Eric's Beijing Diary

I arrived here in Linxia yesterday afternoon. I called my teacher friend, and he came and got me. I was standing in front of a hotel I had picked out of the Lonely Planet Guide, but he told me when I called him that he thought there was another one that was better.

While I was waiting for him, a group of people gathered around me. They were just curious, I guess. One Hui Moslem made a comment about my beard, so I asked him what he thought of it. He said, "Good. Very good." Then he looked at me again, "You're hat isn't so great, though." I laughed, "Sorry, I don't have one of those white caps." (The Hui Moslems wear white caps.)

Today, for me, was what expats would call a "bad China" day. Somehow, I ended up with a ferocious cold. I woke up this morning, dizzy with absolutely no energy. Then I was taking a shower, and the water just quit. I open the door and yelled at the fuwuyuan. I don't know what they were doing that shut my water off, but they stopped it, and I was able to get rinsed off. Later, I was washing my hands at the sink, and I spotted what seemed to be hand soap. I took a whif of it to make sure, and it just about knocked me out. I don't know what kind of chemical it was, but it definitely should not have been there, and I made sure they knew it. I don't want to go into a detailed description of this place, but it is a real dive.

And another thing. There is absolutely no coffee in this town. But should I expect coffee in a Hui Muslim community? You know what? I think I need days like today to remind me how totally spoiled I am in Beijing. Beijing is just too easy. It is such a diverse community. This town is definitely not diverse. But the people here are friendly, especially the men, who comment a lot about my beard. Many of he Hui have heavy beards. And this town is known for it's glasses. Believe it or not, they still manufacture the old, Qing dynasty style glasses here, and you see a lot of men wearing them. Big, round black glasses.