Student name: Mr. Harold Legaspi
Nationality: Australian
Time in
Global Exchange Center: 8 weeks from 1st. Jun. 2015
I came to Beijing after reading Lao She’s Rickshaw Boy, picturing a life so foreign it could be Martian. I saw red! I came to Beijing to write, but did so much more.
On good days the pollution is barely noticeable. However, on some days, I’d cut through fumes in spiral air currents that hung around like a fog. The effect was looking at a world after too many hours spent in a smokers lounge at the airport. After a while, you just lived with it.
Beijing’s subway is the fifth busiest in the world, with 6.4 million passengers each day. On the subway, expect to be pushed in the vestibule, like everyone else. Peak hour commuters pack each other in like sardines to get inside. The unlucky are left standing, eyes fixed on Sugar Crush, to pass the time in transit. On the next carriage, a handicapped man blares out a song with his microphone, stumbles forward, with his hat asking for money.
In Beijing, I discovered a parallel universe version of the Internet. Instead of Google, they have Baidu; instead of YouTube, they use Youku; instead of Facebook, netizens use QQ; and instead of MSN, Chinese use WeChat.
I was surprised to look up one evening to find Google’s Chinese headquarters at Tsinghua Science Park, on my way to dinner for Beijing kaoya (i.e. Peking duck). On many occasions, I get asked if I mind the dish that is la (i.e. spicy). Dishes come in a variety of styles, from Sìchuan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangdong and Beijing itself. Huoguo (i.e. hotpot) is a sociable meal (with roots in the wake of Genghis Khan), as is jiaozi (i.e. dumplings) or liang mien (i.e. cold noodles). For Duanwu Festival, I indulged in zongzi, which is a glutinous rice dish stuffed with meat or nut filling, wrapped in banana leaf.
Wangfujing Dajie is the capital’s most famous shopping street. It’s an entertaining walk, with chic European brands and obvious Western influences. At it’s heart is Donghuamen Night Market, a strip of food stalls where one can try snakes, centipede, seahorse, spider, scorpion and worms; a must for the adventurous foodie.
There were days I headed to The Bookworm in Sanlitun, to spend the time in the library and write, while being served decent coffee on tap. Events at The Bookworm formed the basis of my extra-curricular activities in Beijing. I joined their Writers Club, which met every fortnight to critique stories, and their Book Club to exchange ideas on books to read. There is never any shortage of opinions or perspectives among the people in the groups. Forums are held in English, with a mix of gender and nationalities.
Beijing has a rich cultural history, with essential sites for exploration. The Forbidden City is a unique relic, where I spent time gazing at the Imperial palaces, temples and socialist architecture. At Beihai Park, I sat under the shade of a tree, surrounded by Imperial gardens while reading Mo Yan’s autobiography, Change. Walking along Changcheng (Great Wall of China) was a highlight, as it snakes its way through lush greenery and mountains.
Beijing is the third most popular tourist destination in China, after Hong Kong and Shanghai. The capital welcomes 9,945 new international tourists each day and 228 of these will be Australian. After only a month in Beijing, I became a tour guide to some friends who were visiting from Europe. The language lessons paid off: I was able to bargain, order food at restaurants, ask for directions and buy tickets for the group. More importantly, Mandarin lessons helped to break the ice – and even though I couldn’t understand completely what was being said, conversations often broke out into Chinglish to the point where both parties got the message. Key phrases which helped included: Qing shuo man yidian (i.e. please speak slower) or Qing zai shuo yidian (i.e. please speak again).
Popular with the international students and Koreans is Wudaokou, a neighbourhood close to a large number of universities and research facilities. This is reflected in its buzzing, often brash nightlife, and a staggering amount of choices of international cuisines.
Michael took me to visit a Chinese publisher, to open a dialogue about the prospects of publishing my manuscript in China. Mandarin lessons with Linda were fun and interactive. From my apartment in Xier’qi, I’d walk along ShangDi DongLu to arrive at Global Exchange Center’s headquarters. I felt part of the lifestyle in Beijing, where office workers alike would go on their daily stroll to work. The attire is casual with jeans and t-shirts worn as custom. Glimpses of people playing ball during their lunch-break or joggers out for their daily exercise at noon reminded me of the relaxed attitude to work as it is in Sydney.
The Global Exchange Center’s Writers Residency Program will be a life-long memory for me. I made friends and learned to fend for daily life in a foreign language, yet again. Just as important, I was given the freedom to write without interruption. Beijing’s history is inspiring and the people are resilient. Global Exchange Center took an interest in my writing and was very resourceful to ensure that any concerns I had were addressed. I recommend the Writers-In-Residence Program to any aspiring writer who wants to jolt their writing experience to a unique and challenging setting.
