Bridget O'Donnell

Now that I’m pretty much in love with my new Nikon D90, I’ve decided to take on a little project. The 365 project, that is.

The goal of the 365 project is simple: to take at least one photo every day for the next year. In documenting everything, no matter how simple or mundane, I hope to improve my shooting abilities and provide a glimpse into my life here in China.

You can find the photos here on Flickr. Eventually I’ll set up a separate section on this website for my 365 photos.

With love, from China.

(PS: I got in a photo with the man pictured above)

Oh, hey.

Say hello to my new Nikon D90—my first DSLR. I ventured over to the Beijing Wukesong Camera Market earlier today to buy it, and believe me when I say I was as giddy as a five-year-old on Christmas morning upon arrival.

Ever since I dabbled with photography at my Poynter fellowship last year, I’ve been wanting to explore advanced digital photography. I’ve taken a lot of photos during my travels around Asia but have become increasingly frustrated by the limitations of my little Kodak point-and-shoot. I suppose anyone who was given Canon Mark III to play around with for two weeks would feel that way too. (Point-and-shoot, it’s not you. It’s me. But we can still be friends!)

I’ve still got a lot to learn with this baby, but I’m already getting the hang of—and enjoying—it.

If only I had the D90 when I went to go see the temples of Angkor Wat …

In front of the Forbidden City.

Inside Tiananmen Square.

See more of Ramses’ adventures here.

Seen at the Summer Palace yesterday:

Note: This is definitely not the first time I’ve seen large groups of senior citizens dancing in unison in public places in China.

This past Wednesday, June 16 was Dragonboat Festival Day (端午节 “duānwǔjié”). Yes, this is an actual holiday.

According to tradition, you watch dragonboat (端午 “duānwǔ”) races and eat zòngzi (粽子—sweet rice dumplings). Without going into too much history, the festival basically celebrates Qu Yuan, a famous scholar and poet who drowned himself in a river. According to legend, people rushed to the river and used their boats to find him, but were unsuccessful. The zongzi were thrown into the river, though I’ve heard and read different reasons as to why this was the case. Some say it was a sacrificial offering, others say it was to feed Qu (in the event that he was, you know, alive), and still others say it was to feed the fish so that they wouldn’t eat his body. I even heard they were used to feed a dragon deep beneath the river’s surface. Just one of many things I’m unclear of on this holiday.

So how did I celebrate? Well, having given up on dragonboating—I tried out practicing with a real team in Beijing and had muscle spasms in my arms, back and shoulders for nearly a week afterward!—I decided to take the easier route and attend a zongzi cooking class on Wednesday morning. I learned not only how to prepare the treats, but also the history of the festival.

I bet you’re just dying to hear how one makes a zongzi. Turns out, it’s not as difficult as you might think, provided you have bamboo leaves. Read more »

The other day, I made an impulse buy. But unlike most of my impulse buys, this one is actually useful:

Yep. A bike.

You know how people say everything is cheaper in China? Well, it’s true. You will never guess how much I paid for this (slightly ok-kind-of-really worn) contraption.

$100, you say? Psh. Please. Lower.

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It’s that time of the decade again for the media to question why Americans are disinterested in a sport the rest of the world is so passionate about. But while you all back at home get to see that tired story be recycled through the American news stream, I’m busy catching every game at any restaurant, shop, gym, or store that has a TV because, more likely than not, they’ll be showing it. You see, China—the country that hasn’t even had a team in the World Cup since 2002—is crazy for the world’s biggest soccer football event.

So who is China supporting? Drumroll, please … Argentina (“Āgēntíng“). And overwhelmingly so. On Saturday, I went to a local restaurant here in Beijing that’s very popular with Chinese college students and it was completely packed for the Argentina-Nigeria game. The restaurant-goers cheered in unison whenever the game went in Argentina’s favor and collectively laughed when any Nigerian players writhed in pain on the pitch. They love coach Diego Maradona and all-star striker Lionel Messi. It helps, too, that their names are easy to pronounce in Chinese (“mǎlāduōnà” and “méixī“). And the minute that game ended, nearly the entire restaurant emptied. Not many stuck around to see the USA-England game (which, to be fair, aired at 2:30 in the morning here).

It’s pretty exciting to be living abroad during World Cup season, though I can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like in more traditionally football-crazy territories like Europe or South America right now.

UPDATE (6/16/10): From Reuters—a Chinese “volunteer army” arrived in South Africa to support North Korea’s team. While I don’t doubt the existence of these supporters, this article is a little misleading. By leaving out the fact that most people back on the mainland are actually supporting Argentina, the article paints the picture that China is throwing it all its support behind the North Korean squad. Having seen Messi in endorsement ads for Chinese products and spoken to many Chinese coworkers who have all confirmed that the majority of people here are rooting for Argentina, I know this couldn’t be further from the truth.

I think it’s important to make this clarification because the article seems to imply that, in supporting the team, China is also supporting the country. I can’t comment on the political relationship between the two countries because, quite frankly, I still don’t understand it. But I think it’s dangerous and, to repeat a word, misleading to make that implication.

Here in Beijing, I haven’t yet purchased a dish-drying rack because I keep forgetting to search for them when I go to the supermarket. So, my temporary strategy for cleaning dishes has been to handwash them first, then dry them with a towel and leave them along the wide windowsill in my kitchen.

Here’s why that’s a bad idea:

Guh-ROSS.

Ah, acid rain.

No matter how much you study a second language, you’ll never be 100% prepared to use it on the spot in a random, real life situation. Especially if that random, real life situation is something you don’t do all that often. Like getting a bimonthly haircut. Or signing up for a yearlong gym membership.

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