Getting the Point Across

Elisa is watching her favorite English language educational DVD which is kind of like Sesame Street minus the cookie monster. She is excited and saying some of the English back to the TV. Her best friend Wei Li is standing a few feet away. Wei Li says the woman on TV leading the child is the “Lao Shi (teacher)”. Elisa says “bu shi lao shi, mama”. Wei Li repeats “Lao Shi”. Elisa repeats “bu shi lao shi, mama”. Wei Li repeats “Lao Shi”. Elisa walks the few feet over to Wei Li and with two arms shoves her to the ground.

Point taken. I walk over to Elisa who turns her back on me. I pick her up and ask her to say she’s sorry to Wei Li. Elisa seems to know she did something wrong but can’t quite bring herself to say she is sorry instead opting for nervous play with me and gradually cooling towards Wei Li. Such is the life of a 30 month old.

For some reason I am thinking of that story today during my exploration of the Xunwumen section of Beijing following a path sketched out in “Beijing by foot”. The reason I am thinking if it is the hutongs (small alleys of old beijing) have a whole support ecosystem so different than how I grew up and how Beijing is becoming. Things are self contained, hutong having the basic necessities for purchase and others (like coal) delivered to your doorstep. Without spending some time in the hutong you don’t pick up on that vibe in the same way that without spending time with a 2.5 year old I would not be able to pick up on her world. I’ve been grateful to spend more time with her these past few weeks. Another thing that reminding me of the story is so many of the hutongs are no longer “pure” if not torn down altogether. For the ones that are still there, on one side of the alley there is often a more modern structure most of which are not new per say, 50’s era looking buildings which means they might have been build here more recently.

Here are a couple of photos from my walk, the first is of the Cathedral of the Savior (also known as Beijing Anglican Church) and the second is of a mostly intact hutong. The church doesn’t have a lot of information on it. Built in 1907 as a response to the Boxer Rebellion it isn’t operational anymore and is said to be one of the few surviving places of worship in an area of town once known for many.