Pollution, Purell, and My First Exam

These past few days haven't been fun. While class isn't quite in full swing (our tutoring has started yet), we had a test this morning at 8am. And as if studying and preparing to go to Yunnan isn't enough work as it is, they decided to give us a homework assignment as well. I suppose that's just one more reason why it's called an "intensive" program. Still, yesterday was also the Lantern Festival (the last day of the 15-day long Chun Jie - Spring Festival), and as such, the last day that fireworks are permitted to be set off in Beijing. So, the city was it again, lighting them off throughout the night. Firemen in typical communist attire ran through the campus (just as they did on the eve of Chun Jie), carrying fire extinguishers to prevent run away fireworks from causing problems. So, if you've ever tried to study during the siege of a city (or possibly the bombing of Dresden), you can imagine what it was like to have to study for a Chinese test during all of this. Now that Chun Jie is over, and even as it was nearing its end, the factories have reopened and the pollution is back. The difference between the "clear" Chun Jie air and the polluted post-Chun Jie air is striking. While the sun had shone bright against a clear blue sky during the holiday, now, during the afternoon, the sky becomes a pale bluish haze, leading to a thick smog at night. And you can feel it in your lungs as well. Last night, after dinner I went out with a flash light, and felt like Luke Skywalker with a lightsaber as the beam showed thick against the air.

So, what have I been up to this week? Pretty much just studying and trying to get ready for my trip to Yunnan. We leave today at 5pm, and I've yet to find hand sanitizer. My Chinese teacher said that anything you can find in America, you should be able to find in Beijing, but I'm not so sure. I've checked several of the expat supermarkets and the local drug stores, and hand sanitizer is no where to be found. You would think that in a city like Beijing, you'd be able to find sanitary products, especially with the number of people who still wear face masks to get away from the pollution and the past threat of SARS. But no. Last night in my exhausted state of studying, I even wrote an angry e-mail to the China distributor of Purell. We'll see if that one goes anywhere. :)

Last weekend we went to the Silk Market to do a little shopping. A few years back, the Silk Market, which used to be an outdoor market, was moved into a 7 story building east of Tian'an men in order to have more "regulation". The scene is like a giant flea market, except each stall has several Chinese people reaching and calling out to you in Chinese-accented English "T-Shirt, T-Shirt, you want T-shirt?--Necklace for your girlfriend--T-shirt--60 kuai", and so on. The sales people aren't afraid to get physical either, grabbing at your arm and bag, and getting in your way to try and force you into their stall. But you just ignore them, most of the time. I tried just making stupid faces at them as I passed, and got the offered price on a t-shirt lowered by 10 kuai without saying a word.

The Silk Market is a great place to go to perfect your haggling skills. Haggling is truly an art, in which I need much more practice, though I've definitely improved. The key is to realize that whatever price they offer you initially is most likely more than 10 times what they paid for it, and if you give them that much you're being a stupid tourist. So, you always return with an offer which may even be below what they paid. So, if they say 600, you say 50. And they look at you like you're crazy, and say 550. And you keep a straight face, and say, no seriously, 50. If you're skilled enough, after a while, you may be able to get the price down to 120. I bought a fake antique-looking Go board, initially offered for 320, for 140 (about $20), but I probably could have gone lower. I also managed to haggle a pair of fake "Diesel" shoes down from 200 to 60, but after trying them on realized that I'd rather not have them fall apart around my feet in the street, even if they were only $9.

At the Silk Market, you can find everything from fake Spyder jackets to fake Rolex's, Oakley's, and Prada bags, and unlike in the States, the fakes look absolutely real, including name-brand tags, and detailed information cards, as if you were at Macy's. But chances are, that Spyder jacket will come apart at the seams on its first black diamond run, and that Rolex will stop ticking after about a month.

On Wednesday, my "day off", I slept in, and then took the bus and subway across the city to Chaoyang to go to Jenny Lou's (an expat supermarket) in my ongoing quest for Purell. Of course, once I got to my destination, I couldn't even find Jenny Lou's, and none of the locals knew where it was. So finally I grabbed a cup of coffee (not bad for Beijing), and hopped in a taxi to Sanlitun (another expat area in Chaoyang), where many of the popular bars and nightclubs are located, as well as another Jenny Lou's, which I thought might be easier to find. Of course, it wasn't. So, I eventually gave up, and went and sat in the Bookworm (a great expat bookstore) for a few hours, and started studying for my Chinese test. The Bookworm seems like a great place to meet other expats. One of my secret vices, and a great way to learn a foreign language or about a foreign place, is eavesdropping. The Bookworm was full of people discussing international business ideas and expat life in China. hěn yǒu yìsī (很有意思 - very interesting).

Well, I only have 6.5 hours till I have to get on the bus to go to the airport for my trip to Yunnan, so I've got to start packing. I'm not going to have access to a computer until I get back (March 5th), so don't expect any posts until then. But I should come back with plenty of stories and photos. So, check back in a couple weeks!