A very cool experience to relate:

Last week, I got to go with a group of other IUP students to see the finals of the Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby competition on the next to last day of the games. If you've never run into the sport before, you can take a look over on Youtube. Anyway, we got to see both the bronze medal match between Great Britain and Canada and the gold medal match between the United States and Australia. This was held over at the sports arena of the Beijing Science and Technology University - a small but very nice venue with the full security and decorative trappings of an Olympic event. 

This sport is fairly unique, and those of you into rules (hi, Benn) would have really liked it as it still seems a bit formative. Essentially, it's a game played on a basketball court, four to a side with a goal line that must be crossed in possession of the ball for one point. It's also as full contact as wheelchairs can be, with the wheelchairs looking more like personal battle platforms than assistive moving devices. Players are free to check each other off the ball, tangle their wheels together etc. as well as make passes, handoffs, nice spin moves off the pick etc. This contact gave it the nickname "murderball." 

The first match was pretty boring to watch honestly, but the gold medal game was excellent with lots of defense and stronger team play. Australia had by far the best player on the court but he wasn't enough to overcome the balanced U.S. squad. The only issue with this great sport that I could see was the fact that cherry picking of long passes runs rampant - there's no offsides rule and there's no goalkeeper. 

Anyway, it was cool to be there with lots of Americans - they did the typical overboard fans routine and painted chests, started plenty of English and Chinese chants to the consternation of the confused Chinese volunteers tasked with shushing the crowd, and overall had a good time watching the U.S. win. Australia has a fun little chant they do (Aussia, Oi!) but they needed to get into it a little more ;)

It goes without saying that watching people play this game, some without hands, is pretty inspiring. Watching them receive the gold medal after the game was easily one of the best sporting moments I've been a part of. 

P.S. My camera died after taking eight pictures, but I'll post what little I got later today.

P.P.S. A couple shots that sort of came out. If editing weren't such a huge pain I'd add some more.

 

Nicely done exterior - full regalia.

The teams warming up before the bronze medal game. Although the press seats across the arena are empty, the stands were totally filled on our side and in the end zones by the time of the match.

Having just completed my first week in school, I can tell you that the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Study is well worth it.

Each day I start at 8am with two hours of class - 3 students and 1 instructor, no textbooks allowed. Essentially this means making sure that you understand the previous day's text or dialogue really well and then talking about it for hours. At 11am I have my "dan ban ke" - one on one class for an entire hour. I wrap up after lunch with another three student hour. So far it has been an intense though not unreasonable experience, and I can already feel the improvement. The teachers, of whom there are nearly 40 for about 50 students, are virtually all recent Chinese graduate students though some are older. They've been very patient with me which I appreciate. Michigan gave us good preparation, but it's a new experience to be expected to say complex sentences correctly instead of using "baby Chinese." 

Yesterday we were talking about the one child policy still in effect here in China with our teacher. When you make a grammatical or pronunciation mistake, the teachers generally repeat the sentence back to you correctly and then wait for you to say it again correctly yourself.

Teacher: "Does Taiwan have a similar policy?"

Student: "Taiwan and China have really different policies."

Teacher in correcting voice: "Taiwan and the Chinese mainland have really different policies." 

She was laughing as she said this (and we along with her), so don't take it too harshly :) But one always has to be aware of those political sensitivities.

If there is one thing I have come to appreciate this week it is the food in this part of Beijing. Within five minutes of my house we have a row of eight consecutive different Chinese restaurants, all offering cuisine based on a different province or style. Not to mention the innumerable small noodle places, multiple Indian restaurants, and everything else ranging from American (tried one place so far, B+ on authenticity), Korean barbeque and a Greek pita stand to Japanese-managed Italian and the usual blend of Chinese and American fast food. This is great except for the fact that, where I once expected I would live a modest lifestyle and lose some weight, I've now realized that I can eat a fabulous dinner each night for just a couple dollars. Or two dinners. Only done that once, I swear. Oh, and the Qinghua cafeterias are fine considering that they cost about 50 cents for lunch and have probably 50 different Chinese dishes to choose from.

And now, on to some pictures.

Mandi and I visited the Forbidden City, which is always worth the two hour walk through. Packed with people until you get a ways in and then it opens up and the crowds thin out.

Something I hadn't seen last time I was at the Forbidden City. This is the beginning of the "Water Palace," which was being built by the Qing Dynasty (last dynasty to rule China) in 1910-1911 before the nationalist revolution. Obviously once the revolution overthrew the emperor, construction on the palace was abandoned. It has a deep moat around it and the lower level is filled with water. I found the very European style set amidst classic Chinese architecture to be jarring. And it's really small!

Looking south on my road. The tall apartment building is where I live, way up on the 16th floor. traffic is never very heavy which is great.

The view south across Beijing from the rear sunporch where we dry our clothes. This was a very clear day, usually you can't see much beyond the tall buildings at center left. Unfortunately we don't have any windows to the west or we could see the mountains on days like this. Weather is still good with the Paralympics in town, but everyone expects that to end in a hurry come October.

The traditional Chinese street market where I shop. That's a Chinese Coca-Cola logo right at the front, next to the Cadbury's. Along with the things on the shelves, this supermarket also hand-makes really good dumplings (jiaozi) for you on the spot at the steep price of $2.50 per 50. 

There are real street stands and such with produce that one can shop at, mostly tucked away in the remaining corners of old Beijing neighborhoods. In fact, we have one such area right outside of our apartment building - a small remaining alleyway T-intersection of low brick buildings from probably the mid twentieth century, crammed in between two apartment complexes and a supermarket under the (appropriately ominous?) shadow of a Microsoft logo on the nearest glass skyscraper. Dan and I have gotten ourselves on reasonably good terms with a hole-in-the-wall restaurant's owners in there, who are more than happy to suggest items from their menu and cook them up for you within three minutes of sitting down. Impossible for me to avoid the food subject I guess. Anyway, I'll post some of those pictures next time.

And since it is Notre Dame weekend, Go Blue!

Sorry for the long delay - it's been a pretty busy week. I've moved into a new apartment with a roommate, Dan, who's currently an M.A. student at George Washington in D.C. The apartment is huge and only about $40 a month more expensive than the dorms - well worth it, in our opinion, for two full baths, large private rooms and 24 hour hot water. We're on the 16th floor just south of Qinghua, not much farther from class than the dorms were.

Speaking of class, I took the most intensely difficult test of my life as placement for the program. I found myself unable to answer a single question on entire sections. I placed into the "lowest" classes offered here, which are thankfully about the equivalent of a review and extension of fourth year Chinese at Michigan. Since each unit only lasts for 8 weeks and then we move on to "higher" classes, I think this will be fine. Three hours of class with three total students in the room, then one hour of class all by my lonesome :) So I'm looking forward to that starting on Monday.

Anyway, the cafe where I'm getting internet access is about to close so I need to head out. Remember the Bridge Cafe on Chengfu Lu if you ever need a good panini in China and complimentary wireless access.

Orientation starts tomorrow at 8am. A light week overall except for 2.5 hours of placement exams on Tuesday.

I rode my bike today to the Olympic stadium, or at least I would have if it hadn't broken on me 3/4 of the way there. With the rear wheel wobbling about an inch off center I parked it and walked the rest of the way.

Nothing you haven't already seen on TV. It was cool in person though. I couldn't get too close since the security checks were obviously all closed, but perhaps I'll try again when the Paralympics are on. The whole area around the stadium is just these huge (and, today, empty) boulevards with newly planted trees up and down. Very attractive.

Check out the blue sky! It was absolutely beautiful today. Not sure why it was so nice, but it was like being back in Kalamazoo.

Here's a comparison shot from my dorm room (see below). Notice how you can actually see the mountains north of the city when the haze is gone.

Anyway, this wraps up my pure leisure time, at least until our first break in October. Oh, and to finish the story, I took the bike back to the guy I bought it from and he fixed it up better than when he first sold it to me for free. The bikes are so few in Beijing that the nice wide bike lanes most roads have are pretty empty except at rush times, but it's still a great way to get around. Just keep in mind that, if you legally can go, you go no matter what and everyone just avoids each other. Stopping and waiting for somebody, whether car, bike or pedestrian, confuses things - just steer to go around them so neither of you lose speed. 

My sweet bike, with lock in the front basket.

So that's all for now. I took some time to walk around the old Qing Dynasty gardens here on campus which was very beautiful, but I think I need to look into a Flickr account or something so that this blog doesn't become one giant online photo album. I'll keep picking some here and there though to post on this site. Here's a decent one:

Still water at the edge of the gardens.

P.S. A tear for the not wholly unexpected Michigan loss, but a toast to many more TDs from Mr. McGuffie.

A couple anecdotes and then something more serious. Also, if you have your own website or blog I'd be happy to link to it from here. Just let me know.

I'm standing in the Tianjin Natural History Museum, looking at a display about whales. Just like in the US, they have some nice illustrations along with placards (in Chinese, of course) describing the animals, where they live etc. As I stand and read as much as I can on one of these placards, a man who I think must have worked at the museum runs up to me.

*Him, in Chinese*  "Whoa, you know how to read characters?"

*Me, in Chinese* "Well, yeah I can read but not too well."

*Him* "Whoa! You know how to speak Chinese?!"

Second, I've gotten to see Ben Homnick and his girlfriend Jia Shan twice here which has been really great. We've eaten Indian food, gone bowling and ice skating, and played cards a couple time. We taught she and her friend Yalin how to play euchre, which to their credit went more smoothly even with our translation issues than it usually does with freshmen at summer orientation. I also rapidly learned the names for each of the suits and the verbs "to play (a card)," "to pick up (a card)" and "to deal," which is about as much as I remember from any given week's lesson of Chinese class. Awesome. I also described "super" something-or-other as "supermarket" something-or-other, ensuring that I will never mistake "chaoshi" for "chaoji" again. 

Finally, in the political realm, I thought Thomas Friedman's article this week was really worth reading. What he says is, in my limited experience (210 mph train ticket for $8) true. You can draw your own domestic political conclusions - and I'd be interested to hear them! I happen to agree with his.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/opinion/27friedman.html?em

Another batch of pictures, this time from the Qinghua University campus. Classes start next week (Sept. 1st) after which I imagine my time to take pictures and write about them will decrease - if there's anything you want to know more about or see pictures of let me know!  Thanks again to everyone for your posts on this blog.

Brief historical note - Qinghua was founded in 1911 with American support using money that China had been forced to pay to the United States as damages for attacks on Westerners during the Boxer Rebellion. The campus is partly built on the site of the old Imperial summer palace and gardens which were destroyed in the 1800's by the British and French, lending both scenic beauty and some historical baggage to the surroundings. It's about fifteen minutes by cab without heavy traffic to the center of Beijing at Tiananmen Square. Qinghua's tradition since the People's Republic was established in 1949 has been as a premiere science and technology university, but today it is comprehensive with schools of management, law, humanities etc. The enrollment is around 31,000 - compare to about 39,000 at Michigan. Hu Jintao, the current President of the PRC, is himself a Qinghua graduate.

With all that said, on to the pictures!

My dorm is small but comfortable, with air conditioning, a private bathroom and a very small kitchen space with sink and microwave. I'll be adding a fridge this week.

The view from my window, northeast across the elevated rail tracks and some as yet undeveloped real estate towards another district of tall buildings in the distance.

My dorm from outside. No worse aesthetically than South Quad I suppose.

The basketball courts right outside our buildings. These are packed with Chinese in the evenings, though I haven't yet played any thunder and lightning with them.

Heading from my dorm area, which is in the far northeast corner of campus, towards dorms for Chinese students and the center of campus.

A pretty typical tree-lined road through Qinghua.

One of the beautiful canals that runs through the old part of campus. 

A fountain in front of the library with the Grand Auditorium (modeled after that of the University of Illinois) in the background.

Another canal shot after the sun had come out.

Proving that American universities have no monopoly on strange modernist sculpture (though nothing will ever compare to the UMMA mushroom.)

The Grand Auditorium from across the original quad at the center of campus. Noone walks across the quads here at Qinghua, so it's not much like the Diag.

Qinghua hosted some of the Olympic training and event facilities. These blue-shirted volunteers are still here well after the Games are over - presumably until the Paralympics are over as well.

A bit of a "back alley." Just to balance the fountains and canals. It's a real place.

Cyclists heading south on the main boulevard into campus.  The blue line is the Olympic marathon line followed by runners this year.

Looking straight ahead out of the Qinghua south gate and into the concrete canyons of Beijing.

Photos from Tianjin

Finally, some action. And by action, I of course mean pictures. Sorry for the delay - Blogspot formatting is pretty terrible. Click for high-res versions. These were all taken while I was in Tianjin, just south of Beijing. As of today I'm back to Qinghua University and hopefully I'll be able to share pictures of my home campus more quickly than you saw these.

The bridge in Tianjin that leads into Italian district. The river is called the Hai He or Hai River, and runs approximately from the northwest to the southeast with plenty of curves. Mandi's apartment is about a ten minute bike ride south of here.

Me standing on the bridge. Looking at the background, I think riverfront construction might be a big deal these days. Since I walked along the Hai He in 2006 this part of the city has changed completely - from old buildings in various states of decay and demolition with lots of open rubble piles to either new construction or the various new riverwalks. Sweeping away the past, but I'm sure it's hard to argue with a wide, attractively landscaped future.

The old and the new. At one point riding back into Beijing, I realized that every single skyscraper that I could see, covering my entire field of view through the window, was grey and green like this one - an entire skyline under construction.

The famous bicycles of China are becoming less common, though there are still plenty. Mandi and I have become reasonably competent at riding two to a bike on hers over the last couple days.

A statue of Beethoven (bei duo fen) headlines this small, music-themed sculpture garden at the south entrance to the Italian district.

Mandi’s self-photography skills have not lessened in Asia.

Mandi’s sweet bike on the promenade.

We biked through the Italian district, which is to say that Mandi lugged my chubby self for about 10 blocks. Didn’t really stop for picture time, but here is one with both some typical Western-style residences and the ubiquitous “no dropping things with your chopsticks while eating” sign.

The requisite pedestrian retail street. Not quite Shanghai but good for a stroll.

The world’s most intensely fat baby. Sorry she’s a bit blurry - Mandi was pretending to take my picture. The noodles were good but the chicken had a bit too much bone for us newly-arrived Westerners.