In a city that's constantly filled with pollution and dirty air, a person can't help but be slightly suspicious when there's a long period of blue skies. Maybe I've become a little more cynical since living in China, but when I look out a window and see a blue sky, I no longer think, "Wow! What a beautiful day!" I immediately think, "Is there an international politician coming to China?" Some days I have the urge to look through the news to see what's happening to make the skies blue.
I know that people visiting isn't always the case. I know better than to think that. Sometimes rockets are shot in the air to clean it up. Sometimes, it's a big event like APEC. Other times, it's because there's a sudden holiday coming up involving a military parade.
At least that's part of what's happening this time around. In the beginning of September there's a random holiday coming up. China has a habit of throwing in random holidays. This one is celebrating the 70th anniversary of China getting Japan out. What's not mentioned is America pretty much did that, but they're just going to let that slide.
While I do enjoy the nice weather we've been getting, it does make for some difficulties. The week of the holiday, there's going to be subway closings, and things are just going to be inconvenient. It'll be really easy to get out of the city, but it'll be a bitch to get back in. So I've been debating if visiting another city in China would really be worth it for this holiday. I'm not completely sure. Probably not. But you never know.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Monday, August 17, 2015
Unicorns in China Part 1
The Beijing Bikini. Or Beijing-kini. When it's ridiculously hot, as it usually is in the summertime, men with lift up their shirts so that it's just above their stomachs. While it looks ridiculous, many people do it.
Anyone that tells you that there's no fat people in China have clearly never visited the country themselves. The guiltiest of the Beijing Bikinis are the overweight men. The shirts rest perfectly on the tops of their pot-bellies, almost like showing them off with pride. It's really strange. It's always these kinds of men that do this. The men you don't want to see sporting that around.
Most of the time. This week, Persia and I had seen not one, but two unicorns in Beijing. Men with decent bodies sporting the Beijing-kini. The one that Persia saw was a man that had muscles. Jacked. While the one I saw wasn't muscular, but he still had a fit form. Thin, but toned.
These unicorns do exist. There are probably more unicorns in this city that I realize. Maybe I'll find others. Not just with the Beijing-kini, but maybe I'll find a place where people know what a line is. You never know. Unicorns are real, people. Unicorns are real.
Anyone that tells you that there's no fat people in China have clearly never visited the country themselves. The guiltiest of the Beijing Bikinis are the overweight men. The shirts rest perfectly on the tops of their pot-bellies, almost like showing them off with pride. It's really strange. It's always these kinds of men that do this. The men you don't want to see sporting that around.
Most of the time. This week, Persia and I had seen not one, but two unicorns in Beijing. Men with decent bodies sporting the Beijing-kini. The one that Persia saw was a man that had muscles. Jacked. While the one I saw wasn't muscular, but he still had a fit form. Thin, but toned.
These unicorns do exist. There are probably more unicorns in this city that I realize. Maybe I'll find others. Not just with the Beijing-kini, but maybe I'll find a place where people know what a line is. You never know. Unicorns are real, people. Unicorns are real.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Crack Noodles
One of the greatest things about Beijing is that there are many different types of restaurants in this city. For a noodle-lover like me, this means that there are many different kinds of noodles that I can try. This also means many different types of restaurants I can try food at that I'd never be able to try being in small-town Michigan. Ex: Muslim food, Thai food, Vietnamese food, etc. One of my favorite places is a Japanese restaurant that specializes in Japanese Ramen. Persia and I have nicknamed the noodles there "crack-noodles."
The ramen there is the closest to real Japanese ramen that I've ever eaten. There's always a slice of meat, a soft-boiled egg, and the delicious broth that I can't describe. A hint of soy, but the right amount of salt and meaty flavor. The version that I get always has a little seaweed square that I can eat. I honestly wish they'd give more seaweed. Persia likes to get the spicy version. They always serve it with chopsticks and a wooden spoon that you can use to either drink the broth or put the thin noodles on to slurp up that way.
Today, Persia and I were both craving the crack noodles. We ordered, and were a little too happy about our huge bowls of ramen coming our way. Red bowl for the spicy, white bowl for the regular. The restaurant was inside of a mall. We sat next to a window with a fountain-like water display. I had a bad habit of sticking my fingers in the water while waiting for our food. There wasn't an actual window, so when people walked by, we could hear every word they were saying. Bonus points if we both understood that Chinese they were saying.
While we were eating, we heard someone say, "Excuse me!" We looked up. There were two guys looking at us through the invisible window. They looked about 25, with huge grins on their faces. They both had bags from the same store on them. Persia and I looked at each other before saying hello to them. They said hi back while staring right at me. It was pretty awkward.
"Hello," one said after a few awkward seconds, "can you speak Chinese?" Persia and I looked at each other again, smirking.
"A little bit," I replied. They blinked at me, then looked at Persia, who repeated, "just a little bit."
"Okay, thank you!" they said. Then, they giggled and practically ran away from us.
Persia and I sat there in silence for a minute. What just happened? Was I hit on? Was this a weird way to try and get us to buy something? The whole thing was really strange. They never tried to find us again after we left the restaurant. Maybe it's a mystery we'll never solve.
The ramen there is the closest to real Japanese ramen that I've ever eaten. There's always a slice of meat, a soft-boiled egg, and the delicious broth that I can't describe. A hint of soy, but the right amount of salt and meaty flavor. The version that I get always has a little seaweed square that I can eat. I honestly wish they'd give more seaweed. Persia likes to get the spicy version. They always serve it with chopsticks and a wooden spoon that you can use to either drink the broth or put the thin noodles on to slurp up that way.
Today, Persia and I were both craving the crack noodles. We ordered, and were a little too happy about our huge bowls of ramen coming our way. Red bowl for the spicy, white bowl for the regular. The restaurant was inside of a mall. We sat next to a window with a fountain-like water display. I had a bad habit of sticking my fingers in the water while waiting for our food. There wasn't an actual window, so when people walked by, we could hear every word they were saying. Bonus points if we both understood that Chinese they were saying.
While we were eating, we heard someone say, "Excuse me!" We looked up. There were two guys looking at us through the invisible window. They looked about 25, with huge grins on their faces. They both had bags from the same store on them. Persia and I looked at each other before saying hello to them. They said hi back while staring right at me. It was pretty awkward.
"Hello," one said after a few awkward seconds, "can you speak Chinese?" Persia and I looked at each other again, smirking.
"A little bit," I replied. They blinked at me, then looked at Persia, who repeated, "just a little bit."
"Okay, thank you!" they said. Then, they giggled and practically ran away from us.
Persia and I sat there in silence for a minute. What just happened? Was I hit on? Was this a weird way to try and get us to buy something? The whole thing was really strange. They never tried to find us again after we left the restaurant. Maybe it's a mystery we'll never solve.
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