Real Gucci, Fake Gucci and the Chabad of Beijing

It's taken me a while to get out this second post; my only attempt at an excuse is that I've allowed myself to become distracted by Beijing's 16 million people who speak a completely foreign language, too many extraordinarily massive and intriguing buildings too count, inescapably polluted air (yes, you can actually see it, and I'm convinced feel it), wonderfully exotic food (Ever try a mangosteen? Because I have.), welcoming Chabad house with great roommates (including the infamous Ari Jadwin for all you Brandeisian readers) and interesting guests (including the Israeli Ambassador to China), and to top it all off, I have to eat everything with chop sticks.

With that run-on quasi-apology out of the way, let's begin.

First off, this year I began what I hope will become a new tradition for me: to welcome in the new year with a foot massage. In the interest of this not sounding totally ridiculous, we should probably back up a bit and provide a little more information about my travel arrangements.

Thus far I've been exploring with friend and fellow soon-to-be HKU student, Danielle Shmuely. Forward thinker that she is, Danielle managed to befriend a few Beijingers (???) at Brandeis prior to our arrival. Thank you to Jiyun Lee (and her overly generous mother) and Sarah Ye for watching out for us as we made our first forays into this very very foreign culture. Jiyun introduced us to her high school friends, and we welcomed in the new year in the beautiful apartment of her Singaporea

n friend, Gid. Gid is a soldier in the Singaporean army, and has spent his military career instructing new soldiers in the "Body Attack" workout method. If you don't know what that is, look it up. It's worth it.

The next morning Jiyun's mother treated us to our (well, my) first foot massage. As I had been on an airplane for 13 hours, and not stop on my feet since then, the message was a welcome treat. I noticed halfway through that it was about five to One. Thanks to the 13 hour time difference, this meant that all our friends back in the States were about to watch the ball drop. With a quick exchange of text messages, my friends and I were all assured that we were still in each other's thoughts from across the world. A quick disclaimer: if you didn't get a text message, or I didn't respond to yours, please don't be insulted; I have some problem with my phone that only about half the messages I send get to the recipient, and I have no way to know which ones go through. Anyway, as I walked out of the massage parlor incredibly relaxed, I promised myself that from now on I will begin the new year with a rejuvenating message. Unfortunately, I know that this is the kind of New Year's resolution I will be unlikely to keep.

Speaking of New Year's resolutions, this year I am resolved to be take every opportunity to explore and grow, and to ask more questions than I give answers. I hope to actually make good on my resolutions, and I think coming to China was a good start (both for its unlimited opportunities for learning and exploration, and because there are only so many answers I can give when I know so little about my surroundings or the language of the people asking those questions).

After the message and a very nice lunch, we separated from Jiyun, and went with Sarah to to check out some of Beijing's finer shopping. In the last ten years, especially since the Olympics, Beijing has developed and grown significantly. The olympics brought a lot of money into Beijing, and it has been put to good use. Gucci, Prada, Bentley and Ferrari, its all here, and hosted in beautiful malls.

After lunch we went to the Hongqiao Pearl Market. The Hongqiao Pearl Market is known as the best place in the world to get fakes and nock-offs. As with everything else in Beijing, the market is gigantic. The five story mall is filled with fake Lacoste, Burberry and Marc Jacobs, not to mention knockoff iPods, cellphones, watches and anything else you can imagine having a brand name. We had a lot of fun, especially as we learned that bargaining is basically mandatory in China. After being ripped off once or twice, I quickly learned to never let them set the first price and to always aim for way way less than you think you should. Also, always be willing to walk away. I decided to just always start with a 5 yuan offer. Doesn't matter if the saleswoman's price was 50 yuan or 400 yuan. My first price was 5. She would invariably laugh and ask me what my top offer was. I would repeat 5. How could I pay 200 yuan for a belt? I would need to buy pants to go with it as well... We usually settled on a price about 20-25% of the original offering. I was told that this is a fair deal for both parties.Next, Sarah had a surprise for us. A place only "the locals" know about. She took us to a small alley way off to the side outside the market, up a shrouded staircase, behind a set of curtains up a second staircase, and down the hall. We entered a small room filled to the brim with watches. Beautiful watches. Rolexes, Breitlings and much much more. All exact copies. There were three grade qualities here: Chinese, Japanese, and Swiss. All were guaranteed for three years. Here there was no bargaining. Prices were $50 for the cheap Chinese models and $160 for the swiss models. All looked and felt basically perfect. Some were so perfect I'm convinced they fell off the back of the truck. If I give any of you guys a Rolex for your birthday, I'm not actually being quite as generous as I'm pretending to be.
By this time it was night and we took the subway to Sarah's house for some blueberry pancakes and great view and Beijing, and then back to the hotel. Riding the Beijing Metro was a great experience. It was totally packed, yet the well ventilated and spotlessly clean cars kept the Metro feeling spacious and comfortable. New York has some things to learn about underground transportation.

The next day we went to Chabad. The Chabad of Beijing is in a gated compound next the the Israeli and American Embassies. I was placed in a small room downstairs with a bunk-bed and a pullout mattress. In the lower bunk was an Australian names Ross. He was heading back to Melbourne from Israel, and decided to stop in China for two weeks since he had to stop over on the way home anyway. In the pull out mattress was Ari Jadwin, a friend from Brandeis who I had no idea would be here. He will be in Beijing for 8 months, in an intensive Mandarin program. He signs a contract later this week forbidding him

 from speaking anything but Chinese while a student in the program.
Shabbat at the Chabad of Beijing is very interesting. Friday Night dinner is held at Dini's, the only kosher restaurant in Beijing. The dinner is very nice, with a good mix of company, including the Amos Nadai, Ambassador to China from Israel, a number of embassy workers, a few local businessmen and students, and a small crowd of recent college graduates currently living and worki

ng in Beijing. Rabbi Shimon Fruendlich is certainly a Chabad rabbi. He has that charisma and joy of life that so many Chabad rabbis seem to have. He is also very funny, and the fastest cantor you will ever hear in your entire life. With a booming voice so powerful I'm surprised I never heard it back in NY, he leads us through a 1 hour and 25 minute entire morning service. As Rabbi Shimon put it, "Why drag it on?." We still finished at 12:30, because Shacharit began only at 11. Incredible, I know.

Lunch was at the Chabad house, and included a full buffet provided by the restaurant. I learned that the restaurant is named in honor of Rabbi Shimon's wife, Dini, as her brother is one of the owners. At Chabad I also met up with an old friend from Brandeis who graduated two years ago. She was working in Beijing in public healthcare. Once Shabbat was over, she took all of us (Danielle, Ari, Ross and myself) out on the town, to discover some of Beijing's nightlife.

After we split up, we headed to the new hotel where we would meet up with the AsiaLearn group for our Orientation program beginning the next day. I'm with them now, and so far everything is going great. Next up Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Afterwards, the Great Wall.

A few quick points about Beijing:

Whoever wrote about those lights on Broadway clearly never witnessed North Beijing. It is incredible. Buildings are huge. The architecture is extremely modern, but in the best sense of the world. And it is not just the size or shape of each building, also remarkable is the sheer quantity of buildings. I guess when you have 16 million people to house you need to find somewhere to put them all, but I still never expected Beijing to be as big as it is.

It is really cold here. Cold, and dry. Dry like no place I've ever been before. And the pollution is terrible, there is a constant smell in the air, and whenever the temperature rises above zero you can actually see the smog in the air.

 It is really unnerving to see so many people walking with HEPA masks on the avoid the air you a

re breathing unfiltered. I

t seems so far I would not like to live in Beijing. Not so much because of the culture, but because I could not bear to live in a place with such a tough environment. And I hear I am visiting during the good travel months. If I came in March I wouldn't be able to see due to the sand storms that hit the city.

That's it for now. Sorry the post was so long. I promise to write shorter, more frequent posts in the future. Once I get a chance (probably in a week or two) I will put together my observations of Beijing culture. There are definitely many interesting aspects to Chinese society that is very different than American culture. Still, people are people, and I've found I can connect with and relate to everyone I meet, and that was refreshing and reassuring to learn.

Yoni

PS Good to know modern news is the same everywhere -- I'm listening to BBC talk about the successful career of the current Australian Prime Minister. To bring their report to a cheery end, the conclude, "Thus far there are few indications that this Prime Minister's career will come to a short and abrupt end." Why can't you just say he is doing a good job?