The Second Coming

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Clark's Second Blog Post

Greetings all. The second coming is upon us! For all you die hard HTSICC (WRT) readers out there, I am sorry for repeating this well known fact. But for the rest of you: I am the blog's fabled third member! I had the honor of spending the original period in China with Durrell and Ben, and thank them for their excellent blogging in the year 2005. However, for reasons too many to explain here in this humble blog, I did not post once from China. You may even be a member of the popular Facebook group "I read Clark's only blog post from China." Rather: I did not post once from China... until now.

It seems that Ben, Durrell, and I have each made our way back to China. After working for two years in New York City, I needed some cabbage dumplings and homestyle eggplant so badly that I've moved back to the old Motherland in search of work. So here I am in Beijing. The city seems vaguely familiar, yet dauntingly foreign -- as it should to a laowai of any background. I remember it as a mix of tiny bodegas tucked along tree-lined streets mixed with mega-freeways and concrete overpasses -- which it still is. However I have been trying to tally the things that I notice being different. The pollution is slightly worse than I remember. There is a noticeably increased prevalence of (correct) English translations, as you may have read the city tried to reinvent itself for the waves of Olympic tourists. This is by no means exhaustive and the list keeps growing, although the differences are subtle.

So I hope that you will 'continue' reading with us. And perhaps I will 'continue' posting. Perhaps. Until next time... this is Clark, signing off from Beijing.