somewhere over the firewall

so i have been unable to access blogspot for the past little while as the site was recently blocked. thankfully, little trouble is back in town & was able to download some magic cyberslippers that allow my little laptop to appear as if it's somewhere over the government firewall with azure bluebirds. i realized today that the bbc is blocked as well & i wonder if there's some sort of suppression of expression storm brewing. more likely, this may all be related to the approaching 20 year anniversary of tiananmen (june 4th). it's always a sensitive time, but this year perhaps especially so. i still plan to go to the square on the anniversary if possible (as i've done in years past, trailed by the not-so-secret police).

between now and june 4th, things will be busy. and they have been. i realized that in my last sappy, drunk-on-lychees post, i may have given a false impression about this beautiful, complicated country. the government is not monolithic. the past few weeks have reminded me of all that the remarkable and inspirational work that is happening on promoting rights, equality, and justice. there are real openings for reform and progress. identifying such openings and running as far as you can while they are there seems to be the m.o. for activists, scholars, international orgs, and others here.

this city is, in so many ways, a far cry from the dusty metropolis i grew up in. partially as a result of an increasing number of small initiatives which shift the shape of things more than the incessant construction. such shifts are subtle, yet powerful. now that i have found a way to safely transcend the trappings of the government firewall (nothing subtle about that), i intend to get back to the business of considering these shifts.

for now, some more amusing mentions. 1 - my former school is a fat camp. i'm serious. the building that once housed the international school of beijing is now a facility for obese chinese children. as a comment on globalization, it is just too good. 2 - i may have a new food obsession that is borderline red-bean level serious. there is a ma la xiang gu - spicy fragrant bowl - place near us that a colleague and i have started frequenting for lunch. you pick what you want - dofu skin, glass noodles, golden needle mushrooms, greens, fish cakes - and then they fry it all up and add their amazingly delicious, spicy mala magic & bring it to you in a large bowl. it is so addictive that we have been known to go two days in a row and go every friday. so that is the most delicious thing i've eaten of late. 3 - after learning about a cat on twitter with more than 500,000 followers (thank you, CNN, for being absurd enough to consider this news), i am thinking about starting to tweet for the neighbour's cat, misha. misha is a most curious creature. literally. she spends most of her days stealthily making her way around the compound, spying on everyone. she often sits outside the glass door, peering in. i have also awoken to find her perched on the ledge outside the second-floor bedroom window, wide blue eyes alert, head cocked to one side, pondering. we are sure she is keeping files on all the neighbours and has a side job with the local paichusuo (police station). either that, or she is slowing planning a kitty revolution.

with that thought i realize i need to wait until i am in a more substantive frame of mind to say anything further. until then, apologies for the disappearance. more soon. meow.