its the little things that i like

Fun thing today I learned today... Chinese symbols to the women's vs men's restroom. Bcuz aparently a stick with a skirt isnt as universal as i thought it would be. Oh these expectations I didnt know I had. Off I go.

throdding where the sun rises

Alright, its weird. Its about to be dawn where I am... and its not even nighet *yesterday* yet where you are reading this (in case u read my blog, that is). So here I am awake at sleeping hours and for the first time ever in China (Beijing or Peking). WOW. What a different world and yet not.

This is the most different place I have ever been in... I obviously dont look like I fit - and everyone can spot me out as a tourist even without the camera and map. I sure dont stand a chance of understanding ANY of the language. It is so modern and yet so ancient. This place has a LOT of history.

I am here for a whole week of work but had a chance to go sightseeing yesterday for a little while. It was an experience which I have mixed feelings about. To get the basics down first... I visited:

• the Forbidden City which was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing Chinese dynasties and called that because as my Lonely Planet guidebook puts it "Entrace without an invitation was priced at your life, today its only $$". It took hours to go through it all as it really is a whole city within those walls... really neat though! And beautiful buildings named things like "Hall of Supreme Harmony" and "Palace of Tranquil Longevity". Pictures are on facebook.
• Tiananmen square, is an enourmous square in the heart of Beijing. Here is where several important historic moments took place (such as the proclamation of the establishment of the People's Republic of China). The square has its name bcuz of the Tiananmen Gate (Gate of Heavenly Peace) at the north of it. There are monuments and museums around the square. Oh, they say the square is nice to just sit out... yeah, not in the winter.
• the Temple of Heaven Park which was the place where the emperors who lived in the Forbidden City would go to make their sacrificial offerings in other to bring good harvest. The architecture is outstanding - and much of it is an engineering marvel as some of the structures have no supporting pillars. The place is breathtaking.

Now the architecture was a-m-a-z-i-n-g. There is attention to every single detail, and symbolism beyond comprehension. Really neat! I loved seeing all these places and learning more about the history and culture of China - bcuz if there is one thing I know for sure is that I am so ignorant about it. I just never had real curiosity about the world over here until about a year ago when I read 'Snow flower and the Secret Fan' and 'Peony in Love'... I had always been facinated with the Roman Empire and Greece so when I visited there a couple of years ago I knew what it meant to be standing where I was. Here in Beijing its a little different, I have to do more research and only after do I start to comprehend the significance of things. It is amazing to discover a new world.

Now, the not as great stuff... yesterday was hard and I almost just wanted to go back to the hotel and watch movies. How embarassing! How ignorant! How terribly wrong of me! I have the opportunity of a lifetime and the thought of wasting it is just repugnant. Not that I should make excuses but I think I felt that way because of the utter bitter cold (windy, the 16F/-9 C for most of the day) that burned my skin and left my fingers immobile and in pain all day. It may have been that I was constantly accosted by people ("Art Students") trying to scam me, and by constantly I mean every 20 minutes no joke. It may have been that I understood absolutely nothing (the language, the signs) and it felt that noone was trying to help me. It may have been that I got TOTALLY lost within less than 5 minutes of leaving the hotel. It may have been the jetlag...

As long as it wasnt that Im getting old, boring and not liking change/new-ness. As long as its not that I am ok not learning more. Because THAT is NOT the person I ever want to be.

Anyways.. the sun is about to rise over here. Its time to get ready for work... and dont uknow it, Im tired and want to take a nap. Oh life!

Off I go

just my luck (yay!)

Never did I think that when I took this job out of college that it would help me fulfill some of my travel dreams so soon. Yes, when you join they say "there is a possibility of travel" but you dont get your hopes up because after all driving to Chicago every couple of months is nice but wears on you but boy oh boy! Last summer it was UK, Ireland and France at no real cost to me (other than personal expenses)... now its London, China and Japan. I will blog about it in the coming days.

pree

a good laugh at work

Random body statistics (these are unverified). But could be good to include in a presentation such as "What do you mean you don't think you can handle it? Did you know a human hair can support 6 pounds? You've got a full head of hair, imagine how much you can handle."

- It takes your food seven seconds to get from your mouth to your stomach...
- One human hair can support 3 kg (6 lb).
- Human thighbones are stronger than concrete.
- A woman's heart beats faster than a man's.
- There are about one trillion bacteria on each of your feet.
- Women blink twice as often as men.
- The average person's skin weighs twice as much as the brain.
- Your body uses 300 muscles to balance itself when you are standing still.
- If saliva cannot dissolve something, you cannot taste it.

the more things change the more they stay the same

Another year is over... wow! So much happened in 2008. My family has relocated itself to a different continent, I feel that I am much 'older' than I was before, I have a wonderful person who I am now sharing my life with, I am no longer the most junior person at work, I am not as freaked out about the cold weather, I have some new friends I am really happy with...

But I look back at where I was last year, and I feel that not that much has changed in me. Just like last year I want to focus on life changes, habit changes, being healthy, being balanced, having just enough happiness and just enough sadness... I feel Ive made progress forward, not as much as I wanted but definitely progress.


But another year begins... a year that I hope will be even better than the one that just passed.

Anyways... off to catch some sun.

Will write later about:
- Recap of the holidays
- Top 10 memories from 2008
- Travels for the year

tata for now...
Pree

PS: The only new plans are that I hope this year I will save more money too.