Travelogue 1

July 10, 2009.In China. First official outing since I got here - Tien'anmen Square. I expected to feel numb upon seeing it like I did once when I saw the Grand Canyon, but I didn't, and I was glad of that. The buildings there were beautiful and old and ornate, but it was a bit of a tourist trap, honestly, which was a bit sad. There were way too many people for anything that was supposed to seem respectable and gravitas-y to seem very respectable and gravitas-y. A lot of noise, with the cries of vendors hawking popsicles for 1 yuan running on an infinite loop through it all - I was beginning to fear they possessed no thoughts except for that one, and had no dreams except that phrase running through their mind until it was time to wake. There were also lots of people that would shove pieces of paper into your hand that were this kind of map/tour advertising, that mainly served as something to put between your butt and the ground when you needed to sit down since there no benches whatsoever there. Oh, and the bathrooms - don't get me started; they were so gross, I would honestly say doing your business behind a bush is a better alternative, I could not bring myself to use one. Plus, you had to pay to use them, which I thought was a bit backward.

After Tien'anmen, we went to this giant bookstore that was probably the Chinese version of a Barnes and Noble or Borders, with - get this - five stories. There weren't that many English books, though, and I felt sadly Americanized there. The stuff was really cheap, though - like a copy of The Great Gatsby I got was 12 yuan, and if one US dollar around 7 yuan, you can do the math there. But I was also sad because I saw a copy of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which I've been wanting for a long time, and they only had the Chinese version.

We (and I should specify me and my grandma, my aunt stayed home today) traveled the vast majority of the way by bus, and it was somewhat horrible the first time. Chinese buses are so much more crowded than American buses and none of them have air conditioning (it was hot/humid as hell that day), plus they're really bumpy and jostly and jolty.

We were rather deep in the city and the pollution/smog/whatever it is that makes things terribly hazy was quite bad that day. The first four or so days I was here it was like that and I was afraid it'd be like that the whole time, but yesterday the sky was blue and the sun was actually blinding when you looked at it, which was a huge relief. But yeah. Most days, things 100 or so ft. away are a little hazy. Things a few blocks away are very hazy. Things in the far distance are almost invisible. Not good.

The bus ride home was better than the first ride, though, and the afternoon had this frenetic yet langorous quality to it, plus I had this quiet thrill of being in a foreign country; and there were roses planted on some of the medians, and I was so so parched and I think I imagined drinking one of those berry slushes they serve at Costco for twenty minutes straight. When we got off, we got off too early and walked in the wrong direction also, which killed my feet even further, and now I think my feet are pretty much dead. At least I'll have plenty to read, however (I also bought a copy of Pride and Prejudice, and my grandma insisted on getting Gone With the Wind, which is nearly 1,000 pages long in 8-pt. font [They're not very big on uncommon titles, though]).

And I think that's about it. Whew. I'm just about ready to pass out on my keyboard here.
September 17th, 2009 at 05:06am