I forgot yesterday to comment on how hard the bed was last night. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but it’s as if they slapped sheets on a cement slab. I figured I could tough it out and it wouldn’t be worth the comment. I was wrong; to say the least. My lower spine was in monstrous pain and had noticeable swelling. I took a few Advil to get me through the morning, and the feeling was gone by the end of class. Hopefully this does not happen again, but I’m not very optimistic about it. This was compounded by the combination of jet lag and the fact that we had not closed the heavy curtains the night before and we were woken up by the sunrise around 5:30. Not fun.
In brighter news, A.) I had either gotten used to the cigarette smoke or B.) the smoke goes away during the day time. I was extremely relieved and mentioned so to several people, who seemed to share my relief. My roommate and I took the effort to go to breakfast as we were encouraged to do last night. I did not enjoy it at all. I thought continental breakfasts in the United States were bad, but this one was ten times worse. The “cold milk” was lukewarm creamer (disgusting) and most of the food items were not much better. I don’t think I’ll be going back there for the rest of the trip. I don’t eat breakfast normally anyways.
Class proved much more interesting though as we were told about all of the various sites to see around Beijing. While most of this information was not even new, it was still pretty interesting to learn about all of the various sites from the perspective of a Chinese National, rather than American students with access to Wikipedia. The instructor spoke impressively fine English with a British accent, which seemed extremely odd at first but I got used to it. I won’t troll through everything she touched on, but hearing about the Cultural Revolution was extremely interesting. The idea that roving bands of people, students no less, tore down countless historic cultural sites baffles me. This would be unthinkable in the United States, even without a communist influence. Every American city treasures any old building left standing, especially Baltimore, one such city I live near. The loss of Fort McHenry, or even a couple of sites along the heritage walk would devastate the city in a way that economic hardship or even rampant crimes have never been able to accomplish. The idea of wanton destruction of an entire nation’s heritage actively supported by the government is one of the most repulsive things I have ever heard of. History is something to cherish and learn from. I know most of it was destruction of symbols of class separation or opulence, but it would be equivalent to destroying every instance of prior segregation in the U.S. south. Those sites remind the youth of the history and the oppression, and even though they are representative of hate and struggle, they are symbols of progress. Even right now the history-lover in me weeps.
After class we had the welcome dinner we were supposed to have the night before but was postponed due to the flight delays at JFK. Vivienne took the lead once again and ordered a lot of food. Apparently that’s how it works around here. Several dishes piled in the center and rotated around to share, each person picking away at each dish. Chopstick handling is going well so far, but I still have a lot of improving to do. Most of the dishes were quite good, though I wanted nothing to do with the fish. I haven’t ever liked fish, I’m not about to eat one who’s head and eyes are still intact. I still claim to not be a picky eater, but I am rapidly discovering my limits.
After lunch we headed over to Tsinghua campus for our tour. It was interesting to find out that the university’s motto was “Action not words” more because of how off it felt to have a completely western motto in a Chinese university. But then again, it was built mainly by Americans. It was also interesting to see the western university buildings placed in an Asian university. The combination of architecture was fascinating, some entirely western, some entirely Chinese, others a bizarre blend of the two. The library was an example of the final kind. In addition to the academic buildings, the imperial gardens contained within the campus were breath-taking. The idea that people studying in the gardens is commonplace inspires jealousy within me. Schenley Plaza has nothing on Qing dynasty gardens.
For dinner we went into a local shopping mall. I say that lightly, but in all reality, it puts most U.S. malls to shame. Six floors of shopping and restaurants as well as a huge arcade. Vivienne chose a restaurant and launched into another feast. The food, diverse as it was, started to blend together. The fact that we were all sharing the same ten items started to fade from the front of my mind, and I grew more comfortable with the idea. I still however will not try a few things, rice ball that when cut oozes a black liquid for instance. No thank you. After dinner we returned to the hotel, I sent more emails and responded to one from my girlfriend. It was at this point I tried to log on to facebook. A few other people had tried the night before with no success, and I was not surprised when it did not come up. Oh well, I probably need a break from it anyway.