China

Departure

Jeff, ,

I can’t believe my stay in China has already reached its end. I’m usually here for at least six weeks or more every time I visit, so this year has been an exception. Added to the fact that I spent a portion of it in Shanghai (I’m usually only in Beijing), and staying at both my uncle’s and grandma’s place, and my visit this year seems especially truncated. Luckily, I was able to meet up with Ben again before leaving China, as he just arrived in Beijing yesterday. I’m quite grateful because he has also offered to drive me to the airport tomorrow, which means good company in the car and a lot of money saved on a taxi. It’s certainly good to have friends who can look out for you even when you’re not in your home country.

I really wish I had someone traveling with me on the way back, because I’m really not looking forward to the trip. I have to make two transfers, one in Tokyo and one in Minneapolis (with two-hour layovers in between), before I’m back in New Jersey. I miss the no-hassle service of direct flights, especially my experience from last year, where I managed to purchase a relatively cheap business class return ticket with my “frequent flyer” miles—needless to say, it was hands down the best flying experience of my life. But then Delta merged with Northwest and the latter’s partnership with Continental ended, along with any chance of my using my miles to purchase a direct ticket to and from Beijing. All in all, it’s going to take me around 24 hours to get home, though with the time difference, it’ll still be Thursday, when I get back, which is weird when I think about it. Anyway, I still have to finish packing and take a shower before going to bed early; I have to be up at 5:30AM tomorrow, and I prefer to do so with a full night’s rest.

Reality

Jeff, ,

As it turns out, I only had around 30 unread messages. Not bad, but still enough to give me a headache. I just got back from Fan Wei’s house, where I was able to go on the internet for the first time in over a week and also enjoy some home cooking. Afterwards, we chatted and played Monopoly on Xbox 360. Apparently there’s an alternate version of Monopoly called “Richest” which goes a lot faster but also involves significantly more luck. There is a set number of rounds, and at the beginning of each round, a number of dice are rolled (equal to the number of players). Then, a mini game is played to determine turn order. Each player chooses which dice to choose, and the value of the dice determines how many tiles on the board you draw. If you draw a property that hasn’t been owned yet, you get the property, but if you draw someone else’s property, you have to “pay” them by giving them one of your existing properties. Thus, it’s advantages to choose bigger numbers at the beginning of the game to increase your chances of hoarding property, but probably safer to go for lower numbers towards the end to prevent the possibility of landing on other people’s property. Like normal Monopoly, you can upgrade to houses and hotels once you have established a monopoly, which results in other players paying you more (in property) every time they land on the monopoly. If you’re out of properties, then you don’t have to pay. The exciting thing about Richest is that it is fast-paced and dynamic. Chance, Community Chest, and Tax tiles have been modified so that instead of paying or receiving money, you have to pay in property (or have the chance to steal others’ properties). At the end of the game, the winner is the person whose total real estate is worth the most.

Dream

Jeff,

Last night, I had a dream that I checked my email and there were over 50 messages in my inbox. Unfortunately, considering that I have not had internet access in a week and that I probably won’t have it for another couple days, that is entirely possible. Oh, how I miss the net.

The Beijing Life

Jeff, ,

It’s been a busy couple of days. On Saturday, Fan Wei, Meng Meng, his wife, and I had dinner at a restaurant (Wang Shun Ge) famous for its fish head (I’m pretty sure the English translation is just “Fish Head Restaurant”). Although I have never been a big fan of eating fish head, the one we had on Saturday was delicious. I never thought one fish head could be so filling, but I was proved wrong: some of the bigger fish heads weigh five of six kilograms! If you’re ever in Beijing, I highly encourage you to give this restaurant a visit. The next day, Fan Wei had to teach a class in the southern part of Beijing, so I made the long trek to meet her and her husband Feng for lunch. We then drove to Pan Jia Yuan and visited Beijing’s famous “Glasses City,” where I managed to purchase a pair of glasses for 150 RMB! The most ridiculous part was that I got them in about a half an hour. In the U.S., the same thing would probably cost at least $150 and take at least a week or two to manufacture and deliver. Of course, the quality in China isn’t as great, but for the price and convenience, I think it is completely worth it. Plus, I primarily wear contacts, so it’s even less of a problem for me.  After feeling very good about the bargain price that we got for the pair of glasses, the three of us went and saw How to Train Your Dragon in 3D. I have to admit, was a little hesitant at first, but I was presently surprised by the movie and the 3D effects. It was the first full-length 3D movie I’ve ever seen (yeah I know, I’m a loser for not seeing Avatar), and the whole experience was amazing. And while the movie itself is geared towards a younger audience, I saw plenty of adults in the audience who were having a great time (myself included). I feel like with recent films like Avatar, Alice in Wonderland, and now How to Train Your Dragon, 3D movies are making a bigger impact at the box office, which only means that there will be more and more 3D movies in the future. While not all films will be appropriate in 3D, I think that those of the action and animated genres will benefit greatly from the growing prominence of 3D technology. If implemented correctly, the 3D effect will definitely be a great draw for audiences of all ages.

Earlier today (Monday), I traveled to my grandparents’ house in Mai Zi Dian, where I’ll be staying for the rest of my time in China. It feels good to have visited all of my closest relatives after nearly a year of absence. All in all, it’s a good change of pace, and it’s a trip that I’d like to keep making every year for as long as possible. I spent a good portion of my childhood here, so I always feel like I’m coming back to a second home rather than just visiting.

Of course, no trip to China would be complete without my getting demolished by mosquitoes, and as if to prove a point, one mosquito gave me no less than 20 bites last night (my very last night at my uncle’s)! FML.

Bumming Around

Jeff, ,

With not much to do here, I finished Heroes through Season Five, and have been reading about options and futures in the meantime. Tomorrow, I’m going with my cousin Fan Wei to get a new pair of glasses and a little shopping at Xiu Shui Jie and maybe a movie afterward.