30 July 2007

Yesterday and today have been really fun.

Yesterday (Sunday), I woke up and soon after headed off to meet my 中国家庭 (Chinese host family). This is a bit of a misnomer, seeing as my "host family" is actually a 25 year old young woman, but my HBA brother and I call her 姐姐 (big sister) and roll with it.

Anyway, our 姐姐 met us at XiZhiMen, a very crowded subway stop, and together we took the subway to a neighborhood near Hou Hai. Together, we wandered the Hu Tongr (small residential alleyways) and eventually ended up at a 北京小吃 restaurant. Bei Jing Xiao Chi, which literally translates as "Beijing small eat," is a little bit like sushi or tapas in that it's a meal made up of lots of one-bite-sized dishes. The restaurant itself was oriented around a center isle that felt like a street market: to the right and left were long bars filled with a variety of dumplings, meats, bugs, and pastries. Our 姐姐 picked out a good assortment and we ate well... my personal favorite was an egg-y dish that seemed like a cross between yogurt and flan. I definitely want to return to this restaurant before I leave Beijing.

Last night, I also watched the movie Ratatouille. It was hen ke ai--that is, very cute. I'd recommend it to anyone who's liked other Pixar films.

Today was good because of tonight; breaking with my sometimes tiring weeknight schedule of studying and more studying, I made plans to go out! An HBA friend, Bai Lu, and I have another Harvard friend who's here in Beijing for the summer working at an environmental design firm. The three of us decided to meet tonight for dinner and to plan a week of post-HBA travel.

We met at, again, a subway stop--this time the YongHeGong one--and, again, wandered the Hu Tongr. We chose a hole-in-the-wall jiaozi restaurant and straight away ordered two wooden plates of jiaozi, which were, as expected, delicious. We followed these jiaozi, which I soaked in vinegar and hot pepper, with roasted and salted peanuts and a plate of noodles. The meal was completely satisfying (and, hey, it covered two parts of the food pyramid!) and in total cost less than a dollar per person. I love this type of restaurant--a 有特点的 Chinese experience (that is, a Chinese experience with its own zing).
　
Our conversation was also great. The plan, as of now, for the end of August is: take the train to Shanghai, spend a few days there sightseeing, continue on to Huang Shang (Yellow Mountain) for a day hike or two--hopefully find lodging on the mountain, return to Beijing, say goodbye to the city, and catch my August 24th flight to Paris (via London). I've heard wonderful things about Shanghai and Huang Shang, so I've got high hopes for the trip!

Okay (sigh). Back to the books...