China: Homesick

 

Wednesday, April 3 8:00pm

The homesickness bug has hit me. It was probably perpetuated when I woke up this morning and the wifi at my little hotel wasn't working. I talked with the girl at the front desk and she reset it. I called home and talked with my family and everything was good. Then Davis (my 3 yr old nephew) got on the phone and asked if I was out of China yet. That did it. Tears flowed from my eyes at his simple question. I then called Ray and had problems connecting by Skype so again, my nerves fluttered. I called by Skype to his phone and got through. I enjoy talking with him each morning and night. It calms me and makes me feel at home. 

Today, the contact I have through the Chinese teacher at my school will be meeting me to take me around the city. I'm hoping that, much like Megan provided a transition for me in Shanghai, that Lily will do the same in Beijing. More than anything, I'm wanting the comfort of someone that knows what is going on in the world I've placed myself in.

Lily and I started the day by going to the Forbidden City, the heart of Beijing, along with thousands of other people. :-) This is across from Tiananmem Square. The Forbidden City was the Chinese Imperial Palace for 3 dynasties, for 500 years. I couldn't stop thinking how old China is, compared to how new America is. I also couldn't stop wondering how in the word this impressive complex was built so long ago. It has 980 buildings and covers 720,000 square meters!! The architectural details were unmistakable.

Following the Forbidden City, Lily treated me to a delicious lunch of Kung Pao Chicken and Peking Chicken. When asked what I wanted to drink, I replied that I'd like water, like I drink with my meals in the US. She instead urged me to try this Chinese berry drink. It came in a pitcher andante said they often had this with their meals. It was Chinese Plum Juice and was delicious!! The lunch was fantastic!!

The Temple of Heaven was our next stop. This massive grounds was built so that the emperors could go to pray to the Heavens before big decisions. Again, it was stunning. The initial temple had a circular wall built so that if you spoke one side you could hear someone on the other side. One of the parts of the complex was the Circular Mound Altar. It was built with the same idea mentioned previously, but that if you stood in the center and prayed, then the railing on this mound would amplify your prayer to the Heavens. 

Following the historical sections, my day only got more interesting from here. We walked across the street to the Hongqiao Market. Inside was 5 stories of sheer madness!! Only with enough room to walk through, vendors were set up everywhere ready to wear you down. I picked one vendor from which I got most of my souvenirs from, hoping that would help me get the price down. Lily acted as my go between. It took a few times of walking away, but in the end, the cash I handed them is what they took, begrudgingly. I feel pretty good about what I paid for my gifts. 

To kill some time, since the dinner restaurant was in this area, we went to a small museum of Chinese culture. It was free and inside, away from the pollution so I couldn't complain. The pollution is drastically different here, compared to Shanghai. I wore a scarf that I wrapped ant my face today when walking near the roads. Inside the parks and temples, it wasn't as bad. I downloaded an app named China Air Quality. The app shows readings of the big cities in China. The readings are given by two groups, the city itself and the US Embassy or Consulate. What's interesting is that the readings by the US are always a good 50-100 points higher than the Chinese city. The higher the number the worse the conditions. 

You've heard of the Melting Pot that we have in the US. Well, Beijing has their own version, called Hot Pot. We ordered beef and lamb to cook. Along with this, we had mushrooms, lettuce, peanuts, garlic, tofu, and a dipping sauce. This dipping sauce was not of my liking, but I did not want to begrudge, since this was a traditional sauce. It had coriander, fermented bean curd, and other flavors that I did not catch the names of. We ate the meats first,followed by the tofu and veggies. Before she put the tofu in, I was praying that this was not about to turn into  'stinky tofu.' Phew! It didn't! I had a piece and it had no taste. I commented that it was interesting that the veggies were eaten last and she said that what they do. I told her that our last course in Melting Pot was chocolate!! She thought that was a fantastic idea!! Overall, this meal  left me only with an appreciation of their culture. I'm sure that had I chosen a different sauce, it would have been different.

Now, back at the hotel, I'm listening to a little Dave Matthews and eating some marshmallow Peeps that I brought with me. I'm waiting a few minutes before I call Ray. The combination of the three should help the homesickness. :-) 

On the subway ride home, I figured out why I'm out of sorts,besides the obvious. I'm not in control here. Except for the hotel, I don't have wifi access, which means I don't have access to solving my problems with a quick google search. That's huge for me!! I like knowing. I don't know here!!

**Today, I clocked 8.94 miles.