Blogs from XiCheng District, Beijing, China, Asia - page 6

Ok so since we were up so early (4 a.m.) we were the first people to be seated for the breakfast buffet (6 a.m.) Bao decided to indulge in a standard Chinese breakfast otherwise known as a powdered sugar doughnut and I had the traditional ancient Chinese elixir of the gods a.k.a. cappucino. But I did have some Chinese food, I did, such as a 1,000 year egg (you know that is just the name, right?) and a green vegetable. Really nice food, immediately went against my vow not to have fruit on this trip and ate an entire plate of watermelon. I did offer some to Bao but he was still busy with the doughnut. Then we ventured out for a morning stroll after our leisurely breakfast (by then it was already 7 a.m.) Very ... read more

Friday July 16, 2010 Today was the day that I was going to take a breath and try to get caught up on emails, packing, and my blog. I managed to accomplish most of these tasks and hopefully you have enjoyed reading the latest blogs. As most of you know, I am all about a little quiet time. As I tell Rich some people rejuvenate by being around people and some accomplish this by being alone. It has only taken Rich 30+ years to realize that we are different in this respect. I enjoy my quiet time and he could care if there were 100 people around him at all times. Hence, the reason Beijing and him may get along a wee bit better then me. There certainly is very few places that you can accomplish ... read more

Seit heute Morgen um 7:30 bin ich in Peking. Mit momentan 19°C ist es hier deutlich frischer als in Shanghaier, aber dafür herrscht strahlender Sonnenschein und das Wetter ist eher mit frühlingshaft zu beschreiben, denn als herbstlich. Entgegen meiner Erwartungen war die Nacht im Schlafabteil eine der ruhigsten und angenehmsten auf der bisherigen Reise. Das Hostel in hier ist eines der schönsten, in dem ich bisher übernachten durfte, nicht nur in China, sondern überhaupt. Es ist in einem der alten Hutong-Häuser untergebracht mit einem großzügigen überdachten Innenhof als Lobby. Die Wände im Innenhof sind rot gestrichen und rote Laternen hängen an den Wänden. Es befindet sich sogar ein Goldfischteich in der Lobby und um in mein Zimmer zu kommen, muss ich eine winzige Brücke überqueren. Das Zimmer ist zwar eigentlich ein Schlafsaal mit 8 Betten, jedoch ... read more

Its been a very long time since I last wrote, and lots and lots have happened since. First, during the last two weeks, I have taught two different classes. First, I taught a class that consisted of rising third graders. This means they would be entering third grade in the fall. This was a challenge, the misunderstanding of the languages really was a challenge to overcome. The first day, we were just thrown into working, so we really didn't know how to teach or what we SHOULD be teaching. However, after the first day all of my fellow interns and myself got into a "rhythm". All of us started teaching, and playing games. It was amazing. I was very happy, and proud to see not only myself, but several other interns rise to the challenge of ... read more

I must start this blog off again by apologizing for the gap in between updates. As I’ve said before, it’s really difficult to find time for them, but I’ve been writing stuff down, both weird and interesting, so I don’t forget to mention them in my subsequent update. So, needless to say, since it’s been a good two weeks since my last update, this one will be a really, really long one. Now where to begin? More observations from China - note that all of these are based entirely on speculation and due to my lack of exposure to “real China” (seeing how people live, their actual living conditions, their salaries, seeing taxation and subsidizations from the government, etc.), they could be entirely wrong. However, those who know me know that I spend a lot of ... read more