Sacrificial virgin takes bath in broth while fighting with old chicken on bed of tender greens.

 6:45 PM
Ok, so we have now spent a day wandering the streets of Beijing and I am better able to reflect a little on the city and being in China. Here are a few early observations:

Observation 1: There are a lot of Chinese people in China.
Observation 2: There are a surprising number of public restrooms, and when they say public they really mean public … pretty much just open rooms with holes in the floor.
Observation 3: People are generally very nice and willing to help.
Observation 4: Sign language is not universal.
Observation 5: When there are guards standing outside of gates it usually means you are not welcome inside.
Observation 6: Toddlers poop on the street.
Observation 7: The sun comes up at an optimal time if you need to work the fields, less so if you are interested “sightseeing in leisure” in an urban setting.

11:30 PM
This evening for dinner we went in search of Peking Duck. We ended up at a local restaurant a few blocks from our hostel that was recommended to us by the amazingly awesome woman who works here at the Jade International, Lydia. The food was good, but trying to eat it all became a feat of will power and strength. Ordering was a challenge and we failed miserably. After musing over the menu and trying to decide if we also wanted to get an order of “failed to blow up flat fish as it swims meekly through the incensed pond” or “sacrificial virgin takes bath in broth while fighting with old chicken on bed of tender greens” somehow we ended up with at least 2 ducks. When part 1 of our order arrived we were satisfied with our selection, upon the arrival of part 2 we were still feeling pretty impressed with our ability to order through a series of gestures. By the time part 3 was brought to our table we were starting to realize that perhaps an error had been made with the flailing of an arm. And by the time part 4 was brought out we no longer felt confident that we could effectively communicate without words, reaffirming observation four above: sign language is not universal. Although the guilty look on the waiter’s face makes me think that he may have understood more than he let on. At one point Kim admitted she was slowing down and was thinking about taking a break, forcing me to remind her that it takes 20 minutes for the brain to realize it was full so she better keep going and step it up a notch. Overall a good dining experience and a good first day in Beijing.