Ashley and her coworkers

Novel Energy Staff:
From Left to right: Cathy, me, Miwi, Driver, Nancy, Lucy, and Moni

From Alyssa

6/29/2011

        The past few days have been busy at work- I have all of my projects culminating at the same time as well as the internship reflection paper to worry about. I have been also really working on my Chinese (both speaking and writing) with Ting Ting at the office. She laughs at me when I say something the wrong way, but normally she can understand what I’m getting at. I have also been thinking a lot about the fall semester back at AU, because I’m thinking of switching some classes around based on what I am learning and researching this summer at my internship. Right now, my classes in the fall will be about US Security Policy and Global & Human Security, but I’m actually considering switching to International Environmental Politics because I find the work I am doing fascinating right now.

        The Great Wall trip we had on Saturday was really fun—I absolutely loved seeing it with my own eyes. It is every bit as cool as it is in all of the pictures. When I got home I wikipedia’d it to find out more about it, and it spans over 5,000 miles! That’s longer than NYC to LA by a significant distance. I was very impressed, as I’m sure everyone else is who has been to see it. I had been told by my parents (who went there in 2008) that it was really steep and hard to climb, but I was surprised at just how difficult it was. The builders of the wall made every single step a different width than the previous step, and it’s very steep. I feared for my life at times because I could see myself falling over the edge. Ashley and I are both terrified of heights—this was intense. But fun none-the-less. The scenery is breath-taking. I don’t think I have ever been anywhere in my life more beautiful than the Great Wall. (Besides maybe Vail, CO- it’s a tie.)

        In other news, next week Ashley and I will be going to Seoul for 4 days before returning to the US! (Time went by so fast here; I can’t believe it’s almost time to go home.) I can’t wait to see Korea.

        I think I definitely want to come back to China at some point in my life for an extended period of time. I have to convince Nick (my hopefully open-minded and adventurous boyfriend) to try to find a job in Beijing so we can move here some day for a bit. It’s an awesome city and I’m so glad I decided to do this internship.

At the Great Wall

The 4 of us as soon as we got to the top 

It was really steep

Ashley showcasing the cannons

Alyssa, very happy to be there

From Alyssa

Alyssa, Professor Kiang, and co-worker Fan Jie at the office

Ashley and Alyssa at the gate of the Lama Temple

From Ashley

Blog 6.

Work this week was…well work. Monday I was sick due to either chicken
on a stick or spaghetti that I had for dinner on Sat. Alyssa and I
both had each, and we both were sick. The irony of it…we’d had chicken
on a stick before (sure from a different street vendor…so it’s
entirely different) but Dmitri totally was playing the safe card and
seeing how chicken on a stick made us feel the first time…we totally
were fine…but he was still in debate. Then second go around we got
sick…naturally he thought this was hilarious.

But so Tuesday, Miwi needed my computer (the only Mac in the office)
for her project so I was asked to switch with her. After work I met
Alyssa in Sanlitun for dinner (it’s the embassy area). We had Chinese
versions of American food…and I got a blue cheese hamburger and it
could have been the best burger I’ve ever had in my life. Then somehow
I lost my phone somewhere (my Chinese one that had no reception
anywhere…so not that devastated.)

View from Miwi's desk

So Wednesday was more of Miwi’s office area. She sits at the window
and has a lovely view…however it was HOT. The wall of her desk just
totally blocks the air. I was in shorts and a tank top just sweating
sitting down. Keep in mind they ACTUALLY had the air-conditioning on,
but as the norm, the window was open. I said I was hot, and Miwi was
like “well it helps if the window is closed.” So later I decided to
shut it…the problem is Lucy went right behind me and opened it. So
about 2 hours later Lucy asked me if I was hot…I said yes, and she
advised me to open the door to the private office next to me, and turn
on that air conditioner, again with the window open and the other one
on. This is not a great method of cooling down an area, but sure I’ll
go along. The part that hit me the hardest however was that I had just
read an article about how Shanghai is having to close businesses and
shopping areas on top of factories during the summer to reduce the
power usage and reroute it to homes. Clearly, we were wasting energy,
but what can you do? On a happier note…we all got cacti!

Miwi's cactus is on the left, and mine is on the right

The new intern (Moni…I think) she’s from Hong Kong and looks so
young…she’s an undergraduate for sure and I think she’s really like
18…but she started this week. And because it was Cathy’s and Driver’s
(I don’t know his name…we nod and non-verbally communicate mostly)
birthday we got cake! So it was happy birthday and welcome cake. We
sang happy birthday and proceeded to listen to Josh Grobin and the
Fray for a while. Later in the afternoon my first shipment of Chinese
print catalogs to museums and universities went out. NYU, AU, and the
Freer Sackler were the biggies in the batch. Hopefully they’ll decide
to take some art!



Thursday started off like any normal workday…except for one reason or
another everyone was out of the office except for Cathy, Moni, and me.
Lunch was a surprise though. Meat is not eaten here at all like it is
in America, so I was trying to find a piece and kept looking at it.
Finally they asked me if I knew what it was. I said well clearly it’s
meat, and they all laughed. We had pigs feet for lunch…Later, I
realized I was having a hard time seeing (around like 3pm) so I had to
turn on the light (the lights-all but one—typically stay off. Within
the next hour it started massively thundering and lightening and a
huge downpour started. Of course it was the ONE-day the entire week
I’d actually dressed up for work. Thankfully I had my umbrella and
they gave me a poncho…and then Lucy dropped Moni and me at the metro.
It’s been strange here weather wise. Beijing does not get that much
rain, but due to the massively flooding in the southern region it’s
been raining here a lot more.

Chinese Birthday Cake

From Dmitriy

Regarding my short and long distance journeys, I have already been to a numerous famous Buddhists’ temples (Dalai lama temple, Temple of Heaven), emperors’ palaces (Forbidden City, Summer Palace), Mao Tse-tung mausoleum in Beijing.

Ten days ago, I went to Shanghai where I spend three days. At the beginning, it was not very exciting trip since it was raining and I did not have an umbrella; a hotel where I made online reservation was not the same as on online pictures and did not have an internet access that is why I needed to look for a new hotel.

 

Also, it took me about three hours to find a map of Shanghai, which is very helpful in explaining to taxi drivers where you want to go if you speak no Chinese.

However, after I resolved all these difficulties, my opinion about this city has changed drastically. I was impressed by architecture of mostly 18^th and 19^th century 5 star hotels along the Shanghai’s bund, which in unison harmonize with a modern business district; I call it Chinese Manhattan.

From Dmitriy--Internship

As it was arranged, I started working for China DR Solution Company. The company specializes in e-commerce and consists of two branches, one is located in USA and the other in China. China DR Solution’s branch in China is the typical example of an offshore internet business where workers from Vietnam, Malaysia and, of course, China perform different types of services through the internet.  Such services include, for example, work with internet search engines, such as Google, and numerous article publishing websites.

Currently they are working on the contracts they received from BlackBerry to promote new BlackBerry phones on Google (Malaysia) using different combinations of key words. In other words, they make sure that if somebody in Malaysia wants to Google BlackBerry phones, the contractor’s advertisement will appear among top ten search results.

I have been working on editing articles using specific key words, which are attached to a specific code and linked to contractors’ websites, and posting them on a certain websites. The whole purpose for this is that when next time somebody finds interesting online articles, a reader can go further in his or her research by clicking on a key word, which would take a reader straight to contractors’ website.

By the end of my internship, I will be able to learn how e-commerce works in sphere of providing internet services to contractors from different parts of the world.

            

From Tamara

Blog #5

Living in another country affords one the chance to try out many new experiences among them new varieties of food. While this can be done in a number of ways including: visiting restaurants, picking unfamiliar or local delicacies etc. It is also important to remember that not all food settles with a person well. Having already visited the clinic here at Beida for two colds, I am not one to readily willing to chance a possible upset stomach by eating things from random street vendors. I am however, a lover of fruit and if given the chance will indulge in trying out a variety of delectable fresh produce. Hence, upon hearing from not only past exchange students and also younger staff on Beida's campus about the unique taste of Lychee or 荔枝，I felt it was something to put on my priority list of "must try" items.

 

To make this adventure a little less stressful, I decided to look at the supermarket called Ol'e. It's located in Xidan and while its focus cliental is ritzy of office workers, the prices are not horrible. Here I was able to procure a small basket of Lychee for around 21RMB and while you will find a similar if not the same product in the carts of most street vendors, it is a less stressful way to try the fruit. To eat, you have to peel it much like an apple till you reach a transparent inner layer. It’s a rather sweet fruit from what I found out and like many sweet things it will leave your fingers a bit sticky. But well worth it for those wanting to try something that is distinctly know in the region.

Alyssa Parker

6/20/11

Blog Post #12

The four of us spent the whole day together on Sunday- first we went to see Mao Zedong’s body. They have preserved it in a mausoleum for 35 years now.  You get in a line of people going to pay their respects to Mao, and you walk through this silent room where his body is on display. I get that he is the founder of the Chinese Communist Party, and I understand that different cultures do different things. I asked a girl in my office very diplomatically what she thought of Mao’s body being on display- she said “hen qiguai.” (it’s very weird.) So, I don’t feel entirely bad saying yes, I think it’s extremely strange to be worshipping Mao’s body 35 years after he died. But, to each his own I guess.

Next, we went to the Lama temple in central Beijing to see the Buddhist monks. I felt really odd being in there, as it’s really a place where Buddhists go to pray. It would be like going into a church in the US and taking pictures during a mass. So, I felt like we shouldn’t be intruding in on their praying time. Then after that we found a pretty sweet restaurant next to it, and it said they have dumplings. Problem is, there are  6 words for dumplings in Chinese, and apparently I was saying the wrong ones. The waitress said they didn’t have any dumplings- then we saw the table next our table order them, so we were like aha! You DO have them. Turns out, after all of that, the dumplings weren’t that good anyway.

Finally, we went to a market that sells a whole bunch of different things. They have little stalls over 7 floors of stuff selling things like purses, shoes, clothes, jewelry, etc. Before we went, Ashley made it sound like it was going to be mass chaos- I envisioned a zillion people (I mean, it’s China- there are a zillion people everywhere) screaming at each other over prices, running through the aisles like Supermarket Sweep, jumping over stalls, and crazed old ladies grabbing us to sell us stuff. This was not exactly the case. Yes, it was really loud and there were a lot of people, but it wasn’t the mass hysteria I thought it would be. We discovered Dmitri has a hidden talent- haggling. For example, he somehow managed to get things down from around 800 yuan to like 40. Personally, I really hate haggling because vendors start yelling at you most of the time and tell you that you are crazy, and then I cave too soon, and it’s just a mess. Dmitri really took care of that end of it for the 3 girls. Overall, it was a long day, but fun to see all of the interesting and different things that go on in China.

Not related to anything in this blog post, I have posted some pictures of my office too to show what it looks like- it’s on the 41^st floor and the view is really nice on a clear day. Most days in Beijing are really foggy due to the pollution.

Internship location

 

From Alyssa

Alyssa Parker

6/18/2011

Blog Post 11

      So, nobody freak out, but Ashley and I think we may have contracted a mild case of food poisoning. Last night we ate chicken-on-a-stick from a street vendor, and since then we have been having intermittent stabbing pains in our abdomens. Both of us are having the same exact thing, so it must have either been from the chicken-on-a-stick, or the spaghetti we both ate that had unidentified seafood in it. Every time I have eaten since the chicken, it’s been upsetting to the stomach. It’s not so bad that we have to go see a doctor, but it’s kind of intense sometimes. Hopefully it will be gone within the next day or so.

      Yesterday night we went to Houhai area for dinner- this is an ultra-touristy area that has a million little sidewalk cafes, a lot of bars, hookah bars, and of course a few Starbucks. It’s very nice, and there is a lake in the middle that has paddle boaters and 9-10 person row boats. Of course, everything there is super expensive, and it’s packed full of waiguoren (foreigners). Ashley and I saw more foreigners in a couple hours here than we have in 3 weeks combined. So THAT’S where they’ve been keeping them all. Anyway, we ate dinner outside in a café and ordered spaghetti (which may or may not have contributed to food poisoning). It was a really nice night, and I could see it being a great spot for a romantic date night.  One thing I’ve noticed about China- it’s really difficult to get waiters to bring you cold water to drink during meals. It’s almost as though they just usually don’t have beverages during meals. Ashley and I always ask for bingshui (cold water) when ordering our food, but the waiter inevitably either looks at us really strangely like we are crazy for wanting water, or brings us hot water instead. I learned the word for bottled water just the other day actually. Another thing about waiters in China is that they HOVER. Woah, do they hover. Literally as soon as you sit down you are expected to tell the waitress what you would like to eat and drink. I always have to tell them to hang on a second because I need to look at the menu, and they give me the strangest looks like, “what? You don’t know what you want as soon as you sit down? Weird.” I actually had a waitress in a Korean restaurant tell me, “OK, I will let you look for a second, but hurry up.” Seriously, true story. But, when I go to meals with people from work, they always know exactly what to order as soon as they get there, so I guess it’s just the norm here.

      Today during the day we went to the Forbidden City with the undergrads from the China Studies Institute at Beida, who only just arrived here this week. I really envy these kids- they get to stay here until December and go through an intensive Chinese language immersion program. Anyway, the Forbidden City was really neat and we took a bunch of pictures which are posted below.

Houhai district in the central part of Beijing

Alyssa and Ashley's romantic dinner in Houhai

The family in front of the Mao tribute at Tiananmen

Alyssa, Ashley and Tamara inside the Forbidden City

Dmtryo trying to see what was behind a forbidden door in the Forbidden City- we then promptly heard an announcement on the p.a. system to back away from the locked door

From Ashley

Just another normal week in the office…not.

Monday and Tuesday were pretty normal. Just a visit by the CEO of the multi-million dollar office. However, Wednesday and Thursday were straight out strange.

Wednesday was eerie on it’s own. It’d rained through out the night so the basketball courts were totally empty (normally they are packed with even onlookers). Then at the construction on campus, some of the workers were in a fistfight. Get to the metro, make my hour and a half long commute, for a woman to be screaming and flailing her arms while on the phone. No idea what that was about, but I get to work, for there to be an early morning meeting on the fundamentals of Capitalism. Everyone looked dumbfounded except for naturally me and the Chinese-Canadian CEO. Later in the day we redecorated the office because Mr. Wong decided he wanted to take some of the art to his OTHER apartment in Hong Kong. So somehow out of that deal I got a cool print that is too large to be viewed in one photo!

Print from Mr. Wong

So then today…I ran into Miwi and Nancy on the elevator and they said there was an afternoon meeting at the Agricultural University.  I assumed I’d be staying at the office, but Mr. Wong asked me if I’d like to come, so of course I said yes, and am I glad I did. It could possibly been one of the strangest experiences I’ve ever had. To start, we listened to Christmas music in the van on the way there as we passed a HUGE neighborhood that looked like it’s straight out of Europe. He said when it opens he’d take us one Friday evening! The minute we got to the Agriculture University, he tried to get me a boyfriend, which is strange considering Miwi and Nancy are much older than me and single, but I laughed it off which he commended.

Next thing I know we’re in the Chancellor of the Agricultural University’s office, and I’m sitting in between him and the school’s highest ranking CCP party official. There’s a cameraman following us around, and I had some lovely conversation with both men. --As a side note, when I was in Jinan visiting a friend who is teaching English at a university there, I was the guest lecturer in her classes. Every class asked me to sing, which I thought to be very odd.-- Then so I’m at this super important meeting…and Miwi stands up and starts belting out a beautiful song. I’m of course then asked to sing (and I politely declined), but soon after the 30 min discussion of pingguo (apple) iPads and iPhones, Mr. Wong gets out his iPhone and starts blasting some Cultural Revolution era song. Chancellor told me that the song is about working hard 365 days- all I could understand in the song was 365- as everyone belted along. After another legitimate photo op where I’m placed between the CCP member and the Chancellor right in the middle of the picture and am offered an English teaching job, we go to meet the students that we actually came for. (Mr. Wong yearly sponsors the education of 300 students from poor and rural areas. We met 50 at the Agricultural University.)

The point of the meeting was to discuss ways to change your life. Mr. Wong gave them lots of very enthusiastic discussion…at one point he was kicking his leg over his head…along side videos and yes, more song. The same 365 days song was played again and again everyone sang along. There was also a movie about children and books. Turns out, he also sponsors a library project and was encouraging these students to return home and spread the word to their high-schools and towns about him providing a library for them. Periodically he’d translate for me (hence me knowing about the libraries), but then it’s spotlight Ashley hour. Everyone was encouraged to use his or her English (since it is a way to change their life), but everyone was too shy. He pulled out his wallet and offered the first 3 students to ask me questions 100 RMB (around 18 dollars). So one boy stands up (and the point is to use English but he asked me in Chinese). I thought he said something about loving my mother in English so of course I said yes very much. Apparently he asked me to marry him in Chinese. Mr. Wong was like “did you understand him?” and when he translated I said oh no and everyone started laughing hysterically. But then there were more normal questions like how did you fund your education and coming to China, etc.

Finally as we’re wrapping up, another song comes on, and everyone instantaneously stands up and begins holding hands. I assumed it was the Chinese national anthem and didn’t know what to do. Mr. Pang (the company’s vice-president) took my hand and so did the student on my left. So next thing I know I’m swaying and holding hands. Turns out it was the New Year’s song, but with Chinese words.

So as I think we’re about to head back to the office, we get a personal tour of the Agricultural Nutrition building. Turns out they do all kinds of testing on what is good for you and what food really contains and what not. It looked like a huge science lab, but ironically with the Great Wall Winery in the middle. Followed by another sit down discussion, but this time in a hot dark room (the Chinese way). Eventually gifts were given and since I was close to Beida Miwi said I should taxi which I’d already considered. Then everyone began freaking out about me taxing alone (it’s maybe a 20 minute ride…) so then Brin appears. He’s assigned with taking me back to Beida, but he turned out to be a teacher at the Agricultural University with great English and quite fun.

Overall it was a crazy week. It was so insane today; I left a lot of my things at the office, but overall a great week. I hope to get more done next week (the 3^rd book is coming out soon, and if I do well I get to be named as an international consultant). I feel like with Mr. Wong in office though, this is how most things go. I definitely think I have the best internship here.

Ashley and Alyssa at the Olympic Birds Nest

From Ashley

Blog 5

I always just feel out of the American pop culture loop in China. This
is partially due to Rolling Stone, Mtv, etc being blocked here.
Typically however I accept it at face value and am not bothered by the
censorship. However, right now, I’m quite annoyed.

I downloaded skype…in which it takes forever to find the Mac version
on the Chinese site. Then, so I finally get it, and it’s in another
language. Logically, Chinese would make sense, or even English, but
no, it’s in French. This wouldn’t be that big of an issue, if it’d
let me change it to English, but the way you apparently change
language does not exist on this version! I even uninstalled and
reinstalled for the same thing to happen.
How does censorship relate…if youtube was not banned, I could easily
watch any of the like 5 videos explaining how to change it (that is
also assuming the government decided to not mess with the internet for
the hell of it and the internet actually worked). But no, this is not
an option. I’m currently Google translating the Chinese skype site
into English, to try to figure out how to change it from French. And
the help page is in French, so I’m Google translating from French to
English.

“Est-ce que je peux utiliser Skype dans ma langue ?
Oui. Nous travaillons d'arrache pied à traduire Skype dans autant de
langues que possible. Vous pouvez changer la langue de Skype en
sélectionnant Outils > Changer de langue”

Clearly, if I could find outils, it looks like there shouldn’t be a
problem. However there is no tools option. It would also be nice, if
skype.com didn’t redirect me to Chinese only. Oh the irony. It looks
like it’s going to stay in French.

From Alyssa

Blog Post #10

Well, it has been sort of an eventful couple of days. First, I’m giving a shout out to Peter Wang/Yao of somewhere in the Northeast USA (I believe he said Connecticut). What up Peter. He told me to mention him in the blog- Ashley and I met fellow Americans at Propaganda Social Establishment on Friday evening. I hope they made it back to the USA safely.

Next, yesterday at work I attended an investors meeting/lunch. It was super fancy. I don’t even know how to convey on this blog how fancy it actually was. The chairs had crystals in the plush backings. There were gold plated chop sticks. There was a massive chandelier made of a million crystals. I believe the price tag was somewhere around $1000 USD per person. It was definitely THE fanciest place I have ever been to in my life. It kind of reminded me of that one scene in Pretty Woman where she accidentally flings the oyster across the room. I was completely out of my pay-grade (not that I get paid, but you know what I mean).

I was so enthralled by this whole lunch ordeal that I started taking notes because I knew I would want to blog about it later. I noticed a great deal of things during the lunch that were different than what would have happened in the US. First, everyone was served a small amount of red wine in the beginning of the meal. You were only allowed to drink said wine if the head of the table announced a “cheers.” Then, the waitresses (there were 8 that I counted for our table alone) would all give you a little bit more wine as soon as you had finished. Like many Chinese restaurants, the table was family style and had an enormous lazy susan in the middle. Each time the wait staff would bring out a new dish, they would first bring it to the head of the table (it was a round table, but basically the oldest man is deemed the head) and let him try the food first. Kind of like how a sommelier brings the wine out and lets the man try it first. Then, instead of serving ladies first as in the US, the oldest men are served first, an on down to the youngest women. I was also struck by the casual attire of the businessmen. They all were wearing polo shirts and khakis.

In many Chinese restaurants, there are separate private rooms for each table that include a private bathroom. As with most Chinese food, my stomach didn’t particularly appreciate the food yesterday afternoon, though it was allegedly top quality. Let’s just say I needed to use the private bathroom. Since the setting was so intimate, my absence did not go unnoticed. I was surprised I got so sick, seeing as how the restaurant was supposed to be “the best in Beijing.” I included a few pictures of the restaurant, but they really don’t do it justice.

From Alyssa

Blog Post #9

Ashley and I have been finding that there are two kinds of cabbies in this city. Well, that’s a lie; there are four or five kinds. 1) the cabbies who really like Americans and try very hard to please them. We love these cabbies, and they make life a lot easier. However, they are diamonds in the rough, and few to come by. 2) the cabbies that are legitimate but won’t take you to certain places because they wouldn’t make enough money. I get it- this happens in DC all the time; but it is still annoying. 3) The cabbies that are legit but hate foreigners. It’s just a fact- there is anti-American sentiment in China. Actually, there is rampant uncontrolled flat out racism. These cabbies don’t even look at you and certainly would never stop for you. 4) The cabbies who don’t mind American men but won’t give women the time of day. It’s hilarious, because when Dmytri, Ashley and I are in cab, I am the only one who speaks enough Chinese to be able to communicate where we would want to go. (99% of cabbies here speak literally zero English.) So, when they will only listen to Dmitri, it makes for an interesting dynamic. And by interesting I mean infuriating. Finally, 5) The “cabbies” who are really not cabbies at all, and just made their personal car into a cab by painting a logo on the outside. They will “negotiate” a fare with you prior to driving you, and there is no meter. Obviously, we are not that stupid and have never taken any of these cabs. Don’t worry, Heidi! We are heeding your safety advice.

            The reason I am discussing the issue of cabs in this city is that yesterday evening, Ashley and I had massive troubles trying to find a cab. Another aspect to this whole crazy predicament is that there are a million rickshaws in Beijing, and especially in the areas where a lot of foreigners go (i.e. the nightlife district called sanlitun). These rickshaw drivers do not take no for an answer, and will swarm around you and bother you to let them pedal you somewhere. Basically, you have to firmly tell them no thank you. Well, last night Ashley and I were getting a bit hysterical when all of the cabs were either the 2^nd, 3^rd, or 5^th varieties that I mentioned above. After waiting for 25 minutes without a cab willing to take us somewhere, in a foreign city, one could see how panic might start to set in. We may or may not have started to make a scene, and then officer friendly may or may not have come over to “assist us” in finding a cab. In retrospect, the situation is pretty funny- American college girls almost in tears because all of the cab drivers hate them and rickshaw men smelling the vulnerability. We did finally get someone to begrudgingly take us where we were going, but only because the officer was standing there. Because of all of the anti-foreigner sentiment/sketchy cabs in this city, it’s always interesting trying to go places.

Alyssa being mega tourist in 798 Art District

Ashley in 798 Art District

One of the most inedible dishes I have encountered so far- some sort of jelly-like substance with pork on top? 

Ashley and Rachel, a new Chinese friend

From Ashley

A very American moment:

My boss called me asking me to teach the other ladies how to make cookies and muffins. This to me seemed incredibly strange. Sure the younger girls might not know how to make cookies, but that’s just cause they’re young! We went on a trip to the Carrefour (the Wal-Mart of China so to speak) and it was crazy. The young and the older ladies had no idea what goes in cookies, what you need to make them, etc.

Mr. Wong asked me to show them how to make healthy cookies, so sure the best option was the applesauce oatmeal raisin cookies. Apparently Chinese people are unaware of what applesauce is because they kept trying to give me berry jelly calling it berry sauce. After I just decided to use regular cookie ingredients minus the applesauce, it was still hard to find things. We were in the imported foods section and they kept handing me like brownie mix, etc.

We finally went to the cooking utensil section, and I needed a muffin tray.  No one knew what I was asking for, and finally I found a mini one that was silicone. I had to get a measuring cup, potholder, muffin tray, etc. I didn’t even think about them not having a potholder or measuring cup or the like. I definitely didn’t remember to get Pam, but thankfully nothing stuck.

The oven was a disaster on it’s own. Apparently it’s not common to have an oven, so no one knew how to work it. I was handed the Chinese directions to figure it out, and apparently it was a Microwave/ oven. I’m not sure, still, but there was a bake option. However, like ever 4 minutes the oven turned off, so the first batch of cookies was super gooey for a long time.

Moral of the story, the cookies were bad, and the muffins were thrown away. I mean first off I’m not the best baker on the planet anyways, and then thrown in with all the cultural differences, not knowing how to work the oven, etc they were just bad. They all said they liked the cookies because they weren’t too sweet (fruit is the typical Chinese desert or in recent years ice cream has become popular). It still was just astonishing to me that none of them had made cookies. I feel very ignorant and American saying that, but it was an eye opening experience.

From Tamara

Blog #4

Since overcoming my initial illness and a bit of sight-seeing I will give a bit of a description of my 1st week at my internship, mostly because I believe it is the opposite of the other members. First, my internship is for an American corporation who happens to have an office in Beijing were the staff is made up of all Chinese but the protocols; procedures and forms are American in nature and often pre-set. The main focus is on IT data collection and analysis, which serves them well in the Chinese market; though they hope to have a slow break into consulting for its more lucrative nature. Unlike others, my work office is silent, with the occasional burst of discussion from workers who cluster around one cubical to discuss a client or file. So far I have only been in contact with 2 people out of the 2 main offices that are distributed across the 6th floor. Everyone here supposedly posses the ability to speak English to a certain level (that is dictated by the company before being hired) but so far few have any desire to indulge in conversation with me. Unlike many others my work is limited and comes in spurts, mostly through an e-mail or by phone call telling me there is work which consists of only editing papers in English. I am here 5 days a week from 9:30am to around 6:30pm and lunch is promptly at noon. Since I work in the area known as the "wall street or Time Square of Beijing", lunches can vary in price and type but almost always spent on my own (until recently). It’s a nice area to work in and I have found that if shopping is your thing, this is the area to do it. Though it appears bargaining is a must, unless you want to be gorged by the status quo of "foreign-looking=instant price jump".

From Tamara

Blog #3

The three day weekend was marked by the dragon boat festival; however, for this intershiper it wasn't field with mystical lights and ancient precessions. Instead it was filled with a few tours to local and historical sites which long ago may have held such mysticism. The first was a trip to the Yonghegong Lama temple, a well kept and working Tibetan/  or Yellow Sect Lamaism temple. Being no stranger to temples, I was prepared for the usual: detailed entry ways, over arching tiled roofs, neatly swept stone or rock court yards and in the main building a bronze, gold laden or wooden figure. What meet me was quiet something else. I played tourist and accompanied the undergraduates from San Diego's immersion program, which was a change all its own (and something to dig into in future blogs). What greeted our group was an unexpected surprise, an entire temple that was brightly colored. The art was freshly painted and the figures inside each component lacked any dust at all, many even laid claim to brightly colored streamers. Being that the major college entrance exams were around the corner the temple was filled with activity of students and the powerful but enchanting smell incents. Amongst the crowd (which is always present from what I've seen), the place was rather breath taking. Being someone use to temples of more unkempt sorts it was amusing and unnerving to see the attempts at redoing art of the past. The main statue itself was as its Guinness world record plank denotes a shining example of Buddhist (or Buddhist-like) architecture out a single thing of sandal wood, though I must say the facial features left something to be desired.

On to the Temple of and the imperial academy, which were by far the most solemn of the places I've seen, the architecture was very different and the feeling of academic integrity and uniformality was pervasive. I tend to get sentimental and upon entering the main component (Hall of Great Achievement) felt rather saddened to see the implements once played and offerings once given to Confucian (mainly to the memorial tablet placed there) cover in a layer of dust, not a single incent lit in his honor. While I can't agree or disagree with the treatment, it definitely left a lasting impression. Perhaps one left more for those that contemplate the political and social changes of this country then those enjoy the now.

To my dear surprise my group also visited the Temple of Heaven, a much more active place that replaced much of the sentimentality of the previous temple as a lingering after thought. The temple is massive and while I'm not sure our guide was one of the bests (I believe you truly get more from reading the placards post before each area, then from the guide), it was something I recommend. The structural set up, design and overall feel of the place was breath taking. Just looking down from the ceremony steps (Circular Mound Altar) gave you a sense of the gravity to which being in such authority holds. The neat fact that the surrounding walls of the temple of heaven were to act as a natural loud speaker (Especially in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests), speaks volumes to the innovation of the time period and even more so to the childish nature in myself to which I desired to test such a set-up. Luck for me some elementary students were attempting it for me (appeared too many people were there and chatting for it to work properly).

Included in this trip was lunch at a vegetarian restaurant to which there were endless dishes that made you wonder why you ever ate real duck when tofu duck tastes just as good.

The next two days were filled with a less packed schedule but none the less eventful. I headed to the summer palace which is not a far jot from Peking University Main campus, about 3 stops via line 4. The reason this took 2 days was not purely due to the size of the place (but heaven knows after seeing a map, I only saw 3/4 of what’s actually there) but actually because after my jot to the other three locations my camera's battery couldn't withstand another trip and rightfully died as I entered the Tower of Buddhist incents.

So I actually made the trip twice and it was none the less breath taking. There are many ways you can enter the summer palace I actually approve of the North palace gate route in which you take the 2nd to last stop on line 4 and climb the mountain (more hill-like) of Longevity and make your way through the Tower of Buddhist incent down into its lake front entrance. You won't be sorry as you will find yourself peaking out of the Tower to a cliff dropping sight, were all of Beijing sits below. Luckily for me both of my trips were done during a cloudy day so heat wasn't an issue (though I am also the person who doesn't feel the need to turn on my ac either). But yes, it was a perfect time to go. The area is always crowded but not so much as if you come from the lower gates and climb up through the main section via the east gate. It’s amazing, the architecture just breathes life into the place and if you have time to wander, look up and see all of the renditions of the palace and wildlife painted upon the eves. And don't be surprised if a guy and his young wife happen to ask to take a photo "with" you, it just seems the "touristy" thing for them to do. Though my skin still crawls at the idea of being in photos with people I don't know (hence why I never smiled in them). If you have time and an extra 10 yuan slide into the grand theater and watch a performance or two, it’s also one of the only parts of the palace that seems to have been missed by the repainting and new trim. Adding to this, as you pass buildings with locked doors, look into the windows, you'll see artifacts and relics on display at each window. It was something I haven't seen done in other temple or palace visits I've made and was rather amusing.

Overall, I would suggest setting at minimum 3 hrs to visit the summer palace and if your adventures maybe 5 or more in order to walk the more expansive parts, I don't think you will be too disappointed in the results. Hence, I suggest going with a friend or by yourself, as a group for such a trip feels too pervasive and without anyone setting a time schedule or meeting place it can be a nice change from the city limits.

From Alyssa

Blog Post #8

        This weekend, Dmitri, Ashley and I had a plan in the works to go to Shanghai via air travel. But then, Ashley and I found a flight to Seoul online for $330 for the weekend of July 1, which isn’t too bad of a deal. So we decided we would skip Shanghai and opt for Seoul, since I couldn’t afford both. So, I’m fairly certain Dmitri went to Shanghai this weekend. He is very resourceful and can take care of himself though, so nobody should worry about his safety.

When Ashley and I took a closer look at this flight to Seoul, found on Kayak.com I might add (not some sketchy website or anything), it turns out that Air China lies to Kayak when they post the flights. When re-directed to the Air China website to confirm the flight, it turns out it is actually $550. China Southern does this as well. Also, when working with Expedia, we found that the expensive flights would work fine, but when trying to book the cheapest flight, we would always get an error message. Curious. Well, scratch that plan for now. I would really like to go to Seoul, though, so hopefully we can make it happen.  

This weekend we are scheduled to take a field trip to 798, which is the art district in Beijing, and supposedly very ‘hip.’ (according to my 60+ year old boss) we’ll see if he is correct!

From Ashley

Blog #3

Working in China has thus far been nothing like I expected. The office
environment is incredibly loud, chaotic, and super casual. For
example, the workers just yell between cubicles…when they’re right
next to each other. I was told I had to be here exactly at 8:30, I was
running late today and got here at like 8:40 and was the first one
here! Then apparently Tuesday is shorts day at work (I didn’t get the
memo and wore dress pants to again be very over dressed.) Wednesday is
apparently jeans day (I wore shorts so I guess tomorrow is my jeans
day!) Ironically, yesterday the CEO of the company called out one of
the girls for her outfit. Sure…you’re probably thinking for possibly
having on shorts. No it was because he thought her necklace didn’t
match her outfit. (First off it’s China and anything goes, and second,
it didn’t really look bad.)

Speaking of the CEO, he called me directly to ask me to teach the
other girls how to make healthy cookies and muffins. (Not sure where
I’m supposed too, but we’re going to IKEA to get cookie jars?) He
said, “he wants his colleagues to be happy and healthy first.” Sounds
great right? That includes constant nagging that the 4 single girls in
the office (me and 3 Chinese girls all around my age or younger)
aren’t married to men from Stanford yet. Apparently that’s my mission:
to go back to the US, meet a man from Stanford and bring back his
friends for Miwi, Nancy, and Cassie.

Back to the cookies…I’m thinking they might be for the party I’m
hosting next week? (Not excited about that…but what can I do?) Or it’s
his subtle hint that I’m a fat American and need to eat better so he
tries to Americanize it? Not really figured that out yet. Or maybe
it’s his master plan for the Chinese girls to learn to cook American
food for their future husbands, because he told me I need to learn how
to cook Chinese authentic food if I’d even considered having a Chinese
husband. Not really sure, but we’re going to IKEA and the grocery
store one day, and I have his permission to get whatever I need
regardless of cost.

After the discussion of cookies, he also told me that we're going to
start playing 30 min of Classical music in the morning, and everyone
walking around the office...to be healthy (yay so excited!) Then after
this they turned on music...but so far it's been Christmas music and
Josh Groban, and I can't help but wonder if this is because I sit with
my iPod on to block out the noise and chaos?

It’s also really interesting how different the CEO is than I’d
expected. First off, he runs a decently large Canadian energy company
so I never expected to meet him. We’ve had 3 conference calls and he
came to meet me the other day (also, this is like my 3rd actual day
here). Then, everyone is told Chinese people are humble and quiet. He
is the definition of eccentric with money (that he told me he doesn’t
want his children to have, so he donates Chinese art to the world.)
He’s always on like a manic high, I feel.

But as of now I’m not complaining. It’s an interesting job combining
my two main areas: art and international communication. I just hope
that it leads to something good (the past two interns now have awesome
jobs in Beijing), so hopefully it will. And hopefully this foreign
party with wine and ice (that we have to special order cause no one
uses it here) will go well and some foreigners will actually come.
Fingers crossed.

From Tamara

  Getting a cold is never pleasant; getting a cold in another country can be rather terrifying. My first week here in Beijing has been to deal with exactly that fear. Not more than three days into my adventure here I caught a rather rough chest cold, including fever, coughing, hearing loss/ pressure. It was a cold that went off and on, one day it was here, the next day disappearing, taking the appearance of just a 24hr bug. However, I was not so fortunate as to have it disappear on its own. Most students will tell you to immediately rush only to an American doctor or an American hospital if one has a nasty cold in China and the frightful tales of bad experiences with rural doctors have turned advice into protocol. I’m writing this to put that myth to rest, at least regarding a stay in Beijing. I had the opposite experience upon going to the Beijing University hospital/ clinic here at Peking University. I went with a staff member as my Chinese does not exist as of yet. What welcomed me was a clean, well organized and quite efficient hospital. Set right on the outside of the University walls it was no more than a 15minute walk from our dorm. I had to fill out a simple form: name, passport number and insurance (which is more a side note). Upon giving this sheet to the reception booth, I paid 50 yuan and received a medical history book, a receipt, a call number and a hospital card. The clinic/ hospital here, is split into specialties and depending on the region of your body affected that is the doctor you see. Mine happened to be on the 2^nd floor, where I sat no more than 10minutes before an electronic board flashed my number, doctor name and room (all Chinese of course). The waiting room was spotless and quiet. The female doctor that saw me was pleasant and used a mixture of Chinese and English to assist in me explaining my cold to her (though this is where having a member of the faculty with me was more than helpful). She typed in my prescription and my new medical history into the computer and also hand wrote it in my medical history book (which is to be brought with you if you visit again). Some of you might be thinking, well I have allergies and what about medicine? Both questions rose in my mind for I am one of the few people that is both allergic to shellfish and Jasmine (both the tea and the flower) and worried much about what “medicine” would be entailed. Well fear not, the doctor also was concerned about me having any undocumented allergies and the front of my little medical history book now entails both allergies. The medicine was western in form but Chinese in origin. I just had to swipe my medical id card at the pharmacy and in 2 more minutes I walked out with an arm full of pills, cough syrup (which had a very…uniquely Asian flavor to it), a form for my insurance (if you really feel you need to put a claim in) and a 8.30 yuan credit to be used next time I visit (which I hope goes unfulfilled). The experience was overly pleasant given the circumstances and for around $16 for my entire visit without insurance taking effect, I recommend it to all future students. Just bring a member of staff with you or a friend, its convenient and not even a 3^rd of the cost compared to seeing American doctors, especially for non-life threatening things.

Blog post #2

From Ashley

Blog #2

Before coming, we were all told that the working environment in China is very quiet and calm. Maybe this is the case within other companies, but this is far from the method at my job. This could be due to them just moving offices, but it was a very noisy situation, and of course I’d forgotten my iPod.

It was a very strange first day. There’s a housekeeper in the office, who literally at 9 am was washing the floors on her hands and knees. The Internet seems to be as bad there as it is in our dorms. About every 3 hours the Internet would just stop working. Also, in the early morning they were cranking the AC and then in the afternoon when it was 97 outside, they opened the LONE window and had the AC off. Needless to say I fanned until my arm wouldn’t fan anymore. 

Overall though I think my internship will be a good experience. Day one I had a conference call with the CEO of the company. That was really welcoming and I really appreciated it. Unlike the other interns, I got a company email and job title of “Art Director.” That’s especially nice, but I feel that mine is also going to be a lot more strenuous than the other’s. For example, I have to be there at 8:30-5:30 no exceptions and no flexibility. (It takes 1.5 hours to get there and then repeated on the way home, so I was hoping to come in a little later than 8:30).

Hopefully this will turn out to be a great experience, and I’ll survive the 85-degree temperature inside, and the Christmas music that we seem to listen to on repeat.

Novel Energy Building