I love the bubbles! But they aren't melting!

I wasn't that motivated on my last day of work. To label books anyway. I did enough books to stack and make a pile in front of me so no one could see me, in the selfish effort to read my book, Oracle Bones. It was one of the books Maxime desired us to read so to be ready for our Chinese history workshop during debriefing. That, and just to read in general so to understand China. They've been really helpful and I suggest them to anyone desiring to understand China sans visiting. I had lunch with Yuchan and Lynsday and went shopping with them in the afternoon. Near Xizhemen, we shopped for clothes. They reminded me I needed a nice dress shirt for our farewell party, and I asked them to help me. They were helpful, but it still felt like a mistake. They insisted on this shirt, or that shirt, none of which felt like "me" I hate wearing clothes that I don't feel comfortable in. I stopped being someone else after high school, and to have someone insist on wearing a shirt that wasn't my style felt a bit like an insult. I know they didn't mean it and they were being helpful. I could have been a little more cooperative though. I sucked it up and bought a shirt. Now, I can look like every other Chinese poser in the clubs! I didn't stay in the mall long, and decided to spend the rest of the sunny afternoon visiting Beihai Park, another stop on my to-do list. I made a sarcastic remark to a girl about having to pay like 4 tickets to see everything at an attraction, which she knew about. We began talking and next thing you knew, 2 hours went by. We walked around the park, talking a lot about China. I gave Anne-Marie my number. Still got it. And I didn't have to wear a silly shirt!

I wore that shirt the next day to our final EAD, the Olympic EAD. Jamie and Jonathon did a good job and put on a good EAD. There was lots of information, from the history to the olympics to the political and environmental agendas attached. In the afternoon, we went to the Birds Nest stadium. Or tried to. It's still under construction for crying out loud! The park area anyway. We couldn't get close, so we took pictures from afar. We even saw the neighboring Water Cube in the distance! Alas, they would not remain in the distance out of reach. That night, we went partying, staying in a hotel. It was an alright night. Dinner at the same Russian restaurant, we stayed for a bit of a house party at Michelles, and then went out. From meeting cute 30 year old lawyers to almost getting run over by trucks in a random construction yard, it was a good night. It was quite the coincedence meeting up with our other half of the group who had stayed at Michelles at the same club late at night! But we all partied together until late. Yuchan had informed us earlier that she met a guy who designed the logo for the Water Cube, and he could give us a tour! Felix was going to the Summer Palace, which I also wanted to do, but I would never get another chance to go to the Water Cube. This was too perfect, especially considering we couldn't see it or the Birds Nest at the EAD that day. We went out the next morning, with only a minor case of a certain person getting lost in another subway station. We made it to the meeting point where her friend picked us up. The Water Cube is one of the large swimming gymnasiums for the Olympics. In fact, it's not even open to the public until AFTER the Olympics! We were very fortunate. We were toured around, seeing the pool and other areas of the stadium. It's unique because it's a new conceptual architural design, and is actually environmentally friendly! It's made of large special plastic bubbles that are inflated with air constantly. It was really cool, especially knowing we got a sneak peak of what many will not get to see it for a long time!

"The smoke from my imaginary guns made me cough" - Sadie

I found myself with a free afternoon one weekend, and decided to go to Mao's Tomb. I still haven't went, so it felt like a good time to check out it. I caught the bus and was pissed to find out that Tiannamen Square was blocked off. Apparently they knew I was coming. Actually, March was the month of two very important meetings I was told. So when the politicians come out, they block off the Square, which includes Mao's tomb. Rather then waste an afternoon, I decided to do something else I wanted to do for awhile. I went to the Military Musuem. Gary had shown interest in making a day trip there with the group as an activity, but I'm sorry to say my faith has been waivered in him. And I thought it would be too hard to plan, and therefore wouldn't happen, so I went anyway. I didn't have any ID (on account of a lost wallet) but the guard gave me a ticket! I think it was free anyway though, I'm not sure. It was a very large museum, and one of the most well put together ones I've seen here. There was a vast amount of Chinese history, from the dynasties, during the Great Leap Forward to present. I was glad to be alone, as those are often places I feel rushed by others who glance at things quickly and move on, so I could go at my own pace now, and enjoyed myself.

That week was my last week of work. I didn't feel as though I could justify 3 months of shitty volunteering into 3 short days, and I was right. Although the tasks they held for me did have validity, I wasn't too enthused. Sticking decimal labels onto the spines of books isn't that great. But I did it anyway, just listening to music the entire time. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall by myself. Yuchan had family matters to deal with, Gary had things to do at his other workplace, and nobody knew where the hell Nancy was, who hadn't shown up once yet. Whoopee!

We had another CAD on Monday the following week. It was to a new neighborhood most of us had never been. We first stopped for lunch, where Andy and Jonathon joined us with some baijiu. It was a merry afternoon, and they were very sentimental about us leaving, wishing for us to remember that moment and try not to miss them when we were gone. I fail. I miss them already and I haven't even left yet! We walked (with a little stumble) to a tea house run by a friend of Jonathons. We drank some tea, chatted, and then watched a traditional tea ceremony. We walked through a hutong, exploring a bit until we arrived at a antique shop which turned out to be fucking expensive! 100 yuan for a tiny lock? Screw that! We explored a little more, checking out other shops with paintings, antiques and whatnot. We got seperated from everyone and went out own way, eventually going home.

It continued being a busy week. We were invited to play basketball with the Chongwenmen Government District Office. We all went to a school gym after work and warmed up a bit. It was the CWY guys against them. We put up a good fight, made some good sweat, but they beat us in the end. They were very sportsmen and took us all out to a kao ya (roast duck) dinner. They were very chatty and asked us questions about Canada, our Mandarin, and living here. They were a nice bunch of guys.

The next day, I left work early to go to Gary's workplace. It may have taken 3 months, but he finally planned a day for me to play games with kids. We went to an elementary school not far from his work place. I found it a bit frustrating, because I had to keep changing the plans I had made, because it would go from 2 hours to 1, and then I had to make it educational and teach them english or something, and then I had 2 groups instead of 1. But I improvised well. I taught the kids the numbers 1-10 in french, as I couldn't think of some new standardized english phrases they hadn't already heard a million times, and then I taught the next group the Canadian provinces. Forgive me, I forgot the territories. I played "steal the bacon" and the island game with them, both of which they loved. As a thank you after, Gary's supervisor gave me the last Olympic volunteer bracelets. Now I have all 5 olympic colors! Blue, red, green, yellow, black. A full set!

The only thing that is best at its worse!

Shame on me, the usually disciplined blogger. However, I've been busy, as I'm sure these stories will tell you. Rather then throwing in two weeks or so of long, boring Canada World Youth adventures, I shall write them in small chunks. Chunk number one!

We had a CAD one day at the Natural History Museum. I found many of the exhibits were half finished, broken, or even innacurate. However, the museum had not actually been open yet, and we were granted special access. I laughed at seeing a display showing so few bears in BC, yet plenty in Quebec, along with cougars (heh, cougars). That afternoon, we went to the Temple Of Heaven to chill. We had extra time to spare, so many of us relaxed in the warm cloudless day; some read, others explored, or even slept. I found myself not particulary restless and hacky sacked. After, we had a small volunteer job to do. We helped clean the game room for kids of a building that I believe was a center for children. Details were very vague and little information was given to us. We cleaned the dusty area, from toys to fooseball tables to a small science lab. Had it been opened, and the place actually informed of volunteers in need, we may have ended up there. Zao gao.

Just when I thought there was nothing better to do in China. Boy, was I wrong. Going to the Great Wall a third time keeps things interesting. Especially this particular trip. Gary and I had just finished our Environment EAD, where we discussed the environmental problems and solutions of China. Some of those being desertification, the obvious air pollution, and sanitation. However, before I met our group at Maximes, I had a date. Yes, Devon Flynn works his magic around the world. It was Natalie, the Russian girl I, ahem, got to know. I met her at the subway station and ran into four of my friends before we made it to the coffee shop. We sat and talked, from living in Beijing, to travelling, work, food, etc. It was a short, but good date. I met up with the group after some frustrating confusion with train and subway/metro. Naturally, it was me who made the blunder, but I don't want to take all the blame. We boarded our sleeper train which we would be housed in until 3:30am. Some people chatted for awhile, others slept right away in our tiny yet cozy bunkbeds. We arrived at a train station debating whether to walk to the beach or take taxis. Advice: at 4am, walking should never be an option. Don't be cheap. This, however, is not a live and learn situation for which I am prone for. We coughed up the 15 yuan for a ride to the beach in two taxis. There, smack dab in the dark, in a far off province of China, at 4 in the morning, on a cold wintry beach, were 10 Canadians and 1 Chinese participant. But don't things like that make the best memories? We walked a bit, and then retired for the morning in the front of a cement building. We all chatted for awhile and then slept. Not all of us brought our sleeping bags or blankets, which would resort to some rather close sleeping. Spooning=heat. And it was pretty cold. Morning came, and we enjoyed our own packed lunches, waking up with some "Foreign Girl" wine, the butt of some jokes there. We revelled at the rising sun, a bit late as we thought we couldn't see it through the pollution, which apparently even haunts the eastern shores. However it soon rose, jaded in smog, with a tanker on the water and a fisherman on a tube, bouncing on the water. We carried on, eager to see the beginning of the Great Wall. The very beginning is called the Dragons Head; however, due to rising waters, it can no longer be seen. In fact, we never did find where the wall meets sea. We were side tracked, and it was too difficult. With some peddlars pushing post cards on us a town away, we showed interest in the location shown on the cards. We had a woman drive 8 of us to this wall, quite a ways away. It was located at the bridge of a damn, far away from anything. So secluded, miles from anything it seemed. We paid our tickets and found out the attraction was more then just a section of the Great Wall. It was actually a bird sanctuary and history exhibit in cave tunnels. Both were unfinished, as we were in the off tourist season. We did see a few pretty birds in a large netted area, and wandered through some cavernous halls, seeing the occasional exhibition room or bronze statue. We climbed the wall after. It was different then the rest, as it ran directly into the mountain side. Upon reach the top, it went nowhere. It just merely stopped. However, the journey up was amazing. It was an unrepaired section of the Great Wall, lending to its authenticity and making the danger factor multiply the adventure. Parts of the wall were missing, destroyed by history. Yet it was stable enough to go to the top. I contemplated the idea that it was an earnest thing to be enjoyed, not bought, climbing the Great Wall. It's not something you can buy a ticket, ride a gondola and say "I climbed the Great Wall!" Those people are phonies and should be shot! You have to sweat, in the heat and dust to experience it. Third times a charm! We returned to town, grabbed dinner and boarded another train. It was quite crowded, but we found salvation in the dining car, where we paid extra for seats and a small meal. We were exhausted, but some people mustered the energy to go party that night. I wasn't one of them.

Lets see how well I do with Russian

It was a very mild two weeks. I'm back tracking here, because I haven't been on for awhile. I had quite a boring week after our big Great Wall/Party day. I no longer worked in the basement of the library, but moved up a floor, to the childrens section. The librarian acting as our supervisor was very nice. Although the work indeed sucked, I beared it and did it. I once again, organized books. Makes me wonder if the librarians ever have any free time. But this was the kids section, and I know those little bastards rarely put them back properly. I was working solo quite a bit, as Yuchan would have places to go, Gary would be late, and Nancy...well, she hasn't shown up once. I did a great job organizing the books and the librarian appreciated it. So much, that she took us out for lunch across the street. It was a great meal, and she really seemed to like us. She's even going to try to bring us to her house for a bbq! Like, a REAL bbq! So I'm looking forward to that. Otherwise, after work, I'd been going home and organizing my food workshop and environment EAD. It was a simple schedule, with a Nintendo DS break in between.

Friday came, and we participated in Felix and Anthonys EAD on the minorities in China. It was a well planned EAD. We visited a buddhist temple, then a mosque, and had some traditional minority food in a cafeteria. However, I think it blended with Chinese food too much, and we couldn't really tell a difference. The afternoon was ended with an excellent betting game for trying to learn about the minorities and interesting facts about their lives. That night, a few of us went to meet with another CWY alumni living in Beijing; Michelle, from Quebec. He was pretty cool. He told us some stories, we told him some stories, and we went for dinner at a Russian restaurant. There was a lot of meat on the menu. I'm getting a bit sick of meat. I need some fresh veggies when I get home! Anyway, there was also a Russian wedding going on. So it was a bit loud, but there were a few cute girls. Two of them named Natalie and Anya. A little friendly dancing, and your hot shit with the Russians! I was the only one who was friendly and danced, and played game where you pass an orange from under your chin to the next person. Although I wasn't so good at that, they brought me back for another game. I was a bit iffy about being blind folded, but not so much after I was told I had to find the bread off of Natalies body. I love those Russians. A phone number later, I'm getting Russian lessons by text. Not to mention, I had the most succulent steak, and possibly most disgusting green beer, ever!

The following morning, I went with Sadie, Heather, Felix and his host mother, Aunty Gwei, to go tea shopping in the tea district. We spent the whole morning looking at tea, tea pots, and drinking tea before we bought some. I won't say who, but some people are getting some tea when I come home! We caught up with the rest of the group after being 2 and a half hours late. Whoops. Bad bus! We walked around the Chaoyang district, looking at the architecture of some new buildings being constructed. We saw the soon-to-be tallest building in the world, the CCTV tower, that you have to see to believe, and another one that looked like it was stomped on. Those Beijing arcitects sure know how to dream.

But we didn't stop there. I went with Sadie, Lyndsay and Lilly on Sunday morning to check out Beijing universities. I will admit, it was a bit boring; I just mainly wanted to get out and sight see. But the universities were indeed very nice, and quite large. But my feet weren't up to it. Lately, my feet have been hurting real bad on account of walking, almost, ALL the time! And I think my new shoes don't fit quite so well. Damn skinny Chinese feet!

Mondays CAD was a trip to the Natural History Museum. Although I have indeed been to a few museums, I hadn't seen many dinosaurs. Or dead bodies in jars! The human body portion was quite neat. However, quite a few parts of the exhibits were either broken, unfinished, or innaccurate. I don't think Quebec gets too many cougars, and BC gets bears as well as Alaska. I don't know, I just found some parts funny, being a North American. We chilled in the Temple of Heaven park after lunch, sitting on the grass, reading, hacky sacking, or listening to music. It was a very peaceful time. We are trying to ready ourselves for the end. Yes, the end. It's coming very soon I must say. I will be home in about 3 weeks. I know most of you are excited, because I know I sure am. We're trying hard to put together our final workshops for debriefing, including reflection, what we've learned and how we've grown. I know we've all done that. This last week has allowed me to do that a lot. I'm finding myself thinking about my up and coming bike trip more then I do the program now. But it really ties into a workshop we plan on doing; what have I learned? You know, you have to show something for 6 months. China has lagged a lot according to the CWY program, but I still have learned a lot. It's hard to describe in text, but just maturing. I remember doing the same excercise at the end of Katimavik; who will I be in the next 5 years, and what will this/these programs have done to make it so? These are large chapters in my life, each a puzzle piece, connecting eachother more and more the further I go. With each new piece, they connect to the past ones more intricately, building the puzzle that is the person I will become. Thats the imagery I use anyway. It might explain my actions or what I say when I come home. 3 more weeks...as Andy says, "Wow...how time flies"