Beida and Beijing

Today marked my first full day in Beijing and I had arranged an appointment with what I was soon to find out is the sweetest professor ever that my advisor (the coolest professor ever) at Cornell put me in contact with. It turns out she was his Masters student as well and now taught at the business school at the 'Peking University' known here as 'Beida' (for the Arabic speaker I know it sounds like 'white' which I guess I am and it is very apparent especially here!).

I took a cab to Beida strategically at 10:30 (to avoid the unavoidable traffic) and the first song I hear in Beijing is "I'm gonna write you a loff song!!!!" can you believe it! (sorry inside joke). In true me style I arrived extremely early but better safe than sorry. I mean I was meeting a total stranger in a totally strange place. It was pretty confusing to find where I was supposed to meet Jian, the professor, she said the second eastern gate of Beida and let me tell you that these are not your 'traditional' gates but more little streets of a huge street. So after a couple false attempts at withdrawing money at "China Construction Bank" (the bank that has a relationship with Bank of America and therefore no fee), I waited around what I thought was the '2nd eastern gate'. Noon, our meeting time, finally rolls around and I am beginning to doubt my '2nd gate'. So I head further south and low and behold another 'gate' that looked more convincing. Jian, the cutest and sweetest professor ever, was there waiting for me. Phew. Oh yes, I did not mention that the grande latte (which UNFORTUNATELY is NOT 'cheap' in China) made me long for a ladies room, of which there weren't any around! I guess my China awful bathroom encounter will have to wait.

Jian took me to a well-known restaurant called 'South Beauty' very close to campus. She is in her early to mid thirties, has a three year old who is probably cute as a button just like her and a husband that works at Microsoft research! He got his PhD as well at Cornell as well in CS. Anyways, I was about to have my first Chinese meal...which of course could not be complete without a fish head. Stop laughing.

Jian ordered, I used the line I had practiced " I am happy to TRY anything" and then food began come. After an do-able spicy chicken bowl and a mayonnaise salad (burp) came the live fish in a plastic bag for our 'approval'. No joke, talk about 'fresh.' It is a fish which is known for 'good fortune' because it is shaped as the old currency used to be shaped (heart like). The fish was then prepared in two ways. It's severed head (the 'good' part) was deep fried and then the rest of the body chopped up and put in a soupy concoction, skin and all (blah). Mind you I was eating all of this! Ok so nibbling. After this came a green bean tofu...it is cooked with some special stone from southern china and then left to cool to become jelly like. Then you flavor it sweet or savory, Jian suggested i try both, lucky me. Ok so more nibbling and lunch was over. I was super thankful to her but felt awful because my bowls and plates and more bowls were by no means empty. Oh well, 'A' for effort.

After this Jian walked me around the University which is the 'Harvard' of China, across the street was Tichuan U which is the MIT of China. The old buildings and ponds etc were very pretty (pics below) and I am told that in no time they will be blooming everywhere which must be nice. Many other attractions are on that side of town called the 'Haidan District' like the summer palace but I thought I should beat the AWFUL traffic (Hotlanta has NOTHING on this place) and got a cab home. Oh, one more thing, Jian was sooo nice she brought me a gift that is given around Chinese new years of a necklace that is a red carved wood thing with some prosperity saying on it. I put it on right away :) I love bling.

When I got back to the hotel I had plans to attend some little event in the lobby at 5 hoping to hear some English. I didn't mention this but in Haidan and everywhere not ONE western face or any English! But my new bosses admin, and I were emailing me and she invited me to the office for a tour. So I walked the 30 seconds it takes to get to work (30 seconds!) and up the elevator I went. The floor is crammed,warm and clammy like my palms sometimes. The cubes are more like desks with partitions that go up to one's neck at most reminding me of my intern days on the executive floor. My bosses admin in a mini-skirt and loose curls, was excited to see me, I swear the first thing she said is "shall I tell you where to go shopping? " so funny I mean is it that obvious? She's prob a year or two older than me and has pens with stars and feather on the end of them. Alot of the women have little fish bowls on their desk with fishes in them and there's lots of little toy type trinkets. She introduced me to a couple women in HR, all around early to mid thirties. The office is pretty quite for having a billion people. Oh, good news, my desk is quite large on the other side of the floor in a different department (only thirty steps away though past the telemarketers...yes there are telemarketers on the floor who are really crammed). And there's a nice guy that sits in front of me, about 90 inches from my face is his. I said something like "well nice to meet you, I guess we'll be looking at each other for the next 6 months." Haha, I'm funny. So after that, I came back to my hotel, that event was pretty silly, just more weird food (sweets) and a few young families but not many people at all... Not so bad for day one and even a 'Happy Friday' if I may say.