I know I’ve been inexcusably silent when it comes to this blog. I’ve downright neglected it after talking real big turkey about keeping it up while I was away. The truth is, the Bobleo and I have been sort of held up in our apartment as if the world had filled with zombies for the past few weeks. I’ve meant to write. I’ve meant to record our travels and escapades here on Big Walls, but the truth is, so far this trip hasn’t exactly been the fun filled adventure we’d had it cracked up to be. In fact, we’ve discovered that though this city is brimming, overflowing even, with people, it can be a very lonely place. Depression is a mean son of a bitch, and he’ll bite ya when you are feeling alone, cold, and scared on the other side of the world.

Bobleo and I have spent the majority of our private time here huddled under the covers watching movies and tv shows off of Youku.com. When we do venture outside we inevitably undergo severe frustration and isolation as we try to get our hands on food, communicate with cab drivers, or even just locate bare necessities. We are always and forever trying to learn more Chinese. Scott’s accent is pretty good, but his bucketful of talent has a whole in it (in the shape of his short term memory). I, on the other hand, can remember all kinds of useful things, but for some reason when I say them out loud Chinese folks have absolutely no clue what I’m talking about. Apparently I suffer from BMM (Beijing Mush Mouth).

We may sound bleek, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. China is resilient, persistent, and ever-changing, and if we ever plan on feeling at home here we must follow its example. It may take us five or six taxis before one understands where it is that I want to go, but we’ll just have to keep on hailing them until we get it right. For every dish of food I’ve ordered by accident there must be countless hours spent making notes, practicing pronunciation, and scrawling shamefully misshapen characters in my notebook. Our goals are meager; successfully ordering that delicious mutton and cilantro dish our Chinese friend, Ash, introduced us to a couple of weeks ago, locating art or craft supplies in the maze of shops that compose this ancient city, avoiding Carrefour for the rest of eternity, not letting my kindergarten English class drive me to suicide, and maybe, just maybe, successfully communicating with a higher percentage of taxi cab drivers.

We also need to get our lazy butts in gear and start visiting famous places. The most tourist-like thing we’ve done is visit the night market in Wanfujing, small peanuts compared to the big guns like Tianmen or the Great Wall. With the help of The Beijinger, (http://www.thebeijinger.com/) I’ve discovered some hiking trips that leave the city to visit parts of the Great Wall, the Ming Tombs, and other fancy places that are relatively inexpensive. Our friend Matt, a fellow ex-pat hailing from North Carolina, also told us about a really fun zip line trip to the Great Wall that we should check out.

We’re looking forward to these things, and the anticipation is helping us get out of our culture shock induced funk. We just need to keep our eye on our spending when it comes to making these trips. For now, we’re on a tight budget, which does limit what we can do when the mood strikes us.

Things are cheap (relative to NY) in Beijing, but when you are spending more than you are earning it makes you feel every Kwai/Yuan/RMB that leaves your pocket. Right now, I am making 150 RMB an hour teaching English, but my schedule usually only amounts to about 4.5 – 6 hours per week. That’s not bad, but we need to pay for rent, food, and expenses at home as well. Luckily, I am still logging some hours for my old job at From Nature With Love, though keeping up with it is challenging with our unpredictable schedule, so lately I haven’t been able to dedicate as much time as I’d like to that job either. Hopefully, Bobleo will get a teaching gig soon, and will start making a little something from shows when the band starts getting gigs as well.

The band is marching on. They are practicing every day in preparation for their next show. It will be Bobleo’s first show in China, and Jydis’s first show ever! It is a big moment, and we are all hoping that it goes off without a hitch. After the disappointment of not getting to play the Modern Sky Festival everyone could use an emotional boost. Even though the band wasn’t allowed to play, Bobleo and I visited for the first day of the festival, and Daly visited for each day it went on. The stage and scenery was very cool. It’s a shame that the guys never got a chance to perform on it, but at least they can look forward to being a part of it next time. You can see photos from our visit to the Modern Sky Fest here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drstrangeglove/sets/72157622416338673/

Despite our hermit-ness lately, we have been out and about some. If you want to see photos from that, check out the link here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drstrangeglove/sets/72157622416344059/

So along with vowing to get out more, and keep trying to acclimate, I’m also going to make an effort to update the blog more. After all, I do have a lot to share. Beijing is different from home in so many ways. The idea of describing the things that make it so is a bit overwhelming, but I’m going to try. To sum it up quickly, I’ll just use one word: crazy.

See you later, alligators.

apt 7

apt 11

• Share this:
• StumbleUpon
• Digg
• Reddit