How to spend a Wednesday in Liulichang

The unofficial gateway into Liulichang

Wednesday of Fall break was spent exploring Liulichang, (as far as I know) the most famous district in Beijing to experience Chinese culture. It was actually one of the lesson topics in our textbooks, and since I hadn’t seen much culture other than Jingju, I figured I may as well check it out. I was warned beforehand that for every store that showcases “real” Chinese culture, there’s another that’s probably selling some really good fakes. It may not be that far off the touristy path, but as far as I’m concerned, it was still an interesting experience.

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Monday’s Trip to The Olympic Green

Battled for that spot

Vacation’s over and I’m back in class. I didn’t follow through on everything I said I was going to do over the break (i.e.never opened my textbook to review), but on the whole I’m pretty happy with how it went. I decided to do a photo documentary of my week and the places I went to see, and since this will make posts a little longer, I’m dividing it up into 3 parts so you won’t want to poke your eyes out after 5 minutes.

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Everything You Need To Know Before Going To The Bathroom In China

In all her glory

I figured having been here almost two months, it was about that time. It’s a fact: come to Asia and at one point or another, you’ll have to squat while going to the bathroom. I’m fortunate enough to live in a Western styled dorm, so I rarely have to use that “other kind of toilet”, but I do use them and with a good amount of success. I realize I’m not the first person to write on the subject – Marco Polo probably did back during Mongol rule when squat toilets were just dirt holes (still primitive when compared to the outhouse). However, his description didn’t have the colorful pictures, translated signs, and detailed diagrams like mine does. There’s more to it than just the perfect squat angle you know. Take a read, you won’t regret it when your bowels are relieved and pants are dry.  And in case you were worried, it’s relatively clean for a post about toilets. So here’s Everything You Need To Know Before Going To The Bathroom In China. Read the rest of this entry

 My first foray into the World of Beijing Opera or “Jingju”

Prepare yourself - actual footage below

This was originally part of  “Beijing Bites Back: A Little Adversity Abroad “, but I realized that not only was it put-you-to sleep-long, but also that Jingju is so awesome, I was doing it a disservice by not giving it it’s own post. So here it is. Last Friday, CET took us to see Beijing Opera at the Liyuan Theater. Word around China is that Beijing Opera is like nothing you’ve seen before; you either love it or hate it (you’ll see why). Luckily, I loved it.

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My evaluation of my time studying abroad in Beijing thus far

Delivery KFC - you can't not love this place

It happened. This week, for the first time since I’ve been here, there were actually a few days when I didn’t feel like I was on that ecstatic high caused by the drug known as “loving everything about China”. I had to tango with Customs and Fedex a few weeks back, but that doesn’t really count.  Granted, this is the exact time when you’re supposed to start feeling the affects of culture shock, but I’m going to say that wasn’t it.

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