Day 31: Beijing

My second day on my own was somewhat more adventurous. I ventured a little north of Nikki's complex and found myself in "Soho" a trendy buildup shopping/apartment complex filled with nice stores, western restaurants, and a 3 story Starbucks. You can just imagine where I went... I spent a nice 5 hours at Starbucks, sipping on a caramel macchiato, and reading "Red Dust" by Ma Jian, who wrote about his trek through China to Tibet in the 80s. Afterwards, I found a Century Mart (like a Carrefore) and bought some toiletries, and some Snoopy-like gel pens that I became enthralled with from my semester in Chengdu.

Later that night, I went out with Nikki's roommates Jon and Ed. We met up with some of their friends at a Xinjiang restaurant (Muslim) and had delicious lamb skewers. There was also belly dancing there and a live band. We stayed talking until they closed around 11. Then we went to a place called Q Bar that was filled with foreigners. The night was fun, and I met some cool people. It was nice to socialize and hang out since I've gotten pretty used to just staying here at the apartment and reading books/watching Planet Earth.



It's definitely a different feeling when you're traveling by yourself versus with someone else. It can be lonely but also I feel that it can be a learning experience, when you put yourself out there more often, become more daring and observe more things that you would have missed if you'd been caught up in conversation.

There are so may things I've seen here that contrast with the life at home in the States, things and events that can't really be captured by a picture or fully explained in words. There are so many dissimilarities between these two cultures yet at the heart are a lot of similarities. Andrew and I talked about this a while ago; although customs, rituals, languages, and the fashion here may vary from what we are used to at home, the people typically want to same things, believe the same things, want to climb that social ladder, want their kids to be educated and get well paying jobs, want to make a name for themselves, want to do good for their society.

I still can't really get over the pollution, though, and the littering, the spitting, the constant honking of cars as they drive disorderly down the street, the pushing in lines that don't seem to form, the survival of the fittest attitude I constantly encounter. A simple thing like queuing in line at home seems so typical, so standard and so normal. Children practice lining up throughout their elementary days. Yet here, with the past of the Cultural Revolution not too far behind, everyone's always afraid they won't get their share, and push and shove to the front of lines. I scolded a man who cut in front of Stephanie and I at the Summer Palace when we were purchasing tickets, saying "Pai Dui!" Get in line! He looked at us, identified us as foreigners, and in a somewhat apologetic tone, said "Sorry". At that moment, I felt pretty good, having thought I was teaching him to queue in line. But now that I reflect on it, was it really my duty to do so? The Chinese cut in front of each other all the time, and don't seem bothered much by it. It seems that only us foreigners cannot stand it, since our background has always taught us to line up politely. Regrettably, I recognize a bit of ethnocentrism with my thoughts about the Chinese and queuing, and wonder if it is really me, who needs to learn the lesson and adapt to this style of living while I'm a guest here.


PS: Steph- my tangpulp OJ tastes funny and does not go well with oreos. :(