I'm back in Beijing! It's been a very smooth ''homecoming'' of sorts, mostly because my dear host family has been so warmly welcoming. After arriving at the airport and tumbling my three giant bags onto a little cart, I was met by my host brother, who, being all grown up now, drove the family car to pick me up. No longer limited to just the short distance between home and the bowling alley with his parents yelling over his shoulder, he now navigates the terrifying ring roads of Beijing fearless of man and machine. I thought New York traffic was messy and confusing this summer, but that was a well-run pony ring compared to Beijing's clogged streets, bicycles that come out of nowhere, and agressive pedestrian hordes.  I really need to re-develop my immunity to close encounters with death by automobile that came so naturally two years ago. There are a lot more cars on the road in Beijing--a complaint confirmed by almost everyone I talk to. The traffic congestion is much worse than when I was here two years ago. The bus ride to Peking University, which used to be a straight shot down one road, is now bogged down every few minutes in one jam or another--even in the middle of the day! It's no wonder I haven't seen the sun in the five days I've been here. The smog hangs heavily over the city, obscuring the skyline so that the horizon just looks like one big whiteboard. It's a white, foggy day everyday and humid too! So the pollution has been the biggest--and pretty much only--downer so far, and it's a constant reminder of the future of the city. Even as Beijing surges ahead in economic development and nice apartments go up, what kind of quality of life will its residents have in ten years?

After I put my stuff down and re-united with my host auntie and uncle and their close family friends, the whole posse went to dinner at a great new restaurant down the street. It was new to me, anyways, but apparently has been part of the regular arsenal of restaurants they frequent now.  Dinner was delicious and the service was great, as usual. I'm just not used to having three or four waitresses assigned to one table again, making sure every need is met immediately. We (and everyone else in the restaurant) were glued to the Olympic table tennis final: China versus North Korea. The coaches were very animated and the players were sweating so much over that little table. North Korea ended up winning and the diners weren't too crestfallen although they did comment on the loss of the monetary award the Chinese government gives to gold medalists.

Hello everyone. In the interests of chronicling my year in China and keeping in touch with all of you without having to update and select numerous email addresses for ridiculously long mass mailings, I have decided to utilize the power of Xanga. Hooray!

I know this log will also come in very handy in the following years when I want to realize just how much of a sieve my memory has become. As I was sorting through my old papers, I found one I wrote for "Chinese Law and Society" two years ago after interviewing a lawyer and two law students...and I had almost completely forgotten everything they had said until I discovered the paper. In fact, had almost forgotten the meetings occurred! How very odd and embarrassing. Still, it was kind of like discovering a little golden nugget from the past...and I suppose that's just how I'll have to spin things when this happens again.

I'm currently surrounded by papers of all sorts--copies of all those very important documents that identifies one to institutions, and piles and piles of research I have desparately compiled in hopes of preparing myself to explore China's rural poverty and education system. I spent nearly two hours at the copy store this afternoon! It was very strange...no one else came in the entire time I was there, so I was able to have a few quality "goodbye" cell phone chats there too.

As I was going through my old emails, I realize that exactly at this time last year, I was probably up this late stressing over my Fulbright application. Everything about my proposal came together at this time last year, and it's amazing to that I've finally reached this point--the night before I get to go and do everything I imagined last August! Crazy and exciting. I don't know exactly what's in store for me in the next eleven months, but if my memory serves me correctly, great things --or maybe they're more like interesting things--just happen to one in China--whether you expect them  to or not. So, I'm leaving with a very open mind and modest expectations.

Well, I really have to get back to packing so I'm going to wrap it up here. My next posting will be from Beijing!

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