My host family is very cool. There’s a mom and a dad and a 14-year old son. The mom works at a big bank in the international transactions division and the dad heads a development company. The son is also very nice and his English is quite good, considering he’s only 14 (the mom’s isn’t bad either). They live in a middle-class apartment building and have a seemingly normal three bedroom, 1.5 bath, one level apartment. They all have a great sense of humor and are very light hearted.
As the dad spends most of his time in Beijing for work, my family took me there the first weekend. We visited Tian’anmen Square, and saw the impressive National Center for the Performing Arts, commonly called the Egg. Then we had a very nice hot pot dinner and then we went to the family’s house that they had recently purchased in Beijing.
The house is actually about 30 kms outside of Beijing, but as soon as we got off the highway, I realized that I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. The sign on the huge stone entryway could have easily said ‘Willow Bend’ or ‘Legacy Oaks’, welcoming us to the development that could have been easily found in any posh suburban estate community in the US. As we drove past the rows of Western-styled houses with manicured lawns, I quickly understood why they had asked me at dinner if I played golf. Their house, which abuts another house, is awe-inspiring. Three floors, five bedrooms, three bathrooms. Gorgeous Chinese furniture and artwork. This is certainly New China.
In the morning, we had dinner at the country club, and then hit the driving range. I’m not so bad, but I’m not so good, either. I could have never imagined one week prior that I would be hitting golf balls at a golf course community in Beijing, China.
(I have photos to post, but as I now have to go to class, I’ll post them later).
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