10.22 & 23

10.22
One of the illegal taxi 师傅 in front of the hotel today had his trunk open as he clicked around the car in his business shoes to change the headlights. This machine is his livelihood. It started to drizzle quietly. Yes, this must be fall.



10.23
Today:

1. Sat in on a people's-court-like trial in a Chinese court near Olympic Village. The experience came with headphones with simultaneous translation, with very human translators trying to keep up. My favorite translation was "...and violation number four was sorry I forgot."

I call this the Epic Case of the Air Conditioner, in which a young guy sues his landlord over things that must be quite important to them. If China had a jury system, I would support neither side. But I learned some Mandarin in the process, and body language.

2. Beijing Opera. Sipping tea in the shadowy back, snacking on tea cakes; the shrill singing and the old-school drumming made for a very sophisticated (but not quite bourgeoise) evening. Didn't understand the story at all, but appreciated the reall connoisseurs appreciating the performance.

3. Aibosen Blindman Massage parlor (爱博森按摩院). Full-body, plus 刮痧 scraping along the meridians of my back. I just wish I asked for her name; it would make the hour seem even more communicative, rather than functional with an exchange of money. I felt like the young hero in House of Flying Daggers as she (not actually blind, this one) told me which muscles I used most and probably why. She said I should get back to my martial arts, for my health.

4. Back at Beida past midnight, eating meat on a stick and bumping into Yuland, the one of few 广东话 speakers here. A strong wind blows, the branches bow, and leaves sing sweetly down, like snowflakes of green and orange-yellow, forever falling only once. We watch the trees change color for a while.