here's a little photo journal of our weekend, since my blog has been photo starved lately:
beijing skipped fall and went straight from summer to winter! this is the view of the basketball/tennis courts and confucius statue, on the way to class. it's picturesque with the leaves changing... but TOO cold! i learned this week, from my language partner, that the central government mandates when everybody can turn their heat on in china. so even though nights are in the 30s now, we all await the magic date. usually, that is november 15th, unless the party benevolently breaks the rules because of a crazy blizzard, etc.
the track (where old people do their walking/slapping exercises, and students play pick up soccer) and the gym... i will soon devote a post to "going to the gym in china" because it is so different and entertaining.
everybody bustling to class on foot or by bike. the entire country had the week off for the national holiday, but then had to return to work and school on saturday and sunday to make up for it. what kind of country is this!
caroline's 22nd birthday was friday night, so we celebrated at the usual wudaokou establishments, solutions and propaganda. they both cater to the hundreds of international students that come from tsinghua, peking university, beijing foreign language university, and our very own beijing language and culture university. seems like a little compromise... study the chinese way and we'll let you party the american way!
why 7 eleven, you ask? in sociology we are studying the rampant smoking problem in china, and in the nightlife we are experiencing it firsthand. when we've have been suffocated by second hand on the dance floor, we emerge for a break outside to drink and socialize (fast! before we freeze)
never fear, we were productive students on saturday, climbing the hill in jingshan park for this amazing view of the forbidden city smack in the middle of beijing.
also in the park, supposedly the very tree where the last ming emperor hanged himself when the manchus overran beijing and founded the qing dynasty. prof ferchen pointed this landmark out as an element in china's "national humiliation" narrative which is so important to its self-identity and outlook in foreign affairs.
in a central beijing residential area, an old-school olympic countdown poster from the "civilization campaign" to prepare beijing its 2008 coming out party.
weekend ping pong and ma jong in a park in the hutong residential area.
what a change in weather indeed! we have rain which is out of character for s. california!
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