June 18

Having screwed up our first effort to care for fish, the girls and I did some research, and I learned a lot of fish-care vocabulary along the way. Having spoken with several people and determined that our problem was probably inadequate oxygenation of the water, we now have a much larger, more open bowl, a live water plant planted in some pebbles, and two new fish. Well, we had three actually, as our vendor tossed in an extra one at the end of our transaction yesterday, but the third died overnight. (Sigh.) The other two – fortunately both fish chosen specifically by the girls – are looking pretty happy this morning, I’m happy to report. I must say that for the time being watching the fish is more stressful for me than calming.

Before returning to the outdoor night market where we renewed our efforts to become non-lethal pet owners, we spent much of the afternoon yesterday at the Summer Palace. It turns out we are a short bus ride away from that establishment. Spectacularly beautiful on a clear day, it was lovely but hazy or smoggy while we were there. (They say Beijing clears up for a couple of weeks in September…) This was a sort of scouting expedition, where we gathered intelligence about what would be fun to do and see on our next visit. The grounds are extensive, with many different palace buildings and temples, and a large lake in the middle.

One other lovely note: a couple of evenings ago, we had Peking Duck at a specialized restaurant in our neighborhood. It was fabulous, of course, and Emma said “je pense que la meillieur nourriture que j’aurais eu de ma vie ce sera la nourriture chinoise.” (I think the best food I will ever have eaten in my life will be Chinese food.) And this from a French girl! Don’t tell the French – they might just disown her.

We are still being struck by the high quality and efficiency of services of every type that we encounter. Whereas in 1989 when I was in Nanjing, the stories were all about how difficult it was to get anything done, about how any time you asked anyone for anything you wanted to purchase (from batteries to train tickets) you were most likely to be told “méiyôu” – there aren’t any – before anything else. Actually getting anywhere, or obtaining anything, or getting anything done was a study in patience. Today, much of Beijing at least is at the opposite end of the service spectrum. Everything we need to get done is accomplished with an almost blinding speed and efficiency. People are friendly and helpful, and always tolerant of the endless questions of ignorant foreigners. Things we buy that aren’t quite right are easily and rapidly exchanged, everywhere from the department store to the open-air market. Absolutely everyone has a cell phone, and is directly and quickly reachable. We are living in the section of Beijing where several big major universities are concentrated, including Beijing University – by reputation the Harvard of China. As such, there are many foreigners floating around, living in apartments, needing services. It is not surprising that people here take foreigner confusion in stride, but we are nevertheless struck by the openness and ease of all our interactions.

As I write this, Emma and Amanda are having their first Chinese lesson of the summer. They are very timid, but their instructor has a lovely manner and excellent technique for the task at hand. She clearly knows something about foreign language pedagogy for children, and I am delighted that this seems to be exactly the thing we hoped to find for them this summer.