Super Hospitality

Super Hospitality I was fortunate to have an invitation to stay with some people in Beijing. Considering that they were friends of a friend of a friend I was lucky indeed. In fact, I hit the jackpot. My hosts Taylor and MCK weren't just generous they were all around great guys; really interesting, fun to hang out with, extremely creative, nice friends, plus handsome to boot. I have no problem admitting a small man crush on my hosts, and it was difficult to finally leave their place. It was great because I got to experience Beijing from an ex-pats prospective and I felt like I actually got to sample life in the city. Not only did I travel around and see the sites, I also had the pleasure of dinner parties and meeting many great people. This is just the second capital I visited on this trip so far-Tokyo being the other, and I've loved them both, but for different reasons. Tokyo is the epitome of a metropolis and since it's Japanese it has all the craziness and excitement of that culture. These are just two of several reasons why it's great. What I loved about Beijing was totally different. The history of the city is interesting, but it's the dynamic nature of the place that I loved. China is going through a revolution unlike anything we know. It's a simultaneous industrial and information revolution taking place in the twenty first century. Beijing is the nexus of this development- some say Shanghai but Beijing is the political capital in any case. And it seems to be attracting people interested in benefiting and shaping the development of the country. The people I met in the capital were all doing some very interesting things from running their own non-profits to working for embassies. My hosts were no exception. Taylor has a number of interesting consulting gigs including helping Chinese companies list on the German market. MCK runs his own strategic marketing company called Khaki Creative. There is an entrepreneurial bent to expat life in China that's very exciting at the moment. I loved that I got to see this life close, even if it was just for a week.

Pumping it Up
So the guys I stayed with are real go getters. In go getter fashion they would start their days with an early morning workout. This was first introduced to them by a guy named Matt, who also happened to be staying there. Matt is a former army captain who was in China to follow Mao's Long March. He's currently applying for a Fulbright to come back here for research on the subject (see what I'm talking about when i say interesting people). Aside from being a great guy, the man is huge! Matt used a set of workout tapes called P 90x during his service, and passed along his wisdom to MCK and Taylor when he saw that they were interested in intense workouts. The boys asked me if I was interested in joining them for a killer morning workout. This never really crossed my mind, but when in Rome.... I think I'll always associate Beijing with this routine because for a week plus this became an important part of my daily routine, starting everyday at 6:30. P 90x (this and other tapes can be found on www.beachbody.com) is a ninety day fitness challenge that is supposed to transform the fit and healthy to ass-kicking super-specimens. The tapes are led by an overly energetic fitness guru named Tony Horton. The man could probably kick Sergeant Slaughter's ass and is very likely on speed (he's way too energetic not to be). Without going into too much detail, there are about ten routines, that alternate through the three months, jumping, lunging, stretching, and lifting, using nothing more than weight bands and a pull-up bar. This man will destroy you! Even though it was only one week, I think I could feel results. I'm certainly not cut now, but I am fitter than when I started. There was something really great about starting my days with this intense activity and although I was constantly sore, hopefully it's something that will be part of my life when returning to some degree of normalcy. Since my situation was so comfortable , I was in no hurry to see all the sites, although I saw plenty. Instead, I focused on hanging with my new friends, and eating some yummy food. I spent a day in the old hutong neighborhoods of the city. Another wandering in open markets and pretending to be interested in the mounds of cheap knockoffs and 'antiques'. It's fun to bargain especially when there's nothing you fear not getting. Before I knew it, I was in Beijing a number of days without having seen the obligatory sites.