construction work is everywhere in beijing - more so due to the
olympics. didnt realize the pollution was so bad in my previous visit
during the cold winter. this time, somehow i could feel it in the food
as well. perhaps i am too sensitive, but most food ingredients seem to
have little taste. not to mention that breathing was difficult. this
made my stay quite uncomfortable. it was scary to imagine how far the
influence of pollution would go.
while you may laugh at the idea of sitting outside in heavily polluted
beijing streets, i was more surprised to witness a big group of
business men getting a bunch of girls and choose a few to sit with
them.
close to our office building is the bar street which is the very first
one in beijing, according to my chinese colleague. since the concept
of a bar was not really known in china, the foreigners gradually
introduced the concept in the area.
a singer in white western dress at the dinner restaurant at the hotel.
it almost felt like watching a dreamy episode of twin peaks.
but i had to go to answer a phone call that i probably shouldn’t have answered.
i found this feast-like chinese meal very disorienting. first its
difficult to keep track of how much i am eating. second its a
challenge to turn the table without disrupting the flow of social
interaction.
and - heavy discrimination (or care) for alcohol distribution by the
waiters. i was automatically served coke (while men got beer). other
female colleagues were indeed not drinking - they were drinking either
milk or yogurt. this pattern continued in other meals.
at the workshop hotel somewhere in northern beijing.
