Beijing: Week 5 Observations
An Iranian Restaurant in Sanlitun. Review to come after I’ve had a khoresht or two.
If patience were an actual virtue, we’d be the most virtuous couple on the planet. After a five-week wait, we’ve finally sorted our wifi mess and, my brothers and sisters, it is the most glorious thing ever. The Luddites among you will shake their heads, the rest of humanity, the people capable of emotions, they’ll understand completely. Yes, yes, yes, I’m overreacting. One may even suggest this is all hyperbole, but what were we going to do if we couldn’t join Threads? (Spoiler Alert: it was one of the first things I did).
There are some thoughts regarding our digital presence and some of the advice we were given prior to arriving. This will take time to sort out and try to organize in a way that makes sense and maybe helps avoid some of the same issues we’ve run into while here. I’ll post that in due time. But I was put at ease recently when someone at my wife’s office said, “It’s okay to have some measure of paranoia, but no need to go tin foil hat.” It was a throw-away comment, one that was inserted into a longer statement about what to do here tech-wise. Basically, they were saying that we have to live our lives. We can’t spend the next two years totally insulated from society.
Beijing Traffic
And now for my week 5 observations:
The fresh fruit and vegetable game is strong here. We have a stand every Wednesday and Saturday morning. I tend to get the same few things and maybe branch out every once in a while. And I have to say, I’ve consumed more fresh fruit and vegetables over this five-week period than I have in a long time. The peaches and watermelon rival what I can get back at home in Kentucky.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen a significant number of high-luxury vehicles. More than I would see in DC. I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising considering the level of growth here over the last three decades and the size of the city, but steeped in the language we’ve used to describe this country, it’s hard not to be shocked seeing Maybachs, Bentleys, G-wagons, and Rolls Royces on a weekly if not daily basis. Hell, I’ve seen a McLaren cooly street parked, conspicuous with its bright orange creamsicle paint job. Get outside of the urban areas and I’m certain it would be a vastly different experience.
There are several companies that take folks on trips in and around Beijing and across the country. I’ve found a few on WeChat–the all-encompassing phone application. The most intriguing one so far is a four-day tour of China’s wine country. Before I arrived, I read that it was somewhat nascent, but had the potential to rival any of the other great wine-producing regions across the globe. Some folks have pushed back on that, but in a country this large, I’m sure there’s a region for just about everything.
Weekly Photos
I was able to break away for a bit on Monday morning and into the early afternoon. My general destination was Sanlitun, a subdistrict of the bigger district in which we live. It’s known for shopping and being a fun place for nightlife. My journey took longer than I had planned, but I wanted to keep exploring as much as I could. The heat, though, was intense and energy-sapping.
What I’m reading
I’m still working my way through Mura’s work–A Stranger’s Journey. It’s intense and requires a great deal of meditation on most of his points. Bottom line, the experience has been worthwhile and often dovetails with my own general sentiments.
There are also other things, how could I not? I’ve finished the most recent edition of Men’s Health. There’s a great profile on Jamie Raskin. An interesting set of fitness tests that I think I will attempt at some point. And I’ve started this quarter’s Mundial Magazine–aka, the Goalkeeper Edition. And I try to get through the Economist’s Daily Espresso.
But, but, but, probably the most thrilling bit of reading took me down memory lane. I was reminded of Dennis Bergkamp’s masterful goal on July 4th, 1998 in Marseille against Argentina in World Cup Quarterfinals. The Guardian’s write-up in April 2018 was a brilliant bit of reading. And it inspired me to write my own reflection. (Which, if I’m honest, started as this paragraph above and then grew into something bigger.)