People, people everywhere

In Beijing during the summertime, life happens outside. Walking down the street, you are likely to see just about everything. People sit on little stools outside their shops or squat in groups talking. People sell fruit from the back of their trucks or food at their roadside stand. You could find people sleeping, fixing their bicycles, washing clothes, watching television, eating, singing, talking on cell phones, walking, bicycling, or waiting for the bus. Sometimes you hardly notice these things because they seem so normal. Other things are harder to get used to, like people walking right out in the middle of a busy street (and somehow not dying), or two guys holding hands (because personal space rules are completely different), or a little kid peeing on the sidewalk. While there is a lot of traffic, a good percentage of it is taxis and buses, and there are always throngs of people walking and biking. People aren’t locked away in the safety of their air-conditioned cars. Human contact is inevitable, and community is happening all over the place. There are downfalls, like the dirtiness and chaos, or the knowledge that the food you just bought at the roadside stand might make you very sick, but overall, you have to appreciate it.

The hardest: Being completely unable to communicate which food I want to order or where I want the taxi to go.

The cheapest: Last night I had some kind of spinach dumpling things that were 1 quoi, about 15 cents. I also got a wonderfully painful, hour long massage for the equivalent of $4.

The most fun: People stare at you everywhere you go and take your picture when they think you aren’t looking. I think I’ve made it into a lot of vacation pictures and videos.

The scariest: Riding in the front seat of a taxi. It’s like being in the front of a rollercoaster without the security of knowing you are on a set of tracks.

The most interesting: Last night I talked (or listened mostly) to this Chinese man for about an hour. He came up to me, obviously desperately wanting to practice his English. He told me about the English books he had read, like Jane Eyre, A Tale of Two Cities, and Anna Karenina. Right now he is reading Tess of the D’Urbervilles. I was thinking, “Dang you’re smart. I know a lot of people who haven’t read those books!”

(Pictures: Wangfujing, one of the more "upscale" shopping areas; a girl sleeping under her umbrella; me at "the center of the universe", at the Temple of Heaven.