Eric's Beijing Diary

Came to town today to pick up come souvenirs for the wait staff at the coffee bar in Wudaokou. A couple of the waitresses called me the other night wondering why I hadn't been in for awhile. Feel kinda bad about it--I guess I forgot to mention that I was going to be out of town for a few weeks. Beihai has a nice coffee bar, but it's a little expensive. Not by American standards--no, definitely not. But I live in China on a Chinese income. The coffee bars in the Upper West side where I live are study bars that cater to students. For a bookaholic like me, they are much better. The coffee is not expensive, and they have lots of reading lamps.

Saturday I head back to Beijing. My three weeks here are almost over. The weather here is nice right now, but the warm humid climate is not my favorite. I tend to prefer cool and dry. Funny, you know, how everyone is different. The natives here tell me all the time that their air is better than Beijing. That part is true, on the average. But last night, as I was walking from one building to the other, a student made the point that it is easier to see the stars in Beihai, because Beijing is so polluted. I told her that I had been her for over two weeks, and this was the first night I had been able to see the stars. It's cloudy here a lot. Beijing does have a pollution problem, but during most of the year, the climate is dry, so there are more sunny days than there would be here. Anyway, we all have our preferences. In Beijing, I hang the clothes out on the back porch, and two hours later they are dry. Here I hang them out for two days and they are still damp. Frustrating. But when the weather is clear, Beihai does have nice evenings. That much I will say.