Congradulations China

on the very successful space launch!! Welcome to space! I await to see the walk!!

update!!

so this is more a distraction than update. but hey i just finished all my notecards. now i just have to learn them!! yay!

life is a cookie

it takes a lot of baking and a great recipie to make a sweet cookie.
so right now i had my first day of class. not bad, it went well. now i have 40 new vocabulary to learn and characters to learn to write. ha ha. but now i have a cool flashcard game i downloaded and im making flash cards for all the characters. ha ha ha! o back to work! bye bye!

Classes!

I have classes! yay! it is nice. except for the now i have to catch up with the homework! wow that isnt fun! ha ha ha. thanks javier!!! thanks for reading the blog. i appriciate the comments!! and thank you snow!! yay! ok now i have to wash some clothes and start some homework.

AHHHHHH

i would go into the problems i had today but screw it. I just found where i can watch boy meets world online. Screw the world right now, im going to eat some cheese and crackers and watch boy meets world. the world makes sense again.

FINALLY!!!

YES YES YES my friends i have a class schedual! I am attending classes. I am only 4 days late so not the biggest failure. I can catch up i think. Im not done with registration, but i have classes. I still have to go to the hospital, and the police station but i will try to take care of that this afternoon. (thank you tong!) I am have to throw away this milk. apparently it isnt safe.

I have to say it is WAY to hot here. it says its 88 with 100% humidity... Everything is bigger in texas and everything is hotter in china... Alright well i have to start walking to meet tong.

is it wrong?

i know i am always a bit lazy but be honest, is it wrong to start to crave a burger from mickyD's? Dont get me wrong, im loving this chinese food and i think its great. But mabye im just hungry but those burgers are starting to look good. I think i need to start eating more often than once a day. that and stockpile some noodles, snacks etc. he he.

wow its bad. 6 weeks europe it is easy to deny the burger. but heavens i think i am jsut a little too hungry... ha ha ha. ahh

A real Weekend

So another update is nessesary. Well what can i say. I dont update this nearly enough. IT should be 3 times a day and now its only a few times a week. Well where did i leave off? Well thursday I went out to explore the town. Came across the biggest computer selling bit i have ever seen. a giant mall, 7 stories of stores packed all selling electronic stuff. From Cell phones to video cards. From headphones to cd drives. Everything if you wanted to trick out a dorm, buildd a computer or by the looks of some of the equipment build a time machine. I found something i have been craving. A writing tablet, a special pen and pad that hook up the computer. Wonderful device for taking notes, art, editing photos and best off, allows me to practice writing chinese characters.

Yes of course i could practice with a pen and paper, but then i wouldnt be sure i did it right, after all the slightlest odd ink bit makes a new character, with the computer it gets checked. If i do it right it it will reconize it, if not well practice.. It works wonderfully!

The next day i meet with some friends. Well honestly some friends of some friends. We meet, walk around a bit. Kan, Tong and Eva. Wonderful time, and Thank you Kan for the compass. I do carry it!

The next day was pointless except that i meet all my new friends for dinner. My roomate Elong, and Kan, Eva, tong, Larissa, and Jenny all went out to dinner with me. All are chinese natives except for Elong as he is a japanese student. We went out for a big feast. There was a pot of noodles and chicken (and i mean the whole chicken... Feet, head etc.), Spicy beef and veggies, Rice, Fish & Tofu, Green Beans, Cabbage and Beer. It was wonderful! A big round table with friends food and fun!! And we waited i think 15 or 20 min for food. it was wonderful. Not having to wait hours for food!

Afterwards we went out for kareoke! Oh yea! AWSOME! We had a little room all to ourselves. We laughed, sang and just made fools of ourselves. No better way right? What a wonderful Evening.

today i started researching vacations. WE have a week long vacation comming up. so of course it is time to travel!!

I am not done with registration for school But the school says on monday i should be able to finish. we shall see.

TODAY IS A WONDERFUL DAY

EVERYONE TODAY IS A WONDERFUL DAY
IT IS A SPECIAL SOMEONE"S BIRTHDAY!! YES IT IS!
IF YOU SEE THIS SPECIAL BIRD wish happy birthday.

it is a great day to celebrate a bird's 21 birthday!!
Happy birthday little bird! I only wish i was there to bear hug the life out of you.

I LOVE THIS PROGRAM

Picasa 3.0 is Awsome. This for the easy fun stuff combined with the complicated Photoshop I am having a blast. i am lucky my camera batteries are empty, otherwise i'd be out playing with my new tripod... Late night fun!

Yea. Check That

YAY YAY YAY

MONEY! Ahh i know that sounds so horribly materialistic. But right now i dont care. I went to the bank and i have money! I can go to school! I can buy books! YAY! Except the office is closed on thursdays...

BUT NOW THINGS CAN HAPPEN!!!

What does a little peace of mind cost?

Well honestly. About 100 US Dollars... Yea i might be petty but this last week has just been one nervous "i cant help you" after another "I dont know..." Well it wears down a person. Eating once a day to make what little cash stretch out, sleeping under a jacket, etc etc. yall read the past post.

Well Bank of China still hasnt given me money. BUT YAY! Dad was able to wire me some cash over Western Union and jumpin jigglypuff I picked it up the next day. IT wasnt much, 200 USD but man here. It made a world of a difference. And being able to go and just buy some peace of mind...

I saved half for the hospital trip tommorow. I have to go to the hospital and show my results of more testing done than when i was in medical research... To prove to the chinese government i am not a biological threat to thier country... Honestly from what i hear other things. but no need to get nasty. done enoughof that and i am no longer bitter.

So what will 100 USD get you? It got me...
A New Cell phone and about 2000 min (concidering those are all local)
Another pillow
Cushions for the chair and bed
Case of 25 little milk boxes
2L of Orange Juice
Water
Toothpaste
Hair Conditioner
Fruit
A new Tripod
mats for the floor
several new pairs of socks and underwear
lunch
speacial note about lunch. Street food. Mabye not the most "hygenically" or "cleanest" food but it was good. Fried sweet potatoes covered in cinamen. Frilled octopus tentaces and i think chicken. I cant really be sure. And then another stick of spicy meat, again not sure but i think its chicken. A piece of bread. And this thing that was like a creape but a little thicker and had some herbs in it. little too eggy for me but not bad.
clothes hangers
batteries and charger (the one i brought doesnt do 220v... You would think i would check...)
A little knife
and some change to drop in a beggers purse

I know it may not be much. But it sure feels good. goo to have a phone, some food, some drink, some clothes. (when my stuff dried after washing it was stiff as a board... Idk mabye i didnt do it right. Idk how i screwed that up. It was a bucket of soapy water. I wash dishes by hand... But apparently i think the technique is different for clothes. idk...)

Tommorow the hospital, and a 5 gal jug of water should be dropped off. I plan to go buy the books, paper, pens, another towel, some wipes (really want to find some lysol wipes or somethin close to it). and mabye some posters. Idk barren walls are really not my thing. I wish i would of thought about this before. I would of had pictures printed and blown up of family friends etc to plaster up here. When i get an address i may just have to ask mother to send some... Or something...

Either way i feel much better. Not feeling like a poor lost fool is nice. Now im just a lost fool. Still poor but im not counting pennies. Which by the way i would like to note are made out of plastic... this is plastic or the cheapest metal i have ever seen. I swear its plastic. Probably made by teh same people who make little soldiers...

So hopefully the bank sorts out thier mess tommrow. I can start classes the day after. And only lose a few days. here's to hope!

A bank is a bank is a bank...

So update. No money = No classes = No learning = Pissed off american...
So i just learned that bank of china apparently has needed more information from my bank but never asked for it. They didnt bother telling my bank they needed clairification until i had the bank ask them whats going on, its been 8 days on something that should take 2... They said oh we need this... WHY DIDNT YOU ASK!?!????

Good heaven almighty. Also apparently there might be a problem with my name. See i didnt use my chinese name (never learned how to write it)
So in China you have a surname, and family name. Well to them my Surname is my first AND middle. Well for me its just my first.

So with teh confusion one paper says MR_H another is HR_M another is H_MR well you see if someone who doesnt know english wont realize that is all the same thing... Confusion = me not getting any help....

So just thought to update. I did get western Union to work, so now i have some money. I am goign to go buy a cell phone, blankets, water, and conditioner. Ahh how graet it will be to have a blanket. no more sleeping under a jacket!! YAY!

Do you love China? I... well i choose not to finish that sentence yet

So with such an enthusiastic title this is good news yes? Well this is a post to update what has been happening. So i arrived monday and you know of the issues with the room. So i was left with the instructions that once my money came via wire, go to the office and pay and get things done. Class starts tuesday no big deal eh?

Well lets describe my week. I arrived with very little cash. When i was done i basically had a 150 to last me till my money came. no biggie right? Just 3 days, or so my banker told me. So i spend 90 to buy a sheet (note just a sheet) a pillow, some hangers, some TP, and a few bottles of water. So 50 left... ok not a big deal, only should just have to last till wed right? And food at the cafeteria is 5 each meal. Im covered...

So its wed. No money arrive. Ok so mabye an extra day with time change. no big deal. about 40 left... Not the biggest deal. I decide lets not sit with the other forigners, they are hanging out at the litte shop drinking beer. i know if i went i would spend money i couldnt afford to eat. not the worst decicision right? sounded good to me...

So im sweating, hopefully by now you start to realize how i am sweating. I at this point have not payed for tuition, accomidation, or anythin. I owe ~28,000 for all of it. Roughly 4k usa... Easy enough to pay for when you have a wire but when you only have a few dozen to my name...

so lets forward skip a little more to today. Saturday, ( i thought it was still friday. another big woops) I go to the bank. No money. NO FREAKIN MONEY. someone graciously translated that the bank was on holiday and i would have to come back tuesday to get my money. Ok do you get the signifigance of that statment. As a reminder, Class starts tuesday.

Ok so now im sweating. I head to the office to try to get help. But its closed. that is when i find out its saturday, not friday. Office is not open... So no one to get help from. No money, no phone, no help, little cash... So i head back to my room to think. That is when i see notices. i notice a notice that on the 11th was a proficiancy test for chinese language. snap, i missed that.

I meet a german girl who tells me that on monday a bus is comming to take a group to the hospital to get physicals done if their stuff was not good enough. Basically they didnt bring the right stuff. i find out i probably dont have it. she said that they need the chest xray. Well i had a chest xray done, but i didnt bring the picture. Which apparently is not good enough, they need to see the picture. (just to note my doctor said there is no reason a medical professional would need to see the picture, the diognosis is good enough...)

I am told also that this physical woud probably cost money... Great more things i need money for. so now i need a physical, tuition, and acomidation. Still no money. Now this is starting to get really distressing. So far i have been only eating once a day. I cant really afford much more and well its ok, goes with the spartan living, eat some rice and a bit of veggies once a day. wohooo! No diet like a poor mans diet.

I cant just use a card and accept the penalties as i dont have cash money left in my account. Have to pay cash for everything...

So to recap
1. 25 yuan in my wallet at this moment
2. I owe ~27 000 yuan to the school
3. I probably will owe a lot of cash to the hospital for a physical
4. I have not signed up with the school as such
A. no classes
B. No id card
C. No id number
5. No phone so no way to call someone to help
6. No one to call for help
7. Very few speak English
8. Can not afford
A. Laundry
B. Blankets
C. Hangers
D. TextBooks

So do you like China? I am honestly undecided. this is bull that i applied for the wire 6 days ago and i have no money. Classes start tuesday and i have no classes to go to. well no reason to relist everything again. Honestly this is getting to the point where i dont know if i will be allowed to attend. I dont know if in two weeks i will be back into the USA. Its getting to the point that i dont now if its worth it... But well by wed i should know. If you pray please do.

WUHAN UNIVERSITY

I HAVE ARRIVED TO WUHAN UNIVERSITY!
A night train on a train i did not physicly fit well brought me to wuhan city at 7 am. Not really knowing what to do whatsoever i quickly discovered a bunch of nigerians who were going to the same university! What luck?!

They only spoke french but hey, that was no problem. what was a problem was the university arranged to pick them up and somehow i was shuffled off and forced to get a cab. Not the end of the world. Except the que for the cab was long. 40 mins kind of long.

The taxi driver knew of the university but had no idea where in the university to take me. For my friends in texas, this campus is what seems to be mabye 4-5 times the size of texas state. At state we have what 2 fields, with tracks? this has 6. We have a hill that the student center is on? We have a small mountain the school is built around...

So the taxi driver took me to the front gate and dropped me off. I just followed the crowds of young people. They all entered some field that looked like check in. A few students spoke english and told me i was in the wrong place. I had no idea, but eventually i found a student who walked with me over some hills down some roads and to a small building that was special for forign students. !! yay! didnt take that long but it sure felt long.

But i was no where near a long day till i got in line. First it was waiting to get paperwork. Then another room to get a key for a room. Please take note that the people in charge dont speak english... next it is to pay for the university. well there was a problem. they dont take credit cards.

so then i was helped, and they took me to the bank to open a bank account. It was not that difficult just somewhat anoying. mainly because afterward to send the wire transfer paper, the bank didnt have a fax. so i had to go to the store next door to use the fax. that would of not that bad, except he didnt know how to use the machine. so it took a while to figure which button did what. I still dont know if it went through. I hope it did. the bank should be opening soon.

If it does then i can pay for school. Of course all this was yesterday. and tommorow i hope i can pay.
Now let me tell you the interesting part! First they give me a room 4-11C. 4th building on the sixth floor, room C. Well the problem was that there was stuff there. Apparently he was comming back, so they told me to change rooms. So they gave me room B the room next door. the next problem was that the key didnt work. Now another conversation with a helpful student and they give me another room! except now i had the key to the new room. and i realize that when i walked back to the dormatories i dont have the key to enter the first room where my things were locked!! (i think this annoyed me because i was an RA, and i know how the process works, or can work.) yea yea.. it was this difficult. I found the manager to help me and he unlocked the first room to move into the new one.
I do like this room much better. The room is basically San Jack, but with a kitchenete. The rooms are clean, or rather clean. I still want to get some wipes, etc. But i will have to wait for the money to transfer through. i will want to add some things like, blankets, a rug. yea i bought a sheet and pillow but i still cant afford a blanket yet. i only had a few hundred yuan left. it will all work out. i just have to wait a while. so these last few hours what have i been doin?

i meet my roomates, a cool group of fellows. Walked around the university. Set up my room. etc. and now blog. Wish me luck!!

Day 6

Today is the day i got to meet caryoln. IT WAS SO GOOD to finally see her.
we went to several streets and just walked and talked we had lunch and then went back to my hosel where we talked more. i shared with her cowboy music and then found out she loves to dance! so what do you do when you get a cute chinese girl in your room? Teach her to SWING! HORAY! yes and she is a good dancer. she learned very fast. we were swing dancing away. it was great fun! She left that evening and promised to escort me to the train station the next day.

*note no pictures yet. comming soon*

Beijing day 5 Summer palace

So today i went to the summer palace. I dont know what to say other then look at the photo. it was the getaway of the emperors. i wouuld love to live there. the photos speak more for themselves than i could. i just walked around and had the time of my life walking through the gardens and the palace.

I did have a good time at the back of the palace was a small market that was built to give the illusion that the emporors were involved in common life, doing such things as shopping. the market was fully restored and allowed visitors to shop like the ancients. i did stop ot have lunch and food was alright and remarkably not overpriced. however there was a catch. the tea cost as much as the entire meal. there is always a catch. and well i fell for it.

but the market was fun. i wanted to buy a kite but again resist the temptation! walking back through the garden to the entrance and back to the hostel for a good night sleep.

Day 4 - the natives

So the fourth day of the Beijing adventure took me out to the confucious college across the street from the Lama temple. I thought about going to the lama temple but it was said to be so full of tourist and the college across the street was not. well both are important confusious sites i might as well be able to enjoy my visit and not worry about tourist right? I am very glad i did. By this time i had gotten very used to the bicycles and a quick cycle down the road i was outside the confusious college. it basically was a university to study the ways of confusisism. china apparantnly plans to open a bunch of them around the world. Neat idea. well of course my day got more interesting than that! while there and taking photos a cute chinese girl came over and asked to take a photo with me. then her friend joined as well. See cowboy hats, EVEN the ones made from straw, are irresistable. it turned out the lot of them, Cindy, David, Leo, and Anna were all olympic workers just visiting Beijing. they asked if i wanted to join them and tour the city! OF COURSE I WENT! WOO!

i have to say that bunch was great fun. we walked around the temple complex. took pictures. just fun kid stuff eh? oh my it was so much fun. they were such a silly lot. After playing around in the college we headed back out into the city. but there was a small problem. i still had the bicycle. they were so nice! they said for me to return my bicycle to the hostel and then taxi back and together we would take a bus to the summer palace and walk around together. well i cycled like mad to get back to the hostel quickly. of course that nearly caused an accident. but i am ok and all was well. 15 min later i was back in the alley way and we were perusing the bus stations for a way to get to the summer palace. sadly we eneded up misinformed that it closed very early. so what should we do?

We decided to take a subway down to the forbidden city and explore that. i had already been but heavens there is plenty of forbidden city to explore! we did not make it far however. we only really made it just inside where anna was so nice and bought me a little opera mask. i apparently choose well as white symbolizes a good guy and red is a bad guy. i choose the good guy and they were very pleased i choose well.

well it was only a moment more before everyone starting grumbling for food. so we started walking south for food. they seemed to know where they were going so i just followed. the girls spoke wonderful english, david did not and leo could hold his own. so i did end up spending most of the time talking with the two ladies.

Walking downward we kept stopping at 50 cent shops where at the 50 cent shop they sold everything from electronic converters to panties. beijing shops i swear are the most random shops i have ever seen. i personally would not put the cup o noodles just below the panty shelf but that is me...

we did end up making a purchase. i bought us all squirt guns and we chased each other all down the streets squirting each other and any helpless unarmed stranger who happened to get in our way. most people laughed but we angered many. but that was ok because it was so much fun! we chased each other, and ambushed each other. we would hide behind buildings and accidentally mistake a stranger for someone and soak some poor fellow.

i tell you it did make the time fly. it seemed almost instantaneous that we arrived at the restaurant. the food was good. we ordered beer and noodles. the appitizer was a plate of peanuts in a sauce. the server brought a spoon for me but i proved them all wrong with being able to use chopsticks.

The food was good but a bit spicy. that was my fault as i wanted to prove myself a good visitor and filled my bowl with the spicy chilies. it was good.

afterward we headed down a famous shopping street where we saw so many shops. everything from jade jewelery to silly electronics were sold. merchants shouting and fancy restaurant waiters beckoned us to spend money. i was tempted sevveral times by some chess sets. china has a different chess game than the usa and i really want to learn. but a 70$ tourist set is not the way to learn. nor is a 40$ ma-jhong set. i know it can be had for cheaper and i want it so. i would rather have a local .99 cent kind the locals used than some fancy set made for tourist.

later we passed a tea shop where the group introduced me to chinese tea. it was fun, it was a full little tea ceremony. we tried several teas but to my taste buds they are all so delicate. just lightly flavored water. dont get me wrong it wasnt ad but i dont think it was the grandest of all drinks either. i like a strong tea like earl grey and the strongest they could offer was green tea.. so i will wait and try more teas. we did not buy any to the disapointment of the sales lady but it was a great day and it was a lot of fun!

afterward we walked down a famous shopping street that at night is beautiful with all the lights lit up but currently is completely empty. not a single shop. it was kind of odd. i guess it was new and buisiness had yet to move in.

by now it was getting late. so we started looking for a kareokee bar to go to. those are always great fun! but they were so expensive!! over 100 yuan each to get in. that is way to much and i couldnt beliee there was none cheaper but i guess so. so instead we went to a night street, or a department store. they ate mcdonnalds but i am sticking with my oath to not eat crap american fast food while in china. i can eat that when i go back to school at texas state.

they did end up feeding me again. they bought me some incredibly spicy noodles that made me cry so much i nearly went dry. it was good believe me but WOW did it have a kick. i was coughing and crying hah a! Then a bit of fermented tofu in another super spicy sauce.
that was the end of that night. it was a great gereat day

Beijing Day 3 Sept 3

So this morning I was planning to meet a friend at tiennamen Square but she had to cancel as her classes were changed at the last second and school does come first. So what to do? It turns out my roommate, a Japanese man who spoke as much English as I do Japanese had nothing else to do. So we rented bicycles and headed for the forbidden city. I will tell you any company is always better than no company. It didn’t matter that I almost never understood anything he said and any conversation took great lengths to convey simple ideas. Just being there with someone to say ‘ooooo’ made all the difference in the world.
The bicycle ride was nice. 20 yuan for the day and we had ourselves a bicycle with poor brakes, a little small, and locked. It was terribly great fun!! It was a little difficult at first, as in the handbasket I had placed my heavy camera bag. But by the time we entered the big streets I was doing alright.
Riding a bicycle in Beijing is quite an experience. There are large and ample bicycle lanes so that is not much of a problem. The problem arises from the busses, police and random people that park cars in the bicycle lanes forcing cyclers to venture out into the streets slightly to pass them.
The next danger comes from the buses that when pulling up the curb assume that you on a bicycle see them and can maneuver out of their way. Ive turned my head to see a bus a ft from my rear tire and pedaling like mad to outrun it. The scariest is when one bus is coming in and another going out and you inbetween.
There are more dangers of course. At street crossings a green does not mean go, it means this is your chance to cross with the least risk to your health. I say this because a red light does not mean stop, it is just a detterent and seems to be thought of as a suggestion more than a command. When crossing streets cars turning will honk as they force themselves through a crowd of pedestrians, and people start early finding themselves walking through traffic. There have been a few times when I thought yesterday I was going to end up in a bad situation.
I did not of course. Although I would have liked a helmet they are not available. Even in the bicycle shops I did not see helmets for sale. But my cowboy had never flew off. For safety we always followed the natives. We crossed when they crossed. We were always right next to them, if they would do it, so would i. after all, if they were crossing and had not been killed, they must know what they are doing right?
The ride to the forbidden city is a pleasant one. Pretty tree lined streets and glimpses of parks or a sparkling roof top. Once there finding a proper place to park the bicycles was a little difficult but it was quickly sorted out. The security was quick to say where not to park.
The forbidden city is so much fun to walk through. The place is enourmous. It just keeps going and going with giant gates, huge walls and courtyards. The rooms just go on and on and everything is just done to the extreme. I could only imagine what the place was like in a time without tourist and only residents and servants. The place really is a city inside itself. I thought the Vatican was large and intemedating I swear this place was fit for a god to live.
Took us an hour to walk strait through from one end to another. We were stopping to take photos and read the signs. Wandering the corridors and randomly walking into some rooms that were kept in the original state others that had been converted into museums that housed countless artifacts from pictures to teacups. The gardens were spectacular, and unbelievable. Rivers flowed through the middle of the palace and still there was more. Soon it became too much and we had to leave. It gets so overwhelming that you have to leave and come back otherwise it just all starts to blend together.
Hungry it was time for lunch. What else to eat but peking duck? A quick bicycle ride north and we found a restaurant with peking duck. It was no the one described in the book but peking duck is peking duck. This meal also was several courses. The first was a giant bowl of soup, enough to feed 5 people and it was given to the two of us. A giant bowl of soup and half a liter of beer and we were happy. Soon they brought out the duck and it was a duck. The whole duck. Cut into slices I had half and my Japanese friend had half. When I say half I mean half, all the way to the head. It took me a moment to realize it but I was looking at half the head of a duck. I assume this is so the brains and such could be eaten? The brains were ok, little too squishy for my taste but the rest of the duck was spectacular. Very crispy and strong on flavor. It was served with asian tortillas things, remnded me of a crepe. The meat was rolled and dipped into a sweet sauce. It was very very good.
However at the end of the meal my friend was somewhat upset. Afterall what good meal doesn’t have tea, non? Well here the tea cost a few yuan. He could not understand why that was. “In japan, tea free, no money, why money?” and he was right, in China you would think tea be free?
The day was not yet close to being done of course. Next was the Jidian Park north of the forbidden city, a temple built from the earth from the lakes, and from there we could see the entire city. An amazing view of the forbidden city and the lakes. The temple itself was small but the climb up was nice. It was a densely planted park from trees to bamboo. At the base we saw a group playing some bamboo instruments and singing for a crowd. I had no idea what or why but it was quite pleasant to watch them. Afterwards we started on the next leg of the journey.
We decided the next place to go was a park and temple complex to the south. So south we went. It took us through small alleyways and backstreets. I don’t have pictures but it really was something else to see. I love Beijing and the people, they are such an ‘outside’ people. Instead of being inside I see so many just sitting out playing cards or other games outside on the steps on stools. I see women sitting around talking and only entering their store when a customer walks in. The parks are no exception.
I did like how on the rules of the park listed in a giant sign at the entrance read, no peddling, no music, no dancing in the long corridor. Well in the long corridor there were people selling this and that, several groups playing sinstruments loudly to drown out the next music player 20 ft from him. Ladies dancing in the hallway that one would have to exit the hallway to pass. I don’t think rules were taken too seriously.
The park was beautiful. Wonderfully so. The park was nothing but fields of trees and lawns. It was just specatular. There was a temple of good harvest, another small temple complex with an echo wall, a circular wall enclosing the complex that supposedly echoed. I didn’t hear it but with dozens of people yelling at all points in the complex I couldn’t hear much of anything. By this point I was getting very tired.
All day on a bicycle or walking, with only one meal. I really do need to change that. I need to start buying some fruit or something for breakfast. Well back to the hostel were I just remember waking up the next morning

*as a note, this report is late, my hostel does not have wireless and as such I will have to post this when I get to Wuhan. So imagine this is several days ago.

Beijing Report Day 1 & 2

So to begin the only place to begin is the begging. The flight! Well it so happened that I had made a mistake with my airline ticket. I had thought that I was leaving from San Diego airport for china when I learned the day before I left that in actuality I was to leave from LAX! That is an extra 3 hour drive. Luckily it did not pose a problem. We headed out at midnight thinking 3 hour drive+ traffic+ road construction would lead us to a 5 hour trip, arriving 2 hours before departure which is a good estimate for an ETA. However there was no traffic or road construction, the 5 hour trip was reduced down to two and a half. So in the airport I sat from 230 until 5. I had to sit there because no attendants’ shows up to let people check in until 5. There were just 2 other people waiting with me. None of us knew that we arrived before the staff did. There was a man from Peru and a girl from Germany. I talked mostly with the Peruvian and politics and life. He had a son who just died in Iraq. God bless him.
At 430 everyone from 7am flights to 9am flights showed up at once. Of course it became a crowded mess. Sadly everyone was starting forming lines. I could tell they had no idea what they were doing. In front of the ticket counter is a bunch of post with tape that sort people into a line. As that was closed off everyone just started forming lines out the door, no one thought to think they just stood behind someone. Anyone who has flown should have seen that when the staff arrived they will open up their barrier lines. So I waited by that and sure enough, a tenant at 5:05 opened up the line and voila, I was first in line… Of course all the people who waited in their “lines” were upset but it’s not my fault they are dumb, besides I was waiting here much longer before they were.
Security at LAX was quick and painless. In the terminal I ended up eating with the Peruvian and his friend. Both great were guys. The second is opening up a call center. A few muffins later it was time to depart. The flight from LA to Vancouver was not the best but I was tired, hungry and slept most of the time. However air Canada was a very nice ride. If you ever wonder about an airline, I defiantly recommend air Canada.
In Vancouver I had a 3 hour layover. What could I do but order some food and wait it out. I do remember how hot the airport is. Usually public places are kept cold but wow; it was really warm in that airport. I thought maybe the AC had broken. I was dying. While waiting for the airline I was stared at a lot. After all there maybe 20 white people on the flight and the rest were all Chinese. But in a cowboy hat, boots, and belt buckle I certainly stood out. But that was the point of wearing such a getup.
On the flight I sat next to a young lady, Careen. She was a Chinese who immigrated to Canada. She was going back to Tianjin to visit family. She was great fun. She made that flight wonderful. We talked about life, boys, china, and hobbies. It was great fun. Then I pulled out my laptop and we watched harry potter, and a Jackie Chan movie, Yes SHE LIKED JACKIE CHAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was a 14 hour flight but with all the fun it only felt like a 6 hour flight. Time just flew. I also slept for maybe 6 hours. That helped. Arrival in Beijing was easy and customs was fast as an international airport can be. I meet several Olympians who are competing in the Para Olympics. GO TEAM USA!
Following the signs for a taxi, as there was no bus or subway I ended up in a taxi showing a print out of where my hostel was. AS there was slight confusion of the direction the taxi driver called a translator service and through the speaker phone she helped us call the hostel and give the taxi driver directions. The drive was an easy half hour drive and cost me about 70 Yuan. Less than $14. Amazing isn’t it?
The hostel is very nice. It is in an alleyway which makes for a quiet neighborhood without a lot of cars. There are restaurants, bars, shops all along the way. It is also a 25 min walk to the Forbidden City and 2 min to a big street to hail a taxi. The hostel itself is clean, the people speak great English and helpful. They even learned my name after the first day! Beijing Backpackers Hostel. AMAZING!!! And it is only about 10$ a night. The showers are hot, the bed is ok, the location is great, the staff is amazing, the rooms are clean, and I feel very safe. I love this place.
The business about Beijing being dirty… I don’t see it. So far the skies have been blue, few clouds. There is a slight smell but that is what appears to be from old sewer lines that need updating. Same thing in Rome, or Athens. I love this city. People are nice, helpful and just good people.
That first day I did not do much. I set out and walked aimlessly through the city knowing that for 4$ I could get a taxi back to the hostel. I ended up walking to a night street full of street food. Vendors selling lizard and seahorse on a stick, fried noodles, fruit, stir fry, candy, drinks, and deep fried slugs. I tried several things and not liking some of the more exotic things. Fried lizard was ok but the slugs were just too odd tasting. I didn’t like the way it oozed.
I took an early night, and woke up the next day about dawn. Decided, today I will go to the great wall. I had read about Sematai, supposedly a very pretty and importantly not big tourist destination. So I took a bus, and taxi out to it. I realize now I could have bartered down the price but wisdom is after the fact. I spent 60$ for the round trip and admission ticket. It’s not that bad if I consider that I spend 2 hours in a taxi and 2 hours in a bus. The wall was amazing and well worth the price. However I know not to talk mother on this section. The wall was built on a mountain, along a cliff. Why build a wall on a cliff is beyond me unless they were defending against mountain goats but the fact it was build here was beyond amazing.
*In the picture do you see the wall. Look at the ridge and you will see the watch towers…*
It was steep but wow was it worth it. At times it was so steep that I was down on all fours climbing the stairs. Other times there was no side wall and just a drop off down the wall and mountain side. 2 hours of a strait up climb. I loved it. What really was annoying but also just a wow factor was the hawkers. One lady followed me the entire way wanting to sell things to me. She was playing guide, and kept saying careful. But at the top of these walls were hawkers selling all sorts of tourist crap. Wow, they carry all this stuff up??
I did end up buying something from her. I was going to just give her 10 Yuan as a present for being a “guide” I didn’t want her book. Until she convinced me to buy the “I climbed the great wall” tee shirt. It was a pure tourist shirt but heck, it would be cool to walk around the USA and yea that’s right, I did climb the great wall. It was only 8.0$ so not a big fuss.
The ride back was quite fun. I had paid the taxi driver to wait for me at Sematai. In the parking lot I met a couple form Amsterdam who were taking a 6 month trek across Asia. We shared the taxi and bus back to Beijing. Great folk. They gave me their Beijing guide book, as they were leaving to shanghai in the morning and had no need for it. By the time I arrived back in Beijing it was 2 in the afternoon. Plenty of days left. Determined to learn the city I trekked my way back to the hostel on foot.
The hostel was easy enough to find. Stopping and getting some more cash from the hostel I set out immediately for Behai Park. A beautiful park next to the Forbidden City. It really was beautiful. Inside is a giant lake with an island in the center with temples and all sorts of old relics. It was originally the emperor’s gardens and playground.
But I was hungry. I did not eat breakfast and did not stop and eat at all today. I was determined to find food. I was walking around the park exploring the temples and watching groups do Tai chi. when I noticed a sign for a restaurant. FINALLY! I ended up meeting a Californian who worked the Olympics on the way but he did not have the time to join me for dinner. So I ate alone. Food is always better with other people.
It was a nice little restaurant. The staff elegantly dressed, and the place really decked out. It was expensive but I was so hungry I didn’t care. By the looks of the people who entered and of the surroundings I figured it had to be good. It was. It was in a style after and empress who enjoyed eating 130 course meals. Now I did not have a 130 course meal but a 10 course meal. It was only about 28$. But for a ten course meal of veggies, soup, camel, tofu & mixed seafood, fried duck, deserts, sweets, fruit, breads & meats, and cold meats it was really good and very filling. I learned the proper way to drink tea and had all the staff giggling as I was hopelessly lost with the menu. But it was good food and well worth the price.
A stroll back to hostel that evening and I was exhausted and went to sleep.