(Look at that huge climbing wall. I had to back up the distance of a soccer field in order to get the whole thing in a shot while conveniently capturing the football team practicing.)
Changing of the guard at Tiananmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace) from Saturday morning
I feel like death. It can't be the jet-lag; that usually doesn't get me this badly. I don't see why I'd be stressed out either. Maybe its the whole moving to another country thing. Also, it doesn't help that Lonely Planet has an out of date subway map in their Beijing book. Although my barrista (who is like my new bff) told me it was wrong, I just laughed and thought, "oh you silly man, it's Lonely Planet. How could they be wrong?" Needless to say, on the way to Tiananmen this past weekend, I wandered around subterraneously for close to 1.5 hrs bc the LP was wrong. Blah.
I went up to the top of Tiananmen gate where Chairman Mao declared the founding of the P.R.C. on Oct 1st, 1949. I kept trying to see it from his eyes; but the view was so different back then. I was going to lift my hand up and wave at the people; but this older man next to me beat me to it. I would have looked semi-retarded had I done it right after him.
I spent over 7 hours inside the Forbidden City afterwards and only saw maybe 1/3 of it. The pictures don't even do it justice. 800 buildings, 9,000 rooms, 14.3* billion little nooks and crannies to explore. *guestimate
BTW, this cold wind in Beijing---I just found out today that it comes down directly from Siberia. Holy toledo, it is FREEZING. The only thoughts which run through my mind when I'm outside is...I'm freezing to death, I'm dying, Oh god I can't feel my torso. Ok, and...watch out for cars, please don't run me over, please don't hit me with your vehicle. Drivers are insane here. Remember in high school when we'd joke around about hitting things/ppl and getting points for it...ok maybe you didnt, but Clara def did ;)..HERE in Beijing (which the locals call BJ) they come after you like the points actually mean something.
Work started officially and I was told its customary in China to show up at least 10 mins early. Not believing this to be the case, I walked in 10 mins before the meeting started, thinking I would be the first one there, and found 50% of the ppl already there. Touche, y'all win this round. (Update...I passed out from 11am-2pm, ran to the 2nd meeting, made it right on the dot of the scheduled time and found 100% of the ppl already there.) Ugh, bad form. Don't do it again.
On Chinese hospitality, everyone keeps offering to pay for things. I literally have to fight for the right to pay for things like my own cell phone/groceries/food/household items. Not just like a show of fighting for it, I literally have to sneak off to pay for my own things before they are taken care of for me. For example, at the store? I spent a couple hundred dollars picking up things for the apt, hair dryer, coffee pot, etc etc. We got to the register, I pulled out my wallet, and the cashier said that my friend ahead of me had already put down his credit card and she would not take my money. 99% of my meals thus far have been with other people. Needless to say, I wasn't allowed to pay for anything. [Also, splitting bills in any way is unheard of in Beijing and mainland China, just like in the South. Haha, I still remember the first time I asked Bryan to allow me to pay for half of the dinner, he looked at me like I had lost it.]
Being taken care of in this way is simultaneously superfreakingawesome but also very wierd...I know they do it out of hospitality and complete graciousness and I'm bowled over by it...but at the same time, its soooo unexpected and I end up feeling guilty. I know I should be like...heck yeah, I don't have to spend any of the $$ I make and honestly I could probably get away with that, but I can't live with myself if I do that. Yesterday, I figured out a way to curb this by refusing (in a nice way) to take whatever has been purchased for me unless the $$ is returned to the other person and mine is taken instead. Long story short, how do you tell someone...please don't buy that for me because you are stressing me out... :P
I'll post on the hutong hopping in Houhai next time around. Note to self, be 20 mins early to tomorrow morning's mtg.
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