First test-blog from China

I'm sitting in Starbucks enjoing a Red-Bean scone. Oddly enough, Red-
Bean is the blueberry of China. Granted, it is not a fruit...

I woke up at 0600 today, no alarm clock, and was pleased to find a
nice blue sky (see photo). I was worried when I arrived last night
because the air was thick and smoggy...brown and orange so
thick that it was difficult to see at any distance. As the taxi drove west
towards the university district - the air cleared.

My taxi driver managed to
avoid (inches) a major collision on the highway... the car in front of us clipped another
taxi and as they spun off the road-we swerved. Scary! I was on the phone during all of this and think I screamed or something.
My driver got a tip when we arrived safely.

I am on my way to the consulate to check in and am pleased to report
that I was only 20 yards out of the hotel when the spitting started (people spit EVERYWHERE) this was followed by a trail of
unique smells-ahhh, Beijing!

I am extremely thankful to have spent time here this summer. Why? It
feels comfortable and though my Chinese isn't great-I know the Subway
and can spot the English speaking Chinese fairly easily.

I am also glad to be staying at a different hotel. Why? Because I can
recognize the uniforms and see that there is a system - a subtle class/
role indication by how people are dressed. This is something entirely
instinctive back home. Here, everything is...similar, but VERY DIFFERENT!!!

My Kindle is a blessing-got 20 minutes of reading done on the subway
and a lot of stares, too. :)

Ok, this is a test post from Beijing! Hope it works!

Kim

(photo was taken outside my hotel down the street- check out the Blue
sky!!!)