China's North Capital

Bei= North
Jing=Capital

The train trip was about 21 hrs long. My first train trip that I really remember and it was not tedious at all. I met 2 women who helped me learn all the names of the pieces in the Chinese Chess game I had bought. I want to learn how to play it before I leave China. I met a man from Nigeria and asked him if he knew Daniel Igali but he didn't. for the most of the time I slept though. It was a much needed sleep too. I could see farmers and villagers working in their fields, cows grazing and small villages passed by.

WHen I got to the Beijing trainstation Ling Annie Shen's assistant met me. The two girls on the train helped me to find Ling and then we were on our way. Ling had prepared me breakfast as I arrived at 7am this morning. She even fried an egg and salted it just for me. There was much too much salt on the egg but it was obvious she had made it just for me and so I ate it with a very pleased looking face, which I was. Ling lives with her aunt and her younger cousin, and her house is not as rich and glamorous as Christina's in Guangzhou. In Canada, Ling's house might be described as justttttt livable. After breakfast we had a nap and then we went to meet Annie at her office. Annie is a lawyer and has a 5 year old son and a husband. She is quite beautiful, with short wavy hair, rosy cheeks and a big smile. She calls me her baby, which might normally be considered condescending but for me it's just comforting. In Hong Kong when I would wear my pink pyjamas outside she said 'like a baby' hahaha. I just thought it was funny. Ling is 24 and has just finished 4 years of Law school and after her 3 months of internship working with Annie will go back to school for 1-2 more years. Ling looks very chinese and I think is also very beautiful. She has long wavy-curly hair that's more manageable than mine, is quite tall and slim but not a toothpick.

Annie Shen called up Sun Xiao, (her last name Sun then her first name Xiao in the true chinese way, Annie's name is an english name so that I can pronounce it) another girl that I met at the hostel in Hong Kong who lives in Beijing and we met up for lunch. The restaurant was incredibly ornate even more so than the one that I went to with Christina's family. We ordered many dishes, and the peking duck that Beijing is famous for was cooked whole then cut on a cart right in front of our table. The food here in Beijing, the North capital is much more tasty than in Guangzhou in the South. I enjoyed the Beijing food, much more fully as the taste practically explodes in your mouth. We had these big beans half the size of your thumb covered in sweet sauce, these weird mushrooms that look like seaweed that tasted almost pickled with small slices of onions, thick noodles with the sauce that came in a dish on the side that you mixed in when it came, then the duck pieces that we wrapped with cucumber, chives and thick soya sauce in these little thin circle breads and also the duck soup that they said had been broiling for 3 days and so was very high in nutrience. Duck soup tastes quite different than chicken soup surprisingly, less salty. Sun Xiao's english is even more limited than Annie Shen's and so it was quite difficult for us to communicate. Annie Shen treated us to lunch which was very kind! I'm learning a lot from being in China, mostly about how to treat foreigners haha. It seems that they go out of their way for me.

Ling helped me to find my hostel and took a bus 45mins out of her way. I think that Annie asked her to help me but I still really appreciate it. Ling also gave me a butterfly ring and a pretty mirror covered in red on the outsides and which folds up like a change purse. She said to call her for dinner if I didn't like the restaurant's food. I think I'll call her on the weekend maybe to see a movie and to treat her to dinner.

Now I am at my hostel called the Jade Beijing youth hostel or something but as my lonely planet travellor guide of China said, the atmosphere is like a rich hotel. There are 8 ppl in a room, but the floors are tile, the beds are made of light wood and it is quite new looking inside. There is a travellor's bar, restaurant and internet cafe attached which is where I am at the moment. English music is playing and it's nice to recognize some music. Tomorrow I don't know excactly what I'll do, but on my way here I passed Tiannamen Square and the Forbidden Palace which are quite near to me. I also need to buy some more clothes, it is a little chilly here, maybe 0 degrees celcius as compared with 22-25 in Guangzhou. The weather reminds me of back home which I am starting to appreciate more and more as I explore more of China. Well there are plenty of foreigners here and so maybe I'll meet someone to hang out with tomorrow.