Hi guys! Wow, so much has happened this weekend that I don’t
know where to begin. Well, first off, I practiced riding a bike on Friday with
my good friend Jule, and I have some pictures and a short movie of me riding
the bike. I’m getting a lot better, and can start on my own without any help
(like a push from behind to steady my balance when I start riding), which makes
me very happy.
Here are the pictures and two short movies (I’m wearing a mask because the pollution
was a bit bad that day, around 190):
On Saturday I went to a University of Minnesota event at the
umn Beijing office, which was a lot of fun. It was officially an alumni event,
but the woman in charged said I should definitely come, and I’m glad I did. The
event was a lecture about Chinese and American relations, and the guest speaker
was Professor Patrick Mendis. The lecture was officially called Peaceful War and Sino-American Relations:
How to Reconcile Confucian Ethics and Democratic Values. I’ll give a short summary
of who Dr. Mendis is, but if you want more details about him, he’s on Wikipedia:
Dr. Mendis is a professor and has worked as a diplomat and
executive for the US government, and has taught many courses regarding foreign
policy at the University of Minnesota, University of Maryland, and Yale. A lot
of books and articles written by him focus on trade, American and Chinese relations,
and about his home country Sri Lanka.
Here’s a picture of me with Dr. Mendis and with Wanling Qu,
the woman in charge of the event (I’m afraid I don’t know what the Chinese
characters for her name are since she responded to my emails in English):
(The pictures on the wall of of umn's campus in Minneapolis. I admit I was happy to see them.)
The lecture was pretty interesting since it was about a book
he recently wrote, and apparently all the proceeds are going to a scholarship
he made for the Humphrey students at umn. While all of us were listening to the
lecture Wanling Qu’s one and a half year old daughter started running around
and speaking a mix of English and Chinese, which was pretty adorable, but
eventually Wanling Qu took her daughter away so she would distract people from
the talk (I thought she wasn't causing that much trouble though, it’s what one
year-olds do).
On Sunday I went out with my friend Jule to an antiques
market, and to a German bakery. The bakery was apparently so-so according to my
friend Wanda, because there were mainly pastries from South Germany and weren’t
that great, plus she’s from the North so she was hoping there might be more
variety at this particular bakery.
Here’s a picture of Jule and Wanda outside the bakery:
I went with Jule to the antiques market, which was pretty
interesting. People were outside selling things, and it was a good opportunity
to bargain with people (especially since both of us were westerners, so a lot
of vendors were trying to rip us off). We spent a few hours there looking at
antiques, and at some Buddha heads Jule was thinking of getting for her mother
to put in the garden at her house in Germany. When we finally decided to leave
though, we saw a fight break out. We couldn't see too much because about five
seconds after two women were yelling at each other about forty or so people had
surrounded the pair to watch the fight. And then about ten policemen came to
break up the fight and the crowd. That was a little scary, but Jule and I were
okay.
I’m afraid I don’t have any pictures to show you guys
because my camera battery died before we got there.
Well, not much else to say except Happy Singles Appreciation
Day! That’s right, it’s Singles Appreciation Day here in china, and it’s a much
bigger deal here than anywhere else I've been. On PKU’S campus, there was an
event today which is designed to help singles find boyfriends/girlfriends. I don’t
know how effective this event really is, but apparently it’s a pretty big deal.
So, Happy Singles Appreciation Day!
Looks like you are totally riding a bike! -- and gave me a jump when you decided to wave....the old joke "look ma, no hands" -- do me a favor and keep your hands on the bike!!! But really, very nice that you can do it :)
ReplyDeleteNice that you get to go out to so many fun events and you found your way to the U. Minn Office downtown...enjoy pastries and singles day!
I promise I'll be more careful. That was a one time thing. ^.^
DeleteHello Kate,
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading your mail and am happy that you are having a really good time and are experience a lot of new things. Congratulations of being able to ride a bike - another step towards independence!
I just returned from my walk at the beach - it is 72 and sunny - a great time to be on Hilton Head!
Lots of love,
Grandma R.
Great bike riding! OK, maybe not great, but good. Waving is better with the left hand, as the right hand controls the rear brake; hit only the brake with the left hand, it locks the front wheel and dumps you. I know wearing a helmet would be completely out of the bicycling culture there, but it's still a good idea!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice Mike! I'll see if I can find a helmet here. It's really weird though, no one wears helmets, even when riding mopeds or scooters. The only time I see anyone wear a helmet is when they're riding a motorcycle. Still, I'll try to find one, better safe than sorry. How are you?
Delete