Driving Ms. Judy

There's not a lot to report these last few weeks. I've just been busy preparing for and having my classes. I now have four one on one students. These discussions are very interesting and each one is a challenge. I have one adult woman, an 18 year old boy, a seven year old boy and an 11 year old girl. In addition, I still have our Monday night and Saturday night adult conversation groups. We have, I think, the most interesting discussions. On Friday night I have my middle school age group. We generally have a video, play songs with English lyrics, or lately the favorite has been to play Uno. Lots of fun!

Now that the weather is colder it's very tempting to just curl up with a good book and let the world go by. I do try to go out for a walk or get some exercise almost every day. As I've mentioned before, there are many interesting things to do near my apartment. There's a very good mall nearby but those who know me know of my aversion to malls! The stores here tend to be very noisy, hot and crowded. One mall nearby has an ice skating rink in it. It also has a drugstore so it is nice to go there and pick up some sundries and then watch the skaters for awhile. I said watch as I never was a very good ice skater and now prefer my bones in one piece, thank you very much!

There's not much regard for safety measures here and I cringe as I watch some of the skaters doing their fancy maneuvers without regard for the less adept among them. I foresee crashes everywhere. I only saw one child wearing a helmet. In the middle of all this, there are instructors giving private lessons to novice or not so novice skaters. I suppose that given the children's busy school schedules and extra curricular activities there is only limited time when they can use the skating rink, so it's a free for all out there when it is open.

In the past, Beijing's main mode of transportation was the bicycle and it is still used by a lot of people. During rush hour, the bike lanes are mobbed. There are a few motorized bikes but I rarely see a motorcycle, except for last Monday when I was walking on the sidewalk and looking at the passing parade. As I turned my head, and to my surprise, a motorcycle brushed right past me on the sidewalk. He came within inches! I also rarely see a cyclist wearing a helmet. Many bikes have two passengers, either parent and child or friends riding together.

I still haven't determined which is the safest mode of travel. Subways are good but they don't go everywhere. Walking should be okay but as I've just related, still dangerous --- and just try to cross a street! Buses are too hot and crowded and the windows fog up so you can't see where you are. Taxis are my favorite but the back seats don't have seat belts and the front seats, which do have belts, are scary, watching all the near misses with pedestrians, bicyclists, buses, trucks and other cars. After a while, you learn to not look and to ignore everything that is happening right outside.

My experience with taxi drivers has run the gamut. Most are pleasant and even friendly. Very few speak English, but those that do have the most fun practicing their English with me. I have a stack of index cards in Chinese which I use to get places. I also have a map with destinations in English and Chinese. Some will look at the card or map and out right refuse to take me. I don't know whether they don't understand the directions or just don't want to go there. Now that it's cold, I just jump into the taxi and since I started doing that no one has refused to take me to my destination. Some play the radio with the volume very high. I've actually learned to distinguish one program by the voice and diction of its emcee. I rarely listen to talk shows in the U.S. except for NPR but this guy sounds like one of those loud, opinionated radio personalities like we have in the U.S.

The style of driving by most drivers is like being in a demolition derby except they rarely hit any thing. Near misses abound though. I much prefer women taxi drivers who drive more gently and cautiously. But, of course, they are derided by the male population.

In early February, my friends Jack and Anne will be visiting for a few days. Also, everyone is looking forward to the Chinese New Year holiday which begins around February 17th. The children will have a few weeks off from school beginning next week. Much of the country will be on the move to visit with relatives during the holidays. I plan to visit some temples on February 18th which have special celebrations during the holiday and will also visit a small village near Beijing on February 19th for their celebration. I also will be going to Yunnan Province from February 20th through February 25th. It is in the southwest part of China and is a tropical climate. Should be a nice change from our winter weather.

I'm still having trouble posting pictures to this blog, so if you want me to send my Yahoo Picture Albums to you, let me know via e-mail. I normally only send these to a few people as I don't want to bore everyone with all my "vacation" pictures.