Whew, what a day! I was only out for 5 hours today, but what a productive 5 hours they were.

My cousin Fan Wei and her husband picked me up around 9:30 this morning, and we headed promptly to Jing Shan Park (景山公园), one of Beijing’s famous historical landmarks. Although I had probably been here at some point in my life, I had forgotten all about it, and today turned out to be quite the refreshing experience. Jing Shan is essentially a mountain with 5 pavilions on it, 2 on each side and 1 on the peak. Each pavilion symbolizes something different, and each was previously occupied by a unique Bodhisattva, until they were looted by the Eight-Nation Alliance during the invasion of Beijing in 1900-1901. It was a beautiful day, and the view from the top of the mountain was stunning. Jing Shan lies directly on the invisible line that divides the city into its east and west halves, and from where we stood, we got a great view of the rear gate of the Forbidden City. After we descended the mountain and made our way through the rest of the park, I was presently surprised by the amount of activity that was going on. From practitioners of Tai Chi to people jumping rope and kicking 毽子 (Chinese equivalent of hacky sack), to calligraphers writing on the ground using large brushes and water as ink, to scores of people gathering around and singing folk songs, there was an inescapable feeling of “old Beijing” (老北京) in the air. The sights and sounds reminded of the Beijing I fell in love with as a kid before all the skyscrapers and automobiles took hold.

After Jing Shan, we headed off to 南锣鼓巷, a historical street buried deep in the historical hutongs of the city. It is now serves as a unique shopping and culinary experience for foreigners and locals alike. We took our time wandering through the shops, stopping to taste some of the famous local food such as stinky tofu (yes, it smells bad, but tastes delicious), homemade yogurt (more flavorful than any froyo I’ve ever had), and triangle cakes (a thin outer shell filled with red bean paste). We had lunch at a restaurant called 鬼味, which is famous for its many-flavored chicken wings. I even had some wasabi wings, which ended up being a bit more tame than I expected. Still I was thankful to have plenty of soda to wash it all down. 南锣鼓巷 is adjacent to 沙井胡同, where my dad’s family used to live, and where I spent a large part of my early childhood. About 5 years ago, the government tore down the family’s neighborhood, and my family was forced to relocate. As we walked by the neighborhood today, the old house was still a pile of rubble. My cousin said it’s probably because the developers ran out of money, but deep down inside I wish that they are taking their time to restore the neighborhood to the way it used to be. There is so much history ingrained in each of Beijing’s hutongs; their slow disappearance marks the end of an era.

After our journey down memory lane, we visited Wang Fu Jing (王府井), our last destination of the day and one of my favorite places in Beijing. It’s one of those places that’s designed to appeal to tourists, because in general the shopping is pretty expensive. However, many locals still go because some of Beijing’s oldest and most reputable stores are  located there. The store we went to today, Li Sheng Sporting Equipment (利生体育用品商店) is one such store. I bought my dad a new ping-pong paddle and some ping-pong balls for back home.

Tomorrow, I’m visiting my cousin Meng Meng’s house. It’s my first time going, and also the first time seeing him since he got married, so I’m looking forward to it.

So I must be a bad person for not updating at all in July yet (there goes that promise to blog every week…). Truth be told, I have been pretty busy, although not so busy that I can say that I honestly haven’t had time or opportunity to blog. I am not like most typical bloggers. Sure, I occasionally enjoy talking about how my day has gone (or how this month has gone, haha), but that kind of bogging is more of a kind of release for boredom than anything else (hence the massive posting spree when I go to China). I am more of a newspaper columnist than a serial blogger in the sense that I need some kind of stimulus, some sort of significant event to make me want to get off my ass and proclaim loudly, “Yes. Now THIS is something worth writing about.”

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update

PNC bank is retarded. Rejecting one of my payments after I ordered the parts for my new computer. Then they tell me to call them but it’s after their service hours. Shouldn’t there be a 24 hour service for transactions issues? Outrageous.

It’s been a busy couple of days. On Saturday, Fan Wei, Meng Meng, his wife, and I had dinner at a restaurant (Wang Shun Ge) famous for its fish head (I’m pretty sure the English translation is just “Fish Head Restaurant”). Although I have never been a big fan of eating fish head, the one we had on Saturday was delicious. I never thought one fish head could be so filling, but I was proved wrong: some of the bigger fish heads weigh five of six kilograms! If you’re ever in Beijing, I highly encourage you to give this restaurant a visit. The next day, Fan Wei had to teach a class in the southern part of Beijing, so I made the long trek to meet her and her husband Feng for lunch. We then drove to Pan Jia Yuan and visited Beijing’s famous “Glasses City,” where I managed to purchase a pair of glasses for 150 RMB! The most ridiculous part was that I got them in about a half an hour. In the U.S., the same thing would probably cost at least $150 and take at least a week or two to manufacture and deliver. Of course, the quality in China isn’t as great, but for the price and convenience, I think it is completely worth it. Plus, I primarily wear contacts, so it’s even less of a problem for me.  After feeling very good about the bargain price that we got for the pair of glasses, the three of us went and saw How to Train Your Dragon in 3D. I have to admit, was a little hesitant at first, but I was presently surprised by the movie and the 3D effects. It was the first full-length 3D movie I’ve ever seen (yeah I know, I’m a loser for not seeing Avatar), and the whole experience was amazing. And while the movie itself is geared towards a younger audience, I saw plenty of adults in the audience who were having a great time (myself included). I feel like with recent films like Avatar, Alice in Wonderland, and now How to Train Your Dragon, 3D movies are making a bigger impact at the box office, which only means that there will be more and more 3D movies in the future. While not all films will be appropriate in 3D, I think that those of the action and animated genres will benefit greatly from the growing prominence of 3D technology. If implemented correctly, the 3D effect will definitely be a great draw for audiences of all ages.

Earlier today (Monday), I traveled to my grandparents’ house in Mai Zi Dian, where I’ll be staying for the rest of my time in China. It feels good to have visited all of my closest relatives after nearly a year of absence. All in all, it’s a good change of pace, and it’s a trip that I’d like to keep making every year for as long as possible. I spent a good portion of my childhood here, so I always feel like I’m coming back to a second home rather than just visiting.

Of course, no trip to China would be complete without my getting demolished by mosquitoes, and as if to prove a point, one mosquito gave me no less than 20 bites last night (my very last night at my uncle’s)! FML.

With not much to do here, I finished Heroes through Season Five, and have been reading about options and futures in the meantime. Tomorrow, I’m going with my cousin Fan Wei to get a new pair of glasses and a little shopping at Xiu Shui Jie and maybe a movie afterward.

Woah, I can’t believe it’s almost been a week since I arrived in Shanghai. I’ve been hanging out with Ben Wang for the past couple of days. On Friday, we visited his friend at Shanghai International Studies University. It was about 45 minutes out of the city (aka the middle of nowhere), but the campus was pretty amazing. Probably around 5 times the size of Penn, with only 5000 students. (Btw, tuition is only 10,000 RMB a semester.) I think it brings up an interesting issue though. Chinese people are always concerned about “saving face,” so they build magnificent buildings and facilities that drive them into debt, and the facilities end up not being used to their fullest potential. When we visited in the afternoon, the campus was nearly deserted. Although this was partially because many city kids had already gone home for the weekend, Ben’s friend mentioned that even on a normal day, most of the buildings are never fully occupied, with many classrooms permanently left empty. It’s a shame that such resources end up going to waste, and it only makes sense that schools such as this one begin to increase their class size and use their campus more efficiently.

On Saturday, we visited several major shopping districts in Shanghai, including Xu Jia Hui, Nan Jing Xi Lu, and Xin Tian Di. I’m always impressed by the size of China’s shopping malls, and even more surprised at the number of people who actually shop at these places. Places like Nan Jing Xi Lu and Xin Tian Di are considered high-end shopping districts, and yet, there are still a noticable number of Chinese people who are making purchases at stores like Loius Vuitton and Tiffany & Co–stuff that even the average American would find expensive. I feel like urban China is becoming increasingly capitalist and materialist. Thanks to the booming real estate market, more and more people are becoming millionaires overnight, and are defining China’s increasingly prominent upper-middle class. At the same time, the gap between the rich and poor continue to grow, and the disparities are alarming. Just a few blocks away from the bustling nightlife of Xin Tian Di, Ben and I witnessed a man taking a shower in the middle of the street.

Wow, the last week seemed to fly by. We drove with another family to Florida on Christmas Day, spending the night in a hotel along the way, and boarded the boat at around 5:00pm the next day. We had gotten pretty lucky when we booked our tickets; although we originally booked a room with just an ocean view, we got upgraded to a suite with a balcony, which was really nice. The cruise boat itself, the Costa Atlantica, was magnificent. I had never been on a boat before, so I was pretty amazed by all the facilities that were available on board. From a casino to several theaters, to a modern gym and a miniature jogging track, the ship pretty much had everything. The whole place was like a miniature floating city.

We spent the week visiting four locations: Key West, the Grand Cayman, Roatan, and Cozumel. We usually docked in the morning and left in the afternoon, giving people a good 6 hours or so to explore each destination. Since I’m not a big fan of the beach, my favorite places were Cozumel, (a Mexican Island) and Key West, although jet skiing in the Grand Cayman was one of the funnest of most exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had. Nothing like holding down the throttle and going 50 mph on the open water (I’m surprised I didn’t fall off the boat, haha). Aside from that, I found the informational tours at Key West and Cozumel a lot more interesting than simply walking around in the sun. I didn’t realize that Key West had such a rich history, and I was equally impressed by Cozumel’s “Discover Mexico,” a tourist destination showcasing Mexico’s history through miniature and accurate models of some of its most significant structures and places (both modern and historic). The really cool part was seeing the “miniature” versions of the Temple of the Sun and the Aztec temples–the 50:1 models themselves were several meters across, giving us a good sense of just how massive these things are in real life.

When we weren’t off exploring our island destinations, we basically spent our time alternating between eating and playing cards (with Chinese people haha). I don’t think I’ve ever eaten that much food in the span of a week before, and I’ve never seen such a variety of meals among all the ship’s buffets and restaurants. It’s astounding to think that they can even fit and prepare that much food for two thousand people (not including the workers and the crew) over the course of a week and still have leftovers remaining. If I ever get the chance to, I’d love to take a tour of the lower decks just to see how a cruise ship manages to sustain itself on a voyage (lot’s of recycling, I imagine). I also didn’t get seasick like I thought I would. In fact, it was pretty smooth for the entirety of the cruise except for one night, and I still managed to get through it without vomiting.

But now that I’m back in New Jersey, I’m actually appreciating the cold weather. Call me crazy, but I’d much rather be in cold weather than in extremely hot weather. (The mild temperatures of Key West were perfect.) With a little over a week until school starts up again, I don’t really plan on doing anything besides eating, sleeping, reading (I’ve decided to reread The Da Vinci Code), watching movies, and playing PS3 (just ordered Metal Gear Solid 4 from Amazon Prime, haha).

So I finally managed to get my license, haha. Yeah, yeah, I know I’m like 2 years behind, but since I boarded at Lawrenceville and we weren’t allowed to have cars on campus, I never bothered to take the road test. Fortunately, I passed on the first try today, so now I have a nice and shiny provisional license . My mom and I did some last minute shopping for school…I can’t believe I’m moving in Thursday! Meanwhile, I’ve been working on the PennSTART thing… I’m only through the first 2 skills, and I already can’t stand it. 7 more to go…great.

On the bright side, Penn gives us free installs of certain Microsoft software, so I’m currently installing Windows 7 on my laptop. Anyway, more about that later. I also need to retrospectively blog about my cousin’s wedding, but I’ll guess I’ll do that when I stop feeling so lazy.

Today was my second [first full] day working at China CITIC Bank. Before I go into the full details of my current situation, let me recount yesterday’s slew of events:

…I wake up at 7:20, eat breakfast, dress in a red polo short-sleeve shirt, khakis, and a brand new pair of brown leather shoes. After walking ten minutes to the bus stop, I get on the 701 bus, which is already jam-packed. Although my destination, Dong Si Shi Tiao (东四十条), is only 15 minutes away, by the time I get off the bus, the back of my shirt is already soaked, and I’m sweating bullets by the second. Not the best way to stop off your first day at work. A brisk 500 meters later, I find myself in front of CITIC’s headquarters, which is located in a building complex called the Fu Hua Manor (富华大厦). There, I am greeted by Zhou Hua, my dad’s friend and my contact person at CITIC. He and my father both attended Ren Min University, where his father was my father’s professor (small world, indeed). Mr. Zhou is the head of the International Banking department at CITIC’s HQ, and is currently managing over 20 people. Coincidentally, one of my dad’s classmates from Ren Min, Sun Jianlin, is also at CITIC, and he is the head of the Credit Management department, which happens to be right across the hall on the same floor! After giving me a brief tour of the office, Mr. Zhou put me under the guidance of Yu Yong, who leads the [[代理]] group, of which I will be an interim member for the next few weeks. I was introduced to the other members of the group, Hu Xiao and Qin Ru, both women in their late 20s/early 30s, and spent the majority of the morning looking over the Bank’s 2008 Annual Report. In doing so, I was able to gain a basic understanding of the company. I was surprised, for example, that despite the financial crisis that left many banks around the world in ruin, CITIC was able to pull in 13 billion RMB in profits. Pretty impressive for a commercial bank that was only established 22 years ago. In fact, CITIC was a relatively small bank for almost two decades after its founding until it went public in 2007. Since then, the Bank has grown rapidly, with profits increasing by 40% and 60% over the past 2 years respectively. To be technical, China CITIC Bank is now part of a larger conglomerate known as CITIC Group, which holds a 60% stake in the Bank. The other 40% is owned by Banco Bilbal Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA) and HK Securities Clearing Company Nominees Ltd. Although the Bank still doesn’t compare to the size of China’s Big Four banks, the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), Bank of China (BOC), China Construction Bank (CCB), and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), CITIC is a competitive force in the industry, and it has demonstrated great potential for growth. (In case you are curious, CITIC used to stand for “China International Trust and Investment Company,” but like “SAT,” is now a dead acronym)…

Things were going smoothly until after lunch, when I suddenly noticed that I was terribly out of dress code. Everyone else was in formal attire: suit pants, black shoes, white collared shirts. I needed to get my hands on a suit, and fast. After calling Fan Wei and hurrying home to grab money and change into more comfortable clothes, I headed out for the second time that day—this time to Sogo, a modern shopping center with a wide selection of men’s formal wear. Along the way, I realize, much to my disgust, that my new shoes had caused four huge blisters on the back of my feet. Great. I needed another pair of shoes.

The next couple of hours consisted of my fruitlessly wandering from store to store in hopes of finding a suit that: (1) Fit, (2) Had two buttons (While Westerners like the two-button suit, Chinese businessmen prefer the three-button, as it makes you look more powerful), (3) Didn’t have pinstripes (I already have a three-button pinstripe suit), and most importantly, (4) Didn’t break the bank. If there’s one phrase that summarizes my shopping experience, regardless of whether I am in the U.S. or China, it is “size unavailable.” Back home, I usually resort to ordering all my clothes online, but in China, I have no such luxury and end up visiting every store before either giving up or getting lucky. (Honestly, I find it a bit strange that I am considered abnormally skinny even in China). Anyway, here’s how a typical visit to a men’s formalwear store might go:

Me: Hi, I’m looking for a suit that fits me.

Clerk (doubtful look): Here…try this on. [Hands me smallest size available in store]

Me: It’s too big.

Clerk: We could tailor it for you. What’s your waist size?

Me: 2’1’’

Clerk (involuntary eye popping/stare/double take/neck spasm): 2’1’’!? We don’t have that size…but we could tair it for you.

Me: Wait, how much does it cost for tailoring?

Clerk: 2000 RMB (~$300), and it’ll take a month.

Me (glancing at hefty 8000 RMB price tag, which only includes the jacket): Erm…no. I think I’ll pass…Plus, I don’t have a month, I have 12 hours.

OR ALTERNATIVELY:

Me (tired of introductions): Do you have anything for a 2’1’’ waist?

Clerk: Yes!

Me (involuntary display of bewilderment): You do?

[After trying on suit]

Me: Wow, this is perfect. How much for the suit?

Clerk: Well, we’re doing a special promotion this month. Everything is 20% off, plus an additional 10% off for buying the whole piece…all in all, 3200 RMB (~$470).

Me (-.-): Ugh.

[I had only brought 3000 RMB with me to China, all of which I had with me at the moment. Not to mention that I still needed shoes and a shirt]

Anyway, this is how things went for the better part of two hours. We were about to give up completely when suddenly struck gold at the last shop we decided to look at: a two-button black suit uniquely textured with subtle diagonal lines that fit like a charm. And the best part of all? The price tag: 1800 RMB (~$265). They even threw in a free shirt to boot! My cousin and I exchanged high fives. Within 10 minutes, I settled the deal and walked out with suit in hand. We couldn’t get over how good of a deal it was. I, for one, was fairly certain that I wouldn’t be able to tailor a suit in the U.S. for $250, not to mention the free dress shirt. Compared to the suit, picking out shoes turned out ot be a piece of cake. I ended up buying a pair of contemporary semi-formal dress shoes for 550 RMB. Not a steal, but not bad, either.

[Flash Forward: Tuesday Afternoon]

As part of the Financial Institutions Group, I spent the morning calling CITIC’s 30 branches located in all provinces of China. My job was to make sure that several overdue reports would be delivered to HQ ASAP. Although I initially found this task a bit daunting, with the language barrier being my primary obstacle, I quickly got the hang of it after the first couple of calls. By noon, I had called all but two banks (which were on break due to different operating hours), and had gained an adequate understanding of basic bank jargon in Chinese. I’ve discovered that as scary as overcoming an language barrier may be, I can never improve my skills unless I go ahead and try. Sure, I stumbled from time to time and had to struggle a bit to find the right words, but at the end of the day, I got the job done, and my confidence in my Chinese was higher than ever. A few people I contacted even asked me my name (您贵姓？), which made me feel pretty darn special. I guess they thought I was just another fellow CITIC employee. I wonder what they would think if they found out I was actually a high school graduate from the U.S.