Maybe I'm Crazzzaaayyy, Maybe I'm Craaazzaaayyy. Thank you Gnarles Barkley

The China World Art Museum has a exhibit on Contemporary American Realism, on display are supposedly fifty or so American artists works, although no specific names are mentioned.  The exhibit is sponsored by the US-China Oil Painters Union, and also backed by the Shanghai Art Museum, as well as the China World Art Museum (not the Beijing Museum, or the Chinese National Art Museum).  When I found out about the exhibit, I decided I would go check it out the following day.

When I got off the subway after about a twenty/twenty-five minute ride I was standing outside of the Chinese Military Museum.  It looked very interesting, but it was a huge building and was only open for another hour.  I will make a trip there soon, to see some of the American spy planes that were shot down by the Chinese in the fifties.  These trophy's are readily on display outside the entryway to the museum - and I read that an entire floor of the museum is not translated into English to avoid being offensive to tourists.  I do not know what is more offensive...

My destination was behind the Military Museum.  A weird sun dial shaped building holds the China World Art Museum, a stark contrast to the uber communist, stalinist Military Museum.  I walk up to the front door - locked.  An old man comes over and speaks Chinese to me.  "往往破坏o趣味我?" He asks.

"I want to see the art museum" I reply.

"往往破坏o"

"I want to see the art museum" I reply again.

This goes on for a good six minutes, neither of us budging, neither of us understanding each other.  Eventually he walks over and gets a younger woman that works at the building.  She comes over and speaks Chinese to me.

"趣味我?"

"I want to see the art museum" I say.

"Closed" she replies.

Well damn.  It was two o'clock in the afternoon on a Monday - the only thing I can think of is that the museum is maybe closed on Mondays, but it did not say that on any of the posters or ads or on the website... or at least not in English.

This is a typical every day interaction that I have so I am really putting a lot of time and effort into trying to learn some Chinese.  If you could speak Chinese and English, you would be able to talk to most people on the planet.

Wow, it just look cold!

Anyways, slightly frustrated I decided to walk around a bit.  For the first time since I have been here I was in West Beijing.  Directly behind the art museum I found a huge park, with a large lake in it.  You can rent boats and go paddle out into the lake for a nominal fee, but it is so damn cold and windy here that a boat trip seemed a little treacherous.  I walked around the edges of the lake, it is about 4k to walk around the whole thing.  It was a beautiful park, there are some pictures I took that I will post to this blog.

One of the CCTV towers, not as good
as the space needle!

As I was leaving the park (I cannot find the name in English, but it is the western ancient park - Beijing has a historic park from hundreds of years ago in each cardinal direction from the city center) a portly old man saw me and yelled "HHEEEELLLLLLLLOOOO" as he tore off his pants and shirt and ran and jumped into the fridgid lake.  Oh my god it was probably 40 degrees F, with a windchill that could freeze the sweat on your mustache!  I do not know what was going on but I said "NNIIIII HHHAAAAUUU" back to him, and noticed that there were several senior citizens going for a dip.  This is not like your typical Polar Bear, where everyone jumps in for a second then gets out, these folks were literally going for a swim in the freezing water.  It will always be a happy memory for me thinking about the kind of old, kind of fat Chinese guy running while tearing his shirt off and screaming "Hello" at me and then jumping in a nearly frozen lake...


M