Monday, July 5

This morning we had free time in Chengdu and I managed to contact my nephew Hugh's friend in Chengdu. He is a composer who teaches at the conservatory and when he heard I was leaving he hurried over to my hotel with his eleven-year-old daughter and we walked down to the river for a cup of tea in China's equivalent of a cafÈ -- a tea house. We had a fine time talking about music and art in China -- he also expressed his concern that not everyone in Chengdu hates Americans and only a few were responsible for the firebomb of the American embassy. I agreed, pointing out that not all Americans approved of the bombing either, and so we got that topic behind us.

While we were sitting there a man came by who makes a living walking from teahouse to teahouse cleaning people's ears. Now you will just have to see the pictures I took of the tools he uses to get the full effect. But it turns out he and the composer are friendly and so he was relaxed with me and let me video him. He also gives massages, but I assured him, and numerous of his colleagues, that I did not have time for such a delicious experience.

It is not uncommon to see people offering haircuts in public parks in China, but ear cleaning seems to be a specialty of Chengdu.

At noon one other member of the group and I left the rest and headed to the airport via taxi for the beginning of our independent experiences.

How strange to think that having arrived here for the first time just three weeks ago, I could return to Beijing airport tonight and have it feel like home. I knew exactly where to get the taxis, and how the queue worked, and what to pay the driver. After the devastating heat that plagued Beijing for the last two weeks, we brought -- you guessed it -- rain. I would frankly prefer it to the heat and I hear that the northeastern US is in the same tropical condition -- my blessings.

I have two days more or less to myself -- no touring at least. Tomorrow I am going to the aquarium to meet a friend of a friend who works there. I gather it is quite a high tech place, where you walk through a clear tunnel with fish over under and around you. Then I will take him out to dinner -- he grew up in Brooklyn and worked at the Brooklyn NY Aquarium before getting this job as some sort of manager.

On Wednesday I have plans to have lunch with a professor I met when we were here before, and I will also join up with the Poly group which is at Beida University.

I spent today catching up on my reading of China Daily, delivered free each morning to the foreign hotels. It is continually offering anti-US propaganda related to Kosovo and warm assurances about how happy everyone is in Tibet. I had some quotes I was going to offer you, but didn't bring them down to the business center, so I will include them tomorrow.

Keep cool.