a melancholy kind of day

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13:00

I am starving, so this will be a shorter post.

There are lots of changes coming up.

My little bro is preparing to leave for his first international experience, travelling in Europe with our high school French teacher, just as I did 8 years ago. Then he will fly from Rome to Beijing. Should be arriving here on the 4th of July, and will be staying until the middle of August.

And Arielle is also preparing to visit, coming from her home in Mexico City to chill with us in Beijing for three weeks in July. And by chill, we mean GO SHOPPING.

ps. 'sup, guillermo? i will make sure she brings you back hella gifts!

My time at the hostel is winding down, and I'm starting to think about the new area of the city to explore.... and the adventures we'll all have on the way to and from the subway!

Okay just chatted with m'mom and they're doing contstruction here and I need to get out of here and to someplace quiet to eat and read before my mood declines...

***

17:25

As I left the hostel, the sky to the west was mighty dark. I hurried to the bus before it started raining. Went back to Pass By Bar to read for the afternoon. It did indeed start raining while I was there. Now it's a cool and dreary kind of day, fitting for my mood.

I would like to give myself props for daring to take the bus this year, though. It's not that the busses are dirty or anything; on the contrary, the Beijing bus system is very well run and quite nice. It's just that they have always been a mystery! If you can't read characters quick enough, it's hard to know which bus to take, or how many stops it is until you arrive. But! If someone can tell you which busses to take, the system is navigatable. Usually there's someone in the middle of the bus who takes your money and announces the stops. This, in my opinion, is far superior to busses in the US where the driver is in charge of taking money, restoring order, and dodging traffic. Here, the drivers just have to drive. So if you know where you're going, the money-taker-announcer in the middle will alert you specifically as your stop approaches. And they only cost one kuai.

I think I keep going back to NanLouGuXiang because I'm enjoying my newfound bus freedom.

The cook is behind me now giving me a neck massage, and I'm going to stop writing and give in to it....

***

midnight

I met M**a for dinner tonight - again on NanLuoGuXiang - where I spent my afternoon. We went out for Indian food and chatted about love and life and Beijing and what it's like for me coming back versus what it's like for her after living here for nearly two years. It was really nice to catch up again.

I walked back this evening, listening to my "country girl" ipod mix.... which was fun! Such a contrast, listening to American country, walking down the deserted streets of Beijing.

I wanna do it all
Visit paris in the fall
Watch the yankee's play ball
I wanna take it all in
Catch a few beads
Down at Mardi Gras
Start a tradition
Lay down the law
I wanna do it all

I want to drink tequila
Down in Tijuana
Say why not
When somebody says
Hey do you wanna
I wanna get my heart broke
Once or twice
Settle down with the love of my life
Rock little babies to sleep at night

-terri clark, i wanna do it all

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Comments

[Guillermo]

Greetings
Hi Molly I whish that you enjoy the three weeks with Arielle and your bro, I ask Arielle only a square meter of the Great Wall. Best Regards