Happy Chinese New Year!

It's pretty crazy to think that Lesley and I have experienced 2 New Years eves, on 2 different continents within 1 month...
Although our last post is just up we wanted to share some sights and sounds from New Years Eve here in Chengdu. For starters, To say the year of the Ox came in with a BANG is probably the biggest understatement of my life. Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival as it is called here, is a big deal for the Chinese who see it as Christmas and New Years all rolled into one. Added to it, this year the government allowed people to light fireworks off anywhere, which they are not usually allowed to do. The fireworks are supposed to scare away the demons of the year past, and with the 'Snow Disaster', and the Earthquake not far from here, that they had last year, along with the recession, the government figured it couldn't hurt to scare away as many demons as possible.

I have another theory on this one. China makes a lot of fireworks, and since we got to Chengdu on the 23rd we have seen tents on most street corners selling fireworks. Now we all know that a 'good' fireworks show can be pricey, and by 'good' I mean Canada day, or the symphony of fire. These two shows pale in comparison to the pyrotechnics that went on last night, and seem to be continuing tonight and may continue for the next 7 to 15 days, so I can imagine that the sheer number of fireworks we saw last night would be good for China's economy...

If you haven't been in China for New Years it's hard to comprehend how many fireworks go off, and I think, that being said, that there were more this year than normal. To start with, the fireworks last night were going off for about 6 hours pretty continuously with a crescendo at midnight. This particular crescendo lasted for about 30 minutes. Now when I say 'crescendo', imagine you were, as we were, spending your New Years eve sitting atop an 8 story hotel, higher than many buildings around it. Now imagine fireworks going off 360 degrees around you, from where you sat to the horizon. It was like being in a war zone with pretty lights. The sights and sounds were almost overwhelming.

To all our friends and loved ones, Xinnian kuaile! I hope the year of the Ox is a safe and prosperous year for all.

Thanks for reading.

Ian

NI HAO!

Well, well, well, seems my stated intention to become a regular blogger has not come to fruition, as I’m now offering my second entry while I sit in the Beijing airport awaiting the flight that will take us to our new home in Chengdu. First impressions of China…different than what I had expected. In the aftermath of the 2008 Olympics, I can only imagine what the city must have looked like before the world’s eyes were so scrupulously set upon them for the games. Coming into (and now leaving from) the Beijing airport is like being in nearly any other major international thoroughfare, only bigger, brighter and more impressive. The architecture is amazingly modern, having most of the building incased in glass, and an insane rooftop that seems to go on forever without a support in sight. We could buy Cartier diamonds and Armani clothing if our student budgets allowed, and a regular coffee at Starbuck is a mere 18 yuan ($3.50 CAD).



When we arrived 3 days ago, we were met by friends of our principal and taken to our hotel that was 2 blocks from the famous, ‘Bird’s Nest Stadium’ & ‘Water Cube’. After dropping our bags, we were treated to our first meal. The presentation of the dishes could have been from a culinary magazine….a rainbow of colours, textures and flavours. The old saying, looks can be deceiving would apply here. Now, because I don’t eat meat, I could only look on with admiration as my friends dipped into the simmering pots to pull out chicken’s feet, long pieces of squid and other parts still unknown. Our friends were courageous, taking the typical Chinese cuisine by storm and savouring every mouthful…gulp. Not quite. There was as much laughter, shock and polite swallowing as there any eating happening. And, many of those brave souls remarked that they thought they’d eat vegetarian from now on…he he he.






The next couple of days we hit the tourist trail. After having spent close to 1.5 hours getting directions, trying to understand what they meant, and then following the various highways, underpasses and overpasses en route we finally found the metro station that was about a 15 minute walk from our hotel. A few stops later....Tian’ An Men square….as vast and grey and solemn as one might imagine. Buidings and monuments dedicated to the ‘people’s struggle’…the irony was not lost as the memory of the tanks rolling in in 1989 was certainly fresh in my mind. We took some amazing pictures, some deeps breaths and marvelled at it all.



The Forbidden City sits across from Tian’ An Men square and is the archetypal vision of China’s past, except of course for the huge portrait of Mao at its entrance. Emperors, Empresses, the 10,000 concubines and Eunuch servants (only castrated men were allowed inside the gates to ensure the purity of the Emperor’s lineage) lived here amongst great pavilions, squares and gardens. It was massive and gave a sense of the kind of opulence enjoyed by the royalty of China (not unlike royalty in any country, I guess). To contrast the grandeur, right outside the gates, ‘hutongs’, which are the narrow cobbled streets that enclose a labyrinth of homes and small shops. These took us to Beijing’s main drag of glitz and glamour, Wan Fu Jing. A huge boulevard of high-end shops, loud music and restaurants. We dined on freshly made dumplings and soup, and then took a peak into the famed market of the same name. Care for a scorpion (live or dead) on a stick? How about grasshopper? Maybe a starfish, or secada? Yup, take yer pick, it’s all there for the asking and the eating. Take a look at the photos and then the video below to see how the merchants like to play with gullible tourists (aka me).


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OK, stop the presses….WE HAVE ARRIVED IN CHINA! Cheng du is the noisy bussling busy crowded dingy and alive China I had imagined. It’s fantastic! Our guides (fellow students “Alice” (from Alice in Wonderland, she introduced herself) a TCM Doctoral student , and James, a 5th year TCM student from Toronto), led us to our hotel and then through our neighborhood, pointing out various hotpot restaurants, shops and things we might need to know. They then took us to a special ‘congee’ restaurant where they serve about 7 different kinds of this rice porridge – sweet, savory, veg, meat, with herbs, without….all self serve. They ordered a whole bunch of really delicious dishes – lotus root, ennochi mushrooms, kun pao chicken….and taught us about Chinese table manners. “What Westerners do at the table is not what we do here”,
Alice started. The first bit of advice she offered was to never pass dishes to people across the table. Instead, we are meant to stand up, lean over everyone else and pick up the food we want with our chopsticks. There are no serving spoons. It’s a free for all with wooden sticks battling to get into the choicest selection of the dish. Double dipping is the ONLY way to go here if you want to actually eat. So, in we went – stretching, reaching, poking through our meal, to a very satisfactory end...mmmmmmmmmmm.



After dinner we strolled around the streets and walked through our University Campus and then to the Hospital that we’ll be interning at. We heard that the windows are left open ‘to keep the bugs out’, and no joke, there were no doors on the front of the building (windows open in our hotel rooms and along all of the hallways too….crazy! Do they not feel the damp cold????). We had our noses on the glass of the herbal pharmacy and watched as the Herbalists filled formulas by opening drawers and scooping, roughly weighing, and dropping onto metal dishes lined up…over and over until the magic formula was complete. It was so exciting and I had a real feeling of gratitude that we’re here. Hard to imagine what this time and how these experiences are going to shape us ~ as students, as practitioners, as human beings?

One thing’s for sure, we are going to be well massaged. For some wonderful reason, we have a TCM/Massage Centre off the lobby in our hotel, and several of us availed ourselves of their services before going to bed last night. Ian and I had a 55 minute foot & lower leg soak, massage and pummeling, which was great, especially after having climbed the Great Wall yesterday. Was that yesterday? Wow.

Feels good to have arrived……
Zai Jian,
Les

Farewell to Rio...

Having left the land of Cariocas (the name residents of Rio go by), we head for the land of Karaoke (yes, the Chinese love it as much, if not more, than the Japanese)...
Ian here again. I wanted to say a few words as Lesley and I prepare to leave for China tomorrow to begin the second part of our journey.
I love Rio! I am not really a city person, nor am I a sit on the beach kind of person, but Rio is cool. It's a big city that does not overwhelm, the people are friendly, and the beaches...I have to say that I wish I had studied Brazilian medicine (if there is such a thing) instead of Chinese medicine, as I would happily stay in Brazil for 6 months, or longer.
After a great few weeks with Bert, Marnie, the boys, and Tim and Alisen in the quirky capital city of Brasilia, Lesley and I had 5 days in Rio to end our trip. We managed to squeeze in a few touristy things, along with some quality time on the beach with caiparinhas (the boozy lime flavored drinks that go so well with sand and sun) in hand.


We went up Sugar Loaf mountain, the iconic Rio landmark that is reached by cable car and offers stunning views of the city. We were also lucky enough to meet up with our friend Maya's friend Cecilia, who showed us around some of the beautiful parts of old Rio. One of these sites included a church built in the early 17th century. Along with the city and beach thing, I am not usually a church guy, but the beauty and detail of this Baroque church was something to behold.

That's the crazy thing about Rio, you have stunning natural beauty alongside history and culture that makes you feel you're in Europe. You have 5 star hotels with a backdrop of favelas. As big as Rio is, I feel like nature gives it some humility. Many buildings, even nice ones, look rundown on the outside due to the heat and humidity. The distinctive hand laid stone sidewalks are lovely along the beach, but are crumbling in less touristy areas. I had the distinct feeling that if humans disappeared, nature would happily take back the city in short order. I had always wondered how entire cities in Central America could be swallowed by the jungle and now I know.
So tomorrow we leave for Beijing where we will be for 3 days and then on to Cheng Du. From what I have heard and read, what felt like busy chaos in Rio will pale in comparison to the pace and scale of China.
Stay tuned, we'll let you know...

Thanks for reading.

Ian.

Thoughts on Brazil...

I figured I (Ian) would post some of what I have seen here in Brazil. Some of it is fact or trivia, some of it is observation through the lens of how I have known things to be...
Brazil is a beautiful country, no doubt about it. The land, the people, the beaches, the people on the beaches. It is also a country of contrast. Along side all this beauty, is extreme poverty, sometimes literally. As we drove from Ipanema beach to Barra da Tijuca where we stayed in the Sheraton, the tunnel we went through passed under a favela (shanty town). Up the hillside from Sao Conrado, the town between Rio and Barra da Tijuca is the infamous Rochina favela. In Canada this hillside would hold a nice subdivision of houses with an ocean view. Here in Brazil this favela is home to 300,000 people.




Houses in these favelas are made simply of bricks piled haphazardly on top of one another. Despite open sewers, many of the homes have electricity and television. The military police do what they can to maintain order, even as many of their own live in the same favelas. These men are sure to keep the employment a secret from their neighbours for fear of reprisal. To be a member of the military police is not a glamorous job and they are killed by the thousands every year. I don't share these facts to be morbid but to share the other side of Brazil.

Driving in Rio is an adventure. We were lucky enough to have Lesley's brother-in-law Bert, in our trusty Kombi van, to do the driving. I will say a Rio taxi ride can be a terrifying experience...
Driving here, for all it's madness it relatively mellow in that people are courteous, and I have yet to see any road rage, and not many accidents. One of the regular casualties on the road are motorcyclists. They drive between cars, stopped or moving, at full speed signaling their presence with a honk of their horn. Bert told me one is killed per day in Brasilia (a city of 2.5 million), I can only imagine how many are killed in Rio (7 million).
Food here is great, if you like bread, cheese, and lots of meat. Lesley is a vegetarian, as am I for the most part. I did, for the sake if culture, try the traditional Brazilian dish of Feijoada, a stew of beans, bacon, sausage, and other various pig parts including ears and feet! It is served with rice and farafa, a dish of fried manioc flour with herbs. It made for a delicious Xmas eve dinner, although I think it traumatized Lesley a little. Pastels are also a regular food item, eaten for breakfast or lunch, and usually filled with meat and/or cheese as well as guava, or banana.

It's obvious to me that Brazil has a rich culture full of soul and love. As with many cultures, Canada included, there are discrepancies between the rich and the poor, they just seem more extreme here. An example I saw was a car dealership with 'Blindado' written on the windscreen of the high end cars for sale which translate as 'bulletproof' (literally), across the street from a favela that stretches up the hill.

One of the best displays of Brazilian culture, for me, was a Capoeira club putting on a show at the market in Brasilia below the TV tower. For those who don't know, Capoeira is a fighting style that was developed by the slaves brought to Brazil. As they weren't allowed to practice fighting, Capoeira was developed to look like a dance. There is no contact, and lots of signing and clapping.
All in all Brazil is an amazing place and I look forward to coming here again.

Feliz Ano Novo!



Yes, it's the first day of 2009 and my first blog entry......
We're about 2 weeks into our trip to Brasil, and it's been amazing. Hard to know where to start. Firstly, my apologies for the length of this blog entry (Ian's told me that I'm not meant to write a short novel), it's just that so much has happened without us communicating and I wanted to squeeze it all in. I promise, future entries will be short and sweet.

Ian and I had a relatively seamless (though incredibly long - 30ish hour) trip from the virtual blizzard in Vancouver to the 28 degree warmth of Rio. Once in Rio we decided to take the local bus from the airport to Ipanema Beach which traverses along miles of favelas (squatter communities that surround the city, a.k.a. City of God /City of Men for any of you that have seen the movies)....and 2 1/2 hours later we made it there only to realize that had we taken a shuttle, it would have taken 45 mintues and cost 3 bucks more. Learn as you go. The hostel we'd chosen for the night was great. A block from the beach and in an area with tons of restaurants, cafes and beautifully tree-lined streets. Cocos on the white sand beach, cervejas (beers) with sushi (Japanese food is very popular here) and espressos con pao o chocolate filled our bellies and settled us into our first dream time in South America.



Back to the airport the next morning to meet my family - Mom, Dad, Marnie, Bert, Mateo and Gabriel (Taylor decided to stay in Canada for the holidays) for a weeks' holiday together on a neighboring beach to Rio. Not so. Though the beach house looked amazing from the outside, and opened on to a pristine and quiet beach, upon our entrance we were struck with an overpowering smell of mold. As we looked around, other deficits arose - a kitchen ill equipped to feed our family, rooms that had not been well cleaned for our arrival, etc. We debated whether to hunker down, clean and spend the week as planned or to stay one night and find other accommodations.




In the end, we ditched the beach house, hopped in our Volkswagen 'Kombi' van and headed back to Rio to a hotel in an area just South of Ipanema and Copacabana, called Barra da Tijuca. Although we could have made it work, I think we were all happy and excited to be where there were lots of people celebrating the holidays and lots of things to see and do together. The week was amazing, and not without it's challenges.

Our first day at Ipanema beach, Bert's shorts with his wallet, his ID, the van keys, insurance and registration papers were stolen from his beach chair. Some of us had been sitting right beside it and didn't even notice when someone moved the chair out of the circle and grabbed Bert's gear. Everyone knows that theft is a possibility, if not a likelihood of being in and around Rio, but it was a sour pill to swallow on day one. Though we were all conscious that it could have been much worse, it unfortunately cost Bert a couple more days of his holiday time at the car rental place and police station getting it all figured out. Fortunately for us and unfortunately for him (at times) because Bert's fluent in Portuguese, he became our guide, chauffeur and translator.



In the days following, we spent time at the beach in front of our hotel; the boys playing soccer, flying kites, and swimming with local Brazillian kids (who were also working the food stands on the beach); the adults doing much of the same and enjoying the odd caipirinha (national drink of Brasil made with cachaca, sugar, lime juice and ice) and fresh cocos. Ian and I ran several of the mornings along the beach to our favorite breakfast place that offered amazing fresh food, juices and espress com leite for about $3.50 a meal.


We spent our evenings out at restaurants either in our area or back to Ipanema/Copacobana. Though we always managed to eat, Brasil is not a close friend of the vegetarian. I've eaten more white bread & cheese sandwiches than I care to comment on. One night, we had a hotel sitter (baba) look after the boys while we went out in search of Samba in Rio Centro. We went to a restaurant/club in the oldest area of Rio that was 3 stories high with an opening on each level that looked down to the dance floor where people moved every which way to live music. Though none of us hit the dance floor, it was a great look into some of the night life offered there. Ian and I will be seeking out some more when we return, no doubt.




On one of the days around Xmas, Bert, Ian and I all went HANG-GLIDING! Yup, we drove up one of those huge and magestic mountains famous in pictures of Rio and jumped off to soar in the skies about the city, the forest, lake, ocean and beaches. It was breathtaking, in more ways than one. Although this had been a long standing desire of Berts', I'd never even considered it until a few hours before I actually took off. Of course, my guide ended up being a yogi (he offers his flights to various deities and practices pranayama) and had an 80 year old father that was an acupuncturist...go figure. There are some pics below as well as video clips from Ian and my take-offs.



On Christmas morning, we grabbed white buns and cheese from a local store (no joke), hopped in the Kombi and headed off to stand at the feet of Christ the Redeemer..... If you're unfamiliar with this, scroll up and you'll see that it is the backdrop to our blog. Although many other Brasilians and tourists alike shared our sentiment that there would be no better day than Dec 25th to hang with Jesus, we still managed to get our fair share of photos, vistas of the city and feel awe-struck at the sheer magnitude of this homage to Christ.



Meaning no offence to anyone, I thought it might be funny to play a wee joke on Ian. My mom, sister and I conspired to tell Ian that, as a tradition with the boys, we always sang happy birthday to Jesus on Christmas. I told him that though it might seem a bit weird, what better place to do it than here at the largest statue of Christ? Being the sweet and trusting man he is, he was willing to humour my family in our weird tradition. So, with mild protests from the boys that they had no memory of having sung to Jesus last Christmas (or any Christmas), a misunderstanding on my Dad's part in thinking that the birthday salutations were intended for Ian (who's born on Dec. 27th), and Bert being in on the joke, we all held hands and gave one up for the big J. It was the guys who led the way as Marnie, my mom and I convulsed with laughter the whole way through. When the cat was let out, we had a hilarious laugh at ourselves. (I'm still awaiting Ian's revenge).

We extended our stay in Rio for a couple days longer than planned because my family had left rain in Brasilia to come to sun and beach down south. Of course, the next day it rained in Rio. But we suffered through a couple of warm drizzley days until the sun broke through again for our last day which was spent on the beach. On Dec 27th, we celebrated Ian's 35th birthday by going for Mexican food and margaritas as he sported his new 'Flamengo' football club jersey. This extension also gave us an opportunity to say goodbye to our brasilian friends from the beach (who met us women with kisses on our cheeks and cool handshakes for the men).



Brasilia. A bizarre and interesting place. It's famous for its architecture and modern/futuristic approach to urban planning, and is absolutely like no place I've seen before. Today we went to a cathedral that is underground with it's whole ceiling and half the walls made of stained glass....incredible. Because of its uniqueness, Brasilia has been named one of Unesco's heritage sites even though it's only some 40 odd years old. See the pics below for a sense of what it's like.
Marnie and Bert's place is great with as much living space outdoors as indoors. The boys have tons of space outside to play and a pool that has them swimming like fish. Regina, their Emprigada (housekeeper/nanny) is lovely, super friendly and great in all ways, especially with the boys. The language barrier does not seem to be a problem for them, and my broken Spanish conveys enough of what I'm trying to communicate most times.





Finally, VEGETABLES!!!!! I took the opportunity to go for groceries with Marnie on our first day (to the same shopping market I will see in China!) and relished in choosing things that were green, red, yellow and crisp to the touch (even though much of it was wrapped in cellophane and styrofoam). I know this may end up being a gentle warm up for what's to come in China...gulp.



We spent New Year's Eve at a party hosted by the Canadian Embassy. Marnie, my mom and I were sequestered to help decorate the grounds early in the evening (which meant blowing up countless balloons, setting up tables, etc.). We were relieved by Bert and my Dad who took on the task (one of many) of making banners nearly until the 160 guests started to arrive, all the while Ian was at home cooking dinner.... Despite the elbow grease, it was a great party and none of us left until nearly 3am. A Dj played all the classic favorites you might hear at a typical Canadian wedding, the was a sky full of fireworks, champagne flowed at midnight and there was lots of dancing. It was great to meet some of Marnie and Bert's community and celebrate bringing in the New Year with Ian and my family.



Well, I've loved putting this entry together and it's really late here in Brasilia....the sky opened to thunder, lightening and a torrential downpour (that only the likes of the tropics know) which has kept me company. I promised Ian that I'd get the blog out tonight, so goodnight it is. May this year, this day, this moment offer itself up to you in clarity, compassion and love.
Many blessings,
Lesley
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