Who Am I?

According to The Chinese, I resemble:

Tiger Woods
Will Smith
Barack Obama
and...
Michael Jackson (I'm assuming they mean a young Michael)

Mama

As students in the Chinese language program, we are all assigned Chinese families with which we spend time. Lately, I have spent time with my "Chinese Mama" as she styled herself. Not only did we go to museums with her but we also acquired cooking skills.

One night we had a sumptuous meal consisting of dumplings (pictured above), which I helped to make, and many other dishes that I am unable to name.

Another night we had traditional noodles: 炸酱面 zhajiangmian (pictured above). They were scrumptious!

Exploring Beijing

The past week has been a whirlwind, I have gone to dozens of famous places in Beijing- countless temples and myriad museums. At the risk of sounding euro-centric and blasphemous I would like to say that in my mind, Chinese temples seem to all resemble one another. Although the tour guide never fail to insist that each temple has distinct architecture. However, I do appreciate their history and cultural significance.

Additionally, I further reconnoitred the Beijing club scene. Admittedly, my friends and I only patronized bars catered toward foreigners as local bars can be quite dangerous. I have found that American students, typically inebriated, are usually demarcated by their scurrilous denouement. Conversely, sometimes Chinese patrons at bars can be slightly and aggressive (borderline pervy).

Food For Thought

I saw these signs in a restaurant and wanted to share them with you all!

Summer Palace

Today I went to the summer palace. It was enormous, and I think that its grandeur really speaks to China's immense wealth during some of the imperial dynasties. As always, it was ridiculously tiring which was made worse by the fact that I am currently sick. Above are a few pictures. To see a more exhaustive collection of photos, please visit:

http://picasaweb.google.com/115246050986604787344/CHINA