1. It’s a Chinese World, We’re Just Living in It – This place is insane. Maybe it’s because I’m traveling alone or maybe it’s because I just came from Cambodia, but walking around today I really felt like I was in another world. Beijing is unlike anywhere else I’ve ever been.
2. A Country Boy in the Big City - After dumping half of my clothes in the airport yesterday I arrived in this city with one pair of dirty khaki pants, two pairs of $5 Cambodian shorts, one polo-shirt, and a few t-shirts that have all seen better days. I’d probably be fine with that for a week in Cambodia. Here I’m a scrub.
3. Day One – Tiananmen Square: check. The Forbidden City: check. The Lama Temple: check. Trying to squeeze everything into five days is already exhausting.
4. English vs. Development – I’ve been surprised how feel people speak English here. You would think that the more developed a place is the more likely you would be to find English speakers, but I think that in Asia the exact opposite is true. In Phnom Penh everyone speaks English, in the cities I visited in Vietnam and Indonesia there were some English speakers, but not a lot. In Beijing (from what I’ve gathered in a day) it feels like there’s nobody.
5. The Rest of the Week – Tomorrow morning I’m heading outside of the city to check out the Great Wall and on Friday I’m going to go on an architectural tour of the city. I’m especially excited to see the CCTV building after having just read this review of the building in the New York Times: “The CCTV headquarters may be the greatest work of architecture built in this century. Mr. Koolhaas, of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, has always been interested in making buildings that expose the conflicting energies at work in society, and the CCTV building is the ultimate expression of that aim, beginning with the slippery symbolism of its exterior. At moments monumental and combative, at others strangely elusive, almost retiring, it is one of the most beguiling and powerful works I’ve seen in a lifetime of looking at architecture.” (Koolhaas, Delirious in Beijing)
6. Chinese Food – My first meal in China: Starbucks. My second meal in China: Subway. I’m going to branch out a bit tonight and look for some real Chinese food. I hope I can find some General Tso’s Chicken.
7. Running Slump – I’ve run once in the last four days and I doubt that I’m going to get in any quality training while I’m in Beijing. The smog here is way worse than I thought it would be and from what I’ve seen it doesn’t look like there are too many good places to run. Maybe it’s time to start trying to coming up with a slightly less ambitious marathon goal. 116 days.
8. Travel Wish List – Now that I can technically say that I’ve “been to China” my lifetime list of countries stands somewhere around 25 or 26. That means that there are still somewhere around 170 countries that I have yet to visit. Out of those 160, here are the ten that I’m the most anxious to get to…
- Israel
- Japan
- Greece
- Cuba
- Iraq
- Brazil
- Turkey
- Russia
- India
- Mexico (sometimes I think I’ve been to Mexico? I’m pretty sure I haven’t though)
9. The Resident – I haven’t read anything in the last couple of days and the only thing I watched recently was The Resident, which I saw on the plane. Why I watched it I have no idea? Probably the worst movie Hillary Swank has ever made.
10. The Final Cooper in Cambodia Photo Shoot – Here’s the final photo shoot from my last night in Cambodia. It’s weird that this was only 48 hours ago. It already feels a long way away…
Cooper,
How does Spaghetti and meatballs sound for your first meal in Atlantic City? Can’t wait to see you. I’m praying the rosary every day for you. Be careful. Love you.
Glad you rallied after your day from hell. You can most definitely raid Emmett’s clothes stash in NYC. He’s got more than enough for the two of you! Just read the NYT piece on the CCTV headquarters. Amazing stuff. So glad you are there. I’d skip the running though. Can’t possibly be good for you. Have fun Cooper. See you in a few!
Yahooooooooooo! Love you.
xo
Pollution is ALWAYS the worst in China in the summer
I’ve always had good luck with English speakers in Beijing and Shanghai. Most likely they are worried about making a mistake in English. Try business men in the nicest of suits, or people that look 20-30.
Also, try to say something in Chinese to show “you are trying in their language, so they can try in yours”.
Hello: Ni Hao aka “knee how”
Do you speak english?: Ni shou ingwen ma? aka “knee sh-woa ing-wen mah?”
Thank You: Xiexie aka “shay-shay”
Where is…?: [name of what you are looking for] zai nar? aka “[name] zai (z-I) nar”
I totally suggest going into little local Chinese restaurants. Many will NOT have an English menu, some will. Most will have pictures for you to just point. Othertimes, go when it is busy and just point to someone else’s food, say “ching woa yow jeh guh” (I want that please)
Names of good basic Chinese foods:
bowl of white rice (sometimes you automatically get it, sometimes not, I always suggest ordering it)– “me fahn”
fried rice — “chow fahn”
tomato & egg — “fahn chee-a chow don fahn”
potstickers — “je-ow-zuh” (they come in all fillings, just point. usually there is a big picture of potstickers outside these restaurants)
spicy pork tofu — “mah po dow foo” (if they dont understand, just say tofu. tofu in china is DELICIOUS)
Definitely again, if you aren’t sure, point at a picture or point at the food on a table near you. you may have no idea what it is, but it *will* be delicious! (besides, usually it is just pork). Be brave! walk in random Chinese places! (remember, the more people there, the better it will be).
Also, very important. If there is a bottle of brown liquid on the table that sorta looks like soy sauce–dear god don’t use it, it is almost always vinegar!
You can’t leave Beijing without eating some Peking duck! MMMMM!!! and go to the summer palace, its gorgeous! and the great wall! Get lost exploring the cool hutongs. There are some restaurants youll probably enjoy around hua hai lake. Have fun!
Frank Bruni on Harry Potter:
“As for Potter, I saw 10 minutes of one of the movies, and can’t recall if it involved a goblet of fire, a deathly hallow or neither. Hogwarts was mentioned, so I’m now up to speed. It’s like Exeter, but with a different kind of spelling test.”
Think it’s safe to say you’re a bit more excited!
xo
I will go to mexico with you
Legs