Random Missives

Watching the opening ceremonies with the locals made me want to be Chinese. I reveled in their pride and chanted with them when China appeared in the stadium. When the fireworks started, we all rushed outside to watch the sky light up above Tiananmen. We awed and ooed together and the sky in all it's glorious smog showed off its colors. What an amazing feeling to be a part of history. China had its coming out party and it went off with a blast. I could not be happier for this country and its people.

The people are so friendly, not counting the taxi drivers, and they go out of their way to help the foreigners. I often look lost and they try so hard to help me although it is in Chinese. They are considerably polite. I just hope the recent stabbing does not present such a negative view of this city and people. I feel so safe here. For the population of its size, Beijing has to be the safest city in the world. I feel safer here walking around at 2am then I would in any major city in the US. The Chinese are not violent in nature and their crimes would be scams more than anything. I do feel horrible for all the foreigners who lost tens of thousands of dollars in internet ticket scams. In the future, use only cosport.com to buy Olympic tickets. Anything else could be a regret.


Yesterday, within 5 minutes after leaving the confines of my air-conditioned apartment, I dripped sweat. The humidity is awful. To combat the heat, the men in the city wear wife beater t-shirts, or fold their shirts up to show their bellies or wear no shirt at all. Before leaving, NPR said that the Chinese government asked that men not wear their pajamas around the streets. I don't think many people listened because they are often wearing what could be cotton pj plaid shorts. Although the men lack any fashion sense, the women more than make up for it. The women are ultra fashionable and I am quite impressed with their style and attention to accessories. Their skirts could be a tad bit longer and somehow the women lack any leg muscles. They must not walk as much as I do.

Every day, I walk for miles around the city. I am tempted to rent a bike, but have resorted to the subways, buses and walking. Most everyone in the city bikes around because Beijing is so large, but I walk and my feet are swelling. To alleviate the pain, I went for a foot massage today. For $20, I received an hour massage just on my feet. My feet truly felt pampered after such an experience and I plan to give my back and shoulders a similar treat.

When I do take a taxi, I rely on having someone on the other end of my phone to tell the taxi driver where to go or I pick up business cards that can direct the taxi driver since none of them speak any English. And I definitely do not speak Mandarin. Mandarin is a difficult language to learn and I am impressed with the millions of Chinese who have immigrated to the US without knowing English. The characters and sounds are so different than English that I can't imagine just how difficult it must have been to set up new businesses in the US with the language barrier. Such a wonder.