American Vacation

It is strange to tell people that I am traveling in America for business.  Returning to my home nation has proved an interesting experience.  There is so much about the United States that I have missed while living in China.  I am taking the opportunity to watch as much baseball as possible.  How about that NL Central people?  It is crazy.  I am currently in DC for a few days enjoying all of the capital's tourist sites.  Like all mid-westerners, I am programmed to think of the nation's capital as a den of corruption, excess, and incompetence, but the truth is much more complex.  I have found the tourists in the city to be a reflection of the nation as a whole.  You cannot go anywhere without seeing people sporting jerseys of their area's professional sports teams.  The tourists come from all this great nation.  They represent different races, ethnicities, and religions.  They are proud of their home, and they show it by letting everyone in the capital know where they come from.  Seeing the monuments is cool, but being here only makes me more excited to visit Indiana.  Enjoy the photos.  Sorry the Washington Monument is under restoration   

Events and Occurrences from the Past Week

I haven't posted in a little while.  Sure no one really reads my blog anyway, but I like to stay consistent.  Monday, I started tutoring my first English student.  We spent the last 20 minutes of the lesson talking about American baseball (that's right, I get paid for it too).  It turns out my student owned a Yankees hat, he just didn't know what the symbol meant.  During my time here, I have also been lucky enough to visit some of Beijing's great tourist sites.  Included in this post are pictures from the Summer Palace, because I know my only follower is a big fan of pictures.  Other than that, I really haven't been doing too much of anything except working.  My life is slowly devolving into a Chinese language version of the television show The Office.  I like to think of myself as Ryan the Temp.

The Bookworm - My Favorite Place in Beijing

You really have to hand it to the people who run the Bookworm, they know what they are doing.  The establishment clearly caters to ex-patriots, myself included.  It has a fully stocked bar featuring craft beers and the ever popular Pimm's, great food, and of course lots of books.  They really know how to target the expat market really well.  I bought a 1 - year library subscription from them yesterday (cost: 300 RMB).  It's a great deal for me because I can check out books for my English students (see future blog posts for more information).  The place serves as a central-hub for expats from all over the world.  Just the other day, a Swedish man stopped me in the street and asked for directions there.  That's right, just out of the blue, he asked me to help him find this treasured Beijing institution.  I simply had to tell him to follow me, because that was where I was headed.  Their rooftop area is one of Beijing's true gems, and the establishment hosts many events such as movie screenings and author talks.  The movie screenings are geared toward a slightly older crowd and feature some of the biggest movies from the 1980's (before my time).  Whenever I feel homesick or bored, I always make an effort to stop by the Bookworm and browse through the shelves.  And of course have a drink or two.   

Chinese Culture and Ktv

I went with a few friends to a Ktv venue Friday night (Ktv is the Chinese term for Karaoke).  When they told me that we were going to a karaoke bar, I instantly though of suffering through a bunch of drunk renditions of "Don't Stop Believin'" in a small, dinghy bar.  I found something much different when we arrived at the Ktv building.  Instead of the traditional bar, the established offered private rooms that seated roughly 8-12 people.  Our room contained its own person karaoke machine and screen, and a private attendant to deliver our drink orders.  The people that I went with described it as a very "Chinese" experience, and I must say that I agree.  The whole experience had a slightly surreal feel because of the self-contained nature of the event (and possibly because of the booze).  We went to a building to do something that we could have easily have done in the privacy of someones home.  Only people from our group witnessed our singing. I found it very different than karaoke nights in the US where the audience is one of the biggest (and in some cases best) parts of the night.  Maybe things are more culturally different here than I previously thought.            

The Ashes from an American Perspective

Last night, I caught a few hours of the Ashes at an expat bar with a friend.  That's right, I have friends (my parents are just as surprised as you are).  The bar was filled with Australians quietly watching the poorly streaming video feed from SkySports.  For those unfamiliar with cricket, the Ashes is the semi-annual meeting of the English and Australian International Cricket Teams.  One website yesterday referred to the event as the greatest rivalry in sports that won't end in a nuclear exchange (I think this is a reference to India and Pakistan, and a quite good one at that).  As a general sports fan, I love going to things like this.  Learning about the game is half the fun of going.  That is especially true for a sport as unique as cricket. It resembles baseball in both its game play and the cult-of-the-game that surrounds the sport.  The match was played at Lord's (the birth place of cricket) and I have actually been lucky enough to attend a match there myself.  To the uninitiated, cricket probably looks like a bunch of foreign people, hitting a ball and running pointlessly back and forth, and this is pretty much true.  Sometimes, they even break for tea to further reinforce cultural stereotypes (not a joke).  The most noise the bar crowd generated was when the video feed from the shady website the bar was streaming the game from inexplicably cutout.  The strange atmosphere of the bar mirrored the slow pace of the play on the pitch.  We eventually left (I don't think my friend cares much for cricket, or sports in general for that matter), but seeing expats so far from their home nations support their national side made me oddly homesick.  All the more reason to check out the American baseball games tomorrow morning when the all-star break ends.        

Visiting the Lama Temple

The Lama Temple was better than the Forbidden City.  That's right, I said it, shriek in horror if you must.  However, for me at least, it's true.  It's really refreshing to go to an important cite in Beijing and see it functioning as its intended purpose.  The temple is a real, working temple instead of a preserved ghost town like the Forbidden City.  I really enjoyed learning about the Buddhist prayer rituals.  People light these incense-like sticks, pray, and then leave them at an altar (obviously I don't know much about Buddhism).  If you have an interest in world religions or are just curious, this is a great place to learn.  Also, the statues and structures are amazing.  Be prepared to look like an idiot tourist because you are going to snap so many pictures it won't even be funny.  The Lama Temple should be near the top of anyone's "must see list" when visiting Beijing. Make sure to go all the way to the back of the temple complex to see this amazing statue.

In Praise of Paul Simon's Graceland

I know....I know, there isn't a person on earth that doesn't love this album, but did you ever stop yourself to ask why?  For me, this album was my first introduction to any popular music from the continent of Africa.  It opened a door onto an area of music that many didn't even know existed.  Aside from the African melodies and musicians, Simon really created his own personal magnum opus with this album.  I don't know why that girl in New York City calls herself the "human trampoline," (I can think of a few possible reasons of the top of my head) but I love that lyric.  If you still haven't listened to this one, do the world and yourself a favor and pick it up.  I saw a review for the anniversary edition that called the album "musical prozac."  I must say that I completely agree with their assessment.  The album is sure to put you in a good mood, and is a lot cheaper than a prescription drug habit.