Back to China, back home, me Ol' chinas...

I am not sure whether I have to publish the blog for the last three weeks because I am sure that I will not get much appreciation amongst those that still consider Chinese people some sort of monsters that keep poor monks under a regime, roaches eaters and rude people, those who can distinguish amongst their fellow nationals the good and the bad but when they talk about others they are all bad or (rarely) all good... the more I am here in China the more I realise how far from Europe I want to be. I was there 3 weeks. Except for the pleasure of meeting friends and family, I ended up with 3 kilos more, a flaky scalp, bloated and back to diet... What the hell we eat in Europe? The taste can be good but, man... I feel like shit every single time I go back to Europe! So from this week gym again and back to square one. Just shortly, until I decid whether I will publish the diary for the past three weeks I can say: London - what a place! I really dislike it. I dislike the place, the food and the standard of living: no standard, actually!
Brussels - always my favourite city, the opposite of London. Excellent standards for food and everything else.
Paris - Ok for a romantic tour but for business, forget it! Food expensive and overrated.
Stuttgart - First time I had good food in Stuttgart, but it was nice to go back there.
Rome - It's my adoptive city and I love it but, frankly, too many Italians and I am tired of dealing with the daily shit you get over there. Few days there I ended up with more engagements than a full year in Brussels or Stuttgart. Bloody burocracy is endless!
Malta - Great relaxing escape one hour flight from Rome. Decent food, nothing wow, unfortunately they cater for English and German tastes, wish they would do it for Italians instead! But it was nice to be back after such long time.


Back to Beijing I have been to eat some local delicacies with a couple of close friends. Except for all sort of interiors and octopus and squids on the sticks, I have tried some tiny little birds, similar to those that fall off the nests (I know it sounds cruel, but they look precisely like that just with a bit more blood on them), silkworms and... some noodles in one of the filthiest places I have ever eaten in my entire life.


Ok, you must be wondering what the roaches, I mean the silk worms, taste like... I was told by my Chinese colleagues that they do not taste so good... They were bloody right! DISGUSTING!!! If I say it tastes like shit you would probably not understand how bad it tastes and I think that this is the reason why people try them: Eat a roach and you will know what eating shit can be like! DISGUSTING! Sorry to all the worms lovers but, from now, things can only get better. This week I have to try crickets, starfishes, scorpions and some sort of roaches that should be nice.


Other things we ate: noodles... normal noodles but the place we ate it has not much normal. I am sure that viruses die before they enter that place killed by the smell of tofu and all other oddities on the stoves... then we had... tamarind, caramelised ones (Fantastic), strawberries (caramelised, very nice), coconut water (greatest ever had), local yogurt (a must!), another few skewers of chicken, pork, beef, goat interiors and a corn cob. We spent around 7 euros, roaches included! ahhaha


So, back to China, my resolution for the next couple of weeks is to lose weight, get my skin back to normal condition, get all the carbs out of my organism and... try to solve quite a few issues at work! Shit, if I hate this part! ahhaa


Oh, before I forgot... I got nothing against comments but, frankly I do not like exchange messages with people asking me if I am this luigir or that luigir, so, please use emails, if you can... If you know me you have ways to communicate. Yes, I am the luigir from the FOL, and as you know, I do not write anymore about economics and so on.


Another important thing about last 3 weeks... I have not opened the Chinese grammar book at all! That's something I will have to explain to my teacher! I am really scared of her reaction... Let's put it like this guys... In 3 weeks I have ruined 2 months of sacrifices in China! I have gained weight, got some health issues and forgot all my Chinese! Vade Retro Europa!


Anyway, the next months coming are full of events... Happy and unhappy ones. My two best friends over here are leaving for good China and I will miss them greatly. The guy that I consider the younger brother I never had will come to visit me in China, really looking forward to that. In June my family will join me here and I will have the opportunity of seeing more things and update you about all the places I will visit with them. In the meantime there are the usual business issues that are a pain in the neck but keep me here in Beijing.


Oh, Jeez! How can I forget this!!! Yesterday, after 24 hours I was up I went to see Madama Butterfly, the Opera... Folks, was it good? It was excellent! The nicest part was the guys sitting by me having is smelly bread and making noise with the plastic bag around it. Add to this the fizzy drink popping in the middle of "Un Bel dì vedremo..." and you can understand how pissed off I was. I swear on the dearest thing I got on earth: he waited for the most famous aria to start biting his stinking bread! I couldn't help but laugh... I find so amusing going to the Opera in this country, it's like when I used to go to the cinema in Italy when I was a kid with the only difference that over here they respect the smoking ban. So, here we go with "Madame Butterfly, a baozi and an oolong tea before choking", a perfect Chinese production... Oh yes, the guy had some food stuck in his throat and it didn't clear until the show was over... All true! And I got witnesses! As usual, the place was packed with Da Bi Zi.


I am jet-lagged folks! I cannot sleep! I am getting old! Anyway, after yesterday's midnight dinner made of God-knows-how-much-stuff, tonight I went down on food a bit lighter, just beef and tomorrow... oh no! Tomorrow I got two official meals! Lunch and dinner! and the same on Tuesday and Thursday and next weekend I have to see friends! Help! more and more weight!!!!! Anyhow, I leave you in peace and I try to edulcorate a bit the Blog for the past weeks. Big hugs, me ol' chinas!

This blog has been published on May 12th but written on the 11th

Here follows the revised and polished version of the blog I was going to publish for the past 3 weeks.

Paris... raining cats and dogs. Arrived at the hotel at midnight soaked like a... God knows what. I didn't sleep the night before I would not have slept that night either. Jetlag used to affect me when travelling from West to East, now it affects me more the other way aorund... Strange... The flight to Rome with Air China was sooooo long... 10 unbearable hours sitting by someone complaining all the trip about the cold, while I was sweating for the heat. Food was lousy and the time was going slow, too slow. Spent the day in Rome with the family, it was really nice. and then leave sunny Rome to get in wet Paris. I slept one hour... On monday morning changed hotel and, surprise surprise, seemed like the hotel where we ended up after the cancelation of the other one I mentioned was populated only by asians, especially Chinese people. It was like being home. No difference wth Beijing, same percentage of Big Noses around. Even my Chinese companions found it very odd and I got clarified the reasons why we were refused in the hotel we previously booked: our own safety! A group of Tibetans were at the other hotel so they preferred to avoid "complications". I was really mesmerised. I cannot believe that someone thinks that Chinese people would be like those in the old Bruce Lee movies, ready to attack with Karate and Kung Fu whoever belonged to a different quarter, race and martial arts school. I have to assume that the problem would have been the Chinese and not the Tibetans as, it is well known in the Western world, that the poor priests are sweet and nice and the Chinese are the nasty ones.. Innit right? So, I thought that we were all in that hotel. They put all the Chinese in one place. I asked some Taiwanese if they booked that hotel originally and they confirmed that their travel agent changed the plans for unknown reasons... Funny enough, we were confined in that hotel... Unbelievable!!!

I had the opportunity to talk to a few taxi drivers about the Tibet/China issue. And this is the outcome.

Taxi driver originary from Algeria on Sunday evening from the airport to my first hotel. Hotel Vivaldi in Puteaux, 30 years old, immigrated to France when he was a child and fan of the Blues: "[French] are hipocrits. They apply two weight two measures and 40 years happen Tibet invasion they realise that this happened. How about Corsica?"

The Corsica case was a constant in every person comment about the current Tibet situation. Different comments from North Africans in Brussels where they have the same feeling of the European Belgians about China and Tibet, which is the common feeling in Europe. London... I tried to talk to someone about Tibet but I guess they are still trying to find it on the map...

Anyway, let me go quickly through each city, cutting out all the crap...


London...

I am afraid for those Londoners that read this blog but I find London the dullest of the European cities. I really dislike it, even if I find that Canary Wharf area is really nice and pleasant. We have been to Chinatown for dinner and for a few minutes I had the impression of being in Beijing even if when you receive the bill at the local restaurant you realise that you are in London. Rip off Britain rules! Even in Chinatown. 2 days in London were more than enough and I had the oporutnity of going to Brick Lane for a decent curry with a former colleague.

Brussels...

Every single time I arrive in Brussels, for me, is an emotion. What was meant to be one of the most boring cities in the world, for me is one of the most beautiful ones. I love Brussels as if it was home and I find it so beautiful and elegant. I feel safe in Brussels, I love everything of that city. I met many friends over there, my dearest friends live there and it I still get emotional when I walk down the road where I used to live and go to my old restaurants.

Stuttgart...

Still beautiful and elegant. The feelings I get in Stuttgart are mixed. I love this city but I had some rough time over there for some personal stories but, however, overall I love that place.

Rome...

Home sweet home. Is it so true? I love my family and I love Rome but, funny enough, I do not have a homey feeling when I am there. And I am tired of the Italians!

Malta...

Fantastic! I love this place! I might move there one day and live there. Love everything about this place. But now I am busy with China.