Christmas???

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This was my lucky day here in China - ripe with pleasentries and amusing anecdotes to share with the western homebody. I am not really sure where to even begin.

Two days ago we visited the Forbidden City - my goodness gracious, that is one large house. The Emperor had quite the home. I have decided that the real reason why the Emperor was carried around on a sedan chair within the city was not out of tradition, but because the sheer magnitude of the city requires it. We also had the pleasure of experiencing the government sponsored and run Silk Store - we learned about how silk is produced and then had the opportunity to buy silk goods - mayb socialism is not so bad - in the government store there is no need to haggle over price (although sometimes you can). Plus, there was yummy gelato on the first floor.

The experience was nothing compared to the Pearl Market - a free-for-all shopping experience. Ruthless, cutthroat skills are needed to survive in the this market - Adam Smith's Dream. This is market capitalism and perfect competition at work. I haggled, I bargained, I scored a great deal on a "jade" bracelet (thankfully I now hte diffrence between the real deal and very pretty colored glass). I got the girl to come down to half her original price. Part of me was excited, part of me was slightly shamed. Afterall, Her price amounted to about $12 - I paid $6.5. In the end, was it worth it?


Quick note - you would think that if you were to go into a post office and ask to buy stamps, they would have some to sell to you - not the case. However, at post office number two, we were able to score some.

Yesterday I also braved the wind - I ate street vendor food. It was delicious - a large fried eggrole with no meat. And Leeche fruit rocks - soft, succulent, sweet, scrumptious.

After a subway ride, Morgan and I wandered through the Hutongs of Northern Beijing. Weird feelngs about the experience. Lovely, old, historic buldings - traditional style of living, yet at the same time, substandard and in desperate need of modernization. No private bathrooms exist, everyone shares and uses the public toilet down the block. Yet, the high level of communal living (the public parks with games of chess and go) are wonderful. Shoudl the government continue to rebuild these homes, or is the redevloment of them more essential - are high rise apartments the solution, with modern amenities, like plumbing, better.

Along one street the intense reconstruction of Beijing was quite present - there was a construciton site on one side of the road - yet the sidewalk was still open, businesses bustling. As I waled I had to be carefult o avoid thewelder, the sparks, the men moving the steel beams - OSHA Beware!!!

I ended up enjoying a Tsing Tao beer in a little cafe along the lake - it was astrange eclectic space. I was wititng on an Ikea style couch, loking at Movie Posters from the '90s, hung next to a mock watercolor of the Siene and the Eiffel Tower. On the opposite wall were CD flowers and garland. I found myself relaxed and strangely comforted by the Chinese Light FM music playing on the stereo. The I realized why - it was "I'll be home for Christmas" in Chinese, and english for the second half. This then grew into an entire Christmas album - Chestnuts were roasting on an open fire, Feliz was Navidavving, and Stars were being hung from the highest bow. It was wonderful.

What was a little disconcerting was the Government Center for Mental Health and Drug Rehabilitation. It was located in the Hutong area (Hutong meaing very narrow, alleyway). Its location struck me a little off. Is the population that needs the services the most, or is the government trying to keep these services a bit more obscure?

Today we went to the Temple of Heaven - again, a very large place - and the Llhama Temple. Very peaceful and serene was the latter. I loved the high level of local chinese at the first. At a certain age, workers are forced into retirement, giving younger Chinese the ablility to find a job. These middle aged peoplemsut find a way to stay occupied. There was Tai Chi, Some strange, and beautiful raquet Dancing, Sidewalk Calligraphy (it was wonderful to watch inanimate, unliving material stake on their own life as the men write in water with brushes, and the water evaporates, and the poetry is absorbed into the cement), and HACKISACK!!! The elderly rocked out with the hackisack.

Lunch - a western resteraunt was our destination. It was a buffet, it had spaghetti and a surprisngly un-Italian yet delightful meat sauce, and of course, baked sausage (hotdogs). What made it really western was the Kenny G being played.

We ended the day with a tour of the Hutongs via a rickshaw - it was a little weird. Our toru guide Joe impressed the group with his recitation of Bill Clinton's Innaugural address - he uses this to practice his pronuciation each day, and his knowledge of Americna History - my students don't even know the JFK's term lasted only 1036 days.

In all, it was a busy, commical, and eye opening few days. Tonight, we are off to a Brazilian BBQ. I have no response to that.

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