Put Your Walking Shoes On

Today was an odd car license plate day, in case you were wondering. At least, I think it was. Just about every car excluding taxi's and buses had either a 1, 3, 5, 7, 0r 9 as the last number. (That would make it odd, wouldn't it? duh) I'm pretty sure that my family owns 2 cars, one for each day (either that or my dad just stole the closest even numbered car he could the other day. I don't think that is right though.) The agenda for today was a walking tour of Tian An Men Square, which started rather late due to my sleeping in until 8:00. It was amazing. (Although I did wake myself up by turning over and ramming my forehead into the sharp corner of my wooden bedside table. That was really nice.)

We took a bus to Tian An Men today. I think because there are always so many people, buses, taxis and cars over there, my family just didn't want to deal with the hassle of driving a car. Although I would have been able to deal with the traffic. While riding a bus, there are always an inordinate amount of people on the same bus with you, and it gets hot, stinky and crowded really fast. (Sometimes, I don't even know how the bus can move, there are so many people. The one today did make some pretty strange shudders though.)

The way that we got to Tian An Men square took us past a lot of different sights. And my dad, as it turns out, is even more of a picture taking whore than my mother. Every time we got somewhere where there was even a remote shot at a good picture, out came the camera. Me by myself, me and my sister or mother, everywhere. I have pictures of me in front of Mao's tomb, and me at various point around Tian An Men Square. Lots and lots of pictures that I have no idea how to post on the Internet. Sorry.

Now to the good stuff. Tian An Men Square. It was, as you can imagine, full of tourists, both native and white. But it was still incredible. I have only seen pictures of it before via Internet and the Olympics, and it was like seeing the Birds Nest for the first time. A row of trees faded away, and all of a sudden I could see a red wall a picture of Mao, the start of the Forbidden City (which for some reason we didn't go in. My parents pointed it out and started walking in the opposite direction. I was confused.) But the rest was incredible. I couldn't believe that I was standing in the middle of Tian An Men square. It was like something out of the twilight zone. Who would have thought that I would be standing there? I loved it. But seeing all the white people made me feel weird, because I found myself associating more with my Chinese family than them. I was getting a private tour of Tian An Men square by natives, in Chinese. For me, that is living the good life. I silently laughed at everyone else. (Not to sound like a snob or anything...)

There was quite a bit of walking involved in this little adventure. Tian An Men Square is huge, as you can imagine. And I definitely wasn't wearing the right shoes. Instead of the practical walking shoes that everyone else manages to remember, I instead slipped on my cute brown peasant shoes, which offer no support and are quite thin on the bottom. Naturally I would wear these on the day that we do the most walking. So as we canvased a good portion of Chinese history, I could feel my feet bearing the brunt of my fun.

There is one thing I would like to mention before continuing on with my busy day. That is the subject of toilets (厕所.) Or rather, the lack of proper toilets. As my family and I were walking to Tian An Men, there was another kid, a little girl this time, relieving herself on the side of a very busy sidewalk. Charming, no? Toilets in America are definitely something I miss. The only toilet I trust here in Beijing is the one in my house, and this predicament has caused some very speedy bike rides home after school. But really, the toilets here are pathetic. If you can manage to find a public toilet that doesn't involve squatting (I only wish I were kidding) then good luck finding one that doesn't smell like piss. Maybe there is a reason so many kids decide to let loose on the side of the road.

Now, back to Tian An Men. After walking through a new row of shops made to look old, our thoughts turned to food, as they normally do. It was lunch time, and we were hungry, tired and sore (at least I was, although the fact that our little 4 person family were fanned out along 3 blocks indicates that the rest of the family felt the same way.) Lunch wasn't quite as exotic as dinner a couple of nights ago (Thank something) but there was still one sus thing that I couldn't bring myself to try (and my mom didn't tell me what it was this time). I can't help if I am a picky eater. My family laughed at me, as per usual, but I can't tell if I am offending them or not. But hey, in my defense, I have only been here for a little over a week. Give me time; I promise I will be eating scorpions by the end of the trip.

After lunch, we piled into a taxi. In no time, my dad and I were kicked out to go the park, while my sister and my mom went to my sister's orthodontist appointment. (The poor girl, her braces got tightened today. You have to feel bad for her.) I had naively agreed to go to the park, forgetting about my poor feet. But any pain was worth it. We were in Tian Tan park, which is no ordinary tree and bush walk about. No, this too is another historical monument. (I'm beginning to think everywhere in Beijing is a historical monument. I am definitely not in California anymore.) My dad took me to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, and 2 other places close by. These Prayer Halls are huge, ancient buildings, built completely out of colorful stone and painted with dragons and symbols. It's truly an amazing sight. Since he only speaks Chinese, I thought what the hell, and tried my hand at communication. It went quite well, I thought, except that I could only understand about 1/2 of what he said, and I'm sure my tones were enough to make him want to jump off the Great Wall. (I kid, I kid.)

30 pictures later, we were walking back to the hospital to pick up the rest of the family from the orthodontist (I really don't understand how anything works here. Why was the orthodontist at the hospital?) My poor feet felt like they were going to fall off, and the whole family looked tired. (It also doesn't help that both my mom and sister are sick with colds, and they were taking me around doing the tourist thing.)

Everyone very quickly dissolved as soon as we jumped off the bus home and took the elevator up 12 flights (we live on the 12th floor, but there is an elevator. If there hadn't been, I'm not entirely sure I would still be here right now.) For some reason I couldn't understand (I'm starting to sound like a broken record now) my sister had to go to school. It had something to do with the Olympics, but I didn't get much past that. I was so tired that my brain was just shot. I was floating among the clouds, so to speak. (Trying to learn a new language and be a tourist at the same time is a tough business.) I tried to stay awake, but as soon as it became obvious that everyone else in the family was asleep, I thought, 'Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" and promptly passed out for a short 3 hour nap.

Now, I am sitting my room, after a lovely dinner, trying to stay awake. I'm still really tired. My mother washed my back pack for me (I think it's dirtiness had been bothering her since I first walked in the door, because she practically stole it a couple days ago to wash it.) I only just got it back. Tomorrow it is back to school for me, which I am not entirely sure is a good thing. Ah well. As they say in Hawaii, Aloha!