I’m in the Haidian District of Beijing, China, which (I guess) everyone likens to Silicon Valley. It’s in the northwest corner of the city. On my walk to the Tsinghua Univeristy where we will be taking our law classes we pass Microsoft and Google, however these are the only indications of this being the tech center of Beijing.
The biggest culture shock so far is how filthy and smoggy the city is. The streets are covered in dirt and the trees are all tinged grayish brown from the heavy smog. I have not seen blue sky since being here. We have already seen on little girl peeing on the sidewalk in the middle of the day.
The second biggest shock is getting around without knowing the language. I was looking for the Continental breakfast yesterday morning and kept running into service people trying to help me that knew no English. I would just say, “Ni Hao… Food,” then bow and walk away when it became awkwardly clear that they had no idea of what I was saying. In retrospect a Chinese dictionary would have been helpful to bring.
Everyone stares at us when we walk around. I was told this would happen, but it’s weird. I was walking down a hallway in the hotel and one of the workers was eying me. We keep saying, “Ni Hao,” which is hello.
The supermarket is interesting. Everything is in bins on the shelves instead of being packaged in boxes and freestanding on shelves. The seafood section is very well stocked, although mostly with fish I am scared to walk within ten feet of.
So, that’s the topical take on Beijing so far. More to come.