Ta de kuzi zai nar?

First of, my sincere apologies for my extreme delay in blog post. I spent from November 2nd to the 15th traveling and have since then been putting off writing a travel entry. Unfortunately, it's still not finished so to keep you updated until then I will write about my time back in Beijing since then.

Traveling was wonderful, don't get me wrong, but when I stepped off of the train into Beijing's railroad station I wanted to fling my backpack off and kiss the filthy ground beneath my feet. I was home. Beijing finally felt like home. The air was brisk and bit my nose and cheeks, and I was shuffled around roughly by the impatient crowd waiting to exit, but I couldn't care less. I got out of the station and promptly hopped on the subway to my hutong. I never would have thought I could miss my flat as a board bed or the way I can hear my next door neighbor hack lugies every morning, but I really did. :)

My baba was waiting on the sofa when I arrived. "WANG YUN! ZENMEYANG? NI SHOU LE!" (How are you? You got skinnier!) He enthusiastically grabbed my back pack off my back and gave me a hug. Hugs in China are a big deal. You don't just hug your parents for any reason, and I remembered back on the first day when I tried to give my baba a hug it was received with several awkward pats on the back. It really was an excellent indicator to me of how much my relationship with him has grown. It was one of the best greetings I have ever experienced. My mama was still at work and my jiejie didn't arrive until later that afternoon, but when they saw me that night they seemed genuinely happy to have me back.

After the enthusiastic greeting I headed off to unpack. Upon first unzipping the bag, I immediately shut it again and gagged a little. 2 weeks with 3 shirts, 2 pants, 2 shorts, only 10 pairs of underwear and socks, no laundry, and about 6 showers in total added up to a bag of stink. I left the bag on the floor, firmly sealed, and instead decided to go to the gym.

During our travels it was, for the most part, very warm. Shorts and t-shirts weather most days. So I, brimming with common sense as most of you know, put on a pair of shorts, a t-shirt and a fleece for good measure...
My gym is about a 45 minute bike ride from my house and by the time I rounded the first intersection past Behai park, I knew I had made a mistake. Beijing's winter had set it and it could have been at most about 40 degrees out. Apparently I was not the only one questioning my sanity because as I rode people stopped, stared, gawked, and pointed. Several of them shouted out things as I past. "Ni leng bu leng?!?" "Weishenme ni mei you kuzi?" "Nide kuzi zai nar?" (Aren't you cold? Why don't you have pants? Where did your pants go?) My favorite was just as I turned into the gym entrance, my legs a nasty shade of purple and my hands a deep grey, a little kid saw me and said to his mother, "Waiguo ren bu xihuan chuan kuzi ma?" (Foreigners don't like to wear pants?) To which his mother responded, "Bu dui, na ge waiguo ren hen ben." (Not true, that foreigner is just very stupid.) And at that moment my only thought was "Wo tongyi." (I agree.)

Besides my warm welcome home, and idiotic adventures with no pants, I have been studying hard and doing my best to explore as much of the city as is possible. My real Mama, Baba, and Didi (younger brother) will be here in 3 weeks (YAY!!!) and I still am working on planning out their trip... If they don't bring me good stuff from home and behave very well while I'm their tour guide I plan to take them to eat chou dofu (stinky tofu, really nasty stuff ) for every meal and make them use the bus system at rush hour. :) (Hint: I haven't eaten Special K in 3 months and I really miss it...)

Anyway, it is past my bed time and I must go now.
Until Next Time,
Jules

Song of the Week
Summertime by: Sublime