Silk Road: Part 2: Life In Beijing

Last year, I promised to write a final blog for my journey across Asia in 2008.
I wanted to talk about the United States, which was my final destination.
I never got around to it, and maybe I knew somehow that the journey would never end...

I came back to Los Angeles, after completing a loop around the entire world.
For about 6 months, I worked on two developments, one is "Intarsia Media, Recordings and Media Co." as well as "The Interethnic Arts Foundation". Both are intermingled with the first one geared toward business and the other towards philosophy and education. For Intarsia Media, I developed a 60 some page media site that shows all the projects I put together (Approx. 30) which are are some sort of rendition of my art approach called "Interethnic Art". You can read more about it on the websites, just search online.

Well, then I know that after laying the groundwork for these projects, that I am getting ready to integrate into multiple languages should come to Beijing. Because in Beijing your dream can come true.

I packed my bags, sold my car, payed my bills, closed my insurance accounts, moved out of Los Angeles and stayed a couple months in Colorado with my mom and dad. During that time, Kurt Bauer and I as well as Arnie Swenson did some music projects and several successful performances in Denver and Boulder. Arnie even threw cat toys at the audience.

Then, I put my life in three suitcases, with a Rubob and Ghirjek and guitar and headed to Arizona to visit my cousin in Phoenix. After that, I stopped by LA and played a show with the Band Elephants With Guns before shipping myself on April 7th to China. I also went to see my sister at work, she is an instructor in the Orange County school system, this was for my future part-time commitment... (more later).

Above you can see a Ghirjek, a Uighur instrument I bought in Kashgar from a shop.

This is a Rubob, a Uighur instrument I bought in Kashgar from a shop.

The first three days in Beijing, I got myself used to living in a huge place. This is actually the first time I have lived in another country as an independent.

I got an apartment in Fuchengmen near the Haidian district where there are lots of trees, a panda in the Beijing Zoo, and the Xinjiang Hotel etc.

I got a cell phone at the post office, and also got some hangers for my clothes. I put up my rugs and Atlas as well as pictures of my grandmothers family in Nebraska. I am in their disposition now, I came for greater oppurtunity. So, Thomas Friedman said the World is Now Flat in a recent economic analytical sonata. I am going to fold it in half and see what happens.

I made contact with the important artists. And a chance encounter with Harold from Sweden.

True Miracles (I have been here for 2 weeks, so think about that too.)

- I walked up to the 3rd floor in the elevator of a hostel (I was not staying at) to check my email. Had I been a second earlier or later, I would have missed him coming from his room towards the elevator. We made eye contact and knew right away, it was my friend Harold from Sweden. He was passing through just staying the night. He had left Taiwan where his Fiance lives and was getting ready to board the transiberean railway back to Scandinavia. I was shocked, and still can't believe it happened. We went out and got some hamburgers at McDonalds. (Its a Japanese thing we picked up in Waseda University where we had schooled together years ago.)

- I supposed it would be cool if I could get Askar to say happy birthday to my father on the phone... I went to his concert and remarkably he walked up the stairs looked right at me, we said hello, and his wife turned over and said you must be Andy. Since there are so many Ghirjek students, it was chance that she knew about me already. I met Adil Jan (ghirjek master) and his wife Aigul (Ai is Uighur for moon, and Gul is uighur and many other south and central asian languages for Flower). So, I called my dad and he said hello to him and then he sang him happy birthday!

This was a great performance, on stage was seven professional musicians, you can see Adil Jan playing Ghirjek here too.

- They had Coors Light (they have it on rare occasion) at the bar I went to with a colleague from the school at which I teach

- Askar's little brother introduced me to his girlfriend, she is Japanese and is from Ishigaki... this is a very small island in Okinawa I lived for a short time in college. There I studied the Shansen (a Okinawan instrument) while helping the JIRCAS facility translate their sugar cane research report into English. His brother is in the vineyard business, it may or may not be uniform.

- Inadvertently heard the word Huda, its another way of saying Allah.

- Contacted Alan AtKisson CEO of AtKisson and Associates. He wrote an interesting book called Forsaking Cassandra and the thought and concepts of sustainable development. Just so happens that he will be here in a couple of weeks. We may get a chance to do some musical performing...

- Met a friend of Askars from a ranch in Northern New Mexico that lived in Xinjiang (learn the word!) back in the 80s. Amazingly, I wonder what kind of a place Xinjiang was 25 years ago, it must have been interesting. Anyway, he is also working on the environment problem doing climate change research in India, Nepal and Tibet. He gave me his card and I gave him my card too.

As we speak:

- I am Jamming the gears of a particular recipe brewed and perhaps still brewing for "death", in the name of god, we cant just sit and watch. I can not just sit and watch... so, its a matter of being a positive "Smart Ass" in the most elusive yet strategic manner. I would like to assume the role of Public Nuisance here, it you know me enough to know what I mean.

- Learning Tangerine (the runner up international business language)

- Getting much more comfortable with teaching young kids

Just Starting:

- Find a way to get my hands on the mystical crocodile fiddle in Western Mongolia.

- Make the concept of Interethnic Art more accessible to young children.

- Get better at the Ghirjek and Rubob.

I made a new friend, his name is Amu, he is also a kindof Host dog at Jiangjinjiu (search it if you dont know.)

My job is "Senior Instructor of World Culture". I am working on an entire year of curriculum at a innovated new learning center. Here are some pictures at work...