In Communist China the Libraries Check out YOU!

I am so sorry I have neglected the blog but it's a good thing that I've been so busy and happy that I've been unable to! So I'm going to give highlights of my days going backwards because I'm not going to remember any other way.

Today: Library Day
Sooo I took the bus into the outskirts of town today. Cost me about 10 cents which was pretty freakin' fantastic. I was a little worried because I am terrible at navigation and I'm all alone in this huge city with billions of people and getting lost looked easy. BUT not only did I sucessfully navigate the buses with ease and may I say grace I helped an old Pakistani couple who were totally lost. They relied on me! And they were very impressed by the fragments of Chinese I shouted at passersby.

I'm going to outline my trip to the library as if it were a challenge on Amazing Race cause that's what it felt like

ROADBLOCK: Only one person may complete this task. You need to check out a DVD of 12th Night from the Chinese Natioal Library. You have the ISBN written down but you must check the rest of your belongings with a sullen looking man out front.

What the racers don't know is that absolutley no one will speak English. At all. Ever. Also although they know they must get a Reader's Card just to look at materials no one will tell them the correct place to register for half an hour. Then they must run around all the Audio Visual rooms in the intimidating, large, dimly lit building until they find the correct one. The woman at that desk will tell them that unless two people are at the desk they cannot get DVDs and there won't be another staffer there until 1

Baisically it was tons of craziness but I am so proud of myself. I knew enough Chinese to get the government to give me a reader's card! I then navigated a confusing building and kept calm under pressure. When the woman told me to wait I got my bag back and walked to the nearby Black Bamboo park where I read Mansfield Park for a while. On the way I saw Ballroom dancers (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and when I sat down I was hit on by a very nice Chinese college student for half an hour. He was patient enough to let me speak Chinese (for which I am very grateful) but I will probably never see him again so the half an hour conversation was just for fun.

So after half an hour in the kind of chilly park I went back and they had the DVD for me waiting. When I finished the three women gathered around to ask me questions about where I learned Chinese and where I lived etc. They were suprised and excited and animiated which made me feel not so bad for sturggling to communicate earlier. They even took out my DVD registration card to show that I could write characters. It's actually a really common kind of interaction here. People are so pleased when you make the effort to speak to them, even overjoyed at times.

I took the empty bus back home to my hostel where I took a wonderful shower and am now waiting for Kaitlyn!

Yesterday!
This was my last day in the hotel with my father so I was a little sad and the weather matched, gloomy and rainy. We took a cab to Tian tan, the Temple of Heaven, and walked around the circular altars and 500 year old trees annoyed by the rain but grateful for the lack of crowds. The rain actually made everything seem cooler and more solemn. I loved it.

I brought a little disposable camera to China and my father was taking pictures of me wherever we went together so he could take it home to my mother for a mother's day gift. Tian tan was the most important site because one of my mom's favorite pictures is a photo of the two of us at Tian Tan when I was 2 weeks old. We recreated the picture almost 20 years later and it was really amazing to think about the significance of Beijing to my family at that moment.

Dad and I went back to the Jianguo because we were soaked and as we dried my pants with a hair dryer we finished packing and I watched Little Women. HBO Asia finally has some good movies. We took a cab to my hostel which is located behind the Forbidden City in a hutong (or traditional Chinese house) They're disappearing fast so to walk down the streets of an authentic neighborhood and to live in one is a wonderful priviledge!

We ate at an authentic little jiaozi place (total cost was maybe 2 American dollars) and walked down the art district before Dad ran out of time and had to put me in a taxi home. I'll be honest, I felt the same little twinges of nervousness and sadness as I did when he dropped me off for college. True, I've toured on my own but travelling like this carries the threat of being so lonely and to go place to place without a base or anyone to help you is frightening especially in a huge foregin city.

So I came back to my room and tried to cheer myself up with chocolate, Jane Austen, and a nap but it got worse when I went all the way downtown only to find out that the Chinese Opera theatre I was planning to go to was randomly closed for two days. Fail. My cabbie was..interesting. Very nice , but when he found out I spoke English he handed me a pad of scrawled characters and asked me to write down the English translations of "fasten your seatbelt"and "Let me take you to the Great Wall"

I got back to the hostel and was in a sullen mood but I convinced myself to leave my room, book a Beijing Opera outing with the guy at the front desk, and read with people around me. I was drawn into a conversation within 10 minutes and spent four hours chatting in a traditional Chinese courtyard...surreal. . I crawled into bed around midnight after a quick chat with my mom and felt none of the lonliness I had that morning. Also there is a puppy here that has decided to curl up by my feet. awwwwww

Saturday!

My dad stuck around for two more days so he could take me around Beijing. That meant two worry-free days for me!

We got in a cab (which always cost less than a DC Metro ticket beeteedubs) and passed a bunch of the strangest buildings I've ever seen in my life to reach the Olympic Stadium or the Bird's Nest. I have to say I really like it. At least it's striking and interesting. Although Beijing architecture has no overall theme over than ""OMG LOOK WHAT I CAN BUILD"" this one was very nice. The pool is weird though. A Rectangle of blue color-changing bubbles. I can't decide if it's pretty or very very strange.

Next we went to Beida, my parent's'alma mater and Muppy's school! It was a goregous day yet again; blue skies and a gentle breeze. I lucked out like crazy. We saw both of the dorms my parents lived in during their two semesters in Beijing as well as the tiny store that has expanded into an underground mall-ish thing. We walked around the huge pagoda that has made Beida famous and stolled along the lake. It was wonderful to hear my Dad talk about what had changed and what he remembered because he doesn't usually talk about things like that.

After a horrific traffic jam we made it to the Summer Palace which is yet another Imperial Garden. This spot is just beyond beautiful. There's no hope my pictures will do it justice. My favoirte spots
* The "garden-within-a garden"(is there a need?) where an older woman sang chinese opera

*Suzhou street which is an imitation of "the Venice of China" where all stores are on the water. We walked around the vibrant buildings and had a beyond delicious meal in a marble island in the middle of it all.

*The top of the "Hill of Tranquility" (Classic Name) where we could see the entire city and the women who hiked there in stilleto ribbon heels.

* The marble boat. Built with funds allocated from the navy. YAY corruption! It is goregous though and shady. I see why it was built it's just ridiculous.

* The Causeway. A stretch of islands you cross by way of intricate marble bridges, each one different and quite honsetly... treacherous. But we got away from the crowds and it was a wonderful walk.

When we got back to the hotel we ate at the "Jianguo club"" complementary bar and walked around Houhai which is a little district of restaraunts arpund a lake. We liked seeing the fishermen fishing infront of "no fishing"signs and the "Wild ducks'" who lived in a little man-made islands with duck houses.

Have to go! Having too much fun to write (though this was epic) I miss you guys!