I left Chicago for Beijing the weekend after Thanksgiving. The route was Chicago to Minneapolis to Japan and finally Beijing. My total travel time was about 24 hours including layovers. Just long enough for my mind to start playing cruel tricks like, “You realize you’re going to have your next birthday on this plane, don’t you?” At any rate, I finally did get to China and had jetlag for most of the first week.
In terms of housing, we had a lovely modern apartment in a high rise building that would not have been out of place on Chicago’s Gold Coast. We could buy a decent bottle of wine from the market downstairs. The building had satellite TV and reasonably reliable wireless Internet service. It had all the amenities of home. We lived across the street from the German and Israeli embassies. There was never any problem with access to wholesome food at the grocery store and the fresh produce was amazing (and cheap). I bought fresh flowers at Lady Street and meat from the German butcher shop. Since our stay in China was sponsored by the U.S. government, we really were made pretty comfortable. We had excellent health care, Chinese drivers and security guards both at home and at the job site.
From the balcony of our 6th floor apartment, I watched the work day unfold. Before the bustling morning traffic came to life, a cadre of street sweepers cleaned the sidewalks in front of already meticulous embassy compounds under the watchful eyes of armed Chinese military guards. It was not uncommon to see platoons of young Chinese soldiers decked out in spotless green and red uniforms marching or running in perfect formation bringing traffic to a halt. Initially, it was quite unsettling but eventually it became one of those facts of life that barely registered in my mind.
Dining out in Beijing was hit or miss until we came up with a short list of favorites. In terms of Chinese food, I quickly learned that what I’d eaten in Chinese restaurants in the U.S. doesn’t even come close to being authentic. Food in China, like in any country, including the U.S. varies depending on the region of the country. One thing that is universal, however, is that the Chinese don’t typically eat big pieces of meat like we do in the States. Nor do they eat lots of sugar. So, do they really eat what we Americans would consider “exotic” foods? Absolutely. Did I eat any? No.
Beijing is the capital city of China – the seat of government and commerce. It’s a place of stark contrasts between rich and poor. It was nothing to see obviously wealthy Chinese driving luxury cars past the poorest most ragged beggars. The air and water in Beijing are both horribly polluted. Although a mountain range was visible from our balcony, more often than not it was obscured by the pollutants in the air. The Chinese still use leaded gasoline and coal for heating. Many days the smell was bad enough that leaving the balcony doors open was not an option. I remember on those days the weather forecast was often listed as “smoky.”
