Guomao, The Bird’s Nest, and A Walk In The Park.

Some of our most extraordinary moments are when we feel the most small. Looking up at the incredible buildings in Guomao, China is certainly a reminder. China is full of juxtaposition. These buildings are highly modern, yet you turn around and see an old man meditating in the park. This difference between tradition and modernism is what keeps the heart of this city pumping; it brings it life. The tradition is the blood that flows through Beijing’s heart and soul. I hope this city never looses its tradition. This is when I truly feel the human spirit. Although skyscrapers are impressive, they are no match for the diversity within China’s people. There is something so comforting in tradition. It’s like coming home at christmas, and when your family opens that front door you are overcome with warmth, light, and the smell of cinnamon. Tradition–even if not your own, feels familiar. I get a taste of this on my walk to work everyday. The vendors are out cooking on the street–the smell fills the air. A constant reminder of China’s old traditions. There may be huge malls, a strange capitalistic influence, and presence–but this does not excite a foreigner such as myself. What excites me is when I can feel a culture so far from my own. To experience something so completely different that when you go back home you don’t even know how to describe your experience because at that point it is beyond words. It exceeds being described. Who would have thought modernism and tradition could exist under one roof.

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