बीजिंग

It feels great to be back. I arrived on the first day of rain after 100+ days of drought. I told myself it is an auspicious sign. I flew from Seattle over Alaska and Siberia and down the plains of Manchuria into Beijing. The rain poured as we made our descent until I finally I could faintly see the lights of the airport and I knew I had made it back to China again. It's funny; I truly believe in the power of 3's and this being my 3rd time to China, everything seems to be more crystal clear. When I first came as I student in college, I was more naive and ignorant than anything else. I had a curiousity about the place and a quench to explore the unknown but my grasp of this place was so minimal. The second time, last summer, I kept on telling myself that it was the right thing to do. Leaving love and forcing myself to do the "professional" thing overtook my entry and duration in south China last summer. This time, I planned everything in advance and I truly want to be here. Unsuprisingly, so far everything has worked out well and I like the mojo I am carrying with me here now. Can't jinx it though.

I looked at apartments today for the first time. What a good Chinese excercise! Fortunately my friend Paulette put me in touch with a friend of hers who is helping me as I look at places with the real estate agents. The rents have gone down a bit here since the Olympics and the economic downturn has furthered their decline. Each apartment I looked at today is an area of the city known as Dongzhimen, which is in the northwest quadrant of the city and in between the western half filled with embassies, flashy western clubs and expensive restaurants and the inner city with its old hutongs and ancient gates and towers. To save money on rent, I told the agent I would live on a floor with the number 4 in it. The Chinese being auspicious believe that the number 4, pronounced "si" sounds much to like the word for death, "si" (but with a different tone). The same rule applies when you buy a phone, if the number has a bunch of 4's and/or ends in 4, you will pay 20-40% less than all the other numbers.

The sky is grey and winter is here, but its tolerable. I have been eating meat buns for breakfast and really need to quit that as I will develop a habit that will be too hard to break. I'm off to Ikea today to get things for the room I am renting in the meantime (I am looking for apartments for my friend Paul and I but he doesn't arrive until next month so I am staying with a friend of a friend for now). It's Valentine's Day and there are young men with bunches of roses for sale everywhere and I can imagine all the single young women must be sulking more than usual today. Valentine's Day is the most widely celebrated western holiday in China. I celebrated by looking at apartments with my new friend Mr. Liu and taking pictures together in front of old toilets that had been thrown out in the courtyards of the apartment buildings. I will attach one here later once I find the cord.....

That's it for now.