In preparation for our trip to China, we've made a few plans. (1) We will primarily be staying in Beijing, as that is where Josh will have to be for work. We've booked two places through Airbnb, one of which is in a (I think) 500 year old hutong. I will be mostly left to my own devices to search for food and things to do while Josh is at work. I can probably wander around with my guidebook and take pictures, but I may starve to death. There seem to be plenty of places to go and things to see (the Lonely Planet chapter on Beijing is sixty-two pages long).
Very recently, I mentioned to someone that I would be going to Beijing, and she replied, "How long will you be in Japan?" I will be in Japan for a layover between Denver and Beijing. So, in case you also are unsure about geography, here is a map:
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| Plan 1 |
The other plan (2) is to travel around. Josh is very interested in both the Sichuan and Yunnan provinces for their landscapes and cuisines. I am not sure how we'll get down there, or exactly when, but here is another map:
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| Plan 2 |
I will stay for twenty-four days, and Josh bought a one-way ticket, thinking he will return at the end of July.
Chinese
I do not speak Chinese. This will be interesting. I have taken approximately six Mandarin classes, and my confidence is low. More on Kelly's flirtation with Chinese later.
Books
Of course I purchased an inordinate number of books. In the two years Josh has been going to China, he's bought a lot as well. Most are practical, exploring history and language. Little books to help one identify Chinese characters, for example. I bought a bunch of fiction.
I may have trouble communicating. The main form of text communication in Beijing seems to be WeChat, which is the Chinese version of WhatsApp. Josh and I each have WeChat, and my username is kellykrumrie. I've also made an embarrassing Yahoo email account since Google can be unpredictable: krumrie@yahoo.com.
Millicent
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| Millizilla courtesy of Ryan Long |
