nostatic at all...

Well, my time in Beijing has come to a close, as I post this from the business class lounge at the airport. For the first time in my life I'm not flying economy. After figuring out that everyone else on this business trip flew business class (while I scrunched my 6'1" frame into a 5'7" seat with a bum knee), I decided that I deserved a nicer ride home. Yet another new thing in a trip full of new things.

that stands for rough night, long day, good food. Rough night as in the devil mind came out to play and I struggled mightily. Upshod is very little sleep and plenty of misery. And the poem that I wrote below in the midst of it? Well, it is a little scary. I have absolutely zero recollection of writing the last verses. I remember the first two, but the rest came from something other than my concious thought. Am I losing it? Perhaps. Maybe that's part of the eschewing attachment though...

at least i hope so...

Today I noticed that there is no 4th floor in the hotel. Some western hotels eschew a 13th floor, but in Asian culture 4 is bad luck (I believe the story is that the character resembles the character for death). There is something to it though. Last year Takumo Sato (Formula One driver) was given number 4 for his car. He proceeded to have a horrendous season, barely finishing a race and mostly crashing out or having a mechanical.

So for the next few days, no 4.

Top five questions asked on Wangfujing tonight:

5. "Where are you from?"

4. "Do you speak Spanish?"

3. "You want pretty girl for massage?"

2. "You want Chinese woman?"

and the number one question on Wangfujing...

1. "Sex OK?"

hit it Paul...

More tours of schools today. First stop was an impressive "experimental" school that was brand new (although originally started in 1959) with amazing facilities. More watching a 7th grade English class. This teacher only had 2 months experience but she was very good, as were the students. Next stop was another school, but we had to grab a quick lunch as we were starving. Our host kept apologizing for the "fast food" but it was as good or better than any top Chinese food in LA. Then the tables were turned as we were in a "free talk" class, so the students got to ask us questions (and vice versa). We're trying to get data to help in the design of some lanugage software. They wanted to know about the American educational system. China's schools are very different...students are in class all day 6 days a week and often on Sunday if they are preparing for exams. And uniforms are the rule. But the kids were very interesting. Oddly my American hubris was showing, as I had assumed that they would want to visit American and find out about our country. Turns out that really isn't the case. They watch American movies and some TV shows (Friends? egad), but the reality is that the world does not revolve around the US. Lesson learned. Lots of lessons learned in this trip. I'll never look at things the same again. On many different levels. I can't wait to continue some discussions in a new light, and maybe start all over again. Time will tell.

Today in one of the meetings with higher-ups, we went around the room to introduce ourselves. I'm somewhat of the odd duck as most of our contingent is from one school and everyone there has a proper title (dean of this, head of that...) and function. When it got to me, I said, "well, I'm the crazy uncle," to which everyone laughed. I then went on to describe what I/we do (immersive learning/training, various digital media, emphasis on story, etc). Seems like an apt moniker though. They do seem to drag me along because I'm the guy who keeps thinking there is no box (therefore nothing to be outside of). Crazy...like an uncle.

Very long day today with multiple meetings and tours of two middle schools. I also shot about 3 hours of footage at the schools for posterity, and I also decided that I'm going to cut a documentary. Not sure what exactly the story is, but I'm hoping it will emerge as we see more places. I'm exhausted yet energized about all the possibilities here, and ways that I/we could change the world (for the better). But I'm also somewhat terrified and alone. That and other thoughts are waging a little battle these days, but we'll see what comes up. For now, a couple of random shots...

Just call me "Bu Yao." That means, "don't want." Turns out a lone laowai walking around the streets of Beijing appears to be an easy mark for the local scammers. My day went like this:

pretty girl - "Hi, where you from?"
me - "bu yao"

pretty girl - "Hi, I'm a teacher..."
me - "bu yao"

some guy - "you need this..."
me - "bu yao"

pretty girl - "Hi, I have art show..."
me - "bu yao"

At least I took pics...

I could do a hell of a lot worse. Thanks to Sharon and her network of travel professionals, a nice comfy place to stay...complete with Priority Club membership. I'm spoiled...

Well, the flight was 14 hours due to head winds, but largely uneventful other than being stuck in a middle seat (so much for late online booking) and terrible food. Eventually we touched down in Beijing. And so the adventure begins...