经济，采访，和太极拳（哎呀！）/Econ, Interviews, and Tai Chi (Oh My!)

I’ve decided to quit numbering posts by the week because I’ve completely gotten off my posting schedule such that it doesn’t make sense anymore. BUT I did realize a few days ago that I only have 3 weeks left in Beijing! That’s insane – I have no idea how it went by so quickly. I’m definitely looking forward to being home, but I’m also feeling the pressure. There’s so much left in this place to experience, there’s no way I’ll get to it all…

Anyway, here’s what’s been going on for the past week or so.

Last Thursday, I did another interview with a food vendor for my job. This one was a lot more interesting and fun – the guy was a grumpy old grandpa who acted like he didn’t want to talk but was secretly really happy to chat. He was also wearing Ugg boots, which added to his whole vibe/aesthetic. Since he had a lot to say, here’s our interview, translated:

[[What era of Beijing’s history would you most like to have lived in?

During the Cultural Revolution.

In your opinion, what is a perfect day?

A peaceful day is the best day.

What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up this morning?

Going out to make money.

Who’s your best customer?

I have too many best customers to count.

Who’s your worst customer?

I don’t have any bad customers because the stuff I sell attracts good people.

Who is the person you most admire? (I asked about living people, but he ignored that)

Mao Zedong

When and where are you happiest?

At home eating.

What talent would you most like to have?

Financial talent.

What is your greatest success?

Living until today.

If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be and why?

I would travel to the ends of the earth.

What is your most precious possession?

My food cart.

What is the quality you most value in a person?

Honesty and uprightness.

What do you most dislike in a person?

Speaking foolishly or without purpose.

What is your personal motto?

You have to work for each day you live, until you have no more days to live.

What makes you laugh?

Jokes.

What is the most surprising thing that has happened to you?

Finding the love of my life.]]

So I’d count this as a successful interaction. The guy was clearly having fun coming up with answers and I had a lot of fun listening to him.

Another interesting thing that’s been going on is that for my Econ class, we’re doing a simulation of a business deal between a US company and a Chinese state-owned enterprise. In the simulation, our teams are US corporations that produce phosphate fertilizer, and we’re attempting to acquire a state-owned Chinese phosphate fertilizer producer. It’s a pretty in-depth simulation – actual Chinese businessmen and women are playing the roles of the Chinese corporate officers, and we have to do a lot of legwork and research. It’s been really interesting diving into the world of Chinese business. We’ve been offered bribes and asked for bribes, negotiated with and had things demanded of us. I’ve learned a lot about the goals of the various actors in the Chinese economy and how the system works. The simulation will proceed for the last three weeks of the semester so I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

The big news of the weekend is that my martial arts class participated in the Beijing Collegiate Tai Chi Competition. We have been practicing for weeks, and early Saturday morning we took a bus to a massive auditorium complex and competed against other teams. Every team was wearing beautiful colored silk outfits, and the place was packed with teams from all over Beijing. We were the only team of foreigners so we got a lot of attention. We had a ton of fun performing and taking pictures. It was honestly kind of a surreal experience, in part because it took place at 8am which meant getting up at 5:30am to get there on time, and in part because I never thought I’d be competing against Chinese college students at tai chi. Here are some pictures – enjoy!

 

 

After the competition we went for back to our campus neighborhood for a team pizza lunch. Before we had gone on stage at the competition, our coach’s inspirational speech was, “Don’t think about the tai chi. Just think about the pizza lunch.” So we were READY for that pizza. But for some reason our coach ordered 5 extra large pizzas for 7 people plus 5 plates of nachos, so we were absolutely buried in pizza. We had to invite the entire TBC student body to help us eat it, and about 15 showed up, so it became a real party. And that’s how we capped off our tai chi experience.

Over the past few days a real cold snap has hit Beijing. It snowed a couple of days ago and the temperature hasn’t risen above 25 degrees Fahrenheit since then. So we’ve kind of retreated inside, though Monday night we took taxis down to Sanlitun to get burritos and margaritas (this Mexican restaurant has a margarita Monday deal that’s hard to pass up). But basically since the weekend it’s just been huddling inside near radiators for warmth. Hopefully the cold lets up soon!

That’s it for this time. Thanks for reading, lots of love!