Beijing

I arrived in Beijing yesterday with full expectations that it would be similar to Hong Kong;  I was wrong.  The only logical explanation I came to for having that thought is that I read that english signage and speakers were easy to come by in both cities.  Hong Kong was under British control for a number of years so it makes perfect sense that the use of English is widespread around the city; in Beijing English is spoken commonly enough at a very basic level and there is some signage but it is not nearly as easy to operate with only English language skills.  It is my own fault and I write this only as an anecdote that I have had too many preconceived notions already on this trip and I need to learn to have less expectations for this process and just see what happens.  That being said I have friends here in James and Jeff from East Rock Technologies who are bilingual and very helpful.  For all of you who are not familiar with James he is an ally of Nuffield International, spent the week of the Contemporary Scholar’s Conference with us and coordinates the leg of the Global Focus Program that goes to China.  He is also kind enough to assist any of us other Nuffielders who are travelling in China as part of our experience.  

I spent the afternoon at East Rock yesterday getting my bearings and finalizing the itinerary for the rest of my stay in China.  I have a whirlwind ten days ahead of me but I am very excited.  Today I was off sightseeing and toured around the centre of the city to see Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City.  Big, is the first word that comes to mind to describe it.  I believe I will just sit back and let the pictures do the talking on this one.