उस reunited

back in the states. spending time in LA. such a strange place. its an imagination of itself. things seemed to annoy me before but I've grown and now i'm able to ignore it all. the fakeness and the superficiality of it all. it used to bother me but my mind is too consumed with more.

Street scenes: dessert, famous sign of Deng Xiaoping in Shenzhen, a diner

Also from Wu Shanzhuang

From Wu Shanzhuang's exhibit at the Guangzhou Art Musuem

Well the day has come. There's going to be a lot of fainting today, elbow pushing and beer drinking...? The opening ceremony starts at 8 P.M. and it seems that every Chinese person has an agenda to ensure that they are celebrating it right. I wanted to go to some sweaty, outdoor plaza or some place that would have been jam packed with people celebrating and watching it on a megatron but it appears that the police have pretty much locked down every major gathering place in every single city across China. Yes! What a fun and exciting time this is! Stay at home! Eat western pizza and dumplings and watch the games on your own TV, inspect citizen's ID cars upon entry into your home, and keep your door locked at all times!!! I'm down with the Olympic spirit thing and I support and respect athletes but it just is getting a little out of hand-this frenzy foray into a world that seems very reminiscent of "1984."

An hour and a half away by car northwest of Guangzhou is the township of Conghua which is renown throughout China has having amazing hot springs. I went this past weekend with friends and was stunned to swim in clean natural water and breathe clean air from blue skies. it didn't seem possible to me that this much unspoilt nature could be so close to such a polluted city, but I have been fooled. The most amazing thing from the weekend-apart from driving a jeep, wading like an octagenerian for several hours through a pool, eating snails, and drinking rum with chinese herbal tea was having a clear head. I could actually sense that I was changing the air in my head-and I could think more acutely as a result! 3 days until the Olympics!

"Be My Lady" by The Meters-one of my favorite songs.

Every morning when I brush my teeth and look out the window I can see a group of 30 ladies doing a group work-out/dance with very brightly colored fans. They do a synchronized form of line dancing and listen to this very upbeat rhythym with one lady on the loud speaker singing. Passing them a trucks of laborers, kids playing ball, and taxi after taxi zooming by.