Sunday, July 19, 2009 8:43 AM

Don’t hold your breath, but I think I’ve figured out how to get my pictures onto Kodak Gallery! I downloaded their tool “Easy Share” and use it directly from Firefox instead of going through iPhoto, and it seems to have worked. I’ll e-mail everybody I know who is in my Kodak address book and invite them to view the photos, and if you read this and haven’t gotten an invitation, then please e-mail me and I’ll send you one. This means that I have Beijing pictures floating around in the cyberspace worlds of Picasa, Apple’s Mobileme, Photobucket, Kodak Gallery, and my blog. I’ll try to stick to just Kodak, but who knows how long I’ll going to be allowed to upload?That’s all for the cyber story.

Yesterday I went to Tian Tan, the Temple of Heaven, with Duo. A major tourist attraction, I saw more Westerners there than I’ve seen anywhere else, including the crowded Silk Market. But still we were outnumbered by Chinese, for a couple of reasons: there were tons of tour groups being led around by flag-bearing official tour guides (remember fabulous Tony from our first trip here, Cindy?) and many of them were from other cities in China. People from all over the country come here to their nation’s capital to see the sites, just as we brought our 90 SMS kids to Washington this year on AHT, meeting hundreds of other school groups from across America. There were also tons and tons of people who come not to view the historical monuments, but to play in the park. Unlike many of our famous sites (but not all, think of Lexington and Gettysburg...hmm...battlefields...well Mount Vernon then...) it’s not just the building, but the grounds that are part of the monument. I learned that the Temple of Heaven, where Ming and Qing emperors came to make sacrifices to insure good harvests, has actually got more land attached that the Forbidden City!

The buildings themselves are gorgeous, again laid out in the classical Chinese plan of numerous gates and courtyards leading to the most important building. The colors in real life are even more magnificent than in the photos: brilliant blues--cerulean, sky, royal, aqua--and of course Imperial red & gold. The day was h-o-t and steamy, but the first couple of courtyards were still very very crowded. We didn’t even try to look inside the windows of the Imperial Vault of Heaven, the waiting line was so long and the glimpse was so short. By the time Duo and I had traversed two more courtyards and walked on countless acres of marble, we were able to get to the Hall of Prayers for Good Harvests easily--and we saw lots of Western tourists there!

On the way, we saw huge crowds gathered in the parks--some sitting, many watching the Poi (silk scarf) performers & buying souvenirs and frozen treats (Green Pea ice cream, anyone?) An older couple was playing a Tai Chi ball game, and invited me to try. I occasionally caught the ball on the paddle and slammed it back--totally negating the graceful, coordinated gestures of Tai Chi. Duo felt so bad for me, he bought a set and told me he will teach me how to play (even though he had never played it before.) Incidentally, I’ve told Ying and Duo that i would like to do Tai Chi in the morning with people in a nearby park, and that is entirely possible--except I haven’t been in a clear sleeping pattern yet and haven’t been up at 5:30 or 6:00! Ying told me that her grandfather’s brother, who is in his 80’s, is a Tai Chi master and might like to teach me--he keeps offering to train the younger generation (Ying’s) but no one wants to learn! I hope this works out. (How cool would that be--my very own Mr. Miyagi!)

As in many other places I’ve been to here, I’m always amazed at what some of the Chinese wear. I only posted a picture of a bride in her gown that reminded me of Betsy’s Wedding--short in front and with a train--but I saw lots and lots of young women wearing spike heels as they clambered around on the uneven courtyard stones.

Throughout the morning, Duo taught me Chinese words. I can’t remember most of them, even though I wrote them down. The pronunciation gets me--I honestly think I’m saying EXACTLY what he says, and he shakes his head and says the same damn thing again and I say the same damn thing again and he says, “Yes, you’ve got it!” I have no idea what I do or don’t do, but Duo has taken up the practice of saying, “Look at my mouth” which is what I say to him about speaking English! The only one I remember this morning is “Ku ai,” which means, “Cute baby,” a phrase I find myself using over and over here in Beijing!

After we left Tian Tan, Duo brought me to Santilan, which is an upscale new mall in the Embassy district of the city. It’s the “happening” place, where lots of young professionals--Chinese and Western--hang out. There I met my niece Jeanie Mah’s cousin Amelia and her friend Hope. Amelia and Hope both work in Beijing for international agencies that deal with climate change in one way or another, Amelia is with a UN task force on sustainable agriculture and Hope works with a group based in Switzerland whose name I fear I can’t remember. What fun to spend time with such clever, dedicated, friendly people. Both are native Chinese and fluent in English, so they were fabulous companions. This mall is something else: huge international stores--Adidas and Apple, for instance, and numerous healthy places to eat. Our “element fresh restaurant” served delightful salads, artisan sandwiches, and healthy smoothies, among other Asian dishes. Throughout the outdoor part of the mall were tall poles with water spraying from the top meter--cooling off spots. I can imagine Ben, Sam, & Lila hanging out in those spots & running back and forth, with Nico not far behind.

After I ate (they had finished by the time I got there), we went across to an incredible Japanese market. What a difference between it and Carrefour’s, where I had shopped on Friday with Duo. No loud, hawking vendors, no bins of grains that people are digging into with their unwashed hands--orderly aisles, imported goods from all over (I found oatmeal!), and many helpful shop girls. At the checkout counter there were at least six credit card machines for the different cards the clientele from this international neighborhood might use. Amelia and Hope agreed to go to Peking Opera with me--not the one-hour tourist version that I saw eight years ago but a real three-hour performance. Hope kept telling me it would be long and I wouldn’t understand anything, and I know...I just want to see this cultural icon. No Chinese I have spoken to who’s under 50 has actually been to one of these performances, but many have said, “Oh, I’ve always thought I should go to one...”

Amelia and Hope left to do other things and I went to the nearby touristy shop, much like the Silk Shop I had been to the other day. This one is smaller and I didn’t find as much silk as in the first store, which I will go back to to make some purchases.

And then I took a cab back to to Maliandao (“Say it in three separate parts, Christine. If you keep rushing it and putting the parts together, people will think you are saying an English word. Mah-li-an-dao.”) Duo had instructed me to phone him and hand the cell to the cabbie so Duo could give him instructions in chinese (I also have a note in my bag for when I get lost. It says something like “Please take me to 15 Maliandao. My two friends in Beijing are Ying and Duo. Their numbers are xxxxx and xxxxx. Call them if you need directions.”) I felt quite comfortably doing so, and was reasonably relaxed during the 50 minute cab ride across town (cost 42 yuan, or $6.) The distance was only 18.5 miles (I got a printed receipt) but traffic was unbelievable. The driver left me off on a main street, not at my apartment, and it took me a minute to figure out where I was--my block was right across the street, but I didn’t recognize it, coming from the other direction. I was very proud of myself.

This morning, we are going to church. I had meant to go to the grocery store first (as always, I forgot to pick up some things...) but I don’t think I have time, since it’s already 9:24.

Thanks for reading!