Day 2: Baby Steps

(My postings are out of order and not the correct date because I don’t have direct access to my blog.)

Today was the (kilometer) Long March (to save two bucks).  I backpacked from the Ritz to my temporary digs on campus and I definitely can’t wait to find my longer-term dwelling to fully unpack the burden on my back.  With my one way ticket, I had to think more about what I would need to land a job, which has added about twenty pounds to what I’m carrying.  Ugh.

It seems premature to say where I will start looking for a job, but safe to say that Beijing is far from the first choice.   I guess I value my lungs more than I thought.  I’ve been drinking lots of fluids because my mucus is working overtime in this place.  I don’t think I’ll take any drugs to suppress my allergies because it’s probably a good thing to hack up whatever my lungs would otherwise absorb.  

But I know what you are all really wondering.  Has Comrade Lulu found true love with Comrade Momo?  I’m trying to imagine what the title of the soap opera must be.  “Love’s Army:  They Fight for the Motherland, and for Each Other.”  Seems like it’s on every time I turn on the set.  Oh wait, just had a title scroll across: “Happiness Like Flowers.”  Jeez, I’ve watched ten minutes, and the character I’ll name Lulu, seems to alternatively pout and look longingly into Comrade Momo’s eyes, before tearful incident number 30.  There are soap opera universals.    

The first funny English signage that I’ve come across in my walks around the neighborhood: “Hump Café.”   Maybe it’s a jab against the predominant puritanical culture?   Or a really bad dictionary?   Or they were looking to recreate the Dutch coffeehouse experience, but had to substitute “u” for “e” to run not afoul of the authorities?

I’m not running out to the tourist sights because I vaguely know where I am right now (Northwestern sector of Beijing), and I have so much time my emphasis is in making getting around routine and cutting down on spending.  Not being able to communicate well is a definite expense here or anywhere.  

I’m still trying to figure out how to use my phone card!  Being illiterate has its demerits.  It shows me how much I rely on written information, whereas here I have to find ways to guess.  And it’s a frustration I’m not used to, so I give up for the time.  

I decided to take today and really do nothing but take naps and read, to stay relaxed and try to adjust to the time change.   And have my bottle of Cipro at the ready.  I ate a buffet breakfast today, and learned the difficulties of eating pancakes and triangle hash browns with chopsticks.   Noodles are great for breakfast too.  

But I love my Cha.  Chai.  Shayy.  AKA Tea.  

For $3.50 I had a big heap of salad and a king’s helping of rice, beef, and veggies for dinner.  Looks like I better rethink the exercise plan.

Tonight I’m tasking myself with learning the phrases at the back of my travel guide, so I get the frequently used phrases at my disposal.  Tomorrow I need to look into a place for Monday, when I will also need to pay for classes (and whatever else, I’m not sure because the visa place lost the English version of the letter I was sent.)