beijing (part 1)
I'm sitting at the internet cluster in the lobby of our hostel in Beijing, with some kid shooting zombies on the computer beside me, the Chinese desk clerk angrily arguing with what sounds like a Belgian behind me and the Chinese version of American Idol blaring across the TV above me, so now seems as good a time as any to add a blog entry. We're about to move out to a hip hop club, so if I stop in the middle, part two will follow in a few days.
Instead of trying to give any comprehensive sense of my past 10 days in Asia, I'll instead focus on the first two in Beijing, since they are the only ones in the city that I was unable to share with the other fellows. I got in on the 18th, met the indomitable Yam Ki who very kindly offered me his couch and his hospitality, and spent the 19th getting to know the city on my own. My big side project while here is recording. I'm a music major, and for my thesis, I'm hoping to compose a piece featuring a lot of found music. This means that for much of this trip, you'll find me striking out on my own with a microphone and a minidisc to record whatever interesting and unique sounds happen to surround me. So day one was a big recording day; I started out from Yam Ki's and simply lost myself on the streets of this busy, often bewildering city. This is my first time in Asia, and with everything around me new, it was great to have a full day to simply take in the environment on my own terms. Beijing is a singular city, and it lends a sense of its character quickly. Walking down the streets you are constantly surrounded by the din of construction and the constant rush of traffic, you are immediately coated with a flim of building dust and gobi desert. Everywhere you look, signs of the city's breakneck development abound. The city's countless construction projects are still largely done by hand, and when the early afternoon heat hammers the city, the workers fan out onto the sidewalk to sit and relax or steal some sleep. Despite all the din and rush, the city still sometimes offers more quietly shimmering moments, although it slips them to you covertly. I spent an hour or two in a park, the side of which was paved over by ruined buildings and parking lot, and the center of which was filled by a wide lake. On the other end was an amusement park, and the surface was dotted with swan boats. In one of these a couple had brought a portable radio, and from the shore, I recorded the tinny strains of melody drifting across the water.
Leslie, Rory and Ashley arrived that night. The following day, I rented a bike with Leslie and saw other parts of the city at faster speeds.