My China

Help yourself to 43 Weeks of Condensed, 100% Natural Chinese Experience

Here we present the highlights of all 43 weekly journals that Robert (and occasionally Gail) wrote about China. Though some are older than others, I'm sure you will get valuable information or a good laugh out of all of the articles. From simple things like crossing the street, buying food, having a haircut, using the restroom (or W.C.), to the more complicated things such as celebrating holidays, dining out, seeing the dentist, working with Chinese colleagues and teaching Chinese students, adventuring outside big cities without knowing the Chinese language; let's take another look at the China that's vast, rapidly changing, sometimes bewildering, and always fascinating with Robert and Gail.

Week 1: (October 25, 1996) -- Jet Lag

"Welcome to the Mysterious Orient!" Robert came to China to join his wife Gail who accepted a teaching position in Beijing.

I was impatient to get started; I had been dreaming about this trip ever since I was a kid digging the proverbial hole to China with a bucket and shovel on the beach in California. Finally I was on my way.

Week 2: (November 1, 1996) -- Road Warriors

Robert learned the very basics of how to survive Beijing traffic:

... if you are strolling through town and you hear the horn of a bus blast behind you, do not ask for whom the bus honks -- assume that it honks for thee.

Week 3: (November 8, 1996) -- Chinese Civil-ization

Robert learned another lesson! Words from a wise woman:

Foreign businessmen come here, and they're often in too much of a hurry," she said. "In China, you need to make friends first. Then do business afterwards.

Week 4: (November 15, 1996) -- Teaching English

Robert thought finally it's his turn to teach a lesson, but he ended up learning more!

I love my students; they are hard-working, nice young people, almost touchingly innocent compared to their American counterparts.

Week 5: (November 22, 1996) -- Waiting for the Heat

The dropping mercury had a chilling effect on Robert and Gail's China fever. What's the complaint?

... due to a bizarre government decree, the radiators in my apartment remain cold and icy to the touch, as they are in every building and office in Beijing. The heat does not get turned on in northern China until November 15th...

Week 6: (November 27, 1996) -- The Alleys of Beijing

Robert peeked at the Beijing that's behind the modern skyline and to his surprise he saw a completely new--or old--world.

There is endless fascination here: tiny markets, noodle shops, old men sitting in the waning sun, children playing, donkey carts, strolling lovers, ancient gateways to walled-courtyards . . . a confusion of smells and sights and sounds. The hutongs not only take you back in time, but out of the city itself.

Week 7: (December 6, 1996) -- Take Me to Your Leader's Leader

Robert the Boogie-Woogie ambassador had a critical mission: save some of the jobs of his university friends by playing "Moon River" and "As Time Goes By" at a party.

... it was not a party at all in the American sense, but more a variety show, a performance designed to soften the hearts of 30 important dignitaries who were traveling about China and choosing 'The 100 Foremost Universities of the 21st Century.'

Week 8: (December 13, 1996) -- Empty Calories

Robert is sick; homesick. Big Mac to the rescue!

In every ex-patriot's life there comes that sharp, occasional longing for home. Recently I surrendered to a moment like this while wandering through downtown Beijing.

Week 9: (December 20, 1996) -- Getting Around in China without Chinese

Chinese is all Greek to Robert, but he's rather confident. Why? Here's his secret:

The fact is, life in China without knowledge of the language is not always easy. Nevertheless, sign-language, gestures, and an optimistic smile will go a long way.

Naturally, there are times when your entire bag of tricks will fail, from bird calls to mime, leading only to blank stares and confused giggles. Do not despair. Just when you least expect it, someone will often step forward from the crowd, address you in English, and offer his service as an interpreter.

Week 10: (December 27, 1996) -- A Tale of Two Restaurants

A person can get culture shock going back and forth between the two Beijings: the modern, Western city of skyscrapers and sleek hotels, and a second, much vaster China that is older than time.

Week 11: (January 3, 1997) -- The Man in the Red Suit

There's no doubt about it -- Christmas is not one of the high points of the ex-pat life in Asia. It's a time when you feel how truly far away you are, on the opposite side of the globe from family and old friends. Yet to be a traveler on Christmas day is perhaps to get to the heart of the matter; to experience acutely the meaning of this holiday ... and to be at one with all wanderers who follow distant stars.

Week 12: (January 10, 1997) -- Shop Until You Drop

Shopping 101. Xiushuijie and the Russian Market are two places every bargain hunter should go in Beijing!

If your vice is shopping, there are two outdoor clothing markets in Beijing that may cause you palpitations of the heart. ...So shop until you drop. Beijing is definitely a capital place for clothes.

Week 13: (January 17, 1997) -- Toad's Venom, Etc.

Robert was not sure whether the monster flu virus hit them from the e-mail or not, but he wanted to get rid of the unsolicited Christmas gift as soon as possible. Thus the toad's venom and etc.

I don't know if it was the "Toad venoms" or the "etc.," but it was one of the quickest and easiest bouts with the flu that either of us had ever experienced.

Week 14: (January 24, 1997) -- Old Man Winter

Where in the world is winter warmer than fall? That's right, Beijing!

I was prepared to freeze this winter in Beijing. Everyone I talked with before I came told me how uncomfortable I would be...Imagine my disappointment when December passed without a single instance of frostbite -- hardly even any frost.

Week 15: (January 31, 1997) -- Shop Until You Drop (Part II)

Time for Intermediate Shopping. After months in Beijing, Robert finally worked up the nerve to "shop for food -- to brave the clamor of Beijing markets and deal with the mysteries of Chinese money in crowded situations without the benefit of knowing Chinese."

Week 16: (February 7, 1997) -- Shop Until You Drop (Part III)

Advanced Shopping! It is time to venture out into the street markets of Beijing. You will find them scattered all about the city, often taking over entire streets and alleys -- the many thousands of small, street entrepreneurs who make up the new China.

Week 17: (February 14, 1997) -- Scatology

Admit it, there's one kind of call everybody has to answer--call of the nature. Here Gail, Mrs. Robert Westbrook, offers her expert view of the toilet situation in Beijing.

I was concerned about the toilet situation in Beijing before I even arrived, having heard all sorts of horror stories from friends who had traveled in China years ago. Relax, it's not as bad as you expect.

Week 18: (February 21, 1997) -- Haircut

For the price of 30 yuan I look almost exactly like I did before, but subtly neater and better groomed. Now I think you could accurately describe my appearance as Albert Einstein on a good day with his finger in an electric socket.

Week 19: (February 28, 1997) -- Hard Sleeper (Part 1)

It wasn't hard to sleep in a hard sleeper, after all.

Old China hands love to tell horror stories about riding the trains here: dangerous overcrowding, toilets you never want to see in your worst nightmare, everybody smoking and spitting, ...We had come two hours early to be prepared for stampeding hordes trying to get onto the train. As it turned out, the loudspeaker summoned us in English and we pre-boarded in perfect comfort onto a sparkling clean train.

Week 20: (March 7, 1997) -- Hard Sleeper (Part 2)

Enjoy the ride!

I knew this could only be a Chinese train when we did calisthenics in the aisle. It was late the first morning on our 31 hour trip from Beijing to Guilin. ... Train travel in China is a more disciplined experience than in the West. ... Best of all, everything was surprisingly clean -- clean sheets, one clean towel per passenger, clean bathrooms, and the floor of our car must have been mopped eight or nine times during the 31 hour journey by the tireless women in their red sashes."

Week 21: (March 14, 1997) -- On Getting Cheated

There is a problem, let's face it:

The question of charging foreigners and Chinese a different price for the same service infuriates many visitors. ... The basic rule of thumb while traveling in China is that you must always negotiate what things cost in advance, whether it's a taxi ride (unless you CLEARLY see the meter ticking) or a restaurant meal you are about to eat.

Week 22: (March 21, 1997) -- Yangshuo

Robert and Gail had a dream vacation in Southern China.

Were we in Shangri-La? Had we died and gone to some Chinese heaven for foreigners? No, we were in the lovely Guangxi town of Yangshuo, which along with Dali in Yunnan is one of the two legendary destinations for backpackers in China.

Week 23: (March 28, 1997) -- The Last Sleeper Bus from Yangshuo

Robert and Gail are heading to Guangzhou in a "sleeper bus." Now wait a minute, did he say a "sleeper bus?"

I was charmed by the idea of a "Sleeper Bus," since I'd never been on one before. I imagined myself riding down the highway in a sort of train-berth, stretched out in comfort as the kilometers drifted by. ... Finally we all jumped ship, ... flagged down a passing bus in which we sat blessedly upright in our seats as we headed into Guangzhou.

Week 24: (April 4, 1997) -- A Family Portrait

Robert and Gail had their first Chinese New Year with a Chinese family and got "framed" in their family portrait.

Looking at the photograph now, I see a modern living room of the new middle class China, and two cultures side-by-side. Polite but tense; separate worlds that are trying very hard to understand one another.

Week 25: (April 11, 1997) -- Guangzhou

"Look, a pet store!" I said to my wife, as we were walking through a narrow Guangzhou street. There were cages on the sidewalk with turtles, snakes, cats, dogs, chickens, rabbits, even a very sweet looking bushy tailed fox. "It's not a pet store," said Gail solemnly. I looked more carefully, and I saw she was right: it was a restaurant.

... Compared to Beijing, Guangzhou seemed to have more of everything: more money, more poverty, more noise, more bustle, more pollution, more humanity thrown together in intense urban proximity.

Week 26: (April 18, 1997) -- Sunday in the Park with Gail

Spring is in the air!

... this city is not exactly what you would call a Beauty Spot, yet there are some subtle visual pleasures -- more intense, perhaps, because they are so few. This time of year, in particular, you are apt to turn a corner and see something quite pleasing to the eye.

Week 27: (April 25, 1997) -- Open Wide

No one likes to see the dentist, including Gail and Robert the two run-aways. But sooner or later, we all have to face the reality. This week Gail returns with a guest article on their "mouth-opening" experience visiting the dentist in Beijing.

Week 28: (May 2, 1997) -- Summer Palace in Spring

What is it like to spend a "Sunday in the park with Gail" along with the rest of the city? And the park used to be the imperial summer resort? Well it's nothing like what Robert expected.

The Chinese women are especially elegant in their fashionable skirts and sweaters and city shoes with raised heels that don't look entirely comfortable as they stumble along the uneven paths. The men, for their part, tend to keep one hand to their ear, speaking to distant voices on their cell phones. As for the children, they run and shout and pee a good deal in the bushes. It is quite a parade.

Week 29: (May 9, 1997) -- The Free Maverick Cafe

Robert had the pleasure to attend the opening of a bar owned by his Chinese friends near Gail's university.

Our repertoire consists of three songs, ... Not a huge repertoire, but if you ever have a chance to hear us, you might say that it is three songs too many.

... I figure that this is simply a part of a young person's journey through life, to play in a terrible band. When Sar, Bongo, and I get together, however, we take this principal to new heights. Sar's guitar is never in tune, Bongo is a drummer who marches entirely to his own beat, and as for me, on my underwater piano -- I sense I am playing an entirely different song than the others, ...

Week 30: (May 16, 1997) -- Guanxi

Like Hollywood, China is a place where who you know is everything. In California, the word is "networking"; here it is "guanxi" -- the personal relationships you form, the web of friends, relatives, and people you must be nice to in order to get ahead.

Week 31: (May 23, 1997) -- Face Values In China

The question of face seems to pervade every aspect of life in China, personal as well as professional. ... This matter of face is often baffling to foreigners, who are generally more concerned with substance than form.

Week 32: (May 30, 1997) -- Coco's Club

... life today in China's expat community is like living through the Gold Rush. This is a land of the unexpected -- sudden wealth side-by-side with gaudy failure. But whatever happens, a wild time is guaranteed for all.

Robert can't agree more with this comment as he saw a friend get a full time job with room and board for himself and his wife included at a fancy 5-star hotel. "The only thing you can predict with certainty here is to expect the unexpected.", thus spoke Robert.

Week 33: (June 6, 1997) -- Personal and Personnel

Gail returns to give her suggestion to business people who will be hiring or doing business with Chinese people, including: " ... do take the time and trouble to get to know and appreciate your Chinese employees and co-workers. Personal interest is a great motivator. And there are no people in the world more kind-hearted when given the opportunity, or more able."

Week 34: (June 13, 1997) -- Fast Food in Beijing

CBW reports live from Beijing: fast food chains, they are here.

... most Westerners love Chinese food, but after a certain number of months of subsisting on white rice and "gongbao jiding" -- that most popular of all dishes with the foreign community, spicy chicken with peanuts -- everyone starts craving some variety and a hit of home. Fortunately, fast food outlets, Western-style, have sprung up all over Beijing in the past few years, as they have done in most other large Chinese cities.

Week 35: (June 20, 1997) -- Academia and You

"Professor Gail" addresses anyone out there contemplating teaching in China:

"... yes, do it, it is a great way to live in China and get to know the Chinese people. Even if your ultimate goal is to do business in China, what better way to learn first hand how the Chinese think and how things get done (or don't) in China. And what better place to recruit your future employees, ... to forge relationships, in a country where relationship is everything."

Week 36: (June 28, 1997) -- The Night Life of Sanlitun

Sanlitun is the mecca of entertainment for the expats community in Beijing. This week Robert takes you along for a joy ride.

"Beijing is home to a fascinating international community, people who have come here for a variety of reasons from all over the world. As you wander among the cafes of the Sanlitun district, you will have a chance to get a peek at this crowd at play, and join the party."

Week 37: (July 4, 1997) -- Restaurant Review: "T.G.I. Friday's"

Thank God it's Friday and PARTY TIME!

"All in all, we had a great time, and I heartily recommend Friday's if you are in the right mood. For heaven's sake, don't come here if you are only in Beijing for two weeks -- there are thousands of local restaurants where the food is a hundred times better. But if you are in China for an extended time, this is an instant party, a fun escape from the everyday."

Week 38: (July 11, 1997) -- Down the Lazy River

Gail made a 10-day, end-of-school-term jaunt across China by train and boat all by herself as "a woman "of a certain age" with no advance reservations except a hotel in Shanghai and almost no Chinese and all the surprises were pleasant ones.

... there was an "artist" who had come up river on our boat and was now heading back to Shanghai, shuffling around the deck unshaved and in his pajama bottoms, sketching goodbye to the riverbanks. And there was a wonderful couple from Nanjing, who helped the old couples on board (there were a few) and who came out at dusk, so he could sing to the river...

Week 39: (July 18, 1997) -- Shanghaied

Gail's on her last stop of a five-day odyssey to the sea.

"Like most Americans of my 50-something generation, I grew up with very romantic notions of Shanghai. That was where Rita Haworth stepped off the boat into Robert Mitchums' arms, wasn't it, or do I have my stars wrong? Anyway, I can't imagine a more romantic entry than the one I actually made, at dusk, steaming down the Huangpo to dock just south of the Bund."

Week 40: (July 25, 1997) -- Bon Appetit

Robert recommends Sunday brunch at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza because "every Sunday a really splendid small orchestra of about twenty musicians sets up in folding chairs in the atrium to serenade you with Bach and Vivaldi and various classical pieces as you munch."

Week 41: (August 1, 1997) -- The Road Worrier

Remember Robert the Road Warrior dashing across the street in Beijing when he first arrived? Well now he's a scared passenger on a trip to Mountain Tai.

"I thought being a pedestrian in Beijing was a challenge until I hit the road with our university. Being a passenger in a motorized vehicle on two lane rural highways makes crossing the street seem like a stroll by the sea. So buckle up and brace yourself!"

Week 42: (August 8, 1997) -- A Day's Labor up the Taishan Mountain on the Labor Day

Robert and Gail had a vacation! So why do they think it was "four days of hell?" Stay tuned.

"Like most foreigners I have met here, I find myself in a love-hate relationship with China. Some days I wouldn't be any place else. Other days, I long for the first plane home."

Week 43: (August 15, 1997) -- Back Home

This is the end of this very special column. Robert and Gail say "zaijian" (or goodbye, sayonara, adieu, adios, ...)

They are now back in their home sweet home in Taos, New Mexico. "But as I gradually adjusted to being home and the first thrill of familiar pleasures began to wear off, I found myself missing China more than I had expected. First and foremost, I miss my Chinese friends, ... I also miss living in a country that is undergoing such enormous change, ... I miss being an expatriate, ... And I certainly miss the food..."

Don't worry Robert and Gail, just keep digging in your backyard. It's a small world after all!