World Tour 2009 - Day 12
This one is going to be long... It's late, and I can't remember the silly lj cut thingy... so, again, I'm sorry for the length on your page:
We still have another week to go in Shanghai, but I think this might end up being one of my most memorable days. It was exactly what I wanted it to be. I told awl before I left that really all I wanted was at least one day to hang out with my boys. Now, you've heard me talk about my boys for months now. You know that while I like my class that there are four gentlemen in particular that really just made this whole experience at GA Tech worth it for me. Today was perfect. This post will not be in bullets because it was just too important of a day for me.
Last night, after karoake, I was talking with Michael via IM. He invited me along to Tiananmen Square. Honestly, I haven't really looked up any of the sites of China. When I travel, I typically don't decide what I'm doing until I'm there. It can make awl insane, but I like to just explore and take it easy. So, when Michael asked, I was completely fine with it. I had no plans, and really, all I wanted to do on this trip was hang out with my friends; the location really didn't matter. He told me that it would be he, Jeremy, myself, and possibly my Bill. I thought, if you just added Jay, I'd have the perfect day. I told Jeremy that I was tagging along, and asked if it was ok. He laughed and said that it was fine, and that he had hoped I would come along. We all agreed on meeting up around 8:30 or so for breakfast.
After a brief chat at breakfast, we decided to meet in the lobby by 10:30. April would be coming along as well as Jay. This was exactly what I had been hoping for. So, at 10:30 everyone gathered up with only minimal griping... and we headed over to the subway. As usual, I had no idea really where we were going, I just let the boys lead. On a side note: The subways in China are immaculate. There are over 19 million people in this city, and the subways are spotless, and super quiet. It's astounding really.
We got to Tianamen Square, took some photos, and then headed under the highway to the other side. I swear I've never seen highways or streets like in Beijing; some must be twelve lanes across while others don't seem wide enough for bicycles let alone cars. The highway between the Communist Headquarters and Tiananmen / Forbidden City is huge. So much traffic, and I still don't understand how there aren't more accidents than there are.
When we came up from the pedistrian underpass, we walked across the square to the Forbidden City. There were a ton of people including panhandlers, and um... let's just say entrepreneurial women. After all, who knew that so many women in China wanted to "practice English" with my boys?? I mean, I know I keep good company, but still... Anyway, we sort of stick out in China. April with her long blonde hair and blue eyes, and with three of the four gentlemen being taller than six foot... it's hard to miss us. Though, as my Bill pointed out: "Look at you, so short and with a red coat on, you fit right in." I laughed and said, "Hey, for once in my life, I'm above average height. It's nice."
Across the courtyard, we saw the start of a palace that we might have, after two or three hours, only seen a quarter of. It was really stunning architecture, but my favorite part was the Imperial Garden. It had two rock garden collections that were used for different types of ceremonies by the emperors, and cedar trees neatly lining the vast majority. If the government here can get the air pollution under control, and start cleaning the soot from the buildings... Beijing will really shine. It's just so mystical in some ways.
After the palace, we journeyed back under the highway to the square, and took some pictures of the Communist Headquarters. We managed to arrive at the changing of the guards which was really kind of neat. Say what you will about this country's politics, but everyone appears ok with it. It's like a status quo, and the Chinese are a very proud people.
We hopped on the subway, and over to the shopping district. We would have wandered longer I think, but I really needed a place to sit down. April was getting dizzy from not eating, and the side street vendors selling live scorpion on a stick didn't seem appealing. We ended up at sort of a food court across the street. After lunch, the group split. April, Michael, and I headed back to the hotel for some R&R. I took a nice hot bath, and then lounged in bed dozing and watching TV.
At around 7 PM, my phone rang, and I had been dozing. I squeaked out a hello (as I really have absolutely no voice). Jeremy had secured us a reservation at Maison Boulud (http://www.danielnyc.com/maisonboulud.html). It's owned by Daniel Boulud, and is as elegant as you might expect. A nice fancy French restaurant in Beijing. For dinner, it was just me and my boys. We had wine (I had a glass of champagne), excellent food, more than excellent service, and really just the best conversation. Jeremy is insistent that the, um, less than polite conversation in the restaurant was mortifying me, but honestly, it was perfect. They even called it my birthday dinner, and wouldn't let me pay. It was just the evening I wanted. Just me, Jeremy, Michael, Jay, and my Bill...
I love each of these men for different, and yet for very much the same reasons. They have made my time at school so special, and it wasn't like they ever had to try. And even if I got nothing else from this program, I got some of the most wonderful memories and that was worth every moment of the last eighteen months. I'm just so glad I got today.
We still have another week to go in Shanghai, but I think this might end up being one of my most memorable days. It was exactly what I wanted it to be. I told awl before I left that really all I wanted was at least one day to hang out with my boys. Now, you've heard me talk about my boys for months now. You know that while I like my class that there are four gentlemen in particular that really just made this whole experience at GA Tech worth it for me. Today was perfect. This post will not be in bullets because it was just too important of a day for me.
Last night, after karoake, I was talking with Michael via IM. He invited me along to Tiananmen Square. Honestly, I haven't really looked up any of the sites of China. When I travel, I typically don't decide what I'm doing until I'm there. It can make awl insane, but I like to just explore and take it easy. So, when Michael asked, I was completely fine with it. I had no plans, and really, all I wanted to do on this trip was hang out with my friends; the location really didn't matter. He told me that it would be he, Jeremy, myself, and possibly my Bill. I thought, if you just added Jay, I'd have the perfect day. I told Jeremy that I was tagging along, and asked if it was ok. He laughed and said that it was fine, and that he had hoped I would come along. We all agreed on meeting up around 8:30 or so for breakfast.
After a brief chat at breakfast, we decided to meet in the lobby by 10:30. April would be coming along as well as Jay. This was exactly what I had been hoping for. So, at 10:30 everyone gathered up with only minimal griping... and we headed over to the subway. As usual, I had no idea really where we were going, I just let the boys lead. On a side note: The subways in China are immaculate. There are over 19 million people in this city, and the subways are spotless, and super quiet. It's astounding really.
We got to Tianamen Square, took some photos, and then headed under the highway to the other side. I swear I've never seen highways or streets like in Beijing; some must be twelve lanes across while others don't seem wide enough for bicycles let alone cars. The highway between the Communist Headquarters and Tiananmen / Forbidden City is huge. So much traffic, and I still don't understand how there aren't more accidents than there are.
When we came up from the pedistrian underpass, we walked across the square to the Forbidden City. There were a ton of people including panhandlers, and um... let's just say entrepreneurial women. After all, who knew that so many women in China wanted to "practice English" with my boys?? I mean, I know I keep good company, but still... Anyway, we sort of stick out in China. April with her long blonde hair and blue eyes, and with three of the four gentlemen being taller than six foot... it's hard to miss us. Though, as my Bill pointed out: "Look at you, so short and with a red coat on, you fit right in." I laughed and said, "Hey, for once in my life, I'm above average height. It's nice."
Across the courtyard, we saw the start of a palace that we might have, after two or three hours, only seen a quarter of. It was really stunning architecture, but my favorite part was the Imperial Garden. It had two rock garden collections that were used for different types of ceremonies by the emperors, and cedar trees neatly lining the vast majority. If the government here can get the air pollution under control, and start cleaning the soot from the buildings... Beijing will really shine. It's just so mystical in some ways.
After the palace, we journeyed back under the highway to the square, and took some pictures of the Communist Headquarters. We managed to arrive at the changing of the guards which was really kind of neat. Say what you will about this country's politics, but everyone appears ok with it. It's like a status quo, and the Chinese are a very proud people.
We hopped on the subway, and over to the shopping district. We would have wandered longer I think, but I really needed a place to sit down. April was getting dizzy from not eating, and the side street vendors selling live scorpion on a stick didn't seem appealing. We ended up at sort of a food court across the street. After lunch, the group split. April, Michael, and I headed back to the hotel for some R&R. I took a nice hot bath, and then lounged in bed dozing and watching TV.
At around 7 PM, my phone rang, and I had been dozing. I squeaked out a hello (as I really have absolutely no voice). Jeremy had secured us a reservation at Maison Boulud (http://www.danielnyc.com/maisonboulud.html). It's owned by Daniel Boulud, and is as elegant as you might expect. A nice fancy French restaurant in Beijing. For dinner, it was just me and my boys. We had wine (I had a glass of champagne), excellent food, more than excellent service, and really just the best conversation. Jeremy is insistent that the, um, less than polite conversation in the restaurant was mortifying me, but honestly, it was perfect. They even called it my birthday dinner, and wouldn't let me pay. It was just the evening I wanted. Just me, Jeremy, Michael, Jay, and my Bill...
I love each of these men for different, and yet for very much the same reasons. They have made my time at school so special, and it wasn't like they ever had to try. And even if I got nothing else from this program, I got some of the most wonderful memories and that was worth every moment of the last eighteen months. I'm just so glad I got today.