In the original Star Trek series, there was an episode where these guys landed on a planet and were taken captive. They were put in this apartment with no windows. I think most of the episode was spent with them wondering why they were there, and at the end the inhabitants of this planet opened the windows revealing that there were so many people on the planet, it was very difficult to move (like sardines in a can). I have been in Beijing for 3.5 days, and that episode keeps coming to my mind. I suspect, however, that this is no different than New York City and that I am noticing it more here because I am a foreigner.
Anyway, my journey got off to a less-than-glamorous beginning. I worked hard at keeping my two pieces of luggage under 50 pounds, but failed. At the airport, I had to shuffle some items from checked bags to carry-on bags. Previously, I had spent close to an hour reading the baggage restrictions for United Airlines, and so I knew that a camera bag does not count toward carry-on luggage. So I took my camera bag out of my backpack and looped it over my shoulder. When I went to board the plane, however, this tall, bald, snotty United Airlines guy told me I had too many carry-on pieces. In my typical humble way I reminded him that camera bags do not count toward the two-piece limit, and thus I was within United Airlines’ regulations. He responded that I was going to have to check one of my bags, period. I quickly realized that it was to my advantage for them to check one of these carry-on pieces for free, so I proceeded to the counter where I was directed and checked the bag. The lady there confirmed my understanding of the regulations but agreed with me that it was easier to check the bag than to argue with this guy; she conveyed, with words and rolled eyes, and he is well-known for being stubborn, bossy, and wrong. With only a few more pointed words, albeit moderately loud ones, aimed across the lobby at this knucklehead, I boarded the plane.
Otherwise, it was an uneventful trip, and upon my arrival, I was whisked away to my new apartment on campus. It is wonderful, large, and recently renovated. Like most other countries outside the United States, everything here is smaller. I have a refrigerator which looks like two college dormitory refrigerators, one on top of the other. There is a small washer, about the size of one of those college refrigerators, but no dryer. Because it is so hot and humid here, I have been going through 2 to 3 sets of clothes each day. Thus I am spending a moderate amount of time washing clothes and hanging them from a bar on my balcony.
I have had very little time to stock this new apartment, so when I am not being taken out for a meal, I have cereal and milk with a peach. Fortunately, this first week is full of introductory lunches and dinners.
This coming Saturday there is some kind of global education conference here in Beijing, and my school (RDFZ) is responsible for making a 20-minute presentation. So, Monday night, the day after I arrived, I participated in a three-hour meeting to determine which students will be selected to make presentations. This required me to sit through a number of PowerPoint presentations, and you can imagine my reaction: I did my best to point out that slides were too crowded and at times irrelevant. As my daughter said yesterday, sounds like I’m doing the same old thing at different school. There was one interesting encounter with a middle school student about her poetry, but I’ll discuss that later.
Tomorrow I will go in search of a bicycle and a laundry/dry cleaner (probably not at the same establishment).
My apartment has a spare bedroom with its own bathroom, so I am hoping some of you will visit sometime over the next year.
Ciao. (I think that’s Chinese for goodbye.)
DC's Asian Adventures 