Tai Kuai Le!

Last night, I went to visit Mr. Wang, a guidance counselor from my High School currently visiting China. I had a wonderful chat with him and got to see more of the city on the way. On the cab ride to the subway station I had a nice chat with the driver about Beijing. I commented that the city seemed much bigger than New York. She responded, "It's big and keeps growing! Half the time I don't even know the city anymore. Every year something new is built, whole streets are redone. The development here, its unreal. Too big, too fast! Tai kaui le!" I had a similar conversation with a cab driver on the way back from the station. "Back 20 years ago most of the city was around the first and second ring roads. The rest was the suburbs, then the countryside. Now, all this is developed. Third ring, fourth ring, fifth ring! In ten years the sixth ring will be dotted with skyscrapers!" I also met a Nigerian businessman on the subway who I talked to a while about living abroad in China.

Some changes in my plans. Mom and Dad don't freak out. I am going to Chengdu first, then to Dongbei. Got my ticket for Chengdu. Li Cheng said he'll pick me up at the station. Everything should go smoothly. I may even get to visit a friend of mine's mom in Wuxi, if I'm up to it. Otherwise, I should have plenty of time to rest and leisurely travel.

1 week left in Beijing!

I can't believe 7 weeks have past already. It seems I arrived in Beijing yesterday. My parents are back in New York and greatly enjoyed their time in China. Friday night was my program's talent show. It was a lot of fun. The other second year students and I sang "Dui mian de nu hai kan guo lai". I also performed some Nan Quan (Southern Fist) with the other three students in my Kung Fu class. Went on my last organized class trip for this summer this morning. We went to the Temple of Heaven, which was pretty similar to the other Qing Dynasty architecture we'd seen (Summer Palace and Forbidden City). Finished off the afternoon with a trip to this flee market. I got a this great green silk suite with a dragon on it. It reminded me of what we wore for the Kung Fu performance. It was a little expensive (100 RMB) and the pants a little tight on my waste and a little long, but I can get it tailored. Or even better give it to my brother, who might actually be the perfect size. Looking foward to the last week in Beijing, polishing up my Chinese, and whatnot. I probably won't post here while in Manchuria or Sichuan but I will post several epic blog posts when I get back to the states, as well as a few hundred photos.