Summer in Beijing 2009

Mark's Frisbee Trick

Wow, this feels strange, to write a post in English! I have been writing in Chinese so much I almost forgot what its like to write in my native language. Unfortunately because Blogger.com was blocked since June, it has been difficult to find ways to get posts onto this website. Since then I focused on the Chinese website because A) it gets more viewers and B) I use a different system to write posts with the Chinese blog which is more convenient where I am.

Since my last post I have moved to Shuangjing, not far from downtown Beijing. I like this area quite a bit because it feels more international and cosmopolitan. There are nice restaurants and shopping. Traffic, particularly public transportation, is also more convenient than where I stayed before in Lishuiqiao.

Since March I have done a lot of sightseeing around Beijing with my Chinese friend. We have had such a good time I have stayed much longer in China than I imagined. I have also live in a nice apartment with a good view of downtown. For the price, and few thousand Yuan, which amounts to a few hundred US dollars, I can't imagine living in such a nice apartment in the US. Honestly, to live in the capital city, near downtown, in an apartment with a spacious living room, bedroom and nice kitchen and have a nice view of downtown and only pay few hundred dollars a month would be nearly impossible in the US.

For exercise, I usually do a little workout in the morning I have been doing for years. And nearly every evening before sundown my friend and I play Frisbee near the apartment. My friend has really improved since the first day we played. A lot of Chinese people pass us on the street as we play and seem very curious and interested in Frisbee as its not a sport or activity played at all in China. Matter of fact, we had to buy the Frisbee online because none of the stores around here sold them.

There are some international stores nearby and those have really helped me. I can buy things like cereal which I like to eat and even some taco sauce and pepper-jack cheese so I can make Mexican tacos, which I made for my friend. Life has been pretty nice this summer. However, I do need to start working regularly again soon. I prepared my resume and need to remember how to get myself into the job market. I have decided long-term that I want to be a website designer or media mogul, but a decent job would be good for the short-term.