a foodie's seoul

I'm awful with names and have already forgotten all the Korean food vocabulary that I learned. Anyways, enjoy!

First meal in Seoul: spicy squid with radish kimchi and sticky rice rolled in seaweed. This was the first plate I got in a small yet bustling restaurant that serves nothing but this dish. I thought the plate was a bit small when I first got it... little did I know that they would keep refilling the rice, kimchi, and squid! (By far, one of the tastiest and spiciest things I had in Seoul)

A kind of mochi filled with chopped peanuts

Fish balls in the street

A local food market

Didn't get to try any of these :(

fresh seafood

kimchi pancakes, vegetable and seaweed pancakes in the front, and tempura'd crab cakes,  fishcakes, peppers, and other deliciousness in the back

assorted kimchi

exchange rate is roughly 1 USD = 1,100 won

this guy stared at me while I ate my porridge...

rice cake stir-fried with spicy sauce and veggies 

hand-cut noodles

the same hand-cut noodles after adding sauce:)

slow-cooked chicken

seafood soup in the flea market

i have no idea what this is. i didn't at the time either. 

more kimchi:)

5 days in Seoul

Back in March, I took advantage of my weird visa to exit the country to spend some days in Korea. Here's my take on Seoul from five days. 

My first impression of Seoul was that it was how I would expect Japan to look. The way the Koreans dress and act, in a more polite and reserved manner than the Chinese, along with the public toilets with heated toilet seats, reminded me of Japan. In terms of language, I encountered very few people on the streets who could speak English (or Chinese which I also attempted) but I was able to get by fine. I had expected more people to speak English (or people to speak better English) but Seoul was comparable to Beijing for English levels i.e. most people are willing to help and will speak to you in their native language. Many of the young people who I attempted to talk to were too shy to speak anything. Even the people at tourist information spoke quite abysmal English; my theory is that because of the high volumes of Japanese and Chinese tourists, they hire people who can speak all 3 languages. 

So, the next big aspect of Korean culture that hit me was the makeup. Korean women always leave the house looking impeccable with perfect hair and makeup. (I imagine they look impeccable when they don't leave the house as well, whereas I personally hang out in a tshirt and sweats. Hmm, who am I kidding... I wear that out of the house too.) Because of the makeup, it's absolutely impossible to tell a woman's real age, or true skin tone, as they all seem to use the same beige coverup. When you bring plastic surgery into the equation, Korea is really in its own category. I read that about 25% of Koreans have had plastic surgery. It’s become such an ordinary part of Korean society that it’s scary. Ads are plastered all over the city, even the buses and the subway station. The women (and men) who undergo plastic surgery sometimes come out looking like a completely different person, from a completely different age group. Sometimes even a different ethnicity. Check out these ads:

who said plastic surgery is only for women?

many women slice their jaws down for a more flattering face shape.  owwww?

Seoul is an extremely modern city and has sadly lost much of the traditional Hanok houses. Seoul has its share of temples, palaces, and museums, but many people come to Seoul for the shopping. There was an entire area dedicated to wholesale goods: household items, clothing, and socks. Many many socks. Dongdaemun is another famous shopping area with skyscrapers dedicated to apparel.   

all the newest fads!

As always, the people can make or break a trip, and thanks to social media and a bit of fate, I was lucky enough to meet some very nice travel companions and also see a couple friends.

I actually decided to make a list out of this one. So, if you’d like to run into an old classmate or meet some unique people on your next trip, just follow these rules!

1. Don’t be shy. This is the obvious rule for meeting anyone, whether you’re traveling or not. Sometimes it just takes a hello, smalltalk, or a clever comment to start a conversation. And who knows where that conversation will lead? Sure, it could lead nowhere. But it just could lead to a travel companion for the day or even a lifelong friend. (Remember my friends D and S I met in the bank in Valencia? They were some of my best friends in Valencia, and I’m actually going to see them again next month! And to imagine that it all started with small talk in the bank.) In my Seoul trip, I was wandering around by myself in the Bukchon (a traditional Hanok village and one of my favorite places in Seoul) and I didn’t have high hopes for meeting any strangers as the Bukchon seemed to be the place for a date. Eventually I made it to must-see #10 on my tourist map, and asked another girl to take my photo. I thanked her, we chatted for a bit, and then we went our separate ways. As fate would have it, we just couldn’t stay away from each other, and it was probably the third time we ran into each other when we decided to walk around together in the neighboring area, filled with hip cafes and shops. Since I didn’t have a Korean phone number, we exchanged wechat accounts to meet up later in the week. Oh, who was she by the way? R turned out to be a Singapoean student who studies food science, who loves Korean culture and just arrived for her half-year study abroad in Seoul. She spoke in a soft, lyrical way that (from my experience) is characteristic of Singapore, and loved snapping away on her DSLR. 

Bukchon's traditional houses

2. Maximize what you get out of couchsurfing. There were some pretty active threads on the Seoul group in couchsurfing, and several people had posted that they were going traveling in Seoul and open to meet up with other travelers. Unfortunately I didn’t end up meeting with one guy for the DMZ tour which basically takes you (if you’re not a Korean citizen) to the Demilitiarized Military Zone that separates North and South Korea. I think you can see the famous conference halls where talks were held, tunnels, etc. Anyways, apparently these tours fill up very quickly and I missed my chance. I hung out with another CSer, C, who is Chinese and studies journalism in Macau. True to her journalistic roots, she was inquisitive and loved to ask about relationships (I guess it’s hard to get your head away from your thesis topic, and her thesis topic happened to be interracial relationships). Even though I tend to get very annoyed by nosy questions, C was actually interested and also willing to share her own experiences and preferences (important if you want you conversation to be an actual conversation rather than an interview).

3. Dig and have no shame! Going back to rule 1 again, except with acquaintances, old friends, i.e. people you already know. Just because you haven’t seen someone in a few years doesn’t mean that you can’t let them know when you’re passing through their city. Chances are, they’ll be flattered that you thought of them and asked for their advice. Well, my shameless moment came with Ar, who came to study in LA as an Ambassadorial Scholar almost four years ago to study cosmetics marketing. I didn’t understand fully what that meant until I saw with my own eyes what the Korean cosmetics industry does. After getting back to the U.S. Ar was reluctant to find another job just because of her previous experiences in the cosmetics industry… pressure, stress, and long hours. When I met up with her, she had just started another job with the Body Shop. I guess looking perfect is even more important when you sell cosmetics. Once when Ar showed up to work without makeup, her boss asked if she was sick. No, she replied. Of course her boss knew that she wasn’t sick. At least go put on some lipstick, he said. Anyways, it was great to catch up with Ar, especialy because she could hardly speak English when I had first met her, and now she’s virtually fluent.  

4. Social media, social media, social media. But really. How else would I find out that A (a classmate and floormate at UCLA who is a really nice person but I don’t know very well and who I hadn’t talked to in over two years) was in Seoul? I was in W’s living, scrolling through facebook (still a tad elated that I could freely do so, having escaped the Great Firewall), and lo and behold, I see A’s new facebook album of Seoul photos. What were the chances? Maybe he’s uploading photos from months ago? I contacted A, and found out that he was actually in Seoul for a week to visit friends, for almost the same exact week that I was there! It wasn’t easy to meet up as I was without a Korean number, but thanks to the occasional wifi that I would stumble across, we managed to meet. One thing that really surprised me was when I found out that A was staying in a hostel in the Hongdae area, especially since he was back visiting friends he had made when he studied abroad in Seoul. Seoul apartments are small, but I’m sure someone could have spared a couch. A explained that some of his friends live in the outskirts of Seoul and it would have been inconvenient to stay with them. He also has lots of female friends, and it would have been entirely inappropriate to stay with them. I guess that just came as a shock to me, since Seoul seems so so modern. 

a wonderful snowy day in march

Even though Beijing's winter can go through bouts of cold, sand, pollution, winds, and all combinations of the above, once in awhile you see a perfectly blue sky and amazing weather that you have no choice but to smile and relax.

00:30 during the snowstorm

waking up to a snow-covered city

sidewalk snow

view outside work 

another view outside the tayuan diplomatic building

HIV testing & Beijing's gay community

On my last day working at UNIDO, I went on a site visit with UN staff members to an HIV testing site sponsored by UNAIDS. I really enjoyed getting to know more about the other UN agencies' programs in China, since I don't think there's enough contact or collaboration between agencies as there should be. The fact that it was related to gay rights and HIV awareness, issues which I feel very strongly about, made me more appreciative of the experience.

Let me back up for some more context. I've lived in some of the most gay-friendly places in the world in the last 5 years. Although discrimination and hate crimes against the LGBT do occur in California just like everywhere else, California is still a very tolerant place (despite the whole Prop 8 mess which is an embarrassment). Living in LA, next to the thriving WeHo gay community and especially in our own Westwood bubble, being gay or having a gay best friend can be fashionable and trendy. I was truly living in a misleading bubble when virtually all of your friends, gay or not, support gay marriage and equal rights. I even have friends who are Republicans and politically conservative who still support gay marriage. Traveling and living in other places definitely puts things into perspective. 

That brings me to China. I didn't exactly conduct surveys with everybody I met and I still don't know if what I've heard is representative of the different demographics. I do know that many Chinese men enter heterosexual relationships and marry women because of familial and societal pressures. As I already explained with in my dating post, one of the biggest pressure that young people in their 20's and 30's feel is to find a spouse and start a family. With that being said, in any population set, roughly 10% is gay. That's 1 out of 10. In China, that means that out of a population of 1.3 billion and 700 million men, 7 million are gay. Seven million are gay, and do not live in a society where their needs are address nor their lifestyles tolerated. Danlan is a LGBT website and NGO that has taken a stand and supports the LGBT community: they provide a dating service and social network, HIV awareness programs, as well as social programs for gays and straights. The focal activity of our visit was their free (and anonymous) HIV testing service; the problem in China is that most people who suspect that they are HIV-positive don't get tested at the conventional facilities, where they must use their ID card. Danlan's site provides a quicker test (20 minutes vs. 3 hours), a gay-friendly environment, and ANONYMOUS testing. They have a sign-in sheet where they encourage people to voluntarily leave their name and contact information, so that Danlan can help them and provide resources if they test positive. The scariest statistic that I heard is that 8% of tests result in a positive. That's huge. That means that out of the 22 million people in Beijing, and roughly 1.1 million gay men, some thousands visited Danlan CBO and 8% found out they are HIV positive. It's also estimated that 5% gay men in Beijing are HIV positive.

Another eye-opening part of the visit was not what they told us about the gay community in China, but rather the reactions and the questions of the audience. There were about 25 UN staff in the group, most of whom were Chinese nationals, female, and between the ages of 25 and 45. I felt a mixture of emotions when I heard the type of questions that they asked: embarrassment, disbelief, and anger. I mean, you don't expect M, a woman in her 40s, who amidst giggles asked the (gay) program director if he's ever had a crush on a girl, or if he's ever had a girlfriend, or if gay people cheat on each other and have relationships just like straight people. Really? Even middle schoolers know better than that! But just as she was opened up to another world, and learned that homosexuals indeed love, lust, and go through relationships and life just like heterosexuals, I also discovered that ignorance is extremely widespread yet can be easily remedied. For M, who had never before met any open homosexuals nor questioned her own sexuality, it took meeting open gay men who were able to articulate their own experiences for her to realize that there's really nothing different about gay people.

Our visit concluded with Danlan showing us what they're doing to promote acceptance and tolerance of the LGBT community. They're constantly working on new campaigns, seminars, and events in China. For example, they held talks at universities and released short films, directed toward anyone, on how HIV is transmitted and how they can treat their HIV-positive friends and avoid embarrassing them or any other awkward situations. (link) We also learned a bit about the problems they faced from the gonganju, which nitpicks and looks for any problem to shut down their website. (They also mentioned that same-sex PDA media is not technically illegal in China, as long as they keep within the nudity regulations.)

Here's a video clip from the testing site (I met both Gengle and Hanhan at the site visit, who were really great and absurdly patient with the Q&A): http://www.queercomrades.com/en/news/china/danlan-testing/. 

The guys were also great at promoting Destination, the gay bar/nightclub which hosts the HIV testing center on their 4th floor (the first two floors are dedicated to the bar, and the upper two levels consist of office and administrative space, meeting rooms, a room for workouts or dance, etc), so I just had to check it out... you know, field research for my blog. This place was huge and absolutely packed. At first it was a bit of a disappointment for my friend and I because people were just hanging out (and smoking a lot, like any other bar) and we wanted to dance! Eventually we were able to find the dance floor, and all was good.

creating a gay-friendly test site

L: using wordplay to promote safe sexR: "Any kind of love is still love" 

Danlan's Geng Le meeting former president Hu Jintao. Hey, it's still China and this gives him a lot of cred.

walking into the sunset... "Let's go get tested together" 

the hunt

Yep, the job hunt. Since I knew that chances were slim that I would be able to stay at UNIDO after my internship, mostly because of tight funding, I started sending out resumes almost immediately after I arrived in China in November. Since then I've had interviews with several different companies, most of which did not work out. Although I'm not really in a great position (as of right now) to be handing out tips, I've spent countless hours each year looking for jobs or internships, and here is some advice based on my previous experiences with jobs and internships.

*Focus the search: My strategy so far has focused on industry-specific sites, rather than using general search engines. For example, I've found some websites that focus on jobs related to energy, which significantly cuts down on my work sifting through all the irrelevant positions, and I regularly visit these sites to look over their postings. One in particular is energyfolks; as you can tell from their name, they focus on the energy sector. Their geographic focus and divisions are perfect for me; they have only 9 total regions but these include Northern California, Southern California, and China. Even if the number of postings they have isn't very many (at any time they never have more than 50 postings), it's quality over quantity for a site like this.

*Networking events: This is obvious, but extremely important for any job hunter, as it ensures face-to-face contact as well as an "in" to a company, important in any country but even more so in China. I have to say that out of my 4 internships during my undergrad career, 2 were obtained through contacts I had made at UCLA Engineering career fairs. I remember applying through an insane number of electronic hiring systems where your resume gets lots among hundreds or thousands, and I had a success rate of probably 0. My success rate wasn't high either at the career fairs, but a few hits is always better than none. When you attend these events, make sure to hand your resume or business card to as many individuals and companies as possible- you never know where it'll end up! Here in Beijing, I've attended a couple events organized by groups geared towards foreigners working in energy, environment and climate- Beijing Energy Network and China Carbon Forum. They'll invite interesting speakers about once a month and the talks are a great way to meet others (both Chinese and foreign but mostly foreign) in my field. If I go with a friend, sometimes it's a bit more difficult to talk to strangers but meeting new people is what networking is all about. So far I haven't really gotten any job leads through either of these groups, but I've still been able to learn something from the speakers and I made a good friend.

*Pimp out your linkedin: I have to say that it's really annoying when some of my linkedin connections post all kinds of articles and make obnoxious comments, but in general the more active you are, the better. This guide provides some useful strategies for your linkedin profile; it's directed towards the Chinese market but the strategies are applicable to everybody such as "Go for a 100% complete profile," "Brand yourself" by using key words, and join relevant groups. 

*Use your connections: After you've made connections by the above or other means, it's time to utilize them. I don't mean asking somebody outright to hook you up with a job. That looks bad. What I mean is getting to know this person; by simply asking them for advice, or having coffee and learning more about their background and experiences, you can gain a different perspective on your job hunt and future career prospects.

*Become a stalker: This is a new technique I've picked up. Whenever I'm browsing through the website of an interesting company or organization, I'll read their staff profiles to get a feel for the type of leadership and staff they have. This gives me a better idea of who they are likely to recruit. Also, it's fascinating to read about others' paths through various companies and geographic locations before they landed at that position. If somebody has a similar profile to mine, or a position that I could see myself pursuing, then I take a look at their previous work experiences and research those companies. This has provided me with a growing list of potential employers.

Any other advice?

beijing without borders

In the past month or six weeks, I've gotten a taste of the international city that is Beijing and expat culture, which has also given me a window into my possible future if I were to stay here to work for a couple years. Los Angeles is already one of the most diverse cities in the U.S., and then I lived in Valencia which is full of university students on exchange, and now of course Beijing which has an extremely large and thriving expat community. I've met people from so many countries and each one has a fascinating journey which lead them here. Take A, my Swiss friend who I met at a China Carbon Forum event. She just graduated from university, and is interning at an environmental initiative/platform in Beijing. Her mother is Chinese-Singaporean although A never spoke Chinese at home and is learning now. There's also L, a French girl I met through CS with whom I've become pretty close, who teaches English at an experimental elementary school. And there's S and the slew of other Spanish women I met through her, all of whom have found a new home in Beijing. The majority work in business or marketing positions for Chinese companies that are expanding into Latin America. Another friend, S, was born in the Netherlands to Hong Kong emigrants. I could keep going on with the acquaintances I've made, but the point is that Beijing attracts all kinds of students and professionals working in any field. The community of foreigners here is indeed huge, but after being here for 6 months you realize that it's smaller than you think. Last weekend L and I went to the opening day of an arts and music festival that's going on all month, and within the 2 hours that we were there, we saw a lot of friends and acquaintances... two guys who were at the dinner we had gone to the night before, L, a girl that we both knew from CS, O, a friend of my former coworker, and P, a friend of a friend of L's. You realize that these events tend to attract the same demographic and sooner or later, you're bound to run into somebody despite the millions that live in Beijing.

Another unique part this community is all the different viewpoints you encounter. All the gripes, yes, as we can always find a common gripe (generally the pollution) but we also share a passion for Beijing life. Just last night, I went to a CS event and a native Londoner recounted his relationship with Beijing with such passion that I've never seen anybody speak in that way about their significant other (with romantic comedies being the exception).

I've made so many mistakes in Beijing. I've grown so much here that every time I'm back in England I don't feel like myself. I'm myself in Beijing. Sure, it's not perfect, but there's just so much I love. The expat community here is different from Shanghai and Hong Kong, since the foreigners there are more "passing through," for work or whatever. But Beijing, as a center of politics and media and culture, attracts a special group of individuals.
Ok, this is when I had to awkwardly mention that I indeed am also part of that "passing through group." Anyways, he continued about his love affair with Beijing in a very endearing, tipsy way. What really struck me was what he said when I asked him exactly what it is that he loves. I wanted him to put it into words. the food. the culture. the women. anything! But he couldn't. For him, Beijing just has the X-factor that he can't even put it into words. He tried to, but literally could not. Now that's true, head-over-heels, can't-ever-leave-you love.

So, how does one meet the mentioned interesting, well-traveled, and opinionated individuals? There's a huge couchsurfing group in Beijing that it seems to be more geared towards foreigners living in Beijing to hang out rather than towards travelers who want to meet locals. I've only been to a couple events, but because of the large expat community that outnumbers the amount of travelers who are passing through, everybody in attendance tends to be a foreigner who is living in Beijing, either temporarily or permanently, or a local who is more well-traveled and wants to meet foreigners. (Compare this to a CS event I attended in London, which had a good mix of travelers and "locals".)  Internations is a networking group for professionals, so not really for travelers or students but rather people who are living and working in China. My friend is involved in Internations, which has chapters all over the world, and their events are very popular amongst Beijinger professionals. And of course, there's loads of other societies and clubs for expats. For example, Heyrobics is a Swedish aerobics group that exists in Beijing and Shanghai that is gaining lots of popularity here (locals attend their classes too, but most expats will have heard of Heyrobics whereas it's not so known among locals). HHH (Hash Hound Harriers) is an international expat running club whose motto is "a drinking club with a running problem." On top of these groups, like in any massive city, there's always something happening in Beijing; as an example, just right now there's that art and music festival I mentioned earlier, a French culture festival with film screenings and talks, a literary festival, and probably tons more that I'm not aware of going on.

I'm definitely not in love with the city as the guy from London, who I suppose is an extreme case. Instead of settling down and going for the long-term relationship like him, I've enjoyed my 5-month fling but am not ready for any commitments yet.

January updates

My 2013 got off to a busy start! I started the new year in Sichuan, where I attended my cousin's wedding and saw tons of relatives whom I had not seen since 2004. All of the cousins around my age are of course grown up with jobs and/or girlfriends, and all of the cousins 6-12 years older than me are now parents. This also means that those new babies or toddlers.

It was also nice to appreciate the noticeably slower and more relaxed pace of life in Sichuan. I first went to Chengdu, which is the capital of Sichuan and considered to be a medium-sized city. Wikipedia says "Chengdu outnumbers Shanghai in the number of tea houses and bars despite having less than half the population. The inhabitants have a reputation in China for having a laid-back attitude and for knowing how to enjoy life." It's difficult to me to judge, as I work in Beijing and have only ever vacationed in Sichuan. After many visits, rounds of food, and a visit to the giant panda breeding center, I moved on to Deyang, a suburb one hour away from Chengdu, where I continued to see my aunts, uncles, and cousins, enjoy the relaxing Sichuan lifestyle, and eat way too much. Although I was only in Deyang for 3 nights, I definitely got a feel for a typical night: dinner, then a bar or KTV where drinks and more snacks are ordered, and then to a restaurant for a "midnight snack." I should emphasize that the KTV snacks were not snacks in the Western or even the Beijing sense; these snacks ranged from spicy pickled seaweed to chicken wings to ginormous fruit plates. The midnight snacks I tried were dumplings in a sweet and spicy sauce and roasted meats. I think I averaged a gain of 1 kilo for every day that I was in Sichuan.

A typical bowl of 5RMB Sichuan noodles.

I think this quote very accurately describes giant panda habits: Panda spends 98 percent of their time eating or sleeping. The other two percent, according to a Chinese book, is spent “wondering and enjoying.”

A plastic glove wasn't enough to keep our clothes from the drippy, spicy, oily goodness. But it was worth it.

With the cutest nephew ever:)

I also took a trip with my mom to Singapore and Malaysia. Unfortunately, the sudden changes of climate that I was putting my body through (-5 and dry in Beijing, 1 and humid in Chengdu, back to -5 and dry in Beijing, and 30 and wet in Singapore) didn't help my cough and I ended up getting a throat infection. Anyways, Malaysia has been a crossroads of East Asian, Southeast Asian, Middle East, and even European cultures for hundreds of years. The biggest influences are by far the Chinese, Indian, and Malay, and this is especially evident in the cuisine but also in the architecture, culture, religion, and every aspect of society. It was pretty amazing that 3rd or 4th generation Chinese were still quite in touch with Chinese culture, and because of the Chinese presence (as locals and as tourists) many Malaysians who were not from Chinese descent also were able to speak Mandarin.

A protest in the Chinatown of Kuala Lumpur

Cambodian style temple

Getting colorfully covered up at the National Mosque

Back in Beijing, we had an extremely polluted month. After having lived here for several months already, I was already used to smoggy days with very low visibility, little to no wind, and PM2.5 levels 2, 3, or 4 times the WHO recommended level. This time, it was especially bad as the weather conditions caused the pollution to accumulate for almost a week. Not only were flights delayed because of the low visibility (including our flight back from Singapore), but there was even a fire in Shanghai that went unnoticed for 3 hours because it just blended in with the pollution! If you want to read more, there's plenty on the internet, and my friend S sent me this article which does a good job of describing the situation. Anyways, the pollution I guess is one of the worst parts of living in this city, since it really can affect so many aspects of your life. Living in California, the air quality has always been something that I (and most other Californians) take for granted, and it really is a basic human right to live in a clean and safe environment.

A hazy day in Chaoyang

So, that provided a nice segue into my work life, as all of the projects that I'm working on have some kind of contribution to energy efficiency or emissions reductions. At the end of January my supervisor B was in Beijing on mission from Vienna. I attended some meetings with her and definitely got a better understanding of UNIDO projects, relationships with stakeholders and counterparts, the frustrations that come with the slow pace and inefficient bureaucracies that are unfortunately typical of the non-profit or governmental sectors, but also a personal satisfaction of contributing to a greater cause that the private sector doesn't really provide. Working on an international level is also exhausting, as one must be aware of the constantly changing politics and minutiae of cultural sensitivity. This isn't the case in China, but oftentimes the project team and stakeholders invest time and effort into creating a meaningful relationship with a certain government organization, and all that work is wasted with a change of government. Anyways, B is quite young and has had a variety of experiences in the private and public sector and lived in several countries and continents, so she always had some interesting stories and spot-on advice.

Finally, what would a January in sub-zero temperatures be without a snow and ice festival? Even though Harbin was too far and overwhelming, and the mere thought of -35C was enough to scare us off, my friends and I still managed to go to the Longqing Gorge Ice Sculpture Festival.