Taking Candy

Remember when you were young and your parents, teachers and generally wiser elders told you not to talk to strangers? That rule doesn't apply when you're a foreigner in Beijing--at least not when you're trying to improve your Chinese.

Today I took to the roads on a photography and workout extravaganza. I've learned in the last couple days that biking around Beijing is not the best way to get in shape because weaving between pedestrians, other cyclists and buses does not provide much opportunity for speed.

Nevertheless, I started heading south on Dongsidajie with no aim in mind. Soon, I unexpectedly found myself at Wangfujing, where I discovered that the police don't like it when you ride your bike on pedestrian streets. A short time later I learned that the police don't like it when you try to take pictures of them...

Forced to circumvent Wangfujing, I headed towards the Forbidden city to take pictures of the tourists/locals/anything interesting. By the time I left, the light was getting to be pretty decent and the vendors were starting to realize that I had no intention to buy anything.

I pedaled up the street, and was in the process of taking the long way home when and old man in fatigues waved me over with one hand while he spilled beer from the bottle in his other hand.

Having a shiny new bike is a good way to make new friends.

The old man couldn't speak. He could only give me a thumbs-up to let me know how impressive the amount of hair was that I have on my arms. His thumbs-up quickly became a "clink" as he and his fellow sidewalk squatters invited me to enjoy an afternoon beer with them.

We chatted for about an hour, and one by one the gang dispersed until I was left with the original old man (who kept clinking and trying to get me to drink more) and one pedicab driver named Wang Sheng, who told me that he is twenty-three years old even though he looked like he could be forty. Eventually, he reminded me that Beijing has two thousand years of history, and that he could guide me through the hutongs to see historic courtyard houses. I appreciated the distraction, so I took him up on his offer, and followed him on my bike.

We basically just followed a few alleyways back to the houhai area. Every so often, we stopped and my new friend told me to read a sign that explained the historical significance of a particular hutong or house. He also pointed out places where old houses were being knocked down to be replaced by modern facilities.

Meanwhile, we chatted about various things--the differences between Beijing and America, whether I had a girlfriend, what I was going to do after studying Chinese--the usual. I can't say that anything he told me was particularly enlightening (although it was interesting to learn that spirits can't jump over high thresholds), but I did make a new friend.

We eventually worked our way north through a maze of alleyways and moving obstacles, and finally found ourselves at the Hutong School.

One of the teachers was standing outside, and after Wang Sheng left he told me: "You have to be careful when you spend time with strangers."*

Maybe you don't have to remember--teachers everywhere give the same advice!

*rough translation