Things are going well here in China, or at least as well as can be expected. I have a nasty cold that caused me to text in sick for half a day (that's right, text. Phone calls are so passe here in China, and also quite expensive compared to texting). Being sick coincided with a power outage at my apartment complex. This is not surprising, it happens all the time all over China, but talk about adding insult to injury! Actually, it turned out to be a blessing because without power, the people in the downstairs apartment couldn't continue on their remodeling task which involves jackhammers on the ceiling, it seems like. When I woke up from my morning sick-nap, the power had just come back on and the jackhammers were just getting started. Time for me to go to work!
A few nights ago, though, I took a walk. It was a nice night out, and I needed bobby pins and cough drops, a good challenge for a night's walk in Beijing. I ended up maybe 15 minutes down the road at a Watson's (a British CVS-type place), which was in a shopping corner called 'Left Bank' in Chinese. It had nice statues.


Here's the university gate I walk through every day to get to work. Its across the street from my apartment-park area, and is the most famous gate at the university. Also lots of people taking their pictures in front of it or posing their babies in carriages in front of it. High hopes, you know?

Yesterday a professor from Indiana University came to give a talk, which I attended. I want a copy of the powerpoint he used because someone translated, word for word, everything. Good words like public finance, and capital gains, and federalist system. More importantly, I want to study the grammar patterns they used. I'm no good with formal Chinese.
Last night I went on another walk, this time to get to free wifi. On the way back there was a night market, yay! There were watches, and purses, and clothes, and bowls, and jewelery, and clocks, and....puppies. SO CUTE! All different kinds in one box. I got the impression that whoever brought them here had gotten them from a wholesaler, and purposefully brought them in every shape and size to appeal to more people. Don't like this one, how about that one? I'm pretty sure the guy told a girl looking at the dogs that the beagle she was holding would be about 2/3 the size that beagles actually grow.

Most deliciously, its yangmei 杨梅 season! They were selling them on the streets. I used to get these in Harbin all the time, they're sometimes really sour but always super juicy, and I mean look at those, how could you
not want to eat them?
1 comment:
I DO want to eat them, but they're so far away. I guess I'll have to go there to get some, as they don't look like they'd be tasty and delicious after being imported to Arizona.
You're just rubbing it in about the Hello Kitty keyboard vacuum, aren't you. You know that my keyboard is filthy -- practically screaming for a little Hello Kitty action. Some people have ALL THE LUCK.
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