Toto the Turtle

We bought a pet this week. We were at our local grocery store/department store and in the pet section Caroline noticed some turtles. I don't know much about turtles, but I think it was a yellow bellied terrapin (I don't know if that's the official name). Anyway, he was a cute little guy, so Caroline snatched him up immediately, along with a container and some shrimp food. We named him Toto, after the turtle in our reading book at school.

We brought him home and put him in the brightest, warmest place in the house- on top of our tv and vcr. He ambled around his new home, wading through the chest-deep water, occasionally perching himself on his little rock in the center of the cage. Life was good.

But little Toto wasn't eating. Caroline would put a couple of shrimp in his cage, and when he didn't go for those, she tried little bits of lettuce. The shrimp ended up on his chin, and the lettuce ended up on his head, but none of it ended up in his mouth.

On Saturday I noticed that little Toto wasn't moving. He was upright in his cage, but looked like he had been instantly frozen. I took a closer look and my fears were confirmed- Toto was dead. Caroline was crushed, and I was a little disappointed too. We had him for a total of three days. In retrospect we needed to provide a heat lamp and a bunch of other stuff for him to be comfortable and healthy. I guess turtles aren't naturally suited for living in a two-bedroom apartment.

So here's to our little pet Toto, may he rest in peace.

This is what we're up against

The parents of our students tend to be a very demanding bunch. Our Korean teachers often get phone calls from parents insisting that their child receive more individual attention, more speaking opportunities than the other students, better care, etc. You can imagine how this plays out when all the parents make similar demands. This week I had an experience that illustrates how far the insanity has gone.

Last week one of my classes moved up to Level 3. One of my brighter students from the class took his new books home, and his father started quizzing him out of the new books. Now keep in mind that the student, Alex, only just received his books. When Alex couldn't answer any of his father's questions, his father blew up and ripped all Alex's books up. I'm sure Alex, who is about 6 or 7 years old, was very surprised and confused. But it doesn't end there. Alex's father then called the school, accused us of not teaching his son anything (Alex scored in the high 90's on his last major test), and informed us that Alex would no longer be attending the school.

If I hadn't seen this before, I would assume that it was an isolated case, but it isn't. It happens all the time. Some people say it has to do with the fact that our students all come from rich families, and rich parents tend to be more demanding. I think there is some truth to this, but this situation also sheds light on how competitive pre-school or extra-curricular education has become here. Some of our students are in as many as nine extra-curricular academies. Where will it stop?

Beijing Opera

We went to the Beijing Opera at the Liyuan Theater, a large theater with a balcony, and two marquis signs on either side of the stage to provide the "closed captioning" for the non-Chinese speakers (at times the translations were more entertaining than the show itself!) I'm not a huge fan of the opera, so I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy it. Before the show I milled about in the lobby, watching the actors apply their make-up, and admiring items in the giftshop from a distance.

In the performance, the actors wore very exaggerated make-up, and traditional Chinese costumes. They also made use of very minor props to represent something much greater. For example, an actor carried an oar to indicate that he was sailing. The stories usually depict ancient Chinese fairy tales or significant historical events and are filled with opposing characters- good or bad, ugly or beautiful, loyal or treacherous. The costumes are beautiful, vivid colors made of fine embroidered silks, and the acting is a combination of singing, dancing, acrobatic fighting, dialogue and mime.

No description of the Beijing Opera would be complete without mentioning the music, which is played on a variety of instruments, including the jinghu (a high-pitched two-stringed bowed instrument), the yuequin (a four-stringed plucked instrument), and the sanxian (a three-stringed plucked instrument), plus a few horns, drums, cymbals, and gongs. Officially, the music has "a melody with harmonious rhythms which are graceful and pleasing to the ears." Nobody could be blamed if they didn't agree with the official assessment, though. One member of our group said it sounded "like a cat was being tortured". Either way, all the various elements combined to provide an interesting and entertaining show, and an experience that I won't soon forget.

Beijing- The Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven is located within Tiantan Park, a large park in southern Beijing surrounded by pine woods. This park is a popular spot for elderly Beijingers. They come here in the morning to do Tai Chi in large groups, and in the afternoon and evening they play Mahjong, sing, socialize, and play traditional Chinese instruments.

The Temple of Heaven was built in 1420 to symbolize the relationship between heaven and earth, and the role that the Emperors played within that relationship. The dominant feature is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, a large circular palace with three layers of eaves. The three layers represent heaven, earth, and everything on earth. The architecture is very symbolic, with everything from the shape of outer and inner walls to the number of pillars bearing significant symbolism. The base of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is made up of three layered terraces made of white marble pillars standing a total of 6 meters tall. On the day of winter solstice every year, the Emperor would go to the palace and offer a sacrifice to heaven.

The symbolism of the architecture astounded me. It seemed that no detail was unplanned, no matter how small. Each marble pillar was intricately carved, and the richness of the reds, golds, and blues made the Temple of Heaven beautiful, but also made it feel like a special, sacred place.

Part of the Temple of Heaven has a cool feature. Circular walls feature prominently in the architecture of the Temple, and one particular place called the "Echo Wall" allows two people standing opposite each other along the wall to talk into the wall and be able to hear each other. Legend has it that this unique feature of the Echo Wall was discovered accidentally when an Emperor's private conversation was overheard by a servant, to fatal consequences. I mistakenly thought that the Echo Wall would echo my own voice all the way around, but I discovered the hard way that yelling into the wall only made everybody turn and stare.

An interesting sidenote: there were hordes of tourists at the Temple of Heaven when we were there and we met a very friendly (retired) Dutch couple who had driven their caravan all the way to Beijing from their home in Holland. Now that's traveling!

As soon as we left the Temple of Heaven, the serenity we had enjoyed inside was shattered by the swarms of vendors that met us outside the gates. They were selling the usual stuff- postcards, picture books, and little trinkets and souvenirs. Fortunately, Wally had armed us with a couple of phrases to help ward off these types of people (this definitely wouldn't be the last of them)- boo-shie, which means "no thanks", and boo-yao, which means "I already have". The trouble is, even when you genuinely are not interested in what they have, they drop their prices so quickly that you can hardly keep refusing! That's how Caroline ended up with a beautiful book about Beijing (for a total of about $3).

Walking through the Temple of Heaven had worked up our appetites, and fortunately the restaurant we were eating at was just around the corner. We had a delicious meal at a huge four-storey Dai restaurant (Dai is a southern Chinese culture), all the while being entertained by some rather dainty male and female traditional dancers on the stage in the restaurant. After dinner it was off to the Chinese opera.

Beijing- First Impressions

We arrived at the Beijing airport on a sunny but incredibly hazy afternoon. After going through all the usual airport stuff we were greeted by our tour guide, a forty-something Beijinger with a distinguished look and a kind face. We got onto our bus and headed for the city, and our guide welcomed us in near-perfect English. He explained that his name was Chen, but that his English name was Wally. I liked him immediately, and I began to suspect that his sense of humor and extensive knowledge would make for a fantastic trip.

The drive into the city was unlike anything I had expected. The expressway was lined with thousands of poplar trees, their leaves shimmering in the bright afternoon sunlight. Apparently the trees were planted to try to offset the massive pollution in the city. There are 3 million cars in Beijing, and with the "new" market economy, that number is going up all the time. The further we got into the city, the more surprised I became. It was beautiful! The city was once surrounded by a moat, and today large tree-lined canals flow throughout the city. There is so much life in Beijing- trees, parks, grass, and pots of brightly colored flowers everywhere. In newer areas, modern skyscrapers rise up to give the feeling of a very modern city, a place of importance where things are really happening. Like many cities with an extensive history, Beijing is walking the fine line between the past and the future.

And the city was so clean! Beijing seems to be working very hard on its image (I suspect the upcoming summer Olympics have something to do with this), with a bit of help from Chinese lawmakers. For example, spitting (which used to be very common in public) is now a punishable offence (the fine is 80 CNY, or about 10 U.S. dollars). They are also working to discourage men from going shirtless in the city. The punishment for this is printing the offender's picture in the newspaper. Apparently public shame is a more effective deterrent than a monetary fine.

As we made our way through the city, any previous impressions I had had about the city slowly melted away, and I began to love Beijing. Soon we arrived at our first destination: the Temple of Heaven.

Beijing- An Introduction

Caroline and I went to Beijing for a few days at the end of September. In Korea it was a holiday known as Chuseok, which is more or less Thansgiving, but with a special emphasis on remembering ancestors. Beijing was such an incredible experience that I'm not sure how I'll be able to capture it in words and still maintain the essence of what I saw, felt, and experienced. Having said that, I still think it's worth a shot, if only for my own personal record. During my visit, many of my stereotypes were dispelled, and I also think that's another good reason for writing.

We had a very busy schedule while we were there. We visited a lot of historical sites, took in some cultural activities, had some incredible dining experiences, and also had a small glimpse into the life of everyday Beijingers. I feel my life was profoundly changed, and my respect for Chinese history and culture has increased monumentally.

For ease of reading, I have decided to break up the trip and blog about each individual site or event on its own. This makes it easier to read, and also makes it easier for me to write about. So the next blogs will be all about the things we saw and did in Beijing. Enjoy!

Beijing- A Brief History

I know it may not be that interesting to read about the history of Beijing, but it's impossible to fully appreciate a place without understanding what factors that influenced the way it is today. I'll be brief- after all, I only just learned the difference between the Ming and Qing Dynasties (ok, I'll be completely honest- I'm not sure I knew those dynasties existed before now!). One thing that continually blows me away over here ("over here" being Asia) is how incredibly old these civilizations are. The Chinese had an advanced civilization long before Plato and Aristotle, long before anyone had heard of Christianity, and long, long before Columbus set sail on his way to "discover" the Americas. I mean, China is old!

One of the first "inhabitants" of what is now Beijing was Peking Man, who lived in the area between 300,000 and 500,000 years ago. In the past 1000 years Beijing has served as an important political and cultural center, but its rise to prominence began during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), when Kublai Khan (grandson of Ghengis Khan) made it the center of international cultural exchanges in the Orient. The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) laid the foundation for modern day Beijing, and many of the historical sites date from this period. The Qing Dynasty ruled from 1644-1911, and on October 1, 1949 Mao Zedong declared the establishment of the People's Republic of China, with Beijing as its capital.

The city was originally designed as a series of concentric circles, with nine gates on the inner wall and seven gates on the outer wall. Although the wall no longer exists, many of the gates are still standing. The city has since overflowed its boundaries, and now covers an area of 750 square kilometers, making it one of the largest cities in the world. It also boasts a population of 16 million people, 13 million of whom are native Beijingers, and 3 million of whom are from other Chinese cities and other countries.

Today the Chinese government is trying to maintain the fine balance between old and new in Beijing. Modern skyscrapers shoot up into the sky, but the government has also made a concerted effort to maintain palaces and other architectural and artistic relics. Former imperial residences and gardens have been opened for public viewing, and the government is now concerned with protecting specific areas of old Beijing called hutongs. Future development in Beijing will continue to preserve the symmetry of the old city layout while integrating modern architectural design into the over-all plan.