1:00 AM BEIJING - Ni Hao-dee ya'll! I am writing from my hostel bed in Beijing where I am doing head nods trying to stay awake. We just got back from a dinner meeting with Borja and his wife after having spent the day exploring Tienanmen Square. If I had two words to describe the square I would use: Quite Large. Other than that, perhaps due to the lack of history I was privy to, the square itself didn't have as huge an impact on me as the people inside of it.
The many and varied faces that we saw were mostly all of Asian descent (very few Caucasian) and all seemed to be very friendly and willing to talk to the two of us despite the fact that no one knew more than four words in the other language. Leah and I regularly joke that we are work boyfriend and girlfriend and when we are on the road outside of our workshops it is never more evident. Especially when people treat us that way - taking our pictures, going out to eat, etc. It's funny, eh?
Highlights of the day included:
- A HUGE TV screen in the subway stop close to us that when I walked in had an advertisement featuring Jackie Chan (which made my day). We have decided to include him in our speech.
- ON the subway, when you looked outside, projected onto the walls as you passed were full color advertisements that even though I couldn't read a character were pretty neat and caught my attention.
- The snow on the ground and the thousands of people walking around taking pictures.
- KFC for lunch. Can't beat fried chicken. Plus, I braved duck skin last night - I think I am entitled to have western food while I still can in the big city.
- The Zhengyangmen Gate - a 600 year old building with all four floors recently opened to the public in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Chinese government.
- 16 million people. That was the theme for today and the answer to almost every question we had: Why is the subway so crowded at 2:00? Why would anyone want to eat dog? What is with all of these honking horns?!
- The "Bookworm" bookstore / western restaurant where essentially Borja and William post up for meetings (otherwise they work out of their apartments). They had a large collection of English books to be read at your leisure and provided a very nice/chill atmosphere for us to work on our powerpoint and presentation.
Tomorrow (correction-) TODAY we will be heading to a more rural area where we are going to present speeches Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Tomorrow we embark on the "short" four hour train ride to get there. I am not sure if the Internet will be readily available but I hope to update when possible. Also, I have attached two pictures. (I do not know if they will upload properly). The first, of Borja, Leah, myself, and our Club Penguin friend we named "Chip" in our office (aka hostel) this morning. The second is of me and Chip in front of a big portrait of this guy. Please note that I am partial to the politics of peace and do not intend to make any political statements by this photo, but rather I was drawn to it's imposing presence in the square and wanted a picture, darnit! Plus, everyone else was doing it.
Thank you for all of your comments! Thanks to Danny I think they will be sent to my e-mail from now on. We shall see. Lastly, Aunt Chris, do we really have Pittsburgh and Detroit in our blood? And we dare to dream of becoming "wine attachés" in a European country? That is a hefty order, zia. Madonna mia. Ciao ciao!
3 comments:
Bro, I'll be honest, I didn't read everything. In fact, I barely skimmed everything. But it sounds like you're having a good time.
I don't know if you'll even be able to watch this but, let me know if this is how all Chinese people are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2rZxCrb7iU
Because if that's the case, I know you will get along quite well with everyone.
If I remember correctly from the Beijing Olympics, the time difference is 12 hours. So I'm assuming it's 2 pm there and you're chillin' in some piazza or square with a couple million people (no big deal.)
Hit me up when you can.
Peace, love, and democracy,
-Billy
Dear Stephen,
HI! This is Mrs. Schrage's 5th grade class. It looks like you are having fun. We all knew who Chip was and think he is cool.It looked like the building in Tienanmen Square was awesome and the square looked very busy. Adam says take pictures of rush hour. Please take more pictures and send them. We are studying endangered animals in Science and if you see a giant panda take a picture. When you are doing your speeches have someone take a picture of you and Leah. The kids would like to see a picture of Jackie Chan. Have you and Leah gotten used to the time change? It is 10:15AM here so we know it is 11:15 PM there. It looks like the hostel is pretty nice. Are there any fancy hotels in Beijing? We are anxious to hear what the schools are like in China. Andrew wants to know if you have had any Chinese candy? What is it like? John wants to know about the funky chinese food you have eaten. How do you say peace out in Chinese? James wants to know about dancing in China. Well we have to get back to work. Please be SAFE and careful.
Love, Mom and her 5th graders:)
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