Teddy Ballgame and the Case of the Curious Cough

During his three-day birthday party junket, Ted was coughing up a storm. We all chalked it up to just general unhealthiness due to sustained all night partying, but he wasn't able to sleep at night because the coughing was so intense and strong. We finally convinced him to go to the hospital, which proved to be an interesting adventure.

In China there are two levels of hospital--foreigner level, where the doctors have studied in America or some other industrialized country, the staff speak English and they charge Western prices or you can go to Chinese hospital, which is about what you would expect. Decent care if you are getting a basic service, no English and cheap, cheap, cheap! Ted called the Western hospital first and they wanted to charge him $200-450 for a consultation plus whatever services he required. What a rip off! He decided instead to brave the Chinese hospital and took one of our Beida office staff with him for assistance. Turns out he made the smart choice. He only paid 250 yuan total for his visit, which included consultation, chest X-ray plus prescriptions along with a diagnosis of lung infection. He got to keep his chest X-ray, which we eagerly inspected at the Bridge. I'm no doctor, but I've watched enough episodes of House, Grey's Anatomy and ER to diagnose a lung infection. His lungs were cloudy looking and full of what looked like spidery grit. Ick!

Ted is well on his way to recovery, he sounds great and is having less coughing bouts. They gave him two courses of antibiotics, so I told him to eat some yogurt to get some good bacteria back into his system. So far our group has not been the healthiest, so far we've had:

-Ted's lung infection
-David's kidney stone
-Nikhil's viral infection that required IV treatment
-Jenn went to the hospital last night for some kind of stomach issue, not sure what it was but she's out now (EDITED: It was acute pancreatitis)
-Laurie's knee is injured, but she's kind of a hypochondriac so I'm not sure what's up with that
-Various diarrhea/GI/upset stomach issues
-Phlegmy-ness thanks to Beijing

Accounting Quiz: I Call Shenanigans!

This morning we were supposed to have an accounting quiz from 9-10am. There was some confusion about where we were supposed to go to take the quiz, as the professor (who is teaching it online from Glendale) told us to go to our classroom on the Beida campus, but we were trying to explain to the professor that about 2/3 of the class has not signed up for internet access in the classroom, as it is through Beida and costs 100 yuan. To further complicate matters, those who did sign up for internet only had the chance to sign up yesterday, and that signup time conflicted with beginners Chinese class so some people weren't able to complete their signup.

Professor Peterson, the accounting professor, seemed to be having a major disconnect--despite the fact that several of us repeatedly explained that we don't have internet in the classroom and don't care to pay extra to sign up for it (especially when we have free internet in the hotel and at a nearby Starbucks), he still kept telling us to go to the classroom. The last posting on the class board from him said that he had worked out with Donny that a Beida representative would be in the classroom to walk us through the internet setup.

Jess and I took a cab to the classroom so that we would have extra time to study in our hotel room. The cab cost 10 yuan. We got to the room and it was packed with students. Our classroom fits everyone, but just barely, and you have to sit right next to someone else at a table. The situation is not optimal for taking a quiz in the slightest. Jessica and I purchased a power strip at an electronics store so that we could both plug in during class and I'm glad we did--there aren't enough power plugs to go around in the classroom for 35 people to all be plugged in and charging.

We sat around for about ten minutes but no Beida proctor showed up. Everyone was talking and complaining, so it was very loud for the few students who had internet and opted to start the quiz. Hunter Kim, one of my classmates, finally called Professor Peterson over Skype and explained the situation. Peterson, who was still operating under the extreme misapprehension that we would 1) have a proctor and 2) have internet access proposed the following ridiculous solution to the problem:

Students currently with internet (9) finish the quiz, students without internet go and wait in the hallway until they are done, and then let those waiting use their computers to finish the quiz.

As you might imagine, there was a near riot when everyone heard this. We eventually talked him into extending the time the quiz would be available online and letting us go home to take the quiz either at the hotel or Starbucks. His rationale for forcing us to be in the classroom was that he wants to cut down on cheating as the quizzes are closed book, closed notes. However, his logic is flawed because with all of us crammed into one room, cheating would be very easy since everyone can see the computer screens of those sitting in front of them. Furthermore, Thunderbird has an honor code that we all signed, so what is the point of having an honor code when we aren't trusted to uphold and enforce it? Our Regional Business Environment: Asia exam is being administered online and is also closed book, closed notes, and yet Professor Goddard trusts us to be able to do this on our own, online, and not crammed into the classroom.

To use accounting language, the cost of the internet is 100 Yuan, and we have three quizzes left. That means the activity cost of each quiz is approximately Y33.33. That's a pretty decent meal at a nice restaurant. If we factor in the indirect overhead costs of transportation and the power cord, it's approximately Y75 per quiz. RIP OFF!

Some students are planning to email Professor Peterson and discuss the issue with him, hopefully he will see reason and let us take the damn quizzes from home. Some are also proposing that he score this quiz as optional (if it helps our grade, leave it in, if it hurts our grade, take it out) since it was such a disaster this morning to administer.

New "This is China" update: I just got a phone call from Mike Logan who went to the police station register himself as a foreigner renting a apartment in Beijing. He had to go with his landlord, who presents a special landlord ID to the police in order to register his tenants. It's very typically bureaucratic. However, it turns out that as an alien renting an apartment, Mike was supposed to register within 24 hours of signing the lease! He wasn't fined (although he could have been fined 500 yuan for ever day he neglected to register) but he did have to sign a form that acknowledges he violated Chinese law, essentially a warning. Yikes! I myself had to register through the hotel, but since I'm not renting it's less of a panic for the local precinct. This is China!

Where Few White People Tread

On Friday night Mike Logan and I decided to get the heck out of dodge and avoid the T-bird crew, who were planning a Karaoke night. Before anyone starts busting out the kindergarten rhymes (i.e., Mike and Ginger sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G), let me just point out that he is married and we joke that we are "older brother, younger sister" since he is half Asian as well (Taiwanese to be exact). We are both here trying to practice our Chinese so we can pass Thunderbird's language requirement, so we figured that a night out with the locals would help with that.

Mike has this great guide book to Beijing, called the Beijing Insider's Guide. It listed a couple of cool clothing stores that we decided to check out. The first one was called simply The Thing, or Dongxi in Chinese. It was in the Xidong district, which is south of where we are living in Haidian. It is located in a brand spanking new mall, called Joy City. Since it is full of every kind of shop you could ever imagine, Joy City is an appropriate name! Each floor has a funny name, like Youth, Anarchy, etc. The Thing was interesting, but had US style prices so we did not buy anything--they carry unique t-shirts, hats and sweatshirts all with urban modern graphic design styles on them. Very similar to www.threadless.com type stuff. We wandered around Joy City just taking fun pictures of the stores, all of which were shiny, new and brightly colored/lit.











Afterwards we decided to check out the Huayuandonglu area, which Mike had been to already with a local friend. He promised me that there would be delicious food, and no white people, which was music to my ears. We had a fun adventure asking where the subway is, but we didn't know how to say subway. First we asked where the "huoche" was, as that means train, but the man we asked didn't know. Then we showed him the subway map that Mike had and he said "Oohhhh, ditie", which means subway. Great, now I'll never forget it. The subway ride took about an hour, because we had to go around a slightly long way and change trains twice. We exited the subway and then had to walk a ways down a dark side street to get to this little area where there definitely were no white people--heaven! Even though it was about 10:30 at night many restaurants were open and had a few tables of patrons. We bought a stick of "beef" from a guy grilling it on the street (he added this local chili spice and it was yummy) for 1 Yuan. It turned out to be mostly fat, but it was still yummy since we were very hungry. We picked a restaurant that was pretty crowded and were amazed to find they had an English menu, with decent translations and nice pictures. We ordered a bunch of vegetarian food plus some pork congee and two bottles of beer. The total came to only US$10. The standout dish was fried string beans with Sichuan peppercorns, which make your mouth go numb in a lemon spicy kind of way--really unique!





After the eating adventure we went to a cafe for some green tea, which was served in a nifty little glass teapot with as many refills as desired. We caught a cab back ($15 spent on cabs--the whole night, what a bargain!) and went to bed around 1:45am. It was later than I wanted, but I was excited to try new foods in new areas of Beijing. While we were walking around the place we saw a lot of barbershops, but I suspect they were brothels, because there were only chairs and no hairstyling equipment, and just a few bored looking girls in heavy makeup looking outside at passers by. Interestingly there were also real barbershops next to the fake ones, which was funny (you could tell the real ones because there were people in there actually getting haircuts). We also saw some tents on the street with people inside eating what appeared to be dumplings, so they must have been some kind of illicit restaurant. We definitely want to come back to try those places, which we have termed "Expert Level Chinese Dining Only". That will likely be in a few weeks!

Adventures Via Bike and at Student Canteen #5

We had our first full day of classes today, Regional Business Environment: Asia with Professor Goddard (whom I had last trimester for Global Political Economy). Class actually went decently fast, Goddard was generous with breaks and we discussed the Susan Shirk book in the afternoon. We broke down into smaller groups to present certain chapters from the book and my group had the Japan chapter. It was pretty interesting and our summary provoked a long discussion. The gist of our thesis was that while Japan has not been helpful in refusing to properly acknowledge and take responsibility for their atrocities, China has not been helpful in their petty squabbles directed at China, which I chose to represent in doodle form as China blowing a big international raspberry at Japan.

At lunch Franklin took us to the student meals office to get our meal cards set up. For 10 yuan plus whatever you want added you get a special card that is usable in any of the student canteens on campus. The food is subsidized by the government so it's incredibly cheap. Franklin also said he'd take us to the cafeteria afterwards, but in what was not a shocker, there was only one lady at the meals office who could process the cards, so I made sure to get in line first and then jet once I was done. I went to Student Canteen #5, which Franklin had recommended yesterday. The setup is total madhouse by Western standards, pretty normal for Chinese standards. You walk in and join the milling mass of students waiting by the kitchen. There are handwritten signs on the glass displaying the dishes available, none of which seem to designate what kinds of meat are being used. I found it best to just point and wave at what I wanted. One must wriggle to the front of the line somehow and then order dishes as desired. The attendant then punches in the price to a little reader and you swipe your card. Or, should I say, you insert you card, wait a few seconds for it to register and then you're good to go. I had some kind of spicy chicken, a green peppers and pork dish and rice. It was very tasty and at only 5 yuan, a total bargain. As it turned out, I'm glad I bounced because everyone else went to a slightly more sedate and less chaotic place to eat, which did not sound as authentic and fun.

After lunch I broke down and bought a bike from the student bike shop. Total plus basket and longer seat post (yeah, it was too short for me) was 270 yuan, about $40. It cuts down on the commute like something crazy. I still get some funny looks but not as many as just walking. I commuted home on the bike, which was nice because I go through campus to avoid the nasty traffic and it took about half the time of walking. I did some kind of funky maneuvers however which were a little bit heart attack inducing (I will save the descriptions so as not to freak out my parents) but I made it back safely. I parked it in the bike parking lot by the corner of my hotel. For 3 mao (like 30 cents) a guy is supposed to keep an eye on my bike. One thing about Beijing that is very odd--everyone only locks the wheel of their bikes but not the frame to anything solid. No wonder bike theft is such an issue! I only hope that this bike doesn't get stolen. Otherwise I am taking a cab to the nearest Carrefour and will buy a fold-up that I keep in my room.

I grabbed a quick ramen to go from the Japanese restaurant next to the hotel, I managed to communicate that I wanted to get my meal "to go", which was fun. The ramen was OK, kind of oily (like everything here). I wanted a rice dish but they were out of rice (WHAT?? I know, ridiculous) so I had to make do. I watched a great soap about Qing dynasty China that is kind of like Kung Fu Panda but with people instead of pandas, and now am watching some Chinese opera. I don't care about what Cross Cultural Communications says about embracing other cultures, but this stuff sounds totally terrible. I wish Jessica were here! She comes in a week. :/

Power Walking & Critical Mass

Today was a very busy day; Franklin from the Beida Exchange Program Office met us at the FX hotel in the morning to walk us to the campus. I was comfortably ensconced in the lobby, consuming my exciting breakfast of giant scallion egg crepe pancake and warm soy milk purchased from the breakfast cart across the way. For just 3 Yuan I had a yummy and fulfilling breakfast--way better than the cold, crusty buns the rest of the kids picked up at a local bakery. The ordering process is really fun, you have to push to the front of the line, avoiding being cut, and then quickly order what you want or else they get impatient. I will have to take a photo tomorrow of the crepe maker--he has a round stone and little wood pusher, just like les crepiers francais!

The walk to campus took over 30 minutes. We walked in a group (of course, ugh, I'm so over groups) and had to cross several streets. With the Chinese easy-come-easy-go method of road rules (both vehicular and pedestrian), crossing the road can either be very convenient (as one does not have to wait for a crossing or even a light) or a complete nightmare (as it's completely laissez-faire). Busses, cars, taxis, mopeds, scooters, electric bikes and delivery tractors all compete for space on the road, and don't appear to necessarily observe all traffic signals or rules. Meanwhile, groups of pedestrians congregate at crossing points and eventually reach a critical mass such that they can forge out into the street without fear of being run over. I'm not really sure who decides when the appropriate time for crossing is reached, but the herd mentality takes over and everyone steps out into the void together. Franklin told us that if we always cross the street with a group of Chinese people, we will not get hit. I am 95% convinced this is true.

Our classroom is way over by the eastern gate of campus, whereas our hotel is near the Southwest gate. We did not have our Peking University IDs in the morning, so we had to go the long way around, which took forever. I did at least get to see the Olympic Ping Pong venue (oh, joy). There is also construction for the last bit of the walk, so you have to walk in the bike lane which is used as a two way street for non-vehicular traffic as well as pedestrian. Everyone stared at me, which is par for the course in China, although you can always tell who is a country bumpkin vs. sophisticated city dweller; the bumpkins stare openly and blatantly, whereas the Beijingers make covert little glances. At least no one has run up to me and tried to shout "HELLO! HELLO!" like they did the last time I was in Beijing.

Orientation was pretty standard stuff, the usual about cultural sensitivity and survival. We did at least get our Beijing Daxue student IDs, which are super key--we can use them to access facilities on campus such as the gym or library (although we have to pay an extra 10 yuan in order to get a reading card), and because Beida is so prestigious (the Harvard of China) we can also use them as ID outside of campus, such as for our credit cards or if we get pulled over and questioned by the police. [Just to clarify, there are many names for this school, all of which I use interchangeably: Peking University, Beijing Daxue and Beida.] The T-bird students were surprisingly quiet during the orientation and stupid questions were kept to a minimum--I think it was the jet lag. Lunch was provided, in the form of Subway (the horror!).

I wolfed down my sandwich and went outside into the lovely early spring day (high 60's) to purchase a SIM card for my mobile telephone. The cards are purchased at tobacco/magazine kiosks, inevitably staffed by a somewhat lackadaisical albiet friendly young lady. One asks for a "SIM ka" or "dian hua ka" and is presented with a list of available telephone numbers. The more 8's in the number, the more expensive. The more 4's, the cheaper (the word for four, si, has a phoenitic but not tonal match to the word for death, whereas eight, or ba, is the same as fortune). I shelled out for a number with TWO 8's (the luxury!) plus a 50 yuan credit for the phone. For a total of US$15 I am now a proud China Mobile customer. After returning to the lunch room, I turned around and went back out again with Ben Malki, and bought a second card for him. I felt accomplished in that I was able to speak Chinese well enough to make myself understood.

The afternoon was taken up by "Survival Chinese Class", which was advertised as being for those with zero Chinese skills. I took the opportunity to jet out of there, and went on a quest to find a bike. Beida has a bike shop on campus, which was run by some surly and rather unfriendly young gentlemen who refused to bargain even a little bit on a dusty bike, the only one I could see that would fit my ridiculously long legs (both by US and metric measurements). They wanted 210 Yuan, which I found out later was a decent price, but I don't really want a shiny new bike--I want to hit up the used bike market at Wulikou bridge (or something like that, I will have to check tomorrow) so I can find my beloved used Flying Pigeon brand bike (the Communist state-owned bike). I'd also like to find something with front basket already attached. I've noticed that outside our hotel there is a bike parking lot where you pay 1 yuan or so and then you can park your bike supervised. The other option is to get a foldable bike and bring that up to the room. I think it's more of the Beijing experience to get the clunker and park it outside, however.

I went back to the hotel and checked email, and then walked back to the classroom. All I can say is that it is FAR! I clocked myself, walking pretty darn fast, and it took me exactly 20 minutes to get to the beginning of the construction section, where I ran into the group heading for the group picture. We all stood in line for a while, got the photo and then went into the Shaoyuan building for a yummy welcome banquet. Many delicious northern Chinese foods were offered, including some new melon varieties I hadn't yet tried. Mike Logan and I had fun introducing the foreign students to various wacky vegetables and meats. Nikhil just got in from Mexico, so he was very excited to see Peking Duck, which he called a "Chinese taco."

After the dinner Mike Logan and I hit up the electronics superstore to get him a cell phone (250 yuan) and me a flash drive (160 yuan, not the best price but whatever I needed one). Then I had to sit down and write my stupid critique for Goddard's class tomorrow on Susan Shirk's book China: Fragile Superpower. Pretty much everyone left it 'till the last minute, so we're all ensconced in our hotel rooms cranking away. I finished up around 11pm, so I'm off to the old sensory deprivation chamber for bed. Tomorrow classes start for real... or at least our first class.