Random surprises

So far, my life in Beijing has been full of surprises.  Some of them are frustrating and annoying, other are fun and uplifting.  I will share a few of them here:

Frustrating:
1.  Documents.  EVERYTHING here must be stamped.  And copied.  And probably stamped again.  Adam and I finally got all of our paperwork together to apply for the resident permit, went with a new grad student we had just met to the Exit/Entry Bureau on Saturday morning, only to discover that the form had recently changed and students need a special one now.  Our form was sans school barcode, so despite having 4 letters from the medical college and multiple stamps from them on every single form, it wasn't right.  Want to ask a question of the lady behind the glass window?  "Everyone knows that!  Next!" Arg...

2. Bugs.  Discovering the roach population just waiting for a tenant in this apartment has been less than a fun surprise.  Today I spent 10 minutes in the bug-killing aisle at Carrefour praying that the saleslady would just leave alone and let me puzzle out the labels on my own.  The rent doesn't come with automatic bug-killing service like in Nashville!

Delightful:
1. I went on a short self-guided tour of my neighborhood today and discovered a market street with all sorts of produce and people everywhere, multiple spas, salons, and...an open air pool hall!  Dad's dream!  There were 8 pool tables just all lined up with people playing on almost all of them.  Weird that there was no roof...but hey, for the love of the game...

2. Ginko trees.  The street outside my apartment complex is lined with ginkgo trees. Walking down my street reminds me of high school biology, when I first learned about the ancient history of the ginkgo, and my classmate accidentally blurting out a test answer "Ginkgo!" from excitement at knowing the answer.  Its interesting that this class was my first real exposure to biology which sparked my interest in the science and possibly launched my career up to this point...and it all comes back to the ginkgo, a tree which first appeared in the Early Jurassic period and has survived in a small area of central China up through modern times.  And I see it everyday.  Incredible!

3. Random park performances.  I left my apartment this evening to make a quick run to the bank in my square and discovered a dancing Chinese dragon in the park outside my front door.  Sadly I did not have my camera as I wasn't expecting entertainment at the bank, but the dragon was followed by multiple dance routines by women in wildly varying colorful dresses with billowing sleeves and sashes, several comedy routines by young men in pink shirts which would probably have been funnier if I spoke the language, and one really awesome clown routine which involved a spinning Chinese umbrella balancing rolling objects, including an apple, a hat, and a flaming wheel.  Excellent!

I will leave you with some pictures from my sightseeing at the Temple of Heaven and the Bell and Drum Towers; click on the picture for a slideshow.

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