005./ Nothing, or Everything?
I'm having a hard time updating this blog. This could be for one of two reasons: either I am doing nothing lately, or doing everything lately. I can't tell. Part of it is, I've been sick and as a result too exhausted at the end of the day to even think, let alone write. Part of it is, I've been feeling a little restless here, counting my good days with my bad, thinking about getting home.
We've been doing less sightseeing and having more class, which I'm a fan of, since I've come down with my first cold since October. Usually when I'm sick I stay in bed for the duration of the illness, since it usually only lasts a day or so, and it happens so rarely I can afford to miss things. Unfortunately I really can't afford to miss a lot of Beijing. This city is huge and exciting and things are happening all the time.
Monday night Voni and I went to buy bikes. We had to cop out and go to Wal-mart, which I'm a little embarrassed about, but at the same time it turns out to be very very difficult for people who don't speak Chinese to find a used bike in this city. Not a decent used bike, but a used bike at all. We managed to swing brand new city cruisers for 250 kuai, which included a front basket, a lock, a bell, and a sharp but innocuous looking black bicycle. Everything in Beijing is flat so you only need one gear, and your bike can be as heavy as you can stand to ride because you never actually need to try. But even in rush hour traffic you're traveling twice as fast as pedestrians and frequently faster than cars. Last evening, on our way back from the Peking University campus, it was raining, and we beat some other kids who were taking a cab.
We've been seeing plenty of sights, too: Great Wall, Forbidden City, Beihai Park, a houtong tour by rickshaw, Jingshan Park, you name it. It's been interesting to see how much Beijingers use their public green space. In Jingshan Park, there were a bunch of older folks listening to music, dancing, and waving around these long ribbons of colored cloth. Some of my tripmates joined them, and they were overjoyed to have others get in on the fun. It's funny, in this city people tend to be pretty stoic, but when they're happy, they're ecstatic.
We had our first dialogues on Monday, as well. The Peking University students have been really receptive, excited, and talkative. I think it's going to be a good couple of weeks getting to know them.
