First Week in Beijing

My first week in Beijing was filled with real estate agents. I was originally promised two weeks in a hotel to give me time to find an apartment, but they cut that down to one. After that, I would have to move into a temporary apartment they have rented for their interns (who have not arrived yet). While the apartment itself is fine, the building is located in a dark, dingy old Chinese building on the 6th floor of a 6-story walk-up. That was incentive for me to try and find an apartment - asap.

The apartments near Dongzhimen and Sanlitun (the area close to work) fall into 2 categories - luxury apartment complexes complete with spas, grocery stores, gyms, pools and clubhouses or old Chinese buildings from the Mao era - nothing really in the middle. After looking at a couple of older apartments, I decided to splurge on a nice apartment (which is still only about $400-$500 a month!). I looked at over 20 apartments over the course of 5 days and managed to get a 3BR apartment in the MOMA with a couple of friends. There are so many buildings in Beijing that are named after New York City buildings and neighborhoods. There's the MOMA, Central Park and Upper East Side among others. There's also the Twin Towers and someone said the Empire State Building is going up too. It's sort of a funny reminder of home. The nice thing about apartments in Beijing is that they come furnished, and landlords will replace furniture, within reason. Hopefully the furniture that I've requested will come soon so I can move into my new place!

Although everyone in China speaks Mandarin, the plethora of accents you can hear in Beijing alone is hugely variable. Sometimes, it is hard to understand what others are saying, even though we are speaking the same dialect. There are also many words that are just different here in China. The words for things like spoon, pineapple, bicycle and cabbage are completely different, which has been confusing. Furthermore, I am practically illiterate since I can't read simplified characters. Sometimes, I wonder how I'm going to survive in this country for a year!

Olympic madness continues unabated here. Besides experimenting with the weather and "rain-making" technology to thwart rain during the Olympics, the Chinese government is also trying to figure out how to make the two flowers most associated with China, the chrysanthamum and the lotus flower, bloom next August. Neither flower naturally bloom during that month. The government's goal of pulling off a perfect Olympic is also accompanied with a "service with a smile" campaign. While they can attempt to make rain or stop rain, and make flowers bloom, I am not certain they can ever convince some of the surly, rude and inattentive Chinese locals servicepeople from waiters to cab drivers to be nice and crack a smile. I feel lucky to get acknowledged with an annoyed snort or sound when requesting anything.

I'm in Qingdao (a part of Shandong Province) right now for China's annual National Pediatric AIDS Conference. Qingdao is a beautiful city surrounded by mountains and oceans and several lovely beaches. It will be the site of the rowing sports during the Olympics. I actually just missed the regatta held here by a couple of days. Once a German controlled town, there is a charming mix of German-influenced architecture and tall modern buildings that gives Qingdao its uniqueness. In the historic area of town, even new buildings must be built with red-tiled roofs. The people here are proud of how the pretty the contrast of their red rooftops look against the green trees that dot the hills inside the city. Our local guide (courtesy of Yao's dad) took us to Huashi Lou, a castle-like villa perched on the side of the cliffs right over the water. There were dozens of bridal couples here taking their bridal pictures. While the scenery is gorgeous, it must have been a miserable experience for them given the sweltering heat.

Qingdao's German history is also the reason why this city is know for it's Tsingdao beer. I made it to Qingdao just in time to enjoy the last day of their Tsingdao International Beer Festival. Must say it is the first time I've seen local Chinese dance on tables. Their equivalent of vodka in water bottles must have been beer in plastic bags. I saw some of them pour beer into glasses from plastic bags. The men were also unabashed about walking around with naked potbellies. They either roll their shirts up above their bellies, or take their shirts off and sling it over their shoulders. Unsurprisingly, the naked potbellies are also a target of the Chinese government's preparation for the Olympics. There are commercials preaching proper etiquette for next year's big event, which includes keeping your shirt on, and covering your belly.