Small reasons why I love China...

* Directness. Chinese can be brisk and too-the-point, which makes dealing with waitresses or shop owners all the more easy. The language is very practical and sometimes tactless. With bargaining, telling someone that the shirt should be cheaper because it's a little ugly or cheaply made is socially acceptable. So is yelling 服务员 (fuwuyuan! Hard to say... you'd have to hear it) to call a waitress, which is literally calling a "servant." Yelling 买单 (maidan) is "pay bill" and when you want something like napkins or extra chopsticks, it's okay to yell out just the word. If service is too slow, feel free to say 快点儿! (kuaidianr) "faster!" and one of the 12 waitresses taking a nap or gossiping will come help. It's not rude because things are done like this here.

* Public transportation. It's so easy to get around. The subway is fast and taxis are very cheap. I'm on an equal playing field.

* Grammar. I speak with, I'm sure, terrible grammar in Chinese, but that doesn't mean people don't understand me. Chinese grammar is far, far less strict and far more simple than English grammar, with no verb conjugations, real past tense or plural forms. Many Chinese don't really know their grammar rules since it's not so essential to get it right always.

* I have a cleaning lady. I'm spoiled, I'm aware, but having someone mop your floors and clean your bathroom is a luxury I've never had before. It's wonderful.

* 24 hours. Yes, the Chinese embrace the 24 hour restaurant, kwik-marts, etc. principle. This is comforting.

* 粥 (zhou, or say "joe" in monotone) 粥, maybe known by it's Cantonese name "congee" in the states, is a spectacularly simple rice porridge with other various, sometimes medicinal, ingredients usually eaten anytime in the day. Calling it rice porridge makes it sound like prison food, but 粥 is simply one of the best things ever. 粥 with sesame, peanut and pinenuts, cold 粥 with melon, 粥 with "black chicken" (a chicken soaked in ginseng and medicinal herbs) and walnuts, 粥 with shredded seaweed and mushrooms, 粥 with jasmine flowers... the list is endless and delicious.

more, more, more...

My foot is doing much better! I'm sure it'll be completely healed in a few days. Post!

Everyone, I successfully injured myself. Going to work this morning, someone mysteriously dumped half a gallon of water on the apartment steps and I slipped and twisted my ankle. It didn't hurt too much until I got out of work, after which I limped across the street to get a cab to take me to a hospital. The place was extremely rundown with a strange candler hanging in the main room. Everyone was helpful and struggled to understand my terrible Chinese, and I paid my slightly too high bill and got a black cab to my house. I'm now on some herbal pill thing and these patches that numb my foot with what smells like clove and licorice. I'm limping around the house. Wish me a quick recovery.

In completely impossible, shatteringly, unbelievably wonderful news, CHAD, CAT AND LEIF ARE VISITING ME IN TWO WEEKS. Wow. I'm elated.

六手

On the top of 碧云宫

拍照片

Abandoned monastery

Pavilion on the foothills of 香山

The hall of arhats

看一看

佛

Yesterday the girls and I went to 香山 (xiangshan, or "Fragrant mountain") and walked all over for most of the day. It was my first time there; surprisingly beautiful with loads of old Chinesey things and clean air and rolling hills. The highlight was 碧云宫 (biyungong, or "azure cloud temple") which is an early 18th century temple highlighting Buddha and the arhats, which are all in one building, life sized, cast from bronze and painted gold. The sculptures had incredibly refined and elegant faces, super expressive with some being a bit grotesque. They are a bit older than the temple itself, and most have been spared the terrible Chinese habit of slapping on generic semi-gloss house paint on old things. The temple complex is large with many buildings devoted to many gods, including a rather recent，(90 years old) rather circus-y portion that was strange and almost frightening with screaming gods and circular painted clouds. Really amazing painting, bright and garish. A highlight, for sure.

dancing...

Subway drama
At a bar called "Sex and da city"


He asked for a picture.


臭豆腐


天安门

Long pause... I've been busy with our visitors, Erin and Susie, taking them all over this gritty city. It's been great. Above are a couple pictures, two of me! Wow! People, visit me! I'll post more words later.

Me and 王海燕 (or Anna) studying characters and practicing English.

Just got finished eating roast duck with a variety of people, including Saul's mom. (His parents came to visit and his sister is coming soon, so I'm horrendously jealous.) We ate near Dongsishitiao in the ancient granary where there is now several bars and fancy restaurants. There is even a salsa club there and we briefly walked in and saw several Chinese dancing to loud Cuban music. (A strange, amazing sight.)

Nothing else to report. Otherwise a quiet Saturday. Tomorrow I teach Toby and I haven't seen him at all last week since it was his 11th birthday and class was canceled. I've got to plan something for him.

烤鹿肉

This one is much bigger, 60x40 cm. There is a common type of signage in China that features animals that you are about to eat blankly staring or frolicking on a huge plane of grass and forest. If a restaurant features dog there are dogs with their tongues wagging, if they have chicken hot pot as well as lamb, both animals are bonding on a pixelated green field. They are most popular at 串 (chuan, grilled meat on a stick) establishments, but are really ubiquitous. Everything is copy paste, artificial looking, deeply strange. The sign here says "grilled deer meat" and was taken loosely from a picture of a vendor during Spring Festival.