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Currently relaxing until my laundry is done (less than 1 US Dollar for the people here on campus to do a full load... awesome).
So, Tuesday, we went to the National People's Congress (NPC). Truth be told, it was a total let down. I expected for us to walk through their chambers, maybe even catch them while they were in session. Nothing of the sort. We did not even get to walk through the building where they officially hold their meetings/sessions. Instead we went to the hotel behind their building where the Vice-Director of the Commission of Legislative Affairs of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress spoke to us about his commission's functions. Since explaining what this commission will take forever, and I am still not 100% sure how the legislative organizations interact with each other, I'll leave the details for another time. All you need to know is that 99% us were disappointed. But, my excursion after the field trip more than made up for it.
A small group of us, with the help of Fey and her childhood friend in town for the week (Bing), went to the Bird's Nest. This is the stadium where
A 7-Star Hotel
This hotel is near the Bird's Nest and is in the shape of a dragon. It took me a minute to see it, but you have to look at the structure as a whole. (The tall building by itself looked like a torch to me...) the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games were held. We walked around the stadium and the grounds where all sorts of Olympic sports history took place. We got there too late to actually enter the Bird's Nest and walk on the track where Usain Bolt won his gold, but we will do that at a later date. Of course, Kofi, Arsene and I were rock stars again posing for people's pictures. We got there too early for all of the lights to really shine, so we walked to get some dinner. Holy cow...
We let Fey and Bing do their thing and the waitstaff came back with a spread of ridiculously great food. Finally had Peking Duck, among 5 or 6 other dishes that were insanely good. The eight of us were stuffed as a tick, and only paid maybe $8 (~ 56 RMB) total for food and beer. And that was 6 of us paying the bill to treat Fey and Bing. Literally, I have not received more "bang for my buck" when it comes to food than I have here in China.
After dinner, we waddled back to the Olympic area to take more pictures.
We hung out for awhile, then eventually went home. It started off as a disappointing day, but truly rocked my world by the time I went to bed.
Yesterday, was nothing exciting. Fey took Arsene and I after class to get a camera for Arsene and to find me a book to help me learn Chinese. A wonderful lunch (as usually) with history and cuisine lessons from Fey, and 5 hours later, we came back to campus with a camera for a deeply bargained price and two books that are making my head spin. (All I have to say is '4 tones' of the Chinese language...) Dinner yesterday was... interesting. I walked into a place by myself and sat down. I was foolish enough to stick around after I realized the menu had no pictures and the waitstaff did not speak a single word of English. I eventually concluded I was eating at a fondu-type place. I (randomly) picked chicken and I pointed to beef using one of my new books. Of course, getting a beer was the easiest part of ordering. When I realized I was not getting rice or noodles after the food came out, I realized
Olympic Rings Tower
Not sure what they used this structure for. It looked like the Beijing Olympics' version of the Indy 500's "Pagoda." why the waiter gave me crazy looks when I told him I did not want something from a list he pointed to several times. The staff was very nice, boiled my meat, and stared and laughed as I ate. It was one of those moments that you had to be there to truly appreciate it, but a learning experience. I did not travel 6,000+ for nothing!
After class today we went to visit a Chinese law firm. A partner spoke to us in one of their conference rooms. She was very intelligent, spoke really good English and seemed to be a real firecracker, but at the same time, very down to Earth and very cool. She was definitely unique when it comes to Chinese women: she was assertive, confident, seemed like a real bad-ass and was very fun. The female law students are very nice, but they, and Chinese women in general, are relatively shy and not near as assertive as their American counterparts (though I have no much room to talk). The partner that spoke to us spent 3+ years in the US studying/working for a law firm and traveled to other Western countries. So while she was
very Chinese, she had many qualities of a business woman that you expect to see in the US or other Western countries. She was an interesting study of how China is evolving. Explaining this would take a lot more time than I can share by typing, but just try to grasp that China's law has only truly developed and moved forward since 1978. The US is a (relatively) young nation compared to China, but our legal system has had nearly 250 years to develop. I am normally not a "legal system" geek, but it's definitely cool to learn and compare where the US and China are, and where we are both going.
Alright, I have to go pick up my laundry. Until the next time!
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Audrey Bleviss
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My Biggest Wish
My biggest wish is to be there with you. Audrey