Life in Beijing

So, I've had a full week of Chinese classes, food, and speech. Chinese class is a bit intense, and we move really fast (too fast, I think). I also have a 21st Century Beijing class (lots of reading for that), and a Philosophical Texts of China class (so far just mystic Buddhist cosmology, pretty irrelevant to everything in life). I hope to learn more later in the class though.

I've been exploring bits of the city via foot, bus, and subway, and I am liking the place more than ever. After days of searching in vain, I FINALLY found a martial arts store (a tiny little shack next to a sports university) and I bought some staffs from them. After another hunt in pursuit of a saw with which to cut the staffs down to the size of escrima sticks, I finally have the tools I need to practice escrima here. But speaking of martial arts, I have had a world of disappointment so far. My college doesn't have a martial arts club, and there are apparently far fewer martial arts school in Beijing than in a western city of comparable size. I found an Aikido club (hopefully), but it hasn't started for the school year yet (it is at a nearby university), so I have yet to find out if it is good or not yet. I would love to find some good Chinese martial arts, but places to learn them are surprisingly few and far between. Having a limited mastery of the Chinese language is a bit of a set back, since I am unable to do much more than ask people where something is when I am looking for a place, and phone calls are mostly beyond my ability. I have a Chinese cell phone though, which is convenient. I've also bought a handy little mandarin phrasebook, which is, so far, being more usefull to me than the vocab I learn in class. I can feel my Chinese getting better though. I am able to communicate a little more every week.

We went to the great wall yesterday. It is big. It is really big. You can't actually see it from space (the Chinese tried when they sent their first mission up a few years ago), but it is still really fucking big. My legs were tired afterward. It was fun though. I actually climbed it. Usually when people say they climbed the great wall, they mean the walked up the stairs. Not me. I mean that I literally rock climbed up the side of the great wall. If I was a mongol, China would be in trouble. ;) I also found a guard tower only accessible through such climbing, and got a great view of the surrounding area. By the time we had to leave, everyone was really exhausted. Fortunately some clever and business-minded individual decided to open a 'toboggan down the great wall' business. Wow. Aside from the fact that it is effectively a carnival-esque ride ten feet from one of the major symbols of China as a great nation, that was one sweet ride. Imagine sledding... down a mountain that was big enough to keep out invading armies for centuries. Whoa, right?

I haven't been able to go to the parks every morning like I did for the first few days, but I have gone every now and then. I found a group of old people who practice the Chinese yo-yo, and told me that they could show me where to buy them. I am excited, because they are way cheaper here than they are in the US. In fact, everything is cheaper. A very good meal can be had for about $5 to $10. I also found a juggling group online which I haven't gotten a chance to check out yet, and an environmental artsy group in Beijing (Greening the Beige). That could very well turn into an internship or a research project which I need to do for class/ICRP (Integrated Cultural Research Project).

I finally got to an internet cafe too. So I am uploading a bunch of photos right now. It is kind of slow, but WAY faster than the internet connection I have at the dorm. In the dorm I can't upload pictures at all.

I've been to see Tiananmen and the Great Wall. I haven't been inside the forbidden city for WangFuJin Street (commercial district) yet, but I will. Some friends and I are actually going to see the paralympic judo competition tonight. Blind judo. That is gonna be awesome. Another benefit of the exchange rate: the ticket cost about $8. SWEET!

It is amazing what a modern city Beijing is. The subway system and the bus system are very advanced. The Olympics were incredible, and the state's image is enormous. But it is characterized by duality. The elderly, the poor, the floating population (workers from outside of Beijing who live here but don't have any legal residence) all suffer from the things that Beijing's leaders, educated, yuppies, and youth benefit from. I was walking to check out a martial arts class a few days ago and I saw a dirty, poor, (probably floating population) woman breast feeding her baby. She was just sitting on the side walk with the little thing held close to her, with a hundred young, well dressed college students walking by. I guess some things might be the same everywhere in the world.

Photos:
http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a4/evilgollum/China/
My Photobucket albums used to have a password, but I edited them so that it should be public now. These will be continually updated. As the uploading takes time, I can't get everything uploaded that I want to in one sitting, but keep checking back every now and then.