Tuesday 26 February 2008

three nights in beijing
everybody spits here. old people especially - men and women. it's not uncommon to walk along a pathway and see small puddles of white. i saw an old lady bend over and spit into the bushes. maybe that's what keeps them green and leafy in this winter cold.

i'm staying in a flat, in a block of flats which is one of a cluster, and you can't really differentiate them unless you're familiar with the place. just now, on the way back from jolie's - she stays in another block - i went up the wrong block. and i didn't realise it was the wrong one because the neighbours opposite us stuck a glittery 福 on their door, as did the people staying opposite the place i went to by mistake. i must have given some poor dudes a scare. they didn't open the door, but i heard them fiddling with the lock.

i bought a skipping rope for 3 yuan today, which is about 60 singapore cents. it looks very kiddy, being made of brightly coloured plastic, but it has its uses. soon, if you come to beijing, you'll be able to see me in the courtyard of 富润家园, bundled up and skipping to my hearts' content. it's really too expensive to get a gym membership.

i also bought some cherry tomatoes, and they taste amazing. they're firm, and tart. also some chinese royal gala apples. a lot bigger than the variety we get back in singapore, and crunchier too.

i have placed my desk - a desk which i purchased yesterday in ikea, our landlady didn't provide any for us - in a position that enables me to look out of the window. however, the sun is currently in my eyes so maybe it's not such a good idea. in the distance i can see the great wall of china.

i managed to smuggle two roses from the bouquet jon got me to china, in my check-in luggage. they're next to my laptop now; it must be the cold, they're keeping their colour remarkably well.

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