Not Made in China

I'm takin votes on what I should spend my money on: this or this.

You know, I don't really need either one, but every so often I find some toy that I just HAVE TO HAVE. And right now I'm dying to have both the bike and the iPhone. But I must show some restraint. It's so weird- I haven't been so entranced by an electronic device since the iPod. I think Steve Jobs puts some kind of fairy dust/crack in his products. And it's not the ad hype that I've succumbed to- I put my name on a waiting list a YEAR AGO, when I first heard that my carrier, Cingular (now AT&T) would be the exclusive dealer. It's just such a COOL phone! And such a pretty bike! Ugh.

*****

So, I've been notably absent from posting since coming back from China. Not quite sure why, except that 1) I've been a little on the depressed side and haven't felt like writing (no cause for alarm- I think it's hormonal), and 2) I'm still not sure how to distill the China experience, it's so overwhelming. Not that anyone cares at this point, but I think I'll not worry about telling all the stories, but will just try to touch on a few interesting observations/cultural comparisons.

The first has to do with the bikes. If you've seen my pictures, you probably noticed the bikey theme dominating my shots. I can't help it. I like bikes. The bikes were one of the first things I noticed upon arrival (actually, the first thing we saw getting off the plane in Beijing was a Starbucks and a KFC), and not actually the bikes themselves (which were ALL beaters), but the people riding them. The bicyclists in China are spectacularly diverse. Not a huge surprise- we all know that bikes have been a dominant mode of transportation in many Asian cities (and an absolute necessity for what little air quality they have left) - but to see old men, women in heels, dressed up couples all riding next to six lane boulevards in a pretty modern city (Beijing) was fascinating to me. And completely and utterly foreign. Bicycles/scooters have their own very wide, dedicated lane along many of the main boulevards, and while there is typically a fence separating 4-wheeled vehicles from the 2-wheels, there was such a large number of cyclists (up to 5 deep), that they seemed perfectly natural riding alongside the cars. And in many cases, they traveled just as fast (if not faster) than the cars and trucks.

I saw only one bike helmet the entire time I was in China. When I told B, he said, "probably a foreigner". I guess that's what happens when you have 1) a critical mass of cyclists, and 2) the infrastructure that allows cyclists to ride safely. I was constantly comparing what I saw to what I experience in Portland- one of the bike-friendliest cities in the country- where there is a constant tension between huge F-series (you know what the 'F' stands for) type vehicles and tiny completely vulnerable cyclists. We've got it much better in P-town than in cities like the ATL, but it could be sooo much better.

And speaking of air quality...yeesh. We saw blue sky only once in the two weeks we were there. And I am not exaggerating. Evidently, the air only clears up for one day after a weekend of factories being shut down. The few times I ran outside I could feel the dust in my lungs- not pleasant.

And speaking of running, I did manage to run a total of three times in two weeks. Sad, but true. One of those times was in the Beijing hotel fitness center (where incidentally, you were not allowed to swim in the pool without a cap, if you had any communicable disease, or had "mental instability"- I swear that's what the sign said!). In this fitness center, I had my first (of many) Chevy Chase on vacation moments. See, the units on the treadmill were in metric, and since I'm a dumb American, I got confused and underestimated the equivalent miles per hour, by the time I realized my mistake, it was too late, I was dangerously close to flying off the end of the treadmill like a cartoon character. And this is with an audience, mind you, of three Chinese business men, who are already baffled at the sight of a slightly chubby American woman in the fitness center.

Which brings me to my next observation: I must look very funny to many Chinese people. I had girls snickering at me everywhere, little boys pointing, and old men laughing! I had such a complex the whole trip. I would probably kill doing stand-up over there. I wouldn't have to say a thing, just stand on stage and rifle through my purse, or make a call on my cell phone, and the audience would be rolling in the aisles. I still can't figure it out, although the same thing happened to me in Kenya.... Do tell if you have any clue. And be nice about it.

In the next installment....the worst smell ever! And what it's like to eat Chinese food for two weeks solid (except for the last day when you get desperate and eat at California Pizza Kitchen).