서울: SO MUCH FOOD

As my first of many posts on Seoul,

I present one of the most amazing food experiences of my life

(for those of you very familiar with this food, I apologize for the basic descriptions):

bulgogi - basically sliced beef in broth 

(definite winner)

dried fish and squid legs in the background

(didn't dare try)

OMG KOREAN TACOS

(soooo good)

Giving Thanks in Beijing

I wasn't sure what to expect for my first Thanksgiving in China, what with Thanksgiving being an American holiday. I know the ex-pat scene in Beijing is big enough to support at least a few efforts at Thanksgiving, but since one doesn't normally see turkeys go the way of Beijing Duck, I wasn't sure how much experience Chinese chefs had had with the giant bird. Did they know how to make it just right? Not too dry? Well-done all the way through? What about gravy??? After all, a crucial part of the Thanksgiving turkey is the gravy.

With all these concerns in my head (I obviously take my Thanksgiving meals very seriously), I hopped on a bus with the rest of my program affiliates to head to the Holiday Inn for our banquet. The program had arranged for a Thanksgiving buffet there in conjunction with the Stanford program. We didn't really mingle much with our Stanford colleagues as we were all a little busy stuffing our faces with the AMAZING (if a little crazy) food served at the buffet. Sushi, sashimi, fried rice, sweet and sour pork, pizza of all kinds, roast beef, various fruit, weird yams and..... turkey! Yes, that is right, somehow the Chinese chefs at the Holiday Inn knew just how to make the turkey so that it had that perfect Thanksgiving taste. And they even had gravy!!

Alright, so here's the food run-down:

me with my first round of food

(see how happy I am?!?)

西安: Fun and Final Thoughts

This last post of the longer-than-anticipated Xi'an series is just a general wrap-up of my second day in the City of Western Peace. While Joanna and Lucy had to get back to Beijing the day before, Liz and I stayed for an extra day to see what we could see.

The morning started off a little like this...

...and maybe it was the great night's sleep I had at the hostel, but it just felt like a jumping kind of day, so...

西安: The Terra Cotta Warriors

I was originally going to begin this post with the bold statement that the Terra Cotta Warriors are, well, fake. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't suggesting that the Chinese government fabricated an entire archeological find. Rather, I was of the opinion that the warriors on display were replacements of the originals. There are plenty of legitimate reasons for the government to do this: preservation, research, presentation. But when I mentioned this opinion to my friends back at Yale, the response was unexpectedly strong outrage. Who was I to say that such a massive archeological discovery was fake? After all, my majoring-in-archeology friend pointed out, I was not an archeologist. 

Fair. BUT STILL THEY WEREN'T THERE.

So, for those who have yet to see the Warriors firsthand, here were my original arguments. This also gives people opportunity for rebuttal if they so choose... 

西安: DUMPLINGS!

There are really no words to describe the dumpling demolition that went down on Friday. Eighteen different kinds of dumplings were served, friends. EIGHTEEN. I barely made it through all of them. To tell the truth, I had to admit defeat at the very end, and of all the dumplings that were served to me, two remained unfinished :(

Please don't judge; it was a pretty intense meal. Here, for your viewing pleasure, are the dumplings of Xi'an:

First... the appetizers

Now for some lucky pearl dumpling soup. Tradition says whoever has the most pearls in their soup is the luckiest person at the table... guess who that was?!

And now...

the dumplings.

A final note:

Not all dumplings made it onto the SD card.

But trust me, there were eighteen.

西安: An Evaluation, Part 3

Oh, food. It is literally the best way to explore an unfamiliar land. You deal with the language, the people, the culture, the flavors… all at the same time! There were really so many different food experiences in Xi’an, some that would be familiar to the Western reader and some that definitely wouldn’t. To do the food experience justice, we’re going to go back to the tried-and-true method of photo-blogging. Other than one experience that merits a post all its own, this is a recounting of most of the notable food of Xi’an. Enjoy!

Note: With the exception of the last picture, all of the pictures below were taken in the Muslim Quarter of Xi'an. The last one was taken at Pizza Hut.

西安: An Evaluation, Part 2

Now on to people….. oh my goodness, so many people. I thought I’d be used to it right now, I really did, but every new place in China I go, it’s the same incredible crush and the same upswell of frustration as I try to fight my way to my goal. Honestly, I think the only place in China I’ve never felt crowded is the grazing land of Inner Mongolia, but that’s just because it’s GRAZING LAND. I think it was the last hour of our time in Xi’an that got me…

First, getting a taxi was impossible. So many people were vying for taxies everywhere. My friend Liz even got into a struggle with one girl as they both tried to get into the same taxi. Hilarious from my viewpoint, but frustrating all the same. Then, we tried to board the bus. I, being used to the Beijing system of boarding on the back, boarded the back of the bus… and waited. The bus wasn’t going, and there was an automated message repeating on the speakers. I couldn’t quite understand the stilted speech in the automated message, but everyone was looking at me, and I flushed, beginning to realize maybe the message was for me. Liz had gone up to pay our fare, so I didn’t know what the problem was, but as I began to understand the message (as it repeated for the eighth time), I realized it was saying, “People who boarded the back of the bus, please get off and board up front.”