The beauty of living in Beijing

Everyone who lives here will tell you that Beijing is known for it's harsh weather and daily bustle; which is a good thing for those who come to the city in search for success in business and study, but a bad thing for those who are unwilling to get stuck in at the pace at which the city moves. Living here has a harsh reality to it; there is a side of the city's character that is cut throat and unhelpful to those who lag behind. The side that forces people to jump ahead of you shamelessly in queues, shove you on the subway, knock you over with their trolleys without an apology or (like my shopping experience the other day) knock you over the head with a metal sign board and not notice. Beijing is really chaotic - with the traffic, and the subway, and the distance and hours it takes you to get anywhere on a smelly bus, with the foreign language and misunderstanding, the confusion that lands us up with the food we don't want or like (often). The logistics and the beauracracy and the standing on ceremony and the annoying way people are so cheesy here is the side of Beijing that we have become accustomed to over the last 2 months.
But then people who visit here for a short while tend to recount a different tale of Beijing - a tale of exquisit sights and an experience of a rich and ancient culture; afterall it is these historical sites that cause "normal" travellers to come from near and far to experience. Until recently this side of Beijing was unknown to us, however this past week - with an entire week of holidays courtesy of the government, and an guinea pig to practice our tour guide expertise on (sorry Sarah) - we got out there and experienced a whole new side of our city; the 'very best' Beijing had to offer us foreigners.
From The Forbidden City to the Summer Palace we braved the hordes of crowds and faught for our inch of walk way (personal space was a luxury); we took in the sights, posed for photos and even jumped on an old looking (but probably newly build) boat that took us over Kunming Lake. We took a day off to recover and enjoyed expensive ice creams in the park. Once the weather warned it might change, we took the opportunity to go to the The Great Wall and oh wow what an experience. We braved the crowds at the entrance again but thankfully the wall seemed big enough for all of us to share and we took in the spectacular view for 4 hours (PS Not for the faint hearted, it's a climb not a walk). It did take us three hours to get there and back though and once home - Kyle had been right, it began to rain. The Hutongs were another highlight and we seemed to be the only foreigners brave enough to sample the local food amidst the ruins - which got us quite a lot of attention and photographs from other foreigners! Obviously eating with chopsticks like a local with your head hung long and a slurpy action going on is not polite in the West, but now we can't help it. We went shopping, eating, socialising, and to the rugby over the weekend and we think our guest really enjoyed her first experience in Beijing. Come to think of it so did we. We understand now why people who have been here rave about the city - because Beijing seems to show foreigners a different side of her.
In the end we noticed some differences between the experiences of a first time visitor and a local living in Beijing (in which category we now qualify); but ultimately found that it's the people you're with and the attitude with which you go out that determines your experiences. There were times of confusion, logistics, hectic travel and oh-my-gosh moments even during this week of tourist travel. The only difference is that when it's a holiday you're more likely to laugh at the slip ups and go with the flow than curse the locals all the way home and avoid going out again. The experience taught us to remember to pack our sense of humour whenever we step out of our door, just like excited tourists on their first day in the city, because the city does throw enormous curve balls and it's up to us to take them in our stride. But for those of you planning to take a trip here and be part of our next "tour" please remember the following: the plans, the weather, the trip, the food and the travel will change drastically during your time here - but thankfully the company is always good, so pack a good dose of "take it like it comes" and you'll be just fine.

P. S. There are many things we love about our city, our experiences here are rich and diverse and we love the life we are creating. Besides the fantastic cheap clothes and roadside food the people here are also not as snobby about showing off their latest technology as the people back home. So on Monday when I left my cell phone on the back seat of a taxi (never to be seen again) I was forced to buy a new cheap one to serve the purpose of keeping in touch...that is what cell phones were designed to do right? I'm now very grateful that Chinese people are not as stuck up because they won't give a second glance at my new Nokia brick. Yup, this is the good life.