'I just toasted to Marx"

I am WAY too tired to write a full blog, so here are my last few days in a nutshell

11:15 p.m. China time

Chinese class is fun, albeit difficult.


We did calligraphy. Our teacher had been training 10 years. I was not a natural.



We went to the Hutangs (this is not spelled right) which are the real residential neighborhoods of Beijing. It was interesting to see a local market where people shop for their daily needs.

It was a far cry from the tourist attractions we have seen. I just wish I could talk to the local people more. Hand signals are only getting me so far-and mostly laughed at.


A genius China idea is that their playgrounds are actually exercise equipment. Brilliant. This makes so much sense.



Let me also stress that there are no open container laws in China, hence my classmates drinking on the playground. Weird.




The tour was led by an old friend of our professor. He is a white man born and raised in China, but his dad was English so he has an awesome accent. He may know James bond personally. He runs a school and works with NGOs. He also taught at Wellesley. At dinner I asked him about cheese and where I can get some in China. He said that when friends come to visit he asks them to bring a sharp cheddar. Then he gave me a name of a cheese shop so I can go on my free day.



We ate out with our tour guide and during the meal he had us all do a toast to Karl Marx because it was his birthday. We all raised our glasses and toasted. Never did I think I'd do that.




I already wrote about going out last night, so I'll skip to today.
We had Chinese class and then a lecture by a Manchu scholar who I found interesting. Of course my questions I asked him were about food.



After lunch was my favorite part of the trip so far. We went to a Buddhist monastery. A monk in full robes gave us a tour. I felt incredibly calm in the area of worship (temple?) and was interested in what he had to say. He referred to Buddhism as more of a wisdom than a religion. The monks presented us with hand carved wooden bead e, bananas, and a sign that read in Chinese something to the effect of "We come from different places but we share the same sun and the same earth."

I can't describe the feeling I felt there except for a feeling of total calm. I want to research Buddhism more and maybe even get into it. I have to read up.
The monks invited us to worship with them. It was an hour long beautiful ceremony full of chanting, walking around the temple, praying, drums, and song. I was in awe of the entire thing and even started crying-though I don't know why. (I cried at the Western Wall even though I don't believe in God). I was in this mental state that I think is what happens when people meditate. I was not asleep, but so calm I wasn't really awake.


I sound crazy.

But really, it was very moving and inspiring that these people are so dedicated to Buddhism and live their life so beautifully and peacefully. The Idiots Guide to Buddhism will be bought soon.

We had Peking Duck for dinner, but before that Joe and I were so hungry we bought our first street vendor food. About 7 cents US for spicy pork kabobs.
Repeat after me : Love the exchange rate.






Last note:
I had a funny conversation with Ma asking her if she was a party animal when she was younger. Three minutes and a little confusion later, I realized she thought I asked her if was a part of the Communist Party. Lost in translation moment.