Mr. Li gets the good Olympic citizen award. I left my new Nike sweatshirt in his taxi following a ride to the Emperor Hotel. After a couple days of searching my Chinese colleague tracked him down and learned he had delivered the item to the hotel thinking I was a guest there. When she told him otherwise, he retrieved it and delivered it to me at work clear across … Continue reading Hen hao (very good) taxi ride
Sunday in Beijing and I feel the city is mine. The sky is a beautiful blue (yes, it does happen) and the sun is out. In two and a half weeks I have found a French bakery for cappuccinos, a restaurant I love called Hutong Pizza and I rode the subway. I’m making my way through the city with confidence. Today I decide to visit … Continue reading For the love of Panda Bears
Brenda and I went to a restaurant with red lanterns in front that serves hot pot. A hot pot is like sukiyaki. It is a mish mash of meat, vegetables and noodles cooked at the table. There was no English spoken and the menu was completely in Chinese. For westerners there are pictures of the dishes. We had trouble ordering so a waitress recommended something that … Continue reading Hot Pot of Thoughts
We have a new employee at work. She hails from Guangzhou in the south of China and has been in Beijing for one and a half years. She is a 30 something television producer and speaks excellent English. During a lull in the action today we got to talking. It was great to transcend the language barrier and have an in depth conversation with a local. … Continue reading Surprising China
Living the expat life in Beijing requires a fair amount of getting around. Upon arrival in the city I was given a Beijing Taxi Book. The subtitle is “Helping Non-Chinese Speakers Get From A to B in Beijing, China.” This is an essential resource. Inside are locations such as restaurants, bars, hotels, shopping, embassies, Olympic venues, churches and sightseeing destinations frequented by travelers. When one gets … Continue reading Bu Hao (Not Good) Taxi Rides
You have to be an early bird on a Saturday morning in Beijing. If you arrive at Beihan Park around 8 a.m. the array of activity is dazzling. Men and women gather by the side of the 12th century lake to do tai chi, qui gong and martial arts with sticks and swords. Some do the forms in groups while others find a vista or a small temple as … Continue reading China Rising Too
Saturday morning in Beijing and the sky is kind of blue. Rain last night drove the smog away and I can see the buildings off in the distance. It’s nice. The Olympics begin in six weeks and Beijing is in a tizzy. It’s down to the wire and everywhere you turn there is activity and construction. Taking a walk on a weekday morning at 6 a.m. you see workers marching in … Continue reading China Rising
I never met Tim Russert but I had a chance. And I passed. My friends at Linhart PR http://linhartpr.com had invited me to see him when he appeared before the Denver Press Club in April. I was pumped. Then on the day of the event a job came up for this freelance producer and I decided to take it. It seemed so important at the … Continue reading Missing Tim Russert
During a recent gathering of neighbors at the local pool my friend Nancy whipped out a spice cake and began to sing “Happy Birthday.” I was confused. Whose birthday was it? Surely not mine. I was born in August. She announced to all my friends that we were celebrating the occasion early since I would be working in China when it rolled around. And then … Continue reading On Turning 50
My ten year old son, Blair, wants to be the next Steven Spielberg or John Lasseter or George Lucas. He is already shooting short films, editing them on I-Movie, composing original music on his keyboard and posting his work on his website at YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/bewalt12345. The name of his company is Figure Productions. His motto is… you guessed it… Go Figure. Tonight he was rendering … Continue reading Future Filmmaker
Vicky Collins Online 