Stealing verse

"This is the story of a girl:"
"Yesterday..."I was sitting here in the boring room I was wasting my time having nothing to do - nothing ever happened"I wish I was smart, I wish I could change the world, but" We're just humans, where is this all leading we never know."You never know if you don't go"I was checking, what else there was to come and things didn't always look promising, the case seemed pretty lost."But what can it mean to a daydream believer."
In the end, it worked out and "I do think I can handle this."I turn to a friend someone who understands sees through the masterplan."But the truth we are slowly fading fast."

Comment: I'm in China, I don't care about intellectual property - sue me if you like!

Beijing (to be edited)

I just returned from Beijing and I am having a crush on it! When I walked through the tiny street of my hostel: icy cold air made my breath form clouds. The one floor huts and buildings bashed in red lampion light. Rikshaws and bikes everywhere, street food. Damn, what an atmosphere!

We stayed at far east youthhostel, which is very historic and atmospheric if you stay in the courtyard but that includes outside toilets *shiver*. Opposite you can find the hotel, an tasteless and cheesy new building covered in too much gold, so actually the hostel is the less comfortable but nicer alternative.

Tianmen, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, temple of heaven, hutongs... you know the stuff one does in Beijing!

The Great Wall? I walked it, I was there and if these crazy people could build that thing they can do anything! Absolutely amazing, beautiful, only barely from this planet. Hiking 10 km on it I was kind of glad that it was freezing cold. Partly the wall is very well reconstructed in parts its very run down. We met two Americans who had hiked the entire wall the last 6 months, hardly anyone ever did that. Starting up in the desert in May, they finished on Friday. Most of the way the wall is not more than a line of mud, not higher than a meter. Acording to them all in all the trip was no fun at all, but they did it! Our time with the wall was great and short, we finished by sliding down a rope over a reservoire!

I could have stayed at the Temple of Heaven, staring at the cold beauty forever! Hundreds of retired people were in the park. They played "Chinese Hacky Sack", the dancing-like "Ying-Yang Badminton" (no clue how its called properly). Behind every second tree was a "choir"group singing and making music. Playing cards, Halma or Go on the benches.


I would not mind going back and explore all those tiny little streets. We got dinner in a lonely planet paradis "Pass by Bar"-"Better Travel than dead" and in that neighbourhood was the mongolian SANDGLASS CAFE (Maoer No.1) which we loved more than anything!!!!!!

Photo Impressions:

completely random

chinese

Feeling Blue

Lightshow

Kitsch

Banana

Icecream

and what about tea

Just another day in the office, it's about 4. It's time for tea. The office worker shuffles into the kitchen corner. Turning on the boiler, she is carelessly grabing a cup.
Yellow and pink comic letters announce "We are there, when everybody let you down". Another cheerful advertisment slogan of an insurance company.
The boiler utters his usual "click".
In the cupboard the employee can decide between pickwick strawberry, pickwick cinnamon, a no-name earl grey and a package of loose green tea. She picks up the earl grey and frees the bag from its paper wrapper.
The bag bumbs up and down the water, the tea dust colours the water in the familiar grey. The paper end dangles over the edge.
A minute later she pulls up the soaked bag, dripping brown drops over the floor. She adds low calorine sweetener and returns with the cheerful cup to her computer.

I think that's about where we arrived concerning tea culture: on the same level with wine-cola and Döner Kebab with Ketchup. And yes, dear Senseo-fans, this fast food culture also covers Senseos: these practical, fast, convenient, coffee-producing, secretaries- unemployed-making angels.

Saturday I experienced the ritualization of tea consumption in completely new forms! Tea is not only a drink, its a philosophy. In several rounds one is cleaning the cups with boiling water, puring the tea from one cup to another, sniffing the tea aroma and dinking only little portions.It becomes a meditation!I don't wanna do that everyday: but I wanna do it one day. I want slow, thoughtful, deep, rituatlized, old-fashioned culture!