This past Wednesday was another event sponsored by CRCC for all of us interns. It was a business seminar about starting and operating your own business in China, which as you can imagine, is very complex. The event was held at a local bar called Hidden Bar, named so because the bar literally is pretty much hidden. There is only one small sign for it outside and it’s underground. However, this bar instantly became my favorite venue I have been to while in China. The owner is a fellow American from New Orleans who came here 8 years ago and has built up a reputation around Beijing as a man to go to when you need a job, a place to stay, merchandise, just to name a few. I would compare him to Rick Blaine played by Humphrey Bogart from Casablanca. There are always drink specials and CRCC interns get 2 for 1 drinks every day, any time. The bar also had a huge selection of hookah (see previous blog post) and a section where you take your shoes off and sit around on cushions and pillows to enjoy.

Two local entrepreneurs came to speak to us about how they came to be in China and start their businesses, one called Gung Ho Pizza and the other is an internet discount store for foreigners in Beijing called IJustWannaBuy.com. They spoke for about an hour on the process and benefits, in their opinion, of a China operated business. Afterwards we all stayed and had drinks and hookah and enjoyed each others company. After work today my co-workers invited me out to play some American pool and have dinner afterwards. Although they call it American pool the rules were not exactly what I was used to. I blame that as the reason I lost so many times…

Pretty low key week for the most part; tonight were all going back to Hidden Bar for a special event. I cannot remember the name of the artist for the life of me but there is going to be live music performed by an American keyboardist who has played with bands like The Eagles, The Beatles, Eric Clapton, and that’s all I can remember - going to be a great night. I also purchased tickets today with 3 other interns for the China National Ballet on July 30th at the Beijing National Grand Theater (see picture below). A lot to look forward to!

Beijing Summer Palace

Time seems to be flying by over here in Beijing; all of one month interns have only one week left in China before they head home. I’ll be back before I know it. What makes things go by even faster is how much we do during the weekends. This weekend was a national holiday known as the “Dragon Boat Festival” so we had Friday off from work – what a nice three day weekend. The Dragon Boat festival is celebrated every year with boat races in the shape of dragons. Unfortunately Beijing does not hold these boat races so I was unable to attend a race. We spent our Friday off hopping around to different markets here. The first market we went to, known as Panjiayuan Antique Market. This market was different than the other ones that we have been to because the other markets were indoors and sold electronics, and fake name band jewelry, clothing, shoes, etc. This market, however, sold traditional Chinese antiques, vases, statuettes, china, and Chinese jewelry – rows and rows of jewelry. This is the kind of place girls would spend all day at because there must have been about 200 vendors selling all types of jade, pearl, precious stone, and wooden jewelry. I picked up a few small trinkets while my roommates both purchased a hand carved chess set. We will be going back to this market for sure.

Saturday I met my co-workers and fellow B&D Law intern at the famous Summer Palace on the outskirts of Beijing. The palace was once used at a summer getaway for the Emperor and his family members. In 1993 the Summer Palace was added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) world heritage list, a prestigious list of places with outstanding cultural and/or physical significance. The massive estate is filled with acres of recreational forest, lakes, temples, pavilions, halls, palaces, and bridges. Exploring the entirety of the Summer Palace would take almost 2 days. It was great to go with my co-workers because they were able to explain some of the architecture and stories behind certain structures that I would have otherwise been oblivious to. There was one section on the palace know has Suzhou Market Street which was built along a river runoff of Back Lake which had shops, banks, pawn shops, and restaurants all along it. Unfortunately, much like some of the Summer Palace, the original Suzhou Market Street was burned down and destroyed by Anglo-French allied forces in 1860 during the Second Opium War. However, when it was rebuilt in the 1990 they followed the original blueprints in order to preserve its original luster. Along this market river/street, we came across a vendor who turned your English name into a work of art consisting of animals, dragons, bamboo, flowers, and geographical features. My co-workers chipped in and purchased one for myself, the other intern, and his girlfriend as a gift. It was a great gesture of kindness from them and now according to Chinese custom, I am obligated to repay them with a gift so I have to think of a great one.

Afterwards we all found a nice spot within the palace and had a little picnic together. My co-workers all brought traditional Chinese snacks, foods and drinks to share with us. One food in particular caught me by surprise, being that just two weeks ago I got food poisoning from trying new food. It was slices of pigs head, boiled and packaged in deli style containers. As bad as it sounds it was actually pretty delicious – no food poisoning either! The picnic was a great time for us to all talk about culture, history, politics and other interesting topics. Being that I am from the US, my co-workers are Chinese, and the other intern is from France, it was nice to hear how different and sometimes similar the three countries can be. Afterwards, we explored a bit more and left a few hours later. All in all my day at the palace was some of the most fun I have had.

That night a few of us went out to a restaurant known as One Thousand and One Nights Restaurant to enjoy a few drinks and to indulge ourselves in the restaurants famous selection of shisha. Shisha, also known as Mu’assel, is syrupy tobacco that is mixed with molasses and chucks of fruit which give the smoke the flavor of the fruit which is used. Don’t worry, mom, it is completely LEGAL and there are even hookah bars in major cities in the US. The restaurant is located in Beijing’s club/bar district which should only take about 25 minutes by taxi. Unfortunately at that time of night it is almost impossible for foreigners to get a taxi and the ones who do stop try to cheat you out of money by paying a ridiculous cab fare. About an hour later we finally we able to find an honest cab driver and begin our night; we had the same problem going back home too.

Acrobatics show

This past Wednesday CRCC planned this month’s cultural event for all the interns – there are 79 of us by the way, and next month there will be 110. For the event we went to see the Peking Acrobatics Show right here at the Chaoyang Theater (Peking is the traditional name for Beijing, FYI). The show travels all over China similar to the Barnum and Bailey Circus back in the states and tickets to see them perform are highly sought after. And for a good reason too; the show, although it was short, was spectacular. Amazing feats of strength, balance, coordination, and acting. There was even an act where 8 motorcycles were driving all around this large metal sphere all at once, barely avoiding collision while driving sideways and upside down. My favorite section of the show was entitled “Hercules” in which a few performers performed acts of superhuman strength. They were lifting themselves and their fellow acrobats up in the air and balancing them on body parts like they were as light as a feather. There was even a part where a female performer literally danced ballet on the wingspan of a male performer as he walked around stage. I have never seen anything like it before in my life.

Work has been going pretty well for me. My supervisors are extremely friendly and they all speak English, being that they are part of the law firm’s international relations department. I even went to the gym the other day with them to play some badminton and ping pong. Needless to say I did NOT do too well. Also, Chinese do not believe in air conditioning apparently so I was dying in there. They told me to avoid rush hour traffic by coming into work after rush hour and leaving before it starts! A 10:00-4:30 work day is a win in my book. They have me doing a lot of research on US laws and how they related and are applicable to Chinese law; the two are surprisingly similar. I have also been helping them to understand merger and acquisition and intellectual property law, since the translations from English to Chinese, and vice-versa, are often skewed. This Saturday we are all meeting at the Beijing Summer Palace to do some sightseeing together so that will be nice.

The firm’s senior partner, Mr. Andy Gu, is also incredibly friendly and polite towards me and the other intern working at the firm (a nice kid from France who is here on his own). Mr. Gu offered to drive me home from work today being that his home is just down the road from my apartment. During the drive we spoke about law in China and the US, Chinese culture and traditions, Beijing economy, and even politics which I found out is a sensitive subject in China. China is a single-party state when it comes to politics and that party is the Communist Party of China. There is no voting, or bi-partisanship, or elected officials in China which we are so used to in the US. Mr. Gu told me that people here have grown accustomed to this trend and there seems to be no forecast for change anytime in the near future. Makes you appreciate the system we have back at home regardless of how ‘rigged’ you may consider it to be.

Great Wall of China

This weekend was some of the most fun I have had in a while (partly because I was no longer sick and damning the entire country of China!). Friday was a scheduled CRCC event for all the interns at the Beijing Huiling Community Service for People with Learning Disabilities. It’s a wonderful charity organization here in China that helps to empower those with mental disabilities, providing them with an outlet to interact with other people through arts, physical activities, and community gatherings. As soon as we all got there they put on a show for us that featured choreographed dances, Chinese rapping, singing, and even a little acting play. You can tell how excited they were to be performing for us foreigners; they even had some of us dance and sing along with them. Afterwards we did some arts and crafts and had a nice opportunity to interact with them. All in all it was a very nice event.

On Sunday we visited a section of the Great Wall of China. This is by far my favorite place I have visited while in China, and possibly one of my favorite places I have EVER visited. A group of 25 of us rented a bus for the day to drive us out to the Great Wall. The ride took about an hour and a half which isn’t too bad. The entrance to get to the wall started at the bottom of a hill and you can either walk up a trail (about 20 minutes) or take a gondola for an extra 50 yuan ( 6.3 yuan equals 1 USD). Only three of us including myself took the gondola, but it was so worth it. The view from up there along the ride was breath taking. You could see mountains all around you with little villages at the foot of each, and the Great Wall spreading out in either direction. We got to the top a little before the walking crowd so we met them on top of the Great Wall. Just walking on top you can see out for miles around you; a very beautiful sight. We started walking along the wall and that was an experience in itself.

When the sections of the wall were built beginning in the 7th century BCE, they were built along the tops of mountains following their every twist, turn, rise, and drop. As a result, some sections are nice and flat, while a few hundred feet away it’s extremely steep! Well, this is exactly what we experienced the whole way; STEEP!! Some stair cases looked as if they were almost going completely straight up and it was very nerve wrecking. Every few thousand feet there is a watch tower where we would rest, look at the amazing scenery, and take pictures. These high tourist traffic areas of the Great Wall are renovated and kept nice so they look how they did hundreds of years ago. But the majority of the entire Great Wall in China is run down and falling apart, almost to the point where it is unrecognizable.

Eventually on our hike along the wall we reached a sign that read “No further entrance,” and for a good reason. It was at this point the renovations had stopped and the wall was overrun with forest, beginning to fall apart in some places. Of course as tourists, we didn’t pay mind to this sign and kept going, and I am happy we did. This was this side of the Great Wall I wanted to see; the run down, historic looking, no other tourists around, secluded part. We had to work our way around bushes and weeds while walking, and even avoid little parts where the wall had broken off and the cliff was exposed (I know my mother is not too happy with me right about now). We got to where a watch tower should be, but at this point it was collapsed and a pile of bricks. Of course, we climbed to the top of what was left of the tower and the view was something I will never forget in my life. Completely indescribable.

A few German tourists were walking back towards us from further along the dilapidated wall, who advised us to go no further because the hike was not worth it. So, we took a few more pictures and made our way back. Rather than walking or taking a gondola back down the mountain, wall all paid about 40 yuan to take a toboggan down which was AWESOME! We all had our own personal toboggan which ran along this scenic metal course to the bottom of the mountain. And I must say these little things were very, very fast; I almost fell out during a turn or two. All in my entire trip to the Great Wall was incredible. It was exactly the experience I wanted.

China Waste Management

My mother’s comment on my previous blog post brought up quite an interesting topic I neglected to mention when talking about my first observations about China; the TOILETS! Since Beijing is still a developing country, for the most part, the sewage system here is not as advanced as we are used to in the United States. When wandering around China you will most likely run into one of three different types of toilets: Western, squat, and Hutong. (By the way, those were placed in that order for a reason, you will see why).
The first is what we are all used to; the Western toilet. This is only seen in hotels, international apartments, schools – basically any place where there will be a large foreign influence for an extended period of time. This is by far the cleanest and least awkward of the three. Locals consider these ‘high class.’
The squat toilet is essentially what is sounds like; a porcelain hole in the floor where a Western toilet should be. Thankfully these are placed in separate stalls so no one can see you squatting over a hole with your pants down at your ankles. These are the most common toilets in the Beijing area as well as other large cities. Operating these things for the first time was extremely difficult for me. I didn’t know how far down to squat or if I would get any on my pants (sorry for the image). After a while you get the hang of it, but what I’ll never get used to if the fact that you are NOT supposed to throw your used toilet paper down the drain. Again, sewage in Beijing is weak and cannot handle it. Instead there is a waste basket next to the toilet where you throw your paper into…yes, a basket full of used toilet paper.
The last type of toilet you’ll find here in China is the Hutong, and I hope I never see one of these. The hutong is found in a wooden structure usually out in public, rural areas. A line of partially tilted boxes are against the wall where you set your rear end into and begin using. Absolutely NO privacy. Oh, and there is no sewage system so everything is collected in a hole under the building. I haven’t experienced this but I’ve been told on a hot summer day in Beijing the fermenting feces can be smelled even from the outside. Ironically enough, once a week a ‘hygiene truck’, as it’s so wonderfully named, comes to suck up all the waste.
I’m happy to say my apartment is fully service with a Western toilet and a decent sewage system. Welcome to Beijing!

Monday 6/11-Thursday 6/14

Monday was supposed to be the first day the interns begin work, and as I previously mention I was unable to go due to food poisoning; so my first day was Tuesday. The night before did not go too well, being that I was still feeling the effects of the illness. I didn’t get more than 2 hours of sleep through my severe abdominal pain. But I showered and got dressed none the less ready to start my interning experience. When I arrived at B&D Law one of my supervisors, Summer, greeted me with a very sincere hello and a cup of warm water (the Chinese prefer warm water over cold drinking water). I met my co-workers who, much to my relief, all spoke decent English. I was shown to my desk and given a few legal documents to proof read. While getting to work, I noticed that the entire off was dead silent. No one was speaking but rather glued to their computer screens. I was beginning to think nothing was getting done but then I remembered something I learned from Chinese business orientation. Almost all inter-office communication is done online through either Skype or MSN massager. Little by little all the members of the office started adding me on Skype and communicating via messages, which felt a little odd being they were sitting no more than 15 feet from me. This is very different from offices in the US where it is always loud and people usually yelling across the room. At lunch my co-workers were very friendly towards me; they asked me questions about my school work, any sports I like to play and watch, American culture. They even invited me to the gym after work to play some badminton and ping pong. Unfortunately, after lunch my symptoms started to kick in again full force and my supervisor recommended I go home and get rest. Over the next few hours I became even more ill, once again, so I was told to stay home the following two days to be well rested. So that’s what I did. The last two days have been pretty boring. Spent a good amount of time resting, talking to my girlfriend during the time frames we are both up, making up my own dialogue to Chinese TV, and watching movies online. It’s now Thursday night and I feel as if I have made a full recovery! Happy to say I can finally enjoy China once again and see my friends who have been so worried about me the past few days. Going to have to watch the foods I eat more closely now…

First weekend in Beijing

This past weekend a group of us went to visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. For those who do not know, Tiananmen Square was the location for the world famous 1989 student protests against the Chinese government, and the Forbidden City was home to Chinese royalty for over 500 years. The Forbidden City was probably the most amazing palace I’ve ever seen. In Europe last year I visited the Schonburnn Palace in Vienna, Austria, but this was far more amazing. We were told in order to complete a tour of the entire palace you would need at least 5 hours because of the size. Unfortunately we only toured for about 2 hours before it started to rain. The cool thing about walking around the palace was the reactions we received as foreigners to the Chinese people. People would stop and stare at us (which is not considered rude in China) and even ask us to take pictures with them. I find it strange, however, since the amount of foreigners in Beijing as more than doubled since the 2008 Olympics. We didn’t mind though, we felt like celebrities. The next day was beautiful. Beijing has a problem with pollution and on a normal day the city is covered in smog so visibility is low. But when it rains the pollution is drawn to the ground so the next few days are clear skies. We went over to a major tourist attraction called the Hongqiao Market, or the Pearl Market as English speaking people call it. The market was located in a large five story building which housed hundreds of vendors selling everything from electronics and clothing, to jewelry and hand bags. Whether of not everything is real depends on how good of an eye you have. Before we went shopping we decided to get some food. The basement of the market had this restaurant that’s served food in a style know as a “hot pot”. Essentially, you order flavored “soup” which boils in a pot on the table. Then you order different kinds of meats and seafood and vegetables and cook the food yourself in the boiling soup. It was a completely new experience and was very delicious. We ordered potatoes, cabbage, cow meat, shrimp, tofu, noodles, fish balls, and ox blood (which is like tofu were it takes the flavor of what it’s cooked in). Unfortunately, I removed a piece of meat before it was cooked and I got a pretty bad case of food poisoning. After lunch we continued to the market to start buying stuff. The trick with this market is to bargain! The vendors tell you a high price at first which they say is a good deal, and sometimes they get lucky and some poor foreigner pays the full amount; ignorance is bliss, right? Well it turns out I discovered a hidden talent for bargaining because I was a natural. My first purchase was 4 ties, in which the lady wanted 300 yuan for one (about 60 USD) and I got her down to 75 yuan for four (15 USD). My next purchase took about 30 minutes of bargaining and it was a “Rolex” watch (emphasis on the quotations). At first the lady wanted 680 yuan (110 USD) and I got it down to 150 yuan (30 USD) and free fitting. The watch looks so real no one will be able to tell, except of course for those of you reading this. After the market the food poisoning started to hit me pretty bad so I went back to my apartment and slept the rest of the night, even had to miss my first day of work today. Day one starts tomorrow!

Hello from Beijing!

Well 8,000 miles and 24 hours of traveling later I have finally arrived in Beijing. It is hard to comprehend the fact that having brunch with my girlfriend and my mother bringing me to the airport are all technically still this same day for me being that I have not slept since. My concept of time is shot, not to mention the +12 hour time difference. Anyway, so much to talk about since I left JFK airport so let me start there. My first flight from New York to Zurich was familiar being that I made a similar flight last summer when I took a trip to Europe for a month. This flight was roughly 7 hours and most of that time was passed watching a pretty decent selection of movies. Only speed bump on that flight would occur when the girl sitting on front of me spilt her entire cup of apple juice on me. I was pretty upset, and interestingly enough this girl would turn out to be a fellow CRCC Asia intern (I didn’t find this out until my arrival in Beijing). Who would have thought our friendship would start on such a great note! The reality of this 2 month journey didn’t hit me until my stopover in Zurich. While waiting for my connection flight I realized how far I was from anyone I knew. That was the first time in my life I felt completely alone and isolated; if only I had made friends with the ‘apple juice girl’ from the flight there. With no phone, internet access, or any other method of communication with anyone back home I was beginning to wonder if I had made the right choice this summer. True definition of home-sick. My second flight (Zurich to Beijing) was pretty boring as expected. This flight being 9 hours I was able to watch a few more movies to pass the time away. My previous feelings about the trip were still lingering in my mind so that made time go much slower for me. After finally landing in Beijing and passing through Chinese customs, I walked to the assigned meeting place for CRCC interns (my flight landed 2 hours before the first scheduled pickup time). It was during those 2 hours that my feelings of loneliness and regret changed for the better. While waiting I was approached by a girl, whom I recognize from both flights I was on, asking me if I was there for a CRCC internship. We spoke for a bit then she introduced me to her friend from law school that was also doing an internship. Turned out to be the girl who spilt the apple juice on me so that was a pretty easy ice breaker. Little by little other interns started showing up at the meeting place and my anxiety diminished with each person I met. We all instantly got along great. When the first scheduled pick up time came around we had the perfect amount of interns to fit on the first bus to the apartment complex, so off we went! The apartment complex is great. It’s huge, clean, and fully serviced: a cleaning lady comes everyday to clean up, make our beds, and DO OUR LAUNDRY! Unfortunately I didn’t room with any of the people I met at the airport, but because I was the first to move into my apartment I got first dibs on rooms and I of course chose the master bedroom. It’s twice as big as the other two rooms, has a huge floor-to-ceiling window, and my very own bathroom. Thank you mom for booking the early flight, you’re the best. I just hope my two roommates honor the international “first come, first serve” policy and don’t make a big deal of it. I apologize for not posting in so long, there have been problems with the internet here. The government of China has blocked most major websites from being accessed here (like Facebook , YouTube, Blogspot, etc.) so it has taken some time to get past those restrictions. A lot more to talk about but that is all for now. So long from Beijing!

June 5th - Article on foreigners

I found this interesting article about foreign students in China; turns out there are more of us over there than what you may think. Is it all for the right reasons, however? While most of us, like myself, are there for a competitive advantage over the rest after graduation it seems that some post-graduate students are there to only escape the harsh reality of adult hood. Read for yourself: 

http://www.globaltimes.cn/NEWS/tabid/99/ID/712168/Boozy-foreigners-just-kids-trying-to-dodge-adulthood.aspx