As it is very very hot here, at this time of day we lie in our air conditioned rooms and look out onto the city. It feels so wrong, which is the wrong word, it feels so unfair or injust, again wrong words, to be sitting here in such comfort when I look down and see twenty brown buildings just below rotting from the inside where hundreds of people live in one room. I had the blinds closed all day today and I realised when I opened them just then that it so easy to shut out things that aren't quite right, that we don't agree with or don't know what to do about. I feel like I'm in a differing Beijing to the people down below. But the world is changing, and I really hope it is for the better.
All of these thoughts remind me of Just A Girl who always thinks about issues and actively does something about them. I feel like a bad person. On the streets walking down, I'm a bad person because I don't know what to do. I always wonder about the wealthy natives here. There some amazingly expensive and fancy places to eat, live and shop here. It really is two different worlds in adjacent streets.
There is so much going on in this country, so much complicated, unknown and misunderstood stuff, so I sit at my window and I look out.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Beijing is a brilliant bonanza
After one of the most stressful weeks of my life I am in the city of smog and smiles - Beijing. I am currently on level 20 of a high rise building and looking out onto the lights and sounds (I think I just breeched the copyright of yellowcard)and it is beautiful. It really does feel like I am floating on a grey cloud over hundreds of colourful light shows, in which strands and balls of light dance and celebrate their luminosity.
Okay, rewind.
While quite unlikely, if you don't know why I am in Beijing I will explain.
My parents live in China because they like walking long distances and if you haven't walked from Aus to China it's a very long way. Dad is a doctor that doctors with a company here while Mum learns Chinese and scares people on the train by asking them what a certain stroke of a character means. They love it here, and I never really understood why until I came here two days ago.
The people are generally so friendly, caring and helpful. That sounds generic, let me elaborate. The woman on the seat next to me on the plane helped me go through customs, catch the train through the airport and collect my luggage. Not for money, or praise or some creepy reason, but for the very sake of helping. There are people like that here everywhere.
Another example of this was when we were walking down a street in the middle of the city, one of the old traditional streets that hasn't been destroyed and turned into a westernised or southernised area. These streets are very dirty and the living conditions seem poor, but there are little quadrants where many families live and have lived for many centuries. This adds to the charm of the sreets as the people are so friendly and say "ni hao!" when you pass. Dad was teaching me how to count in mandarin (yi, er, san, si, wu, liu, qi, ba, jiu, shi -i actually had to google the spelling!!) while we were walking along the street, and then an elderly-ish man got up from his seat on the side of the street and started to walk next to us and help me get the tones right on my numbers. Within a moment he had two of his friends next to him and they kept helping me count for quite a while.
Another experience I have to share before I go is the one with the fish. Mum was going to order fish in the outside restuarant we were in and the next thing we know she was engaging in a vivid discussion about a particular word on the menu. In order to illustrate what they were trying to say, the waitresses brought out a fully grown fish in a net. I'm not particularly accustomed to live fish chiming in on word explanations but I'm always open to new company. Mum eventually decided to save the fish and send it back while it was still in its net, so after dinner she wanted to see if it was still alive so she asked to see where the fish were kept. Suddenly we were all swept into the restuarant and were shown a tank with bright yellow water and soft drink containers. My brother: "Mum, the fish has turned into a lemonade bottle!"
I will write about today soon!!!
xoox
Okay, rewind.
While quite unlikely, if you don't know why I am in Beijing I will explain.
My parents live in China because they like walking long distances and if you haven't walked from Aus to China it's a very long way. Dad is a doctor that doctors with a company here while Mum learns Chinese and scares people on the train by asking them what a certain stroke of a character means. They love it here, and I never really understood why until I came here two days ago.
The people are generally so friendly, caring and helpful. That sounds generic, let me elaborate. The woman on the seat next to me on the plane helped me go through customs, catch the train through the airport and collect my luggage. Not for money, or praise or some creepy reason, but for the very sake of helping. There are people like that here everywhere.
Another example of this was when we were walking down a street in the middle of the city, one of the old traditional streets that hasn't been destroyed and turned into a westernised or southernised area. These streets are very dirty and the living conditions seem poor, but there are little quadrants where many families live and have lived for many centuries. This adds to the charm of the sreets as the people are so friendly and say "ni hao!" when you pass. Dad was teaching me how to count in mandarin (yi, er, san, si, wu, liu, qi, ba, jiu, shi -i actually had to google the spelling!!) while we were walking along the street, and then an elderly-ish man got up from his seat on the side of the street and started to walk next to us and help me get the tones right on my numbers. Within a moment he had two of his friends next to him and they kept helping me count for quite a while.
Another experience I have to share before I go is the one with the fish. Mum was going to order fish in the outside restuarant we were in and the next thing we know she was engaging in a vivid discussion about a particular word on the menu. In order to illustrate what they were trying to say, the waitresses brought out a fully grown fish in a net. I'm not particularly accustomed to live fish chiming in on word explanations but I'm always open to new company. Mum eventually decided to save the fish and send it back while it was still in its net, so after dinner she wanted to see if it was still alive so she asked to see where the fish were kept. Suddenly we were all swept into the restuarant and were shown a tank with bright yellow water and soft drink containers. My brother: "Mum, the fish has turned into a lemonade bottle!"
I will write about today soon!!!
xoox
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