1/2 way done!!

So the halfway point for my time in China is approaching, and I can't say that it's passed by quickly; it's definitely passed by in it's own timing.  There have been some ups and downs, but I think I'm where I want to be in the grand scheme of things :)

My co-workers Song Fan and Xuefeng Li (L to R)

I've been working on a paper with one of the graduate students in the office, and it is pretty near completion.  Hopefully we'll be submitting it soon for publication--fingers crossed!  I'm also starting to work on a project of my own which is nice for a change.  The dataset is from a cohort study on a population of intravenous drug users (IDUs), and I'll be looking at risk factors that are associated with the prevalence rates of HBV and HCV (Hepatitis B and C).  

I was also able to visit a site for a different project, and participate in it for a day which was very exciting!  This was part of an HPV study in a men who have sex with men (MSM) population in Beijing.  Going back to a hospital environment was strangely familiar and comforting :)  And lastly, English Corner has now turned into a time when the grad students can present their research to me via powerpoint.  It's actually quite efficient this way; they get to practice presenting their papers, and meanwhile, I get to learn about what they're working on. 

Snowboarding is also picking up--I've got 75% of an "S" down, and I've learned that I'm "goofy" which just means I go down the mountain on my right side while most people go down on their left.  I've finally got the heel to toe edge change, but the "back to heel edge" so far brings me to a complete stop or a wipeout/"stacking" as my Aussie friends call it.  (For more interesting snowboarding lingo.) The first few times they said it, I was like, "No, it was nothing like that"  I mean I thought that meant a pileup--wouldn't you?  Anyway, I'd attach a video for you guys, but I'll spare myself the embarrassment since the only video I have so far is the one from two weekends ago with my friend narrating in the background, "There's Esther.  This is real-time--not in slow-motion."  But don't you worry!  I promise, there will be a video of me completing an "S" once I get there.  I don't even care if you want to see it or not because I'll be way too proud of myself to care.  ;)

What else has been going on?  There was a Christmas Banquet two weekends ago which was a lot of fun.  It was a formal event held at the Mariott and was a bit pricey, but there was lots of yummy Western food, so I can't complain :)  (I'm glad I brought some dresses to China!)  Our table of friends were from Malaysia, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Taiwan, and the US. 

E-Shyh, Kristen, and I

Our table: Ernest, Joy, E-Shyh, Kristen, me, Luci, Isaac, Dan, King, Pat, Thom

Liting and Wangxia (two of my co-workers), Sarah, Adam, Allison

 Oh, and last Friday, Ben Wang (the Doris Duke scholar here) finally took his USMLE Step 2, so we threw him a party right after he took that 8 (or was it 9?) hour grueling test!  Congratulations Ben!  The party was full of burgers, fries, kebabs, you name it!  It was also a mix of locals and expats which just made our go-to game of "Time's Up" that much more entertaining!  (This is a game that involves 3 rounds with the same cards.  There are two teams who play against each other.  The first round is like "Catchphrase" or "Taboo" without the list of words you can't say.  In the second round, you can only use one word + gestures to get your teammates to guess what your card says.  In the third round, you can only use gestures.  The words on the card range from Britney Spears to Americo Vespucci.) 

There's Ben in the middle!

Well, I think that's a wrap for me.  I am off to Taiwan this Saturday for Christmas and the New Year!  I'll try to post once while I'm there, but no guarantees since gram and gramps don't have internet!  Happy holidays everyone!  

Mer Merr Merr Merry Christmas!  It's like a "Merry Christmas" window sign with a stutter! 

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

Well, it hasn't been snowing (yet) in Beijing, but ski season at Nanshan doesn't need to wait until then to begin!  Ionel, Kristen and I couldn't wait any longer, so we decided to try out the slopes last weekend!
 

It was definitely all smiles before I hit/wiped-out on the bunny slopes multiple times for the remainder of the first half of the day.  Kristen was my makeshift instructor and I paid her by entertaining her with my falls.  I definitely have a wicked bruise on my knee to prove my glory.  There were also a few moments when I thought...keep it together tailbone, keep it together, but all in all,

aside from the soreness in my neck the next day (that probably resulted from the whiplash I endured over and over again from falling), I LOVE snowboarding!!


Below are some pictures from snowboarding.  Ionel did take a video of me going down the bunny slope without falling, but, I'm sure he wasn't holding the camera at the right angle, because it makes it look as if I were going down a flat plane as opposed to the super steep slope it felt like I was going down.  It doesn't do it justice, so you will all just have to imagine it in your heads ;)

Watch out Indonesians (sea of blue and green), I'm coming through!

Kristen in her giant man sized gloves--it was either 30 RMB for giant ones or 100 something for ones that fit.

Decoration??  Never seen this kind of ad for Mini Cooper before.  I don't really get why seeing one hanging off the side of a slope would make me want to purchase one.

Ionel and Kristen looking too cool for school in their rented shades

Looking down from the top--definitely fake snow as you can tell.  I am pretty sure there are crops growing all around us. 

Sunset at 5 PM--definitely a rare sight in Beijing--what a great day!

A promise from one overpopulated country to another

Well that's a bit of an exaggeration, but truly if I had written "A promise from one Fogarty in an overpopulated country to another Fogarty in an overpopulated country" it would've been a bit wordy--don't you think?

To get to the point, I was the luckiest girl today!  I got Roze's postcard from the Netherlands this morning, and then I got a package from Natasha who is in India this afternoon.

Roze, let's plan out our trip!!
Natasha:  be expecting some trinkets and goodies from China :)
Here's a pic of your spectacular package soon.  It was kind of hilarious because it didn't quite make it in one piece.  It was taped together with China Post stickers that read something along the lines of "This package arrived broken, China Post stuck it back together."  But anyway, send me your address Natasha, so I can be a good Asian and send you something back ;)

PS Natasha:  Are there faux pas places to stick/wear a bindi on one's face?

PPS your characters looked amazing :D  You got my Chinese name right, but you forgot the "h" in my English name :(

From Imperial Examinations to modern day Civil Servant Examinations

Starting from a few thousand years back until about the 1800s, China had a system of picking out government officials:  the Imperial examinations.  Here is an excerpt from everyone's favorite, Wikipedia:

"In late imperial China, the examination system and associated methods of recruitment to the central bureaucracy were major mechanisms by which the central government captured and held the loyalty of local-level elites. Their loyalty, in turn, ensured the integration of the Chinese state, and countered tendencies toward regional autonomy and the breakup of the centralized system.

Men waiting to take the exam back in Imperial China

The examination system also served to maintain cultural unity and consensus on basic values. The uniformity of the content of the examinations meant that the local elites and ambitious would-be members of those elites across the whole of China were taught with the same values. Even though only a small fraction (about 5 percent) of those who attempted the examinations passed them and received titles, the studying and the hope of eventual success on a subsequent examination served to sustain the interest of those who took them.

In late traditional China, education was valued in part because of its possible pay-off in the examination system. The overall result of the examination system and its associated study was cultural uniformity—identification of the educated with national rather than regional goals and values. This self-conscious national identity still underlies the nationalism that has been so important in China's politics in the 20th and 21st centuries, though it is based on different criteria."

And a little about the conditions:

Examination hall with 7500 cells, Guangdong, 1873.

"By 1370, the examinations lasted between 24 and 72 hours, and were conducted in spare, isolated examination rooms; sometimes, however, it was held within cubicles. The small rooms featured two boards which could be placed together to form a bed or placed on different levels to serve as a desk and chair. In order to obtain objectivity in evaluation, candidates were identified by number rather than name, and examination answers were recopied by a third person before being evaluated to prevent the candidate's handwriting from being recognized." (And might I add, they weren't allowed to leave to go to the bathroom--done in the room in a bedpan of sorts or even to go home between the days of examinations.) 
 
If you actually read the above excerpt, I think it actually explains more than meets the eye about the Chinese way of thinking, Chinese diaspora, and all the way down to why the "Asians are smart" stereotype still holds true today.  (As I've always said, it's not so much smart as it is/and has been about being dedicated and hard working.) 

I remember learning about this back in the days of obtaining my degree in East Asian Studies (please don't take my degree away Dr. Huss for citing Wikipedia!), and the reason I bring it up is, this past weekend served as a very important weekend for Chinese citizens who were hoping to obtain a job as a civil servant.  I remember the graduate students in my office talking about it starting a few weeks ago.  Mostly they made comments like, "Well, we know we're going to fail it, but what the hey, let's give it a shot."  The exam doesn't cost very much money to take (somewhere around 50-60 RMB or less than $10) and it's only a few hours long (compared to the 24-72 hour imperial examinations), but it can cover pretty much anything you've ever learned in life--sort of like stuff they ask on "Are you smarter than a 5th grader" to college level questions.  How are you supposed to study for something like that?  Anyway, when I asked Ben in my office, why someone would go and take this test, he replied, "For stability."  Once you get a governmental position, you pretty much have a job for life, and I guess if you're competing with literally one billion other people, that goes a long way.  An estimated 1,030,000 people took the exam over the weekend.  (I'd hate to be a grader!)  Below are some photos from a Chinese newspaper. 

A crowd waiting to take the test at one of many testing sites

flooding the lobby

cram cram cram

pooped.

Yikes!  The odds of getting a position really depend on which one you are applying for, but generally according to Ben, it's about 1:1000.  I think a celebration is in order for the lucky few.  Perhaps us (MCATers, LSATers GREers, GMATers, USMLEers, COMLEXers, etc. don't have that much to complain about?)

Thanksgiving in Beijing!

Ever since college, thanksgiving has always been a holiday away from home for me, and this year was no exception.  Thanks to the enthusiasm of expats in Beijing, I was lucky enough to participate in a Thanksgiving feast marathon!  4 true Thanksgiving style meals in 3 days--phew!  I am on a diet until Christmas ;)  

I will make a note though that Thanksgiving has come a long way in China.  I remember my first Thanksgiving in China was in 2006 when I was on the Fulbright in Shanghai.  With ovens being a rare item to come across in a Chinese kitchen (who needs one when you've got the wok?), I believe I ended up making stuffing in a rice cooker--and we had to substitute duck for a turkey.  Remember those days Nay and Marie?  haha.  Now you can order a half a turkey for 200 RMB ($30) from one of the American diners and buy yourself a decent sized toaster oven for about $30-40 to make the rest :) 

Below is a picture of me, Allison, Adam, Sarah, and Ben celebrating Thanksgiving at Lily's American Diner in Beijing.  (Thanksgiving meal #1)

Below are some pictures from Sarah's get-together at her apt (Thanksgiving meal #3):

Adam (our first time, yet very talented turkey carver) and Sarah our gracious hostess who put together a scrumptious feast!

A look at our Thanksgiving table

Adam baked a deeelicious pumpkin pie

Ben and Allison waiting for their second/third wind while snacking on candied walnuts

A mix of Europeans and Americans--and Ben our Chinese national representative

Playing a German boardgame

Now, onto Christmas dinner celebrations!  I do have to say, Christmas has become much commercialized and malls here have nearly reached the level of excessive decorations as malls in the States since the making of this song: An American's Christmas in Beijing, but this song still makes me laugh so I'm sharing it with you guys.  That being said, nowadays, if you want to get that "Christmassy feeling" just head over to your nearest high end shopping mall/area and you'll hear the Christmas tunes on repeat doing what they do best--subliminally sending you messages to spend your money :)