end of orientation

Last night I organized a movie night at the hotel. We had dumplings, chicken and lamb skewers, assorted snacks, watermelon, and cheap Chinese beer and wine. We watched “Hong Kong Hustle” and “Meet the Fockers”. Earlier in the day, I had bought some DVD’s from a little store near Wu Dao Kou. It was a great way to end the week, just sitting back and relaxing with a good movie and company.

Although orientation week has been fun, I am looking forward to settling down into a routine and getting some work done. I am curious to see how group dynamics will change over the next few days as a quarter of the group are leaving Beijing to conduct research in Shanghai, Kunming, Hefei, etc.

In a relatively short period of time I have gotten to be good friends with a number of them and am sad to see them go. However, I am fortunate to have some friends in town and to have a number of visitors this summer. The heat and humidity have been nearly unbearable in Beijing. The few hints of rain never became heavier than a sprinkle and only increased the humidity.

During the movie, it start pouring and it sounds wonderful to me. I’ve always loved thunderstorms and heavy showers in the summer, making everthing feel clean, fresh, and cool.