Andrea Witzmann - Beijing Punches

TUE 29.12.2009 OS0063 2FC7OU W 20:15 12:50 Vienna - Beijing
WED 30.12.2009 Chrystal Bell and Jenny Lou were awaiting us, Yuan withdrawal, arriving in Beigao, Feijacun, shower and sleep.
THUR 31.12.2009 Fireworks, waltz and Taittinger twin pack on New Year’s Eve in the studio.
FRI 01.01.2010 Heavy snowfalls, no orientation, taking cabs to every place we wanted to go, even when it was just around the corner.
SAT 02.01.2010 Having dinner with the other residents, fully dressed, till the food and we heated up the room. Drank hot water as a drink for the first time. The dishes were made for european taste buds. I was disappointed.
SUN 02.01.2010 Stayed in the studio. Our blog was blocked.
MON 03.01.2010 Minus 20 degrees Celsius. Went to the village for some food. The vegetable woman showed frozen cheeks like the cabbage she sold. Bought eggs, pídàn, peanuts, silk tofu, soy sprouts, string beans, spring onions, chinese chives, red chillies, garlic and fresh yellow noodles. Got rice, soy sauce, fish sauce, peanut oil, five bottles of Tsingtao and one bottle of Great Wall at the super market, and sand cookies in a shop where a young women, packed like an Eskimo, prepared a very colourful birthday cake. Couldn’t resist eating hot won ton soup and fresh yóutiáo on my way back.
TUE 04.01.2010 Went by bike to the next village behind Feijacun. It was freezing cold, but sunny. Icy roads, the breaks didn’t work, I was surfing the streets. Here it looked all the same. Bought a fluffy jacket and a Jacky Chan shampoo for black hair (my hair remained blond). Also tried several shoes, but the one I liked was a single piece; the woman who was serving me couldn’t find the matching second one.
WED 05.01.2010 The cleaning lady entered in the early hours. We were still asleep. She was very elegantly dressed and asked questions in Mandarin while we lay in bed. I told her that the cooking stove was broken. She phoned and after a while six people were standing in the kitchen. After hours of discussion they left and we could get dressed.
THUR 05.01.2010 Still snow everywhere, compressed by all the cars, now getting more and more grey from the coal dust. Still not much idea of the surroundings and where the studio was located, we decided to explore downtown Beijing and the center of the city by bus. Rush hour, darkness and frozen windows prevented us from an easy return. Far behind the airport we jumped off a rapid bus with rare stops and returned home by taxi. Similar incidents happened several times till we found the way back on our own.
That was the beginning of the love affair with Beijing.