Walking Tours

While roaming "off the beaten path" could be the most cliched phrase in traveling, I did not exactly seek to make my way to the Empire State Building every Sunday while living in NYC. One summer, a friend recommended a mp3 walking tour by a company called Soundwalk.com, geared towards Ipods which were just getting popular. Their tagline is "Walking tours for people who don't like walking tours" and I was instantly intrigued by the idea of hipster-tourist activities. I'm not sure if this foreshadowed my current travels, but I began with the Chinatown NY walking tour.

It was downright amazing and I strongly, strongly recommend the NYC tours to anyone living there. They begin with a disclaimer that removes them from the responsibility of any physical harm you may experience during the tour, which of course made me more excited. It takes you through different neighborhoods and into very random situations. One of the first things on the Chinatown tour had the speaker say, "okay, keep walking. Do you see a grey door with Chinese print on your left? Open it. This is the (forget the name) coffee shop. Look over in the corner, is there an old Chinese man reading a newspaper," and YES there was an old Chinese man reading a paper, "that's Mr. Chang, he's been sitting there every day for over twenty years since his sons have taken over running the shop from him." Basically, throughout the tour there are these amazing situations that seem to almost be coordinated just for this tour. The legitimacy is almost made more real as some doors are sometimes in fact locked or people or stores on the tour aren't there.

I've since done the Little Italy, Meatpacking District, Wall Street, and Lower East Side tours, each having its own highlight. You have to be somewhat mentally ready to approach the tours as some of the situations are extremely awkward. For example, walking into a tiny butcher shop in Little Italy where there's a 90yr old Italian guy chopping meat, and just standing in the corner with your ipod silently, isn't for the faint of heart. However, if you're willing to engage in a little conversation and step out of your comfort zone, they've resulted in some amazing conversations. Supposedly there's a great Yankees tour (no way in hell for me, but I figure some of you would enjoy this) as well as a "Bronx Grafitti Walk".

I was happy to realize they've extended their tours to international locations, randomly partnering with Louis Vuitton for a series of Chinese tours. The Beijing tour was unbelievable and Soundwalk apparently has taken the previous tours to a whole new level. What they've done is add a new element of a running play for the duration of the tour. As you walk around, you actually learn about different sites through seemingly a movie script, narrated by a famous Chinese actor. Gong Li narrated the Beijing version that takes you through the Beijing Hutong, which are villages that have been around for hundreds of years and still very much occupied. I could not get over how well they created the feeling that you are essentially walking through the set of a movie as its happening.

Louis Vuitton Soundwalk --- Beijing with Gong Li
Uploaded by LouisVuitton08. - Explore exotic destinations and travel videos.

You learn about the history of the neighborhoods and meet some crazy people. My crowning achievement was introducing myself in Chinese to a 90yr old man with a long white beard who raises crickets that was mentioned on the tour. I also climbed a ladder that was mentioned and actually there, and found a huge pigeon farm. Apparently in the Hutong, people train their pigeons for flying contests, just because that's how shit goes down in the Hutong. By the end you actually feel like you've just witnessed an amazing play or show. The Beijing one has the best reviews and won some awards so I'm not positive that the quality of the storytelling in the other tours is as high, but this one wa definitely intense.



Naturally, the more popular these tours get, the less effective and interesting they will become. Well.....as all good hipster tourism goes, it's always better to have been there "before it went mainstream".

Language Observations

Six hours a day. It's been a good combination as Alan is fairly understanding of my beginner status, while Zhao You (and of course, her English name is 'Zoe') is the she-devil. She barely speaks English and my two hours every afternoon with her are fraught with fear and nerves. However, I've definitely been picking up a decent amount of Mandarin and would consider myself able to "order at restaurant", "direct a taxi", "ask for directions" and "order at a bar" which are the four fundamental building blocks of any language instruction.

Some observations of the Chinese language during my study:

I'm a big Diet Coke person. I think it was late in college, due to a general distaste for coffee, that I began to utilize that artificially refreshing taste of Diet Coke for caffeinating purposes. I would consider myself enough of a connossieur to rate the quality of the mix of syrup and soda water at a foutain dispenser. I asked Alan about how to translate Diet Coke, and apparently, the literal translation is amazingly "Wu Tang Ke Le", with Wu Tang literally meaning "without sugar" and "ke le" obviously meaning cola. I can't tell you how excited I've been at every opportunity to be ordering Wu Tang soda. Apparently what the RZA and GZA actually meant to be involved with is written is more closely pronounced and written as Wu Deng.

If someone asks you a qualitative questions and your answer is "eeehh" or "so-so", the word is MaMaHuHu, which translates literally to "Horse, Horse, Tiger, Tiger"....because you're actually telling the person, "not quite a horse horse, not quite a tiger tiger". In a thick Chinese accent it's even better.

The most interest and somewhat controversial observation: the first few days I incessantly heard people, old and young, saying "Nei Gah" almost every sentence. I definitely felt a little uncomfortable and was wondering what the hell was going on. I've since found out that it is just another language transitional phrase. I've seen from Italian, Spanish and English there are many random phrases that are said constantly while people are thinking/transitioning thoughts. In Italian, the number of "allora"s or "comunque"s, or in Spanish the "entonces" or "pero"s, or in English I guess the "like"s or "umm"s are far more frequent than basic grammar would demand. "Na ge" translates to 'that there' and is pronounced 'Nei Ga' in Beijing. It's still kinda uncomfortable and racist in my mind, but the idea of looking at a menu and then looking at a waitress and saying "nei ga, wu tang ke le" is still weirdly exciting.

As the foremost trader of the Hong Kong Dollar during my epic days as a trader, I was naturally curious to find out the translation in Mandarin. Turns out, it's "Gang Bi" (pronounced Gahng Bee). I won't get further into it, but I found this funny.

That first day of Alan playing a song for me was no fluke. His Asian love for the crooner song has definitely made class much more interesting, as early on in class I noted that I wouldn't mind learning some Chinese songs to belt out during karaoke. Alan has taken this to the next level as every day, at least thirty minutes are spent going through two songs. The first translates to "I Love You Like a Mouse Loves Rice". This one, as ridiculous as it sounds, was pretty easy for a beginner in Chinese to learn and easy to sing, and was actually a major hit apparently about four years ago. We've since been working on a more intense song about a historic battle of the Three Kingdoms in about 250 AD that is kind of a Rock Opera by a group named "Tank". The best part of this song is that there's a bridge that, well let's just say, is meant to be sung by either a woman or an eunuch. Alan does not hold back as in that quiet classroom and with only the faint sound of his budget speakers backing us, he'll belt out those ever so high notes as I cower to the protection of a lower octave.

This is the "I love you like a mouse loves rice" song that we sing together. Just picture it, Alan and Me, alone in a classroom, heartfully singing these words:

Man-dating

Note: the next few posts were from a few weeks back. Blogspot is blocked in China and I had a Kansan post the last two entries, but have now left Beijing and am working on catching up on the blog.

June 14th, 2009


Beijing has certainly more than lived up to expectations up to this point. One aspect of traveling I had completely forgotten about was the ease of socializing and making friends while abroad. I planned my trip here with absolutely no expectation or contacts in Beijing, and of course assumed, "I'm gonna just study the entire time and maybe have dinner out a few times." Well, one after the other, friend of friends keep popping up via facebook and word of mouth and its taken this from simply language study to truly experiencing the city.

I imagined this past weekend would have me eating dinner at some Lonely Planet recommended restaurant, followed by some random wandering and heading home around midnight. I'd wake up early and go sightseeing all day long. Well, it turned out someone from my high school had been living here for the past six years and his work in PR allowed him for both an extensive network of both locals and ex-pats, along with knowing a good deal of local bar and restaurant owners. My quiet weekend turned into two nights of three hour-long dinners, drinking at a series of bars, and of course, karaoke (Yes, I did get some sightseeing in).

What I was reminded of from this past weekend was the ease of the "man-date" while abroad. Nowadays, movies like "I Love You, Man" have brought man-dating and bromance to the forefront of pop culture but this is certainly an issue I've thought about since I lived in NYC. I remember my first year there, a good college friend was in town, and his best friend from high school also turned out to be living in the city. We all went out as a result of my friend's visit, and at the end of a great evening, that fateful question was asked, "um dude...this was fun. we should hang out. um...can i, um...get your number?"

Now, this was a new phenomenon. In college your friends are just "kinda there" via classes, dorms, greek life, etc. Suddenly this seemingly intrusive question had an immense utilitarian value. I knew a decent amount of people thanks to an analyst class and other random connections, but I realized that this new, non-school life, might actually demand exchanging numbers with guys you think you might enjoy hanging out with, and yes, go on man-dates with. It became even weirder realizing that the early part of a man-tionship was even similar to dating a woman.

What I've remembered is, man-dating while abroad is an entirely different situation than in your permanent city of residence. If you're out with a group, if you remotely hit it off with another guy in the group, it's totally not gay to ask them for their number. Everyone understands your situation, and, I think helped out by an intense concept of hospitality that's part of the Beijing culture, is extremely willing to hang out or keep you informed with stuff to do. Many of the people I've met are either ex-pats who are downright excited to help you out, or are locals who are of the variety that enjoy meeting westerners. I'm fairly excited as I've been able to experience Beijing the way I would show NYC to any visitor: the West Village or Soho vs. Times Square and the Circle Line. Only one week left and not sure I want to leave.

Other observations:

In total contrast to my entire post above about experiencing the 'local' culture, is the awesome fast food I've been eating. McDonalds has a "Spicy McPork" sandwich, which, I'm not going even begin to compare to a Momofuku Pork Bun, but it's a world better than your basic McChicken. I imagine to a native Chinaman it could be just as bland a taste as the aforementioned McChicken, but damn is it good to me. The fast food highlight has to be the "KFC Peking Chicken Wrap". To those who have had the pleasure of proper Peking Duck at either any Chinatown establishment, or the trader version at Mr. Chows, this is definitely something to be experienced. Hoisin sauce, sliced cucumber, a thin wrap, with flavorful fried chicken strips instead of duck. The Colonel always did kinda look Chinese.

As evidenced by the subject of much of my writing, I've been eating a lot. The metrosexual in me had defnitely been feeling disgusting and I'd decided I needed to exercise in some capacity. The nearest gym was about 45 minutes via public transportation for me so that was absolutely not happening. I decided I would just need to get back into running, but running shoes had not made the cut due to limitations on packing. I went shopping in a mall that had a Nike, Puma, and Reebok store in addition to a few random Chinese atheletic brands. I never thought my size 12 feet would be of a freakish quality, but let's just say, I'm currently the proud owner of a really ugly pair of black Reebok running shoes.

Alan and Me

Alan and Me

Studying language abroad can go any number of directions. For those who attempted this endeavor in some capacity during college, you understand the massive spectrum of experiences that can take place. Some people go the homestay route and spend their time in a small town with a family and come out fluent. Some go in with no knowledge of the language and come out having learned basic conversational skills. Some just go to Australia and don't even try. My junior year, I went to Rome having taken a good deal of Italian. I studied incessantly before leaving, with high aspirations of coming out fluent. Well...I drank a lot, made some lifelong friends, had one of the best experiences of my life, and came out of the semester having forgotten much of what I had previously known

I kept this in mind while choosing a Chinese language class. I heard Shanghai was the coolest city in China, but a friend who lives there gave her earnest opinion that if I really wanted to try to learn any Mandarin, I needed to spend time in Beijing (or maybe she just didn't want me moving there and pestering her). I decided to take the plunge and looked up language classes here in Beijing. Much like many other well researched decisions in life, I basically took the route of "highest google result" and "best website" to choose my school. I read some reviews that said that the school was full of "hard partying Koreans and Japanese" but figured that I'd already chosen Beijing over Shanghai, and it wouldnt hurt to have some fun people around.

I arrived in Beijing on Sunday night and the school had a car pickup service at the airport. They helped me get set up in my room (which is adjacent to the school) and I went to bed with that giddiness that comes before the first day of school. What crazy ass Asians would I meet out here? Would I learn any Mandarin? Would the hard partying Koreans cower in fear of a large brown person?

I reported to the school office in the morning where my teacher was waiting, and he told me "let's head over to the classroom." We walked over and I began wondering, would the Jet-setting Japanese be already in the class? We walked in and sat down. Yup, it was just us. I nervously looked around wondering if I was about to get Hostel'ed or Turista'd. It then got even more awesomely weird. The teacher's name
was Alan, and he's a local Beijinger who was wearing a pink t-shirt that said "Volunteer Blood Donor" with an olympic logo on it. He attached some old school Labtec looking speakers to his laptop and said "we'll start your experience with a song". He then played this song, "Beijing Huan Ying Ni" (Beijing Welcomes You) which was apparently the song 'sung' by the cute little girl in the Olympic Opening Ceremony controversy. We sat there, just Alan and me, for the full 7:03 of the song, just kind of looking at each other. This was definitely his routine normally and he was not diverging. I sometimes forget that the gawker.com sense of irony, or Bill Simmons "unintentional comedy scale" certainly don't exist in the minds of the Chinese. There are generally 3-5 students in the other classes, but I am the only beginner starting in June. Four hours a day, just Alan and me.

Needless to say, my Mandarin is coming along splendidly.

Some other observations:

A major style for men is to sit outside in the heat and roll your t-shirt up to the chest area and just let your sweaty belly hang out, often patting it, with a cigarette hanging out the side of your mouth. I'm not gonna deny, they really look happy in this pose and at the rate I'm eating the amazing food here, I may be able to join them in a week's time.

Walking around Tiananmen Square on Tuesday, on two separate occassions I was stopped and people took pictures with me. They looked to be kinda the 'country or redneck' version of Chinese, and I guess they were just fascinated and perhaps never seen an Indian before? The city/rural distinction is definitely large here and I wonder if there's currently people playing Red State - Blue State, the Chinese edition.

Normally, if you're heading out for the afternoon and look at your window at a sea of people with umbrellas, you'll make sure to grab one. Definitely not the case out here.

Outbreak

While the H1N1, Mexican Flu,Swine Flu scare, or whatever Sanjay Gupta is calling it these days, may have subsided in the U.S., my flight to Beijing proved a different environment. Now, the sight of an Asian wearing a germ mask in Chinatown is probably as regular as an umbrella on a 90 degree day, I definitely noticed a large percentage of passengers wearing them on the Tokyo leg of my flight. The fear is alive and well here in Asia, and they are certainly playing a strong defense. What was remarkable was the difference in defensive techniques among Japan and China, a dichotomy more intense than the Prevent vs. the Goal Line.

Last time I made the east coast of U.S. to Asia trip I was flying business class and loving every minute of it (work trip to Singapore). Now that this is my life 'after trading', I had the pleasure of a coach flight with two layovers (in NYC and Tokyo). When we landed in Tokyo, after a 14 hour flight where I of course had the middle seat, they didn't let us get off and announced that there would be members of the quarantine team coming through. Two guys walked through the aisles with masks on and some weird outfits and machinery. It struck me that they just walked up and down while the announcement said that "if you are experiencing any symptoms like fever, swelling of the glands, nausea, or diarrhea, please raise your hand and identify yourself." Ummm...okay. I guess things just worked a little differently out here. I could just imagine raising my hand and informing them, "yeah, on that last point, I don't want to jump to conclusions here, but I did eat your airplane Japanese seafood curry for my dinner. I'm just saying." Needless to say, no one raised their hands and we were out within minutes.

China...a different story. A similar announcement that the quarantine team would board the plane when we landed. This time it took a little longer. The 'quarantine team' representing the People's Republic of China went through, and had this weird plastic gun-like thermometer that they stuck in front of everyone's forehead one by one, and I think it took your temperature (I hope that's all it did). Someone near the back either had a slight temperature, or was suffering from Ebola, as about six members of the Q.T. all congregated back there and talked very seriously. In the end, we were all given a card saying "you may be exposed to communicable diseases. if you experience flu-like symptoms in the next 7 days please take this card to a doctor." Ruthless defensive efficiency.

If I'm not blogging in a week from now, please email or call to check up on me.

Other observations:

It was pretty awesome on the car ride to the airport, hearing my Indian parents make amazingly sweeping generalizations on China and Chinese people. Exchanges like, "It's disgusting, they eat absolutely everything over there. I heard they eat dogs." "But mom, you've told me in India you guys have eaten goat brains." "Yeah, but that is SO different, those are good." My father also warned me they will probably confiscate my hard drive upon entry.

I heard Keri Hilson's "Knock Me Down" three times in the Tokyo airport. Watch out for this to be the official song of the summer.

I was telling some people during my last flight that SkyMall magazine is definitely a 'boom time' magazine as I can't imagine during a recession people are buying a 20 ft. x 10 ft. world map for their child to practice world capitals. That being said, if you thought SkyMall had some ridiculous shit in it, you should see the Japanese Airlines version of SkyMall. I don't even know where to begin.

Is it the same woman working at every Hudson News location? She is about 40something and looks maybe Moroccan or a darker Arabic? She looks like she might've been pretty back in the day in an exotic way and I swear, at the JFK location it looked like she was working with her twin. I think she also works at most Dunkin' Donuts locations in
the Boston area.