deumjikpark

This is by far my all time favorite sign I've seen so far in Beijing.  Found this at a small Sichuan restaurant near 东直门.  

Its a bit sad that after 5 months in Beijing, i havent been able to see much of what it has to offer. The stars finally aligned this weekend though - the weather was good, i felt pretty healthy, and i had an extra few hours. I decided to check out an area of town called "nan luo gu xiang" which is know for its small alleys (hutongs) and traditional beijing houses. The area was massively commercialized with overpriced goods/food and tourist traps (obamao shirts?!), but regardless, it was refreshing to finally play tourist.

Inspired by a recent image on the Bing homepage of an army of snowmen (photo taken in Hokkaido, Japan), I decided to take advantage of the recent abundance of snow in my area and create my own army of 雪人 (or "snow people" in Chinese).  I had a flight to catch so didn't have a chance to finish, but made some decent progress!  Oddly enough, some of my snow people ended up looking like the ninja turtles. 

My chinese word of the day today is 雪(xuě), which means snow. Im on the east coast for the holidays and we just got hit with a MASSIVE amount of snow yesterday. We spent a good part of the morning digging our cars out of the snow and had to have snow plows clear the lot. Now, its time to go build an army of snowmen...

Had a chance to check out an authentic din tai fung with some friends this weekend. Delish!

What better way to spend my first movie going experience in China than
to watch (a way too grown-up) Harry, Hermione, and Ron battle away
with "He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named" in the full glory of an IMAX theater.

Sometimes, I can't help but be amused by some of the signage in Beijing.  Take "The Safety Hammer" for example.  This sign can be found in the Beijing subway cars and it instructs you to open the protective glass, take out the hammar, and crack the window glass in case of emergency.  Very sensible and smart thing for subway emergencies. 

Whenever I see the sign though, I have this urge to take out the hammer, slip it in my bag, and use it as my own personal safety device.  Like a portable force field.  Or that ring from Lord of the Rings.  I'd be invincible!

Ever since moving to Beijing, I've learned to appreciate the things I took for granted back in the states.  Like a good, juicy burger.  Behold, a Bleu Cheese Burger topped with pineapple and tomato served with thick, mouth watering chunk of meat.  Thank you Let's Burger for making my burger dreams come true. 

I've been in China for a month and a half now and one thing I've discovered is that Chinese germs are NO JOKE.  I've already been sick twice now - and this isn't just any simple sick.  It's full out fever, cough, head-ache, etc.  Hopefully my body can start immunity soon.  Or else, i may have to start wearing one of those "germ masks" soon....

Only in Korea do you see a 10-min long CNN special on a Korean Cabbage Crisis that's causing a shortage of Kimchi.