My first full day in Beijing

I was up by 7am after a tough night; at least I was able to fall asleep again each time I woke up. I felt reasonably refreshed and energetic, possibly driven by adrenaline than anything else. My first order of business was to set up skype long distance calling. I didn’t know there were unlimited plans I could get which allows me to call US or Canada from Skype that is very cheap. It’s quite incredible. I signed up instantly and took advantage of the plan right away by calling Kenn and mom. It was of a better quality than I anticipated; I heard no delays and the voices were perfectly smooth. The wonders of technology J I initially heard that high-speed internet in China may not be the same high-speed we are used to in NA, I have to disagree. I’m having no problems at all here; everything is just as fast almost always – at least it is so from my hotel/apartment.

Once I took care of my communication needs, I happily went to meet with the team. We took a subway tour, simultaneously learning how the subway systems worked in Beijing and how to get to work from the apartment. First we took the long route, passing through Tian’anmen Square on the way. Until you are there, it’s hard to appreciate how big this largest public square in the world really is. It was late morning on a weekday, but the square was still packed with people. I apologize for not having posted any pictures so far, I will try to get this set up in the next day or two. You can see some of the pictures I took there, which are by no means good (sorry). It’s hard to take picture with herds of tourists swamping around…

Weather was nice and sunny, surprisingly, air quality was far better than I anticipated. Obviously all the measures taken by the government are working. Certainly, I know it’s not what we are used to in Ottawa, but I am not having trouble with it at all. In fact, I’m quite impressed. At one point during the day, the wind was momentarily quite strong, it only lasted 30 seconds or so, but it gave me a taste of the gust and sand. Those who warned me about the strong wind and sand were not exaggerating. J

We got to the BC-Canada Pavilion and saw a large group of workers busy with installation of the arches and other parts of the exhibition hall exterior. I finally got to see the 13 wooden arches that symbolizes the 10 provinces and 3 territories of Canada. I can’t wait to see it once it’s completed. The location is truly impressive; kitty-corner to the Tian’anmen Square, I can just imagine the crowd that drift there from the square…

Practically right next to the Pavilion was a Chinese restaurant; we ate a large meal there with so many plates of food we lost count half way through the meal. The non-Chinese at the table were quite fascinated by the sheer quantity an variety of food that came to the table one after another and they really enjoyed the taste too. We who are of Chinese descent had fun explaining each dish, including other related stories/traditions, and know that it would be nothing compared to a real feast. Secretly, I find it quite wasteful; apparently, no doggy bags here in Beijing! Everything goes to waste if you can’t finish it :P

The afternoon was spent in chaos with everyone trying to exchange/tailor uniforms. The tailor came to the hotel, we lined up to get measured and pinned; many of us cannot even do this because what was given to us were simply too large. Unfortunately, the shipment of extra uniforms were held up at the border. We couldn’t exchange to smaller sizes until it arrived. I took a picture of me in my shirt and skirt, I’m sure those who saw it on flickr would have laughed so hard at how ridiculous I look. Oh well, at least I have 2 t-shirts that fit…

Several of us went walking around on shopping streets instead of having dinner, still stuffed from our lunch feast. Just walking on the shopping streets was an experience in itself; crossing streets were another. J (I am proud to report, at the time of writing this, I’ve been here 3 full days and I no longer fear crossing streets. In fact, I’ve been just as reckless as anyone else on the street and apparently it’s the safest way – do as you are expected)

No matter how late, the streets were always as crowded as ever. At 10:30pm, on my way back to the hotel, Wangfujing street (the main pedestrian shopping street) was still shining neonlights, playing pop music, shop lights were finally beginning to dim, people were in no hurry to leave, eateries were still filled with patrons. In fact, it was busier than Parliament Hill on Canada Day!!!