South to North

Internet access has been sparse while we travel about China by plane and train.

Pictures of the Li River in Guangxi will be posted soon. It was a misty and magical day trip (see the top right of the page to find the link to our photo album).

Beijing stands in stark contrast. It is bland and brown, and, with most people opting to stay indoors, it feels like a ghost town. However, the sky is more blue than yellow and there are slight buds of green on some of the trees. I think that we are here a month too early.

Food

A while back Annalisa and I went out to eat with Jinpeng. He took us to a courtyard ringed by individual food stalls. He ordered for us and we sat down at a table to wait for the food. However, Jinpeng decided that he wanted a snack while we waited. He got up and came back with a little bag containing slivers of duck stomach. After a while I worked up my nerve and tried a piece. It was rubbery and spicy-hot. I decided one taste was enough.

One thing I have not gotten accustomed to here is that no part of an animal goes to waste. Intellectually, this appeals to me. Gastronomically, not so much. I think that it would take several years to acclimate myself the diet here. I still shudder when I see someone enjoying chicken feet, a favorite snack food here. My roommates probably feel the same way about certain aspects of my diet.