I will have to try to describe this Golden Week celebration with words. We are having some internet difficulties - I will review the trouble in a minute. Pictures later.
China's Independence Day is October 1st 1949. 70 years ago - they formed the People's Republic of China. At the time the USA was supporting Chiang Kai Shek - he lost and was exiled to Taiwan to form a government we used to call Free China. That government still survives on that island. The country we used to call Red China - has 1.4 billion people - it is officially the People's Republic of China - and we are in their capital Beijing - it used to be called Peking.
Yesterday - they had a party like I have never seen before. It started at 10 AM and continued until 10 PM. It was broadcast live on TV - no commercials - I recorded the parade part. After the first two hours - it was a series of dances - lights - sounds - singing - costumes - and joy. All this was done in Tiananmen Square about 2 miles from our apartment. I tried to get tickets but the embassy told me - only Communist Party members are allowed.
I honestly thought they were able to control the weather - that is - reduce the smog. It was in the 80s - nice weather - but the smog halted visibility - especially of the aircraft. We could not see anything from our 10th floor apartment.
I was really amazed at the co-ordination and camera work. Everything was co-ordinated with sound and fireworks. They had been practicing for months - even to the point of throwing people out of their hotel rooms to keep the secrecy. People are used to that kind of security here.
It seems that every high party figure from all over the country comes to town. They have off work - many people from town choose to vacation at this time - leaving the streets around our apartment - pretty empty.
We are not sure why - but the Internet goes bonkers during this week. We have DSL wifi in our apartment - it is worthless right now. Also - the keyboard on my MacBook laptop has died. I cannot use it at all - I cannot even enter the password. I will get it fixed our get a new laptop. Lulu is having trouble using the wifi too. My saving grace is my iPhone on T-mobile Cellular. You would not believe how well that works. I presently have Lulu's laptop hooked to my iPhone via Bluetooth and then out on T-Mobile Cellular.
I will have to try to describe this Golden Week celebration with words. We are having some internet difficulties - I will review the trouble in a minute.
China's Independence Day is October 1st 1949. 70 years ago - they formed the People's Republic of China. At the time the USA was supporting Chang Kaishek - he lost and was exiled to Taiwan to form a government we used to call Free China. That government still survives on that island. The country we used to call Red China - has 1.4 billion people - it is officially the People's Republic of China - and we are in their capital Beijing - it used to be called Peking.
Yesterday - they had a party like I have never seen before. It started at 10 AM and continued until 10 PM. It was broadcast live on TV - no commercials - I recorded the parade part. After the first two hours - it was a series of dances - lights - sounds - singing - costumes - and joy. All this was done in Tiananmen Square about 2 miles from our apartment. I tried to get tickets but the embassy told me - only Communist Party members are allowed.
I honestly thought they were able to control the weather - that is - reduce the smog. It was in the 80s - nice weather - but the smog halted visibility - especially of the aircraft. We could not see anything from our 10th floor apartment.
I was really amazed at the co-ordination and camera work. Everything was co-ordinated with sound and fireworks. They had been practicing for months - even to the point of throwing people out of their hotel rooms to keep the secrecy. People are used to that kind of security here.
It seems that every high party figure from all over the country comes to town. They have off work - many people from town choose to vacation at this time - leaving the streets around our apartment - pretty empty.
We are not sure why - but the Internet goes bonkers during this week. We have DSL wifi in our apartment - it is worthless right now. Also - the keyboard on my MacBook laptop has died. I cannot use it at all - I cannot even enter the password. I will get it fixed our get a new laptop. Lulu is having trouble using the wifi too. My saving grace is my iPhone on T-mobile Cellular. You would not believe how well that works. I presently have Lulu's laptop hooked to my iPhone via Bluetooth and then out on T-Mobile Cellular.
Lulu's classes are going great - she has a young vibrant class of 13. Of course there was no class this week due to Golden Week. Lulu was invited to several countries to present. Vietnam - Korea - Japan are three she wants to do. Ironically I avoided Vietnam - with Donald and others during the 60s. Now I want to go see it and expect flashbacks. We will also go to Nanjing - which is in China - to do a presentation.
The apartment is doing well - we still run AC around the clock - it is 80s here. I still wear nothing but shorts. We keep the apartment spotless - I vacuum every other day - and squeeze mop the other day. We have a nice washer - I do a load a day - and we hang it up - it dries quickly. We usually eat two meals a day at home and one outside. I do the dishes by hand after each meal. We are hardly spending any money - groceries are cheap - restaurants are cheap - and transportation even cheaper. So far - the museums have been free to people over 65.
We have temporary passports and residency cards. October 10th we get our passport stamped with the permanent visa. We must pick them up at immigration. The museums accept them as regular passports - they are used to them.
We have cable and cable modem now - it must be turned on. Then we hopefully will have good internet.
Lulu has been cooking up a storm. She is making some great soups - etc. She has two gas burners - a microwave - nothing else. We bought a toaster. Last night we ate at a restaurant called The New Yorker we stumbled on. We had entree and a big buffet - American style - I ate too much.
Our big news is that our good friend from old Tamaqua - Jan Davis arrives from Arizona to spend 10 days with us. We have been waiting for her to start our long distance traveling with her. She wants to see the Great Wall - the Terra Cotta Warriors - and Shanghai Disney. We hope we can fit it all in.
The other news is that Nancy has a cold.
Notes from Lulu: The festivities were wonderful. There were literally thousands of people all doing coordinated dances. The video footage also included some spectacular scenes from other parts of China. We are anxious to get out and explore. I have hesitated to book any formal tours, etc. because I don't know how our guests will respond to the great jet lag. But it won't be a problem. It seems like things like train tickets are a standard price no matter when you book them. We are still adjusting to our jet lag to a degree - getting up around 5:30 a.m. and ready for bed by 9. In my travels I will get to see some professors who are our former doctoral students at FSU now teaching in Asia. I also hope to visit some school libraries.
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