Was it a green Olympics?

Check out this story I did for GroundReport.com.

Bye bye Beijing

By the time you read this, I am probably on my way back to the U.S. I've had an incredible time here and am a little sad to leave. I've seriously considered living here long term and I think this trip has solidified my decision.

Beijing is like a prepubesent kid who is growing faster than his body can handle. So many things have changed in Beijing that locals don't even know how to get around. In the past year, shopping malls, restaurants, bars, and tourist attractions have popped up faster than Hollywood divorces. And what happens to a kid that grows too fast? Hormone inbalance and mental instability. I feel like that's the state that Beijing is in right now. It's still balancing the ancient and the modern, the old and the young, and the right and the wrong. What a great time to watch Beijing grow up.

When I get back to NY, I will post all the pics and videos that I didn't have a chance to upload. I promise!

Meet: Siji

I met this nice cab driver on my way to meet up with Joe and company for karaoke. Driver in Chinese is Siji, so I will call him Siji.

(I must preface this by saying that in China, it is considered beautiful to be pale and "odd" to be tanned.)

Our conversation went a little something like this:
Siji: Where are you from?
Me: Beijing. Can't you tell?
S: You sound like a Beijinger but you don't look it.
M: Why, because I'm dark?
S: But an unusual dark. Bronze dark. I've never seen that color before. I didn't think it was possible.
M: This is how I get when I go outside. I get tanned easily.
S: Why don't you cover up? Wear long sleeves? Carry an umbrella?
M: Because it's so hot I could faint.
S: You wear too little clothing. But I guess if you get dark, you get dark. It's natural beauty.
M: I live in America where it's good to be tanned.
S: But Americans are all so pale!
M: Because they can't tan as easily.
S: What do you do in America?
M: I work in advertising (I hate telling people I'm an actor because then I have to explain everything I've done and frankly, nobody really cares about that one time I was on TV hosting that one thing about that one event)
S: Advertising? That sounds so easy. I've thought about advertising a lot. I come up with great ideas. It's so easy. I come up with things while eating watermelon. How much do you make a month?
M: A million dollars.
____________________

I love having conversations with cab drivers in Beijing. They love to chat because they're so bored all day sitting in traffic. Also, they may know where everything is but have never been inside anything. They love to inquire about the different places I go to. If you get a chance to go to Beijing, try to have a conversation with a cab driver (some speak excellent English).

I got mooned

Hehe, I couldn't help myself. Parents love putting their kids in these (not crotchless but...) buttless pants. It provides easy access for doing the #2 and it keeps the kids cool during the hot, humid days. I'm not going to lie. I used to rock these when I was little.

Squat. Go. Play.

Farm food

Our new apartment in Beijing is a little far out there...kind of like how I consider Queens. So, when we had family over to visit, we had to get creative in finding a restaurant. While exploring some of the small streets, we found this restaurant on a cherry farm. They offered authentic "nong jia fan" with an array of meats and veggies. My favorite was the Chinese tortillas (lao bing) that they made from scratch.

The food was overall very fresh which meant they grew their own produce as well as life stock. So, I was a little disturbed to see the rabbits and ducks roaming around the farm that would eventually end up on someone's plate. And the rabbit fur that was hanging on the wall. Or the 8 dogs that they claimed to be their pets.

Trendy girl/mannequin

This girl depicts some of the major trends among the young and trendy in Beijing. Long, thick, blunt bangs. Brassy orange hair. Loose wave perm. Pale, caked on makeup.

The goal is to look like a mannequin, or as plastic as possible. I went shopping with my cousin Chen Chen and we were startled by 2 girls who we thought were mannequins. We sat right next to them and they started moving and talking.

I guess beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.

Shit(s) Happens

It is true that a number of people experience The Shits (TS) when visiting China. This could be caused by a number of factors including change in environment, ingredients, water, soil, or cooking style. But eventually the shits go away and you're able to fully enjoy all that authentic Chinese food has to offer.

In fear of TS, the US Olympic team has brought their own food and rented out a cafeteria at Peking University (Beida) for their athletes. Although I understand that TS may not be so timely when you're diving or jumping hurdles, I still find it a shame that these athletes have come all this way and not to experience such great food!

My suggestion for visitors is to slowly ease yourself into Chinese food when you visit China. Start with one small meal of Chinese food and 1-2 meals of food you're used to (you can always trust a McDonald's or Pizza Hut). Then, work your way up to 2 meals of Chinese food/day. By day 4, you should be able to have one grand meal without any stomach troubles.