Everything's in Chinese! Oh, sweet Beijing...

So yes, I am in Beijing right now. (And there's internet. HALLELUJAH!)

Apparently Blogger is in Chinese, too... all the "post" "comment" "Kathryn said" etc. thingies are in Chinese. It's pretty crazy.

First time in seven years since I've been back--a lot of things have changed, but at the same time, a lot is exactly how I remembered it. One of the most obvious difference between here and the US (well, aside from the freeezing cold...although I guess that's mostly just applicable to Cali) is how people drive. They don't. There seem to be no lanes, no reasons to yield to pedestrians. You edge in here and pop out there, honk a lot, and narrowly brush buses, rickshaws, bicycles, medians... and to add to it all, my aunt's car does not have seatbelts in the back or passenger seat ("Chinese police aren't really strict about that," she assured us). Driving here is quite an adventure!

But there's a great energy here. Everywhere, you see signs proclaiming "Beijing 2008," with the five Olympic rings. The Olympic Village part of the city is alive with building... actually, every part of the city seems to be under construction. There are high rises going up everywhere, shiny glass buildings and squat temporary worker's housing. (All this sends clouds of dust into the air. Coupled with the dust that blows in from the north--like a mini dust bowl of sorts?--the sky is grayish, yellowish lavender, not blue.) I got a glimpse of the Bird's Nest (the stadium that looks like a, surprise surprise, bird's nest) and the aquatic facility that looks like a giant mass of soap bubbles. They're impressive... big, modern-looking structures. People are so proud of hosting the Olympics. They're so excited to show off the "new China" to the world.

Everywhere, there is progress and development, but everywhere, also, there are signs of the huge gap between rich and poor. There are the businessmen clad in suits, driving BMWs, and then the farmers peddling winter vegetables and lugging their rickshaws to market. The hospitals (my aunt works there) look clean and modern enough from the outside: the floors are shiny and disinfected, the traffic is orderly, but doctors and nurses still have a "the hell with you" attitude toward patients, and the restrooms are... not as one would expect.

Maybe, though, the food makes up for all of that. omgggg, it's heavenly.

Okay, well, I'm here until the 2nd, when we move to Nanjing, where I was born and where my grandmother lives. Southern China also does not have heating. People heat there houses (or attempt to) with personal electric heaters, and it is cold cold cold. I don't think I'll have internet access there, but while I do, I'll check my e-mail, and keep connected with the American world, etc.

Much love from the Orient.