so on to Wednesday, tueday was covered somewhere back there.

i decided to look for the Beijing culture and language institute to see about taking intensive Chinese classes there. Also the bclu is located in a neighborhood that i am considering living in, wudaokou. Basically it was a good excuse to get off my ass and wander around the area some. The day was beautiful. Not too warm but not as cold as it has gotten recently.

bikes, bikes everywhere


i was walking along the third ring road and saw this basketball store with the Michael Jordan poster over it. i had that poster over my bed for many years when i was but a wee lad. It was cool to see it again. The area between the hotel and wudaokou is an interesting one to walk around in. It is not as developed as the rest of the parts of the city i have been visiting. There are no sidewalks and less high rise buildings. The dichotomy between old and new, rich and poor is much more pronounced here.

here was a pedestrianized zone in the middle of the walk. It is part of one of the numerous universities in the area. Supposedly there are around 40-50 different schools within 30 minutes of the hotel. None of them have signs though as i later had much trouble finding the bclu. Turns out i walked right past it without knowing what it was. i only found out where it was because i drove past the same area with someone who studied there on the way to the great wall. That was to be a recurring theme today. i was unable to find the bclu, the zgc bookstore, or the wc in the shopping center. at least i was able to find my way home.

this is right behind my hotel. i could go running there if i were so inspired. Luckily i am not very inspired so no running.






No trumpets playing damn it. Don't you see the sign? And don't even get me started on saxophones.