Abroad in Beijing: May 2016

My final month in China. It’s really bittersweet to think that my senior year ends here, but it will be nice to see my family and friends again after so long. I’ve been spending my final moments here eating my favorite foods and hanging out a little bit more with some of the people I’ve met throughout the year. At one point my two friends from Cuba decided they wanted to come see Tsinghua University because they were interested in extending their studies here, so I gave them a little tour of its huge campus. Tsinghua University actually has some really nice scenic and historic spots. Some of the buildings and structures are rather old and the gardens are lush with greenery and beautiful in their layouts. One place a lot of people like to go to for photo taking is the arc towards the south center of campus, which stands as a symbol for the university. A couple of weeks later, we met again for a cultural fair on their campus at Peking (Beijing) University, Tsinghua University’s largest rival for top national ranking. However, Peking University’s cultural fair seemed a lot bigger than the one Tsinghua University hosted. The entire football field was surrounded by booths representing different nations, with this time there finally being a booth representing America. In the center of the football field was a large stage where people would later put on a fashion show with styles of clothing respective to their cultures and a talent show where people would demonstrate the talents of their countries. My Cuban friends went on stage with several others for salsa dancing, Brazilians demonstrated Capoeira, South Koreans danced to K-pop, and there were a few other performances as well. The food was really cheap and delicious, and a lot of the people loved talking about their cultures when you visited their booths.

At one point while I still had the time in Beijing, I had visited the American Embassy for a coffee meeting that they had arranged for students. Twice each month they invite American students who are signed up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to come in and meet Chinese students who want to learn more about our country. Many wanted to study abroad at American universities and know more about what it was like living there. Unfortunately, not a lot of American students came in the day that I went, so the group ratio was largely disproportionate, with maybe five Chinese students to every American one. It made for an interesting conversation nonetheless, but at times it could be uncomfortable. I was questioned a lot about my opinion on current politics and gun laws, whether I believed Trump could be taken seriously as a candidate and if I supported our right to bear arms. The South China Sea situation came up as well as more sensitive topics such as racial stereotyping in the U.S.. The former reminded me of a time when I was riding on the subway and a young teen came up to me to practice his English. Every time he spoke to me, I responded back in Mandarin, and it made everyone in the train just stare at us with this weird exchange of words coming from who you wouldn’t expect them to come from. One of the first things he inquired about though was whether or not I believed the U.S. would win in a war against China in the South China Sea, and I couldn’t give an honest opinion at that time without insulting anyone in the car with us.

Similarly, I did not want to go too far into this area of discussion with the students who came to our Embassy to learn about American culture because I did not feel it was appropriate. Although, I could understand their curiosity and why they’d ask my opinion about it. It was difficult being on the receiving end of these kinds of questions because at times it either felt as though they were hinting that our country was a mess or suggesting that we were waging a losing battle, and it was awkward to explain certain domestic issues to people who don’t have the same historical background as our own. Yet, it was worth it to try and understand their viewpoint from the outside and to clarify some of the things they were wondering about. The quality of each group conversation was largely dependent on the language skills of the participants. At least one or two people in each group could speak fluent English, and these were the people who got into the more sensitive topics. The others generally asked more about where I went to school and what it’s like in New York. Aside from allowing people to learn more about each other’s culture, the meeting also presented itself as a great opportunity for networking. A lot of people exchanged phone numbers at the end of the meeting so that they could continue to contact each other and learn more. A couple of them asked me out for dinner later on in the month, but unfortunately my departure date was coming up quick and there was a lot to get done before I left.

Our study abroad group had one final field trip this month that was probably one of the best I’ve gone on this year. We visited the Longquan 龙泉 (Dragon Spring) Buddhist Temple on the day of the Buddha’s birthday and we got to see a lot of cool things going on. The moment we arrived, we stepped off of the bus and out into the rain to see a gorgeous view of the temple and the mist covered mountains in the background. The atmosphere was perfect for this trip as rain is symbolically attributed to purification and we would soon participate in a purification ritual in which we would gather together to pour cleansed fragrant water over a golden baby Buddha statue. This custom is not too uncommon for Buddhists to practice on this day and is meant to be symbolic for cleansing oneself of bad conduct and thought. The statue was in the center of a fountain embellished with a variety of flowers and several ladles were laid across towards the golden statue so that people could pour water over it. Each person poured three scoops of water as per custom and then our group left to talk with one of the head monks at a special meeting place to learn more about the temple and Buddhism.

The room we convened in looked a lot like a typical conference room equipped with microphones and was styled with modern Chinese decorations. An oddity was that there was a quartz crystal ball in the center of the room, and I wondered at the time if this room was also where monks met to scry or if it was just another decoration to compliment the stone dragon holding an orb in its mouth up on the ceiling. Seeing everything in this room made me question a little bit their intent to live simple because it looked like a lot of money was invested into it. Even the head monk was wearing an expensive-looking watch and had an iphone. After another student asked why he was allowed to have a cell phone on him, he explained that many of the monks at the temple still wanted to keep in touch with their families, but that despite the technology their lives were nonetheless highly devoted to their practices and living within the temple. We were offered some tea and spent at least an hour conversing with him, and then we all left to eat lunch together in their dining halls. The men were told to leave first and the women had to line up to leave behind them, and we couldn’t understand why at first until another female student explained that it was custom to separate the men’s and women’s dining halls. It reminded me of the temple we went to in Shangri-La where women were not even allowed into the kitchen areas. For lunch they gave us a bowl of congee and a vegan dish with a plain bun. The meal sounds rather simple but the way they prepared the food made everything taste delicious.

Afterwards, we were given a tour of the temple and taken into the mountainside to see the view from the top and to visit one of their cave altars. The temple had a beautiful landscape layout and merged well with the nature around it. Once we walked back down to the bottom, we saw at least a hundred monks lining up in front of the altar where we originally did the purification ritual. They were chanting as they moved slowly into some of the buildings for prayer while we were led to the second floor of another building to observe and participate in one of their rituals. We slipped on a protective layer over our shoes to walk in while one of the head monks was reciting a prayer, and we each kneeled down onto a cushion with a written copy of their prayers in Mandarin. Every time the monks bowed down onto their cushions, we joined in with them making sure to touch our foreheads to the floor. At certain points we changed directions and repeated the same process, not fully understanding what was going on in the moment but being part of the ceremony really felt like an honor because typically they do not allow outsiders to do this. We left quietly while they continued on with their ritual and then as it was getting dark, we went to one of their media rooms where they create videos to illustrate some of the values and philosophies of Buddhism. Some of these videos were simple 2D animations while others were made using stop motion. They also have a whole team of international people who translate and subtitle these videos into several different languages, and then once finished, they are posted online so that their teachings are open to others who are curious about the religion. Once the presentations were over with, we were guided back towards the main entrance. They gave us each a small prayer bead bracelet and a picture book that described more about Buddhist values and philosophies, and then we all headed home for the evening for a good night’s rest.

My final week in China. It was the last time I was going to see everybody from my kung fu class and it was sad to think that my adventures with them were going to end. I wasn’t the only one leaving at the time, as there were others who were shortly going back home from our group as well. As his way of saying goodbye to us, our instructor treated us all to a nice dinner at a restaurant near the park where we’ve practiced all year and we were feeling a little sentimental from the moment. We all wanted to be the one to treat the table to dinner, and we got into a light and friendly feud over who would pay the bill by the end of it. It was one Chinese custom we appeared to all pick up throughout our time here that I was going to miss. On one of the last few days where I had class with these guys as well, we shared an amazing moment together when we got a glimpse of a double rainbow over the traditional Chinese-style building we practiced in. Within an instant, everyone in Beijing was snapping photos of it and posting it onto their Wechat Photo Albums, with some people getting a full view of the rainbow over the city. To me it was a sign of all the good things I had come to experience during my time here and it made me really appreciate the opportunity to have gotten to do all of this.

Whatever other time I had left before I had to go home was used for gift shopping and enjoying all of my favorite foods. I went back to some of the other shopping markets I had been to before, such as Nanluoguxiang, the Snack Street in Wangfujin, and the Silk Market. I did not have as much luck shopping in these areas as I would have liked, but it did give me a chance to do something I had wanted to do all year while I was still here. On a sudden whim, I went back to the corner of Wangfujing, to the Donghuamen Night Market, where you can buy foods that most tourists feel squeamish about. I decided to send a video recording to my mom eating some of the most dangerous looking stuff on the market. After haggling with one of the vendors, I crunched into a silk worm kabob, a centipede on a stick, and for dessert, a tasty tarantula. I lie, it wasn’t all that delectable and it had a very sandy texture, but it was absolutely worth it to watch her reaction. A small group of foreigners near me were debating which one they were even going to try before they saw that, jeering at each other to man up and try something, so it was kind of funny to see them shocked when I was going in for three. I later did a live chat with my mother while she was at work with another employee and ate a large black scorpion in front of her for good measure, starting with the tail.

It wasn’t until I arrived at Qianmen Street (Qianmen Dajie 前门大街 ) that I finally got to shopping. One of my kung fu buddies recommended this place and after checking it out, I regret that I didn’t find it sooner in the year. The main street has shops that seem more expensive, but if you look around behind the main buildings and in the neighboring areas, you can find some great souvenirs for cheap. I wound up coming back here a few different times to grab stuff for all of my family and friends, and I had hardly any difficulty finding what I was looking for because there were so many shops. On one night though, something happened that made me feel a little guilty for doing all of this shopping. I was at a rundown stand buying a bunch of Chinese hand fans and I chatted a little bit with the vendor. He seemed to enjoy it because he didn’t speak too often with foreigners and it was attracting a few extra customers to his booth who wanted to listen in. At one point though while I was speaking with him about who I was getting these gifts for, he made a remark that made me feel a little bit shameful for boasting about going souvenir shopping. He talked about how his family was struggling financially and was saying that there was little hope for their family to get out of the situation. He talked about the limited social mobility they had and how their children were not receiving an education that would put them out of the same position in the future.

When he brought me into the conversation saying that I was fortunate enough to be able to afford to go into a university and after he told me that his children would not even be smart enough to receive a higher education, I felt a little downhearted for bringing up my schooling earlier in the conversation and shocked that he could even say something like that. Sometimes people in China like to downplay the success of their children’s accomplishments in order to compliment others in a private conversation, but his comment was directly referring to the difficulties his family was facing and it made it clear he was not too optimistic about anything changing anytime soon. The man was very kind and despite his situation, it was obvious he was hardworking and made the most out of what he could do to provide for his family. Looking around, you could guess that some of the other vendors were probably stepping in his own shoes and were familiar with the struggle. You can find a lot of hidden corners in the city that are not as well off just as this, but actually speaking with this man made me realize that I had become a little desensitized to some of the conditions people are facing.

On my last day in China early June, it was a pain packing up and preparing to leave. I waited too long to actually start getting ready and I was still on the hunt for some last-minute gifts for back home. I went out to Walmart to look around for any snacks I thought people would be interested in trying, such as Chinese sweets and flavored Lays chips you can only find in certain regions. I bought several tiny bags with flavors such as Yogurt, Cucumber, Squid, and Lamb, and got the idea to have some of my friends try guessing what flavor they were eating. By the time I got back to my dorm room, it was late at night and I had still not yet started packing. Worse yet, as I was putting stuff away and deciding on what to throw out, I realized that I had collected far more stuff than I anticipated and didn’t have enough room in my suitcases to bring everything back. As it turned out, I had overpacked in the beginning of the year when I was preparing to leave for China. I was extremely fortunate however that someone had decided to toss out their old beat-up suitcase on my dorm room floor, so I took advantage of it and stuffed my things into it. The next morning, as I was waiting for my taxi to come and take me to the airport, I still had to figure out what to do with the rest of the stuff I wasn’t bringing. As late as it was, I didn’t have the time to sell anything, so my only other option was to give it all away to the SU Abroad office to pass on to other students. It was nice to know that it would be put to good use, but I was still a little disappointed not to have prepared ahead of time to sell at least some of it. Before I left, I said my final goodbyes to some of my friends and teachers, and then after my taxi arrived, I was on my way home.

After a long 14 hour plane ride, and an hour long layover flight later, I was finally back in my hometown. My parents met me at the airport and later surprised me with some ‘welcome home’ decorations on the house. I was relieved to be back and see some of the familiar sights of my home, and of course to have my family there in person. At the same time though, I was already missing being in China. The thrill of being in a foreign land on the other side of the world is unlike any other and I craved the adventures that went along with it. Over the year, being abroad helped develop me into a more independent and capable person. It gave me the opportunity to immerse myself into a culture totally unlike my own and it has left me excited to see what other parts of the world my future career takes me to. I hope that anyone else who decides to take the trip to Beijing gets the most out of it as well and takes full advantage of their time there. Thanks for reading my blog, and feel free to check out other parts of this site to learn a little bit more about the experience in China.

Abroad in Beijing

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Entry 9 - Cultural Event at Peking University, Embassy Visit, Longquan Buddhist Temple, Final Experiences

Entry 9 - Photos