Curating Some Photos

I’m planning to enter a photo contest. I’m going over some photos that I think are great, but the longer I look at them, I doubt myself. I always do. But I guess if I love the photos I take, that’s something I guess.

The deadline is in a few days. They charge a fee for entering, but I guess the contest is legit.

You never know if you never try.

Chinese Buffet

I’ve always loved buffets. It’s a good way to try different types of foods without getting too terribly burned. Instead of paying money for one meal (which you may or may not like) you can pay one price and try the pigeon, as well as more familiar fare.

Then, you can always create the most unbalanced meal ever. If you want to gorge on sweet-and-sour pork and nothing else, have at it.

The search for reliable chicken fried rice remains a problem. I found it in Xiamen, but not in Guangzhou or Beijing. Trip Advisor recommended Lunar 8 for the rice. It was okay, but not exactly what I was looking for. I still got full, and the manager was very attentive.

First plate was chicken nuggets, sweet-and-sour pork, and noodles.

Buffets in China are more elegant than their American counterparts. The food will also be more authentic, especially the Chinese selections. It’s common at the better buffets to find a salad bar, dessert bar, and hot food areas.

Plate number two.

One thing you’ll find at Chinese buffets in China is duck. My second plate was more sweet-and-sour pork, duck, and some rice. Duck is super-common here. I never had it in the states, as I associated it more with with ritzier restaurants. It certainly wasn’t available in the grocery stores like it is here. It comes pre-cooked and pre-packaged, and you can grab it at the deli. People have told me about the famous Peking Duck, which I’ve had, and I’ll share that experience on another blog post.

Egg Drop or Egg Flower soup.

Finding Egg Drop soup has been challenging here too. I’m beginning to think that Egg Drop soup is more American than Chinese, just like chicken fried rice seems more American than Chinese. So I was thrilled to find the soup on the menu. Most Chinese soups are more like broth, clear, and with maybe a few veggies thrown in.

Lunar 8 is downstairs in the Fairmont Beijing. Go into the hotel and head down the stairs.

Modern Problems Sometimes Can be Solved with Low-tech Solutions

My Dell laptop is prehistoric by now, but it keeps chugging along. Recently, when I boot it up, a message along the lines of, “hey, we can’t recognize the A/C adapter; therefore, your computer won’t charge” appears. The first time it happened, I got a new adapter, but it wasn’t the right adapter. Silly me for leaving my computer at home. I brought it back and got an adapter EXACTLY like the original one. When I saw the little battery icon do its little pulsing thing, I knew it was charging. Boy, was I relieved.

Well, the blasted thing is doing it again. I went to the internet, because here in Beijing, I have not found my local computer repair/gadget place. I Googled “dell laptop battery won’t charge” or some such, and found a video for a model different from mine, but thought I’d try it. The dude opened up his computer and found the little adapter jack had come loose. He put a piece of cardboard in to keep the jack from moving away from the plug, and it worked. I was hoping this was my problem too. So I held the plug in super-tight, and the little charging icon appeared! Since I have better things in my life to do than push plugs into computers, I came up with a low-tech solution.

Tape. The clear solution.

Of course, the tape looks like shit by now, but the battery icon is right at 100 percent. I have the tools to open my computer, but I just don’t want to.

It’s times like these that make me think maybe I’m not as stupid as I think I am. I am completely reluctant to ask for help from people, because so much of the time, I don’t get it. Or if I do, the “help” is akin to putting one of those tiny Band-Aids on an arterial wound. So I try and figure it out myself. Yes, this can be a huge, time-consuming process, but when you are dealing with doctors who don’t ask questions, and therapists who are more like friends who are paid to listen rather than getting down to the problem, it’s so satisfying when you cure yourself. Or, if you can’t cure yourself, you realize what the hell has been wrong with you for all these years.

If only I could tape myself back together.

The Great Wall, Take Two

I wanted to return to the Great Wall because I knew it would look different in the sunshine. The first time I went, it was overcast. That was fine, at least it wasn’t raining, but it meant my visibility was limited.

The feline welcoming committee. I recognized him from the first time I was there.

Not this time around. It was a beautiful clear day, and I’d left a little bit earlier this time. I found out my toboggan ticket was also my ski lift ticket, and so I rode up the mountain instead of climbing all those steps. I could do it; I’ve lost some weight since moving to China, but I couldn’t go up the steps as quickly as I wanted to. I was glad I’d packed water. I took several breaks going up the stairs. And I don’t know how they accommodate people in a wheelchair. From what I remember, they would have to go up the ski lift, and put the chair in another ski lift.

But I took the ski lift, and it saved a lot of energy. Those a bit scared of heights may not want to do this, but I recommend you bite the bullet, sit down, pull the lap bar down, and enjoy the ride. Your body will thank you.

Take the chair lift up the mountain. Conquer your fear of heights!

What isn’t mentioned in the Great Wall information I saw online was the sheer amount of steps on the wall itself. Maybe some part of the wall have actual ramps, but the section I explored had several steps, and some weren’t consistent. I explored further east this time, and an older woman and I helped each other down some rather steep steps.

Steps, steps, all type of steps. Steep and deep and shallow steps. The ‘wall has steps for everything, for the cats and the people, and everything…

The watchtowers were interesting little buildings. Probably miserably cold in the winter, but pretty nice in the summer, I’m guessing. They don’t have doors, just archways. The construction reminded me of El Morro in Puerto Rico, and it and the Great Wall were built almost at the same time.

Stairway to Heaven? Naaah, just Mutianyu Great Wall east section, between the fifth and sixth watchtowers, if I’m correct.

Getting back was a bit tricky. It’s no problem to get a Didi to take you there. It means a good fare for the driver. But getting back can be worrying. The Mutianyu part is located in a small town that is probably jumping during the summer, but seems like a ghost town during the cooler months. You get the impression the town exists for the GW. The second time I went, the first driver refused to take me to the south part of Beijing. I couldn’t understand why. He said it had something to do with the virus, which I didn’t understand. The second driver didn’t want to go to downtown Beijing, but he took me to the next town where he drove to a bus stop and pointed at the bus number which would take me to Beijing. He was kind enough to wait a while and finally drove off. I got the bus. I don’t have a bus card and I wasn’t sure how much it was, so I put a 5 Yuan note into the money box. I think they thought I didn’t pay, because everyone else had a card, but it was fine. Fare was actually 2 Yuan, which is 28 cents American. It turned out just fine. The bus ride alone probably saved me 100 Yuan or so, maybe more. Once I got to downtown Beijing, I had dinner, then walked around a bit, then took a Didi home.

Looking northwest. That dark thing in the middle of the picture is the shadow of a cloud.
Steps. All. The. Way.
The cats are all right.
Top: I should have stopped to get a snack, just so I could say I ate at the Burger King Mutianyu Great Wall branch, but they were about to close. Bottom: That patch of white in the picture isn’t snow; it’s the town where you board the bus to get to the actual Great Wall entrance.

If you are planning a trip to China when the Virus™ passes and you want to hit up the Great Wall, get in shape first. At the very least, find some stairs to climb. I’ve lost weight, but I had to take frequent breaks climbing the path up to the Great Wall. But once you get to the GW, there are even more steps to navigate, some quite steep. So save your energy and take the cable lift/ski lift up the mountain. Your body will thank you.

Binge and Cringe!

So if you are tired of watching football and A Christmas Story on TBS and you aren’t interested in shopping, feel free to binge watch some of my videos. I’ve included a variety and a brief synopsis of each! Enjoy! Or not…

Steve Aoki did a concert in Xiamen shortly after I arrived. I’m not really a fan, but I couldn’t resist going. After all, when will I have a chance to see him again? Yes, I got copyright claimed. My second-most watched video. View it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K01BaJ0cDpE

My friend Stephaine agreed to be on camera for this one…and I still get a chuckle out of it to this day. Unrehearsed, I thought we were pretty funny in this one. My highest-viewed video. View it here:

What was it like in the very early days of Covid-19 in China? THIS is what it was like. Closed stores, deserted streets and temperature checks. Copyright claimed, because of the James Bond theme. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yarK1uVZFqs

Another Stephaine and Gloria special, I film our journey on the bus to Subway, because we wanted sandwiches. The bus is so cheap in Xiamen—one yuan, or 14 cents American. View it here:

Stephaine bought a bike and decided to ride it back home….and it was a disaster. She fell three times, unfortunately, not on camera. It started to rain (of course) and it was one of those experiences that suck when you are going through it, but ends up being really funny in retrospect. View it here:

One of a few “how to” videos that Stephaine and I did. We rented the bike in the same area where we originally bought her bike, and she suggested that we rent bikes and ride home….which I violently refused. No Stephaines were harmed in the making of this video. View it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfeZrwVDuC0

Stephaine and I made an effort to learn the language. After our tutor canceled a class, we decided to carry on ourselves. Chinese is HARD, yo. But this video is pee your pants funny. View it here:

I made a video celebrating my first year in China. Made up of still photos, I tried to put them together in chronological order to tell a story. The music is my own mash up of “Jump” by Madonna and “West End Girls” by the Pet Shop Boys. I was pretty pleased with my first attempt at combining these tunes. It took longer than I thought. I had to make sure both songs had the same beats per minute and make those adjustments (thanks, Audacity!) then I used a video editing program (Vegas Movie Studio) to take what I wanted from each song. View it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTBZGQ6qJFE

I lived in Guangzhou for a few months, but really didn’t enjoy the experience. I didn’t make a lot of videos there either, so we are skipping to Beijing and the Mutianyu part of the Great Wall, where I slide down the mountain on a toboggan. If you have a thing for bobsledding or luge, you need to experience one of these. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ccYjdSVbho

Another “how to” video featuring just me. I have always had problems walking in high heels, but couldn’t figure out why. I watched a bunch of videos to help, but none of them really worked. Like so much of my life, I’ve had to figure it out on my own. A cool pair of Frye clogs and an online search helped me figure out what I was doing wrong. View it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0FpwIXkfkQ

I have been cooking a lot at home for a few reasons. One is food poisoning. I had it five times my first year in China and literally was afraid to eat. Secondly, where I live in Beijing, there are not a whole lot of restaurants. I’m also trying to save money. Plus, sometimes I want to cook food that isn’t so common here in China. So after learning about the wonders of pumpkin soup (and not wanting to pay $8 a bowl for it, or pay for a taxi to the restaurant which is in the center of Beijing) I went online and found a recipe. It turned out great, so I made a video of my second attempt, which was just as delicious. View it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViOmeABqCZE&t=43s

So far, I have 39 videos of my life here in China. Haven’t suffered enough? Check out Nowaylaowai on YouTube for poorly edited video goodness.

The Cat Wall of China

Yes, I know it is the Great Wall of China. But it is overrun by cats. Really.

Glad to meet you, Chairman Meow!

I chose to go to the Mutianyu section of the wall strictly based on the fact that it has a toboggan run you can slide down from near the top of the wall. Seriously, that was the draw. I’d seen these toboggan runs on YouTube, but had never visited any place that actually had one.

Something I didn’t take into consideration was the hour-long climb I had to do. I should have taken the ski lift up the mountain. I was able to climb all the stairs, but it was an hour of torture. Due to more depression and a change in my work schedule, I’ve spent most of the last week in bed watching YouTube. So to say I was a bit out of condition to climb several hundred steps is a huge understatement. But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself.

I live on the south side of Beijing. It took about an hour and 45 minutes to reach Mutianyu, which is a cute little town that is probably bustling during the tourism season. In early November, it’s a bit quiet. But the Didi (Chinese Uber) took me right to the front gate. I was a bit worried though. The gate and the town itself seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere. Would I be able to get a Didi back? I’ll worry about that later.

I picked a good day to go. It was a Friday, and due to the general gloom and temperature, hardly anyone was there. The downside of that was, the tourism season was over. The Mutianyu location requires you to walk several hundred meters through a sort of pedestrian street lined with tons of souvenir shops and restaurants. Unfortunately, most of them were closed. I’d packed a bottle of ice water and a small container of M and M peanuts. It was sort of a torture to walk past empty restaurants and snack shacks, but I wasn’t all that hungry. What I didn’t realize is that I had to board a shuttle bus to get to the main event. I quickly caught on and followed some fellow tourists to the bus.

American fast food is everywhere. Not in the mood for a burger? Not to worry. Subway and Baskin Robbins awaits at the foot of the Great Wall.

So after a short bus ride, we get to the very tiny town of Mutianyu, which seems to be nothing but hotels and restaurants (mostly closed).

The only other place I have seen so many cats in the wild was Key West, Florida.

So we get off the shuttle bus which stopped right in front of a grocery store, a Subway sandwich shop, and Baskin Robbins. I start walking uphill.

Last year apparently was the 616th anniversary of this section of the wall. It’s rare that you see the 616th anniversary of anything these days.

Back at the first ticket area, I went ahead and bought a ticket for the toboggan slide. I wanted to make sure I had the ticket, because sometimes if you wait and assume you can buy a ticket on site, you’re out of luck. If I had any brains, I would have bought a ticket for the ski lift, instead of climbing what seemed like a thousand steps up the side of the mountain to reach the wall.

All in all, it’s just another 1,000,000 steps just to get to the wall.

I wish I would have taken a photo of the steps I went up. I made a brief video of it, but after a while I was so sick of steps, I guess I didn’t want to be reminded of them anymore. But it was a good day for physical exertion. It was overcast and cool, which made the sweat dripping off my face an interesting contrast to the leather jacket crumpled in my lap. I was struck how quiet it was. I passed maybe six people coming down the steps as I was going up. I took it easy–heart problems run in my family, and my paternal grandfather died on Father’s Day, 1942. I wasn’t about to die on a side of a mountain in China, even though I was reminded every so often by pleasant signs saying to take care of children and the elderly, and to watch out for the steps, which were lacking railings in some areas. It was a hazardous climb to say the least. But I paced myself going up the mountain.

At last!

I was greeted by a section of wall, and after yet more steps, I was actually ON THE WALL. Near Watchtower 6, as a matter of fact.

I should have asked why there were so many cats in the area, but I didn’t.
The Great Wall sort of reminds me of El Morro and San Cristobal in Puerto Rico.
The passageway just to the left of the flag leads to the thousands of steps. And a snack bar and the toboggan slide.

So after I got to the passageway, I turned left and started walking up to Watchtower 6. A trio of kitties were watching it.

Kitties on the watch!

I passed through Watchtower 6 and made it to Watchtower 7 (I think). This particular tower had sort of a rooftop terrace, so to speak. I climbed yet more stairs to check it out.

I would estimate the watchtowers I ventured into are maybe 1200-1500 square feet. They are basically stone houses without doors you can shut.
I like stairs. So I went up. There were remnants of what looked like a room. The walls were maybe a foot high.
And this is what I saw from the top of Watchtower 7.

I got a late start so I didn’t stay at the wall for very long. But now that I know the ropes a bit better, I know what I need to do for my next visit. The toboggan ride was a lot of fun. They had individual toboggans, complete with brakes, so that sort of fulfilled my Olympic bobsled/luge fantasy. And yes, even though there were signs saying “no photos” I DID get some footage going down, but before the end, I did chicken out and stopped the camera. Of course, I got the souvenir photo of me on the sled, because of course I did. At 30 rmb, it was quite a good deal, I thought.

This trip made me realize how freaking HUGE Beijing is. Nearly two hours to go from one side of the city to another is pretty mind-blowing to me. But it was really nice to go to a tourist attraction and not be faced with thousands of people. The gloomy skies seemed appropriate. Castles and castle-like structures don’t make me think of blue skies, sorry Disney. But I was happy that I went, and I think I’ll pay attention to the weather report and do another excursion. And I’ll definitely try to do that ski lift/cable car thing up the mountain. To climb all those stairs during wet/freezing weather would be rather miserable….but a point of pride if I did accomplish it. Beijing usually has a reputation for being dry, so I think I brought my Guangzhou humidity with me, as a teacher at my school said it’s rained more in Beijing these last few months than the entire time he’s lived in Beijing, which is five years.

But I did the wall. I saw a very small part of the wall, but damn, if you are going to build a wall, THIS is how you do it.

The Ice Was Nice

I got to go on a field trip Friday. I’d been warned that it would be “boring.” This was from one of my teaching colleagues who suggested I take some marking along, or something to read. Her class had gone the day before mine was supposed to go. We were going to an ice rink. I was thrilled, but packed our class novel with me in case I really did get bored.

The rink wasn’t the one I’d been to previously. That was on the north side of Beijing. Friday morning, I endured a smelly bus ride (someone or something reeked of cat piss) through south Beijing. The rink we visitied was maybe 20 minutes away, located in a mall. But it wasn’t a mall skating rink—this was gloriously full-sized, complete with Plexiglas shields.

I hadn’t been skating in years. So I was excited. A few of my students asked me if I was going to skate and I said I was. I own hockey skates, but didn’t bother packing them when I left for China. So I rented a pair of skates that fit, but were painfully snug on my bunions. I should have thought to pad them a bit before I left that morning, but I’ve been occupied with other things.

I taught myself how to skate, but I’m no expert. I still don’t know how to gracefully stop, do forward cross overs, or skate backwards. But I surprised myself. After only a few minutes, I felt more comfortable on the ice, and wasn’t clinging to the boards. I dressed just right—jeans over leggings, hoodie over long-sleeved shirts. Everyone else was bundled up like they were competing in Iditarod. One staff member asked me if I’d be warm enough. I padded my tummy and told her my fat would keep me warm. I knew once I got going, I’d be comfortable, if not sweaty.

We arrived at the mall, which was still closed. We climbed up three flights of escalator steps, because no one could be bothered to turn them on. Oh well, it would warm up my muscles before skating.

And no, I didn’t fall. I know how to lace my skates up tight enough for good ankle support. I bent my knees. I kept my center of gravity where it should be. And when I felt tired, I stopped. But being out on the ice tapped something in me. I was actually smiling, feeling the wind on my face as I glided around.

The kids all got plastic chairs to sit on while the instructors told them what they would be doing. The kids also got to push classmates in front of them on the chairs. The chairs were too low for me, but I agreed to sit on something that looked like a red plastic Golden Retriever with a handle coming out of its ass. It was a combination training tool and toy. One person sits on the back of the plastic dog while the person behind pushes. It teaches balance and also gives you a workout, since I was probably the heaviest staff member there. Surprisingly, the student pushing me in the “race” from one side of the rink to the other won.

One of my students who plays hockey had all eyes on him as he zipped around the rink.

I didn’t want to get off the ice. I really had a good time. The students then watched a film about the winter Olympics, highlighting the skating events. Short track speed skating never really caught my attention, as to me it’s NASCAR on ice.

After a lunch that was way too long (and somewhat unpleasant as I encountered the cat piss smell again) we headed downstairs to play land curling. What fun! Fort Wayne has a curling club, and I would have loved to try it, but working seven days a week made me not want to do anything. My students asked me if I wanted to try it, and on my second throw, made a bulls-eye. I was thrilled.

Not my bullseye. The kids sent the stones back before I could take a picture.

I genuinely had a good time, despite the cloud that’s been hanging over my head recently.

It’s KITT from Knight Rider!
You find David Hasselhoff in the strangest places.

One of my fellow teachers was along too, and I got photos of him skating. Back at school in the office, he mentioned how tired he was. I didn’t feel too bad, considering. I think it was the excitement of seeing the sun again, and being out of the school environment, and doing something I enjoy. I will say though, I finally conked out after leaving school around 6:45 p.m. I walked home the long way, since the gate that connects the school grounds to my apartment complex was locked, and got some hamburger out of the freezer. I put it on the counter to defrost, and thought I might take a nap before dinner.

That “nap” turned into a six hour snooze. I got up, put the meat in the fridge, and went back to bed.

It was a good day.