Back in China

Well after a long day and a half in airplanes and airports, we arrived in Beijing tired but relatively sane. The airport is now indistinguishable from any other major city's airport. Char had arranged for a driver to meet us to get us to our hotel. This was nice as it was about 10 p.m. local time and we could fit us and our luggage all in one vehicle.

The first thing I noticed, upon exiting the airport, was the smell of China. Not necessarily bad or good, just potent. I think it's a mix of coal smoke, auto pollution, cooking smells, garbage/waste, desert sand--I can't truly describe it but it was very nostalgic for me. The air was thick as pea soup.

The next morning arrived clear and sunny. A strong breeze had come up overnight and blown the pollution out of the bowl in the mountains in which Beijing sits. We had two days of cool Fall winds while we explored around our hotel and arranged to see the apartment which Char had reserved while in the U.S. Living in Beijing is not so different from living in a European city--not quite as many amenities as in the U.S., but not so different as to be unfathomable.

As I write this, today is the third day with no wind. On day three, from our tenth floor apartment windows, we could see the mountains a few miles off. Each day thereafter, the vista has closed in on us. Today, I could barely make out the high-rises just 1/3 mile away. I know it is supposed to be sunny up there, because, if you look hard, you can locate the very red sun throughout the day.

In 1995, Beijing's highways were nearly empty while its smaller roads and thoroughfares were packed with buses and bicycles. Today, there are very few bikes and pedal carts and gazillions of taxis and private cars. We can walk the 3/4 mile or so from the Friendship hotel to our apartment in the same time it takes a taxi to negotiate the roadways. And the way they merge! They just drift into your lane, or around pedestrians or bicycles. Chicago, New York, or even Boston's traffic stress has got nothing on these folks. When you are in a little Nissan taxi and a big city bus is literally inches from your door and moving in...now that's high entertainment!

On the plus side, the ride only costs $1.85.

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My Chinese skills are returning. I am still understanding very little, but I can make myself understood when it counts. I am fine with shopping and taking taxis and getting around with the kids on my own while Char is at the University. I am studying the girls' homework with them and have pulled out my word lists from 1995 to refresh my skills. Noah is copying characters from my adult learner's Chinese book for his homework. I am proud of all of my kids for how hard they are working at adjusting to life here and trying to use and increase their language skills.

That's it for now. There is, of course, a lot more to say. But I have to go and get the girls started on their next homework assignment.

Love to all,
Cain