Czaplicki Takes Beijing

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

MISSING

100000RMB Reward

Jill

Last seen scarfing down dumplings

Wearing Crocs

Please Return to Beijing

We Miss Her!!!!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Dirty 30

So- now under 30 days, here is my list of things I NEED to do before I leave.

-Eat at:
-The Tree
-~~Ganges~~
-the Veggie Table
-the Bridge
-Enjoy the Westin's Bubbalicious (The 6 Hour Champagne Brunch)
-Hike the Great Wall one more time
-~~Travel to at least 1 more province~~
-~~Play in my first rugby match~~
-Go to the gym ALOT
-~~Visit Underground Beijing~~
-Tour 798 one more time
-Purchase last round of souvenirs
-Perfect my Mahjong skills
-Buy gifts for my coworkers
-~~Eat so many dumplings, fat noodles, and hot pot that I explode~~

The Fear of Home

Well. Here we are, 28 days and counting. I will be back home and officially ( again ) a resident of the US of A.

At moments I am so FRICKEN' excited to come home. I think about July 6th and get so excited. But it usually is then washed over with a mix of other emotions. Fear- fear of not knowing what my job will be. Or where I'll be living. Or if I'll even have a job. Also- I've removed myself from my friends for a year. Life had marched on- and things change. You feel those pains being out here, that you missed so much. I mean, I look at Eamon and Ainslee. They've grown so much and they're so young. I've missed some big moments with them.
The last major emotion is sadness. I really do like it here. My life is really really good. I have a great circle of friends, I have a great extra curricular, I have a great apartment. It's hard to just leave it all behind. Also- now that I finally have more time, I have time and means to travel. I didn't get to see Japan, Vietnam or Korea. I didn't get to explore Tibet or Hong Kong.

As I type this Jilly is pumping the air out of her last space bag. This is the official Beginning of the End.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

The In's & Out's on Inner Mongolia

Double Update Power!

So- as some of you may or may not know: Cristina Mansilla spent two weeks with me here in Beijing. But sometimes you need to escape the big city for a simpler place....and a simpler time.

We were off to Inner Mongolia. We flew in to Hohhot, the capital city of the Inner Mongolian province. It;s a short hour flight a way. It's about 10 degrees cooler then Beijing- and a bit clearer. Not as much industry.

It's really interesting up here because you get a TON of actual Mongolian here. After living in a city dominated mostly by the Han's- its neat to see a totally different but similar genetic make-up. (check out Zorigoo- our Hostel owner/operator to see what i mean.) They look way more Eskimo or Sherpa-esque then Chinese.

There are two places to visit in Mongolia: The grasslands and the desert.

Day 1 we went out to the grasslands accompanied by Nick & this lovely German girl whose name I cannot remember. Animal everywhere- flat lands for miles- just blue sky and earth for as far as the eye can see.
One thing I forgot is that when there are no visual markers it messes with your depth perception. We would just want to hike "right over there" but then 20 minutes later we still weren't there. Weird sensation.

Other great thing about the grasslands- it is your bathroom. Which is great because you also burn poop for fires. I have some nice action shots of scooping poop.
We rode horseys and they ARE not trained ANYTHING like ANY horse I have ever ridden. They are all verbal commands- in Mongolian. So ya know- we struggled to communicate, IE my horse did not move. Even the horsey trainer couldn't get him to move. Lazy horse.

Day 2- Desert. It was along drive to the desert- when we left in the morning they said BEAUTIFUL weather. By the time we arrived a strong gust had picked up. So yes- we did visit the desert in a sand storm. My included picture is of all the sand that is on my face and underneath my sunglasses. My camera now makes an AWFUL grinding sound while it open and closes- but it still full functional. The sand got in EVERYTHING. I am still discovering sand in clothes and trinkets that went on this trip. We arrived and then jeep/sand bugged over the dunes- which was terrifying at best. Then we arrived at the camels- and oh were they GLORIOUS. Just check out the pictures- I mean- other then the platypus I'm not sure there is a more hilarious animal on earth. I want 3.

They gave me the brunette- so I named her Jill. And we traipsed through the deserts. They are a bit like giant beagles- in that they follow their stomach and can be sort of stubborn. I was entranced by their goofiness.

We also slid down a sand dune, played some beach volleyball, and harassed some other animal at a "ZOO." (HEAVY ON THE QUOTES THERE....they have two pens, wolves and ostrich/emu)

The Hostel was AMAZING and friendly. They were so kind and made you feel at home. The mongolian food was amazing. We ate meat pasties and cereal in whole milk. I could have had like seven of them. Guang our guide and staffer earned an extra special place in our hearts. She was funny and sweet- she is sitting next to me in the group shot.

Also Cristina and I had some great bonding time. I have missed her so much and we had a nice time away from the city. It was hard to fly back soooo soon- but these are memories that will last us a lifetime.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Why Cab Drivers Are the Bane of My Existance

As you may or may not know- Chinese is the hardest fricken' language to learn. On earth. Period.

Yes- I may be biased but it is really difficult. The tones are killer- and the Chinese people don't seem to be very tolerant of a slight tone deafness.

I have been doing a language exchange and try to use my Chinese as often as possible. If you don't use it- it goes away. And every time I build up a little bit of confidence I inevitably have to take a cab and my spirit is crushed. Let me set the scene for you:

It's 11pm at night, I'm returning home from Rugby practice and have to travel the entire length of the city. I stick out my hand and quickly a cab comes over.

Cab Driver: Ni Hao (Hi!)

Anna: Ni Hao. Wo yao qu Suzhoujie ditie. (Hi! I want to go to the Suzhojie subway stop.)

Cab Driver: ::very confused:: Su---zhou----jie.... suzhoujie, suzhoujie....ni yao qu suzhoujie ditie? (I don't know seem to know suzhoujie....let me repeat it. You SURE you want to go the the suzhoujie subway stop?)

Anna: Shi de! (yes!)

Cab Driver: Suzhoujie? (I still am not sure where you need to go....let me repeat the name to you)

Anna: Suzhoujie! (At this point I'm in crises- I assume I must be saying the tones wrong I start to doubt myself. I start trying to repeat in my head- this time with different tones.) Su-zhou-jie! Su-zhou-jie! Suuu-zhoooou-jiiieeee!

Cab Driver: Su-zhou-jie? (I've known where you want to go- I'm going to repeat it one more time just to mess with you)

Anna: Shi de! (YES!)

---End Scene----

What I'm trying to get at here is that every time you start feeling good about having mastered some Mandarin, inevitably there is a Cab Driver out there to make sure you feel like you don't know jack.

The icing on the cake was that about a week ago a cab driver took me for a ride- a 20RMB more expensive ride then it should have been and I was helpless to tell him that: A. I knew we was GOING the LONG WAY and B. I didn't want to pay that much. But there wasn't much I could do about it.

But- as easy as it is to get discouraged- you have to keep trying. Or else ya know, you'll never get a cab ride home.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

To My ADORING Fans

And by fans- I mean all 12 of you loyal readers. I want to apologize for being mostly silent. My return to Beijing has been a whirlwind of 5 weeks of insanity. And right now my BFF Cristina is here visiting.

But hold on to your seats, upcoming updates include (BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TOO):

-What's Out In Inner Mongolia

-Great Wall: What's so GREAT anyway?

-Anna Czaplicki: Unprofessional Tour Guide

-Taxi Drivers are the Bane of My Existence

-Why Breaking Up With Work Is Hard to Do