West Lake, Hangzhou

My mom and I decided to take a quick trip out to West Lake (Xihu),  Hangzhou.  We took the bullet train and it was about a 2 hour trip.  I didn't know what to expect except for a big lake (obvi), but upon arrival, Xihu is one of the most beautiful, scenic places I've ever witnessed.

The lake it self is encompassed by willow trees.  The water is abundant and calm with reflections of faraway mountains.  It is not surprise that this is a place of "poetic inspiration."

Tee city of Hangzhou also houses many Buddhist temples and landmarks.  The climate is moderate which allows for everything to stay so lush and green!

I would describe this city as serene, inspiring, creative, and romantic.  A perfect vacation for a 2nd honeymoon or anniversary.

"Excuse me, pretty woman." The evolution of how women are viewed in China

I took a very attractive picture at lunch today.  That's me, with a giant fish eye in my mouth.  Hot, I know.

As I was walking to the gym tonight, this woman stopped me and said, "Excuse me, pretty woman, where is Bai Cao Yuan."  I was 1) impressed that I knew where to direct her and 2) thrilled that she called me a "pretty woman."

Turns out, I could've had one eye and missing teeth and she still wouldn't called me "pretty woman."  Here's an evolution of how strangers address each other in China.  I find it quite profound.

During the Cultural Revolution and even years after, everyone was addressed as "comrade [tong zhi]," no matter male or female.  Very telling of such a time of Communism and everyone seen as an equal.

In modern years, as in the years I grew in China, women were addressed as "miss [xiao jie]."  It was polite to say, "Excuse miss, can you tell me..."  Pretty normal, right?  And I would say pretty much on par with the rest of the world.

Well, in recent years, it's now a trend to address women as "pretty woman [mei nu]" and men as "handsome brother [shuai ge er]."  It's a flattering way to address anyone, but it is extremely reflective of Chinese society today: vanity.  Chinese citizens now have money, status and freedom, so they spend a lot of energy on improving themselves.  Makeup.  Clothes.  Gym.  Plastic surgery.  Personal consumption in general is at a peak.  For years, the Chinese people did not pamper themselves like Westerners do, and now they are quickly making up for those unselfish years.

I think this trend is also very relevant to what's going on in Beijing right now, since I can only speak with enough knowledge about that city.  There's simply a shortage of women my age.  And what's my age?  The marrying age.  I think this is definitely because of the former one child policy and traditional male favoritism that led to a lot of suspected female abortions.  But that's another topic all together.  Now, because there's more men than women, men have to have EXTREME favorable conditions to attract any female.  That means owning an apartment, a car, having a good job, and knowing how to pamper the wife by handling domestic duties!  So, I predict that my generation may churn out offsprings consisting of spoiled females.  What a major flip flop in Chinese culture and traditions.  I am excited to watch my predictions come true.  Holla!

One of my favorite moments in China: public dancing

It's no secret that I love to dance.  What I love even more is dancing in public.  Surrounded by old people.

One of my favorite moments would have to be witnessing and participating in public dancing.  Trust me, flashmobs have been around in China for YEARS.  I was reminded of this favorite moment when mom and I walked back from the gym and were greeted with blaring synthesized ballroom music at the front gate of the apartment village.  All of a sudden, everyone (the young, the old, the pretty, the ugly) becomes professional ballroom dancers, gingerly galloping around an imaginary stage.  Some are couples, some are same-sex friends, and some are just alone dancing with thin air.  It's in this moment that nobody gives a shit what others think of them.

Public dancing can be found pretty much anywhere throughout China and it's usually organically organized by the apartment village.  I believe the apartment association even funds the sound system and music.  ME LIKEY!

And that would be the dentist...right behind the butcher shop

I would like a leg of lamb and a root canal please.

MANHOOD

I joined a gym in Changzhou because I'm going to be here for a while and there's not much to do around here.  The gym is the only one available in the area, and it's called, I shit you not, Manhood.  The Chinese name for it loosely translates to "a place for fitness," but Manhood?  Not sure where that came from.

The gym is quite small but has all the necessary equipment.  They offer some fun (and funny) classes at night including yoga, belly dance, step, aerobics, and my favorite, "traditional Chinese dance" where we literally fanned out our fingers for a good 10 minutes.

The people are the gym are pretty interesting, too.  They're all young professionals.  The guys swarm the weights section and the women are on treadmills...in turtleneck sweaters.  I'm not sure if they're trying to pass out from heat exhaustion.

And the price?  Pricier than a regular 24 Hour Fitness or Crunch.  I'm not sure how they're able to get away  with it considering every class I've been to has been no more than 5 people.

What I do love about the place is that the room for group classes is extremely ideal for dancing.  I've already talked them into letting me use it during the day for my own stuff.  I've been working on some choreography that I plan on teaching either here or back in the U.S., so I'm excited to have the space to do that!

Lost in translation: I love my seafood fashionable

Kim Jong Il; Chairman Mao

A friend on Facebook posted the above video of North Koreans crying hysterically over the death of their leader, Kim Jong Il.  Watching the video reminded me of stories my parents told me about the death of Chariman Mao.  I  had to ask them again; they vividly remembered that day as everyone weeped uncontrollably when they found out about Mao's death.  My mom described it as if a family member had passed away.  She said one of the sayings they repeated in school was, "There's your mom's love, there's dad's love, but no love compares to Chariman Mao's love."  Talk about a dictatorship!

In light of today's technology and social media, I find it much easier to influence the masses because as a public figure (i.e. celebrity), you can choose to be deeply woven into everyone's lives even if you don't know them, through Twitter, Facebook, etc.  People develop connections with figures who they can relate to or who have changed their life in some way (I'm thinking of Steve Jobs here).  However, in the era of Chairman Mao, there was no such thing as social media, or advanced technology.  There were fear tactics, concealing the truth...but how was he able to create actual feelings?  Somehow, Chinese citizens welcomed him as a beloved family member.  Dictatorship aside, I still find what he accomplished pretty damn impressive.

[Disclaimer: I am not a Communist.]

Lost in translation: That's why I love the taste of this tea

What happens to a fish fugitive?

It's the first to be slaughtered, duh.

[NOT PETA-FRIENDLY]

The great thing about being in Changzhou is the plethora of fresh seafood.  We can literally buy live fish right downstairs from the apartment building.

Name that fruit!

Lost in translation: Where does the bad go?

Lost in translation: Pretty sure that's not espresso

Lost in translation: Frozen bugs?

Chinese eating traditions and customs = EXHAUSTING

One of the things that I love and hate about my Chinese culture is the traditions/customs.  I love it because it's fed from a rich history that stems back thousands of years.  I hate it because I find it irrelevant to modern society and at times very stressful.

As someone who did not grow up as an adult in China, you can probably understand my frustration of leaving this country as a child and being expected to behave like a child and coming back now as an adult and being expected to behave like a Chinese adult.

Case in point: we go out to dinner with some of my dad's colleagues.  Now, American culture is very...for a lack of a better word...selfish.  You order your own food, you sit wherever you want, you talk about whatever's on your mind, and then you pay for yourself (most of the time).  In Chinese culture, going out to dinner with non-family members is like putting on a full production:

- GIFTING: You never show up empty handed, especially if you go over to someone's house.  Usually, fruit and high-end tea are the norm, but as a family coming back from the US, American gifts are expected, such as nuts (I'm not sure why), dried fruit, and a recent popular phenomenon, Coach purses.

- REVERSE GIFTING: Because the "hosts" know the invitees will bring gifts, there's a tradition of reverse-gifting, where they'll also gift the guests.  These gifts usually consist of something for the women or the children of the family - toys or silk scarves seem to be the norm.

- REPEAT GIFTING: As if that wasn't enough, you have to keep track of what you gift to each person because you never want to repeat the same type of gift.  I swear my mom has an excel spreadsheet in her head to keep track because   she'll know like clockwork, "can't give them nuts, we gave them that last time.  Dired fruit it is."

- SEATING: Now that we finally have the gifts in order, how about we sit down?  Oh no, you can't just sit anywhere you want.  The "guest of honor" or the eldest guest sits at the head of the table.  If the head of the table is not exactly clear, then the most desirable seat is the seat that is farthest away from door, clear of all traffic.  The seat is not the most complicated part, the most complicated part is who should sit there.  There's usually a "fight" for who should sit there because everyone's too "humble" to take the spot.

- TOASTING & POURING: This is where I tend to screw up the most.  The youngest at the table is suppose to pour for everyone else at the table, whether it be tea or wine.  The youngest adult is also suppose to toast the guests - saying pretty things like, "To a healthy and young forever."  I don't know how to say those things in Chinese, so I always just end up saying, "Happy Holidays" even when it's not the holidays.

- OVER ORDERING: This is the fun part.  This is where you try to make everyone as fat and bloated as possible.  As the person who is designated to order (usually the host), his/her job is to over order so that everyone ends up with Diabetes.  You have to follow a formula of ordering a little bit of everything: fish, meat, cold dishes, hot dishes, a soup, noodles, and fruit.  Everything is served family-style and most likely, not vegetarian-friendly.  There's not usually a habit of ordering a dessert at the end, but trust me you wouldn't have room for dessert anyway.

- FIGHTING TO PAY: I wish I could create a musical for the way Chinese people fight for the tab.  The fact is, everyone genuinely wants to pay.  There's no such thing as the "fake reach."  So at the end of the meal, while everyone's already stressed and bloated, the tension builds as the check comes and everyone tackles it like a football.  There's usually some polite tugging and pleas of why they should pay ("I'm paying because you're my guest."  "You can't pay, you're my boss."  "Let me pay, I picked this restaurant").  Oy vey.  Someone does always prevail and everyone breathes a sign of relief.

Let me tell you, this is just half of it.  There's other things like, how the head of the fish has to face the eldest person.  There's a specific order in which the tea should be poured.  Etc etc, the list goes on and on.  And frankly, it's so irrelevant today but still expected to some degree.  I love to eat, but not when we raise the red lantern and revert back to the Tang Dynasty.

My new favorite snack: Caplico Green Tea Wafers

I stumbled upon this yummy little snack while perusing the local grocery store.  It literally tastes like green tea ice cream, but it's not frozen.  Perfect winter snack.  Now who wants to help me smuggle an obscene supply of this to the US?

Christmas in China

I'll be the first to admit that it's sometimes depressing to celebrate the holidays with just the 3 of us.  My mom and I are currently in Changzhou, China where my dad is for business purposes.  Our extended family is in Beijing, which is still a 10 hour drive away.  I've often envied people with big families on Christmas Eve - crying babies, affectionate aunts and perverted uncles.  A big, dysfunctional family is a lot better than no family!

But, to make up for the lack of "noise" this Christmas, we had a delicious Christmas dinner, complete with chicken feet and Santa Claus.

In recent years, Chinese people have really gotten into the whole Christmas tradition, for non-religious reasons.  Many participate in decorating a tree and gift-exchanging.  When we went out for the dinner, the restaurant was completely full of people celebrating the spirit of Christmas.  All the waitstaff wore Santa hats and there were Christmas lights throughout the restaurant.  Although I doubt any of them could tell you about the history of Christmas, they sure enjoy the festivities!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Lost in translation: Let the funny Engrish begin!

One of the best parts about being back in China is catching all the funny English translations in public places.  I found all these gems all in one day here in Changzhou, China!

Going to Asia for the holidays!

This year, I decided to do an extended stay in Asia and hit all the major holidays: Christmas, New Year's and most importantly, Chinese New Year's.  As much as I was excited to have an "exotic" holiday season, I was a little bummed to not spend New Year's in NYC in I think 5 years!  To make up for it, I had to pull an all nighter with my dance crew before taking off on my 6:40am flight.  A flight that involved a stop in Chicago, LA, and then Shanghai.  Yikes!

General thoughts on Israel: My need for an ACT V

My mind is racing so I'm just going to list out my thoughts:

- I think the Dead Sea made my hair extra curly!  Why won't anybody believe me?
- I could've skipped Tel Aviv and went straight to Jerusalem.  I love places that are very "different" and Jerusalem was just what the doctor ordered.
- Overall, I preferred Israel over Turkey.  I found the people to be more pleasant (with the exception of our lovely friend Dogan in Istanbul).
- I would highly recommend studying up on Israeli history before going.  I regret not doing that and just felt like a dumb dumb in most of the places I went to.  I did all of my studying afterwards, but now am itching to revisit the places with my new found knowledge.
- Why don't other countries offer Birthright trips like the Israelis do.  Especially seeing how many immigrants there are in America, it would be nice for these kids (including myself) to go back to their respective countries and be educated about the cultural, political and social aspects of their roots.  So jealous of my Jewish friends!
- When I mentioned I was going to Turkey and Israel to my friends, many of them questioned why I chose Israel.  Honestly, I had never thought about visiting Israel as it was never top of my list.  But now having been, I am so glad that I did.  Israel had everything that satiated my different travel needs: scenery, history, culture, food, and most importantly, an Act V.

In any Shakespearean play, the last act, aka Act V, provides the "surprise" element after the good guys have already won.  I feel like every country I've been to has gone through the first 4 acts: conflict, suspense, bad guys take over, good guys win.  And I find that in most of these countries, their story rests at Act IV.  The country is "complacent" where they are now that the "good" guys won.  Cambodia is a prime example.  The country has been through years of turmoil and poverty and now that it's a rising tourist attraction (could it have anything to do with Angelina Jolie and Tomb Raider??), the country rests still. Without much conflict.

Maybe I'm a sadist, but I enjoy going to countries with conflict.   I feel that Israel is a country that does not have a clear "good guy" or "bad guy" and operates on a daily basis with opposing religions, cultures, and ideologies co-existing in a country the size of New Jersey!  Epic battles have been fought but what has been won?  It's fascinating to watch a country that is evolving, molding, and shifting every day.

That concludes my adventures to Turkey and Israel.  Next up? Asia for a month.  Countries TBD.

Discovering Islamic television and my endless questions

On our light back to the states, I grabbed a copy of The Jerusalem Post.  I've always been complacently aware of the violent animosity between the Islamic and Jewish communities but did not fully realize how the it is a daily struggle for all Israelis.  In one of the articles, the author mentioned something about Hamas Children's television brainwashing kids to take on the same level of hatred for the other people who share their country, namely the Jews.

I don't want to get too much into this as I don't feel educated enough to share any info or opinions.  I do, however, am perplexed at how these two opposing religious groups are able to live in such close proximity to each other all these years.  I mean, just look at the Old City.  Muslims and Jews literally live NEXT to each other.  How?  Why?

Anyway, I thought I'd at least share some of the aforementioned videos I found on Youtube.  They use a Mickey Mouse-like character, Farfour, as the hero, and at the end of the series, he is seen beaten to death.

Takin' it easy in Tel Aviv; last day in Israel

We headed back to Tel Aviv after Mount of Olives and took it easy that night and the next day.  We...
1) Gorged on delicious falafel sandwiches
2) Went grocery shopping
3) Tasted fried sushi for the first time (it was good, but the fish flavor was definitely lost)
4) Went shopping for colored pants w/ skinny belt (all the Israeli women were wearing it!)
5) Watched 2 "street performers" make out and still wondering what it was all about
6) Indulged in confusion about the abundance of seemingly abandoned buildings in Tel Aviv
7) Chuckled at a Hebrew-speaking GPS
8) Treated ourselves to a nice Italian dinner at Radio Roscoe, might have been the best truffled pizza I've ever had
9) Stood in awe of the amount of rainfall this time of the year
10) Watched my dad try on a yamulke (no pic posted because he would kill me)

With that said, Israel, you've been mesmerizing, enticing, aggravating, and intense.  Next time I come back, I hope to visit Eilat and (maybe) give the Dead Sea a second chance.  Maybe.

Israel Shekels confuse me

In the pic below, you will find 50 agorots (like cents), 10 shekels (like dollars), and 10 agorots, in that order.  Head scratcher for sure.

Our driver goes bananas

I can't say enough nice things about our driver.  He showed up in the morning with water and Israeli snacks, and stopped between Jericho and Mount of Olives to buy us 2 bags full of bananas and apples local to Jericho.  Such a nice, nice man.  If he wasn't adamant about not taking on a 2nd wife, I might have put my name in the running.

J/K.

Not really.

No seriously.

Jericho and Mt. of Olives

We made a quick drive through of Jericho, the alleged oldest inhabited city in the world.  Not much to do or see there other than the sign that everyone hovered around.  After a hot second there, we hopped back into the van and made our way to the Mt. of Olives, a must-see destination for all tourists because it gives you a great unobstructed view of Jerusalem.  Absolutely gorgeous, although seeing the prominently placed Dome of the Rock still reminded me of not being able to go inside of it.  What a
bummer.