Not Just Another Blonde in Beijing

An Update, and Destination: Paris

2012-01-05T06:02:00.004+08:00

HI everyone!

I'm sorry I've been such a terrible blogger. Since moving back to the states, I've been a little uninspired, especially because this blog was so China and travel focused. Truth be told, life in the U.S. can be a little boring when you're used to living in a culture not your own, and jetting away every few weeks to see another corner of the world.

In the past several months since being back, I have:

- Vacationed in Kauai, Hawaii with my husband
- Started AND quit a Master of Social Work program (I already have a masters and decided I was tired of school)
- Sent my husband off on a deployment
- Became absolutely addicted to Pilates
- Visited my family for a couple months
- Finally got a job!!
and
- Been crazily building my work-wardrobe during all these Christmas sales

Pretty soon, me, my mom, and my best Beijing friend will all be rendezvousing in Paris for a little winter fun before I head back to California to start my new job.

I plan to do a Kauai related travel post soon, and definitely stay tuned for my Paris trip report in the next few weeks...

I hope everything is going well for all of you, and Happy New Year!

Where do you hope to travel in 2012?

Steph

I'm still blonde.....

2011-06-26T02:15:00.007+08:00

but I am no longer in Beijing!

Sorry for the lack of updates... I know I have been really terrible about it recently and especially in the last month or two. We are officially back in the States... What happened to our AMAZING summer trip that was all booked and almost completely paid for, you wonder? Well - the military happened. My husband was required to report back to his new unit much earlier than planned, and we had to cancel our trip. In fact, I am supposed to be on a plane back to LAX right now after a week in the Cook Islands, a week in New Zealand and almost 2 weeks in Australia. Instead I am staying with a friend in CA while we wait to move in to our house next Friday, and my husband is flying back from Afghanistan.

Oh well! Next summer, maybe. Or maybe we'll do the South Africa trip we had to cancel due to the military... ha ha! Theme, anyone?

So, what is going to happen to this blog - I really don't know. But I do know that I have a TON of pictures and trips that we took in China that have not been posted at all... I promise I will make an effort to post those periodically.

In the mean time, if anyone ever has any questions about Beijing or China in general, please let me know and I will do my best to answer them. Between my husband and I, I think we are pretty much China travel pros, and I'd love to help others with the knowledge we have learned.

On another note, I was paid to write my first travel article! Here is a link.... keep an eye out for my husband's next article on Xizang - Tibet, and Mt. Everest Base Camp (which I did not go on).

http://www.onleavemagazine.com/mongolia-off-the-yak-beaten-trail/

Additionally, if you are in China and looking for a great Chinese teacher/tutor/class, my tutor is in the process of starting her own school and has the website up. The website is still under construction, but check it out - I am on there as a testimonial to how great her teaching method is!

http://keyimandarin.com/

Hope you guys are doing well! Now it's just job searching for me... this market is rough but I have an interview Wednesday.

Steph

Up close & personal with the Terracotta warriors, and Hong Kong!

2011-04-20T15:16:00.009+08:00

Family from the States was in town visiting, and although we originally planned to take them to OUR favorite place in China (Guangxi province), we decided that due to it being the rainy season in that region, we'd take them somewhere else. We ended up spending time in Beijing, then headed to Xi'an for a VIP tour of the Terracotta Warriors, and finally, we ended up in Hong Kong.

Dinner at the Noodle Loft in Beijing - good Shaanxi noodles and fun to watch the noodle makers throwing the noodles around in front of you

My husband and our guests headed to Xi'an on an overnight train, and I flew with a friend and met them there the next day. I had a really cool cab driver drive me from the airport to my hotel. He was super chatty the entire way and loved that I could speak Chinese. When he realized I could read Chinese, too, that really sent him over the edge - he'd excitedly point out billboards on the roadsides as we passed and say "And that one?" "and THAT one?!!!" "and that one!!" as he had me read the billboards aloud to him. I'll tell ya - me and cab drivers in China - we have come a long way. I have learned that a friendly smile, a big "NI HAO!" (hello!), and a good attitude works wonders! I think it's pretty cool that since my last trip to Xi'an, I've pretty much come full circle - from 万事开头难（everything has a difficult beginning) to what I think is now the opposite - everything has a difficult end! I leave China late next month. The adventure is almost over.

Because my friend's husband is the President of the Asian branch of a huge company - and the company contributes a huge amount of money to Shaanxi province's tax base - we were able to get the real VIP tour at the Terracotta Warriors site! This is the same tour that is extended to U.S. Presidents and other heads of state.

The average person only gets this close:

We got THISclose:

We were very careful not to even sneeze. Can you imagine stumbling into a cultural relic dating back to 210 B.C.?!!! These statues guard the tomb of the First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang.

After our time in Xi'an, we headed to Hong Kong. Actually, we landed in Shenzhen, which is still in mainland China just across the way from Hong Kong. Because Hong Kong is considered an international flight, prices flying in are often much more expensive than flying into Shenzhen, which is considered a domestic flight. The process of landing in Shenzhen, taking a bus to the Hong Kong border, going through customs, and being dropped off in Causeway Bay took about 3 hours. Luckily, we flew out of Hong Kong International Airport - but if the price difference is huge, it may be worth it to fly into Shenzhen.

Bamboo scaffolding! I've only seen that in movies. Rush Hour, anyone?!

The famous Hong Kong trolley system, and double decker buses! (British influence, anyone?!)

Pretty views taken from a junket ride in Victoria Harbour

This is the site where in 1997 Hong Kong was officially handed back to China after more than 150 years of British rule

Night scenes, hard to get a good pic without a tripod

Me staring longingly into one of Hong Kong's many beautiful boutiques

View from The Peak

A reason I loved Hong Kong: a city built amid palm trees

Not the only car of this caliber seen on the streets of Hong Kong!

The Big Buddha at Lantau Island

I also ate at California Pizza Kitchen, which rocked my world, and the hubby and I also went to see an American movie in the super nice mall across the street from our hotel (we sort of have a tradition of seeing a movie in foreign cities we've been to - we've seen movies in Brugges, Victoria, Hong Kong, and Vienna).

And that's it. Hong Kong was truly one of the coolest cities I've ever been to. I love the tropical clime, the palm trees, the city built around it, the proximity to the ocean, and all the amazing shopping and restaurants. It's also definitely one of the most crowded (the most?) city I've ever been to - streets are very narrow, surrounded by high rises - it makes the streets of Beijing look extremely wide and spread out!

Steph

Now you can have your very own PET!!! Wait... in a key chain?

2011-04-12T19:05:00.004+08:00

China.

China China China China.

Why?

This is one of the times my brain screams out "PETA!!!! PETA where ARE you?!!!" China desperately needs PETA.

Thanks to my friend Christa for finding this little guy and FREEING him - I can share with you the trend in China - or Beijing at least - to have a pet. IN a key chain. Turtles, fish, and even newts.

My friend Katharine asks a good question. How do you feed it?

Apparently you don't? You just let them slowly suffocate and die?

Gross. This is gross on so many levels.

**Please no political comments! (don't want me to get in trouble right?!)

Anyway - I just returned from a trip to Xi'an (again).... this time we had the super special VIP tour that is only given to special people, such as heads of state and CEOs of major companies. My friend's husband is one of these special people and we were able to stand right next to the Terracotta warriors. Very very cool. Then we went onto Hong Kong - just a few words: COOLEST CITY EVER. Like, in the world.

I love Hong Kong.

Pictures to come.

Sincerely,

The very bad absent blogger

(Mini) Blog sale! Cleaning out my closet!

2011-03-18T15:35:00.011+08:00

Do you ever have a few items that you hold onto and hold onto, because they are really cute and you don't want to let them go? but then time passes, and for whatever reason, you rarely end up wearing them, if at all?

I feel this way about a few items in my closet for sure! As I was looking through my closet to take an inventory of what I will need for spring and summer, my eyes kept falling on a few things that I like, but for whatever reason just don't work for me or haven't been worn. (Okay, and I also decided that if I sold a few things, maybe some of the guilt I have over splurging at Piperlime's "Give & Get" will go away...;))

How this will work

1. If you are interested in an item, e-mail me at Misshark122 at aol dot com - use the item description as the subject line. Items are reserved first come first serve.

2. I will accept payment only through paypal: use the same e-mail address as shown above.

3. Shipping - I will ship USPS priority mail, which you will receive within 2 weeks. Shipping will vary depending on the item weight, but I will always ship the cheapest possible way. For the dresses and top, I anticipate shipping to be approximately $6, for the shoes, a little more because of weight. I will scan the receipt for you so you see exactly what I paid.

OK, here we go... not too many things at this point.

Item #1. Banana Republic Navy & White Striped Dress - on trend with Spring & Summer's nautical theme!

Size: XS
Fabric: 95% Rayon, 5% Spandex
Made in Vietnam, Hand wash or machine wash cold, gentle cycle
Worn once, item is in "like new" condition, no snags, no holes, absolutely no imperfections.
ASKING PRICE: $20

Item #2. Banana Republic Blue Dress - very pretty bright blue, great for spring and summer!

Size: XS
Fabric: 93% Rayon, 5% Spandex
Made in Vietnam, hand wash or machine wash cold, gentle cycle
Never worn (aside from trying it on and off), like-new condition, no snags, no imperfections
ASKING PRICE: $20

Item #3. Express Floral Dress
Size: 4
Fabric: 100% Silk shell, 100% polyester lining
Dry clean only
Worn once for a wedding, like-new condition, no defects or imperfections
ASKING PRICE: $15

Item #4. Anthropologie Navy Ric Rac Brand Sweetheart Ruffle Shirt

Size: S
100% Cotton, machine wash cold
Worn once or twice, in like-new condition, no defects or imperfections
ASKING PRICE: $15

Item #5. Banana Republic Brown Leather Espradille Wedges - on trend for spring and summer!

Size: 8 1/2
Brown leather upper with Espradille "straw style" wedge
Lightweight and solid, comfortable, good quality
Worn probably once for a few hours!
ASKING PRICE: $40

Item #6. Ann Taylor Deep V-neck Crimson Top
Size: S
Fabric: 96% Viscose, 4% Elastene
Machine wash
Worn once or twice, like new condition, no issues or imperfections - this fabric is very nice and soft, comfy
ASKING PRICE: $10

That's all for now. I have a few other things I KNOW I should part with, but I just can't bring myself to yet.

If you are interested in any of the above, be sure to e-mail me to reserve.

Thanks!

Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), Anhui Province, China

2011-03-13T16:13:00.006+08:00

The Walkway

This is how they carry up supplies to the hotel at the top. It is back breaking work and they do it for 15 USD a day.

And a last glimpse

There is a saying that once you see Huangshan, you don't need to see the 5 most famous mountains in China.

Donate directly to the Japanese Earthquake & Tsunami Relief Efforts

2011-03-13T10:38:00.004+08:00

Many thoughts and prayers to everyone in Japan affected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami. If you want to donate directly to the relief efforts in Japan, you can do so with the Red Cross.

CLICK HERE to donate specifically to the Red Cross relief efforts in Japan.

Adventures in custom tailoring

2011-03-07T11:54:00.009+08:00

A couple friends and I set out early Saturday morning to Beijing's largest fabric market. This fabric market is located in Beijing's Fengtai district, near the Muxiyuan long distance bus station. It is called Muxiyuan fabric market, 木樨园纺织品市场 in Chinese.
It is filled with stall after stall of fabric - every type imaginable. Not many foreigners venture out this way, so the prices are low.

I didn't go with anything in particular in mind, but I stumbled across a print that reminded me of exotic, far away places and beach destinations. I'm always drawn to exotic looking prints like ikat or batik.

I decided I didn't have anything to lose, as I paid less than 10 dollars for enough meters of fabric to make myself a beach tunic/swimsuit cover up. The colors are more vibrant in real life and sort of fade into each other. The fabric is a light linen-y type fabric, very lightweight and slightly sheer with one layer.

Now I just have to find a picture of what I want and bring it to the tailor... who is currently making me a shift dress and a pencil skirt out of some super 120s wool fabric I bought a couple months ago - for $39 USD total. Basically, for $55 USD (fabric plus tailoring) I will have a pencil skirt and a shift dress completely tailored to my body, in the fabric and design of my choosing. Pretty awesome, huh?

Anyway, back to the issue at hand - which tunic style should I have them re-create?

Should I have some unique edging added to the neckline, bottom of the sleeves, and hem of the tunic, like this Milly Cabana Tunic?

Or just have them create a simple, casual design like the one below?

Or this shape?

Any thoughts?

I'll post pictures of my tailor-made shift, pencil skirt, and tunic when I receive the finished products!

ETA: Another picture of the fabric so you can see that it is actually pretty sheer.

Hong Kong help!

2011-03-02T14:53:00.001+08:00

HI everyone - currently planning a trip to Hong Kong and hoping for some help from my readers! If you've been, what area is the best place to stay in? Hong Kong seems huge and I'm having a hard time figuring out where to stay.

Thanks for the help!

Busy planning our summer trip!

2011-02-16T08:50:00.004+08:00

We've officially received military orders.... you know what that means, right? ... Summer trip planning has officially commenced!

I am so excited about the places we are going! We are spending a few days in Malaysia - just around Kuala Lumpur, so if you have any recommendations or thoughts on possible day trips, let me know! ...followed by a flight to Brisbane.

The Australia portion of the trip, believe it or not, is the difficult one to plan. The country is just so darn big.... and expensive! Everything worthwhile costs a pretty penny. We are going to spend some time with our friends around Brisbane, but we still have time to see something else. I was of the belief "you can't go to Australia and not see the Great Barrier Reef" ... but as it turns out, trips to see the reef are crazy expensive! And to stay on one of the lovely islands around the reef, it is really, really expensive - what I like to call "French Polynesia overwater bungalow expensive!" And when you are taking a month long trip and what feels like a million flights, you have to save where you can, right?

I haven't given up on seeing the Great Barrier Reef yet, but our alternate plan is to head to Melbourne, drive along the Great Ocean Road and maybe stop in one of the little towns for a night, and finally go to Phillips Island animal parks where you can watch wild penguins come out of the water and up onto the beach to their nests. Aww.

After Australia, we are heading to New Zealand's South Island for some winter fun! The South Island is a ski destination for many, so hopefully we will get some winter sports in, too.

Followed by a wonderful, relaxing week on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. Skiing in New Zealand one week, laying on the beach in the Cooks the next - awesome! After our trip to French Polynesia, I have been desperately waiting to head back to a tropical South Pacific island. We have rented a 1 bedroom 1 bath "villa" less than a 30 second walk to our own semi-private (no big resorts with screaming children near by!) beach. Don't get me wrong - I love kids. Just not while I'm laying on the beach in the Cook Islands. ;)

This is the beach I will be resting my pretty little head on come June! (the black stuff underwater? It's coral... teeming with life and pretty fishes!)

Almost all of our tickets and hotels/B&Bs (we are big B&B fans) are booked - just waiting to explore our options in Australia some more before booking our flight to New Zealand. I had to assure my credit card that this was indeed not fraud as I booked tickets all over the world yesterday.

If anyone has any input on any of these places, including must see places and must do activities, please don't hesitate to comment below. Help with the Australia portion is especially appreciated!!

Steph

Another reason I love China...

2011-02-08T15:56:00.003+08:00

the flower market rocks my world.

I paid less than $9 USD for about 40 gerber daisies in vibrant red, orange, and pink. And I was so shocked at how cheap it was, I didn't even try to bargain, so I probably could have paid less.

Flowers make me happy.

An interesting proposition (and other language fumbles)

2011-02-07T13:06:00.008+08:00

A couple weeks ago I was getting off the subway at my stop and a local girl came over and was told me she is a photographer, and works at the local art village over here, and needs a foreign girl for one of her projects. I was holding onto my purse and looking around because who knows if it was a diversion to pickpocket me or what, so I gave her my email address and told her to email me info about it.

So, she emailed me and her english was pretty bad, I couldn't really understand what she was asking, so I said, look I speak and understand Chinese, can you tell me what you want me to do?

And so, she writes me this thing about how she is doing an art project on the understanding of different religions with people from different backgrounds. She wants me to be in photos and video doing some Buddhism actions and words. OK so I get to this point and I don't exactly know what this one Chinese word means, but she is talking about taking photos in her art studio, so I skip over it. (Then she says of course if I worry about safety I can bring friends with me, etc). I skipped over the word because when you are learning Chinese, you sometimes have to ignore a word you don't know, because often, you can get the meaning without knowing the word.

OK so I finished reading and something kept tugging at me.... I was like, hmmm, I think I should go back to that one word I don't know (sometimes when reading Chinese it is impossible to know every word, but you might know the characters the word is composed of which allows you to figure out the meaning). I go back and I am like, hm, TUO means to take off or get rid of (like tuo yifu de tuo 脱衣服, or the verb used in "to take of your clothes"), and GUANG can mean light but it can also mean to use up... at this point an image of a bald head flashes into my mind, because I realized that this same guang is also used in guangtou 光头，which means bald... and finally, realization dawns on me... but I looked it up in the dictionary to be sure and sure enough, the word I was looking for, "tuoguang" 脱光， means TO STRIP NAKED! LOL!

OK that was a long story, but I thought it was hilarious that if I had skipped that ONE crucial word, you never know what would have happened, hahaha. In learning Chinese, there are times you HAVE to skip the word you don't know and move on, and more often than not you still understand the meaning... but sometimes (like this!), the word you don't know is apparently crucial to the situation, and it is better to do some more digging. ;)

Steph

Happy Chinese New Year! 新年快乐！

2011-02-06T15:51:00.005+08:00

OK, so Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday in China. It is a pretty amazing time and lasts from February 2nd to February 15th. On the 2nd, the amount of fireworks going on was absolutely insane. I am talking about Disney World style fireworks being let off literally all night long, RIGHT outside my window - and all across the city. It was amazing. The fireworks have abated, but they are still going on. For a few days, Beijing sounded like a warzone - and I didn't sleep so well. The fireworks would stop at about 2am and start up again by 8am.

Spring Festival (AKA Chinese New Year) is the largest human migration on earth. A large majority of city populations leave the city to head home and spend the festival with loved ones. An estimated 230 million people this year are using China's railways to head home for the holiday. You can imagine traveling at this time of year is absolutely crazy.

The sheer amount of people who left Beijing to head home for the holiday is obvious. Beijing is noticeably empty (for the most part). The streets, which are always clogged with cars no matter what day it is or what time of day it is, are virtually empty. (The NY Times recently reported that Beijing and Mexico City are tied for the #1 worst traffic in the world... so for the streets to be empty, it is pretty amazing.)

One place that is NOT empty.... all the temple fairs (also known as Miaohui - 庙会) scattered around the city.

Today some friends and I went to the temple fair at Ditan Park... here are a few I-phone quality pics ... and some video!!! to share.

At the end of this video, my friend is like "Are you hiding behind me so you won't be on video?" and I'm like "yup!"

And this one is a little something we like to call 人山人海 in Chinese - renshanrenhai - which means a mountain and ocean of people... which means, a helluvalot of people! It wouldn't be China if it were any other way, eh?

I hope this gives you a little taste of Chinese New Year here in Beijing!

Harbin Ice Festival!

2011-02-01T16:44:00.010+08:00

It was absolutely amazing! But soo ridiculously cold. How cold you ask? -29 degrees Fahrenheit cold. Which is like frozen tundra cold. Frostbite cold. Your handwarmers freeze kind of cold. Ice on your eyelashes kind of cold (seriously). But it was worth it! All the ice is taken from the local river, which is amazing when you look at how huge these ice sculptures are.

This is Harbin's most famous piece of architecture... St. Sophia's church. Love the Russian influence.

Beautiful European style streets. I really liked the feel of Harbin, felt very different than other Chinese cities.

And I took a picture of this girl because I could not get over the fact that it was -29F and she was walking around in a skirt with just fishnet stockings (which I guess you can't really see with the picture! But I was wearing the equivalent of a sleeping bag and was uncomfortably cold!)

Chinese New Year starts soon and it's the year of the Rabbit! Snow sculptures

"Please don't make me go over that bridge. It's slippery and I am freezing and I hope my nose and toes aren't frostbitten."

We went to a Siberian tiger park. They were very well fed tigers. We could have bought a live chicken to feed to the tiger, but no one in our tour group sprung for the $4.50 it would have cost.

And this is a little coffee shop igloo where we huddled for warmth and a hot cup of tea while we let our fingers and toes defrost a bit.

As you can see, it was cold, but awesome.... if you ever happen to find yourself in China between January and February, definitely take the 2 hour flight from Beijing to Harbin to see one of the biggest and best ice festivals there is!

Tomorrow is the first day of the Chinese New Year (which goes by the lunar calendar). It is beautiful around here with red lanterns hung everywhere.... and I have heard it will be fireworks galore.

...more on Chinese New Year, also called Spring Festival, tomorrow!

Steph

Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior

2011-01-17T10:10:00.005+08:00

I was out to lunch with a friend yesterday who told me about a very controversial article titled "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior." I read it this morning and thought it was a very interesting piece, indeed. I know I have a lot of readers who may have been raised by a "Chinese mother" (a term the author uses to encompass not just ethnically Chinese mothers, but those that follow this style of parenting) - and I wondered, if you were raised in this type of environment, what are your thoughts on this parenting style? How do you feel it affected you? And regardless if you were raised by Westerns Parents or Chinese Parents - any thoughts?

THE SATURDAY ESSAY
JANUARY 8, 2011
Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior
Can a regimen of no playdates, no TV, no computer games and hours of music practice create happy kids? And what happens when they fight back?
By AMY CHUA

A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what these parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies, what it's like inside the family, and whether they could do it too. Well, I can tell them, because I've done it. Here are some things my daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to do:

• attend a sleepover

• have a playdate

• be in a school play

• complain about not being in a school play

• watch TV or play computer games

• choose their own extracurricular activities

• get any grade less than an A

• not be the No. 1 student in every subject except gym and drama

• play any instrument other than the piano or violin

• not play the piano or violin.

I'm using the term "Chinese mother" loosely. I know some Korean, Indian, Jamaican, Irish and Ghanaian parents who qualify too. Conversely, I know some mothers of Chinese heritage, almost always born in the West, who are not Chinese mothers, by choice or otherwise. I'm also using the term "Western parents" loosely. Western parents come in all varieties.

All the same, even when Western parents think they're being strict, they usually don't come close to being Chinese mothers. For example, my Western friends who consider themselves strict make their children practice their instruments 30 minutes every day. An hour at most. For a Chinese mother, the first hour is the easy part. It's hours two and three that get tough.

When it comes to parenting, the Chinese seem to produce children who display academic excellence, musical mastery and professional success - or so the stereotype goes. WSJ's Christina Tsuei speaks to two moms raised by Chinese immigrants who share what it was like growing up and how they hope to raise their children.

Despite our squeamishness about cultural stereotypes, there are tons of studies out there showing marked and quantifiable differences between Chinese and Westerners when it comes to parenting. In one study of 50 Western American mothers and 48 Chinese immigrant mothers, almost 70% of the Western mothers said either that "stressing academic success is not good for children" or that "parents need to foster the idea that learning is fun." By contrast, roughly 0% of the Chinese mothers felt the same way. Instead, the vast majority of the Chinese mothers said that they believe their children can be "the best" students, that "academic achievement reflects successful parenting," and that if children did not excel at school then there was "a problem" and parents "were not doing their job." Other studies indicate that compared to Western parents, Chinese parents spend approximately 10 times as long every day drilling academic activities with their children. By contrast, Western kids are more likely to participate in sports teams.

What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you're good at it. To get good at anything you have to work, and children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences. This often requires fortitude on the part of the parents because the child will resist; things are always hardest at the beginning, which is where Western parents tend to give up. But if done properly, the Chinese strategy produces a virtuous circle. Tenacious practice, practice, practice is crucial for excellence; rote repetition is underrated in America. Once a child starts to excel at something—whether it's math, piano, pitching or ballet—he or she gets praise, admiration and satisfaction. This builds confidence and makes the once not-fun activity fun. This in turn makes it easier for the parent to get the child to work even more.

Chinese parents can get away with things that Western parents can't. Once when I was young—maybe more than once—when I was extremely disrespectful to my mother, my father angrily called me "garbage" in our native Hokkien dialect. It worked really well. I felt terrible and deeply ashamed of what I had done. But it didn't damage my self-esteem or anything like that. I knew exactly how highly he thought of me. I didn't actually think I was worthless or feel like a piece of garbage.

As an adult, I once did the same thing to Sophia, calling her garbage in English when she acted extremely disrespectfully toward me. When I mentioned that I had done this at a dinner party, I was immediately ostracized. One guest named Marcy got so upset she broke down in tears and had to leave early. My friend Susan, the host, tried to rehabilitate me with the remaining guests.

The fact is that Chinese parents can do things that would seem unimaginable—even legally actionable—to Westerners. Chinese mothers can say to their daughters, "Hey fatty—lose some weight." By contrast, Western parents have to tiptoe around the issue, talking in terms of "health" and never ever mentioning the f-word, and their kids still end up in therapy for eating disorders and negative self-image. (I also once heard a Western father toast his adult daughter by calling her "beautiful and incredibly competent." She later told me that made her feel like garbage.)

Chinese parents can order their kids to get straight As. Western parents can only ask their kids to try their best. Chinese parents can say, "You're lazy. All your classmates are getting ahead of you." By contrast, Western parents have to struggle with their own conflicted feelings about achievement, and try to persuade themselves that they're not disappointed about how their kids turned out.

I've thought long and hard about how Chinese parents can get away with what they do. I think there are three big differences between the Chinese and Western parental mind-sets.

First, I've noticed that Western parents are extremely anxious about their children's self-esteem. They worry about how their children will feel if they fail at something, and they constantly try to reassure their children about how good they are notwithstanding a mediocre performance on a test or at a recital. In other words, Western parents are concerned about their children's psyches. Chinese parents aren't. They assume strength, not fragility, and as a result they behave very differently.

For example, if a child comes home with an A-minus on a test, a Western parent will most likely praise the child. The Chinese mother will gasp in horror and ask what went wrong. If the child comes home with a B on the test, some Western parents will still praise the child. Other Western parents will sit their child down and express disapproval, but they will be careful not to make their child feel inadequate or insecure, and they will not call their child "stupid," "worthless" or "a disgrace." Privately, the Western parents may worry that their child does not test well or have aptitude in the subject or that there is something wrong with the curriculum and possibly the whole school. If the child's grades do not improve, they may eventually schedule a meeting with the school principal to challenge the way the subject is being taught or to call into question the teacher's credentials.

If a Chinese child gets a B—which would never happen—there would first be a screaming, hair-tearing explosion. The devastated Chinese mother would then get dozens, maybe hundreds of practice tests and work through them with her child for as long as it takes to get the grade up to an A.

Chinese parents demand perfect grades because they believe that their child can get them. If their child doesn't get them, the Chinese parent assumes it's because the child didn't work hard enough. That's why the solution to substandard performance is always to excoriate, punish and shame the child. The Chinese parent believes that their child will be strong enough to take the shaming and to improve from it. (And when Chinese kids do excel, there is plenty of ego-inflating parental praise lavished in the privacy of the home.)

Second, Chinese parents believe that their kids owe them everything. The reason for this is a little unclear, but it's probably a combination of Confucian filial piety and the fact that the parents have sacrificed and done so much for their children. (And it's true that Chinese mothers get in the trenches, putting in long grueling hours personally tutoring, training, interrogating and spying on their kids.) Anyway, the understanding is that Chinese children must spend their lives repaying their parents by obeying them and making them proud.

By contrast, I don't think most Westerners have the same view of children being permanently indebted to their parents. My husband, Jed, actually has the opposite view. "Children don't choose their parents," he once said to me. "They don't even choose to be born. It's parents who foist life on their kids, so it's the parents' responsibility to provide for them. Kids don't owe their parents anything. Their duty will be to their own kids." This strikes me as a terrible deal for the Western parent.

Third, Chinese parents believe that they know what is best for their children and therefore override all of their children's own desires and preferences. That's why Chinese daughters can't have boyfriends in high school and why Chinese kids can't go to sleepaway camp. It's also why no Chinese kid would ever dare say to their mother, "I got a part in the school play! I'm Villager Number Six. I'll have to stay after school for rehearsal every day from 3:00 to 7:00, and I'll also need a ride on weekends." God help any Chinese kid who tried that one.

Don't get me wrong: It's not that Chinese parents don't care about their children. Just the opposite. They would give up anything for their children. It's just an entirely different parenting mode.

Here's a story in favor of coercion, Chinese-style. Lulu was about 7, still playing two instruments, and working on a piano piece called "The Little White Donkey" by the French composer Jacques Ibert. The piece is really cute—you can just imagine a little donkey ambling along a country road with its master—but it's also incredibly difficult for young players because the two hands have to keep schizophrenically different rhythms.

Lulu couldn't do it. We worked on it nonstop for a week, drilling each of her hands separately, over and over. But whenever we tried putting the hands together, one always morphed into the other, and everything fell apart. Finally, the day before her lesson, Lulu announced in exasperation that she was giving up and stomped off.

"Get back to the piano now," I ordered.

"You can't make me."

"Oh yes, I can."

Back at the piano, Lulu made me pay. She punched, thrashed and kicked. She grabbed the music score and tore it to shreds. I taped the score back together and encased it in a plastic shield so that it could never be destroyed again. Then I hauled Lulu's dollhouse to the car and told her I'd donate it to the Salvation Army piece by piece if she didn't have "The Little White Donkey" perfect by the next day. When Lulu said, "I thought you were going to the Salvation Army, why are you still here?" I threatened her with no lunch, no dinner, no Christmas or Hanukkah presents, no birthday parties for two, three, four years. When she still kept playing it wrong, I told her she was purposely working herself into a frenzy because she was secretly afraid she couldn't do it. I told her to stop being lazy, cowardly, self-indulgent and pathetic.

Jed took me aside. He told me to stop insulting Lulu—which I wasn't even doing, I was just motivating her—and that he didn't think threatening Lulu was helpful. Also, he said, maybe Lulu really just couldn't do the technique—perhaps she didn't have the coordination yet—had I considered that possibility?

"You just don't believe in her," I accused.

"That's ridiculous," Jed said scornfully. "Of course I do."

"Sophia could play the piece when she was this age."

"But Lulu and Sophia are different people," Jed pointed out.

"Oh no, not this," I said, rolling my eyes. "Everyone is special in their special own way," I mimicked sarcastically. "Even losers are special in their own special way. Well don't worry, you don't have to lift a finger. I'm willing to put in as long as it takes, and I'm happy to be the one hated. And you can be the one they adore because you make them pancakes and take them to Yankees games."

I rolled up my sleeves and went back to Lulu. I used every weapon and tactic I could think of. We worked right through dinner into the night, and I wouldn't let Lulu get up, not for water, not even to go to the bathroom. The house became a war zone, and I lost my voice yelling, but still there seemed to be only negative progress, and even I began to have doubts.

Then, out of the blue, Lulu did it. Her hands suddenly came together—her right and left hands each doing their own imperturbable thing—just like that.

Lulu realized it the same time I did. I held my breath. She tried it tentatively again. Then she played it more confidently and faster, and still the rhythm held. A moment later, she was beaming.

"Mommy, look—it's easy!" After that, she wanted to play the piece over and over and wouldn't leave the piano. That night, she came to sleep in my bed, and we snuggled and hugged, cracking each other up. When she performed "The Little White Donkey" at a recital a few weeks later, parents came up to me and said, "What a perfect piece for Lulu—it's so spunky and so her."

Even Jed gave me credit for that one. Western parents worry a lot about their children's self-esteem. But as a parent, one of the worst things you can do for your child's self-esteem is to let them give up. On the flip side, there's nothing better for building confidence than learning you can do something you thought you couldn't.

There are all these new books out there portraying Asian mothers as scheming, callous, overdriven people indifferent to their kids' true interests. For their part, many Chinese secretly believe that they care more about their children and are willing to sacrifice much more for them than Westerners, who seem perfectly content to let their children turn out badly. I think it's a misunderstanding on both sides. All decent parents want to do what's best for their children. The Chinese just have a totally different idea of how to do that.

Western parents try to respect their children's individuality, encouraging them to pursue their true passions, supporting their choices, and providing positive reinforcement and a nurturing environment. By contrast, the Chinese believe that the best way to protect their children is by preparing them for the future, letting them see what they're capable of, and arming them with skills, work habits and inner confidence that no one can ever take away.

—Amy Chua is a professor at Yale Law School and author of "Day of Empire" and "World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability." This essay is excerpted from "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" by Amy Chua, to be published Tuesday by the Penguin Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Copyright © 2011 by Amy Chua.
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Officially the worst blogger ever, & home decor!

2011-01-07T10:33:00.005+08:00

Hi guys, Happy New Year! I know, I am officially the worst blogger ever... 2 posts in December?!! I mean, what's up with that?! The truth is, I've just been majorly busy! Running around town, exploring different markets, trying new restaurants with friends. It's been fun but the blog has suffered - sorry about that. I'll try to be better! At least 3 posts a month... ha ha ha! I recently went to a huge fabric market in Beijing and bought some super 120s wool that I am going to have made into a shift dress - you know, with the hopes that one day I will have a legitimate job to wear it to! I'll keep you updated on how that goes and post pics when it is finished.

4 months. I only have 4 months left in China... can you believe it?! I'm not going to lie - at some point (in the midst of my homesickness, I am sure), it felt like I'd NEVER get this far, and now here we are, 4 months left, and I know I have to really make them count. We have travel plans for every month we have left here, so we'll see how that goes! We are going to Harbin soon to see the Ice Festival.... it's like -15F in Harbin, so I am hoping the (ugly)(but warm) Northface snow boots I bought will arrive in time.

What else have we been up to... buying furniture. I love Asian style furniture, and it works well with many different types of decor styles without being overwhelmingly Asian. I'm hoping to find somewhat unique pieces that I can use to add a little Asian flare to our house, without someone walking in the room and feeling like they entered a traditional Chinese house or a badly decorated Chinese-themed hotel. So we'll see. I've been scouring photos on the web to draw inspiration from, and I have definitely settled on the look I am going for. Check out this amazingly decorated home I found on Apartment Therapy.

That's just the living room. I love the warm colors, how it looks homey and cozy but also amazingly decorated, with interesting pieces that make you wonder the story behind them. The statement piece that keeps drawing my eye in that photo is definitely the Beijing cabinets.

You can see more pictures of this amazing house here.

We've purchased a few things recently in our quest to recreate this sort of look in our own living room (when we move back to the U.S.) I'm using the picture as a guide - I was afraid that if I didn't have a guide like that, I'd end up buying a bunch of things that may not work well together.

We bought this table at an antique shop near my hair salon. This place is like a treasure cove... I really want to go back and buy a chest. This table is from sometime in the early 1900s and is made from Elm wood. Supposedly. Who knows in China?! We don't care whether the stuff we buy is an antique or not - so long as we think it looks good and is well-made.

Close up of the carving details

Funny story about this bowl

We bought it for about 250 Kuai (a little over 40 USD) at a small shop at Gaobeidian furniture street. At Beijing's 798 Art District the other day, we saw this same exact bowl but the smaller version being sold for 2600 Kuai! OMG! Are you kidding me?!! That made us feel reaaalllll good!

These next two pieces are just small little basins that look cool strategically placed on the floor. The first one is a wash basin that used to be used to wash clothes or dishes in. It's made of walnut wood. Every time we buy something like this, the seller tells us we can raise a fish in it, and other Chinese people look at us like we are crazy for buying these things.

This is just a bucket, made of willow wood, and you can still see people in the countryside using these to carry water.

I did some research online and decided I wanted to check out an antique store (that also produces reproduction furniture and custom designs) in the Tongzhou part of Beijing. So, my husband I jumped in a cab and off we went... after driving an hour and ending up in the middle of nowhere, we realized it was a lot farther than we thought. The cab driver gave us a big smile and told us he'd wait for us... which I was very grateful for, there would have been no catching of the cabs way out there! I told him if he didn't wait, we'd end up sleeping there, which he thought was very funny coming out of my mouth. When we arrived, we stepped out a little like, now what? It was deserted.

We eventually found someone to help and purchased a Beijing cabinet, and a chair.

This is made of elm wood and is not too old, about 80 years. We are going to purchase another chest to put on top of it, like in the picture of the Beijing cabinet in the "inspiration picture" I posted above. We did not purchase the colorful chest on top of it.

And our chair, made of walnut wood... I love the geometric shape of it.

I plan to place it somewhere off to the side, with a simple piece of artwork above it, like this.

So, over all I think we are off on the right foot in creating a unique space for our house when we return to the States.

Steph

Shanghai rocks my world.

2010-12-14T19:31:00.006+08:00

Loved Shanghai. LOVED. I couldn't help myself from listing the ways I prefer it to Beijing (I wrote the list while I was there):

1. Less pollution, wow! What a difference.

2. Where is the traffic?! Amazed at the lack of traffic here. In Beijing, at any given time of the day, anywhere in the city, you are stuck sitting in terrible traffic.

3. Better food! Sure Beijing has good Chinese food, but I'm talking Western food.... Shanghai has much more options. I've eaten the better this week than I have in the entire 7 months I've been in China.

4. The subway is more efficient and way less crowded. You can actually take the subway at rush hour here without wanting to cry. It also goes all over the place! There are a lot of places in BJ you just can't get to from the subway, or you have a long walk from the nearest station.

5. Shanghai has real bagels! WHAT?!

6. Shanghai is cleaner than BJ.

7. Really pretty architecture, much is European influenced, in some parts of the city you can imagine you are in Paris and in others NYC.

8. Every taxi driver we came across was so nice! And in some subway stations they actually STOOD IN LINE! My friend said it was due to all the World Expo behavioral training the city's residents were recently exposed to.

OK OK I'm ragging on Beijing a little. Beijing is awesome, too. In fact, if you are a tourist, you'd probably be better of coming to Beijing if you can only see one... Beijing does have all the history! But if you were going to choose to live in one of these two cities, in my opinion, the quality of life in Shanghai is better. Just sayin'.

We had a fantastic time! Now we are back in Beijing, which is super cold right now, by the way! Today it was 15 degrees. You shouldn't have to wear 3 shirts, a sweater and a coat just to go outside... and talk about a pain in the butt - gloves and scarves and hats, and then bending down to put on boots.... such a pain! But the sky has been blue so I shouldn't really complain :) I just wish it would snow! I hate being so cold with no reward (i.e.: snow). I don't know what I am going to wear when we go to the Ice Festival in Ha'erbin this January.

Well, that's all I got. I have an apple pie baking in the oven... I highly underestimated the difficulty of making a pie crust. Betty Crocker would cry if she saw what is in my oven right now. LOL. Hopefully it tastes good.

Steph

P.S. Can you believe I only have 5 months left here?! And still don't know where we are going to end up!

P.S.x2. Check out what is waiting for me in the U.S! My new car! I debated getting such a small car but I decided it is the perfect time in my life to go for it.

I'm already picturing cruising down Pacific Coast Highway with the top down. :)

Our China-tree and heading to Shanghai!

2010-12-03T11:16:00.006+08:00

Yeah. We ran out of lights near the bottom. LOL! I swear it's not as noticeable in person, HAHA! Oh well, I think it's pretty decent for a China-tree! And my favorite ornaments are these Beijing specialty Jingtailan ornaments:

Aww Pandas!

Anyway, I'm heading out to Shanghai so I'll have some fun new pictures sometime next week! Everyone have a great week!! IF you have any Shanghai recs please share!:)

OHH... I had some awesome Black Friday scores, one which involves Rebecca Minkoff, and the other Linea Pelle.... details next week!

Steph

P.S. - it's noon right now, and 34 degrees! Hello winter!

Beijing in the fall

2010-11-20T08:17:00.009+08:00

is so pretty! We had over 2 weeks of blue sky days... it was absolutely amazing. I knew it had to come to an end soon, and when it did, it was with a vengeance! The embassy was getting pretty funny with their air quality read-outs... instead of "hazardous" they chose "crazy bad," which was hysterical to me. Yesterday, the pollution read-outs were off the charts, so they literally had to write "beyond index." Hopefully we get some wind and it clears up!

Beijing has been really pretty in the fall and I thought I'd post a few pictures to show the change of seasons. These pics are from all over Beijing - random streets, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall at Mutianyu.

At the Forbidden City

In this picture, we wandering down a hutong and stepped in to show my parents where the cook lives for the cooking class I go to. These two women, mother and daughter, used to live in the house back to the left... they left in '62, when the daughter was just a baby. We all went back and the people currently living in the home invited us in and showed us around. It was so cool to have the opportunity to see the inside! My husband and the older woman not only spoke Chinese together, but practiced their Russian as well.

Pretty fall leaves on a random Beijing street

The Great Wall at Mutianyu

The hubby and I at my favorite park in Beijing: Beihai. See that tree? It was COLD that day!

At the market with the chef, shopping for our cooking class. Sometimes the uggs need to be worn, what can I say? They are so warm and super comfy to walk around in for me (but my feet don't really have an arch, so that may be why I find them so comfy to walk in for hours on end).

"What's this called?"

Making dumplings

Mmm the yummy Sichuan noodles we made. SO delish! 担担面

Steph

桂林山水甲天下！ Guilin and Yangshuo, Guangxi Province

2010-11-11T09:37:00.011+08:00

How beautiful. Like something out of a movie. Definitely my favorite place in China, not a single thing disappointed me or made me think it looked better in the brochure. Before going to Guilin, we had been in Guizhou Province, one of China's poorest provinces. We didn't see a single other Westerner the entire time we were in Guizhou. When we arrived in Guilin, it was Westerners galore... but, for good reason... it was really amazing, no wonder people flock there in droves. If you are coming to China and limited on time, the Guilin area is definitely something not to be missed.

Cruising down the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo. Highly recommend - from the river is the best way to see the mountains.

Look familiar?

The view of the village we stayed in from Moon Hill

The view from our room... how amazing is that?

The night we arrived, we went in a boat alongside this cormorant fisher so we can watch him work! What they do is take a string and tie it around the cormorant's neck... that way when the bird catches fish, he can't swallow the fish... the farmer keeps the bigger fish for himself, and feeds the bird the smaller ones.

Some fishies he caught.

Yes I actually held the bird, even though birds in general scare me... hah. And yes. I was creeped out. But I did it! haha!

The next day our amazing guide took us to the village she grew up in. It was about an hour and a half boat ride away from Yangshuo. It was so amazing to be out on a part of the river where we were basically the only ones out there!

Harvesting the rice. My favorite photo.

Some village children peeking around the corner to check us out. They stayed there all day! too cute.

Our guide took us to her own parents' home... they made homemade springrolls, dumplings, and yes, snails, for us.

This is our guide's father, who was trying to teach me how to play the erhu.

This is right near where Edward Norton and Naomi Watts filmed The Painted Veil

Basically, it was really freaking awesome and I recommend it to everyone!

I also highly recommend the hotel we stayed in: The Yangshuo Village Inn, and our guide, Jessie Lu. If you want any of their contact information, let me know!

Steph

Giveaway Winner and my dress for the ball!

2010-11-07T08:33:00.007+08:00

After counting all the comments and omitting any duplicates, there were 45 comments total. I used random.org to generate a random number... # 23!

Congratulations to one of my long-time readers, TMWAY! You've won my giveaway! I sent an e-mail to you for further details so be on the lookout for that!

In regards to the ball - thank you guys so much for commenting on which dress you think I should choose. The majority of you said the red velvet dress... so I, in typical Steph fashion (just ask my husband), went with the green dress. lol. I just couldn't get the image of Mrs. Claus out of my head with the red velvet.

After receiving the green dress, I am thrilled with it. It is beautiful in person - the stock photo truly did not do this dress justice! It's amazing! The beading detail on the shoulder is gorgeous and the fit is perfect. The green velvet is rich and luxurious looking... I couldn't be happier with my choice!

The ruching (on the right side in the picture) makes for a very flattering fit.

I'm planning to do my hair like this... large waves/curls with one side pinned back (to see the shoulder detail!)

I'll post pics after the ball. It's still not for a few weeks!

Pictures from my last trip still to come - Guizhou Province, and Guangxi (Guilin, Yangshuo).

Steph

Big review post! J. Crew, Cole Haan, and what dress did I choose for the ball?!!!

2010-11-03T17:54:00.015+08:00

ALLLLLL that stuff I ordered finally made it all the way to China and are finally in my little hands. Most everything worked out wonderfully! so lots to review!

First up - do you need a good, basic long-sleeve layering tee? If so, Nordstrom's juniors brand Rubbish makes awesome long-sleeve shirts. I've had some for a few years and it was finally time to pick up some new ones.

This is the Rubbish Extended Cuff Tee. Currently on sale for $12.90. Because it's juniors I size up to a medium.

Here it is in grey on me.

Worn with my Lululemon Groove Pants (so stylin'! Hey, I didn't leave the house today...) BTW these tees are one million times better than J. Crew's "perfect fit" tee. I hate those things. They get so stretched out during wear and the sleeves are too short and the bottom rides up.. yuck.

Next up, Anthropologie's Camp Facile Shirt by Odille. I love this shirt. It's gorgeous. It feels like silk, but is actually rayon. I bought it in the army green color, which in my pictures actually looks a little distorted - it's more of a true army green in real life - you can see the true color in the photo below.

Look at the pretty details... gold buttons, the braiding on the sleeve cuff, which also goes along the back in a straight line.

I own about 2 or 3 Odille blouses, and took a size 2 in all of them - so I bought a size 2 in this as well. Truth be told, I could have sized up to a 4 - the button pulls ever so slightly across the chest. If I were in the US I'd exchange it for a 4 - being here, I will settle for the one I have. I also think that if I wear a less "pusher-upper" bra, that will solve the problem. ;)

Next up, J. Crew reviews! very happy with my recent J. Crew purchases.

First, the Sherpa Zip Hoodie, now on sale for $60. Love. So comfy! The sleeves and the pockets are not lined with the sherpa lining - I thought it was last year, but I don't know for sure. I took a size small - I think you should size up with this one.

MMM. Fuzzy. This is the warm taupe color.

Next, the popular Arrow Sweater-jacket (in black), which has been reviewed all over the blogging world. Currently on sale for $80, and I bought it during the additional 30% off sale. This sweater is 100% merino wool, very soft and very thick. Well worth the sale price. No quality issues so far, no pilling, etc.

I took this in a size XS. I like a more form fitting look.

Next is the Glen-plaid Sasha Coat. It appears to be sold out on the website, so no clicky. I bought this coat because it was on sale for such a great price... and I am so glad I did! I think it's super cute. It has a more boxy fit but it's still flattering - I like that it has a swingy look to it - very cute. Also love the plaid which is subtle but adds something extra. Net-a-porter is selling it for $300 still, but J. Crew just had it at a sale price of $99.

I went with a size 2 - it is great because it is roomy and there is no problem layering underneath this coat. It's funny because this coat didn't catch my eye at all and I really bought it for the great price... and it ended up being an awesome purchase.

In that picture I am also wearing my favorite style of jeans - 7 for all mankind's straight leg in rinse wash. These are the ones I bought for 30% off at Tobi.com. I have other jeans in this same brand and style, and needed another.

For me, 7 for all mankind fits true to my waist size. Strange, but in light color washes, I find they stretch out and I size down one size. I also bought 7FAM's newest fit "the skinny bootcut" - no picture because they are really long and need to be hemmed, but I really like them - the fabric is definitely different than my other 7fam jeans - true to the product description on their website, this is a very stretchy, tighter-fit fabric - but my regular waist size still fit.

Nextttttttt.... another J. Crew coat - the Stadium Cloth Peacoat with Gold Buttons, in Navy. I also got this with a 20% off code, yay!

Sorry this pic is sideways... I really like the stadium cloth fabric - it feels very very warm and looks and feels rich and luxurious in my opinion!

I listened to my blogger friends and went with a size 4 in this, as I heard it runs a little snug - and the 4 is perfect. Can't wait to wear this coat!

BTW can you see my shoes in that last picture? They are the Cole Haan Air Astrid flats in Beige. They are MUCH lighter (in color) than I thought they would be (you were right Ehayes!) I bought them on major sale at Neiman's. They are super comfy and TTS. The downside is I think they are really plain and sort of boring, and I thought the color was going to be a rich camel color, which it is not... I feel it's sort of a "matronly" (OK, GRANDMA-Y) color.

Keep or return?

And, OMG FINALLY, the final product.... which I am in love with. The J. Crew Studded Ballet Flats, which I also had a coupon for (nice, J. Crew with all the recent coupons...).

They run TTS, they feel extremely well made, the leather is so soft and supple.... I love them. Can't find any sort of fault with these.

Their awesomeness, combined with my "blah-ness" over the Cole Haan flats prompted me to run out (well, run to the computer) to buy one more pair of J. Crew flats, the Kerrington flats (currently on sale) in metallic pewter.

I'll let you know how I like these when they come in.

And that's it. And please don't add up all my purchases. I don't want to know. ;)

Steph

PS GIVEAWAY WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED TOMORROW! SORRY FOR THE DELAY!

PPS - Am I a huge blonde or what? I didn't even post about my ball dress! I guess I'll save that for tomorrow. ;)

Beautiful Yunnan

2010-10-27T12:59:00.002+08:00

Yunnan Province is gorgeous and has officially skyrocketed to the position of my favorite province in China.

Honestly, if I were coming to China for 2 weeks, the one chance I had to come to China... I would fly into Beijing, spend a few days around Beijing to see the most important sights, like Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall... then fly to Lijiang, spend time in Lijiang (or Dali), then onto Guizhou's small minority villages - one is Xijiang, and finally onto Guangxi province to see Guilin/Yangshuo area. This is truly the China people envision when they think of China. (Have you see The Painted Veil? This is what I am talking about for the second/third part of the trip.)

Anyway, we are now in Guizhou Province - I think which is officially known as China's poorest province. The city we are in is surrounded by karst limestone hills, which makes for very beautiful and unique topography. Unfortunately, our guidebook warned us about the locals' love of dog meat. Consider me officially a vegetarian while I am here. Thank God for Pizza Hut!

Here are a few pictures from our time in Yunnan. I am disappointed that I was sick during the time we were in Kunming - I really, really wanted to see the red fields (东川红土地), but unfortunately, that wasn't meant to be. I am, however, feeling much better, thank you for your well-wishes, they worked! :)

These photos were all taken in the ancient city of Lijiang... yes Lijiang can be touristy but it's beautiful, has a special ambiance and is definitely worth a visit. It reminded me of Pingyao in Shanxi.

The countryside

This is the first bend of the Yangtze River

Naxi Villages

Tiger Leaping Gorge... yeah so the actual park was closed, so in typical China fashion, some guys trying to make money offered to take us to the other side...

We went, and came across this. Pretty sure this side was more dangerous than the closed side.... seeing as how half the road was gone and all....

Workmen working towards trying to prevent any (more) crazy landslides

The gorge

That's it for Yunnan. There was so much more amazingness to see, but like I said, I got sick and we had to rearrange our travel plans.

Feeling much better here in Guizhou! Though the weather report said a high of 80 and a low of 65.... I am currently freezing seeing as how I am working with a high of 40 degrees and we didn't pack anything warmer than a fleece!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway here!

Steph

Only in China

2010-10-24T10:39:00.006+08:00

Why am I blogging from a hotel room, you ask? Why am I inside and not exploring Southern China?

The answer would be... that... I am sick. Again. I'll have you know, prior to moving to China, the last time I was sick was 2007. Moved to China and something is always making me sick! I blame it on the food situation... anyway... hopefully this will pass before we move on tomorrow. Night trains, while sick, are not fun. I know, because I was "lucky" enough to experience it the night before last.

Anyway, I was looking through some of our pictures from the last couple days and some were making me laugh.

This picture was taken inside a kid's playroom. Baowei Zuguo, 保卫祖国，means "Protect the Homeland."

I thought this was hysterical, seeing as how it was in a children's playroom, and the drawing is of a little kid carrying something like an AK-47!

And then around town, we saw some awesome signs and translations..

The same Chinese, two different English translations.

And I think we can all agree... shopping should be rational!

I was going to add a few more pics, but am suddenly feeling tired and am going to rest. DON'T FORGET to enter the giveaway!! Enter in the post below this one.

Steph

What, a giveaway?! Not Just Another Blonde in Beijing's China Treasures Giveaway!

2010-10-21T10:40:00.008+08:00

School children walking down a street in Lijiang, Yunnan Province

HI everyone! Right now I am in Yunnan Province, China, and having an absolute blast. Everywhere I turn there is something beautiful to see! Yunnan Province is home to about 25 minority groups, and their influence is seen everywhere I turn. One of the things that has caught my eye the most here are the beautiful scarves being sold on every street. Weaving and dying is a tradition among the ethnic groups here, so the scarves here are really one of the area's special products.

According to an article I found online, "the embroidery and dyeing consists of many processes, such as brushing patterns, twisting and tying, soaking, dyeing the cloth, steam boiling, atmospheric drying, taking out stitches, rinsing and grinding the cloth, among which the knotting and dip-dyeing are main processes." From what I have read, all the dyes are naturally occurring and found in different plants and berries.

After walking through stall after stall of these beautiful, colorful scarves, I decided that because this area of China is so beautiful and unique, I really want to share part of this with one of my readers.

For this giveaway, I can't really say exactly what will be in the "treasure box" I send, because as of right now, I'm not entirely sure. I DO know there will be one of these beautiful scarves, dyed by a woman part of China's Bai ethnic group. There are also going to be other goodies, all of which are a surprise, and will be hand-picked by me. Think of it as a care package full of unique items handmade (mostly) in China.

There is more to China than the cheap manufacturing and crappy products so many of us associate with the country. China is really a special place and I am hoping to show that through this giveaway! I am hoping whoever wins this giveaway will walk away with a greater appreciation for this country.

Giveaway Rules

1. Must be a follower
2. Must live in the United States or Canada
3. I WILL ship to APO/FPO addresses
4. Tell me what colors you would want your scarf to be. I can't promise it will happen, but I can try!
5. Leave me your e-mail address, or another way to contact you

Deadline to enter this giveaway is Halloween, October 31st!

Good luck!

Heading to Southern China!

2010-10-18T13:00:00.004+08:00

Alright ladies (and the few gentleman that read this blog),

We are off for a 2-week trip to Southern China! We have lots of adventures ahead of us, several overnights on trains, visits to small minority villages, rice terraces, and cruising on bamboo rafts down a river! Lots of beautiful scenery to see, and I will post a ton of pictures when I return. SO excited about this trip.

I'll be on periodically and may possibly get in a post or two while on the road... we'll see!

In other news... the one pair of J. Crew final sale flats did not fit. The left shoe fit, the right size was 1/2 a size too big. They will possibly let me return them. I mean, I've never had that problem before so I maintain that it has to be an issue with the shoe!

Anyway -

Take care everyone! Talk to you soon.

Steph

..but...Anthropologie made me do it!

2010-10-14T14:02:00.005+08:00

For over 6 months I have successfully avoided Anthropologie, both in store (obviously) and online. Unfortunately, that has come to an end. After a friend showed me a new skirt she bought from Anthro, I decided to browse and see what Anthro was offering in terms of sweaters - you know... something warm... for winter.

Unfortunately, I didn't find anything that actually had a real, practical purpose... but I did walk away with the Facile Camp Shirt. It was love at first sight. I had to have it. I told myself "No, no, Steph, do not buy this shirt, this shirt will NOT keep you warm during a Beijing winter." I told myself "Steph, NO, you might move to Hawaii, you would have absolutely no use for a shirt like this in Hawaii." (Oh yeah, friends, there is a chance I might move to Hawaii after this! But it's just a possibility... If we move back to San Diego, I will have the chance to wear this beautiful shirt again... though I am not going to lie, we are really hoping for Hawaii!)

Last night, I successfully talked myself out of buying this shirt. This morning, I successfully talked myself out of buying this shirt. But after class, I came home and once again set out to find reviews and saw it on lovely K over at Vurbanity.

And so I bought it. Promptly. Especially because one size sold out overnight and I panicked and...yeah.

So it will be on its way to me shortly! The husband really loved the shirt and told me I should get it. Who am I to argue?!

The other thing I was looking for were a pair of simple, camel-colored flats. I had been eyeing Cole Haan's Astrid Ballet Flats, but kept holding off due to the price - $148. They finally went on sale at Neiman's, and I was able to snag them for just $66 - and free shipping (you know I love that!) They are also one of the Nike Air flats and are supposed to be comfortable - we'll see.

I'm hoping all my recent purchases will fit when they finally arrive! It would really suck to have to send back and wait on returns all the way from China. I especially hope the shoes fit... I am really hurting for flats! Hopefully at least 1 pair (of the 3 I bought online) will fit me.

I'm also anxiously awaiting a bunch of long sleeve shirts and long sleeve thermal shirts I bought from the gap... it's quickly cooling down here and my winter wardrobe is sad!

What are you guys hoping to, ahem - acquire - soon?

Steph

Beijing is officially out of the dog house (for now!)

2010-10-11T07:02:00.004+08:00

I woke up.... jumped out of bed, whipped open our super dark black-out curtains... to see this!

OK actually this picture is from a week and half or so ago, but when I tried to get a new picture today, the sun was actually reflecting so fiercely off the buildings across the way that I couldn't get a decent picture. If it's possible, the sky is possibly even more blue than in this picture. Glorious!

With awesome air quality read-outs to follow!

I don't know what happened... maybe it rained a little over night, all I know is... I'll take it! As I've learned, in Beijing, you can NEVER take a day like this for granted... definitely going to be outdoors today, and I will definitely get a work out in! And by the way, it's 50 degrees (F) out right now... brrr!

Steph

Beijing... I can't take you when you are like this.

2010-10-10T09:40:00.006+08:00

I can't. I don't know how people live here and go about their daily lives when the pollution levels are so bad, it is actually hazardous (all members of the population will experience adverse health effects) to simply breathe. I can't even workout indoors when it's like this. I feel so unhealthy here, from the air I breathe to the fact that I can't (won't) workout even indoors when it's a hazardous air quality day. According to an article I stumbled across from a few years ago (I don't know how true this is): "China's environmental agency calculates that living in Chinese cities does more damage to a person's lungs than smoking two packs of cigarettes a day."

It's been like this for the past 5 days... with no reprieve in sight. The only thing that will sweep the pollution away is either wind or rain, neither of which is in the forecast.

Earlier in the week from my window

This morning - no improvement, and actually worse

If the levels would just go down from "hazardous" to "very unhealthy" ... I'd take it. This recent wave of really terrible air quality has me in such a funk. I am TRYING to get out of it, but looking at those pics, can anyone really say "WOW I'd love to get outside today and explore!"....? ...it's not fog.

I'm homesick for something I never thought twice about when I lived in the U.S.... clean air!

Steph

J. Crew customer service success!

2010-10-09T11:33:00.005+08:00

This morning, I called J. Crew and explained that I received two 25% off cards in the mail, but couldn't use them in store because I am in China. I told them I have a frigid Beijing winter ahead of me and said that I would love to use the 25% off to buy a coat... and they obliged!

(Of course, I really hate that I had to pay $17.50 on shipping (to ship to a U.S. address). I just don't understand why their shipping costs are so high. And I don't understand why you can spend 200+ dollars and STILL be charged an exorbitant amount on shipping.) I know it was really nice for them to let me use the coupon, so, I'll just stop there.

On it's way to me

Yep... I decided to go with the navy peacoat with gold buttons. I agonized over the decision, kept flip flopping between the navy version and the grey version, and then started wondering if I should just buy that plain dark charcoal or even a plain black peacoat instead.... It was clearly getting out of hand, and I decided that a purchase of a coat shouldn't require this amount of debate, so I bought the darn navy & gold peacoat. The only other coat I have is black and classic, so I decided I could use a little "fun."

I also grabbed this "warm taupe" (I call it pinkish!) sherpa hoodie. This is the warmest, most comfortable hoodie ever... I think it will come in handy for hanging around the house or quickly running to the grocery store during the cold months.

Anyway, that's pretty much it on the shopping front... I have ONE more pair of flats I want - still looking for my size... but I really want a rich tannish color pair...

Does anyone else find that blogging and browsing other blogs just makes you WANT more? I wish I could browse other blogs without being like "OMG I want that!" "I need that!" and pretty soon after, find myself shopping up a storm...

Yeah.

Don't forget to take advantage of Shopbop's (RARE) 20% off code: INTHEFAMILY20

I won't be. But you should! ;)

Steph

So sad, J. Crew, so sad.

2010-10-08T15:57:00.008+08:00

Look what showed up in my China mailbox today:

Not one, but TWO J. Crew 25% "red cards." I'm one of the chosen few! (sorry, I'm on a MAC so the pictures are mirror reflections!)

I'm so sad. They are in-store use only, and they expire on the 11th so there is no chance of sending it back to my mom and having her buy me my coat....

On a happy note, I received a care package from my mom.... Vanity Fair with trainwreck Lilo on the cover, US Weekly with the Jersey Shore crew, and People... some new skincare products...

.....and a new pink IPOD Nano!! The best part is the inscription "Let the music take you home." Um, she rocks, no?! And the new Nano rocks. I love it. It has a touch screen! and it's fun! and it has a pedometer! a stop watch! and you can listen to the RADIO! and you can PAUSE live radio, and rewind up to 15 minutes... awesome for language learners. Love it.

Hoping for a smog-free day tomorrow... we've had some really terrible pollution the last 3 days.

I wonder if I call an actual brick and mortar J. Crew store, and order the coat I want over the phone - if they will let me read the card number to them over the phone? .... I have a feeling that might work.... I want to purchase that Navy coat (I think) and 25% off would be huge! It's worth a shot, I think.

Steph

In the mood to shop! FALL Wants!

2010-10-04T18:47:00.012+08:00

The weather has been so gorgeous lately, but there is a definite chill in the air that says fall is here! I love the change of the seasons. As fall makes it's way to Beijing, I've become more and more aware how woefully unprepared I am for winter. As a Florida girl who has never really lived in a place with a winter, I'm still not exactly sure what I am doing when it comes to dressing in winter. I visited my parents last year in NYC in December, and the year before that spent a snowy Christmas in Prague... so I think I can manage, because I managed then.... but boy am I in the shopping mood!

Would you believe it if I told you I have like, no flats? I don't know what happened to them all! They must be in storage or maybe I never really had as many as I thought. My Tory Burch Revas are flopping off my foot (will never buy them again, but that's another story), so I ran to my computer and ordered two pairs of cute flats from J. Crew. I had a 20% off code to use, plus free shipping. I bought the Girandole Flats which were on sale, and the Studded Ballet Flats, which weren't.

Girandole Studded Flats

I thought these were cute and different and added a little something to plain old black. Plus they will look cute with jeans, with the studs just barely peeking out.

Studded Ballet Flats

These... I just completely fell in love with them in the light grey color and had to have them! Luckily I had a 20% off coupon to offset full price (thanks to a very sweet girl on a board I frequent!)

Then I started thinking about denim, because I pretty much love wearing jeans... and I haven't bought a nice pair in a couple years! What can I say.... the good stuff lasts! I was annoyed that I had let Bloomies Friends and Family discount pass me by... but in the end, I lucked out because Tobi.com currently has a promotion out for 30% off!

7 For all Mankind is my designer denim of choice - they just fit me the best of the many different kinds I've tried on.

I ended up buying the Skinny Bootcut in Rinsed Indigo

And because the 30% off was such a big help, I bought a second pair, the Straight Leg in Rinse

If you're in the market for some new denim, check out Tobi.com for 30% off!

Another thing I stumbled across today: if you sign up for 7 For All Mankind's email list, they send you a 20% off code to use on your next purchase.

I'm still eyeing a couple things.... a $190 sweater from Piperlime - OUCH! Wish I hadn't overlooked that 25% off code Piperlime had out last week...

and a peacoat from J. Crew. I've wanted a short classic peacoat for years - I think it's time to just buy one! Does anyone have any input on how J. Crew's peacoats fit?

I'm thinking of going with just the regular peacoat in charcoal...

But look at this gorgeous navy coat with gold buttons...

I'm thinking the charcoal for longevity's sake... but I love that navy one! I think that shade of navy can be worn with black, too... what do you girls think? go for the classic (if somewhat boring) charcoal, or go for the navy with the gold buttons? Will the military trend fade in a few years?

***If you go to Tobi.com to use that great 30% off code MeetTobi, please use my link to register! When someone I've invited makes a purchase, they put a reward in my account! My link is: https://www.tobi.com/invite/3qmm*** They have several Rebecca Minkoff styles and the code works!

Steph

Going to a ball! Help me pick a dress!

2010-09-29T12:13:00.013+08:00

As a Marine Corps wife, I get the opportunity at least once a year to dress up for the annual Marine Corps Birthday Ball. It's the birthday of the corps, which was formed way back in... blah blah blahgetty blah.... all I know is I get to dress up. (OK, before people get mad, I kid, I kid. I appreciate the significance of the event.) Apparently, for the event in Beijing, they really go "all out" and it's supposed to be one of the best birthday balls, ever.

Last year, I was absolutely obsessed with a David Meister velvet cocktail dress... but I didn't want to take the plunge on the price of the dress. This year - having borrowed dresses the last 2 years (I hate having a closet full of worn-once fancy, expensive dresses) - I am buying a new one.

The dress I lusted over last year is no longer available, and would still be my first choice this year. Pictured below:

I don't know if you can tell, but the dress is velvet and is a pretty purple color. Unfortunately, it's only available on ebay, and not in my size.

so....

The dresses up for selection this year are the following:

1. Emerald Green, One Shoulder Velvet Gown

As you can see, it's REALLY similar to last year's dress! The shoulder strap is thinner than last year, and the embellishment is smaller. Also, the color is a jewel-toned emerald green. When I zoomed in on the site, the fit looks more flattering than it does when just looking at the first picture.. (think it has to do with the picture being a little bit dark in the places that would really show you how it fits the model). I love the sort of retro feel it has. If you want to zoom to see how it fits better, click here.

2. Red, One Shoulder with Feather Velvet Gown

Again, you need to be able to look past the crazy photoshopping (why? why do they insist on doing that?!) Similar to the other dresses: one shoulder, red velvet, with feather embellishment.

Out of the two available choices, my husband prefers the emerald green. I like the red, but kind of think it's not the best color for me... and red velvet kind of makes me think of Santa Claus.. so I am leaning towards the green as well.

What do you ladies think?! I know there are a couple things about these dresses.... from what I have learned, people either love or hate one-shoulder pieces, and they either love or hate velvet. I'm obviously digging both.

Here I am again for reference:

If you've seen any dresses no more than $350 that you think would be absolutely perfect, feel free to share.

Oh and yes, I could have a dress made specifically for me here in China, but that involves way more effort than I am willing to put in.

Thanks!

Steph

Loving: Fall in Beijing

2010-09-27T09:03:00.003+08:00

If you plan to visit Beijing, Fall is definitely the best season to do it! Right now, we've been having gorgeous blue-sky days, fresh air, and temps ranging from 55-75! It's been amazing. Look what I see when I look out my window right now.... gorgeous! I've loved the chance to actually open my windows and let the cool, fresh air in.

I've been so absent - bad bad bad, I know! but my in-laws have been in town and my husband and his dad went on a 20-hour hard seat train ride to Anhui Province, so I've been showing my mother in law around Beijing.... well, for the part of the time we weren't sick! My mother in law and I have had (are still having?) a run-in with a bout of food or water poisoning. Poor mother in law has to fly home today, a very long flight and not feeling her best at all.

I'll be back to posting regularly as soon as I've recovered completely.

Everyone take care, I hope everything is right in your world, and wherever you are, you are experiencing this glorious fall weather!

Steph

Exercise Accountability Update!

2010-09-10T09:05:00.005+08:00

Hey guys! sorry I've been a little MIA. I've been a little homesick lately. Luckily my in-laws are coming next week ... and I am so happy to have some family coming! I think it's just what I need to rejuvenate myself.

Last week was my first week of this "challenge" and... it's been challenging, ha ha!! I worked out 3 days last week. Hey that's up 3 times from what I was doing before, so I'm not being too hard on myself. I did 2 weight lifting days and 1 cardio day last week. This week is going alright - I've done 2 cardio days so far and today and tomorrow I am doing weight lifting. That's the plan and I WILL work out today and tomorrow. I had a certain goal of how many days I'd lift weights and how many days I'd do cardio, and I know the reason I have been choosing cardio over weights is because of my gym. Like many places in China, there are many people working somewhere - way more than needed, so some people really don't have anything to work on. Last Friday as I was doing bicep curls at the gym, the trainer, who is not training me, was standing 3 feet away from me staring at me the entire time. Awkward! I know he probably has the best of intentions but let's face it, I'm a little antisocial sometimes and when I'm lifting weights, that is definitely one of those times.

I think I may have chosen a bad time in general to start a challenge like this - the in-laws will be here for two weeks, and in those two weeks we will be doing a lot of sightseeing and traveling! I don't know how I will workout on the road, so I might have to be a little forgiving of myself - or just count the extensive walking and hiking we will do (we are going to Huang Shan in Anhui Province).

So, let's see - that's 3 days last week and it WILL be 4 days this week. One of my readers pointed me to an article with the theory of doing things gradually - so, maybe this is how I am supposed to do it.... 3 days the first week, 4 days the next, and 5 the third week, which of course was my goal (as well as consistency).

And I leave you with the 5 things I miss most about home:

1. my dog

2. good Western food
3. driving myself everywhere instead of relying on the subway (sardines) or taxi drivers (potential attitude)
4. the ocean

5. fresh air and blue skies (see above)

.... but I also thought it would be good to think about 5 things I like about China

1. the adventure of never knowing what to expect
2. cheap massages
3. the history practically everywhere you look
4. the beautiful parks great for people watching
5. the opportunity to use my Chinese every.single.day.

Steph

Cooking class #2, with recipes!

2010-09-03T09:42:00.005+08:00

My husband and I took another cooking class last weekend. The first time, we learned how to make fresh jiaozi (dumplings) and a few other cold vegetable dishes. This time, we chose a class that included a lot of meat! Braised pork, dry pepper beef, fish flavored eggplant, garlic spinach, etc. It was another amazing class and we made a lot of recipes that will be easy to make at home. I think for those of you outside of China (um, yeah. almost all of you!), the difficult part would be getting certain ingredients, but if you have a local Asian market, its definitely worth a try - because the food is easy to make, and its delicious.

#1: Canton Style Braised Ribs (广东烧排骨(shown in the picture on the left)

Ingredients:

500g ribs

Seasoning 1:

a few pieces of sliced ginger

Seasoning 2:

dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp
light soy sauce, 2 tbsp
sugar, 2 tbsp
Chinese white wine (more than 30% alcohol), 1 tbsp

Method:

1. chop rib into section (the ribs we chopped into 2 inch pieces approx.)
2. season wok with 1 tbsp oil (canola oil is fine), add ginger, ribs, stir about 30 seconds until fragrant, and then add 200ml water.
3. add all of seasoning 2 to the wok, cover, cook over low heat for about an hour until the water is gone.

How easy is that? SIMPLE, minimal ingredients and hardly any work! And these were so amazingly delicious.

#2: Fragrant Spicy Beef (香辣牛肉

Ingredients:

Beef, 250g

Marinade:

salt, 1/4 tsp
light soy sauce, 2 tsp
wine, 2 tsp
starch, 4 tsp
If meat looks dry, 1-2 tsp water

Spices:

dry chilis, julienned（干辣椒） - how many you use depends on your personal preference for spiciness
sichuan pepper (these are the sichuan peppercorns 花椒), 1/2 tsp
ginger, julienned, 2 tsp
leek, 6 pieces, only the white part, julienned
coriander (we call this cilantro in the U.S., and its also known as Chinese parsley), a few pieces

Seasoning:

sugar, 1 tsp
dark soy sauce, 2 tsp
sesame oil, 1 tsp

Method:

1. cut beef into 5cm long and chopstick thick, mix with marinade for 15 minutes.
2. Julienne all ginger, leek, and chili
3. season wok with 2 tbsp oil over high flame, turn down heat until oil is not smoking, add dry chili, sichuan peppercorns, then ginger, turn heat to high. When chili and sichuan peppers are fragrant and chili has turned a brown-red color, add the beef. Stir slowly until beef just changes color and separates, then add leek, sugar, dark soy sauce. Stir until leek is soft, turn off heat, and add coriander and sesame oil, mix, and take out.

#3. Fish Flavored Eggplant (鱼香茄子）－ and no, it does not taste or smell like fish, nor is there fish in it.

Ingredients:

Eggplant, 500g, cut into small finger sized
Minced pork, 2 tbsp (you can omit the pork, or you can even add pork strips)

Spices:

3 pieces of pickled chili, minced and seeds removed （泡辣椒）pictured below

ginger, minced, 3 tbsp
garlic, 5 cloves, minced, about 2 tbsp
spring onion, 3 pieces, minced, about 4 tbsp

Seasoning 1: (add during cooking)

salt, (now follow me here...).... use 1/2 of 1/4 tsp
sugar, 5 tsp
light soy sauce, 2 tbsp
wine, 1 tbsp

Seasoning 2: (add at the end)

vinegar 1 tbsp
sesame oil 1 tsp

Method:

1. season wok with 1 tbsp oil, turn to medium low heat, add eggplant, stir until eggplant becomes soft, then take out.
2. season wok with 2 tbsp oil, low heat, add pork, stir until pork separates and changes color, add chili, ginger, garlic, and stir. Add wine and 200 ml of water.
3. Add salt, sugar, soy sauce, and add eggplant. Cover. Cook on medium low heat until the water is gone.
4. Add vinegar and mix well. Turn off heat, add sesame oil and spring onion, mix, and then take out.

YUM! Totally delicious!

The garlic spinach was sooooo good, too.... and it was simple. We just took a bunch of garlic, minced it, and threw it in a seasoned wok with oil, added the spinach, some salt, and stir fry until done.

Let me know if you try any of these things! I was told if you can't find the pickled chilis for the eggplant dish, you can use fresh red chili as a substitute.

Steph

Exercise Accountability!

2010-08-29T13:01:00.002+08:00

OK ladies. I'm bringing this to the blog because I need some sort of accountability in order to get myself back into working out! I used to work out so much, and I loved it... the hobby itself, and the way I felt both physically and mentally. Fitness has pretty much always been a major part of my life. But, since moving to China (4 months ago!), I've become majorly lazy on the working out front, and I have no excuse. My gym is in the next building. It's so convenient. There is no reason I shouldn't be working out 5 days a week.

But, as I am sure you all know, once you stop working out and get into the lazy routine of being a total bum, its really hard to get out of the habit! so I decided to bring this to the blog with the hope that just having other people KNOW about it will help motivate me to get into the habit of working out again.

I have decided to start working out Monday through Friday. Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays I will lift weights, and Tuesdays and Thursdays I will do cardio and pilates.

I'm thinking that I will do some sort of check-in at the end of the week so everyone will know how I did.

If anyone else wants to participate, let me know and we can hopefully serve as a source of motivation for each other! And anyone with any tips & tricks for getting motivated... please share!

....they say it takes 20-something days to form a habit, right? Let's put that theory to the test.

Steph

I'm not going to lie....

2010-08-23T10:09:00.014+08:00

I totally went back to Beijing.

After Ningxia Province, we still had about 2 more weeks of travel ahead of us... lots of planes... lots of trains... and lots of buses. And after a 3-day migraine that wouldn't go away, I decided to head back to Beijing by myself. It was the right decision for me. I think its important to stay true to who you are. "The more you know who you are and what you want, the less you let things upset you."

I was forced to be alone in Beijing by myself, and that was so great for me! I went out with friends, I took cabs, I rode the subway, I walked around the city alone. I went to the haggle markets, I sat in parks and read, I cooked my own food, and I went to the train station several times to buy train tickets for friends that don't speak any Mandarin. I also bought train tickets for this week, when the husband and I head to Shandong province for the Qingdao Beer Festival (I'm really going to see European-influenced Qingdao, and you know this South Florida girl needs a glimpse of the ocean... though I know it won't be anything like my beautiful beaches at home!).

So, even though I didn't continue on the amazing Silk Road trip, this IS a China blog and I still want to share some of the amazing pictures my husband took along the Old Silk Road. I really wanted to share the photos not only because of how wonderful they are, but because the geographic features of China are so diverse - as are China's minority groups - and I think these photos really show that. If anyone has any questions about logistics, recommendations, etc., let me know: I have access to my wonderful husband who would love nothing more than to talk about traveling around China with other people.

Turpan, Xinjiang Province. Turpan is one of the hottest cities in China, and is known for its grapes. Grape trellises are everywhere in the city, and help to keep it cool.

Jiaohe Ruins, just outside of Turpan

At the Sunday Market in Kashgar. Amazing that this is China, right? Many Muslims live in Xinjiang Province, and as you can tell, even their physical features are strikingly different from typical Han Chinese.

Can you picture me here? .... I can't, either.

A mausoleum in Kashgar

A look into Old Kashgar. I love this shot.... what a great photo my husband took!

The kids tie a watermelon shell to the end of this tape and swing it around as a game.

Along the Karakoram Highway, which connects China and Pakistan

No longer in Xinjiang Province. This is now Dunhuang, Gansu Province

I hope you enjoyed a look into the far corners of the world!

Steph

"Did she just say that?!"

2010-08-19T14:26:00.005+08:00

And a random photo taken from The Great Wall - to pretty things up a bit

I think one of the many cultural/social differences that is really obvious to me, as an American living here in China, is the Chinese tradition of BEING BLUNT.

In the U.S., its just not socially acceptable to tell someone they are fat or they eat too much or they have a big nose or they look as if they haven't slept in days. Those are things people may think, but for the most part, remain left unsaid. If someone were to point out these less than desirable characteristics, we would think that person was being rude or too judgmental or in some cases, just plain nasty.

In China, pointing out things like this is the norm and for the most part its not intended to be rude. I think to them, its very black and white... its just a fact: the sky is blue, the grass is green, the sun rises in the east, you have a big nose and you need to tone your arms. Fact. And what's the problem with reporting facts?

I was at the gym today, speaking with one of the Chinese trainers I had met the last time I went to the gym. She is thrilled I can speak Chinese and enjoys chatting with me - and I like her, too! But, today, she confessed that last time when I told her I was an American, she was really surprised because according to her, I look French. Yes. Apparently French people have big noses like mine. I smiled and told her no, I am American, but my dad is Italian. That made much more sense to her - apparently Italians tend to have big schnozzes too! I didn't explain to her that if she thinks my nose is big now, she should have seen it before my nose job! (I don't think that would have translated well!) Luckily, I am no longer a 15 year old girl self-conscious about my nose. Besides, supposedly, Chinese people think a big nose (they actually don't use the word for big, they use the word for tall) is attractive. Hmm.

As I continued on with my work out, I saw her walk over to a perfectly fit girl who had a little extra junk in the trunk. She points at her. "You. You use this machine. You need to lose fat here" (points to the girl's bum). I see the girl nod "yes, yes I need to lose weight in this area" (refers to her bum).

Next, she walks over to a plump lady. "You. too much food." The lady, "yes, I know, I bake too much." The trainer "you like to eat cake and sweets. Don't eat so often."

And I'm over in my corner, doing bicep curls (you know, to tone my arms) and smiling, because its so typical and sort of funny and I am really hoping the two ladies who just endured "the truth" understand she isn't trying to be rude.

The moral of this story? Don't ever ask a Chinese person if you look fat unless you want to know if you look fat! And if you plan on coming to China - toughen up a little bit, first!

With all this said - if you are not an American, what is the standard in your country for this sort of thing? Do you tend to blurt out the truth in this blunt fashion? Or is it like in America where we try not to acknowledge these things, unless we are asked (and make sure 500 times that the person really wants to know)?

Steph

HELP me decide! What cooking class should I take next?

2010-08-13T22:15:00.005+08:00

I'm completely indecisive and need help deciding! In case you are wondering - pork is the meat of choice in China, and "fragrant fish" actually has nothing to do with fish (doesn't use, taste or smell like fish) and is completely delicious. Also, I love eggplant & spinach... (just for reference). I want to use what I learn in class in my own kitchen!

B

stir fry pork
braise chicken with mushroom
Fish fragrant pork (stir fry pork with chili) (hot)
Stirfry pork with garlic shoot/celery…
Three treasures (braise potato, eggplant and green pepper)

C

Braise pork rib with soy sauce and sugar
Black pepper beef
Stir fry beef with chili pepper (hot)
Fish fragrant eggplant (braise eggplant with chili) (hot)
Stirfry spinach with garlic

D
(Dim Sum)

barbecued pork ( char siu)
steam bun in two filling ( char siu and fresh meat )
Wonton and soup

E

Braise beef with bamboo shoot/white radish
Dry stirfry chicken (hot)
Dry stirfry beef (hot)
Mapo doufu ( numb and hot)
Blunch vegetable ***I don't know what this is, I just copied and pasted... lol**

WHICH CLASS?

THANKS!

Hello from Ningxia!

2010-08-10T19:34:00.010+08:00

Hi everyone! Right now we are in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, exploring this area before we set off to explore certain stops along the Old Silk Road.

These are the Xia Tombs about an hour outside of Yinchuan City.

A cool scarecrow my husband insisted I post

The husband stumbled upon a traditional "miaohui" in one of the rural farming villages ... in the past they were used as markets where people came to trade goods, but now they are primarily used as social gatherings (according to our driver). This "fair" only occurs once each year so everyone was lucky to stumble upon it. At this fair they had different types of performances. This lady in the picture below was really happy and, in English, I think the word DIVA describes her! She demanded her photo be taken!

We are having a complete blast and are looking forward to our next destination!

Steph

Completely amazing nonfiction: Into Thin Air, by John Krakauer

2010-08-06T17:14:00.007+08:00

(This ties into China, people! Just by fact of geography:))

I've been reading lately... reading a lot. I've loved to read ever since I was old enough TO read, but while I was intensively studying Chinese for almost a year and a half at a really strict school, my recreational reading of English books was put on hold. Since I've been in China, I feel like I've been trying to make up for lost time, because reading has again become one of my favorite hobbies!

Now, I know I've mentioned in the past that I am a complete girly girl - and while I love the great outdoors, I mostly prefer to look at it from the beautiful window of a plush hotel... so, you can imagine, I'm really not into mountain climbing. In fact, I have no desire to do it, and I've never really climbed any sort of real mountain or have done anything I consider to be serious hiking.

This is precisely why its nothing short of amazing that I decided to pick up John Krakauer's non-fiction, eyewitness account of the 1996 Everest Disaster - something I admittedly only became aware of about a month or so ago when my husband was watching the movie on HBO. After someone mentioned it on a book message board I frequent, I began to research the event online and instantly became fascinated with the story. I also have the opportunity next year to go to Tibet and see Everest for myself, which I think played a role in why I picked up this book.

I read Into Thin Air last week, picked it up on Tuesday and finished by Thursday. When I wasn't reading, I was wondering what was happening on the mountain, and when I fell asleep, dreams about Everest plagued me for days. I "googled imaged" the different places Krakauer mentions in the book - I wanted a visual of what he was talking about.

The book, in short, is amazing... suspenseful... harrowing... tragic. Its completely mind boggling to imagine anyone can climb that mountain, just a few thousand feet below the altitude at which airplanes fly, let alone survive in those elements under extremely poor circumstances.

Pick this up. Trust me. I am traditionally a fiction girl, but occasionally read nonfiction when it's worth it... this, my friends, is worth it.

Its available here.

Inner Mongolia: Mongolia it is not!

2010-08-05T10:42:00.012+08:00

A couple weeks ago we traveled to Inner Mongolia. Quick geography lesson - Inner Mongolia is a province of China, but Mongolia is its own country. My other posts about Mongolia and the Nadaam Festival were about the country of Mongolia - but just a couple weeks ago, we returned from a trip to Inner Mongolia, a Chinese province.

I think the biggest reason we went was so that we could 1. check Inner Mongolia off our "Chinese provinces I've been to" list (which will be totally checked off by the time we leave China), and 2. so that we could compare the province to the country of Mongolia.

In my opinion, Inner Mongolia is pretty much just another Chinese province. A couple differences: the roads in Mongolia were really rough, infrastructure was undeveloped, whereas in Inner Mongolia, the roads and infrastructure are typical of a developing & advancing China - awesome. Also, the nomadic culture is still very much alive in the country of Mongolia, whereas in Inner Mongolia, everything about the nomadic culture is more a remnant of the past, but is kept alive through tourism and giving us tourists what we want. People who stayed in yurts in Inner Mongolia stayed in a cement-bottomed yurt while the "nomadic family" lived in their concrete house that was behind the yurt. With that said - we didn't go to the best area of the province to see traditional nomadic culture, and the tourist-centric grassland & "nomad experience" was very unauthentic. However, the grasslands around Hailai'er and Xilinhot are supposed to be better.

The really dry "grasslands"... more like a desert, this year!

Majorly touristy yurts...

Something great that came out of the experience... we met a family, chatted with them all day, and they invited us to their home in Anhui Province! We are going to visit in September, when the husband's parents visit. We plan to see Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) in Anhui Province, and now we have some friends to show us around. (How lucky are we that this sort of thing seems to happen to us everywhere we go?! What can I say - Chinese people are usually really impressed when two white Americans can speak their language!)

The Zhang family, and my husband

In my opinion - if you want a true Mongolian experience, I'd head to the country of Mongolia where the nomad lifestyle is still very much alive and authentic.

The most interesting thing, I think, about the provincial capital of Hohhot is the unique architecture remnant of the Middle East. Hohhot does have a large Muslim population & one of the main attractions is a mosque. Unfortunately I had a dress on and was unable to enter.... the man also shooed us away and told us not to take pictures.

The Mosque

A Buddhist ceremony-thing we stumbled on in the streets

The White Tower

We took a cab out to the white tower... its actually out a-ways from the city.... on the way my husband assured me it would be easy to find cabs out there, because it is a major tourist spot. Unfortunately, we arrived & realized we were the only people there visiting the tower! We wanted to stay but knew it would be impossible to find a cab way out where we were... and our cab driver was getting off work. SO, he gave us TEN minutes to visit the tower, and if we weren't back then, he'd leave us. So, we hauled butt, took a few pics, and left.

These next pictures were taken of or around the 5 Pagoda Temple in Hohhot.

Unrecycling! HAHA!

Well thats about it for Inner Mongolia. I have to say, one thing that was really obvious was the staring. Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia, is definitely the place we have been stared at the most during our travels. Adults and children alike would stare at us, often times open-mouthed, or to the dismay of other bike riders as they actually stopped looking where they were riding so they could turn their entire bodies to stare at us as they rode past! Besides on the flight over, we didn't see any other Westerners the entire time we were in Inner Mongolia!

In just a few days we are off on another trip, this time a 15 night trip out to a place that is famous for being the farthest point away from the ocean in the entire world. We are going through several areas and small towns, so internet will probably be sporadic, but I'll post if I can!

Steph

Not China Related: Which DvF Kindle Cover Should I Buy?!

2010-08-03T20:23:00.004+08:00

I know this has absolutely nothing to do with China, but, I just purchased a kindle and I LOVE it.... but have since realized that I definitely need a travel case for it. (Coincidentally, the Kindle is awesome to have in China - you can have English books on your kindle in less than a minute - no more waiting for long shipping times!)

Anyway - I found some super cute Diane von Furstenberg Kindle cases... and I can't decide which one to get! I think my favorite is the black and white, but I was thinking the brown one may hide dirt better.

What do you think?

The inside view for all 3 styles

SO? What's your choice?

Steph

Adventures in Chinese Cooking: Homemade Noodle Edition - 成功！

2010-08-02T11:34:00.004+08:00

After our delicious adventure in jiaozi (dumpling) making, we decided that what we needed to work on most was the dough. You make noodles using the same dough that you use to make jiaozi, so we decided to try making our own noodles, which is overall less time consuming than making jiaozi. I made the dough using my teachers' tips, and when it came time to make the noodles, the dough was perfect!

Because we didn't really have a recipe to go off of, every time we ate out we decided to look and see what veggies kept popping up in noodles. There are no rules really - you can put pretty much any veggie you want in a noodle dish, it all depends on your own tastes. We kept seeing green onion, green peppers, thin carrot slices, and cabbage popping up, so we decided to use those veggies - as well as some red pepper, garlic, and ginger.

The noodles were a success! The food was delicious! The only thing we need to alter next time is the usage of those red Chinese peppers.... those suckers are deceivingly hot.

The veggies all nice & cut up, yum, plus the infamous sauce that completely makes the dish (I use some Chinese vinegar, Chinese soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and red pepper slices - same sauce I love to dip my dumplings in)

The noodles all nice and cut up

Look at that!! Perfect noodles!

Boiling the noodles first until they feel right, then you stir fry

The noodles, pork strips, and veggies all being stir fried

These deceivingly hot peppers! They are so small, at first we only cut up one... then decided maybe we would use one more.... wow... that made a huge difference, this dish was spicy! Next time, we'll stick with one.

They sell them in a huge bag full, like this - but I only need one.... haha. Too bad you can't just go in and buy one pepper ;) I am pretty sure they would look at me as if I had five heads.

I think we are getting the hang of it!

Steph

CHAI-NA: Parts of Old Beijing Disappear Before our Eyes

2010-07-30T09:03:00.003+08:00

拆 is a Chinese character pronounced "CHAI" ...or, for those of you unfamiliar with pinyin: CH, like cheetah, and EYE combined: CH-EYE. The meaning of CHAI is "to take apart or demolish." "CHAI-NA" is an interesting play on words; in cities across China, you frequently come across large piles of rubble where older buildings have been destroyed, as well as construction sites where new buildings are being built.

When most people think of Beijing, the picture that comes to mind (aside from Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City) are the charming Beijing alleys known as hutongs. I've talked about these hutongs many times in previous posts. They offer amazing glimpses into the lives of Beijingers hundreds of years ago, long before the country began to modernize and skyscrapers that can be found in any city around the world began to pop up all across Beijing.

In the English version of China Daily was an ad for a free tour of a local hutong, known as Daji Lane. This was one of the last opportunities to see Daji Lane somewhat intact, as many areas of the hutong have already been marked for demolition. Daji Lane is home to over 30 hutongs, 300 courtyards and 78 provincial guild halls. To say there is a lot of cultural significance is an understatement. Daji Lane was built sometime during the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234). In some of the alleys, big character posters from the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) can still be seen stuck to the walls. (Thank you to Beijing Today for much of the above information.)

The tour, by 90 Percent Tours (who I highly recommend), was extremely interesting and gave us a glimpse into several competing perspectives: the need for development, the need for preservation, and the needs of the people living in these areas.

Currently inhabited houses

A remnant of a poster leftover from the Cultural Revolution

Chinese characters saying "you are entering a demolition area, please pay attention to your safety."

Piles of rubble from already-demolished buildings on Daji Lane

Houses marked for demolition which bear the character 冤 YUAN, meaning "INJUSTICE."

Another YUAN photo. It is to our understanding that the residents of houses that have been chosen for demolition are fairly compensated. We've also heard that many of them are forced to move further away from the city center, which means more traffic and inconvenient transportation. Others assure us the government compensates them nicely for their hassle.

A banner posted by the government, assuring residents that if they trust a little more, they will receive benefits earlier.

Through the trees: a glimpse of what is in store for Daji Lane

I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into Beijing's fast-disappearing Daji Lane.

Steph

Two Laowais' Adventures in Homemade Dumpling Making

2010-07-29T13:16:00.003+08:00

My husband and I attempted to make homemade jiaozi (dumplings) a week or so ago. We happened to randomly pick the day that you are traditionally supposed to eat jiaozi on: what is supposed to be, according to the lunar calendar, the hottest day of the year (but that I can tell you which was nowhere close to the hottest day we've had in Beijing!)

We tried to remember as best we could the instructions we learned from the Hutong Cuisine cooking class that we took. Neither of us took home the recipe... DOH. Majorly kicking ourselves for that!

So, we looked everywhere for the little wooden-stick-thingie (擀面杖 or ganmianzhang in Chinese) that you are supposed to use to roll out the dough (yes we made homemade wrappers and everything!) Unfortunately, we couldn't find one anywhere, so we used some quick thinking and scoured our kitchen for an acceptable replacement. Adapt and overcome, right? Luckily, we found this thing... it goes in a plastic pitcher we have, and you usually freeze it to keep the drinks cold. It also doubles as a decent little-wooden-stick-thingie, as I like to call it!

The hubby rolling out the dough. I'll be honest... about 10 minutes into working with the dough, I decided we were crazy for trying to make our own jiaozi and left the dough-work to my husband. Working with dough is hard, people! Especially when you use the wrong measurements - oops! Silly waiguoren (foreigners).

Our not-yet-cooked, not-quite-visually-appetitizing jiaozi. OK, OK. We need to work on the dough. Some parts were too dry, others too wet - noted! We spoke with our Chinese teachers who gave us some little tricks, which we will definitely try next time.

The next funny part - we decided to steam them. It was only after our decision that we realized we didn't bring our proper steamer with us to China... so, again, we improvised and used a strainer. It worked, except some of the jiaozi "skin" stuck to the bottom of the steamer. Our teacher again gave us a tip - you are supposed to place a thin damp cloth on the bottom of the steamer to ensure the sticking doesn't happen.

And ohhhh... the best part in my opinion - the dipping sauce! I could seriously drink this stuff, people. It was SO good. MMMM. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! The key is to use good quality Chinese soy sauce and Chinese vinegar. I put a little of each, some fresh crushed garlic... a little bit of fresh ginger - to be honest, I can't really remember if I used ginger or not... but I may have... and a spicy red pepper cut into small pieces. The sauce was out of this world!

Despite our dough mishap... the jiaozi were truly delicious! And well worth the effort. We did a traditional filling of pork & cabbage (with some green onion, garlic and ginger, soy sauce. I've since been told Chinese don't put garlic in the filling. I love me some garlic and the filling came out so good, garlic is definitely going in again next time!)

I'll get another chance to work with dough tonight - we are going to make our own homemade noodles, then stir fry them with veggies and pork. Luckily, I remember the process for the noodles, and this time I'll hopefully get the water to dough ratio right ;)

Steph

Taking on Beijing's taxis (& bicyclists!)

2010-07-23T17:12:00.009+08:00

Living in China is always an adventure, but I didn't realize that even taking a taxi would sometimes be a challenge. Me and taxis... we don't have that great of a relationship. Not lately at least. Let's just say out of the last 6 times I have taken a cab, I have been kicked out of said cab 3 out of those 6 times. Thats not really a great record... not at all. These 3 recent getting-kicked-out episodes aren't the first time it has happened, but its the first time it has happened so close together and been really noticeable to me - and upsetting! so, let's start from the beginning.

I was meeting a new friend at a local shopping area, so, being my usual self and in no mood for the subway, I opted to take a cab. Absolutely no problem this time - I flagged down a cab, luckily had a nice driver who understood me perfectly and drove me exactly where I wanted to go. By the time we arrived, I was feeling pretty accomplished by this seemingly simple action of taking a taxi.. (sometimes, its the little things) ....paid the driver, opened the taxi door when WHAM!! I opened the door onto a biker rider trying to pass by. Ooops. I felt awful! I shut the door and looked at the taxi driver with big eyes - OMG! I'm so sorry! I said in Chinese, knowing these cabs are usually personally owned by the drivers. Luckily, he was a nice taxi driver, smiled and assured me "mei shi mei shi" ("it's nothing") - I think he felt bad for me. He must have known what was waiting for me!

I stepped out of the taxi and walked over to the bike rider who was just standing near her bike a few feet away from the taxi. Guys - I merely OPENED the door on her. She didn't actually fly right into it, and she wasn't moving very fast, and she didn't even fall. But of course I rushed over, apologized a million times, asked her if she was okay... I must have ruined her entire day because she immediately started cursing at me in a stream of rapid-fire Chinese. After a few minutes of this I realized there was nothing I could do - she wasn't injured, her bike wasn't damaged at all - so I walked away, completely embarrassed & obviously apologetic.

After a few great hours hanging out with my friend, I went over to the taxi queue to catch a ride home. I got into the first cab and told the driver where I wanted to go. "I don't know where it is" he says - and because *I* don't know HOW to get home from there (driving), I'm at a loss, so I shyly step out of the car, feeling like a silly foreigner, completely self conscious and embarrassed. Onto the next cab, I get in, crossing my fingers and hoping with every fiber of my being that this driver would know where I wanted to go. Apparently not. I gave him street names, landmarks such as subway stations, the CCTV television building - he said he doesn't know exactly where it was. so. I got out, the second time in just 3 minutes, completely embarrassed! I mean - this guy is a Beijing taxi driver and he doesn't know where the CCTV building is? FISHY! VERY FISHY!! I don't know if I believe that.

A couple days later I took a taxi and it was flawless, the driver was awesome, he understood me, and when we were stuck in a traffic jam he complained about all the cars and I agreed.... when he realized I spoke Chinese, it was like a floodgate opened and we chatted the whole way back to my apartment. It was like he had been dying to talk to someone! I love that sort of taxi driver!

He restored my faith in taxis, which is why yesterday I felt comfortable flagging down a taxi on the way home from school. The taxi came driving over, I thought "nice!" I had this theory that I'm less likely to be kicked out of a cab if I flag the driver down and he drives over to me - as opposed to seeing a taxi sitting on the side of the road and me going over to him. I figured this way, the taxi driver is making a choice to come over to me and take me somewhere. I was convinced it was fool-proof. Unfortunately, I was proved wrong. I got into the cab, told him where I wanted to go - anticipating the "I don't know where it is" excuse, I threw out all the landmarks and surrounding streets. The taxi driver responded "I'm sorry, blah blah getting off of work blah blah words I don't understand blah other direction blah." so, I got out. His accent was super thick and he was talking really fast, but I'm pretty sure he was getting off from work and was hoping to pick up one last ride - if it was going in the direction he wanted to go.

I decided SCREW TAXIS!! Every time a taxi drove by I immaturely (but very satisfyingly) thought "screw you" as I made my way to the subway. I SHOULD have thought "wow at least he said he is sorry!" The other drivers acted like they couldn't be bothered. At least this one was apologetic! But at the time, it made me feel bad and I fought tears the entire walk to the subway station.

I've taken the subway since then. The good thing is it was a really bad day and I wanted nothing more than to stay inside my house and NOT leave for the rest of the day.... fortunately, I had a hair appointment and was forced to go back out. I'm glad I did because it made me turn my negative day into a positive day, and I had a great time walking to and from the subway station and just enjoyed being outside in Beijing. Plus, my new hair stylist is amazing! Who knew I'd have to come to Beijing for someone who can do a great blonde?!

Lessons learned:
1. Always look before opening a car door!
2. My "call a taxi over to you and you are less likely to get kicked out" theory is completely false.

We are going traveling tomorrow - maybe by the time we get back to Beijing I'll feel like taking my chances on a taxi again. :)

Steph

P.S. An update on my homesickness and slight culture shock - I am feeling SO much better! Now that I've made a few friends here and have made myself get out and about, try new things, enjoy travel.... I have been feeling so much more at home and have been able to cherish my time here.

Mongolia Part 3 (final): The Nadaam Festival

2010-07-16T11:27:00.014+08:00

We originally chose to go to Mongolia because their biggest festival of the year happened to coincide with the timeframe my tourist visa required me to get out of China, before I could come back in. So, off we went in search of another country to see, and it just so happened it was perfect timing to see their Nadaam Festival.

The Nadaam Festival is awesome - it celebrates Mongolia's Independence from China - and does so through the festival of the three manly sports. So, just what ARE the three manly sports, you might be wondering?

The three manly sports are.... drumroll please..... WRESTLING! ......ARCHERY!! .....and HORSE RACING!!!

Because we were staying in the capital city of Ulaabaatar, we were able to see the biggest festival in the country. Smaller villages hold their own smaller versions of the festival throughout the country - we stopped at one on our way out to the countryside one day. If you go to Mongolia for the Nadaam Festival, I actually highly recommend getting to a smaller village to watch theirs... MUCH less crowded and you get a much better view! It also gives you more of that small, traditional feel I expected, as opposed to the huge event that the festival was in the capital.

See the guy in the all tan outfit, with the hat on towards the middle? He is the President of Mongolia! We got a LOT closer to him than this - we actually walked (accidentally) next to him and his entire entourage as we made our way to the archery show.

My AMAZING view for much of the ceremony, compliments of the jerks in front of me who obviously didn't care that I had spent $600 on a plane ticket to come and see THISFREAKINGFESTIVAL! PFT. People and their umbrellas.

ARCHERY!

WRESTLING!

HORSE RACING!

AND..... last but not least... this is the face of a criminal!!! HAHA! She tried to pickpocket my husband not ONCE, but TWICE! He flung her arm away, then she ran and he followed her to get this awesome picture.... haha.

Thats it for our Mongolian adventure! We are going to Inner Mongolia soon, which is part of China, and it will be interesting to compare the differences and similarities between the two places. My husband is sweet and gives me an entire week off before we have to travel again... lol. Once we get back from Inner Mongolia I get another week off before going on a longer 2 week trip!

**If you are interested in the beauty aspect of this blog, be sure to check out the previous post which is a product review!**

Steph

Product Review: The Beauty Blender Sponge

2010-07-15T10:27:00.004+08:00

Readers - I know a lot of you read this blog for the travel content, but when I first started this blog it also had a beauty element to it as well - product reviews and things of that nature. Due to being in China, I haven't had the chance to try too many new products (until I started shopping online for some much needed retail therapy!) and alas, my products have arrived, and I have new reviews for all the people who were originally attracted to the beauty element of this blog.

This review is about the makeup sponge applicator called The Beauty Blender. I went back and forth over whether or not I should purchase this sponge - I mean, $19 for a sponge? Really? But, I don't like applying my foundation with brushes, and the more I used crappy CVS sponges the more I realized that I was in serious need of finding another application method!

After reading a ton of reviews on the product, I learned that many people only replace their Beauty Blender Sponge once every 6 months or even once a year, and with that in mind, I figured if I liked the product, I could deal with that sort of monetary investment.

The outcome: pure awesomeness.

My foundation has never looked so smooth or flawlessly applied. You can also use it to apply concealer, as well as creme blush.

The BB sponge is also simple to use. You first wet the sponge, then towel dry it (takes less than 1 minute to do this). Then you dip it in foundation or put the foundation directly on the sponge, and begin to stipple (or bounce the sponge up and down) in order to apply the makeup. Then you just watch in amazement at how smooth your foundation goes on! Awesome! I also used it with concealer to cover any blemishes, and it was simple to do and covered them perfectly, much better than a finger or a brush ever did (in my experience). The shape of the sponge allows you to easily cover hard to reach areas and corners.

This sponge in my opinion does NOT suck up the foundation, which makes me happy because those garbage little suckers from CVS used to waste so much of my $38 foundation.

I chose not to buy the cleaning solution that comes with it - after reading many reviews, I saw that many ladies believed Johnson's Baby Shampoo worked just as well as the Beauty Blender Cleaning Solution, so I opted to stick with that, and have had absolutely no problems - it cleans it great!

At Beauty Blender's own website, you can purchase 1 beauty blender sponge plus 5 packets of cleansers for $15.95. Click here.

My grade for the product: A

(BTW Sonia Kashuk at Target makes a $10 version of this sponge. I also read reviews on that and while most people like it, many said it didn't apply makeup as well as the Beauty Blender Sponge, possibly due to different construction material?... that plus the need to only replace the sponge once or twice a year convinced me to just go ahead and take my chance with the Beauty Blender - and I am so happy I did!)

Steph

Mongolia part 2 (the BEST part!)

2010-07-14T13:50:00.014+08:00

Don't forget to check out my Mongolia: part 1! post. Click here.

Just driving in Mongolia is an adventure - the roads are not well paved and they are extremely bumpy. We also did quite a bit of off-roading! What a blast! On the way, on both our left and our right sides were rolling hills with the occasional ger (yurt - where Mongolian families traditionally live) dotting the landscape. We stopped in a small village to catch of a glimpse of their festival.

Not the best picture because it was taken while we were in the car... we stumbled upon a parade walking to the local village's Nadaam Festival. Although its not the best picture, I love it! The woman looks so beautiful and happy! so proud to be Mongolian!

An hour and a half of bumpy roads later, we arrived in the National Park, did some hiking, ate lunch.

Gorgeous landscape in Terelj!

This is a religious thing.. but, that's all I got.

The highlight of our trip was toward the end of the day. My friend Kimberly was hell-bent on riding a yak in Mongolia. It was her mission. So our guides were completely amazing and found a local family who owns yaks, and spoke to them about letting us ride their yak.

Not only did they let us ride their yak - they invited us into their home! They fed us! We ate fresh bread, yak milk butter, yak milk yogurt, drank Mongolian vodka - all products they produce themselves, and use to sustain themselves daily. This was an absolutely amazing experience. I can't describe how cool it was to see how these people live their lives - SO drastically different from the way we live our lives in the U.S., hell, in Beijing! About 50% of Mongolia's population is nomadic. They live in gers because they are easy to pack up and move from place to place. They live off the land.

The family we visited was so hospitable towards us, we asked our guides "are these your friends?" ... nope. They had never even met them before, but this sort of friendliness and hospitality is the Mongolian way. You can walk up to any ger and knock on the door and receive this same sort of hospitality.

The inside of a ger/yurt, in case you were wondering what one looked like inside (I was!) Its cool in the summer and stays warm in the winter! You can see the pipe leading out of the ger - they use that coal stove to create warmth, and for cooking, too.

Um, so shortly after we were invited in and sat down, this adorable old shirtless Mongolian man passed his snuff bottle to the husband. These snuff bottles are a cultural thing that dates back hundreds of years - today, politicians use them to indicate respect, power, and welcome. When this man passed his snuff bottle over to my hubby for a snort, how could he say no? The man had just invited us into his home! FED US! Let us ride his yak! You can't say no. Luckily this is a "man thing" and I didn't have to partake. And luckily - snuff is just a form of tobacco.

So here the hubby is, snorting some snuff. Or at least acting like he is. LOL.

Bread, yak butter and yak yogurt.

I'm on a yak and....its going fast and... I've got a Mongolian-themed pashmina afghan.... no, actually, he was really slow, and utterly bored, and if I could have heard his thoughts I am pretty sure he would have been saying "Damn foreigner!"

This was the nicest lady ever. This is some sort of yak cheese curd. It was really tart!

Goat milking time!

She truly got a kick out of us. We were so interested in her just doing her daily chores... so excited to ride a yak... she thought it was hilarious.

Here we are with the entire family - the mom and dad (the guy who gave my husband the snuff!), the daughters and the son. We finished the night by eating dinner inside their yurt, at their own table... what amazing people. OK so I thought I was regaining my Florida tan, until I looked at this picture and see that I am by far the whitest one in the picture. I almost match the ger, ha ha ha!

This goes to show that all women are the same! Our cultures are as different as night and day, but as women, we all worry about how we will look in pictures! We asked for a picture and she was like "oh my gosh! In this old thing?! I'm not picture-ready!" We didn't need to speak Mongolian to understand that! Thats why she grabbed her son and made him stand in front of her.

I was being typical me (lazy), told my husband I didn't want to walk anymore, so he carried me... about 5 steps, acted like he was going to throw me in the river.. then put me down.

I'll never forget some of the things I saw in Mongolia. Horses running free! A herder in traditional Mongolian garb, sitting atop his horse, herding over 50 sheep with the beautiful hills in the background. I didn't get pictures of these sights, and I wish I could share them with you because the stark beauty of them will always remain a memory for me.

Stay tuned for my final post on Mongolia - the reason we went - for the Nadaam Festival!

Back in Beijing! just returned from....

2010-07-14T09:29:00.014+08:00

MONGOLIA!! We had an absolutely amazing time in Mongolia. What a gorgeous country with such friendly people. It was so nice to get out of Beijing for a week and into Mongolia's beautiful countryside with lush green rolling hills, blue skies and the sun shining down on us!

We had a nice and short 2 hour flight from Beijing into Mongolia. When we arrived it was drizzling, but from the plane windows you could see the gorgeous rolling hills with nothing but space... so we were excited. A friend had told me that in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar, almost every car works as a taxi... so I knew to expect that. Once at the airport we found one of these unofficial taxis and off we went to our hotel.

As we set off from the airport, my husband was in the front seat and our friend Kimberly and I sat in the back. Between the three of us, we knew absolutely ZERO words in Mongolian, so we were truly without a way to communicate with the driver. As we were riding along, we noticed the roads were crazy bumpy, oh, and that our driver was driving like a bat out of hell. Flying over bumps, getting into the lane of oncoming traffic, playing a game of chicken while I grasp the "oh shit" handles and fumble around for my non-existant seatbelt... Catholic school came rushing back to me as I crossed myself in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit! Please God let us survive this car ride!

Little did we know, we'd soon come to almost a complete stop - of course, that is until our BSC driver took things into her own hands and began some more opposite-lane-driving. Our hotel should have been a 15-20 minute drive away, as it is only 10 miles from the airport. Unfortunately, some traffic lights apparently weren't working which created utter chaos. I kid you not, it took us TWO HOURS to arrive at our hotel. It was the craziest thing I have ever seen, EVER!! I have never seen anything like this in Beijing. I wish we had an aerial shot - picture one intersection, 50 cars, each car clustered in the middle facing different directions - and 100s of cars lined up.

Its all part of the adventure, baby!

We spent the first day exploring the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. UB is a pretty undeveloped city, infrastructure is not so great, especially when considering its the capital of an entire country. One thing I noticed was that despite the fact that UB gets significantly less foreign visitors than a city like Beijing, they don't stare at me! In Beijing I get stared down almost daily, like they've never seen a foreigner (despite a large expat population). I would have thought staring would be even worse in UB - but I didn't notice any at all.

That's Ghengis Khaan sitting there in the middle (Chinggis Khaan)

The square in front of the government building

Not historically significant obviously, but one of the few modern buildings in UB, and very distinctive part of their "skyline."

Statue of Lenin in front of the UB Hotel (yes THAT Lenin!)

Our favorite day while in Mongolia was the day we took a tour into Terlj National Park. It was just my husband, me, and our friend, plus a guide and a driver. We controlled what we wanted to see. The natural scenery was so pretty, the sky was blue and the air was fresh and the sun was out!

This is getting pretty picture and text heavy, so I am going to stop here and make a new post for the rest of my Mongolian adventures! Stay tuned!

The best is definitely yet to come!

Steph

Teaching kids & meeting new friends

2010-07-08T08:21:00.019+08:00

After Xi'an we took a long slow train across the countryside of Shaanxi and Shanxi and slowly made our way towards the small ancient city of Pingyao. We spent hours talking with our Chinese bunkmates in the sleeper cabin. We had interesting conversation although they asked us why we were going to Pingyao, despite the fact that the entire city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We took everything they said with a grain of salt considering they also told us there is nothing to see in Tibet, Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, and pretty much the entire North East of the country.

We arrived in Pingyao in the dark. We were the only ones to get off the train at this small train station, the only ones walking through the station. It was slightly eerie considering my time in China has shown the train stations to be the busiest places, filled with the most people, and with a population of 1.3 billion, I am talking a lot of people!

This should be interesting, we thought. But, it was great, the hotel sent a car to pick us up and the transition from the train station to the hotel was flawless. The best way to describe our ride to the hotel is "dark." There are barely any street lights in Pingyao and it is crazy dark! But people were still out, riding their bikes in the dark, selling fruit, playing games of cards on the side of the road.

Our hotel was in a traditional courtyard house.

View from the top looking down into the courtyard

The room had a traditional kang bed - it was huge, could easily sleep a family of 4! but it was hard, as expected, though not uncomfortable.

The bathroom was interesting because there is no separate shower... the room is very subtly tilted and the water drains even better than in a shower.

The next morning, we went with some local teachers to an English school to teach English to local elementary school children.

This says "English is the bridge to walk towards the world."

Us with the students, who were really amazing and brought smiles to our faces!

The gorgeous jewelry box our hosts gave us, as a thanks to us for helping them teach the kids English.

Afterwards, they took us to their local middle/high school and introduced us to the principal. They are very proud of their school, with good reason! The school is huge, has amazing facilities and is basically the equivalent to the campus of a community college in the U.S. Not only that, but the government doesn't fund the school -the money to build the school was obtained by loans, also, the school opened a local factory and proceeds from the factory benefit the school.

After this, our amazing hosts really took us under their wing. They told us their car is like our car, wherever we want to go, they will take us, they will show us Pingyao's famous sites and be our personal tour guides. These were the friendliest, warmest, most hospitable people I have ever met. I doubt you'd ever hear of this sort of thing happening to a foreigner visiting the U.S.!

They took also took us out to dinner twice, took us to a folk show and then to an amazing lunch where we were the guests of honor... after showing us Pingyao's most famous sites.

Pingyao's beautiful rooftops

Take one

Take 2, there we go.

Out to dinner with our new friends.... the hubby 真的入乡随俗! Already rocking the peace sign, or V for victory, who knows..

Notice all the food is mainly around us? This was the third time we've been taken out by new Chinese friends - and they always order more than we can eat, and they mainly watch US eat, "try some of this!" "have some of that!"

As you can tell, we had a really awesome experience in Pingyao! and we still keep in touch with our new friends on Skype.

Well we are off traveling again, I'll try to post from wherever I am but if not, I'll talk to you in a week or so!

TAKE CARE!

Steph

BTW the hotel name is YIDE Hotel and its amazing, highly recommend, the hostess is incredibly gracious and concerned for your well being... also has a delicious Chinese restaurant on the premises. We also only paid $64 USD a night.

Beijing.is.sweltering.

2010-07-05T17:12:00.008+08:00

Thank you all for the super kind comments in my post from yesterday.

I was all set today to go out there with a positive attitude and explore Beijing, but it is so incredibly hot... I couldn't do it. When you step foot outside you can literally feel your skin burning! Its like an oven. I haven't left my house all day and it pains me, because today the sky is blue blue blue, and there is not a cloud (err, a pollution cloud?) in the sky. I'm sad such a beautiful smog-free day had to be so hot.

What information did weather.com have for me? Just how how IS it in Beijing today....

Definitely not my imagination. It is too hot for anything other than sitting in my house watching episode after episode of United States of Tara, obsessively checking Sephora's website to see if a new palette I want is in stock yet, and talking myself out of going to the gym yet again. Oh, and looking at these super cute pictures from an article in today's paper about the insanely high temperatures all across China lately!

A Panda in Wuhan desperately trying to stay cool by laying on a huge block of ice. Poor guy!

so yes. Its hot. very hot. And the final two episodes are calling me...

Steph

Everything has a difficult beginning

2010-07-04T17:25:00.008+08:00

Photo taken at the Confucius Temple, Pingyao, Shanxi Province, China

I mentioned earlier that we had the opportunity to teach elementary school kids english. We had a wonderful time, the kids made us smile, and we made some new friends in the process.

One day, one of the middle school teachers was talking about the importance of the kids learning proper English pronunciation early, because bad habits are hard to break and they wanted to make sure the kids had the best beginning they possibly could. He told me in Chinese, there is a saying "万事开头难". In English "Everything has a difficult beginning."

This saying really hit home for me. I adore traveling. I always have. I have an insane case of wanderlust and dreaming of all the places I will see is one of my favorite things to do. I also have been studying Chinese for the past 2 years or so and I love the language. Thats why the difficulty of adjusting to life in China came as a total surprise to me. I've been homesick. I've experienced a bit of culture shock. And I truly didn't even consider that this would happen.

Prior to moving to China, I've lived clear across the country, on complete opposite coasts from my family - about as far apart as you can get without leaving the country. I never felt homesick. I didn't think living in China would be any different considering I'd already been living so far away from family. But a month or so after arriving, sometimes I've felt like I can literally feel the distance between here and "home".

I knew the food would be an adjustment for me, but other than that, I really didn't believe I would have trouble adjusting to my new life in China. I've also never dealt with culture shock before. I've been to many countries but the thing with traveling is, most people never stay in a new country long enough to experience culture shock. It is usually preceded by a honeymoon period in which everything different about the country is looked upon in a romantic light... but the honeymoon phase ends and pretty soon the things that were so unique or amazing are just sometimes obnoxious and annoying....

"oh my gosh that car was really going to hit us! they weren't going to even STOP!"

"this taxi driver literally refused to take us! he shooed us out of his cab!"

"O.M.G. it is 100 degrees outside and they have raw meat just SITTING OUT THERE?"

"...if I hear ONE MORE PERSON HAWK A LOOGIE!!!"

"Chinese food... AGAIN!!?!!"

YOU GET MY POINT!

Its a challenge. About 75% of the time I KNOW how lucky I am! I try to take EVERYTHING in. As I was walking down a hutong (alley) the other day, I literally stopped walking, looked around one minute, shut my eyes the next, and just took it all in. I felt the sunshine on my skin... heard the bikes whizzing past, the man whistling a traditional Chinese song as he walked by me, smelled the delicious scent of Chinese food in the air... there was no where I would have rather been. I LOVED CHINA.

But, the other 25% of the time, its hard, and I miss home and I would do almost anything to eat some tasty American food, and I miss my dog, and just getting in my car and driving where ever I want, and not having to worry about being scammed or having the price hiked up just because I am a foreigner... and just the ease of speaking my native language. (I feel like I am learning ALL DAY and it is exhausting sometimes.) (And my husband has our alarm clock set to the Chinese talk radio station and we really need to change that... when Chinese is literally the first thing I hear when I wake up it PISSES me off. LOL).

A friend I came across wrote in an email "China is hard" ...and I know what they mean. Sometimes, China IS just that - hard. Its no longer the Western world and sometimes those differences are very noticeable.

When this middle school teacher told me that Chinese phrase that means "Everything has a difficult beginning" it really made me feel better because it gave me hope. That particular morning I was feeling a little sad and its just the sort of comforting words I needed to hear. Prior to that, I was feeling a little crappy like I really sucked at this living abroad thing... everyone else seems so well-adjusted! Why am I having this adjustment issue?

So yes, he unknowingly told me exactly what I needed to hear.

Everything has a difficult BEGINNING but over time things get easier.

I'm hoping within a few months time I will be completely adjusted to my China life! I DO love the traveling around, and I think that helps.

Thanks for reading.

Post on Pingyao to come.

Steph

Our awesome journey to Xi'an ... (and Pingyao)

2010-07-02T16:30:00.017+08:00

A couple days ago we returned from our trip to Xi'an and Pingyao. We had a really amazing trip and met some really awesome people. We took the overnight train in a soft sleeper from Beijing to Xi'an and it was surprisingly comfortable! We were in a soft sleeper room with 2 bunks - my husband and I on one side, and two strangers on the other. We ended up befriending one of the guys (Chinese) sharing the room with us... upon arrival to Xi'an, he took us out to breakfast to enjoy Xi'an's famous dish, yangrou paomo (and paid for it), made sure we were able to get a cab and then made sure the cab driver knew where we were going. Later that night, he and 3 of his friends picked us up for dinner, where he again paid for our meal, and we enjoyed about 3 hours of Chinese listening and speaking practice, including topics such as politics and the economy and China's fast development. Definitely got some great Chinese practice in!

We took a walk on Xi'an's city wall... Xi'an used to be the capital of China when the city was known as Chang'an. I love this picture because you can see the old and the new right there against each other.

Right from the wall, you are able to catch glimpses into the lives of normal people. People were actually living in these "storage unit" looking "houses." There is still a lot of poverty in China, and you can definitely see it sometimes, especially when taking trains through the countryside.

You can see in this person's house they have their bowls, rice cookers, a tub to wash their feet in.

Here you can see her bed.

This is the view from the Wild Goose Pagoda. The pollution is everywhere. We call it "The Great Smog of China." I really think its such a shame. China is truly a beautiful country and the smog takes away so much from it. But, right now China is all about developing, and the rest will have to wait.

I love this shot!

We also took a trip to the Terracotta Warriors, which is about a 45 minute car ride from the center of the city. We made a deal with a taxi driver to drive us out there for the day for a set amount of money... which was fine, until 20 minutes into the ride he stopped at a jewelry store selling jade "just to look and see if we wanted anything." My husband and I gave each other knowing looks at this point, thinking here we go. Luckily, we were firm with him and told him we do not want to be taken anywhere except where we tell him to go. He was a little cranky, but he listened. Even though we speak Chinese, taking taxis is always somewhat of a gamble in cities other than Beijing - we don't know where we are going, and we just have to put our trust in them that the worst thing they will do is try to scam us, but we don't have to worry about being kidnapped or enslaved or ending up in a ditch somewhere... too much t.v., so sue me..

The Terracotta Warriors were built to guard the tomb of Emperor Qin, the first emperor of China. It really is amazing to see the sheer amount of warriors that are there, and to think that they were all handmade, with such amazing detail - all their faces are unique - it really was amazing and gave me goosebumps. Not to mention these were made starting around 210 B.C.

We took a stroll through Xi'an's Muslim district. It is definitely worth walking through, there is still a Muslim Temple there. Its good to go on Friday afternoons, which is the day of prayer. My husband sat down with the son of the former Imam of the temple to find out what their views of America are and talk about China's development and place in the world. Interesting to see the Arabic in China.

This says Xi'an City Islamic Association (something to that effect... its always hard to translate proper nouns perfectly).

The hubby ate some of these quail eggs... I passed. I love this shot because you can see her wearing the Muslim-style dress.

Xi'an Recommendations

Accommodations: Citadine's Xi'an Center Hotel

We paid about $84 USD for a 1 bedroom apartment style room, including a full kitchen and separate living room. This is certainly not luxurious but definitely worth the price. It was very comfortable and the location was prime - 5 minute walk from the Muslim district and across the street from the Drum Tower. Although its close to everything, its on a quiet street. A great grocery store (I'll call it Western-style, but with all Chinese brands) is a 5 min walk away, called Vanguards. We would stay here again and recommend it to friends.

Restaurants: Wuyi Restaurant

This is located in the same general area of the hotel. It is written about in the guidebooks and for good reason. It was packed with locals and has great baozi, jiaozi, and other Northern Chinese style food. Cost: $. Very cheap.

Larry's Singapore Kitchen

Located next door to the hotel - we enjoyed this restaurant, the menu has a great selection and the food was tasty. More expensive than the average Chinese restaurant in Xi'an but still extremely affordable. Has noodle dishes, fried rice, and other basic dishes - I feel like this place will please a large variety of tastes.

Laosun Jia

Well known for Xi'an's famous dish, yangrou paomo. A favorite of foreigners and locals alike.

Things to do:

- stroll around the Muslim quarter. The temple is worth going to, especially on a Friday afternoon during the day of prayer.

- visit the drum tower, especially at night when everything is lit up.

- dayanta, or wild goose pagoda. This is especially fun to go to around dusk - there is a huge section of fountains that people like to watch for the fountain show. Many people walk out into the middle of the fountain (on ledges) on a hot day.

- take a walk on the city wall, or rent a bike... if visiting in summer, its best to do this in the morning when the temperatures are not yet scorching.

- Shaanxi History Museum, a very nicely done museum all about Shaanxi throughout time and different dynasties.

- the Terracotta Warriors, and if you have time, Huaqing Hot Springs are in the same direction ... used to be a favorite of the Imperial family.

- one of the favorite things we found was a market we stumbled across... was on a very interesting street, quiet, less foreigners... just a 5 minute walk from the hotel, near the grocery store.

My next post on Pingyao will follow separately!

Steph

Ni hao from Pingyao! Shanxi Province, China

2010-06-28T12:27:00.005+08:00

Hi everyone!! We've been having a fabulous time traveling - silly me, I forgot the USB cord to hook my camera up to the computer, so I have tons and tons of pictures I haven't been able to upload yet.. lots of pictures and posts when I return.

Yesterday we took a 9 hour train ride from Xi'an to the small, ancient town of Pingyao in Shanxi Province. On the train, our Chinese bunkmates asked us why we were going to Pingyao, and they told us there really isn't anything to see. Friends... this entire town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I don't know why they think there isn't anything to see here! The ancient city is still entirely enclosed by the wall and there are tons of old courtyard houses still intact.

Today, we had an amazing day and a very rare opportunity - we taught English to about 40 elementary school students. Last night the manager of the school came to our hotel when he found out English speakers were staying there - and he asked us if we would be willing to come to the class to teach the students about animals using English. We agreed, a little bit hesitantly because of the occasional person who tries to scam us. This morning after breakfast, they picked us up at our hotel and off we went, crossing our fingers they weren't going to kill us. LOL. Just kidding.

It was really fun, the kids were repeating us, all 35 of them saying at once "A lion has 4 legs." "I have 2 legs." At one point, my husband had them all (including himself) simultaneously quacking and flapping their arms like a duck. I have a great picture of it to embarrass him with later.

Afterwards, our new friends took us to the local middle and high school. It was huge. They have 6,000 students - but not only that, it was just BIG. A lot of students' homes are really far away in small villages, so they live at the school in dorms, like we do for college in the U.S. We met the principal, vice principal, and there was lots of picture taking. It was really funny - they really want to expose the kids to foreigners.

Finally - our new friends invited us out to dinner tonight! And before they dropped us back off at our hotel, they gave us 2 small gifts as their way of thanking us. I was given a beautiful jewelry box - it is the "techan" here - hmm... how to say it in English... the "special product" of the local area - what its known for. Its beautiful! Everyone was so warm and kind to us - we have met amazing hospitable Chinese friends on this trip.

Since I don't have any real pictures to show you because of the USB cord mishap - I did try to take a couple pictures - using my Macbook - of the really cool guesthouse we are staying at. It is in a traditional courtyard house that was built in the 1700s. Its gorgeous, a great mixture of the old and the new!

And trying to give you a view of the room - its a traditional style kang bed - its huge. It could fit a family of 5 on it, really. Its a lot harder than we are used to though. Anyway, I love the furnishings in the room... you'll see it a lot better when I get my real pictures upload.

I'm laughing because my husband asked what I was doing, and I told him I was trying to get a picture of the room for the blog - and he told me maybe I should move my big head out of the way, ha ha ha! That guy.

OK, off to explore the city! Hope you all are having a great time wherever you are. I promise I will be back and commenting on all your blogs soon enough - I so desperately want to catch up! But my internet is shoddy at best - right now I am using the wifi in the guesthouse restaurant.

Until then!

Steph

Traveling!

2010-06-22T18:22:00.002+08:00

Sorry I've been scarce guys... we are leaving tomorrow for our first trip within China, and when we return from that we have about a week and then we leave for our next! I'll most likely be out of touch for a few days but I will make a post as soon as possible! I should have internet at our hotels.

If I have time tomorrow, I may make a post on something I've been wanting to for a few days.

I hope you are all doing well! Hopefully I'll have something interesting up soon.

Take care!

Steph

People watching at The Temple of Heaven

2010-06-18T21:12:00.002+08:00

I remember before I moved here everybody warned me about the sheer amount of people everywhere. When I first arrived I was surprised because it seemed like the busiest place was definitely the subway, but other than that it wasn't as crowded as I expected it to be. Well, today I found out where all the people are... the train station! The subway ride to the train station, then the walk from the subway station to the train station was absolutely like nothing I have ever seen before. I was at Grand Central this past Christmas and that is nothing compared to what I experienced on a non-holiday in Beijing! WOW! After we arrived inside, we stood in line for 15 minutes, said in perfect Chinese "I would like to buy two tickets to Xi'an," and then immediately was told to go to window #16. Off we went to window #16... to find that it was the bilingual window. LOL! Then, we waited another 10 minutes at this window only to use NO English whatsoever, everything was done in Chinese with no problems at all. Sometimes when Chinese comes out of our white mouths, it blows their mind so much they seriously can't figure out what is happening.

Regardless, we have successfully purchased our first train tickets in China! Next Wednesday we are taking a night train from Beijing to Xi'an, after a few days in Xi'an we will make our way to Pingyao, where we are going to stay in a completely amazing traditional Chinese siheyuan home (courtyard home), then from Pingyao we will take a train to Datong, then back to Beijing. We are really looking forward to this trip! There is so much to see around these areas.

Anyway, back to the point of this post. This past Sunday my husband and I woke up early and ventured out to Tiantan Park - 天坛公园 . If you get there early enough you can catch all sorts of interesting sights, including large groups of people dancing, people doing taiqi in the woods, hoards of people working out in the park. Its an amazing place and if you are ever in Beijing you need to wake up early and make it out to Tiantan Park, it is one of the best people-watching experiences in Beijing!

Everyone works out here, look at the mass amount of people! Doing all kinds of hard exercises.

The hubby playing Chinese-style hackey sack with a random guy! Called "jianzi." You can see it to the left of my husband - its the colorful feathers flying through the air.

Traditional Chinese dance

Hundreds of people were dancing in the park on a Sunday morning before 9:00am. I love her serious expression.

This is the place where the moms and dads meet up to hopefully find love matches for their kids!

You can see on the bench next to the guy - there are pieces of paper - on this they have information written down about their son or daughter... age, educational background, work experience, etc.

I liked his hat.

The hubby and his new best friend. Look at how the guy covered my husband's fingers with his hand. LOL! He was so sweet. They talked about old values, politics and modern China. I smiled and nodded, because its not my subject. :)

If you can pretend that this really is fog, its beautiful.

Me standing in front of the Temple of Heaven.

A Japanese art student - I know he is Japanese because he told me when I started speaking Chinese to him!

Adorable.

Walking around the park in 4 inch red stilettos - I couldn't do it!

They were dancing, having a blast. Shortly after this picture was taken my husband offered me to dance with the nice Chinese man next to me... I politely declined... LOL.

I hope you enjoyed a typical Sunday morning stroll through Tiantan Park with me!

Steph

Not Just Another Blonde in Beijing

An Update, and Destination: Paris

I'm still blonde.....

Up close & personal with the Terracotta warriors, and Hong Kong!

Now you can have your very own PET!!! Wait... in a *key chain*?

**(Mini) Blog sale!** Cleaning out my closet!

Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), Anhui Province, China

Donate directly to the Japanese Earthquake & Tsunami Relief Efforts

Adventures in custom tailoring

Hong Kong help!

Busy planning our summer trip!

Another reason I love China...

An interesting proposition (and other language fumbles)

Happy Chinese New Year! 新年快乐！

Harbin Ice Festival!

Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior

Officially the worst blogger ever, & home decor!

Shanghai rocks my world.

Our China-tree and heading to Shanghai!

Beijing in the fall

桂林山水甲天下！ Guilin and Yangshuo, Guangxi Province

Giveaway Winner and my dress for the ball!

Big review post! J. Crew, Cole Haan, and what dress did I choose for the ball?!!!

Beautiful Yunnan

Only in China

What, a giveaway?! Not Just Another Blonde in Beijing's China Treasures Giveaway!

Heading to Southern China!

..but...Anthropologie made me do it!

Beijing is officially out of the dog house (for now!)

Beijing... I can't take you when you are like this.

J. Crew customer service success!

So sad, J. Crew, so sad.

In the mood to shop! FALL Wants!

Going to a ball! Help me pick a dress!

Loving: Fall in Beijing

Exercise Accountability Update!

Cooking class #2, with recipes!

Exercise Accountability!

I'm not going to lie....

"Did she just say that?!"

HELP me decide! What cooking class should I take next?

Hello from Ningxia!

Completely amazing nonfiction: Into Thin Air, by John Krakauer

Inner Mongolia: Mongolia it is not!

Not China Related: Which DvF Kindle Cover Should I Buy?!

Adventures in Chinese Cooking: Homemade Noodle Edition - 成功！

CHAI-NA: Parts of Old Beijing Disappear Before our Eyes

Two Laowais' Adventures in Homemade Dumpling Making

Taking on Beijing's taxis (& bicyclists!)

Mongolia Part 3 (final): The Nadaam Festival

Product Review: The Beauty Blender Sponge

Mongolia part 2 (the BEST part!)

Back in Beijing! just returned from....

Teaching kids & meeting new friends

Beijing.is.sweltering.

Everything has a difficult beginning

Our awesome journey to Xi'an ... (and Pingyao)

Ni hao from Pingyao! Shanxi Province, China

Traveling!

People watching at The Temple of Heaven

Now you can have your very own PET!!! Wait... in a key chain?

(Mini) Blog sale! Cleaning out my closet!