greetings from smoggy beijing

ok, the news real, it is IMPOSSIBLE to get on twitter and facebook from mainland china. google services are up, but spotty [and i won't even mention porn sites] – so needless to say – i have a bit of internet withdrawal! if i was a bit more of an IT sophisticate i might be able to get the proxy i set up to work, but alas, no luck. moreover, i'm not here long enough for it to make sense to pay for the ubiquitous pay proxy services people who live here without VPN use. i'm uploading this post via email. i'm sure there's a way for that with twitter but even the help pages and wiki articles for that are blocked here!

so to state what most people may or may not already know: beijing is referred to as BJ [like New York City is NYC]. this makes me smile. the air really is polluted, a thick photochemical smog that has given me a constant headache, and i've only been here a few days! then again, my lungs are my weakest link, luckily my stomach is 90% cast iron. the city is HUGE, you need to take a taxi to and from most metro stations meaning most people take taxis everywhere. all that aside, the energy of this growing metropolis is palatable and exciting.

is BJ ready for nooka? the better question is, is nooka ready for mainland china? of course, i've toured the shopping areas and especially areas with the independent brands, though i would hardly consider this trip more than just scratching the service. my hope is that in the course of meeting people on these travels the perfect distributor or retail partner will magically appear – it has happened more than once. for now, we are very happy to be in lane crawford locations [chinese fans, please order your nooka product there for now].

so for now, i will continue to enjoy the city and my friends who live here. china continues to be a fascinating and exciting country and i look forward to exploring more of its possibilities.