My Street!

The Environment and China (through my camera lens)

Two cups of REAL coffee later...you're getting more updates today then the entire trip (brought to you by Starbucks). Below are some of the "environmental" things that I have noticed during my trip.

Solar heated water. In our hotel our (electric) water heater only turns on when we are actually using it; it does not store heated water.

Apparently, Coke is a Climate Friendly Company...according to their sign. This was taken at one of the Olympic venues. Beijing set out to host the first "Green" Olympics". I guess their sponsors are also jumping on board.

Less litter because of this trashcan in the park?



Smog Reduction...These pictures were taken 14 days and 5 days before the Olympics respectively. They were both taken from Tienanmen Square. This is pretty incredible. The smog reduction is probably due to many factors including the weather (it had rained a few days before the second picture), alternation of cars by even/odd license plates (excluding taxis and buses), and shut down of factories.

Even though cars are being added to the roads at a rapid rate, bicycle travel is still abundant. Many people have traditional bikes, but there are some motorized bikes (which still use less gasoline than cars).

All clothing is lined dried. I see clothes hanging in front of every shop and home. They save energy by using the sun's rays instead of a dryer.

I don't have a picture, but Walmart uses resuable shopping bags. One of the Olympic Merchandise stores had a sign that read "Please Save the Environment, bring your own bag" and they did not have any plastic bags in the store.

Some of my fave pics from Soccer Prelim Action

In front of the stadium in Tianjin.


GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!! (If you zoom in, you can totally see it crossing the line!!)

Post Goal EXCITEMENT!!!!

My new Japanese friend...who gave me a hat to wear (it looked like a Japanese hairdo...).

Olympic Soccer Prelim Action

Above is the WAVE at one of the Olympic prelim soccer games that we saw yesterday. We traveled to Tianjin to see USA vs Japan and Holland vs Nigeria. The US vs Japan game had 37,000+ people in attendance and the Holland/Nigeria game brought out 57,000+ people. The US scored the only goal of the night, winning their match. The USA/Japan game was good and it was awesome to see the USA, but the second game was much more intense. I loved EVERY second of the two matches. Their skills are incredible! The goalie from Holland was incredible and apparently it wasn't even the starting goalie. The players flew through the air and took incredible shots on goal that were met by flying goalies. The fans for Holland were WILD...they were decked out in their orange gear, including balloon hats and wigs. This was only a preliminary game and it was incredible...I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE OLYMPICS TO START.


Keep your fingers crossed for me....I might get WATER POLO TICKETS (for $5 USD !). My TA is a former Olympian (figure skating, 2002) and she is getting tickets from the US Olympic Committee and there were 5 water polo tickets available. We had to do a raffle for the tickets that she could get...and my name got picked!!! That means as long as the tickets are available from the USOC I will get to see an aquatic sport!!!! The only disappointing thing is that water polo is not played in the water cube, which means I probably will not get to see that venue.

Torch Relay Fake Out.

Above is a video of my place of residency. The video really makes it look a lot cleaner and developed than it is, but it is a taste of where I live :-) I don't know how to rotate videos so you'll have to turn your head and I promise I will shoot videos the other way before I upload them.


So, on the August 6th we tried to go to the Torch Relay as it entered the Temple of Heaven (the last stop of the day). We lined up several hours before hand along with everyone else and their long lost brother. The atmosphere was intense. At first it was relaxing and we had a great spot, then the police moved everyone back past the police tape. The torch was scheduled to pass by at 3:50 pm and right before that time either the police broke the tape or people broke through and people ran closer to the road. Basically the fight or flight instinct set in and we SPRINTED so that we could keep our spot in the front of the line. We stood on a ledge above where the torch was supposed to come through for another hour or so, forming a chain link with our arms so that the people behind couldn't push us down or push in front of us. The police reorganized the people all around us with barricades several times and people kept breaking through them. We saw a few vans come through with Olympic cheerleaders to get the crowd pumped, but no torch. The police and security officers kept rearranging people and we stood anxiously with people pushing and elbowing behind us. We watched some vans enter the Temple of Heaven and about a half an hour later we saw them exit, with an unlit torch. Then the crowd and police dispersed. I think that the crowd was too out of control for the police to control so they decided to end the torch relay earlier than planned. It was quite the adventure. Below is a picture of some of the crowd control action.
After the torch let down, a few of us went to my new favorite restaurant...Hu Tong Pizza. Pizza is a pretty nice break from the food at the hotel. I have to be honest, I am not so much enjoying the food recently. Yesterday there was a worm in my juice, just swimming around. Today there were shells in my egg. The other day there was hair in the soup. When we saw the people who work at our hotel cutting the vegetables on the street outside our hotel, that kind of grossed me out. Although there is much not to be desired at our hotel as far as food goes, I do enjoy a few of the dishes. Rice is a staple (obviously?), but the blandness is wonderful among the other adventurous choices. There is an egg and tomato dish that is pretty delicious, the orange chicken always flies off the table (probably because it is familiar?) and I like pretty much anything with chicken and peppers.


I am in Starbucks now, so I have unlimited Internet (until we go watch the Opening ceremony on t.v.) so I will probably give another update about the SWEET OLYMPIC soccer games we saw last night before I leave. I did update more pictures, so feel free to check those out!

Love from China!

"Real Food", Increased Security & The Olympics

The opening ceremony of the Olympics is drawing near and the changes in Beijing in the past 2 weeks and even past 2 days have been noticeable. We visited Tienanmen square on Sunday about 2 weeks after our first time there and the number of flower arrangements had increased tremendously. They have flower arrangements representing all of the sports and the different Olympic symbols. The number of foreigners has also increased dramatically even in the past two days! A bridge that we walked over on Sunday had one police officer and Tuesday the same bridge had seven! The security has increased dramatically.

We have gone out to eat "real" food a few times....It makes the monotony of the hotel food more bearable. Last night we had Italian food and the restaurant made us feel like we were in Italy...it was wonderful!!!

I'll write soon :-)

Oh, China!

Well, I decided that slamming my camera on my desk would be a good idea...and oh it was because MY CAMERA WORKS!!! I am totally excited and I have taken lots more pictures (check them out: http://picasaweb.google.com/BrittneyABaker/

I don't have a ton of time to update right now, so I will give you a flavor for some of the things I have noticed/experienced and if you want the full play by play story of my adventures you can ask :-)

Snack Foods: WILD flavors!! So far, I have tried lots of different Popsicles for SUPER CHEAP, thirty-five cents (USD) and less...and they are delicious. I also ate Chips Ahoy that were coffee flavored, which I am pretty much in love with. The potato chip flavors are endless. Today I had Italian Red Meat Flavor, which surprised me in how good they actually were. I also enjoy this apple nutrient milk...I have no idea what it is really called because it is written in Chinese. It looks like milk, but isn't refrigerated and tastes like a caramel apple.

Smog Reduction: In the past few days we have seen a significant reduction in the amount of smog. One of our first days in China we went to Tienanmen square and you could barely make out the picture of Chairman Mao across the square, but we went back today and it was crystal clear. I have even seen blue skies the last few days. China has really pulled it together for the Olympics!

Fashion: Men wear their shirts half rolled up so that their stomachs and sometimes even nipples hang out. I thought that this would just occur on the hottest days, but no...it happens all of the time. Other men prefer to wear their button down shirts completely open. Today I had a pretty good sighting of a man wearing a shirt rolled up to his neck and a button down shirt over it that was completely open. Heels and looking very trendy or not matching at all are the trends in women's fashion here. I saw someone walking down the Great Wall in 3 inch pointy-toed heels....ridiculous! The babies don't wear diapers, but just have the butt slits so that they can easily use the bathroom in the streets.

Celeb Status: Pretty much wherever we go people want to take pictures of us. Today we had a free day and a small group of us hung out around Tienanmen Square. During that time we took about 50 pictures with different Chinese people. Many of those pictures were with the Mongolian Army Band, who were in Beijing to play in the opening ceremony. Many of these mens rocked the mullet! They each wanted to take a picture with us individually.

Driving: There are basically no enforceable traffic laws. People just merge when they want to. They swerve around the streets and it is basically crazy. Tonight I almost died and our taxi driver almost killed about 15 people on bikes.

I'll try to update more writing soon, but I will definitely update the pictures!

Miss you! Love you!
B

Some of the things I am up to

Well, here is a long overdue update. I am sorry that the updates have been few and far between. We still do not have Internet in our room, but some other people have it in theirs so I have been able to get on to check my email periodically and upload pictures. I have added some new pictures, but after the next upload there won’t be anymore from my camera. I would like to say RIP to my Cannon that took beautiful pictures for the first week of my trip. My camera had a less than three-inch fall to the ground and “died” of a lens error. I will miss my camera, but thankfully I have 50 other people taking the exact same pictures AND an amazing roommate who will let me take some sweet snaps on her camera. As soon as I can find an inexpensive camera (film anyone?!) I will probably get one so I can take some sweet pictures. I can upload some snaps from Rachel’s and other people’s cameras so you can still get a taste of what China looks like.

Here is a brief update of what I’ve been up to (if you want more details, leave a comment and I can specifically answer or ask to see my journal when I get back J)

ERIC: He is our tour guide and pretty much the best ever. He has definitely made our experience in China. He is a 21-year-old Beijing resident who has pretty good English. Basically, anything he says is insightful and genuine. He is the one who told us that we would all be heroes if we climbed the great wall. He is magical.

RUNNING: I know that I am on a Health and Exercise Science department trip. People get up early to run everyday. When I come back from running with the non-cross country runners there are people lined in the hallway doing planks, crunches, and sit-ups. The runs are a good way to explore our surrounding area. I don’t go everyday, but the days I do go I usually enjoy. It is sometimes hard to breathe, but mostly from the smell and not the smog. I just concentrate on not breathing through my nose as much. There are garage like structures that people through their trash in every couple of blocks. People also use the street as a bathroom. The children even have slits in the back of their pants so they can easily use the bathroom.

CLASS: On the days we don’t have excursions we have class. I am taking the History of the Modern Olympics and it is pretty interesting. We watch videos and discuss the papers that we are writing. We are also going over some current Olympic events (basically, the only news I know since I have such limited access to the internet). I just learned today that the International Olympic Organizing Committee is banning Iraqi athletes from participating (because of Iraq’s policies, not sure what specifically). These athletes may be able to compete under the Olympic flag. It is interesting the amount politics play into the Olympics when the whole point is to not involve politics and have international truces.

GREAT WALL OF CHINA: Climbing the Great Wall was one of the most exhilarating experiences in my life. We climbed 1650 steps (and then back down) to the highest portion of the Great Wall in our vicinity. The steps are very steep most of the way and the steps are not evenly spaced, some steps will be 6 inches, others are 2 inches tall. At the top we climbed up a look out tower. The view was beautiful, but would have been even more beautiful if there was no smog. At the top, Eric (the wondrous tour guide) started singing We are the Champions. That day, we all became heroes J

Wal-Mart & KFC: Oh, what an overwhelming experience. On our way home from the Great Wall we were able to stop at a HUGE, Chinese mall, which included these two American favorites. Ordering in Chinese at KFC was fun, because it was a SURPRISE! I can count in Chinese so I figured it was safe to order a numbered meal. However, I don’t know enough Chinese to indicate what kind of side or drink I wanted. They gave me a side that looked like coleslaw with potatoes and raisins. They gave French fries to another girl in our group, so I brought her box up and played charades to exchange my side for French fries. The chicken was spicier than the chicken at home, but it was GOOD. It was also a much-needed break from the repetitive food that we eat at our hotel. Wal-Mart was like our Wal-Mart, but more things and everything is in Chinese. You could still recognize all of the branded food because of the logos. I bought coffee flavored Chips Ahoy, some juice boxes (for 1 rmb = about 14 cents), peanut butter (helloooo protein!) and some crackers to hold me over when the hotel food is less than bearable.

TEA DEMONSTRATION: We was a Kung Fu Tea Master, who had a long spouted tea spout and did crazy moves to pour his tea. I have videos.

I will update you next on Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace (my favorite spot so far, it is BEAUTIFUL!)

LOVE!

B

FIRST WEEK IN CHINA UPDATE!!!

WOW, sorry for the lack of posts, but I have not had internet...here are some updates from my journal:

July 23^rd 2008 – Night

Wow! We are finally in China! Today (well, the past two days really) have been spent traveling to our destination in Beijing. We left Newark this morning via bus and drove to JFK. We then started our long plane ride. Before we took off in New York we had to wait for about an hour because there was air traffic congestion. During the plane tide, the very kind flight attendants fed us several times. The food wasn’t bad at all. I ate chicken and rice. During the trip I played the dot game with my future roommate Rachel, watched a little bit of 27 dresses, slept and read the English language Chinese newspaper. When we disembarked off the plane in Beijing, we walked down stairs and caught a bus. We went through the line for foreigners to get our passports stamped. There was a tiny machine in front of the post that allowed you to electronically rate the customer service. It was coded with a smiley face scale: a smile for good service and a frown for bad service and faces in between that you could click. The Beijing airport was absolutely stunning. It is huge and clean and obviously prepared for all the Olympic travelers. After waiting for our baggage for an hour we went through customs to scan our checked luggage. I got stopped to open my bag because of a "suspicious" item, which turned out to just be my American flag pins, that my Dad gave me for trading. After customs, we met our tour guide, Eric (oh my gosh...I LOVE HIM), who is a first time tour guide. He is young and energetic. After a group picture, we boarded a bus to our hotel. The neighborhood we drove through to get to our hotel was poorly lit, but it seemed like everyone who lives there was sitting outside. Int the hot and muggy weather of Beijing it seems like the best thing to do. There seems like there is not a lot to do right around our hotel. When we arrived at our hotel we were given keys and told to pick roommates. I picked Rachel, well we picked each other after chatting all day. Our room has two twin beds, a desk, a television, two chairs and at table. The bathroom has a western style toilet, but the shower is the entire room. Attached to the hot water tank there is a hose with a shower head attachment. They even provided shower shoes! After a quick time relaxing in our room, we headed downstairs for a welcome banquet. The traditional welcome meal is noodles (whereas the farewell meal is dumplings). The noodles were tasty and they were served with vegetables. The people here are extremely hospitable. Tomorrow we will get the internet for 120 rbm/room for the month, so less than 10$ per person (*EDIT*this is actually a lie, room by room we STILL do not all have internet...my room does not). At the banquet we met the local police who recomended that we did not go outside of the hotel at night (excellent, makes me feel safe). The bed, as I am about to go to sleep is firm, very firm. It also does not have sheets. A bottom sheet and comforter, but no flat sheet. Overall, I am very excited to begin my experience in CHina. I am happy to not be sleeping on a plane.

July 24, 2008

Today we woke up and had a “western” breakfast. This consisted of bread, which had a sweet flavor, jam, hard boiled eggs and coffee that was served in a large bowl. After breakfast we had our first Chinese lesson with Sarah. We learned the basics that we would need to survive shopping in the afternoon. After breakfast we headed out to the bus to stop at the bank to exchange our money. Our professors exchanged all of our money for us and we walked around a large shop. We saw how silk was made and saw many traditional Chinese goods (pearls, jade, tea sets, calligraphy, etc.). We then moved on to another market. The name of the game is haggling down the price as far as you can go. The shopkeepers know key English words: “Hello Lady, you want a purse” “Hello Lady, come look” etc. The shopkeepers would grab onto you if you looked at all interested and would not let you go until you bought goods. Every shopkeeper was pulling us in different directions calling out at us to buy their goods. The name of the game was bargaining! It was a lot of fun to get the shopkeeper to knock down the price I do think that they raised the price because they knew we were foreigners. After shopping was lunch, which was delicious! We had a traditional Chinese meal. After lunch we had another shopping adventure in one of the largest shopping markets in all of China. There were many different types of goods and there was a lot of shouting to get us to buy different goods. The would offer "very good price, just for you!" When we got back we rested for a while and then had a welcome banquet. We had lots of food, beer, and there was "karaoke". Karaoke was Chinese Idol, with music playing in the background and you singing the song of your choice. The manager of the hotel came around and toasted every table. Later, the manager of the hotel let me use his computer to send an email home :-) Then there was some hanging out and bed.

July 25th

Rachel and I both woke up before 6am, I guess we are not totally on the Beijing sleeping schedule yet. We sipped tea and viewed out our window at the stillness around us. While Rachel organized her bag (as there are no dressers in our hotel), I braved the shower. Today was better than yesterday. Yesterday, I turned the shower on and off between lathers in attempts not to get everything soaked. Today I let the water run at a lower pressure and managed to only get half the room soaked. I like the leisurely mornings to journal, sip tea and upload pictures to my computer.

Later:

After tea and showering, Rachel and I took a short walk around our neighborhood. People were sitting outside, eating at a restaurant. People were riding on bikes and walking through the streets. We then ate a breakfast of eggs, sweet bread &jam, and rice bread rolls. Afterwards, we ventured to Tian'amen Square, the largest public square in the world. It was huge! (obviously) The Chinese people took pictures of our group, which was pretty funny. We met the Women's US Olympic Soccer team in the square and took pictures of/with them. We then went to the Forbidden City, which was much larger than I ever expected. The temples were beautiful. It is amazing to me that it was built just for the emperor. After the Forbidden City, we went to lunch and then to Bei Hei park, wher there is a HUGE lake with THE COOLEST PADDLE BOATS I HAVE EVER SEEN (see pictures). Some had chicken heads in the front. We then went to another park to climb to a high pavilion to "see all of Beijing".

From the top of the temple:

The smog is unreal. We cannot even see the entire Forbidden City, which is a mile long and very wide. At the top of the temple you should be able to see all of Beijing, but the smog is thick here. Apparently it is much better than before, but it is thicker that I have ever seen before. The wind is gently blowing through my hair and I feel totally relaxed. The Chinese culture seems much more relaxed than the rushed pace of the American lifestyle. We see people sitting on the side of the road, men with their shirts half up because of the humidity and children barley clothed or naked. Many children have shaved heads probably because of the heat.

WELL! That was a heck of an update, I am still behind in typing things up, but I will update it soon (tomorrow hopefully), but please check out my pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/BrittneyABaker

LOVE!

B

China, but no internet

Sorry for the lack of posts.  I am safely in China, but our hotel has limited internet.  I will be updating with pictures (300+ so far!) and my journal entries when internet is connected to our room (several days?). Check back then!

One day...

until I depart for CHINA! I just finished my last Spanish final ever (HOORAY!!!) and I am about to pack up stuff from Fredericksburg and drive home to Delaware. I have mixed emotions about leaving tomorrow. It is mostly excitement, but I am also nervous. Part of me really wishes that I would have taken more time to prepare for the trip instead of racing around wrapping up things in Fredericksburg the day before I am set to travel. I packed some stuff before I left STP, but the trick will be not forgetting anything between the stuff I moved out from STP, the stuff in my apartment, and my stuff at home.

I did take some time to de-stress yesterday. I went canoing on the Rappahannock and it was absolutely beautiful :-)

Well, I am off to finish packing and start my trek back to Delaware. Tonight I am going to hang out with my family and (shhhh! surprise:) celebrate my parent's birthdays because I will be out of the country for both theirs and mine (I am sure my parent's won't read the blog today, so they'll still be surprised!).

IOC/BOCOG RULES FOR ATTENDANCE AT OLYMPIC VENUES

If you're interested in the rules for attending the Olympic Venues...

"BEIJING, July 14, 2008http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/official/n214452343.shtml


A recent BOCOG press conference release aims at complying with IOC requirements that host nations conduct venues that maintain an orderly, civilized and peaceful environment for all competition venues. These rules are similar to those of the Sydney and Athens Olympic Games. The focus of these rules places caution on articles accompanying spectators and spectator behavior at the Olympic venues. Consequently BOCOG has issued the following rules that spectators must observe during attendance at the upcoming Olympic Games.

Restricted articles include hard-packed drinks and food; fragile articles; musical instruments; carry-on bags, suitcases and handbags which are too big to carry to the seats; flags of countries and regions not participating either in the Beijing Olympic Games or Paralympic Games and other flags over two meters in length or over one meter in width; flag poles of over one meter in length; banners, leaflets, or posters; unauthorized professional videotaping equipments; knives, bats, long-handle umbrellas, long poles, sharp-ended stands for cameras and video cameras, and other objects that may cause harm and injury to people; animals (with the exception of guide dogs); vehicles (except for strollers and wheelchairs); unauthorized walky-talkies, loudspeakers, radios, laser devices or wireless devices that interfere with the electronic signals of the Olympic Games.
Inappropriate behavior include the following: smoking at a non-smoking area; crossing over the guardrail; using umbrellas or standing up for a long period of time in the seating area, thus obstructing the field of vision of other spectators; and flash photography.
In addition, rules also ban weapons and equipment including guns, ammunition, crossbows, and daggers; fireworks, firecrackers and other flammable materials; corrosive chemicals and radioactive materials.
According to BOCOG, these rules restrict rule restricts articles and behavior that are not illegal but not in conformity with Olympic regulations and tend to interfere with order, venue environment and interests of athletes and other spectators. Note that banned articles and behavior are against current Chinese laws and regulations. Legal action may be taken against violators."

Olympic Events...

In less than a week I will be in China! Today I found out which events I will be seeing:

Aug. 7- Preliminary round for the Olympic games involving Men’s Soccer

Aug. 13 - Olympic Basketball

Aug. 14 - Softball

Aug. 15 - Basketball

Aug. 16 - Men's Volleyball

Aug. 17 - Women's Volleyball

Aug. 19 - Track and Field in the Bird's Nest

I have started packing and I am working on finishing up my papers for my China class. Today is my last day at my internship until I return in the fall semester. I take my spanish final on Monday and then I'll zip home to Delaware for some quality time with my family before I leave the following day!

Welcome!

Ni hao! Hello!

In less than a month I will be traveling to China with the University of Delaware to learn about the culture and watch the Olympic Games. We will be departing the United States on July 22nd and returning August 21st. If you want to find out more about what we are doing in China, I will be updating this blog periodically while in China so make sure that you check back :-) I will link pictures as I upload them so that there will be a visual of China!


Currently I am taking a class, working as a camp counselor and working as an intern at the George Washington Regional Comission. I am also working on writing a few papers for my History of the Modern Olympics class that are due before we leave. My term paper will be on the Environmental Effects of the Olympics.

Thanks for reading!