KTV

KTV in Asia varies a bit from karaoke in the West. In the US, one mounts a stage in a bar, mic in hand, to belt out (or not) one’s favorite tunes to an audience of strangers (and hopefully some friends). In China, the KTV experience involves renting, by the hour, a private room with a group of friends. The room is usually furnished with comfty sofas, a coffee table and a huge flat-screen TV. In control of an enormous remote control (with button commands all in Chinese characters), one has the power to enter one’s own song selections.

The KTV room has the effect of a flashy living room, complete with glass walls, mood lighting, and often a disco ball. Just press the staff call button if you desire to make a pricey drink order. Correct me if I’m wrong, but from my observation, one thing that doesn’t appear to differ between Karaoke East and West is the odd selection of video footage rolling behind the song lyrics.

Olympics Opening Ceremony

Elina (Russian classmate) and I watched the opening ceremony performances on a big screen TV on the sports field of Beijing University of Science and Technology. There were sites at various parks in the city that were set up for public viewing. We sat on the grassy field in a sea of black-haired heads. Campus is not too far from the Olympic Village, so you could even see a tiny bit of the fireworks from the field.

In the artistic performances, I was impressed by the juxtaposition between traditional Chinese culture and modern day technology.

We grabbed coconut pies and cheeseburgers to go from McDonalds because it was the only open restaurant in the area (24 hours, man) as today was an official public holiday. It was full of people gathered to watch the ceremony on the wall-mounted flat-screen TV. Armed with dinner and MccyD’s Olympic paper fans, we headed back to the dormitory to watch the parade of athletes on smaller screens in our rooms.

I won’t go into the details here now, but I want to say that I support the 2008 Beijing Olympics. And I agree with G.W. Bush's stance (how many times will these words ever be typed from my fingers?) on China and the Olympics: boycotting the Beijing Olympics would be an "affront to the Chinese people". Of course we could debate about this. But in short, one of my greatest lasting impressions throughout my travels, has been the difference between nations and their peoples as we know them through our foreign policies (and cultural stereotypes) and the actual people from those countries in their true human form with hopes and dreams and fears like ours. Okay, I'll stop there for now...

I have a tickets for Olympics baseball and wrestling later in the month. I’m looking forward to seeing things from inside the stadium!

p.s. I don't eat much McDonalds back home in the US, but McD's has the greatest chicken sandwiches in China--made with real chicken meat, sometimes even dark meat--yum!

Studying Chinese at BLCU

Right: my Chinese class
Far Right: a building on campus
Below: my dorm room

July 1, 2008

Hello Friends and Loved Ones,

I’m nestled on the soft, red faux-suede fabric of a new IKEA L-shaped sofa, at the P. LOFT Youth Hostel. It’s a new establishment in a Hutong neighborhood, still largely under construction as the owners prepare for the Olympics next month.

It’s overcast and drizzling outside, but I’m cozy inside, resumes, electronic accessories, calendar, books, pens sprawled across coffee table, couch and floor in a spacious corner of the rec room.

And ah! My spaghetti bologniese has just arrived. Tonight I needed that something special that only Chinese Italian food can give ya, for that extra emotional comfort.

As I pour over NGO, school and housing related websites, I go through tissues like crazy. It’s a cold, agitated by pollution. Or pollution aggravated by a cold. Tomorrow I’m supposed to finish registration for my upcoming Chinese language course.