Travel stories and photos and the occasional life lesson » Greg

Very comfortable in Beijing – Great wall tour – Forbidden City – Temple of Heaven

Greg Gordon — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 08:45:45 +0000

I feel more at home daily. I buy groceries. I cook for myself. I still explore the city. Heck, I explored Austin, Texas after having been there for well over ten years. The education continues forever. I happen to be in a city that holds a forbidden city, a very old brick wall, an underground city, a summer palace, a temple of heaven, shopping for a lifetime, a wonderful subway system, fantastic food at reasonable prices, and more.

My super friendliness continues towards new folks as I slowly become a bit pickier with whom I share my time. In the most recent three weeks I have officially dropped three people. I find it very necessary. Folks come and go in life and every so often I find time to drop some deadweight. Sixteen months into my Beijing life I still hand out business cards like I always have. I don’t actively solicit information from others unless I really really think I want to see them again and even then my follow-up is not as enthusiastic as it was eight months ago. I have a new chapter of work that begins soon so that will consume me more than work has consumed me for the past several months. I also need to plan several Asia trips because I am here. I know that I will have an exit from this city. I don’t know if I’ll leave next year or during the next US presidential administration. This city, like every other city I may stay in for a few years in the future will (and has) allow(ed) me to grow and improve myself. I have and I will continue to get a better grasp of Mandarin Chinese. My study habits make it difficult for me to learn quickly. I prefer to do anything else besides study. Step one is identifying the issue. I have done that now.

My next visitor arrives Saturday and I am quite excited about that!

Saturday hiking? How about Sunday hiking?!

Greg Gordon — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 10:30:05 +0000

Saturday in China turned out to be a work day because of the holiday. I missed my hiking like a crack addict misses his crack pipe. I found a fix! Sunday hiking group…… It’s similar to my Saturday group. They’ve been hiking a bit longer. I found out the the Saturday group split off from the Sunday group because a few people preferred to get out on a Saturday versus a Sunday. The best news of the whole thing is that I now have the option to go hiking every Saturday and/ or Sunday depending upon my mood and schedule. The folks welcomed me as one of their own almost immediately. I believe that these hiking groups will see to it that I never ever ever leave China for more than a few weeks at a time. Photos can be viewed from some of the Sunday scenery by clicking this link. We drove in the snow for nearly two hours to our destination. We arrived at a remote area near the Great Wall of China. The hike up the mountain to the wall took over an hour in the snow. The snow made the trek a bit more adventurous than normal. The trip down included a few short slips and only one short fall on the slippery trail.

Waiter Rant and exercise in Beijing

Greg Gordon — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:21:32 +0000

I booked a flight to Cambodia. Next Wednesday I fly south for a few days to visit a very dear camp friend from a whole bunch of summers ago. My friend and her husband, with their young child in tow, work for the United States government. Since I am only a seven hour (each way) trip away I will not pass the opportunity up to go for a visit

I woke up this morning at 3:30am and was inspired to work. I got a bit antsy and decided to see if I could exercise. I made it thirty and a half minutes on the treadmill. That’s a personal record as I never run on one of those things. My only other option is running in the 4 degree weather (before windchill) and I decided on the treadmill. I am noticing that I can be so productive when I am alone in a foreign country with a 14 hour time difference separating me from all of my normal distractions.

After eating the lunch shown above I got out in the city for a very lovely walk. I have been mainly stuck inside in front of a computer so I notice that I want to cause trouble for myself. The walks help. Any exercise is good. I am definitely an outside person. The cold weather makes it a bit challenging as I am not conditioned for it quite yet. I bet that by the time I leave here I’ll be up to speed.

I believe that today we will be visiting vendors. That’s always an adventure. I am now going to shower and head down to breakfast.