I love you, Sarah

Gini has kindly allowed me to share what she has been writing me.  It's so hilarious that I thought it would be a fun for people to see.  So don't you think you should be snooping around in the US while I'm gone - I know it all!

Some of the highlights from the different updates -

• Reid officially broke it off with Laura. You already knew that.
• Dave and Mary are in NYC at his sister's wedding. Mary did not get a dress from Karen Millen.  Bummer.
• Max's date with ClimberChick went well.  He is proposing a walk around the Esplanade and dinner for Wednesday.  Michael thinks he should do the ICA or a gallery and dinner in the North End instead.  he then wants to do AcroYoga as a third date.  He's still sick as a dog though, so hopefully he'll get over that before he throws her up in the air in some crazy Acro position.
• Michael got sick and yelled at Max for choosing the first week of May for a climbing trip.  We then pointed out to him that he's not in climbing shape anyway, so it's a wash.
• We had snow today in Boston.
  Michael: Is it sticking up there?
  David James Jefferson: No, just bringing back traumatic memories.
• Jess and I hosted a hamantaschen making party for the Jewish festival of Purim.  It's basically an excuse to have brunch and make jam filled cookies.  It was fun!  But we were all sad you weren't there.  Because a party isn't a party without RoseMary . 
• A LOT of people went climbing last night.  We were so many at the Indo that we needed two tables!  Rich was there, and Leslie was there too!  And Keith and A1 and Max and Reid and Michael and Grant and Justina.  Where were you, missy??
  The best part of the night: Murph was top roping a route and he split his pants open at the crotch.  No big deal, right?  Right....except....Murph doesn't ever wear underwear.  So I got to stare up at his brain whilst he finished the route.  Then I ran and told everyone that he split his pants.  
• Max continues to be so very focused on climbing that he announced that he is busy every Saturday for the foreseeable future.  He has started hitting on everyone in sight (especially the skinny hot good climber redhead) at the gym. 
• Reid weighed himself and realized he is over 170lbs. Then he was impressed with himself for being able to climb and still be so fat. He has since stopped drinking beer.
• David Levin has decided to get back into leading. Last night he led a 5.7 and 5.8.  
• We are all very jealous that Glen is coming to see you.  
• Aaron Child has grown a mustache and now looks even more like a sleazy 70's pornstar.
• Michael went climbing twice in a week.  We all died of shock.

Sarah, thank you for being YOU! 

I'm going to bed people.  I don't even know why I'm still up.

Back in Beijing with a big snafu

The Great Firewall of China may have stopped me from logging into my blogger account but it's the Great Wall of the United States that I may have to fight harder with.  For those of you that don't know, I'm not American (surprise) and I don't even have a green card.  Every 3-years (sometimes every year), I need to renew my US work visa to even be permitted to enter into the United States.  The fun part is that they want you to renew the visa outside of the US (such as in Taiwan).  The other fun part is that one needs to schedule for an interview about a month ahead of time.  Well friends, I missed my golden week by 1 week (since I couldn't do it while I was traveling), and so there is a chance I won't be back in the US on time for my climbing trip.

Max is going to KILL ME.  I can hear his RAGING SCREAMS through the core of the earth.  This will also affect two other people (Adrian and Carlos) that we are meeting up with.

But don't fret yet - there is still a chance that I will be back in time.  I am going to try to schedule for an expedited interview so that I can still be back in time.  No guarantees, but there is no point in freaking out at this point.  If this plan fails, plan B would require me to change 4 different flights, which is a shitload of flight.  Only one flight currently has open ticket, and this means that I will have to pay at least $100 per ticket change for the other 3.

The internet connection in Chengdu was slower than I liked, and it caused a lot of pain for me to log on to any type of network outside of China.  Even the work internet was slower over there.  So what else did I do for the last two days?  On my way back from Chengdu I stopped by the city of Xi'an, which is rich in history and definitely worth the visit. 

http://sherisays.wordpress.com/

This was the main reason I went to Xi'an - to see the terra cotta soldiers that were buried underground for more than a thousand years.  Discovered by a farmer while digging for a well in a small village outside of Xi'an in the 70s, what was originally one larger than life terra cotta soldier turned out to be a whole army of them.  The first batch of them were excavated and kept in relatively good conditions, though they claim that the original glaze colors have been lost.  There is still a whole area yet to be uncovered by archeologists.  The new excavation method would try to retain some of the original colors, which is quite an amazing process.  One soldier would on average take about 2 years to excavate, clean and piece together. 

Right next to the terra cotta soldiers lies the tomb of the very first emperor of China Qin.  This guy was a hero and also a tyrant.  He united China during the Warring States Period where there were several regions in China, creating the majority of what is called China today.  To fight the Xiongnu (Iranian, Turks, Mongolians, etc.), he ordered the creation of the first  great wall.  When he died, he was buried in fashion, along with all his favorite concubines, servants, and even some less important relatives (thousands).  A huge mausoleum was built for him, with full size buildings surrounding the large tomb, which took years to complete.  Unfortunately, the buildings were destroyed 2 years after completion by a great fire (this happens a lot in Chinese history), and what is left today is just a mound of earth.

Another famous dynasty that resided in the Xi'an region is the Tang dynasty.  Unlike Qin, Tang was really accommodating of different religions and culture, resulting in a cosmopolitan culture.  Near the center of the city is a large Buddhist Temple from the early period of Buddhism in China.  During this period, a notable monk named Xuanzhang who traveled from Xi'an to India in pursuit of Buddhist scripts along what is now called the Silk Road.  Along the way, he met a lot of people that helped him get to India (along with some bad guys).  His journey took 17 years to complete, resulting in one of the best Chinese classics of all time called Journey to the West.  There is an abbreviated English version called Monkey if you are ever interested. 

Along with Buddhism, there are a lot of Muslims in Xi'an even today from the Tang era.  Their worship spaces look similar to the Buddhist temples, although the writings are different and they do not burn incense.  There are little streets filled with Muslim-owned restaurants serving Halal food, kebabs and so on.  There are women wearing headscarves and men with their caps, right a long with other Chinese without these accessories.

The oldest religion of all of them in China is Taoism, which also has temples all over Xi'an.  This is where Yin and Yang and Feng Shui come from, along with all the crazy superstitions that we Chinese have.  The original text for Taoism is actually not as complicated as what it is today, and quite beautiful.  Supposedly written by Lao Tzu, the Tao Te Ching is a long poetic piece of work describing the basis of "going with the flow."  Very anti-authoritarian, for those of you on that path.  It is one of my personal favorite.

On that note, I will let my fate go with the flow.  If I cannot get to the US in time for my climbing trip, then let it be a lesson for me.  And I can, then it was meant to be ;)

Spicy Sichuan

Photo by Ping

As I was preparing to come back to Beijing from Qingdao last Tuesday night, I got an urgent phone call from my director Tang.  It was late at night, but since I didn't turn off my phone, I guess it was game for him to call.

Where are you at?  He said in a somewhat panicked tone.
I'm on vacation in Qingdao, I said calmly.
President Li [of the company] wants to see you this week, they want you to get to Chengdu ASAP, Tang said.
You should just fly out directly from Qingdao to Chengdu instead of coming back to Beijing, he continued.
How soon are we talking about?  I was just curious.
How about tomorrow morning?  I'll have someone book the flight for you right now.  And he hung up.

Total Chinese business style - and this is how they get ahead of the game.  This is how they catch up to the rest of the world.  While the rest of us are resting, these people are constantly thinking ahead, and working hard to catch up.  While they are industrious, many of them still know how to relax and have a good time.  I got to see it first hand right here in Chengdu.

Chengdunese know what a good life is about.  During the weekends, they gather with their family and friends and head to the outdoors, where they can enjoy a good game of majong or cards.  They don't just play these games anywhere.  They actually get out of the city and visit farmlands to play these games.  Over the years, farmlands has turned into private parks, where there are dozens of tables set up for games.  For a relatively inexpensive cost of a refillable cup of tea, one can sit at their table as long as they want.  They will bring their kids along and let them run off and do whatever they want in the park, while the adults play their games.  Some even bring food along, similar to having a picnic except that there is a game table with chairs instead of a blanket.

Eating street food is another highlight of Chengdu.  Locals and tourists alike love things on skewers.  They are often smothered in hot sauce of some sort.  No matter where you go, people seem to be eating.  Sichuan food is not famous for nothing - their spiciness is well known all over the world.  A 'mild' here is often still considered spicy in the US.  What I didn't know is that a lot of their food is deep fried in oil, including their skewers.  I had the best fish dish in Chengdu today at a fancy restaurant.  It was a white fish so tender and juicy in a broth-like base.  I thought the broth was a bit greasy on the top, only to realize after I ate it that the entire broth was oil. 

Sichuan food is not the only thing that is spicy here.  The women here are also very spicy.  Dressed in short shorts and mini skirts on heels, they will make any Beijinger blush.  Most of them are relatively skinny probably due to their spicy diet.  Since they snack all day instead of eating big meals all the time, it probably also helps.  I noted this observation to one of the colleagues and she told me that Chongqing women dress even hotter.  In the summer time, some women would wear Chinese baby bib as a top (a diamond shaped front with strings tying the back).  I can't find an image online, but you get the idea.

I was also told that over here, the husbands cook for their wives.  My guess is that their love life is also pretty good over here.  How do I know this?  While walking around, I notice a disproportional number of underwear stores.  For every 10 stores, there is 1 underwear store, if not more.  Every store has elaborately decorated bras and undies that make Victoria Secret's selections look sparse.  Have I stirred enough interests for any of you on Sichuan women?  Ready to visit?