Jan. 31

My third day in China and I have landed a job and a place to live. I was really enjoying the homeless traveling gig but am grateful for these opportunities. And glad to give Matt a break from putting me up on his sofa.



Come March I'll be working with a couple of Chinese folk from the U.S. who are attempting to bring wilderness therapy to China. Yesterday I met the director of the company and after visiting the brand new empty offices and eating hot pot 火锅 at the swankiest restaurant I've ever set foot in, he left me at a subway station. A very intelligent and seemingly genuine man, I feel lucky to have a job with people I've met and feel confident in, especially after hearing some horror stories from other foreigners looking for work. Over dinner he gave me a lot of advice, including when and how to travel, and that frozen dumplings are a delicious and cheap way to eat. He also spoke a lot about Beijing's development and how quickly it's all happened. Our restaurant was at the top of a mall filled with brand-name stores: Chanel, Boss, Prada, etc. 那么 Glamorous!

Mid morning I moved my pack from Matt's to the new apartment. Only two subway stops away, I splurged and took a cab for 12 yuan. (About $1.50 U.S.) Located in the 'Gemdale International Garden', the flat is on the 17th floor of the east tower. With three other buildings plus sports courts and greenery, the complex takes up an entire city block. Security is strict and I have the impression there are a lot of other foreigners here. A three bedroom, two bath unit, my current base is gorgeous. Everything is new and stylish and reminds me of places I've seen in Manhatten. I'll be joined in March by the director and U.S. visionary. Until then, I have the place to myself.



The Gemdale is located in the central business district between the third and fourth rings on the east side of Beijing. A city of around 15 million people, 北京 is set up on a grid system of five concentric circular roads with the Forbidden City at the center. Once home to the emperors and their courts, the Forbidden City is now partly occupied by the party and mostly by tourists. I visited twice when I was here in 2004 and was amazed by the architecture and lifestyle of those who once inhabited its walls. Definitely a worthwhile trip.

So far my impression of Beijing is that it's a city. I'm mightily impressed with the modernity of this metropolis. I think of walking around New York or Chicago before I think that I'm in a foreign country. Here there are the incredibly fashionable women in heeled boots with elaborate hair, the black dressed business men with laptop cases, the homeless folk pushing bikes full of treasure. And every single person is so different. I'm not sure where the idea that all Chinese people, or even all Asians as some say, look the same, but it couldn't be further from the truth.

Since I don't start work until March, I have month to 玩 or play, as the translation would be. The Chinese New Year is next wednesday and is a major holiday, so I won't be traveling away from the city until after; it is almost impossible to get train tickets now.

So I'm sitting on this new sofa, watching T.V. on a mega screen and trying to follow the news. Talking to a man in a small subway side shop today, he said I didn't look like an American, since they are usually tall and wide. He also said that Chinese people can't drink Coca-Cola, or they also get very wide. I had some of my first street food today, a sort of egg/pork/veggie potpie. 非常好吃的！

Jan 30

Very cold and windy outside, but the sky is blue. I took a walk this morning around Matt's apartment complex which is still under construction but when finished will house about 100,000 people by his estimation. Despite the four power plants surrounding our site, (one of them nuclear,) the sky is blue and sunny. Most people I see on my stroll are very fashionable, wearing long coats with furred hoods or stylish hats and warm winter gear. Around the apartments most people outside are older folk walking with young children; I assume they are grandparents watching toddlers while the parents are at work.

In a store within the building complex a young Chinese woman points out that I have dirt on my coat and I remember it's from biking in snowy Chicago. We laugh as she attempts to brush it off, which is surprising to me since it's all over my ass and she doesn't hesitate to swipe it away. I am grateful for her telling me since I have a job interview this afternoon and want to look presentable. I thank her, smile, and continue to oggle at the delicious looking snacks and strange fruit.

Still feeling rather tired and a bit overwhelmed today, I walk with headphones on that protect my ears from the wind and deter conversation. Occasionally I make eye contact with someone and smile. They nearly always smile back.

I have arrived safely in Beijing.

Traveling on a plane always seems like a dream to me. Not quite the waking reality of earthen world but not the suspended consciousness of sleep. Somewhere in between, a portal linking worlds.

I spent the 15 hours sharing three seats with one other person, a boy from Madison named B.J. who spent the early years of his life in a small log cabin in Spring Green. The similarities of our characters included interests in rock climbing and folk music, a mutual friend named Sarah Burton, and enlightenment, resulting in a discussion on time, science as religion, and the concept of the individual in language and math. Perhaps it is no coincidence that we were seated next to each other. Regardless, 'twas nice to find such a familiar friend before entering such a seemingly unfamiliar country.

Upon arriving at Beijing international airport we picked up our luggage, said goodbye, and I wandered away to start my adventure. Step one: contact Matt, the friend I was planning on staying with.

I enjoy airports. While often times there is much worry and hustle in their metal innards, there is also a lot of waiting, relaxing, with really no place to go and nothing to do. I took my time wandering around, looking for a phone. A female airport employee approached me and smiles led to talking led to me explaining my plight. (I can't imagine how difficult it would be to try and navigate this country with as little planning as I subscribe to and no language skills. Thanks to all my teaches at UW-Madison.)

The woman, whose name I never got, was 29 and from Hebei. She sold me a phone card, used her cell to get a text message from Matt, wrote the directions to his place on a scrap of paper, and even set me up with a private driver. With my dear friend Sasha's advice ringing in my ears, "Don't go with strangers," I told her I wanted to take a taxi. She said the driver was her boyfriend, and though she'd been very helpful, I was wary of getting into an unmarked car. She laughed and seemed a bit put out when I explained I was afraid, but directed me to where the taxis were waiting.

(Though I know it's a satirical spoof, the Simpons' Street Car Named Desire song often comes into my head while traveling: "You can always depend on the kindness of strangers...da da da da deet da da da..." )

In fact there were about four different women who offered to help me in the airport, all them smiling and quite kind. I in turn let a woman from QingDao use my phone card to call her mother and say she was safely on the way to Singapore and helped a Russian man withdraw money from the ATM. As the perspicacious Robing T would say, when you help others, others help you.

What little I saw of Beijing in the dark from the airport to Matt's apartment on the 4th ring was very different from the last time I came. There were many new cars, and things seem much cleaner. Matt's apartment is modern so much so it could almost be from the U.S. until you step outside and the concrete halls greet you. There is also that smell of China. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but if you've been here, you know.


Matt and I studied abroad together in the summer of 2004 and he now works for a sort of translation company that converts electronics from English to Chinese. I think. He is "doing the corporate thing in China." While he doesn't make a lot of money by American standards, because he is a foreigner, he's paid about three times as much as a Chinese person, doing the same work, with the same level of education. As he explained his situation his said, "The Chinese people are second class citizens in their own country. And they're pissed about it."

I'm rather exhausted but very happy to here, speaking and hearing Chinese, and learning. Hope you are well! 晚上好！（Good night.)

Pre

It's negative 5 here in Madison, plus 19 in Beijing. This in itself is a reason to look forward to the landing after a 15 hour flight. I leave in three days.

Though concentrating on Chinese Language and Literature at University, it has been more than two years since I've studied 中文 with any semblance of diligence. Yesterday I got an email from the director of the start-up wilderness therapy company I will be interviewing with shortly after my arrival. It was all in Chinese.

Living in the Driftless area the past few months has been a dream. I spent my entire childhood and adolescence between these hills, yet it all seems so different after living in the deserts, mountains, and open spaces of out west. The communities and people of Spring Green, Gays Mills, and Viroqua struck me as especially warm and uncommon.

Of course, perhaps "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

Thank you to everyone who has been so kind to me these past few months and made my time in Wisconsin a pleasure!