Cold Conquered, Almost, Beijing is Rainy.

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I am sitting in the eating area of Sanlitun Hostel at 8 A.M. The hostesses here have aptly set some (what sounds to my western ears) Chinese classical (?) music on. There are three other guests here at this hour, one playing chess against himself (I might challenge him), the other trying to get wireless service, and the third reading a magazine. The lights are dim; outside, Beijing is awash in a light, misty rain. The hostel puppy here is restless. Not surprising. Dogs are usually frisky in the morning from what I know of them. He's barking for attention. The Chinese girls here are at a loss of what to do with him, so they alternate between spanking him and lavishing him with attention. lol. Reminds me of Chinese parents' attitudes towards children....and, maybe, parents' attitudes in general towards kids.

Man, I need to get pics up.

My cold has improved significantly; my nose is not as runny, and my chest is only moderately congested. So, all is well.

The rain has really started pour now! Its smacking the roof with Asian fury. lol. Well, it looks like I won't be able to go get myself breakfast yet.

As of now, I'm waiting for this cold to subside completely, and for my semester to start. I might venture out with a friend tonight to his acquaintance's house for a small party or something. We'll see how I feel come evening. For now, I think I'll take it easy and read up on some Chinese. I'm excited to start the program at Beida.......

Or maybe I'll just surf the web, and enjoy the fact that Facebook and Youtube, about the only two sites besides Yahoo and Wikipedia that I visit often, are blocked here. There is youku and tudou, however, the Chinese equivs of Youtube. They're not bad. Chinese here are enamored with most things Western; they play Western games, watch Western movies, wear clothes that they think resemble Western fashions (but are really a totally new fashion) and like to intersperse their songs with English phrases. So, any website like Youtube, obviously, is loaded with Western content. The widespread influence, bty, of the West, particularly America, amazes me. I wonder how this will look like in history books 1000 years from now? Huh. Some poor student will be writing an essay on American influence in Asia.....righteous.

I read on Yahoo news about the healthcare debate doing on stateside. Funny. I don't even think about politics over here. It seems a little bit like when an American reads about British politics; interesting, somewhat relevant, but native to a far-off country that doesn't affect you at the moment, so your interest is only piqued, and nothing further happens. Maybe that'll change? Not to say I don't care, but, really, when your in Beijing, caring won't do much for this sort of thing.

Anyway, doing well here, cheers to everyone. And thanks for the cards. You know who you are. :D

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