Zunyi? I thought you said Chongqing.

Well, it's definitely becoming an interesting week... and I only got here yesterday.

I was originally under the impression that I was going to Chongqing, a city near Sichuan Province in southern China. I thought that because Dary told me that's where we were going. Even when we were at the train station and he handed me my ticket, he said "we're going to Chongqing" I looked at the ticket; it said "To Zunyi." I thought, that's odd, and said that I thought we were going to Chongqing. We are, first to my hometown! And... that's odd, I thought Chongqing was your hometown.

Turns out he grew up here, then his parents moved to Chongqing... I think he just tells people his hometown is Chongqing... It probably sounds better. It is a bigger more developed city than this one. There's not much here.

So... instead of a 16 to 20 hour very fast train to Chongqing, we rode the "fast train" (the train that stops at all stations) to a place a few hours from Chongqing, Zunyi. It was a 38 hour train ride. Not the longest I have been on, to Lhasa was 48 hours, but I had a bed then. This trip was all on hard seats, a lot of people. We left on Thursday night at 10:16 exactly and arrived in Zunyi 12:15 pm on Saturday. Our cluster of seats didn't clear up until about 3 am on Saturday, so from that point on we got to lie down. Which was really nice. I got some restful sleep.

And now we're here in Zunyi. Not much to see. I got to see the site of the Zunyi Conference; where the Communist party met after Mao's long march concluded and they discussed battle plans for attacking the Nationalists in neighboring Chongqing.

We'll see if I can get to Chongqing or some place interesting. I think Dary just wants to be here for the girlfriend... understandable; except their fighting is pretty bad. There was just a pretty bad one... We'll see how the rest of this week goes... It's all kind of exciting!

Trying to be a Shoupiaoyuan: Day 2

Well, I started again this morning. I was trying to figure out where I should start, and decided to head back to Dongzhimen area and figuring it out from there. I got on a bus to go to the subway to ride up there and asked the ticket seller where I could go to apply.

This then turned into a discussion between a couple people on the bus; the ticket seller, driver, and several people who were saying where they thought. I was told to go to Sancun'r again, and that made me feel pretty confident that it was the right place to go to. So I got off the bus at the next stop, went to the opposite side of the street and took the 110 4 stops to Happy Third Town (Xingfu San Cun). A little ways from the bus stop was an office, I was walking behind two Chinese guys and they asked someone the question I was going to ask; where do we apply?

So I knew I was going to the right place and I followed them in to the office. They asked the woman behind the desk if this is where you applied, she asked "driver or ticket seller?" They both said ticket seller and the women behind the desk looked at me like "What are you doing here?" I said, "Ticket seller." She then asked, do you have a Beijing hukou. Nope. Well, then there's no way.

That seemed like it and she tried to kick me out, but I kept asking and pressing about it, whether I can do it anyway despite this small fact. She kept saying that without the hukou I could never do this job, despite all the reasons and my real strong interest. While we were talking about these things she was helping the people that kept coming in. In the fifteen minutes we were speaking, there must have been like 20 people that came in to apply. Apparently people apply and then a few are selected to start school. When I realized this really wasn't going to cut it, I knew I had to get bumped up to a higher level, so I changed my tack.

I started talking about working as an intern, someone just learning the trade of the ticket seller. I said, can't you ask a manager about this and see if they might want someone like me? So I took out a business card and wrote "wants to be an intern" on it then handed it to her. She went back into the office and I thought I'd wait for her to see if there was any prospect. Maybe five minutes later, she came back and was like, come with me. She took me back into the office and upstairs where I went in and started talking to a guy about being an intern.

He was basically one hundred percent against it. A little bit of interest, but he had the same excuses I had heard yesterday. You know, it's not just like you can come in here and tomorrow start working on a bus. I told him I understand that I would have to go to classes to learn the how to be a "bus service person." And I said that's all part of understanding the culture and becoming more familiar with the language, and it's what I want. Then he said, "well, the school probably requires a Beijing hukou, as well." He was not going to crack and actually ended the conversation twice before I finally left. Probably not good on my part, but I definitely did not want to give up without a fight. I ended by saying, "You have my contact info, so if the opportunity does arise, I'll still be interested."

Feeling kind of bummed, I went down and thanked the woman who I had been talking to. She said, "It didn't work, why are you thanking me?" Well, thanks for asking and letting me trouble you like this.

And I left their office thinking... now I can either get a fake Beijing hukou or try to apply for a real one... but you can only apply at this one place, so if it was fake, the women would know that I had some how gotten one and wouldn't let it pass. 

And as I was walking down the steps and out the gate my phone started ringing. Didn't know the number and answered. "This is Mr Wang, from yesterday at the line 1 office..." And he brought up the possibility of an internship with them, it could only be on the line 1 bus (which is a pretty cool one, cuts the city right in half and drives in front of Mao's picture on Tiananmen). It could only be on a week by week basis, "are you interested?" YES! "Of course you are!" he said. "Well, I still have to talk about it with the other managers, but I'll call you about it."

And while nothing is set, or guaranteed, it seems like I'm getting closer to my goal. If I don't hear from him before tomorrow afternoon I'll give him a call and see what the status is. I can only hope for the best. At least seeds are planted now, both at the main office and at the line 1, those are the two places I left cards. It just leaves me feeling very hopeful. It's funny how much I really want to be on the bus selling tickets, I mean, riding the bus is fun, but working the bus would be so interesting.

Trying to be a Shoupiaoyuan: Day 1

I woke up this morning with the intention of getting a job as a Shoupiaoyuan or a ticket seller on a bus. Since my first time in Beijing I have been extremely interested in the bus system here in Beijing. It seems an incredibly complicated mess, but after you start using it it becomes more and more familiar and easy to use. I want to become a ticket seller because of their culture, and the bus culture here in Beijing. I know in an earlier post I wrote about the bus culture, and it never ceases to interest me. Every time I ride the bus I get a little more curious and interested in it all.

So I left this morning off in search of my dream job (for the time being at least). I headed first to the headquarters or dispatch. Rode the 1 line straight west to the terminus and found the headquarters. The guard wouldn't let me in. He said that this isn't the place where you apply to become a ticket seller, go over there to the station for line 1 (there are offices at the terminal stations) and they could help me get in. I went over to the entrance to the station and the guard and a volunteer stopped me to ask me what I was doing. I said I was going to apply for a job as a ticket seller. 

Guard: "Are you a Beijing citizen?" 

Me: "I'm from out of town." 

Volunteer: "From Xinjiang?" (a province in Western China)

Me: "More or less."

The guard seemed interested and decided to take me over to the office. We went into one room and the guard said that I wanted to apply for a job. We were directed upstairs to the offices of the head of the line. There was a meeting going on, but one guy came out and we went and sat down. While another was taking pictures of me, I explained to the man named Wang my interests in becoming a ticket seller.  

Par for my expectations he thought of several things that contradicted the fact that five people told me I could apply for a job here. He said, we don't take applications here. I said where do I go to apply, a lot of people told me I can just go to the end station and apply. Then he said you need a Beijing hukou (citizenship). I hinted that it probably wouldn't matter and I could just do it on a day to day basis. He said that that's not how it worked here, you have to study to do this. I said, I know there's a three month internship period. He then said there's a school they have to go to too (I had never heard of that, there's probably a class or two, but no school). I said, I would go to the class if it meant I could be a ticket seller, then asked where the school was located. He said, it's far away--in the suburbs. I pressed on trying to figure out where it was. He left for a bit then came back and said they're "not hiring right now anyway." I said that's Ok and pressed on about the school. He gave me the service hotline to call for information. I thanked him for that and as we were wrapping up, he asked for my phone number so if anything were to come up he could get in touch with me; I had gotten out a business card when he left the room for a second and when he said that I said, here take this and if there is an opportunity please let me know. Thanked him again and apologized about keeping him from his meeting.

Tried the hotline, no answer. After lunch I headed on to a new bus line to try again. I chose 801 and headed to their terminal station. When I got there I went into the station asking for the head of the line. They said he wasn't in, but asked what business I had. I said I wanted to become a ticket seller. Unfortunately here I was basically laughed out of the station. They basically asked each other if I was able to. I said it probably won't be a problem, I'm just from out of town. "Out of town? You're a foreigner!" I really want to be a ticket seller, I argued. They said to call the hotline and ask where I can go. They don't hire people here anyway, but wanted to see me succeed.

So I left their station and tried the hotline again, got through but couldn't hear well outside, so didn't get the new number to call about becoming a ticket seller. When I got back home, after riding the bus back, I called again and got through. The woman gave me a new number to try, I dialed it and got through to the headquarters/dispatch.

Me: "I'm interested in becoming a ticket seller, where do I go to apply?"

Woman: skeptically "Do you have a Beijing hukou?"

Me: "Yes." blatant lie.

Woman: "Well... if you do have one... bring your high school diploma, personal identity card, along with the hukou and a photo and go to Dongzhimen -(and then I didn't understand the next part)."

Me: "Dongzhimen where?"

Woman: "Dongzhimenwai -- - - - -." (Again I didn't understand.)

Me: "Ok thank you!" (She was starting to see through the gig when I didn't know what place she was speaking of...)

So I headed out to Dongzhimen. Got stuck in traffic on the way to the subway, finally made it to a place that looked profitable. Just outside of Dongzhimen Subway station was a very large bus station with countless lines inside; I proceeded to ask around. All the guards said there was no office here. I said, but all terminal stations have a head person. "No offices here." So I started asking ticket sellers there where I could go to apply. Got a couple various responses. I found one man who said go into the center, there are offices there and you can apply. So I worked my way in along the way he had pointed. Next to one stop was a guard, instead of asking if there was an office, I told him I was heading to the offices in the center to apply. He said, "to apply? offices?" I want to be a ticket seller and I was told there's a place to apply here. "I'm really not sure, I'm new here." He looked like he was 16. I said, head over to that office there and tell them an out-of-towner is looking for a job as a ticket seller, don't say I am a foreigner, just tell them I want to discuss applying. He caved after a little bit more explanation and then went to ask. He came back and told me the head of the station had gone home already. It was after 6, so it was expected. I said I'd come back the next day.

On leaving I asked another group of ticket sellers about where I can go to apply to be a ticket seller. Again, the normal, "Can foreigners become a ticket seller?" I said my usual, "It shouldn't be a problem, I'm just from out of town." One of them directed me to ride 823 to Sancun'r to apply. 

So day one complete, no real prospects, but I think there's still hope. Most people seemed to be interested by the idea. I think if I keep trying around eventually I'll find the way in. It seems that everyone is really worried about letting a foreigner sell tickets on a bus. And letting a non Beijing resident sell tickets on a bus. I'll have to keep trying, I really do want to be able to do it. If nothing else, it'd be good publicity for them. Though public transportation doesn't get advertised, it'd be interesting to get on a bus with a foreigner selling tickets and calling out the stations. I haven't lost hope yet, it's only day one.

 

Great Wall

I have been to the Great Wall a number of times. I went this past weekend with Diachemix, my dad's business which was in town last week. It was a chilly day, and I really didn't wear the right clothes, as it had just started being cold, and you never can tell how warm or cold it's going to be, especially while climbing up and down the steep steps of the Great Wall.

Well, we drove out to the Badaling section, which I had never been to, and as we were getting closer we were watching the temperature drop, 13 degrees Celsius in the city down to 4 degrees celsius at the wall. And when we pulled into the parking lot it started snowing. 

It was the first time I had been to the Great Wall in the snow, and truthfully it was a really neat experience. I think it made me appreciate it more. Though the views of the wall snaking through the hill side weren't really visible, the parts we could see were impressive. And with the view dusted with some snow flakes, and the air filled with large flakes, it really was added to.

I'd like to go in the winter when the hills are all covered with snow and there are probably less people.

It was unbelievable that on a cold dreary day, though it was a Saturday, that there could still be so many people. The person who took us there, named Wang was saying to me in Chinese how he was blown away by the number of people there when it was so cold. "Imagine it on a summer day," he said. I reminded him that this is only one of how many sites for the wall around Beijing, and all have 50+ RMB tickets. While seven bucks doesn't sound like a lot, I think it would add up over a year. 

The falling snow also made me think about something I think about every time I see the wall, just the fact that it was constructed with all manpower on steep terrain and probably not just in good weather. Pretty mind boggling.

Why yes, I am an international athlete.

Got back from Shenzhen and 4 days of the China Cup. It was a pretty great time. Apparently it's currently the largest regatta in Asia. That's what they said, I don't know if I believe that though.

There were thirty boats in our class, and two other classes with about five boats. Our class of boats was all one design Beneteau First 40.7s. They are about forty feet long and three sailed. (Check out the website here)

We had eight people on board sailing for the Beijing Sailing Center team. Alfie - our skipper from Scotland; Anuj - doing pit, American; Stephen - Spinnaker, Welsh; Martin - didn't really doing much, from Germany; Rick - was on the bow, British; his girlfriend Qian Qian was rail meat; myself on the main sail. It was a real fun group of people. Rick owns the BSC and Alfie is the chief instructor there. Anuj and Stephen work in Beijing and learned to sail this summer at the BSC. Martin works for the German embassy, and I'm still confused how he ended up on the boat. Overall a fun couple of days.

Sadly my flight to HK never got booked while I was in the US and therefore I missed the passage race from Hong Kong to the mainland of China where the inshore racing was located. So when I got to the Yacht Club in Shenzhen the next day, they had a temporary customs and border control station set up. It was really something. So the first thing was free cold beer, then you proceeded to passport control, then to customs. I was pretty jealous.

We didn't win, but we did all right, considering we had a couple people that really had not sailed before. Placing 19th of 30 is decent, considering there were a large number of semi- professional teams involved and most teams had been sailing together training for months, and our whole crew was together for the first time on the first day of sailing in Shenzhen.

Overall, a real fun experience and it makes me an international athlete... sort of.

Price of development

I am convinced Shanxi is one of the dirtiest places on earth.

The province is one of the fastest and richest in north-central China. It is rich in coal and is therefore getting rich from coal power plants. They dot the landscape and keep a dusty cloud hanging over the region.

When you blow your nose it comes out speckled with black dirt. After washing your face and hands the water in the sink is tinted gray and black with the dirt. 

Taiyuan, the capital, is very industrial and a heavy smog sits over the city like an extremely overcast day. The cars are coated and the air is heavy with the dust from the coal. It's a harsh environment for six days of travel. It's amazing that people live full time there. My lungs hurt last night after getting back, but it was nice to breathe the fresh air in a cool rainy night in Beijing.

This is the price of a developing economy. It's not until you can afford to care about the environment that you care about the environment, so why should they worry about it? That was the biggest complaint of Shanxi people, "the air is so bad here." I said that's just the developing economy, when the region is developed the air will get cleaner. It's amazing that they are burning so much coal. I've heard this region used to be worse. Ten years ago it apparently was worse, with totally black mucus. What a great way to explain it, but I feel it's a way to paint the picture.

"Don't say thank you again."

Last week Monday I boarded a bus to head off to Datong in Shanxi province for a little travel during China's Golden Week holiday, a seven day break in which nearly anyone who isn't in the service industry in China has a vacation. Misjudging the time, I delayed buying train tickets... then found they were all sold out. I decided to change my trip destination to Shanxi, from the original location of Suzhou in the south. Suzhou would have been a 17+ hour bus ride as all the plane tickets were also sold out. It's basically like labor day and thanksgiving rolled into one, with five times the population.

So, at about 12:45 I showed up at the bus station and bought a ticket on the 1:40 to Datong, a 4 or 5 hour bus ride. Not too bad. As we got near Datong, I started talking to the woman next to me. She was going home for the break with a family that had basically adopted her and whom she currently lives with in Tianjin. We chatted about the natural 'where you're from' small talk, but also about what to eat and do in Datong. She was surprised I was traveling by myself. Most Chinese are. "Where's your partner?" "It's just me." She told the father of the family and he immediately invited me to eat dinner with them. 

"No, no," I said. "I'm just going to get some noodles and then probably fall asleep."

"Nonsense, we'll eat spicy fish! Can you eat spicy things?"

"Oh sure, I love spicy things, but really I was just going to get some noodles on my own, isn't that what you're supposed to eat here?"

He went back and sat down. And I turned to the woman next to me, their adopted daughter/family friend, saying that I couldn't accept, it's just troubling them when I could really just go find a place to eat on my own. Then the father stood up again, "We have reservations, so you are coming." I again turned to the woman next to me and she made this "you have to accept now" sort of comment. So that was it. And off we went to a room on the third floor of a restaurant that had every food imaginable.

We each drank a small bottle of fenjiu (Shanxi's Special alcohol) and ate some specialty foods of Shanxi. Their lamb is very good as it's close to Inner Mongolia. We had some Cold noodles as well as another version of Shanxi noodles. The whole time we were drinking and talking and talking with his wife, daughter, and their family friend, he kept saying how he was going to take me around Datong. I basically had to fight that off, saying how I can take the bus to the Hanging Temple and the caves. Ok, but I'm going to help you find a place to stay after dinner and then tomorrow after you're back we can meet up again. I said, you really don't have to help, I can go find a place. After dinner we went to a hotel his business uses where he has a discount. Unfortunately they were full. We went across the street to another hotel; 60 RMB ($9) I said, this place is perfect. He said, absolutely not, it's not clean enough. We went down the street and found a place that was 200 RMB (28 USD) a night. I pulled my money out and he fought me off. Now you might ask why I couldn't force him out of the way and pay my own way. Well, it's tough when this Chinese man is 5 inches taller than me and about 50 pounds heavier. He's a big guy... and he paid for two nights in the hotel.

And so it continued. The next day after visiting the Hanging Temple, I came back and called Liu Ge or big brother Liu, as I had come to call him after being told not to call him Uncle. We met up and waited for a friend, a man high up in Datong's local government, and Liu's family to come by. We went to a new restaurant, again more alcohol was poured and chopsticks were lifted. With several toasts I said some 'thank yous' for treating me so well and welcoming me and feeding me so well here in Datong. Liu Ge told me not to say thank you one more time. I said, it's just a cultural custom, I'm just used to saying it. But that was the last time I said it. It really is a weird thing, but the thank you is so different here in China.

Again after telling him he didn't have to drive me anywhere, I could find the caves and temples myself he said that's fine, let me at least take you to a noodle place tomorrow for breakfast. I agreed, on the condition that it was just for noodles, I would go around by myself. The next morning was a rough start after a lot of Shanxi liquor with Liu and friends... I told him I wasn't going to eat anything this morning and was going to sleep a little bit more. He said, fine and to call later. 

He had convinced me to stay another night and take a bus Thursday morning to Wutai Mountain. After a day of temple hopping came a third dinner with Liu, his family, and we were joined by his sister's family. We had Hunan food, delicious and spicy and, of course, washed down with more Shanxi liquor. The next morning, it was agreed that when I woke up I should give him a call and he would drive me to the bus station... he wouldn't take no for an answer. 

He took me back to the hotel, this time I had already prepared the 200 RMB in my pocket and was telling him there was no need to get out of the car, no need to come inside with me. But he was already getting out of the car and coming in with me. At the front desk I was quicker and had already given my money to the receptionist, but Liu reached across the desk, grabbed the money from her hand and shoved it at me, giving her his 200 RMB in stead. I didn't take the money and he put it in my sweatshirt pocket instead. I insisted on giving it to him... but to no avail. I was going to utter a thank you when I changed and said, "you really have been too nice to me here." He said not to be so kind and not to say thank you.

I woke up the next morning to head to the bus station, we got there at about 8.15 only to find that the two buses for the morning had both left at 7.30... the next one wasn't until 4 pm. He said, well, looks like we're going to the Wooden Pagoda! So I bought a ticket on the bus with Liu's money. He wouldn't let me pay my own, I insisted on giving the money back, telling him I brought my own money too. He refused to take it back even when I put it in his jacket pocket. 

I told him that he didn't have to take me anywhere, I could find things to do in Datong for the day. But he stated the wooden pagoda was too far without your own car, so it'd be perfect if he would drive. So he called his sister who had taken his daughter to the park and then called his wife. We picked them both up and headed to breakfast. It was a Shanxi specialty breakfast dish, well two, each had lamb guts: stomach, intestines, congealed blood served two ways one in a soup and one over noodles. It actually was pretty good. Just a surprising breakfast food...

From breakfast we started on our way to the wooden pagoda. His daughter fell asleep. We talked about a variety of things. His wife told me that they had never ridden the bus before, but with train tickets all sold out and them not having a car in Tianjin this month because of the Olympics (restrictions on car usage in and around Beijing) all meant they were left with no choice but to take a bus from Beijing to Datong. "So it's really karma that we met!" she said. I agreed.

We got back to Datong after a morning at the pagoda, and ate "Tofu Brain." A hot pot of soft tofu served with pork ribs. Delicious. And this lunchtime feast was, of course, washed down with a final bottle of Shanxi Liquor each. 

He invited my friends and family to Datong, if I let him know when I was coming, he would come back from Tianjin and take me and other people around. He gave me four bottles of Shanxi liquor to take home to the US. And then asked me to look around for a needle used in surgeries... His business makes products used in surgeries, and Liu wanted me to get a hold of this one kind of needle. He sent me off with a brochure and a picture of the needle he meant... and with that I was left with a friend in both Datong and Tianjin, as he spends most of his time in Tianjin, a port city within easy reach of Beijing. "Give me a call when you come to Tianjin, we'll eat seafood!"

While I didn't say thank you again, I found I could tell him and his wife that these few days in Datong have been great, I've been able to understand Datong and Shanxi's specialty foods and the city's welcoming culture. I've eaten until I was full and drank very well. While it wasn't "thank you" it was still a thank you.

When in Rome...

The day before yesterday I finally bought a bike. I had been putting it off... I am not sure exactly why... but I walked up the street a little bit and bargained for a bike. It was a cheap bike and after biking a little ways it broke. One of the pedals broke off. I found a place that fixes bikes, and had both pedals replaced.

Then yesterday I biked forty five minutes up to where Helen is studying at Beijing Normal University. It was a great ride. The easiest thing was there was only one turn. I biked past the man made lakes Beihai and Qianhai, biked along the back of the Forbidden City and biked down this one road I have always really liked.

It's great living near the center of the city. When I was a student at Beida, it would have been a really long ride to bike down to the Forbidden City. Here I can bike 15 minutes and ride past the picture of Chairman Mao hanging on Tiananmen.

I love biking in Beijing, because it really is a biking city. Though now, most people have electric bikes that are like a cross between a motorcycle and bike. I prefer the original though. It's a great way to exercise, get around quickly, and protect a form of Beijing culture. 

I have read some articles saying how Beijing is losing it's massive bicycle population; they are being replaced by cars. With the roads so clogged with traffic, I can't help but realize how nice it is to bike. And with Beijing being an incredibly flat city, it's really not a painful commute. So I can't help but do as the locals do--or at least as most people did five or ten years ago and use a bike as my primary form of transportation.

The day's done stampede

Yesterday, Grace and Paul (my friends, a very nice couple who have opened their house to me here in Beijing, while I try to find a way to settle down) took me and Fei Fei (a girl from Xinjiang, China) out to dinner. We had some dumplings at a restaurant and then some shaved ice at another restaurant inside this one large shopping center near the apartment.

At about 10, the ice place was going to close so they had the bill paid while we were still eating. When the music stopped, we decided it must be time to go. The server said she would take us out. I thought this was a little bizarre, I mean, sometimes when you eat at someone's house they will walk you out, but not at a restaurant. We had to go down to the first floor and then, instead of using the main entrance, we had to use the staff entrance as the mall had already closed.

When we got to the main floor there was literally a flood--a stampede--of chinese women all aged between 20 and 35 years old. I kept thinking, "Wow! A lot of people wait until the last minute before finishing their shopping!"

When we got to the staff entrance one whole wall was filled with time clocks, used to punch-in and out of work--that's when I realized that all these women stampeding out of the building were store workers who had just got off work. Now they were wearing their normal clothes and racing out. It was just quite a sight and situation to be in. A first for me to have closed a shopping center. I think it's the only time in China when I have felt like I was walking slowly, so many people stepped on my heels as they tried to get to the door.

back to square one

Well, I was supposed to be at work now. But yesterday, on my first day, I was fired.

Ok, not fired... but there's no way for the company to get me a work permit. Apparently it's really hard for someone under 25 and with my skill set (nonexistent) to apply for a work permit. As they already have a lot of foreigners working there, it would be really hard to get another. So the back room administration gave me the axe. I even offered myself as an intern, doing the same amount of work, but less pay and under a student visa... the guy trying to hire me liked that, but the administration said no way--it requires a letter from my university or college saying this internship will be for credit.

So, that put an end to it. My boss (ex-boss, rather) was pretty disappointed. He had no idea.

I'm not sure whether this means that I won't be able to work at all, or that just this company refuses to try and get me through the system. I am going to look for volunteer opportunities around Beijing and possibly some classes, and just basically keep my eyes and ears open for possible interesting things to do like that, or for whatever they might be.

I see it as a positive, it would have been nice to be set and on my way--but maybe going back to square one is a good thing.

Closing Ceremonies

Well. I didn't have a ticket to the closing ceremony.

I heard that there were going to be fireworks in like 19 places around the city. As I had no ticket to get into the Olympic Green, I decided to go to Tiananmen Square. I left for the square around 5ish... turns out the subway stations around there were all closed, so I took the bus. Even the ticket seller was like, "I don't know if the road will be closed or not." In addition to the guards, volunteers, and traffic police, there were soldiers at every intersection and bus stop. Swat tanks and vans were in front of a couple places along Jianguomen street (the street that runs right in front of Mao's picture on Tiananmen).

The bus made it no problem and I got off and made my way to where I thought I was going to watch the fireworks, but I couldn't get through. Everything was closed off. Apparently the fireworks were going to be set off down there--south of Tiananmen square. I was hoping to go there where they have large outdoor television, watch the closing outside and then watch the fireworks. To get to that area, I would have had to go pretty far west. Everything was all closed off.

So instead, on my way to where I could head west and then south, I changed my mind. I headed north, right next to the Forbidden City and ate in a small Beijing restaurant called "the taste of the city." I sat down there and ordered a bunch of food. I was really hungry. I had some dumplings and edamame and then a fried vegetable and meat thing (delicious). 

When the closing ceremony started I had finished my meal and was just having another beer. The restaurant was full now and I was drinking with two other guys. The three of us all planned on heading to Tiananmen to watch the fireworks. 

At about 9:15 we started making our way over to the Square. It was full of people, but really not too crowded. We sat on the ground for a bit and after maybe 10 minutes the fireworks began.

They were really something. If I ever figure out how to link pics and / or get around to putting them up, they probably don't do it justice, but it was amazing.

After that the crowds parted and had to walk a ways to get the subway as all the nearby stations were closed.

It was a great night.

What a crazy week!

My "internship/volunteer turned job" ended yesterday. I was working for YPO (an international organization of presidents of companies). They had a family trip for their members to come to Beijing and see the Olympics. I applied months ago and was told they didn't have enough money to afford me even if I didn't have to stay in the hotel. So I replied that I would come on as a volunteer.

That changed when they had more than enough money to pay me full time... and full time it was. Days averaged over 13 hours. I ended up working on the registration packets and bags making sure everything was situated correctly. That turned into being in charge of the room gifts. Each night at least 5 things had to be distributed to each of the 86 rooms the members were staying in. It fell on me to be in charge, so I ended up managing the logistics and distribution of room gifts. It was a lot of responsibility and a lot of deadlines. The first night didn't turn out so well, as I ended up running through the hotel putting things in each persons room with a couple other staff, trying frantically to finish before they came back from an outing.

After that, I managed to alter the logistics so that all I would have to do is have a bag for each room, so that the right stuff got put down, but of course the problem than is that the hotel and other staff put the things in the right order in the room or on the bed--in the set up that the Program Chair would think would look nice. Just a little pressure.

It turned out really well though. I was a manager of a small staff in a sweat box storage room in the bowels of the basement of the JW Marriott in Beijing. I learned things about my managing style, strengths and weaknesses, as well as how much I love deadlines.

Today is the first day off, and it's weird not having anything to do. I'm glad I have a job starting Monday. Part time work with a student recruiting company that recruits students to go to schools in Australia, the UK, Canada, and the US. I'm excited for the challenges and opportunities that I'll find there, though part of me hopes the hours aren't as crazy!

Only in China?

So I'm working in the JW Marriott for YPO. They have a group that's coming in tomorrow and I'm helping the management team get ready. It's a short term job but a lot of work. I've been working about 12 hours a day the last couple of days, and I think it's going to be longer days once everyone arrives and the program starts. 

At any rate, next to this hotel there is a really tall smoke stack. Nothing is coming out of it now--maybe the factory (or whatever the place is) is closed during the Olympics. At any rate, the reaction to it during the day is nothing pleasant--it's a polluting structure that is unpleasant to look at and is ruining the planet! And it's in the city next to this nice new hotel. It's an obstruction and I don't think you'd often find a smokestack in close proximity to a hotel.

Well, at night this unpleasant product of China's unbelievably fast industrialization lights up. Figures dance on it and spotlights light up. It's actually got it's own light show. Sometimes it has Olympic figures dancing on it, other times it changes colors fully green to blue to purple in slow fades. It's really quite pretty. The first time I saw it, I think I let out a "wow."

And then I think, how often do you say that about a smokestack? Only in China, I guess.

08/08/08

Well, I think it is a little sad, but the smog is still quite heavy.

I was watching on TV yesterday and the IOC had their "Doctor" telling everyone that this is just fog. But I'm pretty sure fog lifts or burns off as the day goes on. Visibility is maybe around half a mile to a mile. It's been worse... but you have to say it's a little sad on the opening day. They've had half their cars on the road for nearly a month and almost all factories in the Beijing area have been closed. I guess you can't rush clean up like this.

For the Ceremony, I'm probably going to go to my Jiujiu's (Host family Uncle's) house for his birthday. I was asking Chen Chen (Gao's daughter) last night what I should bring as a gift. I think I'll bring a box of his favorite cigarettes... But they invited me again multiple times last night. So might as well take them up on the offer. It's that or go to a party at this tea house I've been going to a lot. I think I'd rather go to a Chinese birthday party. I wonder if the traditions are Western... or what happens.

My volunteer position is probably going to start tomorrow. I have to drop some stuff off today, and I think they have some tasks they want to give me for tomorrow. It's really excited to work with a group that's coming over to see the Olympics. And the possibility of getting into some events too... though I'm not going to hold my breath.

There's no such thing as free Opening Ceremony tickets; dumplings, maybe.

Today I took a bus into the old part of town. I just wanted to wander around some hutongs, or old alleyways. Along the old alleyways there used to be courtyard houses, or large homes where an entire family would live together around one courtyard. Since the start of the PRC these have given way to multiple families living around one single courtyard. This would mean these places went from eight people around one courtyard to eight families. Recently foreigners and wealthy Chinese are buying these old courtyard houses and refurbishing them to be modern-day homes on old properties.

Like most foreigners, I have a love for the hutongs. Their culture and history emanate as you walk between their stone gray walls along the alleys. Large red doors lead into each courtyard house and you catch glimpses of the world within when they're left ajar.

I came out onto a larger street. Feeling a little bit hungry, I went into a dumpling restaurant. Ordered some dumplings and a beer. I chatted a little bit with the boss and servers as they bustled around. The small 12 table restaurant was packed and tables were turned over before they were cleared of the leftovers from the party before. Typical for a busy restaurant in China.

The table across from mine sat two men. Before my dumplings arrived, a third man joined them. I got my dumplings and after finishing them, I was going to ask for the check when the three men at the table across from me invited me to join them. "We'll have another beer!" the man next to me shouted.

Started talking to them. The two men who were there originally were both from Beijing and they are police officers, the third who had joined them was from Taiwan he was there I guess for the Olympics. He could speak some English, but for the most part our conversation was in English. The Taiwanese guy was telling me all about how he has passes to all kinds of events, not tickets. So that means with a basketball pass, for example, he could go see any game he wanted to. Sounds pretty nice. He then told me he has opening ceremony tickets too. Not bad. I am so jealous. I think one of the cops was like, "give him your phone number" as far as helping me out with tickets. The Taiwanese guy shrugged it off. So I said, "I heard any tickets had to be exchanged before July 15 in order for them to work." The Taiwanese guy looked at me with a "and you believe everything you hear in China face?". Then one of the police officers said that that wasn't true. The Taiwanese guy then changed the subject.

So... my not believing everything in China side of me would say, take this with a grain of salt. I am trying to find a good idea for something to do that night. I'd love to be close enough to see the fireworks!

We talked for a while until we had all finished our beers. Then the older police man paid for my dumplings and my two beers as well as their food and beers. He wouldn't take no for an answer.

We went our separate ways after that, just a random stranger buying me a meal and offering a nice little chat. Though I didn't get any Opening Ceremony tickets, I can't complain about a free dinner.

A polite refusal

I know I write about the buses a lot, but they and their culture truly fascinate me.

One thing I've started to notice is the ticket sellers will sometimes announce that an old person is getting on the bus. (There are signs on all buses informing riders that certain seats are reserved for the elderly, sick, disabled, pregnant, and small children.) If no one gives up a seat, the ticket seller will ask someone to give up their seat. Someone eventually will stands up, but sometimes, that's not the problem. It then becomes a question of whether the older person will take the seat.

Granted, there are always the people who are very thankful that someone younger would give up their seat. Especially if they are going a long way, or there's a lot of stop and go traffic, or it seems they just can't take the ride standing. However, twice now I have seen scenarios where the ticket seller asks someone to give up their seat calling it out to anyone who would listen, someone gives up their seat and the ticket seller says to the older person go sit down, but the older person says "no, I'll stand." The ticket seller than got out of their seat behind their little podium walked over and literally grabbed the older person by the wrist to take them to the freshly vacated seat. If the older person puts up a fight still, it seems, the ticket seller just gives up and lets them stand.

It's like some men, as in the cases I have seen it's been men, don't want to admit that their old or they don't want to admit that they lack the strength to stand for the bus route that they have probably ridden for years. Fighting against getting older. Or maybe just stubborn. Or they just want to let someone else sit down... I like the other ideas regarding fighting against old age. Possibly a trait of humanity. But in a place like China, where culture stipulates respect for elders, and where people will gladly give up their seats for older people, why refuse it?

In the end, it's actually quite comical for all those watching. More often than not the old person will take the seat, but there are some who will refuse to take the seat.

Mountainside Chats

 Yesterday I climbed Xianglu Feng or Incense Burner Peak. The tallest peak in Xiang Shan Park. Xiang Shan, or the Fragrant Hills, Park is located northwest of Beijing proper in the suburbs. I found my way there, yes--remarkably, using the bus system. I switched buses twice, taking three buses that brought me right to the gate of the park.

I started up Xianglu Peak not realizing it was the main one in the park, the one that the chairlift went to. The problem is, once you start up a mountain, you can't just turn around and go back not having made it to the top!

So I kept on trucking. My out of shape self painfully going up each step. Chinese mountains, it seems, all have convenient stone stairs built up the sides. So climbing a tourist mountain in China is basically like climbing a really, really tall stair case. Despite that, it's still a lot of work. 

It was good fun though and so in that way I was a tourist exploring a tourist site. Yet there were a lot of Beijingers climbing the mountain too, all taking advantage of the weather. It was such a beautiful day, you just couldn't resist it. A little hot, though, at about 35 degrees Celsius or 95 F and humid. Oof. 

Though I was just one person climbing the mountain, I was climbing at the pace of a bunch of other people, so it was like we were all in this together. Talking to each other, commenting on the heat, giving each other the ol' Chinese words of support "add oil!" or "jia you!" 

I think that's one of my favorite things about China, the number of single serving friends you can make anywhere. While in the US I think you can make single serving friends, or people you meet and talk to but then never meet again, it's much more difficult. For example, the only place it happens on a regular basis is on a plane. In China, however, it seems like the defenses are all much lower, or there's a lot less holding back--people are less hesitant and more willing to talk to strangers. I used to think it was just because I was a foreigner who could speak Chinese, and that would draw someone in to make a single serving friend. But having been here for a while I realize that it happens between Chinese a lot too. 

To give you an idea of how people are much less hesitant to start talking, the questions that are acceptable in China are about health, money, family, love life, basically anything is acceptable. So it's not uncommon for a Chinese person to ask me about how much it costs for me to live here or if I'm married. Any of those things are acceptable. In listening to Chinese talking with other Chinese who they might not know, the same questions might be asked. 

In preparation for the Olympics, the Chinese government has published a list of questions they are not allowed to ask foreigners who have come to watch the games (from danwei.org). In my 557 meter summit and descent (or hill climb), I still managed to make plenty of single serving friends, despite that statement. 

That has just been something I have come to love, and I hope the government doesn't try to make it completely obsolete. Though the questions aren't as invasive (in western standards) as they were over a year ago when I was here. It's still one of my favorite parts of being here, and because of that I often start up the chat first. No matter where I am, on the bus, subway, street, or mountainside I try to make a single serving friend or two. And the Chinese are more than willing to have a friendly chat.

The siji's new clothes

Well, we're one week before the Opening Day ceremonies! I walked outside today and found that all the cabdrivers were wearing the same outfit. I love taxicab culture in Beijing, so whenever I get a chance I always start up a little chat with one, even when I'm not riding. The new clothes offered a perfect conversation starter. I asked one driver, and it turns out this is the new uniform for cabbies.

Before there didn't seem to be a uniform, they wore basic dark color pants and a white or light blue shirt. At least, I don't think that was a specified uniform. Now they have dark navy pants with cargo pockets and zippers everywhere. The pants have the English words "Beijing Taxi" written on one side above a pocket. The cabbies wear a yellow button down shirt and some wear a striped tie. Others have the top buttons of their shirts open. All the different cab companies have this same uniform.

I asked another one as I was walking and it turns out if they don't wear this uniform they can be fined by the Police. That's pretty intense. "Serve the People! for the Olympics!" He told me in Chinese. Not bad at all. He told me the tie wasn't standard because it "could be dangerous." Then he made a flapping arm motion of the tie flying around his neck and waving into the back seat. I couldn't tell if he meant it could choke him or if the person riding in the backseat would be whipped by it when the windows were open. Either way, it's dangerous.

With a set uniform, the only thing I worry is that the clothes will be washed less? I hope not, some cabbies already have a scent all their own. I can never tell if it's the cabs they drive or those cabbies themselves. At any rate, I think the uniforms look pretty classy and it makes the cabbies look more dignified for such tiring, hard work. I just hope the starting price doesn't increase come next Friday with all this dignification.

The fresh rinse

I love the rain in Beijing. I can't really explain it. There's something about it all when it starts to really come down. Today I was out and about, actually at Wangfujing (a place known for its shopping--I wasn't there shopping, but job hunting; I'll explain later, I'm sure) when the rain started to pour.

I was stuck without an umbrella when it started to come down, so I worked my way down toward the subway, stopping in a new store after a quick jaunt in the rain. Each store had its own set of refugees. I'm sure this happens in the US too, of course. But there's something to be said about people huddled in one area, all taking refuge from something they can't control. They look out expectantly, hoping for the rain to let up so that they can be on their ways again. 

After about three store fronts I found someone selling umbrellas. I bought one for 10 RMB about 1.46 USD (I didn't even bargain so you know I overpaid). I saw umbrellas on sale this morning in a 711, but they were 29 RMB about 4.33 USD. That was way too expensive.

With umbrella in hand, I set out for the subway. Each store front I passed had a new scene of people gathered close together waiting for the rain to stop. Staring up and out hopefully. It was just a great feeling it gave me. I made it to the entrance to the subway and there was maybe one hundred people all in the same boat. Stuck. It was just quite a site to see all those people not wanting to go back out in the rain, drenched, and waiting. Some squatting, standing, lingering. Rather than taking the subway, I opted for a bus, a much slower and more outdoor experience.

I like to be outside when it is storming like this. Especially in Beijing. The rain here makes me feel a heartlifting warmth. It's like new life for the city; the city looks so much cleaner when it really comes down. And I think I feel the city take a breath. I know it's a little lame, it's just a bunch of feelings I can't really explain. It just felt so good to be outside waiting for my bus in a downpour. After 25 minutes my bus finally came. And by then, the rain had stopped. The city was fresh rinsed and I was there to enjoy it all.

Questionable? ...nah

So I was going into the subway, and had to get my bag scanned. This is also part of the new security--I wonder if it will stay after the games. Even during the games, it might be more of a "for show" kind of thing. Here's why I say that.

So I put my bag on, and go around to the other side to grab it, at this time a guy comes up with his bag. He sets his bag on the belt moving the wrong way, gives it a little push so it barely goes through the rubber curtain hanging down. Then he asks, "Did you see it?" With no response he grabs it and enters the subway.

While a majority of the people's bags are scanned... Some can still get away with something like this. It's all slightly humorous.

Protecting the Flowers

So I went to Tian'anmen Square the other day. I went into the underpass and turns out there are some security measures in place. On the Square there are the usual guards, who don't really do anything, and the marching soldiers who look really intense. But this time, there were new measures in place.

In the refurbished underpasses there was a security check point. It's not like the TSA, but in some sense, it's trying to be. There is an x-ray machine and all bags are being scanned. Then, after your bag is scanned, there are three women and three men with handheld metal detectors checking everyone coming onto the Square (the male guards check men, female check women). I was rather impressed with the measures and the fact that they were being carried out. People were actually being searched. Unfortunately, that appreciation was challenged when on the way out through a different underpass, I saw the security check, but the people coming in weren't being scanned. People without bags could walk straight through. It was more crowded and chaotic at this check. More like the Chinese security checks I am familiar with.

Those are simply the security measures to get out onto the square. On the square there are a bunch of gardens being constructed. All of them impermanent. They were still being constructed when I was there. One was nearly finished, it was a model of the Sutong Bridge, made with flowers and metal. Flowers were planted on both sides of the bridge and on the bridge.

Another was a world map, the continents were green plants. Each city that has had the Olympics was marked with some sort of dot or star--like on a map.

There were a bunch of other gardens still under "construction." You can't really say they were being planted, because the plants were arriving in plastic bins, probably how they were transported from the farms at which they were grown. Upon arrival, they were being potted in plastic containers and then assembled together on metal grids or on the ground.

It makes sense to put security around the Square. History has proved it is a place to be seen on a world stage. So, whether the guards are searching for protest materials or weapons, the security checks will be worthwhile in protecting the reputation of China, not only the pretty flowers.

T-Storms

Beijing always looks cleaner after some rain.

Lost and Found

So, I ended up calling my host-grandparents (That's what I call them, their my host mother's sister-in-law's parents, whom I met at Chinese New Year when I was abroad with Dickinson), but they said today wouldn't be a very interesting day to come over. My Waigong (host-grandpa) said I should talk to Jiuma (his daughter, Gao's sister-in-law (Jiuma means aunt) and come with them the next time they visit.

I called Jiuma, she immediately invited me over. I wanted to see them, and so, of course, accepted. I said I would come over in the afternoon. She said no problem, from where you are take the 'zhuanmenr xianche dao kaifaqu, cong dabeiyao guo lai' in other words, the specialty bus that runs from Dabeiyao to Kaifaqu (the BDA-Beijing Development Area), which is located miles outside of town past the fifth ring road.

I get to this place to take the 'specialty bus' and start asking around, "where's the bus that goes to Kaifaqu?" The response was "Which Kaifaqu?" I was slightly taken aback, what do you mean which? I thought Beijing just had one? Nope, there's a bunch of them. Another call to my aunt's house and got my uncle this time. "Which Kaifaqu do you live in?" I asked. "Which Kaifaqu?! It's Beijing Kaifaqu, don't you remember where we live?" Oh right, of course, how could I have thought there was more than one Kaifaqu in Beijing... And for the first of many times today I got some directions, "Just head south a little ways and you'll see it, it goes right to our apartment, to Tianhuayuan." If only I could have remembered that one place's name.

Walked a little bit further south, didn't see it. Jiuma had said the bus goes from Dabeiyao, and that's where I was so I asked several ticket sellers who were off duty at the bus stop. "Dunno" was the resounding response--a common one when someone just doesn't want to take the time to help you. When someone actually doesn't know but still cares, the language changes from a curt 'dunno' to a 'I'm not sure' and then they usually ask someone else or direct you to ask someone from the area. (The worst is when people don't know but still point you in some direction, luckily this wasn't one of those times.) A bus driver pointed me to Bus 976 which goes to Beijing Kaifaqu... And I got on the bus and said, "Does this bus go to Huanjiayuan" The bus driver looked at me, he had never heard of that place. Of course at the time, I knew I hadn't remembered the name of the place Jiujiu (my uncle) had told me, so I just said something that sounded like it. No luck. The ticket seller on the bus swiped my card and gave me a stop to try. I thought I would just watch carefully as we drove through Kaifaqu, thinking I would recognize their apartment complex when I saw it.

I was searching for the apartment among a sea of communist style apartments in a "Special Developmental Zone." Yeah... no such luck. I decided to get off, but the ticket person said, "didn't you want to go to [such and such a place, the stop escapes me now]" Oh right. So I stayed on the bus. The high rise apartments gave way to factories, no people on the sidewalks, and very few cars on the road. When I got off I was in what felt like the middle of no where--probably the quietest part of Beijing, at least around this time, when the Olympics has caused all the factories in Beijing to shut down. I called my uncle again. "Where are you?" I don't know, I gave the cross roads but he had no idea. "Have someone tell me where you are" There's no one here. "No one's there? Just ask someone." I crossed the street and ran down another to find a couple that was about to drive off on a scooter. I asked them to help me and she explained to my uncle where I was. Unfortunately, no one was too clear where exactly we were; they used landmarks like the factories and the bus line 723, which had just driven past.

I was directed to go to the 723 bus stop and take it to some company's dormitory. I forget the name now, it was something like Yuanguihui dormitory. I got on the bus and they told me to get off at this one stop. I began searching for the dormitory, but everyone at the bus stop (luckily this one was a bit more populated than the last one) had no idea where the dormitory was... So I called Jiujiu again, I'm at Yuanguihui, but I don't know where the dormitory is, and no one here knows either. "Ok, stay there I'll be right there."

So after a few minutes he came, riding in his friend's car, not his own, because he has an odd numbered car (today is the 26th so he's not allowed to drive it). Jiujiu asked why I hadn't taken the specialty bus, I said I never found it, this is the only bus I found that came here. His friend said that that bus had stopped its service during the Olympics. And with that I was taken to Jiujiu's house. Lost and found. 

The rest of the day was spent talking and catching up with Jiujiu and Jiuma. They invited me to stay for dinner, I duly refused but they pressed, so I accepted. I just won't make a habit of it, right? We went to eat roast duck.

I think I'm probably the only person in Beijing who really doesn't care for Roast Duck. It's a Beijing Specialty and foreigners usually love it. I just don't like the taste. We walked to this restaurant where we ate a variety of dishes including one "congealed duck blood with eel and pig intestine." Mind you, that's my translation, and also a fabulous argument to never ask what you're eating until you've tried it. It was actually very good, served in a hot pot with peppers and sprouts. I liked it more than the duck, that's for sure!

After dinner I returned home with one bus transfer--723 to the quick 8 line. I'm trying to familiarize myself with the bus lines, it's such a cheap and easy way to get around and not everywhere has subways yet, but everywhere seems to have buses--there are hundreds of bus lines in the city. The only drawback is trying to figure out how to find my way and not to get lost. Luckily my extended host family's patience, at least for today, allowed for some lost and found.

"you've gotten fat!"

Well, those were the first words that came out of my host family's mouth after seeing them for the first time in over a year.

Last night I showed up at my old house in northwestern Beijing. At the foot of the apartment outside, I ran into my host cousin NanNan. I was walking past the guards and see him standing there staring at me. He thought I was Cuyler but wasn't sure. I waved and he knew. He said, you've gotten fat! I said, I know, American food isn't as good for you as Chinese food.

In China, unlike the states, it is common for someone, especially family to comment openly on your body. So, saying you've gotten fat or chubby is not a hurtful comment like it might be in the states. They would say "ni shou le" or "you're thin!" if I had lost weight since my last time in China (though that would have been impossible!). 

Huang and Gao seemed happy to see me. Chen Chen, their daughter, was still at her class so I didn't see her. They said the same thing their nephew Nan Nan had said, "you've gotten fat." And after a delicious meal (yes I stormed their house just before dinner), we sat around and talked a bit and drank the two Spotted Cow beers I brought from Wisconsin, among some other small things. I talked about some of the things I wanted to do in China, internships, graduate school, and they offered to keep their eyes open to information. I offered to help them move, and they just might call me up sometime this week to help haul some things.

Today I'm going to call my host grandparents and see if I can go visit them! It's been so long since I've seen or talked to them, even, but I think it'll be a fun time. I want to reconnect with the families I had so much fun with last year. And if I do go there today, I'll probably again, hear the same refrain, "you've gotten fat!"

xia wo le yi tiao!

"you scared me one jump!" She said as I offered her a chair from my table to pull to another table.

I was outside sitting in an open courtyard reading my children's story. I'm a slow reader right now, that's for sure, but at least I'm trying! A woman was standing by a table that had all four seats taken, I was only one person at my table, so I offered her one of my table's chairs in Chinese. She was taken aback. The Chinese don't often expect to hear Chinese come from a laowai. She refused to take the chair, but then a middle aged woman at the other table said I should come over. I put away my elementary story about a boy very ready for school to start after a long summer vacation and brought my chair over (grabbing another for the standing woman, of course).

Turns out this woman had brought several people (including myself) together at this one table. None knew each other before sitting there. There was a couple, the middle aged woman and her daughter, and the girl that was standing. I sat down and they just wanted me to speak Chinese. I could do alright until I'd use an English grammatical structure, and they would have no idea what I was trying to say. Other times I completely blanked on the word I was trying to use. 

They gave me some ideas of where to search for jobs online. I'm going to try those in search of internships. Something like that might be able to get me get a different visa. And then find my own place, though staying at Grace and Paul's is very convenient, probably not for them though! An internship should also be less hours or part time depending on what the position is for, thus leaving me time to travel around China a bit!

This middle aged woman, named Zhang Fang, the one that brought us all together, had some of us exchange numbers. One guy didn't really want to exchange, but did so all the same. Zhang Fang's daughter joked about wanting to practice her English. I'll probably get some sort of call from her. That's what most people were after last time I was here. I want to meet a Chinese person who doesn't like speaking English, or doesn't know it that well. I'll have to keep searching. And, at the same time, just stay open to whatever comes.

Oriental Reorientation

I arrived in Beijing two days ago. I've come back to try and live, find work, and/or go to graduate school here. I spent my junior year abroad here, and now I'm back... with less organization and more wandering.

Not all who wander are lost is the adage this blog's title plays on, and as I explore my opportunities and go where that takes me some wandering will naturally take place. I want to embrace that wandering as a form of cultural and self exploration.

It probably sounds cliche and lame, but it really is the way I view my experiences as I attempt to settle down in China.

In the year since I was last in China, my Chinese speaking ability has waned. My comprehension skills are still about par, I can understand just about everything. While finding the words and what I want to say has been slow since arriving, it has definitely improved a great deal--a noticeable amount, definitely--in the last two days. I originally decided it would take 10 days to get my Chinese back to where it was when I left, but it might be sooner than that.

I also bought two children's books and I'm reading those two try to improve my reading. That and simply speaking with strangers has been my method for reorientation so far. 

I have a volunteer position during the Olympics, but after the Olympics, I'm wide open. I hope to narrow my wanderings into a position as an intern or volunteer during the next few months while I try to get settled. That's a brief overview of my plan. Now I just have to execute it...