Beijing July 3

It is Sunday, a day of rest so I took a day of rest - part of one.
I went to church this morning at the Congregation of the Good Shepherd (cogs-bj.org). They meet on the third floor of an athletic facility in an area north and east of where I am staying. I took the subway and a cab and arrived about half an hour before the service started. After service I got a ride to a different part of the Beijing subway system, a part I had not been on before. So I had a bit of an adventure reading the subway maps and making two transfers, from Line 10 to Line 1 and then Line 1 to Line 2. By not reading the map at the transfer point I got on the Line 2 train going the wrong way. So I got off at the first station, crossed the platform and got going the right direction. Atter getting out at Qian Men station I took a bit of a walk around another part of the "neighbourhood" and eventually ended up at the hotel about 1.30 I think.

The air conditioning in my room was nice so I stayed in the room for a few hours. Outside it was 33 - 34 all afternoon, although the humidity level seemed somewhat lower than yesterday. It was also a very clear day so the sun was quite bright, and there is very little shade in most cities, especially in the downtown areas. Beijing is no exception to that.

My host called about 4.00pm. She had finished her late lunch with a friend and wondered what my plans were for the evening. I told her I had some more marking to do but would call her back when I was ready to leave. An hour later I called back. We met at the subway station close to her place and spent the afternoon and evening together wandering through a part of the hutong that is her neighbourhood. About 8.30 we stopped for supper. I don't know if she had eaten at the restaurant before or not. However she had been told that it is usually a good idea to eat the standards in an unfamiliar restaurant. So we had Ma Po Tofu, Eggplant with Tomatoes and Sweet Peppers, Kung Pao Chicken and Fried Rice. While we were eating there was a cooking show on TV. If we ever ran out of things to talk about we could talk about food (again). We did talk about food and cooking, and about shared experiences and individual experiences. We discovered we both have a weakness for Chinese children, particularly little Chinese girls. If either one of us ever had to teach junior kindergarten or nursery school to a group of Chinese kids there would be no discipline. Both of us melt when faced with cute little Chinese girls. And neither one of us has any idea why.

Despite the conversation or because of it, or simply the art of the cook, the food was wonderful. Some of the best eggplant I have ever eaten. The kung pao chicken was well balanced, neither too bland nor too spicy-hot. The Ma Po Tofu was cooked differently than what I have had before and it was great. Even the fried rice was good, a nice background to the rest of the food, just a little salty which was needed with the other dishes. I say even the fried rice was good because it is so easy to mess up something so simple.

I got back to the hotel about 10.15pm having had a great time. I toned up my legs some more, and I managed to purchase a couple of things to take home as gifts. I could have spent a lot more than I did, there were so many attractive and interesting things available.

I was in taxis twice today and I did some walking in the hutong which means encounters with motorized vehicles of various kinds. I was reminded that taxi drivers are not the worst drivers on the road, as some comedians seem to think. And the two drivers I had charged exactly what was on the meter, no "extra" charges. They also took me to my destination quickly and with a minimum of fuss.

One correction I need to make. I wrote that BeiHai Park mean "White Lake / Sea Park". It does not. (I am surprised no one corrected me by e-mail.) It means "North Lake / Sea Park". And it is the most northern of a short chain of lakes (seas) near the Forbidden City.

No picture for you today. I took only a few in my host's neighbourhood before it got too dark for my camera. For camera buffs, my last two shots were at 1/30 and f3.2. If the Drum Tower happens to be in focus and visible I will consider myself very fortunate indeed.