The Haggadah was reformed in nature. Everyone got a xeroxed copy without a title page so it was unclear the origin of the text. Pretty much everyone there was western; some members of the local congregation and the remainder were people like us who are in Beijing because of employment or on vacation. A very traditional meal of brisket, tsimmes, gefilte fish, matzah ball soup and chopped liver (real and vegetarian) was served. It was fun to sing the traditional songs and prayers. Makes the world feel a bit smaller. We spent Easter Sunday riding our bikes around Beijing, Steve’s first road trip around the city and our first time together. It was a relatively peaceful day; fewer cars, trucks and buses. We made our way to the Central Business District which is about 3 miles from our apartment. Steve will fill you in on the details with his blog entry. But, it was a warm, sunny, spring-like day. What could be better!
Work continues to go well for both of us and keeps us busy with lots of activity and long days. We still keep up with the pub quiz every Monday and the Embassy lectures twice per month. We go out to dinner occasionally by ourselves and with friends we have made through the expat groups and with some of Steve’s colleagues. We had our first guests, although they didn’t stay with us. A colleague of Steve’s, Wendy, and her friend Catherine, were passing through and we had dinner with them at a restaurant called Da Dong, known for its roast duck. It was a nice meal and fun to catch up on PwC people and stories.
I continue to be intrigued by Beijing city street activity. I guess it’s just the contrast of seeing the ultra modern side by side with the pre-industrial. On our bike trip over the weekend, I wound up pedaling behind a older man who sells street food. His food stuff is roasted sweet potatoes which are prepared on the street in large metal trashcan like bins. He moves his bin, brimming with potatoes, from locatio
n to location strapped to the side of his bike, almost as if it were a side car attacked to a motorcycle. I was so disappointed that we didn’t come to any red lights so I was able to take a photo of him as he pedaled down the road. On the same bike trip we stopped at the Chinese grocery store called Jinkalong. We were just locking our bikes when a man come up to us who we realized was a bike lot parking attendant. We attempted to pay him but he motioned that we paid when we returned, the fee based on time spent in the store. It was clear that he would be keeping an eye on our bikes to make sure they were safe. We were back in about 15 minutes. The man reappeared and Steve gave him a yuan, uncertain
about how much we owed. He gave us 70 mao in return (100 mao to the yuan). The thirty mao he kept were worth about 4 cents. Parked just next to our bikes were a BMW and a Mercedes. I think they paid a bit more for their parking! Very often you see men on street corners playing board games. It reminds me of the chess matches in Washington Square Park in NYC. Two men will actually be playing and there will be another five or six men huddle around them, engrossed in the action. I’ve learned that they are playing Chinese Chess, which sounds similar in nature to chess but pieces move differently and have different names. (like emperor instead of king). Still a game of strategy and the people standing around are offering strategy suggestions. Only men at these gathering, never women.
More soon!
I love the bit about the bike parking attendant.
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