Elizabeth in China » painting

Good Eats, No Meats

Elizabeth — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 07:27:24 +0000

I returned to Nordica for dinner last night with some friends. We intended to catch their weekly BBQ, but we got there too late so we ordered off the menu. I had a very tastey mushroom quiche with a side salad for 18 RMB, and we shared a bottle of white wine (the brand was Great Wall, I think?) for 80 RMB. For dessert, everyone got a brownie except Karina who ordered the carrot cake which came with a great citrus frosting. Yum! Recommended, but next time I think we should arrive closer to 6:00 p.m. so we can do the BBQ (35 RMB) — of course, I might prefer the quiche to the meaty BBQ.

We poked around the loft area a little after dinner. There were several galleries/bars/tea houses that had a crowd — primarily local, from the looks of things. The paintings were not overwhelming, but it was really exciting to see art happening in Kunming. There were some really cool spaces — converted old buildings — and lots of nooks and crannies with very colorful, comfortable-looking courtyards. I would really like to explore the area more during the light of day.

Anyway, it was great to play after a brutal week of classes. The expectations at this level are a lot higher. I’m writing tons — both practicing characters and I have two essays due next week. Whoah! I was so exhausted by the end of classes on Friday, I just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. I need to learn how to pace myself. I totally neglected to study for my Friday classes so I was embarassingly ill-prepared — which of course made even more anxious during class. Bah. I think it’s surmountable, but I need to get my act together. Thank god I have the weekend to regroup.

Jeremy had a potluck dinner with his classmates last night. He prepared jambalaya with little shrimp (a New Orleans dish) as well as a treat for Roshashana, apples and honey. How very ethnic. That, of course, was the name of the game — everyone brought food from their home country. Sounds like it was an incredible feast! Jeremy especially enjoyed Caroline’s contribution of cheese and French bread. Sounds heavenly.

Contagious Love in Kunming

Elizabeth — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 00:45:18 +0000

I attended the opening of an art exhibit this weekend. Wow, Nordica is a real art center with a gallery and performance space. I was really impressed. The reception was for Contagious Love, an exhibition about AIDS in China. HIV/AIDS education is really growing in China, but from some of the stories I heard the other night we have a long way to go. HIV/AIDS can be transmitted through sex, yes, but it can also happen by sharing needles. In fact, this is what scares me a lot. Hospitals here have been found to be using dirty needles: China’s dirty needles risk ‘daily’ infection, BBC News, November 2002 – sorry this link is blocked for those of you in China). Anyway, there is a lot of focus on Yunnan Province because the cases of infection are expected to double by 2010.

Here’s an interesting article from The Toronto Star about Bill Gates giving gobs of money to help prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS in China. (It also refers to President Hu Jintao’s recent visits to AIDS patients.)

This exhibit is a great introduction to some of Kunming’s really talented artists. I took photos of a couple of my favorite pieces. Of course I wanted to get more shots, but my little camera clunked out after a while. Anyway, I also got a couple shots of the space as well.

The Contagious Love Exhibition runs through October 12 at Nordica in Kunming, Yunnan. Here are directions to Nordica.

No More Mari

Elizabeth — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 08:41:28 +0000

This morning I had a lovely brunch with Mari and Ta. We ate at Salvador’s, a local cafe that caters to Westerners. I had a huge bowl of yogurt, granola, and fruit, along with a bagel and cream cheese. Mari and Ta went with the eggs, potato, fruit, and wheat roll. Good food. Ta says that she doesn’t tend to run into cafes like this in Beijing, so she was especially enthusiastic about sitting down to some Western food this morning. We are good eaters. We have had a great time consuming all manner of things together over the last few days. Lots of hot peppers, lots of fish, and always a little eggplant (my favorite).

They were both off today for Laos. So sad to see them go, especially after spending the last 5 weeks with Mari. Of course, she’s relieved I think because her time here has been packed with intense language study (over 20 hours a week in class!). I think they’ll have a good time in Laos. Getting away from China will do them both good.

I spent the afternoon scrubbing clean my entire dorm room, removing everything from drawers and shelves. I have a vague hope of moving in temporarily with a super cool woman I met the other day, Shannon, but mostly I just need to clean. Psychological? You bet. Everyone around me is in transition, and I’m really longing to get out of this dorm and live with Jeremy. I really want some movement!

Oh, by the way, I think I cured my glumness. I bought some oil paints and spent a few hours the other day painting figures from photos I found online. They weren’t my most fabulous work, since I’m totally out of practice, but it really is so rewarding to lay paint down paper. I can’t tell you why.