outdoors and aftertastes

The best of Beijing's summer is to head outside and join the thousands who sit outside restaurants eating and drinking in the warmth. Restaurants become empty on the inside, cold beer sales rocket, streets become noisier and the litter collecting street sweepers get busier. Often in Beijing you will get 3-5 restaurants next to each other (and then none for ages), so its chaotic -but great.

Last weekend we went 1 step further. We trusted our lives to Leon (maybe we were drunk when we agreed to this, since he originally 'bought' his license, then learned how to drive afterwards) who hired a car and drove us (and some others who were in another van) north for some BBQ (chinese style, ie. meet/fish/vegetable kebabs on BBQs that are 2m long and only 4 inches wide) and fishing. I skipped the fishing to explore the local beach and lake (ie. sleep, listen to ipod and get a sandle-tan). The others caught tons of fish.. but since they were fishing in a fish pond it wasn't too tough!

Tonight i was a the 5th anniversary party of a Chinese newspaper that is under the Ministry of Civil Affairs (so focuses on social welfare stuff which is related to harmonius and sustainable development -my work). It was part official chinese (with rounds of toasting, and awful maotai/moutai which actually taskes like vodka but then 2 days later another taste appears) but mostly not very chinese. People weren't throwing name-cards around, the speeches were short, and the food wasn't as wasteful as usual. The night was actually a caberet-style. 100 of the 250 ppl were the newspaper employees and each department had to do a skit/song..some had practised for weeks.

Before their 'karaoke on a stage', there were some serious performed... boy bands, actresses and child orchestras. all very nice. not overly fancy -but enjoyable. topped off with the free gift of strange herbal teas that might have vitamins in but are made by a biological chemical company. Anyway, the chinese love their gifts (and their big, horrible, creamy birthday cakes!)

Its the end of 2 weeks of just normal work, and now its crazy mode again.. but its also the beginning of the week when I will find out what I will do in my next 6 months. ooh, exciting. happy children's day and happy-30-degrees-at-night-so-lets-use-the-air-conditioning-for-the-1st-time-day too!