Eric's Beijing Diary

Children's Day. Jeremy threw a party for the kids today at the new Old Town Cafe. He had set up two tables for us to show kids the correct way and incorrect way to use a knife and fork in the western style. I don't know how informative it was, but it was lots of fun, anyway.

Children's Day is celebrated in the "Communist" world on June 1st every year. I remember when I was a kid in Japan, they used to have "Boy's Day," and "Girl's Day." But I can't remember what the dates were. Anyway, I was supposed to show kids the correct way, and a guy from Australia was recruited to show the incorrect way. Some questions arose when I began, because I am left-handed, and I was holding the knife and fork opposite from what you would see in the movies. I explained to the kids that when you're cutting, you should hold the knife in the hand that you usually use for writing. It's amazing how clever these kids are--they really did catch on pretty quickly.After lunch, the reporter from the paper wanted to continue our interview from the day before. Fortunately, one of my colleagues from the college was there, so she was able to translate for me. He was very interested in my impressions of the Old Street. Apparently, this is part of the development plan for Beihai. I told him that so far my impression was positive, because businesses weren't tearing down the old historical structures, just remodeling them. The Old Time Cafe is a good example of this, actually. Creative blending of the old and the new.