exploring beijing, china

name: radhika manjari-dasi misri 中文名字: 妙善 20 years old university of san francisco: class of 2014 major: international studies minors: chinese & asian studies peking university: 09/2012 - 06/2013 fun fact: vegetarian my whole life www.facebook.com/misradhi

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really missing my time abroad in china :'( now I have just a week left of summer…can’t believe this is my last year at USF! definitely going to make the best out of it (:

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New Braj Festival 2013 in Badger, California <3 

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my definition of healing is to restore a person to spiritual wholeness.

what i hope to achieve... (:

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stole this from my brother's instagram ;D hahah anyways, yesterday had a wonderful day celebrating chay's graduation! i'm so happy i was here to be a part of such an important occasion. family matters a lot to me, and i know most people would agree, but something about being close to the ones that know you the best just makes everything seem that much more enjoyable. much respect and love to my brother and family <3 im thrilled to be back home again (: next up for this month is the annual badger festival ! which means camping for a week in the sequoia national park, can't wait :D

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farewell party went really well on my last day in beijing (: i was so happy to see so many people could make it <3 im going to forever remember my study abroad in beijing thanks to all the beautiful souls i got to meet. hoping to see you all again soon sometime near in the future. may your paths be full of happiness, serenity and knowledge. 

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countdown: 2 days left in beijing!

after almost a year of living here in china, i FINALLY went to the great wall!! i couldnt believe how spectacular the weather was, for the past week and a half its been foggy and rainy (not exactly the ideal weather forecast to climb up one of the steepest, most uneven staircases built known to "wo"man) but today was...perfect! regardless of waiting in long lines, it was absolutely stunning to see the views from that high up and getting a break from beijing's wonderful air pollution. now i know why the great wall is definitely one of the seven wonders of the world :P i was completely and utterly blown away!

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its not goodbye, its see you again soon.

last night we had a fabulous evening at one of the best vegetarian restaurants in beijing for our beautiful friend, tina. tina (also from san francisco) will be travelling to hong kong and taiwan with her boyfriend, andrew. its nice to know that when she gets back to san francisco, we can definitely hang out!

today i had a lovely, sweet farewell dinner with my good friend naoyuki. it's crazy to think we've known eachother for 10 months now, and yet it feels like its been years (: im glad i had the opportunity to make so many genuinely kind and loving friends in beijing. its always hard to say goodbye, so i would rather say see you again soon. whether its in another time and place, i think our friendships will always stay the same. 

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just another adventure in beijing! finally went to the olympic stadium with my two good friends, sophie and lisa - when it got dark the lighting was captivating (: im so glad i got to go check it out before i leave. another place that i get to to check off my list of things to see in beijing :D next up beijing's summer palace!

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last kouyu class group photo: farewell dinner for kate who is going back to korea

definitely going to miss her, its been such a pleasure being her friend and i look forward to visiting her soon or for her to come to california!! (:

update: happy june!! currently having allergies to god knows what, but by the help of my wonderful friends i am having a fast recovery :D not to mention i only have 11 days left! 

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explore. dream. discover.

14 days left. just got back from the swimming pool with my roommate, Elina. when I was underwater i started to think about how this one year abroad has changed me, it makes me wonder: was this a dream? or was being home a dream, and when i left i found the real world? coming to beijing, made me really appreciate meeting so many incredibly fascinating people. living in beijing, made me adapt and find my own lifestyle to a whole new environment that i was completely unfamiliar with. beijing, i would say, became a home i never knew i would have. and in that sense, this year may feel like a dream but it was more real than anything i have ever committed myself to doing. i discovered my strengths, shared my dreams, and explored a country. a country that i hope i get to come back to again someday :D still so many places i want to see!

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trying to make every moment count (:

this picture was from saturday night out with the girls at global club in wudaokou <3 also went to the latin club, music was great! im going to miss these "summer" (isn't quite the end of the semester here yet, but the weather sure makes it feel like it) nights in beijing~ had a wonderful weekend, finally bought my suitcase today and managed to bargain it down from 338RMB to 250RMB not bad eh? but i probably could of done better, but i was a bit tired (: then again what happened today is a whole other story...hehe, i'll save that for my next post! 

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Yesterday, I finished my last two tests of this semester (since I'll be leaving early, I'm missing my last exams, hehe) ! So excited for summer to start! I've been feeling a lot more relaxed about my classes lately, knowing that I'm not just here for the grade but really to see what I can do to improve my Chinese on my own terms and conditions. It's nice (: I think tests scare me sometimes, it's not just the pressure or anxiety but more about being disappointed and having too high of expectations for myself.

On the other hand, I completed other one of my "things to do in Beijing before I leave" off my list :D Today, I went with my friend Sophie (from New York) to the Lama Temple ! It was really peaceful and the incense smelled fabulous. Definitely brought back memories from the private Buddhist school I went to at The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. Also seeing so many Chinese people offering incense, chanting, and praying made me feel happy that they really do have beliefs and structures to the way they find faith in a country that closes those doors. As you might see from the picture, the Chinese-Tibetan architectural style is just stunning. I love the combination of colors and designs all put together in such an appealling form. Overall, I think we had quite an adventure!

At 6 o'clock, Valentina, Saeram, Camille, Chihiro, Tina and I got on the subway and made our way to Dongzhimen. Now what were we doing there you might ask. For Valentina's 21st Birthday (this Sunday) she decided to take us all out for Latin & Ballroom Dance Lesson (: It was extremely sweet, the dance instructor from New York (but of Chinese decent) taught us the Waltz and we all had a great time. It was one of the best dance lessons I've ever had! Later on, we all had a nice dinner with a birthday cake to end to the lovely evening. I'm really happy to have met these group of ladies, they all have such wonderful and admiring qualities that I hope to strive for myself. Great friends teach and inspire you to do great things! HAPPY BIRTHDAY VALENTINA! <3

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Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.

Just wanted to wish my mom a very happy mother's day! I had a wonderful talk with my her last night - i think we're both tremendously excited about seeing one another :D So exactly 30 more days left till I'm home...! 

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Group picture with my Kouyu class at a Spanish restaurant - thanks to my classmate and wonderful friend from Madrid, Diego for organizing the lunch! it was fabulous <3

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Fun in the sun with Lisa, Sophie & Valentina! We had a wonderful day yesterday at the 欢乐谷 Happy Valley Amusement Park in Chaoyang, Beijing! I'm looking forward to spending the remainder of my time left here in China with good company, good vegetarian food, and good weather! Let the good times keep rolling! (: 

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Happy May 1st!

I can't believe these past few days have been some of the best days in Beijing since I've been here! Reason 1: The weather has just been absolutely delightful - 80 degrees every day (around 27 in Celsius). Reason 2: Great company with old friends and new friends. Reason 3: No classes! Had Monday-Wednesday off.

My first adventure was going to Houhai for the first time with my friend Sophie, Serena and met two guys from the UK and Memphis, Tennessee and then one of their friends was a Chinese girl. We ate dinner together at a Yunnan restaurant close to Nanlouguxiang - which had a nice selection of vegetarian options. Afterwards we headed over to a pub called El Nido, they had a huge variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages from all over Europe and Southeast Asia, I tried Sparkling Apple Cider from Spain. It was pretty good! The ambiance of this place was quite relaxed and the music mostly consisted of songs by Led Zeppelin, The Beach Boys, The Beatles and Bob Marley. 

The second outing I did was going shopping at one of the fake markets near the famous Beijing Zoo. Unfortunately, since the weather was so nice the subway station got extremely overcrowded that they had to shut it down. Luckily, I had a nice bus ride from a few stops away that took me directly to the Zoo. When I finally got to the densely crowded market, I realized that I was in dire need of some new shoes to wear during Spring and Summer. After about an hour of getting lost in the market, I was close to giving up and finding a plot of grass to lay down on - but I suddenly found a whole section flowing from all four corners! I bought a cute black pair of sandals with straps (similar to the gladiator style) and another that were white All-Star Converse shoes (love those!). I figured I needed both, one is good for walking and the other is good for looks. When I was done shopping and getting lost, I decided to buy a few green coconuts outside near the station. When I was about to cross the street back to the station, I realized it was still closed. That's when a man from Turkey went up to me and asked me for directions. I found out that we could walk about 20 minutes to the next subway station so we stopped by a fruit stand to get more coconuts and strawberries to eat along the way. So scrumptious and sweet! I realized when I'm travelling around how easy and nice is to talk to strangers. It's amazing to listen to people's stories and dreams about what they are passionate about - it sometimes reminds me that in a way, we really are all connected. I like that a lot.

The following day, I went with my two good friends Valentina and Camille to Tian Tan (The Temple of Heaven) - where we also met a Chinese guy, Camille's good friend from Spain, Cristina and her friend who was visiting China from Spain. It was beautiful seeing the trees and grass all green, and the flowers finally blossoming in Beijing. Tian Tan was more vibrant than I thought it would be, the pictures really don't do it justice but at least it's a glimpse of the real thing :P

Yesterday, Valentina and Camille invited me to go with them to Yuanmingyuan which is basically one subway station away from Peking University also right next to Beijing's famous Summer Palace. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. The lakes, the flowers, the trees, the birds, the ruins, the stones, the fish ... it was perfect. The weather made everyone and everything look so colorful and sweet. I'm so happy this break turned out so well, even though I wanted to travel outside Beijing and go see as much as China as possible. I think staying in Beijing was ultimately a good choice (: I really enjoyed being a tourist for these past few days!

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what happens in life is not a coincidence.

Exactly 6 weeks from now I'm going to be on a plane back home to San Francisco. I can't believe it. I feel like it was just yesterday when I was saying I still had 6 more months left here in Beijing. 

Today I was really thinking about doing a trip to Mongolia with a few friends but I realized there's so much in Beijing that I haven't seen - especially The Great Wall haha. So I think, next week I'm going to dedicate my time to being a full on tourist :D

Just this past weekend, my language partner ZhangXi from Shangdong Province, accompanied me to visit the National Museum of China near Tiananmen Square. We stayed there the entire day and still didn't manage to visit every room that had an exhibition. There was an exhibition called "Earth, Sea and Sky" which had a central theme regarding nature in western art, many of the masterpieces were from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Also another room was exhibiting famous artworks from Florence during The Renaissance, all of which were extremely beautiful. Another highlight of the day was seeing up close was one of Vincent van Gogh's famous artworks. 

It was magical. There was also a few famous paintings from Monet, he's one of my favorite artists as well (: Later on, we visited a huge room full of the presents Mao Zedong received from famous Prime Ministers and Presidents from all over the world. It was a huge collection of antiques from all over the East and the West, ranging from beautiful, historic pieces of art, to plenty of gold swords and jeweled daggers from the Middle East. 

Altogether, it was a very interesting experience and I was surprised that the museum had other exhibitions from various countries. The combination of China's historical art all in one building was truly amazing, but to have other country's as well was very impressive.