Inner mongolia - Hohhot

Towards the end of October, I was getting a little travel lusty and convinced Warren to take a weekend trip.

Inner mongolia, a north-eastern province of China with its grasslands and deserts seemed inviting enough.

I did enlist the help of a travel agent who said that we would live in yurks at the grassland, see Mongolian people dancing at the bonfire and other fun things. We did know it was cold and we wouldn't see rolling green grasslands but we hadn't imagined quite this:

We arrived at an ungodly hour at 4am at Hohhot (pronounced as Hu-huh-haw-tuh). Then proceeded to the "grasslands". It was freezing and I was shivering and just wanted to go back and sit in the van (which we did after sunrise). The whole dew freezing at dawn made for this empty beer bottle to look artistic.

We did see the sunrise and our over enthusiastic guide took a picture of Warren and I holding the glowing sun !

The rest of the grassland day was kind of a let down though. We saw some horses but didn't ride them because everything was barren. We had lunch with the Mongolians (no fire included) and I tasted some of their wine which I think was 50% ethanol (*gags*). Due to the freezing conditions, our yurk stay was canceled and we proceeded to the city. Warren and I decided to just go exploring the town on our own and that was quite fun. We saw a temple, giant statues, walked around in the market etc.

But the highlight of the day was going through the local vegetable market and looking at the ginormous produce. We were amazed at the sizes of scallions and carrots and onions they were selling. See for yourself:

Later we had dinner at a non-English speaking place with a Chinese menu. It was quite eventful as the adjoining table had 6 boisterous middle-aged men whose goal was to make conversation with us. Warren and I tell Chinese people that we don't speak Chinese usually as an opening line. That is a good way to stop them from bombarding us with questions. In reality we know a tiny bit of survival Chinese but our vocabulary being limited to about 20 words or so, doesn't really help us in carrying out social conversations. 

However, this dinner group was not deterred by our inability to speak the language. I think they believed that if they talked "louder" and "used more words", we would eventually understand what they are saying. They were sorely mistaken though. I am still not sure what they were trying to say. They gave up eventually, but ended up taking pictures with Warren and I (more with Warren, him being white and all) as a consolation prize. 

It was a quaint town, not touristy at all. We went through the entire day and almost the whole weekend, without seeing any foreigners !

I was going to write about going to the desert the next day, but that is going to be a tribute to Warren's jumping picture modeling skillz, so it shall be a separate post, hopefully soon.

At least there are urinal barriers

I've thought about writing this post frequently. You ask, "How frequently?" Well, just about every time I use the restroom.

That's right, this is a bathroom post!

But don't worry, I'll keep it clean. Even though I've used many toilets ranging in sanitation level and primitiveness (and I have pictures to prove it), this will be SFW. And besides, I'm still gagging from the brain-eating incident.

On a side note, I used to ask for the bathroom by saying "xishouji"... which as it turns out is "wash the cell phone." The correct translation is "xishoujian." That explains the many puzzled looks.

Anyway.

I'm not a huge fan of "How I Met Your Mother", but Tanu had me watch one episode a while ago. In it, a couple gets locked in a bathroom and, well, eventually one has to "use the facilities." The other says with some solemnity that they've crossed a threshold. Now, growing up in a family of eight, I can say that my personal boundaries are probably smaller and less rigid when it comes to multiple-person use by both genders. So I don't think the scenario in HIMYM would bother me that much, but it does describe an underlying averseness that many Americans. That is, that boys and girls shouldn't be able to see into each others' bathrooms, especially while they're being used. To that end, we have elaborate mazes in the US at the entrance to bathrooms to prevent forbidden sight. It makes taking rolling luggage into airport bathrooms really difficult.

If the bathrooms in my building are any indication of widespread feelings on the subject, the Chinese don't have the same qualms.

How about a picture:

Oh! uh. heyyy....

Like I mentioned, I thought about this post very frequently.

The adjacent women's bathroom is no better:

oh yeah, they're eastern-style toilets. at least I'm staying flexible.

And the doors to the bathroom are often propped open for ventilation. 

Oh well. Like I said, it really doesn't bother me, especially if it doesn't bother them. But just like when you're camping and go off into the bushes to "see a man about a horse" while still visible to your friends, I half expect to hear someone jeer, "Hey Warren, what are you doing??"

erhu ready for your closeup?

Recently, I serendipitously discovered a local erhu teacher. Following a brief intro lesson, I decided to take several lessons. Lessons haven't begun yet because of National Holiday/parents visiting/lack of erhu. 

But the other day I ventured into a musical district in Beijing that was really interesting: after exiting the subway, I found a street lined with musical instrument shops. Each specialized in different types, such as brass, violins, drums, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, and traditional Chinese instruments. It was really quite a sight to see!

After a bit of inquiry from several shops to get a feel for prices and characteristics, I spoke with a shopkeeper through broken Chinese and English and explained my musical background and need in an erhu. I tried out few and settled on a beauty with a nice open tone. Of course I bargained a little, but held back in an attempt to keep it classy. 

When I took it back to lab, I played the Chinese National Anthem and song from Phantom of the Opera for lab mates. At first some didn't recognize their anthem, which could either because they didn't expect it from me or because of my lack of ability...

Anyway, here are a few photos:

Get in my belly!... please?

The night started out innocently enough: Lab mates decided to go to a national hot pot chain. We've been a few times and it is de-lish. You make your own dipping sauce (my specialty is a sesame peanut sauce with a health dose of garlic) and then they bring out lots of raw meats and fresh veggies that you then cook in spiced broths and eat, family-style.

pretty raw meats!

they even have in-your-face noodle making!

I usually stick to the beef muscle (you wonder why I have to specify "muscle"?) strips and pâté along with potatoes, mushrooms, noodles, etc.

water lilies are edible! surprise!

Somebody usually orders cow stomach (see?) and coagulated duck blood slices, and I will nibble on something of it partly to be courteous and partly to provide my Chinese friends with look-at-the-foreigner-gagging-on-food-we-think-is-totally-normal entertainment.

Well this night, I decided to embrace the culture. Afterall, I've been here three months (!).

Down went the coagulated blood.

I slurped up the prickly stomach.

Up next was new.... duck colon?? Well, "when in Rome..."

I just... really hope they clean these things well.

But then came the crowning event of the night....

no caption can do this justice.

oh yes. brains. pig brains. Now, I'm sure I've eaten brains in things before (let's start--and stop--at sausages), but never a mouthful of pulsating, spongy brain. After it sat in the boiling broth for ~10 min to kill any parasites (wait... can that denature prions too?..) they pulled the ladle out and I ripped a chunk off with my chopsticks.

open the grub gate!

Sadly, it took me a few seconds to gather myself. When I gingerly popped it into my mouth, I chewed a few times and it wasn't as chewy as I thought... I guess the other times I've played with brain was in physiology when it was fixed with PFA. But actually the feathery texture just made it worse so I swallowed it whole and willed it down my throat.

One (rather large) bite was all I was up for, but Jinyang devoured the other half of the brain by himself.

imagine your teeth cutting into the frontal lobe...

I stuck mostly to the safe grub for the rest of the night and thought frequently--while my sweet potatoes cooked in the spiced broth spiked with residual brain juices--of the blood, stomach, colon, and brain soup digesting in my own stomach.

Phase 4 trial of a traditional Chinese medicine

A few weeks ago, I noticed a few reddish splotches on my midsection. They weren't raised or itchy, so I figured they were just bruises (you know how much I frolic about). But they didn't go away. In fact, they've slowly multiplied across my body. (to clear up any over-exaggeration, I really only have about 15 spots)

Keeping it rated PG, here's a photo of one splotch on my arm:

splotch.

I've tried figuring out the cause, but I'm not allergic to anything (thanks for the genes and upbringing, mom and dad!). It very likely could've been bed bug bites from Jiuzhaigou. However, they aren't irritated at all, I don't see any bite sites, and I think a few developed weeks after Jiuzhaigou. I am getting pretty old, but I don't think age spots should set in this young.

Anyway, I sent above photo to my fam, and I was recommended antihistamine and hydrocortisone. An overnight benedryl didn't help, so I visited the pharmacy on campus with lab mate Jie.

No hydrocortisone- apparently you have to go to a doctor for that (maybe they thought I meant cortisone shots?). So after some fun translation games, we settled on a traditional Chinese medicine.

my tube 'o TCM with lab notes in background. I'm so studious.

I really have no clue what this is, except that it smells kinda like icy hot... which paradoxically makes the splotch itch (or is it "ironic"? someone text Alanis Morissette for me). Also, the pharmacist said "no spicy food", but considering my addiction fondness for gong bao ji ding, I'm not sure how great my patient compliance will be.

Beijing Halloweeeeen

It's 11:30pm and I have to present in lab tomorrow. I have no slides completed. But I had planned on spending three hours tonight doing flow cytometry until my advisor told me that an alternative--and much faster/cheaper--method for determining nanoparticle uptake would suffice. So it's like I have three FREE hours tonight --> I'm writing a blog post instead of finishing my presentation three hours early and actually sleeping tonight.

It's Halloween! I've heard that eastern Beijing (the international part of town) actually has festivities, but at Beida, I haven't seen so much as a fake cobweb. I don't even love Halloween that much (though my favorite costumes growing up include X-Men's Cyclops where I wore sweats and safety goggles, a homemade zombie outfit [it was awesome to rip up an old suit], the hiker guy from Double Rainbow, and "change you can believe in" where I glued coins to my shirt.) but it was a great opportunity to share a lil culture with my friends. and eat copious amounts of candy.

Kai and I rode bikes to the vast underground supermarket, Carrefour, in search of pumpkins. Not totally surprising, they had no jack-o-lantern-sized pumpkins, but just baby squashes for eating. Actually, at first we couldn't find those and considered carving watermelons (which actually might be awesome/more delicious). I also raided the candy section and got gummies and chocolate.

Ok, I'll just stop writing and just post the photos so that I can work on my presentation.

Lemon cake. "But wait," you say, "there aren't ovens in China!" Well this is a microwave lava cake!!!

Room mate Bobby (yes, the 2nd Asian Bobby room mate I've had), Tanu, Lab mates Kai and Jie.

spook.y.

Lab mate Kai.

Then we watched a scary movie. No, not The Grudge (for obvious reasons).

Happy Halloween!

dawn of the panda hat

When people make a to-do list for a visit to China, I think that the list goes like

1) hike the Great Wall and ponder the engineering feat

2) consider our quests for immortality while reviewing the Terracotta Warriors

3) OHMYGOSH PANDA EVERYTHING.

Well upon our arrival in Chengdu, we immediately booked our trip to the panda breeding center (in my opinion the video provided excessive details regarding techniques to ensure progeny). After ooh-ing and ahh-ing over pandas (!) for a few hours, we exited through the gift shop. A certain panda had quickly caught Tanu's eye and she bought it without haste. For me, however, Jim Carey's "The Mask" taught me to distrust any potentially enchanted masks/hats--and anything panda is most certainly enchanted.

True to Hollywood, for the next few days we had an Indian panda with us. Tanu transformed and would often speak in the third person--er.. animal: "panda is hungry" or "panda is tired" or "panda wants to do jump shot."

feed panda!

panda must hug prayer wheel!

panda loves cheesy Chinese poses (we actually did see this pose)

The hat eventually wore my defenses down and I tried it on. But hungry for my soul, it took me about three steps too far:

Not sure what I was thinking. Oh wait, I wasn't thinking- THE HAT WAS CONTROLLING ME.

I guess my parents'd trade me for a panda any day.

Just like my almost-was addiction to World of Warcraft, I was able to pull off the monster pretty quickly after this fiasco and returned to normal (for me).

Now it sits in Tanu's room, perched on the top of her book shelves, waiting for another host...