Beijing

It seems I have been prohibited from posting pictures. I'm not entirely sure why, it may or may not have something to do with their content.

I would like to start from the beginning.

The morning I left my Dad had to search (probably very nervously) for me, until he found me sleeping in Drex' room (there was a party downstairs that night). I could've slept through the alarm, or I could've been in a power sleep given the two nights prior were nearly entirely void of it. I woke up anxious and not ready to leave.

I arrived in Vancouver, Barf was waiting there for me like he said he would be. He carried with him a pantry jar of Jack Daniel's, like he said he would be. I felt badly sipping from it thinking about humble hands filling it with peach preserve, having no idea what sin liquid would one day occupy it. We proceeded to drive to Denny's in Barf's shotgunless car. The last Canadian familiar face I'll see.

Du Yan's parents were waiting for me in Beijing, just like they said they would be. In typical Chinese fashion they treated me to dinner. Them not knowing any English, me not knowing very much Chinese. A smile goes a long way.

My hosts, Ai and her parents, are beyond welcoming, beyond hospitable. They are more than happy to have me in their home, to cook for me. I am feeling very overwhelmed and undeserving.

I feel quite comfortable here. The subway system makes navigating very easy and I feel my language ability has improved immensely since I was last in China. I went out by myself all day today. I decided to go to Tian'an men square. As a foreigner, you can not walk by Tian'an men square undisturbed. I am happy about this; I never actually made it inside. Instead I spent the entire day outside Tian'an men practicing Mandarin with passers-by.

The scale of everything in Beijing is just so large. Everything is so grandiose. The skyline is without end, each building taller than the last, each adorned with more lights. I enjoy feeling small and unimportant, I enjoy not understanding how it's possible for millions of people to live in one place, or how most of the buildings here were built only in the last fifty years.