the week in pictures

i remembered this picture i took of the famous flan of beijing. in front of it is a chocolate mousse that was equally delicious.


it's a bright, sunny day; but we're all wearing heavy sweaters, jackets, and scarves. two days ago was the prettiest day i've seen since i arrived in china but the temperature was in the low 50's by the early afternoon. the leaves on many trees are quickly turning yellow and the ivy and shrubs are changing to red and violet.

beijing is pretty much on the same logitude as new york city so the climate is pretty similar. the last 2 or 3 weeks have been like an apocalyptic miami winter with the city under a thick gray fog.



running korean girls in uniform. i don't know why but there they were, and it was coooooooold!



i've been riding the bus some with silvia. she's become quite the expert and the bus system here is pretty excellent though always crowded.

one day this week we met a cuban girl on the bus named indira who's here to study for 2 years. she made us laugh and realize just how much we miss cubans and specific things like croquetas, their accents, and their funny way with words.



ross spent the last two days sick, though now he's a whole lot better. that's the typical "i'm sick and i'm gonna die" face he does so well at those times.

mmm..... delicious cake

another cake painting, this one a little less obvious i think than the ones before. there's two more in the works similar to the prior ones, but after those i'd like to head more in this direction, about eating and maybe one or two about smoking cigarettes, stay tuned for those.

something i've learned here is that chinese taste in sweets are vastly different than western tastes. sweets and cakes here are kinda gross and not sweet at all. they generally don't use butter or dairy so pastries tend to be dry and less joyous tasting. they also use flavors we'd consider almost exclusively for sweets like cinnamon, nutmeg, and anise to flavor meat dishes. this works really well, that complexity is one of my favorite things about food here. ross and i found an amazing western style bakery not far from where we live that totally satisfies my western sweet cravings when they hit. they even have delicious flan!!! silvia wrote about it on her blog, check it out here under the title "Let's Eat" on october 14th.

p.s. i'd like to hear from everyone who visits the site, especially from people who haven't commented before or in a while, so... comments please even if it's just to say hi :)

Fragrant Hills park and Temple complex

ross made it a point to do something cultural this weekend, so we made our way to a park and temple complex just north of beijing called the Fragrant Hills. it's a park set on several green hills housing a few temples, and lots of open park space with fountains and all sorts of park-y things. it was an unusually clear and bright day and we got a great view of the hills and the city skyline, unfortunately i didn't take enough pictures of the landscaping but i've included in this post pictures and videos from inside the temples.


this is at the entrance to the hall of monks, these figures represent the four cardinal directions.


a short walk through the hall of monks. there are over 400 wood statues painted bronze representing different enlightened monks and mythical/historical figures

this was one of my favorite statues, it's of a monk who reached nirvana and is tearing away his flesh to reveal his inner buddha

artificial flowers as decoration or offerings maybe? they added color and helped make the statuary and deities stand in an even more fantastic and supernatural setting

this buddha is the centerpiece of the temples, the gold dome shape above the buddha is from the original 15th century structure. the rest of the building, including the buddha, are from the 18th century. the statue is probably 30 feet tall.

the buddha is surrounded by several life-size figures in a cave-like environment reaching up to a very ornate ceiling, artificial flowers, and little red tassles representing prayers made in the temple

a different, slightly smaller temple. those colored smoke or cloud shapes are my favorite and can be found all over these temples

this is an open air part of the park high on the hill above the previous temple. there are 12 structures i believe like the one pictured above. this is where you get a great view of the city just a few miles away

pics from this last week

this last week was a big deal national holiday here in china. october 1st marked the day in which mao tze dong announced the creation of the peolpe's republic of china in tien'anmen square, so lots of poeple had the week off and got the chance to do things like travel, relax, and have lots and lots of weddings.

ross, silvia and i left beijing for 2 days to see our friend anna's cute hometown langfang just an hour south of the city. it's a middle sized city with few foreign visitors, so we got blatantly stared at and even followed by some chinos who couldn't believe we were there i guess. strangers even asked us to take pictures with them.

the rest of the week we hung out at home painting and watching lost for the most part. we walked some around our area finding all kinds of new things including an abandoned hotel in classical chinese architecture style and dozens of imperial animal sculptures but we couldn't tell how old they are, or if they're fakes (a common problem here with antiques). a fun week overall :)

ross, silvia, and anna in langfang's central park.

ross y yo

one of maybe 15 couples at the park taking wedding pictures while we were there

silvia at the abandoned hotel

moi dans l'hotel abandonne

kids in china

china definitely feels like a nation with a billion people. being alone anywhere seems impossible. most of the population is actually really young, i'd say most people are under 45 and a whole lot of them are under 30. there are also more children and baby boys specifically than i think i've seen almost anywhere else in the world. the chinese aren't overly affectionate with their kids, no real kissing or hugging even though they are clearly enamored and feel joy as they play with them. babies here are also kinda dry and never smile which i find really odd and unsettling. here's a post with some kid pictures i've taken these last few months here.

another week...

another cake painting. i'm an awesome eater, but a shitty cook. this series feels like the only serious attempt i've made at preparing food aside from the fried eggs, george foreman grilled sandwiches , toast, and microwave meals i pride myself on and lived off of for so long. my saving grace here in beijing is that ross is a kick ass cook and that nearly all food is inexpensive. i'll still always eat like i'm really a fat person trapped deep inside a quickly metabolizing body.