include some sensitive things about Tibet. So we'll see if this entire post gets through.)

Right now Di and Tara are getting ready to go to Be Hai, which is (apparently) a very famous Chinese vegetarian restaurant. Then we're going to go to some bars around the area. Yomi has been trying to plan a trip to the Great Wall tomorrow, but that is all very dependent on the weather. We will not be going if it is raining or thundering because that can be potentially dangerous. We will go at some point in the trip but whether or not we go tomorrow is debatable. I'll keep you all updated, readers (which is probably just my Mom and Dad).

Monday Monday

I realized yesterday as I was falling asleep that I forgot to write about Monday. So.

We had a lecture from Ackbar Abbas in the morning and afternoon. It was quite nice, and I really like him. His readings were quite interesting as were his lectures. I am sad to see him go, as those were our last two lectures from him. We also watched a film called Crazy English, about an English teacher with some different methods. 

After Ackbar's second lecture, Di, Tara, and I went to get some Shanxi food about two subway stops away from our dorms. Then we went to Carrefour where Di and Tara had a fun time showing me all of the snacks and drinks that they ate growing up. I have loads of Chinese candies and treats for everyone at home now.

That's about it.... sort of mellow yesterday. Di agreed to take me to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square next weekend, which is great because I didn't think anyone would want to go! I just had to ask her and she volunteered herself. I'm very excited. Tomorrow we're going to the Great Wall. I will be sure to take a lot of pictures and maybe Syd can upload them for me? We'll see what happens. Back to class now!

Finally, some pictures

Yesterday was not incredibly long, but we did a lot of walking around so I became tired out quickly. When you walk for even ten minutes in Beijing it feels like you've been walking around for an hour or two due to the heat. It's kind of ridiculous.

We started out the day by going to get my bank card. They had it at the Bank of Beijing branch and thanks to LingLing I got it right away. I'm going to have a bit of difficulty getting cash out from now on, but I think what I'll have to do is just go to a Carrefour or something and get cash back. It'll be easier than an ATM and there will be less of a chance of my card getting taken away again.

After we got my card back we went to a bakery down the street from the bank. They had some yummy stuff.

At 2:00 we headed over to the 798 Art District for a film screening. We saw Tan Chi Mui's Year Without a Summer. It was about young boys on a fishing island and was kind of weird but very aesthetically pleasing. After the screening there was a Q&A with the director, most of which I couldn't understand unfortunately. This is the director with Zhang Xianmen, who spoke to our class last week:

We decided to explore the UCCA (Ullens Center for Contemporary Art) after the screening. There were a few very cool exhibits there, but the most fun one was called "V." It was a light installation, with red lasers pointing down to a mirror which subsequently reflected them on the ceiling.

The lights made a V shape in the air, hence the name. It was a very popular exhibit, which is why there are people in almost all of my pictures. The lasers had a really cool effect on my hair.

It was also neat to look into the mirror on the floor.

Myspace status. You can also see my spiffy Sperrys (thanks Mom).

There was another exhibit there by the artist Not Vital. According to the blurb about him on the wall, he typically did mixed-media sculptures and this was the first time he experimented with classical oil paintings. They were far from classical, though.

This is his self-portrait as a North Korean. I'm really sorry if these photos are sideways, I'm not quite sure how to fix that as they show up as the correct orientation on my computer... and I don't actually have access to blogger. idk. Also can someone email me or comment on this post if all of the pictures show up? I haven't made a post with this many pictures yet so I don't know if they'll all work. I hope they do.

We ate dinner and walked around the 798 some more. This was probably my favorite installation there.

Now, for my frustrations. Most of the people in this group are either Chinese nationals or expats who have been living in Beijing for a while. Which means nobody wants to do touristy stuff with me. Everyone has already seen Dead Mao and Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Most of the students are content to sit in their air conditioned dorms and play cards or watch movies. This kind of sucks for me. I'm going to see if I can maybe get one of the foreigners who lives here to show me around a bit, because I think they'll possibly be a bit more sympathetic to the fact that this is probably the only time I'll be in China for a while.

I'm really loving what I have seen of Beijing. It's a terribly interesting and beautiful city if you get to the right parts. I only wish I spoke more Chinese and that the other students in my group were as interested in exploring the city as I was. We'll see what happens from now on... I hope things take a turn for the better now.

bananas

I'm going to refrain from writing about today right now because a)I'm
a bit frustrated b)I'm very tired and c)I just got some new DVDs that
I want to watch. I'm going to go to the Summer Palace tomorrow, and I
have some pictures and stories from today, but I need to rest.

xie xie

art art art

Today was a long, frustrating, and fantastic day. This morning on the
way to breakfast I decided to get some cash out from the ATM by the
west gate. As soon as I put my card in the machine, it shut off
completely, as though someone had pulled the plug. You can imagine
that this was distressing because I'm a bit low on cash right now and
that card has most of my savings on it. After some panic, stress, and
a lecture from Ackbar Abbas, I talked to LingLing and found out that
her husband works at the bank that owns the ATM that I lost my card
in. She and her husband were incredibly helpful, and my card is
waiting at the local branch of the bank to be picked up tomorrow.
Thanks Lingling!!

After all that was solved, Professor Mu, the head of the
cinematography department, came and gave us a lecture. It was
fascinating, probably my favorite guest speaker so far. he talked
about the art of cinematography as well as the relationship between
the director and the cinematographer. Professor Mu was part of the
Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, which means that he is good
friends with Zhang Yimou. He discussed Zhang as well as the Fifth
generation and Chinese cinema as a whole. It was quite fascinating.

Following Professor Mu's lecture, Yomi invited a few of us to visit a
performance artist's studio while he interviewed him for a newspaper.
It was absolutely wonderful to see this artist's space and work and
while I didn't understand most of the interview (it was conducted in
Chinese), just seeing the artist's work was worth the trip.