In Limbo

I'm Stuck

My camera didn't run out of batteries, it broke. I'm getting it fixed for free but it will take about a week. They'll email me when its fixed which is a pain in the ass because I need to book my trains 5 days in advance and I was hoping to book my transport out of Beijing tomorrow. The staff at the hostel have been a great help. They did all the phoning and gave me directions on how to get to the nearest Sony repair shop. The repair shop was worryingly busy. You'd never get that many people in a repair shop in the U.K. I reckon that even though my camera is a genuine Sony, it is substandard in comparison to the ones they export to the west. I tried to get acupuncture or a massage as well today as there was a massage shop next to the repair shop. I needed English for that as my Chinese dictionary didn't have the word for sciatica nor trapped nerve. I tried to describe a nerve so used the word electricity. They thought I wanted them to give me electric shocks. With the help of Baidu (the Chinese equivalent of Google) they eventually understood what I mean't and the pretty young girls explained to me that they only did 'relaxation' massages and that I needed to see a doctor for that. I then bought myself a pair of shoes for £4/E4/$6. I wouldn't say I'm bored in the Bay of Jing but I do want to head to Datong. Two weeks in a city of 15 million is a bit much and I have little else around here I want to see. It's nearly September and I've spent one day outside Beijing. If I want to see all the places I've mapped out (see below) then I need to get my ass in gear as we'd say in Peterheid.

I want to be in Shanghai by the 13th September, a month after I arrived in China.

On the positive side I have barely used English at all lately and got a good lesson from a German guy who has been studying it for 4 years. I can't wait until I learn more pronouns so i can have free-flowing conversations with people. My accent is improving heaps. You learn the accent without even trying here just by overhearing other people speak. I used to over exaggerate the tones but I'm doing it o.k now. Most Chinese people are surprised when I tell them I've been in China for 10 days and don't have a proper teacher. I got a good lesson from a guy in my dorm who's English is not that better than my Chinese. We sat on the balcony till 3am just talking about the things we could see, taxi's, public telephones, pylons etc. I spent the mext day on the balcony revising my Chinese vocabulary and getting grammar advice from a Scouser who's been studying it for 4 years. I've really enjoyed it. The Chinese guy in my dorm has been socialising with me and it's been a really good laugh even with the limited conversation. We stayed outside teaching each other until mosquito o'clock then came inside. Yesterday I went outside for a cigarette and played with the tiny little puppy named doodoo, who lives on the balcony. As I was pulling my smokes out my pocket one fell out on the ground and wee doodoo picked it up with his mouth and started running around. It was more amusing than it sounds. One of the girls took a photo and if she's still staying here I'll ask her for a copy. It was a nightmare trying to get it out. I was worried he'd eat it and it would make him ill.

A Random Wee Story

I spent some time one evening in a park where Chinese women do dancing. They dance to a mix of Chinese pop and really cheezy western pop. The young girls don't dance it's always women over 35 and up to 80 I would guess. All the dances are choreographed and everyone seems to know all the moves. I stayed there for about 5 songs and every dance was different and everyone knew every move to every song. No-one stands at the front to lead them, they just all stand in line and remember. No limit by 2 unlimited was a particular favourite of mine. It got the grannies going.

Tibet

It's been interesting listening to the Chinese people talk about Tibet. The guy at the hostel who organises tours and sorts out every problem you might ever come across was telling myself and an American archaeologist that I met about why the Chinese government banned tourists from visiting Tibet for 3 and a half months. The guy is by no means a subservient sheep but his views wholeheartedly reflect the government stance. I've chosen not to engage in conversations about Tibet or Taiwan. The Chinese people have been very welcoming to me and I don't want to offend anyone nor get myself needlessly into bother. It's interesting to hear their world view and in true Taoist fashion, make no effort to change their views.

Some More Random things.........

* According to my Lonely Planet phrasebook, a good pick up line in chinese translates as 'you look like some cousin of mine'. Don't think I'll be using that one somehow.
* I'm pleased to be reading about the fall of Qaddafi.
* A good coffee in China is even harder to find than a man who can grow a decent beard.
* I spent an hour washing my clothes in the shower then it rains for the first time in 4 days.
* I'm going to try and get either Acupuncture or a therapeutic massage today and book my escape route.
* My skin on my shoulder has peeled after going to the great wall topless. It's not badly burned though.
* I am highly skilled in the art of not doing much.

Au revoir comrades and friends.