Hutong, Cold, Food, Bleh

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Ni hao to all you subscribers. My cold has already spoiled the day. Like any cold I've had, it starts with the throat, switches to nose, then ends up dying a slow death in my lungs. And that's where it is right now. I'm sure the smog here doesn't help. But, on the bright side, I'm not dying, or not yet. So, there's some comfort yet!

Yesterday I explored some hutong with my friend. Hutong are the last remnants of old Beijing: they are one story, grey, brick houses that were built sometime after Genghis Khan razed the city. They are, in a word, the Beijing of the last several hundred years, and they are disappearing fast. Of course, while they are quaint to my eyes, I doubt many Chinese want to live in them. They are ancient. The paths that wind through them are dusty and well-trodden; vegetables hang down from trellisis (bad spellling); bathrooms are communal. The odd thing is that these hutong exist in random parts of the city. The first hutong I explored was a mere third of a mile, at best, from Tiananmen Square. Yes, I saw Tiananmen yesterday when I exited the subway station at Qianmen. Beautiful Chinese architecture abounds in that area, I can assure you of that. I did not actually step into the square, though, because my business was to get off the beaten track.....and end up in hutong that are ancient, dusty, and quite rustic....right in the heart of Beijing.

From here I bought a new SIM card for my phone in a shopping district, but I'm having some trouble with it...so, not sure if I can call anyone yet. I also purchased some skype equipment: headphone and camera, from a huge electronics store. Unfortunately, I also had to ask for a converter, and have no idea what that translates into in Mandarin. So, when my Chinese skills abandoned me, I had to draw a picture of what I meant. lol. They got the idea soon enough, but I don't think they had what I wanted. Alot of 'Wo xiang, bu xiang, and wo xiang zhe ge' was said on my part. Actually, the whole day was a realization of how far a little Chinese can get you, but also how little I know. For instance, when my friend and I arrived at a quiet little eatery, we had no idea what the menu offered. After struggling with the waitress to identify something appealing, we just pointed randomly to a dish and said, 'wo xiang zhe ge', or, I want this. Neither of us had any idea what we were ordering. Luckily, the food turned out okay. I got a spicy dish, but it wasn't bad. I'm surprised the Chinese folk didn't laugh more. Lol. They were, however, quite friendly and patient. One thing about CHinese, however: if you use the slightest Mandarin with them, they assume you know alot, and will launch into a long string of (to me) words and phrases that are totally unknown. The only thing to do here is to pick up snippets of their sentences and logically deduce the point of their statement. I got pretty good at this in Chinatown, NYC, so, until I learn more Mandarin, this will have to do.

Around sunset, I took the subway back to my residence at Sanlitun. The sunset was quite nice. The sun here, around evening, becomes a dull red fireball from the smog and natural haze of Beijing. It doesn't hur the eyes at all, and is really something to see. My friend suggested that Beijing, as a result, start promoting smog tourism. Anyway, the sub here is quite polished, but there are few lines. NYC has that much over Beijing.

So, after a day exploring the city, I came home, showered up, and felt that this cold had totally sapped my energy. I conked out after playing with the puppy that the innkeepers at Sanlitun Hostel keep around.

And that was my day. Check back later, folks.

-TAB

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Comments

[Torpedo Vegas]

yo
sounds like a good time bro. htf did you get a cold?? gettin started on the writing now that the file works.

[xiao]

souveneir
This just popped into my head, I absolutely adoooore bunnies from China. They bare cost $.50 over there. Please bring me back one!! I'll love you for that! Not that I don't already love you. I regret not getting one myself then. So, keep it in mind :)

[Barnaby Jones]

sup
ya man, no idea how i got a cold. i woke up with a sore throat on the morning of the flight and assumed it was from stress or something else. i think some chinese woman in the apartment complex had a cold. probably got it from her not washing her hands or something, lol. but no, while i was on the 14 hour flight to Japan my nose got runny. DAMN! Yeah man, China's interesting, to say the least. I'm adjusting well tho, especially after living in chinatown. I'd tell u more about it but I'll just save it for my blog. and ya, read that story man. apparently the beginning doesn't have enough setting description....i usually put this stuff in there, but i left it out for the sake of getting through to the end. so, ya, but after the beginning i set the scene much better, i think. so just plough through the start, and get to the good stuff...tho i thought the beg. wasn't bad. i assumed readres could figure out the settings for themselves based on the character's dialogue. let me know ur thots.