Brace Yourself for Beijing

This past weekend I went away for the weekend, and flew for a quick trip to Beijing.  Beijing is only an hour and ten minute plane ride away, and so I had a full two days to explore the city.
Taha and I headed out on the 11:00 flight on Friday night.  We were very grateful to get out, because all the other flights were cancelled due to fog.  After a deep nap, through heavy turbulence, we woke up in Beijing.  It took us 2 and a half hours to get to our hostel, because we had to wait for a bus to take us across the runway and then wait in a giant line for a legal taxi.  Needless to say we were exhausted and went straight to sleep.  It was a super cute hostel, and Meg had shotgunned us a great little room.

Taheezy and I at the Monument to the People's Heroes

The next morning we woke up early and headed to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.  It was a bit of a trek to get there, being that we took a bus in the wrong direction.  It was very impressive to see such an important and controversial historical location.  I was a bit upset that we didn't get the chance to go to Mao's mausoleum because it closed at 12.  Apparently they didn't decide to preserve his body until it had already begun to decay and now they alternate the body with a wax imitation.  Next time I definitely want to check that out.

Statue for the Workers

Next we went across the street to see the Forbidden City.  Again, the place has such an interesting history.  I am glad that I have now had the opportunity to see how the past rulers of quite a few different countries lived.  The common theme of isolation is always so intriguing to me.  Chinese Emperors had a giant area to live and rule, not far from the center of the city - yet so entirely separate.  It took about 2 hours to walk through the area from end to end.  There are countless courtyards, and each layer would have been for a more elite crowd.  The outer courtyards each have their own purpose according to different festivals.  It was an interesting trip through some of China's history.

One of the layers of the Forbidden City

That evening we went to an acrobatic show.  It was cirque du soleil-esque and very impressive!  There were gymnasts, contortionists (my least favourite...), and various people who could do amazing feats.  My favourite was the bicycle section.  At one point a woman was pedalling a bike with 10 people piled on to it!  It was a great show!  Unfortunately I wasn't able to take any pictures.

Some pretty impressive artwork on the roof

After some french fries and a Christmas latte from Starbucks we headed to bed to get ready for an early morning on the Great Wall.  But the Wall is a post for another day!


Hope all is well in Canada!

The entrance to the F.C.  (notice Mao's giant face on the wall)

Chilling like an Emperor would

Golden beauty

The details on the roof remind me of Santa's sleigh...

The temple at the entrance to the square

Favourite Feasts

Hey Friends,


This post if very important.  Superbly important in fact.  I have now been in China long enough to declare my favourite foods.  My mind is set, I have found the most delicious foods.


Firstly, every Monday a group of us go out for noodles at the noodle shack.  When I say shack I mean a shack.  I wish I had taken a picture of the outside of it, perhaps I will post an updated post at another time.  We refer to these noodles as "crack noodles" because you always want them, and when you have them you never want your bowl to end.  They only cost 7 kuai, which is a dollar Canadian.  You simply point to the noodle selection you want, choose some greens to go with, and if you want to add sticks of meat or mushrooms it is only an extra kuai.  I have never bothered with adding the meat, because the noodle bowl is perfection all by itself.  At first they would ask about how much spice we wanted, now they recognize us and just load it up.  Although the place looks sketchy, and they do not even have a working fridge to offer you cold cola to wash down your spicy noodles (beverages should be bought at the chicken shack across the alley before coming for noodles), this place is amazing.  As a bonus feature, you can also bag up an extra noodle bowl to take home for lunch the next day.  The only bad part is that the broth gets soaked back into the noodles and they become extra spicy.  I could eat these noodles every day and never tire of them.

A giant bowl a' crack noodles

Secondly, the restaurant we call Donkey Dumplings is prime.  D.D. carries many of my favourite dishes, all in one convenient location (the third alley from the roundabout, that is).  It is a hole in the wall, you have to request to have the tables washed, and at times during the meal you may be attacked by a mangy kitten or two....but it is the food of the gods.  The restaurant is Hong Bei style, meaning it features the specialties of the area we live in.  My top picks at D.D. are: Pineapple Sweet and Sour Pork (Gobaro, one of the few Mandarin words I have managed to memorize), Braised Greenbeans, Japanese Tofu and the Donkey Dumplings.
The Pineapple Gobaro is sweet and features large chunks of pineapple in tasty sauce (great to be mixed into rice as well).  It is not overfried or undercooked, and has the perfect proportion of saucy goodness.  Sweet and sour pork in Canada has nothing on this.  The Greenbeans are loaded up on garlic and have tiny pieces of grilled beef mixed in.  As my mom can attest, I don't eat beans in Canada.  Or any type of bean-like vegetable.  They are yucky. But they do something better here.  I think the better may relate to the copious amounts of garlic, but either way I am eating my veggies, right?  The Japanese Tofu is cooked in some way unknown to me.  I think it may be fried because the inside is soft and mushy, while the outside is tough.  They are almost impossible to chopstick, but are worth all of the trouble to load on to your plate.  I am becoming a huge tofu fan in China, because they cook it in a thousand different ways.  Plus it is the least sketchy protein product to buy in the market.  Lastly, the Donkey Dumplings.  I know people have qualms with eating an animal like the donkey, but I must tell you they are pretty tasty.  In reality anything in dumpling form is going to be appealing to me.  There are people who believe that the word donkey was just a poor translation, and it may be just another pork dish.  Regardless of what it is, I order it every time.   Plenty of dishes to share will add up to between 25 - 35 kuai, equalling about 4 - 6 bucks.

Two kinds of Gobaro (regular and pineapple), Greenbeans, Tofu at the top, and dumplings on the bottom right

Eating in China has definitely taken some getting used to, but it is always an adventure and it is so exciting to try new dishes and new restaurants.  I hope you aren't too hungry after reading this!
Go out and order some Chinese for dinner tonight!

The classy atmosphere at D.D.

Holidays of Weeks Past

Although I don't have many new enticing tales about my life abroad, a few fun events have happened in the past weeks.  Midterms just passed and I spent a week of my life invigilating exams and marking stacks of papers to get my grades organized in time for report cards.  It was enough to give me a disgusting Chinese flu, leaving me in bed for about three days.  However, I did have some good times - that are worthy of an update before the nasty illness befell me!

Halloween is a big deal here at Maple Leaf.   I think this is simply because it is cheap and easy to get costumes made from scratch.  There is no need to scrounge together a last minute costume from the remains of your closet, and what has gone on sale at Value Village.  You can simply take a photo to the seamstress, and she will whip a beautiful new costume up in about a week's time.

Snap! Crackle! Pop! (aka Me, Sara, Morgan)

We also force the kids to celebrate our holiday with us, and so we held  a giant Halloween dance event.  It was hilarious to chaperone, because it is one of the few opportunities the boys and girls have to mingle with one another.  They had elaborate costumes, and danced the night away together (after some initial awkwardness).  We even had fireworks and shooting flames up on the stage!

An interesting take on Snow White

Our staff party was not quite the affair, but it was a great chance to see a ton of great costumes.  Everyone was very creative, and it was fun to see what everyone had come up with.

So China!  Bruce Li about to be attacked by a Panda

I also have a few shots from my small birthday dinner last week, however most of them were not quality shots.  It was a delicious meal and a great break from constant marking!  I was spoiled by my friends here.  I had four cakes the week of my birthday!  Four!  It is no wonder why I was so sick this weekend.

Demolished dinner

Cake time!

To wrap up birthday week, Meg and I headed into town for a bit of shopping and a pedicure.  We bought sparkly tights lined with fleece that I am oh so excited to bust out soon.  Why live in a place like China if you can't indulge in their fashion?  I wanted to buy a giant sweater that had a dog wearing sparkly glasses and a lace covered sweater...but even the salespeople laughed at me for that one.

Another Year Passing

Today is my birthday eve.  As many of you know, I am a birthday nut.  I advocate birthday week and insist upon celebrating my life in as many ways as possible.  (And yes, I realize this is a bit self-centered, but a birthday comes but once a year!)  Here is China my besties who normally oblige me are many miles away, and my family celebrated my Grandma's birthday last week and skipped out on our normal double party.  My friends here are wonderful, but I will admit it is just not the same as being at home!  Plus, as the youngest employee at Maple Leaf I am laughed at for my enthusiasm at passing years.  I am however, still excited to have a birthday this week.  Although it is midterms and my stack of marking is as large as it will probably get all year, it is still my day.  I don't even have to teach, I simply need to watch kids write a test.  And my boxes I shipped from Canada just arrived in time for my birthday!  I bought a few treats from the import store, and I am going out for a good dinner with some great people.

I am super thankful for my past year.  I think I can genuinely say it was the best so far.  It was the year that I experienced the most change and a year where I had the most happiness.  My 22nd birthday was in Vancouver, and I was able to welcome the year with both old and new friends.  I spent most of my year doing my B.Ed at UBC, and I absolutely loved getting to know a new city and an amazing group of people.

My Birthday last year!

I spent most of my spring doing practicum.  Which was hell, as most people who have had a practicum with attest, but I was blessed with a great school, supportive sponsor teachers, and a sweet crew of Teacher Candidates to make it through with.

Summer in Vancouver was relaxing and full of summer celebrations, beach time, and spending as much time with my family and friends as I could.  I finished B.Ed - exhausted but excited to be qualified to do what I have always wanted to do.

Next I packed up and moved to another continent, and another culture.  As much as I often miss home, I am enjoying the challenge of being here.  I am practicing my training from my last year of schooling, and creating a new strange life in a foreign country.

This past year was a year of firsts and I hope this next year is the same.  Last year I taught my first class, ran my first marathon, travelled to new places, and got my first real job.  To start the year off right, Meg and I are flying to Beijing in a few weeks to see the Great Wall for the first time.   Now all I need in my Mocha cheesecake and a China birthday won't be so bad!

One of my English classes threw me a surprise party and put notes up all over my desk.  I think they were just trying to use up class time, but I was ok with it!  They even had another teacher give me a fake errand so I wasn't in my room before their class.

The giant cake they bought

Some cards and a present.  The box is full of cards, and the little circle is full of walnuts.  It is a Chinese tradition to eat walnuts on your birthday, for good health the rest of the year.

Someone didn't finish his essay...and instead drew me a lovely picture.

All in all, despite my dread I think my birthday will be fabulous.  23, here I come!  I hope it is exciting as 22 was.