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earendil31Arrival at the Apartment; Kale is Already Lost!
I survive the harrowing drive through what I thought was central Beijing, and slowly I begin to realize that I don’t even know which way is north, cause it’s about noon and the sun is way too high to figure out directions. The driver keeps making turns down these little streets with Endless amounts of people, and I’m getting more and more confused. Before I left, I looked at a map of Beijing on the internet, thinking that the place I was sending all my letters was Zhao’s house. Well, first of all, there are no houses in Beijing. Even some of the higher ups in the gov’t live in apartments. So no house. Second, I was sending my letters to Zhao’s office. His apartment was actually about 10 miles away from his office, in a completely different part of the city. So all the things I thought were close by, were very far away. Third, we turned so many corners and went down so many curvy roads that I lost all sense of direction. But none of this mattered because by the time we got to his apartment, I was only thinking of one thing: sleep.
I met his son Haoxiang at the door of his home. He had a fever and headache when I met him, so he wasn’t really in the best of moods; but I know all about that, and I was too tired to notice anyway. It turned out I’d be sleeping in his room, and he’d be in the other bedroom (they had 3 bedrooms, Haoxiang’s/mine was pretty nice, but very small). I was very relived to see a shower in their bathroom. After using said shower, I sat on the couch and faced their 32” Sony Wega (!) and just looked around the living room, and tried not to fall asleep. But it was a losing effort, and I soon found myself dozing on the couch. Now, about the apartment itself. There was a kitchen and 3 bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, and a balcony type deal in the master bedroom. The place was a good size, and I gather it cost a bundle, being so close to the center of the city and on the ground floor. While I’m thinking all this, the door opens, and I meet Haoxiang’s mother (whose name will forever escape me, I know I know, I’m a very bad person). She’s very nice, and tries out some English on me, but I don’t quite get it through the accent. Good try though.
I should take some tie out to explain about the English situation. Zhao speaks fluent accented English. Haoxiang speaks very good English. His mother speaks a little English. Everyone else in this story except for notable exceptions speaks no English. There, that’s done.
After about 10 minutes sitting in this wonderful apartment, as I said before, I started dozing on the couch. Zhao sees me and suggests that I take a nap, and since I already am, I agree with him. Tatami mats on top of mattresses are wonderful to sleep on. Except when the sheet on top of the mat gets pulled off, then you get pinched by the tatami. Ouch. About 3 hours later, I wake up, take a shower, and immediately I’m of on my first outing, with Haoxiang as my guide. We’re off to Tiananmen Square, the center of the U.S. idea of China. So I’ve got my camera and my extra roll, and I have no idea what to expect.
Next time on Trip to China: The great Tiananmen Square; Watch Out for the Military!
I survive the harrowing drive through what I thought was central Beijing, and slowly I begin to realize that I don’t even know which way is north, cause it’s about noon and the sun is way too high to figure out directions. The driver keeps making turns down these little streets with Endless amounts of people, and I’m getting more and more confused. Before I left, I looked at a map of Beijing on the internet, thinking that the place I was sending all my letters was Zhao’s house. Well, first of all, there are no houses in Beijing. Even some of the higher ups in the gov’t live in apartments. So no house. Second, I was sending my letters to Zhao’s office. His apartment was actually about 10 miles away from his office, in a completely different part of the city. So all the things I thought were close by, were very far away. Third, we turned so many corners and went down so many curvy roads that I lost all sense of direction. But none of this mattered because by the time we got to his apartment, I was only thinking of one thing: sleep.
I met his son Haoxiang at the door of his home. He had a fever and headache when I met him, so he wasn’t really in the best of moods; but I know all about that, and I was too tired to notice anyway. It turned out I’d be sleeping in his room, and he’d be in the other bedroom (they had 3 bedrooms, Haoxiang’s/mine was pretty nice, but very small). I was very relived to see a shower in their bathroom. After using said shower, I sat on the couch and faced their 32” Sony Wega (!) and just looked around the living room, and tried not to fall asleep. But it was a losing effort, and I soon found myself dozing on the couch. Now, about the apartment itself. There was a kitchen and 3 bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, and a balcony type deal in the master bedroom. The place was a good size, and I gather it cost a bundle, being so close to the center of the city and on the ground floor. While I’m thinking all this, the door opens, and I meet Haoxiang’s mother (whose name will forever escape me, I know I know, I’m a very bad person). She’s very nice, and tries out some English on me, but I don’t quite get it through the accent. Good try though.
I should take some tie out to explain about the English situation. Zhao speaks fluent accented English. Haoxiang speaks very good English. His mother speaks a little English. Everyone else in this story except for notable exceptions speaks no English. There, that’s done.
After about 10 minutes sitting in this wonderful apartment, as I said before, I started dozing on the couch. Zhao sees me and suggests that I take a nap, and since I already am, I agree with him. Tatami mats on top of mattresses are wonderful to sleep on. Except when the sheet on top of the mat gets pulled off, then you get pinched by the tatami. Ouch. About 3 hours later, I wake up, take a shower, and immediately I’m of on my first outing, with Haoxiang as my guide. We’re off to Tiananmen Square, the center of the U.S. idea of China. So I’ve got my camera and my extra roll, and I have no idea what to expect.
Next time on Trip to China: The great Tiananmen Square; Watch Out for the Military!
