no wifi. Chinese visa. vegetarian food. wu mart.

often bound by frustration, and yet...

After nearly a week in my studio apartment, I still have no wifi.  A very cordial, young China Telecom tech spent about an hour this AM trying to establish connection with my el cheapo TP-Link wireless router, only to tell me (translated to me by a fellow teacher from my school, whom I had on speaker phone) that my Mac was incapable of establishing a connection.  

So now, tethered to my weathered MacBook Pro, I maintain connection to the world through a 3G phone line.  As if I knew that even existed.  Apparently, my communication skills are lacking.  Somehow, my request for "high speed wireless internet" translated into slow, wired internet.  Lost in translation, yet again.    

The longer I'm here, the more my patience and flexibility (or lack thereof) are tested.  But, it's all good.  That's what I keep telling myself.

I found a little zen this afternoon.  After applying for my one-year Chinese visa with Maria (Brooklyn/Barbados), Josie (London/Texas), and Wil (Ohio), all newbies to Beijing, we headed to the Lama Temple area to feast upon vegetarian food while shopping for the perfect incense amid dozens of temple tourist shops in the Nanluoguxiang Hutong.  The streets were shaded by overgrown trees, and the architectural details were spectacular.  It was truly beautiful and peaceful...a nice change of pace from the typically overcrowded streets of the city.     

             

Afterwards, Maria and I took the Line 2 subway back to Jishuitan to shop at my neighborhood Wu Mart.  As always, it was a learning experience.  I mean, 30 minutes of pantomiming "shower curtain" to about three sales associates, only to find out they don't carry them?  On the plus side, we were a source of amusement for all the customers.  Two of them even stopped to practice their English with us.  When we tried to check out, we were rejected by the cashier because we had too many items.  We hung our heads in shame as we took the conveyor belt down to the supermarket area and waded through hundreds of people with grocery carts full of...unfamiliar-to-us, Chinese groceries.  By the time we walked outside, the sun had set on another day in Beijing.  We parted ways and headed home to our respective flats.  

A slightly cool breeze blew against my face as I walked through the bustling streets of my neighborhood, and I smiled as I realized I will be experiencing my first real autumn since I was about 17.    

Tomorrow will be the first official faculty meeting at the Beijing No. 4 HS International Campus (IC), a.k.a. another awesome, adventurous day of wonderful frustration.  Bring it on.