Beijing, Breifly

As anyone who checks this blog with any frequency whatsoever may be aware, my trip to Beijing was well over a month ago, and still I haven’t updated. First, in my defense I have been busy in some sense of the word, and second, these days, knowing that I need to do something is sadly not the impetus that one would hope it might be.

So long overdue as this is, I want to briefly summarize my not-quite-a-week in Beijing (and still the best times I’ve had in the recent past).

Christmas Eve

I escaped Seoul and its subzero temperatures and headed for relatively warmer climates. Not without the well-intentioned farewells of my co-workers who seemed to think Beijing would be colder than the already impossibly cold week it was here, where despite wearing the warmest and ugliest of coats along with countless layers of clothing one could probably only survive being outdoors for mere seconds. I bought some hot tea which promptly turned cold while waiting for the bus to the airport.

Blurry shot of the Korean coast from the bus to Incheon International Airport

Thankfully once at the airport, well in advance there was enough time to buy some kimchi to take to Beijing and some strawberry juice to enjoy while waiting.When I arrived in Beijing, Katherine met me and thankfully without any trouble we headed to her place and then for pizza with a few others.Overall it was a somewhat chaotic, very un-Christmas-like Christmas eve.

A Snowbound Christmas in Beijing….Except Without the Snow

While the entire continental United States was snowed under there wasn’t the least bit of snow in Beijing (and unlike Korea, which was also sans-snow, it was not experiencing the  temperatures of a second ice age).  Yet, rather than be reminded of just how un-Christmas-like Beijing might be, Katherine, myself, and her two roommates, Jessica and Jinny, stayed indoors, and we cooked our way to a state of appropriate Christmas Day gluttony.  Breakfast was granola, with walnuts, unsweetened French yogurt, honey and bananas with English breakfast tea, this was simply the fortification necessary to cook our second breakfast. Brunch was whipped up quite literally by yours truly and consisted of omelets with sharp cheddar cheese, spinach, and mushrooms along with pumpkin pancakes made from a Trader Joe’s mix.  These were served with samosas and Jessica’s grandmother’s delicious, homemade banana bread with butter.In keeping with our tacit commitment to imagining the perfect white Christmas back home, we made no attempts to change out of our pajamas or go out of doors where that illusion might be shattered. While enjoying our finely prepared brunch Jinny put on Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which was then followed by Pinocchio, which I would still maintain as one of the creepiest Disney movies of all time. I protested somewhat and with general agreement the movie was changed to the equally creepy, though far more Christmas-y movie, The Polar Express. While some people defended the choice, the fact that everyone soon vacated the living room save me really validates my point, and at the very least no one had a real intention of watching it. I took advantage of  their departure to turn the TV off and watch A Christmas Story online. Not long after I started to watch on Katherine’s laptop, and the rest of the group gravitated back into the room to watch. Nothing says Christmas in the US quite like that movie; nothing says Christmas in China quite like the nostalgia it produces.  

Sunday

The following day I finally ventured out of doors with Katherine to breakfast at Element Fresh. We had a scrumptious American-style brunch of egg-white omelets and toast, fresh yogurt with apples, and freshly squeezed orange juice. There was a short wait before we were seated, so we had a brief snack of egg tarts and Hong Kong style milk tea. Then we took the subway to Tiananmen.

Monday

On Monday we visited the neighborhood with the traditional chinese houses, hutong(胡同). We also had some fresh yogurt with sweet red bean paste, churros (a surprisingly delicious find), and relaxed at a coffee shop that looked and felt like a converted opium den (granted these days everyone has replaced opium with cigarettes).

For dinner, it was Din Tai Fung,  the most famous restaurant for Shanghainese dumplings (called xiăo lóng bāo 小笼包 [小籠包] ), a restaurant which originated in Taiwan and has locations all over Asia including Seoul, and there’s even one in L.A., too. We ordered beef noodle soup and two kinds of dumplings.

Tuesday

 

On Tuesday I made a solo trip to the Forbidden City and then met  Katie at her office for lunch. We ate Indidan food at a place nearby.

Wednesday and Back to Korea

Wednesday I flew back to Korea and didn’t get back until late due to some delays at the Beijing airport.

I know the second half of this is much, much shorter than the first and it’s also missing lots of details and pictures, but in the interest of posting something for everyone’s sake I’m going to just put it up as is and hope I get back to editing it. There are also pictures from my trip on my photobucket account which can be viewed here. Actually, this post was actually half-way to being really awesome and then photobucket deleted half of my pictures and what I had written before I got a chance to save.

Cats, Catch-up, and Christmas

It’s now been a little over a month since I arrived in Korea, and it seems like the perfect time for a vacation. Well, it’s more like I’m planning a trip for Christmas. Here in Korea, Christmas time is the time where every cellphone owner has the ”Last Christmas”  or “All I Want for Christmas” ringtone (with little else to be heard in between), and Korean-versions of  English carols can be heard in just about every store. Everyone is getting ready for the holidays, and despite all of the festivities I’ve no one to spend my Christmas with (*sob*). So, rather than spend Christmas all by my lonesome, wallowing in tears and drowning my sorrows in eggnog (better make that kimchi eggnog) I’m taking a few days off work (classes end on the 24th) and I’m heading to the most appropriate place for the Holidays…Beijing.

So this Friday, I’m off to China   And I’ll be spending the Christmas with my friend from New York, who now works and lives in Beijing. I’m really excited actually, for a number of reasons, but for the moment lets leave it at delicious Chinese food and homemade Christmas day brunch.

In the past few weeks I haven’t done a lot more outside of prepare for classes, but it’s still been really stressful, even when I’m not doing anything more then showing a movie in class (students have two weeks of class following their final exams and their winter recess, they wouldn’t pay attention even if I wanted to teach them something).

Outside of school I’ve done a little shopping and gone to a few different places, most importantly, I tried out the cat cafe in Myeong Dong. I had always thought that cat cafes existed solely in Japan, but apparently there are a few in Korea (and if the wikipedia entry is correct is actually a Taiwanese invention!) . I miss my cat, and as long as no one tells her about this, I think it’s alright that I went. Here and here are two kitty-related videos I took at the cafe.

Fish Bread and Chocolat Chaud

 

Winter is here in Korea, and at the end of a frigid weekend of sightseeing,  I arrived at the subway station near my apartment as the first flakes of snow were beginning to fall. As for my neighborhood and teaching I’m going to put these things off for the next post, simply because these topics are somewhat of a mixed bag, and food is literally a more palatable subject.

Gyeongbok Palace

Window Shopping in Myeong-dong

snow, snow go away...

 

With the winter has arrived the perennial winter staple, fish bread, made by pouring a pancake-like batter into a fish shapped mold and filled with sweet red bean paste. And when you can buy three of these delicious fishies for only ₩1,000 (about a dollar) and with a street vendor conveniently near my home they’re too tempting to resist.

fish bread... here fishy, fishy

My second find was by complete (but wonderful) chance.  I was exploring the Itaewon shopping street in Seoul and happened upon a little cafe called Café et M’aime,  I was completely awed by the most authentic chocolat chaud i’ve had (better than Jacques Torres  in New York or  in Chicago with their delectable churros con chocolat) granted there were a couple tiny lumps of undisolved chocolate/sugar, but overall delectable.  I paired the heavenly drink with an equally wonderful bottle of Perrier for an incredible afternoon treat. (update: I went back this weekend and again ordered the chocolat chaud, which was equally wonderful. Also, I didn’t notice any lumps).

Chocolat Chaud and Perrier in Itaewon @ Cafe et M'aime

 

At Jirisan, in Insadong, I dined on hotpot rice and traditional korean side dishes, called banchan. Hotpot rice is rice that is cooked in a stone bowl and the kind I tried had delicious nuts or beans of some kind mixed in.  The most notable feature of this dish is that the stone bowl is so hot the rice on the bottom gets delicously crispy. I regrettably do not have a photo of the hotpot rice that I ate. However you can see the dish of delicious (and half-eaten)  japchae , which is one of my favorite Korean foods, in the picture with the banchan.

 

Don't worry, I went in the other door

Korean side dishes at Jirisan

 

I have so many more things I need to write, but in the interest, of finally finishing this post, I’m going to suggest everyone check out my photobucket account photos here. And also here is one last photo from my sightseeing in Korea: the traditional tourist wearing the foreign, exotic, cultural costume photo!!! whoohoo!

   

Teaching… in South Korea

After an overly long hiatus, I am officially recommitting myself… to updating this blog more regularly. That said, I should add that the most important reason for this is that after a horrible and painfully period of mostly unsuccessful job hunting, I finally decided to teach in South Korea. So following the overly complicated visa process, I arrived in South Korea last Monday. I’m teaching middle school at a school in Siheung, about which I have plenty to say, though still little to say in the form of adulation. Please expect more to follow shortly.

Rock-style breakfast

Remember Vitas Lu?  I thought not. Anyway, the MV for his song ”Good Morning, the Beauty of the Morning” was really cute so I suggest you check it out and refresh your memory.

This ”breakfast song” MV relates to this post so really you might want to check it out, plus it’s fun to watch, I promise.

Anyway, being one of the people (other than Sodagreen) I really looked forward to seeing at the Hohaiyan Rock Festival when I was in Taiwan, when I came across this film involving Vitas Lu, I felt the need to translate this rather humorous video and share it with you.

One brief note before the video (I promise I will include the bulk of my translation notes after the video so you can ignore them if you like) first Vitas Lu’s real English name is Crowd Lu (or at least for this video)… I’m not exactly sure why it’s Crowd Lu (though his given name sounds the same as the Chinese for “crowd” or “audience”). At least the Vitas nickname made sense…the reason I mistook his English name for Vitas was because of this YouTube video where he imitates the Russian singer, named Vitas, who can do a crazy falsetto (and thus “Vitas Lu” became a Taiwanese internet sensation of sorts). Personally, I prefer Vitas Lu over Crowd Lu (even if it refers back to the somewhat creepy Russian singer, see this MV i.e. the song Vitus Lu imitated ), but perhaps just because it’s what I’ve come to associate him with.

 

more about “untitled“, posted with vodpod

 

 

Notes:

1. Toast with chocolate spread–first the toast is more Texas toast-like (thickly sliced bread); the chocolate spread part can be exactly how you imagine it, because I’ve never tried it (though I’d assume Nutella minus the hazelnuts).

2. Breakfast cafe–this definately could have been a diner, but I associate diners with certain foods, and they are too much an American phenomenon. Also breakfast reastaurant would have been more direct (albeit longer) , but lacks the intamacy of a cafe feel, whereas cafe by itself ignores the focus on breakfast. Also note, this type of small restaurant is typically small, and is also common in China.

3. Sandwiches–I translated the breakfast foods listed in the song based on both the names given and the pictures. If there exists a better name please let me know.

4.Manager–this could also be owner or boss I thought it sounded more natural to address some one as manager because it is also a title so I used it for the sake of consistency. Probably not the most literal choice.

5.Rock (and Roll)–it seems like a given that rock muscians tend to do some bad*ss  things (this is my way of defining “Rock and Roll Style” at least in the context of this clip), and consequently the reverse must hold true as well. So, doing things like smashing guitars on stage, secretly dating your bandmate’s girlfriend (before he marries her) (I kid you not, this happened in Mayday),  or stealing your classmate’s breakfast could all be seen as very “rock”  In a few instances I would suggest that rock and cool are practically synonomous. Carefully note the use of this word to advocate healthful decisions (I would say this is similar to Jay Chou’s “Cowboys are Very Busy” song where he asserts that he will drink milk because beer isn’t healthy…also one of the most sylistically disturbing songs ever…”Chinese country” music+riverdance-style MV says it all). I think “real” rockstars might also subsist on beer and cigarettes instead of breakfast, but note that this song, like Jay Chou’s, tries to set a good example for the kiddies.

I appologize for the extraordinary number of  “~”s in the subtitles; I used them to show emphasis or for my own amusement.

 One final thought:

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s start from here

In the last three weeks I’ve been sick twice. Besides the obvious bizarre nature of being sick with the same symptoms with exactly a week between episodes, it’s been a bit testing as far as schoolwork is concerned. Fortunately, both times I started feeling ill on a Thursday, and I had the weekend to recover and do work. Only, I didn’t manage to do any work either time. Including the pages and pages I need to make up of my reading for War and Peace and my Economic History class. I had flu-like symptoms and was feverish (well, I felt dizzy and had chills), so I feel my inability to work isn’t, perhaps, without excuse. Now that I’m feeling better, save for some lingering congestion, I have a new ailment–self pity. I’m certainly not going to start my work again or call my friends/family until I’m finished chiding my self for the mess I’m in. Not that it has any chance of fixing itself.

That isn’t to say I’m trying to exaggerate the situation. It’s fairly bad as far as things could go. I have a midterm due next Monday for that Economic History class where I’ve barely opened a book. There’s also a midterm for my International Trade class that day. In addition, I have two other tests that week (one of which is a midterm, the other is not particularly worthy of stress)  and a 15 page report due. 

I suspect judging from the stress of an ordinary, moderately-busy week (which I would pinpoint as a factor in my lowered immune system and any subsequent illnesses) that I will not be a very pretty picture that week. I’ve also been attempting to look at things practically and to think of some basic logistics that might allow me to do the bare minimum. But I’m still sniffling and I’m all too willing to admit defeat. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll be ready to start over.

On another note, I discovered a wonderful singer recently;  her name is Joanna Wang (王若琳). She is an American born singer who has been noted for her unique voice and similarity to Norah Jones’ style, though, take that as you will. Nevertheless, I think her singing in both English and Chinese is incredible and quite captivating.

This is the title track off of her first CD, (which was released in 2008, but somehow I never discovered until last week) “Let’s Start From Here”:

I imagine that I’m just adding this for myself, but here, also, is one of her Chinese songs ”Because You Love Me” (因為你愛我):

I have a lot to feel guilty about as far as schoolwork and everything else is concerned, but I think I will be enjoying this music for a bit either way. With that said, please forgive me and enjoy.

Note: I haven’t receive a whole lot of feed back on this (see comments as of 03/04/2009 11:30 a.m.), so in lieu of responding to your thoughts and feedback I’ll take this opportunity to mention a couple other things about Joanna Wang, because frankly I think she’s amazing. First, despite her mature-sounding voice, in actuallity she’s only 19 or so years old.  Second, I want to add the links for the  Chinese version of “Let’s Start from Here,” “Maze” (迷宮), her cover of Billy Joel’s “A New York State of Mind”, and her English version of a famous Chinese song by David Tao (陶喆), “Love is Simple” (愛很簡單)… on second thought I’ll post both for purposes of comparison. 

“Love is Simple” (愛很簡單) by David Tao(陶喆)

Versus Joanna Wang’s ”I Love You”

Finally, I was going to add “Lost in Paradise” which is another very nice English song by Joanna, but I couldn’t find the video in a format I could post easily. I’m going to settle for “When you Wish Upon a Star”–because it’s pretty, too.

Note #2:  One more addition… I think I’ll just keep adding on to this post until I can convince someone to comment. This is actually for my mom, though. This is Joanna on (one of my favorite) Taiwanese variety show Kangxi Lai Le (康熙來了) singing “Moon River.”　

A comic by Wan Wan (彎彎) translated~

I looked up WanWan’s (彎彎) blog after seeing some of her designs in Taiwan. From her Chinese Wikipedia page  (which I am too lazy to read thoroughly or translate) I learned that she started in 2004 as an anonymous designer of an online journal and from there her designs grew in popularity from there. Anyway,  There were a bunch of planners, post-its, and notebooks that all have her signature style avatar on them there . I, myself, have some playing cards and post-it notes with her designs.  Anyway she uses her comics as a from of a journal on her weblog, and recently, I thought a couple of her comics were rather amusing (many are, actually), so I used my photoshopping and translating skills to make turn two of her weblog postings into English. Enjoy!

comic by 彎彎 translations by inkblueraindrops

Notes:　Obviously that’s Remy from Pixar’s Ratatouille

Personal Aside: That guy with echolocation powers reminds me of Jay Chou, but that may just be me

 

comic by 彎彎 translations by inkblueraindrops

Notes: MRT=Mass Rapid Transit (Taiwan’s subway system)

And that’s about all I have for the moment. I don’t think recounting my winter break so far would be particularly interesting, but it has been relaxing and I’m have an additional two weeks to relax before the next semester. Since I haven’t decided on the content for more regular posts, as of right now, I would only say that  infrequent, random entries may still be expected in the future.

Sometimes I Just Don’t Think Things Through…

I went to Flushing Meadows, Queens today. I went with my Chinese-enthusiast (but non-Asian) friend Sophia. It was actually really fun. I got to practice a little Chinese, order a book written by the lead singer of Mayday (Escape to Japan [浪漫逃亡]), and eat delicious food (cheap dumplings and noodles and bubble tea) and look at Chinese magazines, book, music, and movies. All of these things are relatively safe (inspite of my pre-existing addicions). However, add to that one more thing. A haircut. Yes, this was pretty much a recipe for disaster, because a) I don’t have straight hair which is what Asian salons are comfortable dealing with b) I don’t trust my ability to communicate my hair needs in English or in Chinese c) I only run in to problems when it comes to my hair. Happily, I only have pictures of it straightened (i.e. from today, post-haircut), however I’m dreading the future. I think perhaps the photographs will make the situation clear to you (also, you can see Sophia’s hair…she had hers cut as well…but hers is permenantly straight and longer):

And here’s a picture of the back… which is even shorter

Ah… just wait until I take a shower….

I imagine there will be more to come later on this subject.

D.C. weekend

Ah… there is probably a lot I should and won’t be writing for this post…not only because I’m completely forgotten the meaning of motivation after only two days of school and a five day weekend, but also because I did something kind of crazy today that should get a seperate post. So I’ll just summarize a little. I took the train to D.C. last Friday and met my cousin, Jessica, and we went to my uncle and aunt’s house in Virgrina for the weekend. We made these jack o’lanterns for halloween. Megan designed the one on the right, and Jessica and I made the kitty cat on the left.

On Saturday we went to see The City of Ember at a movie theater nearby. We also played tennis (the real kind twice [who goes twice in one day anyway?] and then the Wii kind).

This is Jessica and me:

Sorry, Jess. I picked the one where I look better…

On Sunday I flew home… and suddenly lost all energy for things like writing…

Waiting

is something I like no more than anyone else. However, right now at least, waiting is probably the best word for this post. I’m waiting for more exciting things to post about, like the Mandarin Language table (where I get to practice my Chinese) and Night Market (it’s more like a bunch of Asian student groups and performances than a night market) at Columbia (which had better have lots of yummy food) both of which I am attending tonight.

Then there is the rest of the weekend. Including tommorrow when I’m going to Blackrock Forest (to look for trees and black rocks, I suppose) for my Environmental Science Lab (is it bad that I’m only looking forward listening to my iPod on the bus?).  Then there are things in the near future that I am anticipating (because waiting doesn’t exactly capture the mixed feelings I have approaching them). I’m going to D.C. for election weekend (and see my cousin who’s a page now!!) but I really loathe traveling by myself. In addition, I’m desperately  waiting for the newest Mayday CD, due out at the end of this month (If only I could make YesAsia.com cheaper and ship things faster), but at the same time there is the possibility that it won’t live up to my expectations. Then there are also the last of my midterms to finish and a policy paper to anticipate (oh, and impossible amounts of Chinese).

I assumed that rather than make everyone wait until all of these exciting things are over with, I would uncharacteristicly update my blog, just for the sake of it.

Other things that I’d also like to add before I neglect to mention them entirely. Last week I forced my nearest Starbuck’s to recreate the delicious Iced Chocolate that I enjoyed over the summer in Taiwan. It was slighly different, but oh so delicious, and surprisingly better than the hot version. (If you’re interesting in trying out the same experiment make sure you ask for the Signature Hot Chocolate iced, the mix is already cold, so just adding ice won’t be a problem; plus it is by far the superior of the hot chocolates offered at Starbuck’s).

Other random things I’ve eaten recently that you should try if you haven’t: mochi,  blueberry pocky, oyako don (chicken and egg donburi although katsu don[pork cutlet and egg donburi] is quite good as well…note some places differentiate between the oyako don and a chicken cutlet katsu don), strawberry juice, and mixing orange juice and carbonated water in the cafeteria (ok, so not that exciting).

I had a couple other things to mention, but then I realized it was all evenly split between Mandopop news and K-drama recommendations (I think that will likely interest only one person–me). So, until there is another really cool video to sub, you can consider yourselves free from having to put up with my obsessive ramblings. Uh, but in the meantime check out this cool MV: “Knut” (“努特”;the name of the polar bear at the Berlin zoo) by 1976. 

… yeah… well… I thought about making it two MVs…