chinese men's stomachs must get really warm...

Beijing’s summer comes much quicker than summer in Minnesota. In Minnesota, we (usually) have a long winter, followed by a pleasant spring that sometimes decides to turn back into winter, and then stays spring for at least a few months before it gets really hot in the middle of June. Beijing? Beijing doesn’t mess around with the concept of “spring”. Winter turns pretty quickly into summer. Last week I was wearing a coat and long sleeves to work everyday, and this week I’m wearing t-shirts and sandals (and feeling the stickness of the summer heat).

One indicator that summer is here to stay is that many Chinese men have started to wander around with their t-shirts rolled up, exposing their apparently-all-too-warm stomachs. When I first saw this amazing phenomenon, I thought it was a one-time thing, like some farmer who must have wandered into the city and started getting really hot, forgetting his city-manners and acting as you would expect someone from the country to act. But as the weather gets warmer and warmer, the more male midriffs I’ve been seeing. The men roll up their shirts past their protruding stomachs, and even puff out their stomach a little bit (further proving their masculinity), and usually there is some sort of stomach rubbing or patting going on. I still need to take a photo, but I will post one when I have it. One more of the many, many things I love about this city.

In other news, this weekend the national May holiday. Everyone gets Thursday, Friday and Saturday off of work (or they’re supposed to), but is supposed to make up their day of lost work on Sunday (???). I’ve spent the early part of this week debating how I should spend these sacred few days off: should I travel? Sightsee? Sleep? In the end, relaxation won out (as it always does). I decided to spend Thursday satisfying my introverted need for some quality alone time by hitting up Starbucks (where I’m currently sitting and enjoying a beautiful caffeinated beverage), followed by an afternoon of sight-seeing (destination still unknown). Tomorrow I will head out to visit Alli (out by the Great Wall), where we will explore the unknown sights of outer-Beijing. I’m pretty excited for the adventure. Overall, a few days of relaxation and exploration sounds like the perfect recipe for fun in Beijing.

I think that’s enough adventure for now. Until next time.