glimpses caught quickly and processed slowly
The crowds in Beijing
People were pushy in public: on buses, in the mall, subways and sidewalks. They shoved their shoulders and their elbows into each other trying to squeeze their way out of the bus . . . only to take a slow stroll when finally out. It was just that point of interaction, like crowds rushing out of a soccer stadium. You could get killed, or at least have your left arm taken out by an instant mob headed for the door.
In private, people would give you their left arm.
In addition to the microwave, the world of computers was also new to my friend: blogs, email, everything. And Google Calendars, Documents, and that whole slew of online applications was new to almost the entire office.
We finally set up an office calendar, and we quickly explained how it worked to our new — and now adored — secretary. She started right away, as was her personality, adding in events throughout the week. None of us actually checked what she added until later, and the entries read something like this:
“2:30pm Sabrina goes to buy fruit.”
“3:30pm Sabrina returns from buying fruit.”
More adapted excerpts from emails, these from March 2008.
The vocational school where we worked.
We just hired a new secretary from the vocational school we work with. I don’t think she’s left her hometown before, and at 18 this is a big move. Her parents are here to drop her off, and they’re staying with me until she can find her own place.
She’s never seen a microwave or a washing machine before. She was afraid to put vegetables in the fridge before cleaning them. I think most people in China still don’t own fridges, even though that’s changing.
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