Green Beijing

I traveled to Beijing with two Americans who hadn't been there before. Both said it was nothing like they expected it to be. They anticipated chaotic traffic, crowded conditions, pollution and an overall third world experience. Oh contrare! Beijing is green, spacious, orderly and clean. It was a pleasant shock for them. One grew up in Thailand and thinks Bangkok's city planners could learn a lot from Beijing. Too bad Beijing gets such a bad rap in the press, the source of their misinformation. The city is actually quite a charming place (except for their famously obnoxious taxi drivers).

Beijing stained glass

I visited a church in Beijing. The stained-glass windows were just beautiful. This church, built in the 1800s, still exists in an alleyway not too far from Tiananmen Square. When I visited the church during the week, two young women were inside the sanctuary praying, one crying as she prayed. I don't think the women care that Bill Clinton visited this church before. They just care that Jesus shows up and hears their prayers.

Dog petting tour of Beijing

Dogs are awesome, and Beijing is full of wonderful, loving canines. I think I have petted every dog I've seen since I arrived. I let them sniff my hand before it reaches back to rub their ears and pat their heads. They love it. It softens the hearts of their owners too, and they talk to me when they see I'm friendly towards their dogs. I love all the dogs, but the one above won first prize in my heart. She's got a sweet face like Mimi does. They are both Pekingese.

 Love.

 Love.

Love. This Mimi lookalike wanted to take a nap, using my hand for its pillow. Pekingese are native to Peking/Beijing, so I'm in the Pekingese motherland right now.

Sweet.

 Pekingese cutie! (My dad thinks this dog looks like it belongs to Yoda or Jabba the Hut; he does not think it is too cute. Haha! Certainly not "Mimi-cute!")

Itchy cute.

Classy street style, Beijing

A man of culture on the streets of Beijing.

Or maybe not.

Let's give them something to talk about

Chinese person A: Nah, let's not get a foreigner or even a Chinese English major to translate our sign for us. It will probably cost too much. Besides, I've got a dictionary.

Chinese person B: Okay! Look up the word for short skirt.

Chinese person A: Got it! Tutu!

Chinese person B: Haha! This is easy. Only stupid people would pay for a translator.

Indeed. Why pay when this way is sooooooo much more fun!

(The green sign says, in Chinese translated into English: "Entry forbidden to those wearing shorts, skirts and other unsuitable clothing." Oddly, they didn't enforce it. Lots of male tourists were wearing knee-length shorts. In Chinese culture, wearing shorts in public is basically improper. Shorts are for fishermen and little boys, they say.)

Buddhists in Taiwan and Paris should go to this back alley in Beijing to get their garb. There was no indication as to where Buddhists from other countries might go for their garb ... or even if Buddhists from other countries are even expected to have garb. 

Honestly, it's not my problem.

Tiananmen again (hey, that rhymes!)

I was back at Tiananmen Square yesterday. Pictured above is Qian Men (literally "front gate" or "front door") at the far south end of Tiananmen Square.

This colorful (but sullen) little girl posed on the square. She paused from eating her fruit to do some diva pose that her mom (also present) probably taught her.

Hi. My name is Larry. This is my brother Daryl, and this is my other brother Daryl (who may or may not have forgotten to wear pants today).

The military is out in Beijing all the time. But Benjamin Netanyahu is in town today. So today, more.

I hope no one came to Beijing just to take a picture of the entrance to Forbidden City. The scaffolding is not very picturesque. That's a portrait of former Chairman Mao Zedong under the scaffolding.

A Tiananmen statue representing "the people" who helped build China. More photos coming soon!

The Square

I'm in Beijing once again. Just got here, and my friends who have never been here before wanted to make Tiananmen Square their first stop. More soon!

A cat named Rover

Suppose a foreigner moved to America, bought a cat, and named him Rover.

This foreigner named his cat Rover, because his parents back in his own country had two cats named Dover and Bover, and he wanted to continue to "Ver" family tradition of pet-naming. Besides, many people in America named their own cats with "Ver" names too. You know, like Lover and Hover. (Okay, my example seems to be falling apart about right now. Try to hang in there with me though, I'm not finished.)

And let's suppose that none of his American acquaintances had a sense of humor. They were overly serious and thought this foreigner was off his rocker. Because Rover is a dog's name, not a cat's name. Dumb foreigner.

Can you see where I am going with this?

In China, Mimi is a name for cats.

Well how was I supposed to know?!!!!!

I bought the little ball of fur from a box on the side of the road in 2005 and took her home. Within an hour she knew her name. My parents had two dogs, Beebee (RIP, beloved doggy) and Koko. And Chinese people gave their own dogs names with repeated syllables. I thought Mimi would be an easy name for Chinese people to pronounce, as it kind of sounds like the word for rice.

At that time Mimi was the size of a Coke can and hadn't had her shots. It would be two months before the little beauty knew that the great outdoors existed. I couldn't risk her getting parvo by letting her out. So we bonded over her name inside my apartment.

But soon enough, we made friends with the great outdoors. And that's when I found out from my neighbors that "Mimi" is what people call cats.

So I smoothed things over by telling everyone that Mimi is an English name, a woman's name. Most people were cool with that.

But TODAY, a woman in my apartment complex with absolutely no common sense, and certainly no sense of humor, suggested that I change my 8-year-old dog's name to a Chinese name! Is she crazy? Do you think my dog is going to be like a Chinese college student that has a Chinese name and an English name both?

No. Absolutely not. My dog is awesome. And her name is Mimi. Forever.

Sheesh.

The Big C

Whoever said everything is bigger in Texas probably had never been to China. Because whether we like to admit it or not, everything is bigger in China. Even if it doesn't need to be, it is, just so they can say it is. Texans and Chinese have a lot in common in this way. Here in the Big C, big red sculpture-like thingamajigs are pretty popular. I like this one in the middle of the roundabout intersection. And below you can see that the overachieving landscapers planted pretty flowers there too.

Pansies, perfume, Pekingese and holidays

The last three days have been holidays here -- May Day. While everyone else in town is out soaking in the sunshine, I'm packing, upgrading computer operating systems, backing up hard drives and other tedious stuff. But pretty soon (next week) I'm going on a trip within this country, so that ought to be fun.

I suppose you think it is not safe to tell people when you are going to be away from home. However, (a) I only know one person who reads this blog who has any idea of where I live, and she's nice; and (b) I have a mean dog staying in the house with a dog sitter, so there is no vacant house to invade when I am gone. Trust me. My dog may look like an angel, and even act like one most of the time, but she will take a chunk out of your leg if you mess with her. Americans don't need guns to defend themselves. They just need some Pekingese.

I did break away from the house yesterday to go to a nursery to buy a new plant for my balcony. On the way there by e-bike, I was quite taken by the pansies planted in the median, so I decided to stop and take a photo of them. They plant pansies of varying colors pretty much all the time. This is one thing I didn't expect when I moved to this country. I expected drab dark bleakness. I had no idea that this country is into high-end landscaping. Everything looks beautiful where the professional gardeners have been. They must employ thousands of them. This city is gorgeous.

The azaleas and some other tree with white blooms are so fragrant right now that the air is infused with the smell of perfume. It's like walking through a perfume section of a department store. Wow, sure beats some of the other smells that are usually going on around this crowded country! :-)