A Long Walk Adventure

First, I apologize for the double posting of my previous blog post. As you know blogger is blocked in China, so I am submitting all my posts via email. Well, I got click the "send" button happy. Unfortunately, since I am posting from email there is no way for me to edit my blog once I send the email.

Now, in brief my long walk adventure. I decided to take a walk off campus to see what I could see. The outer rung of Beijing, where BRS, is located is not a tourist hot spot. I stood out like a plastic pink flamingo. I got a lot of second and third looks. I was stopped by someone in a car who was concerned I was lost or needed help. He asked me if I knew where I was going, I said, "no, but I know how to get back to where I am staying."

I now understand the heavy reliance on umbrellas and fans to combat the heat here---they are not simply a fashion accessory. I melted my way to a small indoor/outdoor market a couple of miles from BRS and as the pools of sweat were cooling on my skin in the air conditioned part of the market I noticed I had a following. Three young women, who obviously worked at the store I was cooling down in, were following me around the store giggling. Ultimately, I think they wanted to practice their English, or maybe just follow the weird looking woman, because I couldn't get any more than giggling odd looks from them. I did manage to buy green tea and the films, Whip It and The Hurt Locker. DVDs here are approximately one dollar and you are able to get movies that haven't been released yet in the States. U.S.A's copyright laws do not apply. The DVDs I bought were in perfect condition.

At the outside market I was able to purchase some cherries with the help of someone that wanted to practice their English. I then melted my way back to the dorms at BRS ready to watch a DVD and eat fresh cherries.