Like Bubs said, we were due. It was time for us to suffer a mega-pain-in-the-ass experience. As if the 20-hour bustrip to Beijing in May wasn’t enough, our trip back to China was HELL. Luckily, some pleasantries did precede Hell. Generally, things in the US wrapped up for us easy enough. I spent a week frolicking with friends in NYC and in Raleigh. Upon my return, I worked up to the wire and got everything with our townhouse squared away–mostly anyway. I made another stop to see the parents. We went through the usual motions, arguing about Johnny, intentional childlessness, life in China. Fortunately, our heated discussion was cut short by yet another episode on the Wipe Johnny’s Ass Show. Moral #1: You never have to grow up when your parents insist on treating you like an invalid. Needless to say, my stay in Frederick again fell off schedule thanks to continuing computer woes. My parents’ laptop kept abruptly shutting off in the middle of typing. As if I hadn’t suffered through enough customer service nightmares with my own laptop, I got to call Best Buy. I guess it’s partially my own damn fault. My parents would have been fine restarting the computer each time after emailing, but I just couldn’t deal with the major flaw. Plus, I knew they were on some 3-year warranty, so I just had to get it taken care of immediately. Thankfully, the rep quickly deemed the issue a hardware problem so I was actually able to bypass all the bullshit phone troubleshooting. Just in case the laptop would be out of commission for a while, I backed up files and updated my dad’s desktop with hospital access software. Well the updates screwed over the operating system and in the end, my schedule was delayed about 5 hours because I had to reformat and reinstall everything. To make matters worse, I didn’t have my software discs so I had to do the manufacturer’s restore. The desktop is now running Windows 98. FMF flashback! Happy for me, the system is up and working. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

On Thursday, I made it out to Long Beach, CA on JetBlue (so NICE!). Can I tell you the security line at Dulles was backed up along the entire length of the terminal? At 5:30 am?! Thankfully, our pitstop in CA was relaxing. We stayed at a bungalow at the Fairmont in Santa Monica. So nice. We considered it our belated anniversary celebration. Palm trees, white sand, access to a pool and hot tub. It was awesome! Which turned out great because LAX was a nightmare and a half.

First, we were supposed to confirm our flights 72 hours in advance. We forgot. Then, LAX was super-unorganized. China Eastern agents stood around with dot-matrix printouts of passengers taped together. There was NO ORDER anywhere. We got into a line twice that we didn’t even need to get in. Security was a joke. Some lady flipped through pages of my magazine, then the agent walked our luggage across the aisle into a corraled area. Yeah, really secure. Like people can’t just go under the ribbon and fuck around with all the un-supervised baggage there. Anyway, we were put on standby for our flight. Then all the seats were booked, so we got routed on another flight. We asked for a class upgrade and the agent said business class was booked. When we boarded, that section was completely empty. NEVER AGAIN, China Eastern.

Then we weren’t even seated together. I asked the guy next to me if he minded moving and he avoided eye contact and never responded. So I asked him again, like “are you deaf?” Didn’t want to move. Fine, whatever asshole. Yeah so you get the point. The trip back wasn’t good, but I guess we were due. We entered China through Harbin in Manchuria and then flew into Shanghai. About the only good thing that happened was that since we sat at the front of the economy section, we were first to deboard. We breezed past customs, etc. When we finally arrived in Pudong, we had a system all worked out. I waited in line at the bank (currency exchange) while John waited for baggage. That part went pretty efficiently. 🙂 We arrived home late Saturday night. I couldn’t sleep so I got started on our loads of laundry. So I was a little wired…

Today is Sunday. John and I are back to our lives here. This morning, we were up early. We went to the food market, got salad stuff, fruit. We also rode our bikes to City Supermarket to get ingredients for our veggie wraps and hit Baastian for baked goods. We had a ton of mail in our mailbox. In the afternoon, I went to pay our rent and our utilities. Took forever, but I’m glad it’s out of the way.

The dogs were delivered around 1:30. We spoiled them immediately with treats and new toys. Now Remy and Martin are totally conked out in the bedroom. The past three weeks have undoubtedly been very difficult for them. But the Gou-Eshleman nuclear family is back! and we’re (or I’m) thrilled for the start of a new workweek. Yay!

No offense to my American buds over here, but geez, can I go home already? I’m entering week three in the States and I maxed out after about one and a half weeks. I just don’t have the patience for this lifestyle anymore– suburbia madness (this NoVA, after all) that’s obsessed with cars, consumption, and waste. I remember how John and I used to spend every weekend running around town doing shopping errands and cleaning. We probably wasted half our lives buying things we thought we needed, accumulating piles of junk. My poor parents– their basement has become a storage center for our things. Fortunately, we downsized some. I think after we move back, we’re gonna have a big yard sale. Thinking about all the clutter just gives me a headache. I never put two and two together before– but a smaller living space helps keep the goods to a minimum. We’ll see. I think that’ll be the biggest challenge of living here.

So what the hell have I been doing here with all my free time? Heh, heh. I’ve actually had quite a whirlwind tour over here. I’ve seen the parentals, family, former co-workers, John’s colleagues, college friends– gone to Baltimore, NYC, Raleigh. Yeah, got the Amtrak experience (excellent– the train is soooo nice), and also flew on Independence Air on its second day of operation. I’m flying out to the west coast soon, this time on JetBlue. Gotta rack up those frequent flyer miles you know, from as many different airlines as possible. That’ll do a lot of good. 🙁

Outside of catching up with friends, John and I got a lot of logistical stuff done, the most important of which involves our townhouse in Reston. The property management company was a disaster– no statements, no response to my calls, no response to the tenant’s calls. So I spent about a week trying to obtain files on my property (the lease, listing agreement, etc.). Propman fed me a barrel of crap information, saying my tenants were Section 8 (eligible for federal subsidies) then were not Section 8, that maintenance issues would be addressed, that I would get a copy of the lease. The Larsens, whom I met and are thankfully very nice people, also had a hell of a time dealing with Propman. Apparently, the sink had been leaking at move-in and it took a week to get it fixed. I hate incompetence. Needless to say, I terminated our relationship and hired on another management company, one that is also computer savvy. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

In other news, I’ve done more reading in the last week than I’ve probably done in the entire last year. I read the spring issue of Ms. Magazine— it was like an issue specially made for me, with really excellent pieces on pornography, childlessness (by choice), and the global pursuit for white skin. I am also almost finished reading Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. Such an eye-opener. I’m renewing my vows not to eat meat. In addition, I’m going to try and cut out fast food. No more McDonald’s apple pies and french fries and ice cream cones. The truth hurts, but in the end, it’s only food. I’m now looking into a macrobiotic diet, one that is generally vegetarian and consists largely of whole grains, cereals, and cooked vegetables. It doesn’t sound much different from what I was eating, especially in Shanghai where cheese and chocolates are expensive. I dunno. I have to read more about it. Anyway, I think I’m finally ready to just adopt a new program for myself. I need to be healthier.

Once again, John’s company called him back to the States. Another urgent project deadline was approaching, but John was stranded in China because he had lost his passport, which also contained his precious Chinese visa. Yeah, that incident happened weeks ago, but I’ve kept it out of the blog. No need to freak people (i.e. parents) out, right? So John had to reapply for his passport through the US Consulate in Shanghai. Took about 10 business days to get it back. The process wasn’t too bad– the main crisis regarded his Chinese visa. Because neither of us is sponsored by a company in Shanghai, technically, we can only obtain a tourist visa. Last February, we went to Hong Kong to obtain 1-year, multi-entry business visas. That really hooked us up, but apparently, once you lose your visa, the Chinese government will only issue you a 30-day max tourist visa: you have to get out of the country and reapply for your visa. A huge tedious pain in the ass. To top that off, US-China relations are in the dumps these days. The Chinese are angered that the US government has required all Chinese applicants of the US visa to get fingerprinted. In retaliation, China is tightening its issuance of visas to US citizens. Damn Bush! He’s single-handedly ruining the reputation of Americans overseas.

In a way, it was good John lost his visa. We had forgotten the toture of getting things done through the Chinese government. We had forgotten about the archaic, disjointed “computer” systems; we had forgotten about the long lines, the running back and forth to show documentation to various departments. It was a real joy going through the process again. We relearned the emotion of anger.

I guess things worked out somewhat. John had to get out of the country, and fortunately, this timed well with work. Also, several of my students cancelled class in June, so I too, was able to get away. For me, this is the first time back in the US in six months. My first impressions? Big. Everything is huge– the roads, the cars, the homes, the people, the food portions. The US is truly the land of excess. My father used to say to me, “You just don’t know how lucky you are.” Back then, it was a seriously broken record. I thought I DID know, but honestly, living out of the US, particularly in a developing country, you really come to understand that statement. I’d venture to say that even the poorest of Americans do not know the abject poverty that exists elsewhere. The magnitude is astounding. China has a population of over 1 billion people. The majority are rural dwellers/peasants. Poverty has driven many into the cities, to take on manufacturing jobs– jobs for which there are no worker unions, worker rights, OSHA regulations… but when these workers and their families live on the brink of starvation, such issues are really of little concern. The struggle for survival makes all those things that we Americans find so intrinsic to human rights, sound like fluff. Being in China makes me appreciate my extreme good fortune in life. I really have had the freedom to make choices about my life and how I want to live it. That doesn’t exist in as many places as I had originally thought. There are a lot of great comforts in the US: central air/heating, cleaner air, plenty of food, etc… But I miss Shanghai and want to go back already (after just a week in the US). There is something to be said about gaining this new perspective. We still live well in SH, but our life is less about accumulating stuff and keeping up with the Jones’. In that sense, we feel even more liberated than we did living in the “Home of the Free.”

Months ago, I reported that I would be tutoring two girls–an 8 y/o and her 14-y/o syster. At the time, I was getting all worked up about it, because well… because kids make me nervous. They’re so unpredictable and uncontrollable. Needless to say, my anxiety was about three months premature. Their mother said the family would be on travel but that she’d call when they were ready to start. Several weeks later, I called but no answer. I texted her, but no reply. Now, months later, I get a call to start Monday. In the last week, I’ve realized that I get way too stressed out about my jobs. I’m going to prepare as best I can but just chill out afterwards. No reason to give myself ulcers (I know, I’m retarded that way).

I’m still trying to make some inroads with NGOs here. But I’ve determined that my best bet is to contact US NGOs with interests here. So I’ve contacted Family Health International (FHI) and hope to break the ice with Winrock International, Bridge to Asia, ICRW, etc. Networking is so much work!

John is doing well. He’s loving his new bike. A Lawson’s (a Taiwanese convenience chain store) opened right at the main entrance of our complex, so now we have another quickie-mart option. Since we pay our utility bills at Lawsons, this new store is an added bonus for me (otherwise, i’m always on the search for one to pay the bills).

My new friend Helen is going to a speed dating even next week. She’s nearing 30 and is growing increasingly anxious about not having found someone. It actually seems quite normal… I know plenty of fabulous women around our age who are unattached. But understandably, she gets a lot of crap from her somewhat overbearing, very traditional Chinese mother so the pressure is really on. Anyway, her spoken English is really excellent so she’s going to participate in the English-speaking speed-dating event. 20 dates, 5 minutes each. I would never have the confidence to pull something like that off. I mean, it sounds fascinating, but 5 minutes to come off cool is just not enough time. I’m not that socially adept. Anyway, the coincidental thing about this event is that the money raised goes to charity– Habitat for Humanity, of all places. So I am thrilled to discover HFH over here. I’ve already contacted the organizer and hope to get involved soon.

In other news, so many of my friends have relocated yet again for school. My friends are such nerds. Grace begins here OB/GYN residency program at Albert Einstein in NYC. Matt starts B-school at NYU. Nathalie enters her final year of vet school at NC State. So everyone is moving about.

The weather here is miserable–extremely hot and humid. The locals call this time of the year “huang mei tian,” or yellow mold days. Somehow mosquitos are making it all the way up to our 17th floor apartment and they are eating me alive. I may have to get a net to tent over the bed (our windows dont’ have screens). I can’t stand bug bites; I scratch my itches raw. Where is eucalyptus soap when I need it?

Last week was a slow work week, but a busy one otherwise. A 2×2′ bubbling in our living/dining room floor had grown to about 3×8′. Obviously, the installation had not been done properly (and that’s not the only problem in our apartment), so with expansion caused by the warmer weather, the floor was a good inch off the concrete base. Fortunately, Wu Ayi’s hubby used to do remodeling work. On Saturday, he and his friend repaired it all. They did great work, but now it’s a little weird for John and me, not having to deal with the puffing.

On Thursday, I attended the 2004 US-China Conference on Women and Leadership, an event cosponsored by Global Interactions of Arizona. It was a good meeting in that I made a lot of contacts with people from the US. I even met Korva Coleman of NPR! A total celeb in my book and she was rockin’ cool. Session-wise, I was a little disappointed, especially with the Chinese presenters. I mean, with statistics like “98% of SH women are very satisfied with their marriages,” it was tough not to realize the propagandist agenda. On top of that, since December I had been trying to get involved with the event’s local host– the SH Women’s Federation. I had emailed and called but to no avail. I finally met the recipient of my emails, and all she could say was, “No, our organization is for local women. We don’t collaborate with foreigners.” Uh, first of all, this is a US-China conference… purportedly, you want to work with American counterparts. Second, I am living in SH, and I am Chinese. I was so irritated and pissed off. But after sitting in on their presentations, I realized anyway that they aren’t even that feminist. They’re just into publicity and self-congratulation. Surprisingly, after some of their higher ups discovered I taught English, there was renewed interest in me– or my teaching at least. We’ll see how that goes.

Friday night there was a conference gala at the Yong Foo Elite. I know, sounds like a car model but it was a really jazzed up restaurant–used to be a private citizen’s home and then was formerly the British Embassy. Ironically, the event was sponsored by Elle Fashions, and there was a fashion show in the middle of dinner. Sure, feminists want to look good too, but I just thought it was a tad weird. Maybe if the models looked like healthy women, I could be a little more forgiving, but they were straight off the Asian runways. And the fashion industry/media is certainly responsible in many ways for driving women into this lifelong obsession with image and “beauty.” Anyway, I was still glad I attended. Meeting Korva Coleman was just too cool.

Yesterday, John and I had dinner with Bill and Helen at Shanghai Uncle in XuJiaHui. Bill’s been to the place five times already. Really good food but so pricey. Everything is pricey now that we have the Wu (ayi). She’s been hooking us up with all sorts of great eats. We don’t even have to leave the house anymore. 🙂 But SH Uncle was a good time. Afterwards, Helen came to our place to see the dogs. She was quite frightened of them but I think it’ll get better. Helen is a cool woman. She’s gonna try to hook me up with some more teaching work through her sister’s company and such. Meanwhile, Bill is kicking butt here in SH. He and some friends formed a company doing interior design/remodeling work.

After enduring years of anxiety caused by exams, it’s now my turn to hand out these loathesome beasts. Of course outside of academia, midterms and evaluations are much less stressful so really, I don’t feel that guilty. My student Cissy didn’t even study for her midterm last week.

I welcomed getting back to classes this week. Whenever I have too much time off (during Golden Week), I become unhealthily obsessed with class prep, so it was nice to break the cycle. Admittedly, I really get into my writing course: I get all excited looking into the differences between someday and some day or may and might. Yeah, like I said, unhealthy… but still fun.

In other news, John got a new bike. Yeah, as excited as we were initially for his first bike, it just wasn’t holding up. $20 USD was just too cheap. His brakes were failing, his seat was coming off… so John made a big splurge and got himself a really nice bike–comparable to Giant. Good, hearty brakes and a frame fit for a king. John’s gaining all kinds of independence now with his new, reliable mode of transport and his improved Mandarin. He purchased his bike on his own, went to the post office, bargained for a new digital camera (Panasonic D-SNAP), etc. Knowledge is truly empowering.

Golden Week came and went. John and I had a productive holiday: mostly, we worked (and got a shitload done!), read, and ate. On the days with sunshine, we rode our bikes (as you probably guessed!) in search of our next meal (or the ones after). We recently hit the sandwich craving. Went to Carrefour and purchased a sandwich maker– yeah the kind that makes grilled pocket sandwiches. It’s no games around here. Move outta the way, we’ve got a mass production going on! Ham and cheese, grilled cheese, pbj… all heated to perfection.

John is making really great progress with his Chinese. The weekly tutor is working out beautifully. Chinese is now officially part of his well-known “First things first” routine. He has even coined a Chinese translation “Di Yi Ge Dong Xi Xian Zuo.” Yeah, it’s nerds galore over here. For sure. Anyway, I’m thrilled about John’s excitement, but I have to admit, I’m getting really sick and tired of him trying to impose his FTF program on me. By now, it’s really a broken record. Nonetheless, his enthusiasm is obvious. He eagerly goes to the produce market on his own to practice with the vendors. I can now send him off to get most any grocery item, including veggies, fruit, drinks, and breads.

John’s also making friends at all the area stationery stores. Armed now with Chinese, he’s totally free to talk Staedler pens, high-brightness papers, notebooks, and markers! Did you know John hoardes stationery supplies in his desk? One day I was searching for binder clips and when I opened his drawers, it become clear to me that his trip back to the USA in March was really a bigtime Staples run. He nearly bought the place out!

The warmer weather is quietly bringing about a revolution in the Gou-Eshleman household. The banana yoghurt smoothie, once a staple morning drink, has now been replaced with freshly-made watermelon juice. So sweet and cooling. We’ve got a stockpile of it in the fridge. 🙂

The second change is the service of an ayi (housekeeper). One of my students, Helen, recommended her ayi to me. I told Helen we were searching for someone to clean and show us cooking. Wu Ayi is amazing! I never knew my apartment could be THIS clean. Yeah, a real eye opener. Guess I was a total shit slacker ayi. 🙁 Anyway, the lady is so sweet and nice. Tomorrow she’s demo-ing cao nian gao. I must say, if anything, Wu Ayi is forcing our asses out of bed– early. She comes around 8, so we’re up notably before then. Fits well with Bubbey’s FTF system. We’ll show you, Steve Ni!

May 1 marks the start of a weeklong national respite called the Labor Holiday. The government only recently mandated the weeklong closure of most businesses, in hopes that people would spend their time and money at the malls and restaurants. Unfortunately for those working in the service sector, Golden Week is more like shit week. Those miserable souls get to watch and serve all the people lounging around. My attendent at the salon said she didn’t get off for the holiday. However, “I get off one day for every six days worked.” Yeah, some consolation. Poor girl.

So what do John and I plan to do over the break? Nothing. Stay holed up at home. It seems that most locals do the same: they say the malls, parks, restaurants, and hotels are simply mobbed and there’s no point. At least in your home, you have some space and privacy. If you venture out during Golden Week, your family vacation becomes a national vacation. Forget about family pictures. Half the town will appear in every frame.

John and I rode our bikes on some of the warmer days last weekend. We didn’t notice much difference–crowd-wise. However, I heard on the news that all trains to Beijing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Nanjing (all popular destinations) were booked. And we haven’t gone to popular places like Carrefour or the malls. We’re gonna hold out for as long as we can!

In other news, I’ve lost probably 20 years off my life trying to get my parents broadband internet service. I should have known better: after all, wasn’t Adelphia the company that made big news a couple years ago because it’s CEO diverted company funds for his personal use? I guess I just got too excited about high-speed arriving at Meadowbrooke. Needless to say, since April 21, my poor parents have endured three unsuccessful service visits. The poorly trained techs go through their protocol of motions and when the connection doesn’t work, they blame it on hardware. I’m still trying to get this mess straightened out. You have no idea how much time I have spent on the phone and on their chat help desk. The process is turning me into a total witch. We’ll see what comes of my demands.

John and I celebrated (kind of) our one-year wedding anniversary today. One year, schmon year, a scant 12 months. I actually prefer to go by our real anniversary date: August 23, 1996. I know, ’96 was ages ago. I was just a sophomore in college for crissakes! So anyway, I ordered a “western-style” cake, which I biked to pick up this morning. After taking extreme precautions to ensure the safe arrival of our precious wedding-cake substitute, I was extremely disappointed by the blandness of the cake and the flavorless 2 cm-thick layer of frosting, i.e. whipped eggwhite. So lame. I mean, where was all sugar, butter, and cream?

We both spent much of the morning working. I prepped for my classes this week, while John caught up with his to-do list. I received a call from my Duke bud Matt Collin. Matt just got into NYU B-School, so he’s heading up to NYC come summer. NYC seems to be the place now– first Ali and Pitch, then Tricia, now Grace, Matt, and Rira.

In other news, John and I followed our weekend trip to Beijing (we missed the SARS revival by a week!) with two days in Hangzhou. We went with my cousin Ya-Ya and her hubby Wangjian. We took a 2-hour train ride to HZ Saturday morning and returned Sunday night. Of course, the return train tickets were sold out, so we had to take the bus. Though this ride wasn’t as bad as the endless 20-hour bus journey to Beijing, it did take 4 hours instead of the quoted 2. Damn road construction, I tell you.

Regardless, Hangzhou was a dream. So very beautiful. The West Lake is surrounded with old cypresses and willows. Since 2002, the area government has focused on jazzing up the area to attract retail and tourists. In China there is a saying: In the skies, there is heaven. On Earth, there is Hangzhou and Suzhou. We took lots of pics. I’ll let you know when they are uploaded. John and I were a little frustrated the first day, as we wasted most of it trekking around town accomplishing logistics (getting a hotel, getting bus tickets, etc.), trying to save a few kuai. Unfortuantely, efficiency is a foreign concept over here. Drives me insane. It’s always just about price. Forget convenience, value, or service. The second day was better. We split up and met later. John and I got tons done: walked more around the Lake and took in more scenic stops. We rode the bus to Nine Creeks, went through a small park, and bought Longjing tea (a specialty of the area). My cousin was surprised we did all that in a few hours. 🙂

John and I will definitely be heading back to HZ in the near future.

John and I are back from our three days in Beijing. Awesome city. And unexpectedly different from Shanghai. Wide roads, people of all shapes and sizes, clean, generally very well mannered. Guess it helps to have a bunch of Red Guards to keep things in check. Anyhow, the journey begin with an incredibly affordable bus trip. According to all my research, the bus trip was half the cost of the train (but same duration) and a quarter the cost of the plane ticket. Since it was an overnight, it seemed reasonable to try the sleeper bus. Well it was quite a mistake, though the situation certainly could have been worse. Honestly, the sleepers were quite comfortable. Basically, there were three rows of 2-ft. wide, double-level sleepers running the length of the bus. There was A/C, tv’s, booklights… the trip started off not bad. Then we realized the booklights didn’t work, the sound system and volume had only one setting for the entire bus (blasting from 5-11 pm), and the toilet didn’t flush. People started smoking on the bus (even though smoking is prohibited) and soon the air carried the odor of smoke, urine, and feces. Besides that, the sleeping arrangements were quite comfortable. The bus made all kinds of undesignated stops–once at a gas station to load up a bunch of cargo, another time to drop off people on the roadside, another few at smaller township busstops. Around Shandong, there was road construction. According to the bus ticket seller, the bus was scheduled to arrive in Beijing at 8 am Friday morning. When we loaded onto the bus, the driver said 9:20 am was more likely due to road construction. Well, we didn’t arrive in Beijing until 1 pm. So the 14-hour journey dragged into a 20-hour journey. But John and I stayed in good spirits. No sick poopies, no nausea. What more could you ask for, right?

When we arrived, the sun was incredibly strong. Within minutes, my face felt tanned. We got into a taxi (all red here and noticably smaller than those in SH) and boy did the Beijing dialect hit me like a ton of rocks. Couldn’t understand what the hell the driver was asking. All I could do is repeat the address and point to the hotel location on the map.

We stayed at the Fangyuan Hotel, listed in Lonely Planet. Excellent location, but a bit shabby. Reminded me of my summer dwellings while in college. We washed up and then headed out for the Forbidden City, only a 10-minute walk away. The place was huge. I mean, the scale, the detail is mind-blowing. Makes you feel like a total lazy, stupid ass to think that people so long ago accomplished such a grand feat. And this was just the beginning of our state of awe. I mean, we did all the touristy Beijing things… but they are all must-see. It’s really a shame that the Cultural Revolution blasted away so much of China’s history… some of it is just gone forever. Still, those of you who can, you have to experience the greatness of what remains (or has been rebuilt/restored). Really.

John and I befriended the owner of the travel agency in the hotel. A 40-something man named Mr. Yang. I’m not sure what he liked about us… I think maybe he was fascinated with me being Chinese American. Anyway, this guy was awesome. He drove us around all day Saturday and Sunday and he was like an encyclopedia of Chinese history. He was very open and inquisitive and so strongly opinionated. It was really cool. A total history buff. As we toured the city, he pointed out all kinds of tidbits about different districts and places where things used to be but are now gone. A fierce opponent of the Commies, he talked about his own transformation from being a staunch supporter to being a demonstrator in Tiananmen. He talked about the government’s lies, hypocrisy, and corruption. It was really fascinating talking to someone so knowlegeable about Chinese history. It’s weird because I think my grandparents know a lot, but they are still of the generation where you don’t talk about things openly. My parents know some, but are mostly unconcerned. And according to Mr. Yang and from my own observations, the current generation of Chinese are mostly indifferent. But communicating with Mr. Yang was very challenging. Not only did I have trouble understanding him through the Beijing accent, I couldn’t get him to dumb his vocab down enough to fully grasp his thoughts. It’s really weird. Admittedly, I was getting a little complacent, feeling like my level was pretty good for getting around in daily life. But after talking to Mr. Yang, I was reminded that to discuss anything deeply, I really need to know more.

Our second day in Beijing, Mr. Yang took us to the Mitianyu section of the Great Wall. We drove through the countryside towards the mountains. The Great Wall was magnificent. We rode the skycable up the mountain then got out and walked the Wall. We walked up to the highest point accessible (we are so out of shape!) and nearly died. The sun was hot as hell but fortuantely, there was a cool breeze. For lunch, Mr. Yang took us to a mountainside hotel/restaurant where he and his friends stay when they go hiking nearby. Had excellent food including a moutain wildgrass, handpicked by the owner’s mother (there’s always a nai working behind the scenes!). John also tasted a shot of liquor (white wine fermented with dates and Chinese herbs).

Next stop was the Ming tombs–burial site of 13 Ming dynasty emperors. Years ago, one tomb was opened by accident, so the government turned it into a tourist stop. I thought of this site as the Chinese version of the Eqyptian pyramids.

On Sunday, Mr. Yang drove us to the Summer Palace, about 40 minutes outside of the city. This was where the royal family escaped the unbearable heat of Beijing and the Forbidden City. Nestled in the mountains along Kunming Lake, this was another massive estate, complete with several palaces, a performance stage, a buddhist temples, celebration halls, gardens, a marble boat on the lake, etc. All of these edifices are so impressive; yet, visiting them kind of made me sad. I mean, the books say 100,000 laborers were used to deepen and widen Kunming Lake. And seeing the materials used to build all these things without machinery– marble, stone, bricks– the opulence of royals is frankly quite sickening. I wonder what they did all day… I mean, they didn’t even have to walk. Their servants carried them all over! And how much of the country’s affairs were they really managing when they were directing construction of palaces and tombs and marble boats.

Returning into the city, we went to TianTan, the place where emperor’s went to pray every year for good harvests. A lot of stone and marble surrounded by a beautiful park full of lavender fields and old junipers and cypresses. By day’s end, John and I were beat. Mr. Yang was kind enough to treat us to dinner and then he dropped us off at the train station. He didn’t even charge us for all his driving on Sunday. A very nice guy. We’ll surely look him up next time we’re in Beijing.

The train, I have to say, was so cushy… especially compared to the bus. And actually, our train was making its debut so everything was new. There was a dining car in the back that had a bar and seating area– like a small restaurant. I slept really well on the train. John didn’t because it got too hot, but the ride was so smooth and by 7:30 am Monday morning, we were back in Shanghai.