First Impressions

On Thursday night I arrived in Beijing at about 9 pm, right on schedule. I was met by Zhu Qi (pronounced = Choo Key), Exectutive Secretary and Mr. Song who apparently works on program development. I will know more next Monday when I get to meet the whole Y staff. They took me to my apartment and got me settled in for the night. They had, very thoughtfully, supplied me with eggs, milk, ham, cheese and bread. By the time they left and I unpacked some things, I didn't turn in until after midnight.

The apartment is on the fourth floor of an eight story building (walk up). The building is situated in a security gated complex and there are also security guards walking around so I feel quite safe here.

The apartment has two bedrooms, a living/dining area, a bathroom with a shower and a washing machine, two balconeys (which I gather are mainly for ventilation and to dry clothes), a small kitchen with a microwave and a two burner hot plate. The bedrooms each have an air conditioner, which since it was warm and humid that night, I used right away. The apartment is rather spartan by American standards. Plain white walls with no decor. I will try to get some posters or other wall hangings to warm it up. I just started reading "White Swans" by Jung Chang. It is a memoir about three generations of women who lived in China throughout the twentieth century. In the introduction, she tells about how during the Cultural Revolution even flowers and gardening were banned! Imagine life without flowers?

On Friday morning, Zhu Qi arrived to show me the neighborhood and take me shopping. Although there are several small markets, a dry cleaners and a hair salon within a block or so, she took me to the big supermarket several blocks away.

The supermarket was very interesting. For one thing it was very noisy. People shouting specials to the customers, customers jammed around fresh meat and fish, a real mad house. It reminded me a little of D'Agostinos. They have just about everything you can imagine, including an import section. Butter and cheese from France, jams from Finland, cookies from everywhere. I'm going to gradually start with the fresh vegetables hoping I don't pick up some intestinal thing. However, everything looks clean and fresh. I bought some Chinese wine but haven't sampled it yet. But there is also wine from France and Austratlia. I have a list of foods in English, Pinyan and Chinese characters, so if I can't find something, I can ask for help. And, yes, there is help everywhere. When we returned to my apartment, Jack, a young techie for the Y, came to hook up my computer which he did successfully, as you can see.

Yesterday, with the full moon, was the culmination of the Moon Festival. It is a week long holiday encompassing two weekends. Although I believe fireworks are banned in Beijing, there was a two hour fireworks and entertainment show broadcast from Shanghai. Earlier in the afternoon Jack had returned to my apartment. He brought me two moon cakes to celebrate the holiday. I thought it was so sweet of him to think of me.