Michael and Xiao Jing brought breakfast home after exercising in the park. A vendor nearby sold them warm soy milk and rice flour roll-ups with peanut sauce. Michael was short of breath by the time he'd sprinted up the eight flights of stairs to our apartment. After breakfast we split up. Michael stayed behind to work and Nathan and I headed to Xiao Yee's to do laundry. Xiao Jing soon decided to take me walking leaving Nathan and Xiao Yee to "have some time together." They are close since she often cared for him when he was little.
Xiao Jing and I happened upon an imposing newly constructed building. It had marble steps fronting the whole building and marble urns as tall as me on either side of the doors. We had thought this place might be a university but I noted a bank of card catalogues along one corridor. On the wall above our heads was a frieze showing the great thinkers and man's progress according to the Chinese I Ching. Marx, Michelangelo, etc.
We wandered past an art exhibit and sale to examine the card catalog. The cards were of course typed in Chinese although many were hand written so neatly I wondered how old these could be.
We walk upstairs and began to look at books when we were approached by a group of 15-20 young people probably 16, 17 years old. A spokesperson asked me if I had any questions about the library. It seems it is a new building and they will soon be hosting a group of Internet technology people from all over the world. "What is this place?" I asked. " Our brand new provisional library." "As a foreigner I'm curious about the frieze on your entrance wall. All those circles along the bottom. What do they mean?" "They show the power of man, every man" "What will the focus of your conference be?" "To learn how to present the Internet to young people as an educational tool and to protect their morality" "What education must a librarian have here?" "College degree. Our libraries are heavily funded in China." They are at the mercy of government budgets in the USA." "Yes. They are always well funded in China."
"In the U.S.A. every published author"s book (here I indicated Xiao Jing, saying, " She has three.") is found in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Is that the case here in China?" There was much discussion among the group and then the response was, "We have such a library in Beijing." "In America I can sit at my computer and find my library electronically, look for a book, check it's availability , reserve it or see if it's available at a neighboring library. Is that possible for Chinese?" "Yes but our libraries are not inter-related. Each is independent." "What hours are you available?" "8 am till 9 pm every day except Monday when we are closed till noon." "Will you have the card catalog on the computer as well as on paper?" "Yes. Our elderly will use the card catalog."
As the questions continued the group moved closer and closer to us. We felt backed to the wall. Xiao Jing says, "This is typical of the Chinese." The group was very grateful for our cooperation.
Next we entered the childrens' room. Spacious with primary colored kid sized tables for reading, some packages of snacks for sale, computers, their own librarian. We asked for two books: Who Needs Friends and Curious George. They had neither. We were directed to the "English area". Little House On The Prairie was there, Nursery Rhymes, and Harry Potter!
As we searched I felt a gentle poke at my leg. A 3 year old boy looked up at me handing me a book- an English encyclopedia for children. I turned a couple pages with him but he quickly returned to his table only to be replaced by a few older kids. We turned pages together. I pointed at a picture and said the animal's name. They repeated it carefully and we worked at the pronunciation together. They quit at "hi-ber-na-tion" leaving the book behind.
We wandered through the art sale and then on a whim we went to the daily and periodical room. Xiao Jing asked the librarian for a NY Times. He inquired of his co-worker. "No". "Washington Post?" "No." We left. I said, "Well, duhhh. Of course! They aren't going to have those newspapers here! They would be censored!" Xiao Jing said, "Oh, my God, I never thought of that!"
Back at Xiao Yee's we decided to go to lunch at a noodle place- a cafeteria nearby. It was 2 levels of round tables that seat eight. There was a stage across one wall flanked by a decorative fountain/waterfall. A group of girls were practicing a dance for the evening performance.
We chose a table at the rear and joined a young couple who nodded at us and continued eating.
Xiao Yun called to a waitress, "Clean off this table and the floor!" Soon Nathan and I were served huge bowls of steaming chicken broth. Tiny plates of meats, yogurt and vegetables were placed on the lazy suzan that filled 2/3 of the table. We chose what we wished to add to the soup. Xiao Yun attended to my broth adding first a tiny quail's egg. It will cook quickly in the broth. Then razor- thin slices of pork, chunks of chicken, etc. and finally a bowl of rice noodles were added. This was a wonderful treat. Nathan added hot pepper spices to his. The bowl was so big that I had problems managing my chop sticks and as I stood them from the bowl's base I found they were submerged 2/3 of their length! Xiao Jing's soup was a much smaller bowl of noodles made from red beans, a bit harder to the bite but cooked to perfection.
As we left I reflected on how these sisters take care of me so graciously. They are determined that I eat enough to maintain my vigor. I felt grateful for this.
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