Chinese Cuisine

One of the biggest changes I anticipated when traveling to China was the food that I would be consuming. I was right, especially when it comes to eating with chopsticks and not a fork.

The quality, variety and enjoyment of the food 

varies from meal to meal. 

Most of the dishes are stir-fry-types that have a vegetable and meat tossed with a sauce. The type of vegetable is usually recognizable but the meat is more of a guessing game. All meals are served with

 white rice, as well. The authentic Chinese food in Beijing doesn't feature many American favorites such as egg rolls, crab rangoon, General Tso's chicken.

Also, many American favorites aren't present at many meals. No cheese, milk, large pieces of meat while breads, noodles and potatoes are some times present.

The change has been drastic but I have been doing well. I have indulged in some Western food (Pizza Hut, McDonalds) but every day I enjoy some type of Chinese cuisine. I have found my favorite dish to be beef and onions. It's a simple combination that is packed with flavor.

Another interesting difference in culture I noticed when I ate at McDonalds was the locals don't touch their sandwiches. Instead of unwrapping the item and diving in, they use the wrapper to eat it. I know some people do this in the States but 90 percent of the people in the restaurant were doing it.

Peking Duck

One of the famous traditions in Beijing is eating Peking Duck. Every book and Web site I read demanded that one should indulge in Peking Duck while in Beijing.

Fortunately, we were taken to a Peking Duck dinner on the first night of our 

3-day tour in Beijing. For many Americans eating duck isn't an everyday thing. You can't find duck on most menus in restaurants and in 22 years in America I had never eaten duck. Everyone in the group was pretty excited until our tour guide, Henry, gave us some background on the duck. We all knew it was a younger duck but some of the details were unknown. He informed us that the duck is fed constantly for 60 days and then killed. Yes, constantly. That means when it doesn't want to eat, it is force fed. Of course, these details turned many of us off at the time but we had some time to clear our mind before diving into the bird. And even with those unnecessary details I was looking forward to it because of all the hype it was getting. Even many of the former vegetarians on the trip were going to try out the famed dish.

It turned out that the duck was amazing and the Beijing tradition was well-worth it. What I found interesting about the whole experience was the ease at which Henry told us all of the details about the duck. I think it shows a big culture gap between America and China. Americans would rather ignore how the food gets to the plate whereas Henry was trying to educate us in the process.

An Interesting Start to a 3-day Tour

Since arriving in China, the Beijing Organizing Committee has done numerous things to show its appreciation for the international volunteers. Last weekend, we were fortunate to take a three-day tour of Beijing. The first two stops on the tour were much different than I ever expected.

As many people know, the quality of water in China is a topic of many discussions, positively and negatively. So, we were taken to a sewage treatment plant for a tour of how they clean the waste into the water that is being supplied to the Olympic Village area. I will have to say it was the nicest sewage treatment plant I have been too. The workers at the plant showed an excitement for tourists that you don't see in America. I don't think many workers in the States would LOVE to have foreigners walk around their business but these people seemed to enjoy every bit of it.

After leaving the plant and eating lunch (sounds interesting, huh?) we travelled to a "rural village." To get to the village, we got a police escort through Beijing's traffic. Can you imagine this happening in the States? Because I can't. The level of importance for this eve

nt was made very clear by the Chinese.

I am not sure if the expectations of our group was off but the village wasn't too rural. It was definitely an interesting experience because the village was nestled in the mountains in China.

The photos of these two places tell great stories even if the two destinations were a little different.

Forbidden City

I made my first trek to the center of Beijing and it lived up to the hype. Beijing is a massive city that is built around the Forbidden City, which is a landscape of royalty. The area nearby the Forbidden City is called Tian'anmen Sqaure and is a hub for Chinese history. With all of the museums and landmarks in this location it reminded me a lot of the Washington Mall in D.C. But instead of celebrating 200-plus years of history, this area is celebrating more than 2,000 years of existence.

I got my first glimpse of the Square and Forbidden City as I came out of the subway tunnel and it was unfathomable. I am finding out quickly that similarly to Texas, everything is bigger in China. To my right was a gigantic red hall with intriquite detail and amazing presence. Hanging on the entry gate to the City was emperor Mao, who was an influential Chinese leader years ago. The City featured several other halls and breathtaking buildings that were built 600 years ago.

Despite the mamouth buildings and notable history of the City, the group I was with also became noteworthy sights too. While touring, many Asian tourists requested to take pictures with the group of Westerners. It was the first time I experienced this and it was fun. I got a great sense of enjoyment from many of the people, which may surprise some people. I wasn't sure how we would be welcomed but it has been a great experience thus far.

Massage City

Yes, I have been in Beijing for only four days now and I have had a 30-minute foot massage and a 50-minute full-body massage. I know what you're thinking. "Are you kidding me? People act like studying abroad is rough. He's got it easy." Well, that's kind of true.

I stumbled upon my foot massage during my first adventure into what is known as the "Silk Market." No lies, this place is crazy. Think about this - six floors packed with hundreds of booths featuring thousands of fake Nikes, Coach purses and Rolexes with little Asian women yelling "Handsome man, I've got your size." while latching onto your arm and pulling you into a booth. It's shopping at Tippecanoe Mall in Lafayette on crack, no joke. The foot massage came in after Chad, Chris, Patrick and I fought through all six floors and found this tiny gem featuring massages. There is no doubt in my mind us four made the best purchases of the day at the market - a foot massage for US$10 and a Tsingtao (beer) that we drank during the massage for US$2.

The full-body massage was a purchase that we (eight people) sought out after three long days in a foreign country. We taxied out to a massage parlor featuring blind masseurs. The place had one room for four people so the women took that one. Then there was two rooms for three people. What happened next was unfortunate. We played a quality round of ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS that put myself on the losing end. That meant I was in my own room with a blind masseur who essentially beat me up.

All-in-all both were interesting experiences. They were experiences that I haven't had in the United States and don't have the opportunity to have. The reason for that is the cost of services in Beijing. Labor is extremely cheap in this city and drastically affects the culture and way of life for everyone. There are 16 million people in Beijing and many of them will drive a taxi, sell products or clean rooms for US$40 a month. And the benefits of having that abundance of cheap labor is benefitted by many.

Getting to Know the Locals

I am staying at the Communication University of China, which is a gated-campus. Within the grounds are small stores, cafeterias and a recreational complex.

I arrived on campus around 2:30 p.m. and within five hours, I was playing basketball with the locals. Chad, Chris, Patrick and I all decided to head to the courts and see what competition was around. At this point in the day, the recreational complex was packed with people with jogging, playing soccer and playing basketball.

As soon as we entered the complex we started turning heads. Chad, Chris and I are not small guys and, of course, white. But we still felt welcome so we continued on to the courts. We spotted a group of guys playing 4-on-4 and with Patrick's Mandarin expertise we got in line for the next game. The game was a little different than were familiar with. It was first to five points and there was no checking the ball with the other team before putting it in-play. It meant for some small adjustments by us but our product was just as good. We finished the evening 6-1 and at one point caused a group of locals to gather around and watch us compete against their best players.

Despite not having rested since arriving in Beijing and being a foreigner, our decision to go play basketball was a great one. It presented us with a common ground for the locals and helped us integrate into the community.

Finally, in Beijing

I was closing in on Irkutsk at some 34,000 feet and 5,603 miles from Newark, New Jersey, with three hours left before arriving in Beijing when I realized flying first-class would have been a great investment. I guess an excessively-reclined-woman in front of me, my 40-year-old knees and a little girl's vomit would spark such a thought. But I was closing in on Beijing after two-days of travel.

During the flight, there was something I had never experienced before – a personal on-demand entertainment console. With the television lodged in the headrest in front of me and a remote control/video game controller I could ward off many of the trip's negative aspects. It gave me the chance to take some advice from a good friend Drew and watch "Stand By Me" for the first time. It was boss. I also threw in some "Toy Story", "Scrubs" and "Enemy of the State."

All-in-all, the flights weren't horrendous but they pushed my limits of personal space.

BY THE NUMBERS

7,000 – Miles flown from Newark, New Jersey, to Beijing, China

-50 – Degrees of the temperature outside of the aircraft for the majority of the flight

12 – Hours in time difference from Eastern Standard Time

1 – Person puked on the flight