Happy Thanksgiving

I'm spending Thanksgiving at work.  The pilgrims didn't land in China.  I'm sorry I couldn't be with my family (celebrating at my sister's place in Connecticut), but to uphold a family tradition, I am providing my list of what I am thankful for:
 
- I am thankful that I have a family and friends who are supportive of the weird things I like to do - like take off for China for a year 
- I am thankful for the technology that makes it much easier to keep in touch affordably.
- Thanks also for built in grand-dog sitting (by my parents) on a grand scale - I know she is loved and cared for (except by one mean cat)
- I am thankful that I have fun, smart co-workers both here and at CARE
- I am thankful for my nice comfortable safe apartment with hot water and heat and a comfortable bed and a flushing toilet.  Many people in the world do not have any of this.

- I am thankful for all the yummy food and for easy access to the gym that I will be using to offset it.
- I am particularly thankful for the long warm coat I bought yesterday in the outlet store in the bottom of my building - it even has a hood!  I wore it to work today (4 degrees C; 39 F) and it was too warm!  

See you all in a few weeks!

Transportation in Beijing

Beijing - Since I have not built up the courage to buy a bicycle (partly I'm afraid to ride it but mostly I am afraid of the actual purchasing process), I walk to and from work and do most of my errands on foot.  Beijing has wide busy streets and 1000 new cars (with new drivers) on the already massively crowded roads each day.  The city government provides highly effective safety measure for pedestrians: flag men and women at crosswalks.  These dedicated public safety professionals risk life and limb by standing in the middle of the intersections waving tiny tattered red flags and maintaining they delusion that they have control over pedestrians and cars.

Speaking of being nearly run over, every city has its taxi culture.  Here, every taxi smells like it's culturing something.  The city government has recently provided rules for taxi drivers in preparation for the Olympics that include (seriously) - 1)  Change your clothes every day; 2) don't eat so much garlic 3) no smoking in the cab.  They are insanely cheap (about $1 for trips up to 20 minutes long) and maybe a little insane, too.  Although most drivers here appear have a sense of invincibility.  I'm actually surprised I don't see more accidents.

I must preface this part by saying that I have mastered the subway systems in DC, Boston and New York (oh yeah, and Atlanta's 8 stops).  So when K suggested we try the subway on China National Day (the most crowded day of the year in Beijing, I mildly point out), I was reluctant but game. Subway maps are universally easy to read, right?  He has figured out on our map that there is a subway stop near my place. So we pay the 10 cents for the paper tickets and find our way down to the platform - step 1 accomplished!  We squeeze into the human sardine can and ride a couple stops to where we change trains.  

Someone gives us a nice map that shows clearly the purple line.  We point at this to a few official looking people and they shake their heads, which we interpret as the universal gesture for "oh, it's probably right over there".  We wander upstairs and down a corridor, looking for maps, signs, or helpful people.  Finally, as we are wearing the the univerally known expression for "help we are lost tourists and/or complete idiots", a kindly person says "that line doesn't exist."  We show her the official map.  Her shrug is the universal gesture meaning "please leave me alone, I did not make that map." [note: I found out later that the line is under construction.  The map was optimistic.]

This is a city of many bicycles, which is great.  There are even bicycle parking lots.  Bicycle riders are also invincible.  The neat thing is that you can ride your bicycle on the sidewalk, or the wrong way down the street.   I just saw a news show that said many cities in the South are banning electric bicycles.  Evidently they are silent AND deadly. 

There are buses everywhere and many of them stop right outside my apartment building, but I am too scared to try one - I don't know where they go or how to find out.

And a note on queuing for airplanes - the only thing I have to say about this is that they must think that queuing means "form the shape of a Q."   A mob forms at the based of the stairs to the airplane (for domestic flights), despite the fact that we all have assigned seats.  I can't really complain, because (I don't know why) I jump in the middle of it.