Waking up in Beijing

I made it to China. Part of me almost didn't think it would happen, but it did, and I'm here in Beijing. Wow.

I don't know what to make of this city yet. It's not as overwhelming as I expected, nor does it feel as foreign. I have to remind myself that I'm halfway around the world from everything familiar.

The honking didn't wake me up, but now that I'm paying attention, it's hard to ignore. I'm staying with my friend Lindsey, who has lived in Beijing for more than two years now. This part of town, near Beijing Normal University, doesn't seem especially busy, judging by the traffic below. Cars and bikes seem to share lanes amiably, and there aren't as many of either as I thought there would be.

I'm starting to wonder what I was expecting when I came to Beijing. Whatever it was, it doesn't seem to be what I've found so far. But I've barely seen anything, and I'll be here for a while.

There's a pale blue sky outside my eighth-story window, not a cloud in sight. The blue seems a little off, though, not quite as deep and bright as other places. Maybe it's the smog, which I'm starting to notice in my lungs and eyes. Maybe it's just my imagination.

I woke up to another suprise, this time a pleasant one. My blog is no longer blocked. A friend on the Dalian XPat forum noticed it last week, and I thought maybe it was a glitch, but it seems Blogger is no longer banned. I probably shouldn't type that with too much enthusiasm, lest I jinx myself, but yeah, I'm typing free in Red China. Steve in Dalian just noticed, too.

So I guess I'll stay with Blogger, which is what I wanted to do anyway. I'm still planning on changing the blog's name, though, most likely to eyeseast.blogspot.com. That way I'll be covered if I leave Dalian (still haven't been there yet).

More to come, starting with photos. Stay tuned.

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