its getting cold!

Its getting cold in Beijing!

Riding my bike is not a sticky situation anymore... and as animals are looking for warm places to relax, a few things have been going on....

a) Yesterday i was in my first bike crash! A scooter ran into my back wheel as i was turning and it bent it 90*. I did not get hurt at all. But it is a very funny situation this one. 

In the middle of a small intersection with a destroyed bike. I look at the guy on the scooter (not chinese) and i smile at him. He looks absolutely devastated. I was afraid he might have gotten hurt or something. So i ask him... 

'Are YOU ok?' 

and he does not answer... his eyes are big and head is shaking...so once again i ask him

'Did YOU get hurt?'

some seconds pass.. which when you are in the middle of an intersection seem like minutes! and then i hear him whispering

'i'm so sorry....'

I told him not to worry, that i'd get it fixed and that the important thing is that no one got hurt. So as he goes away and i start carrying my bike to the workshop, i thought that in reality all of this scene needed to be performed the other way around and that me and the guy seemed to have confused which lines we had to say in the script of life. 

He should have asked the questions and i should have been speechless!

Anyway the bike (i have to still give her a name, but it must have something to do with a lady who has been through a lot in life, and through a lot of plastic surgery as well) is ok!

But the whole situation happened 5 minutes before class which meant i had to run!!!

b) ...clearly if you read point A you will know that i am about to talk about chinese class!

It was such a cool experience. 

We had 4 hours of class which felt really like 2. 

No, not because its easy or because its fascinating, but because the first 2 hr class was all in chinese :)  we started learning some tones and some words in chinese which is always interesting.

The last two hours were with a teacher who spoke english and was teaching us about chinese characters and how they evolved throughout the centuries, and it was interesting to see how some of these characters make no sense... 

it made me think that language evolution at times goes through people who have no clue what they are doing.

And i thought that this is happening as we speak today! MSN users and text messengers are changing the future world! And it made me think that though today words or abbreviates such as MIRL, PLO or GSOH are (possibly) understandable (i had to look them up at netlingo.com) , in some centuries someone like me today will look back and say 'how did they get to that!?'... LOL

Ok, this was so exciting and i can't wait to have my second lesson today! 

now i've got to go do some homework!

BRB

ShidON

My Bike Is Fast

I got a Bike more or less a week ago and promised it that my next post would be about how fast and cool it is.

It is actually so cool that i am always expecting it not to be there after i park it and chain it up outside my house at night...

It is quite fast though today i had to bring it to be repaired already as the left pedal was just a little bit weak...

Also i came to realize one important thing... obeying street rules in China with your bike will only be a cause of harm! I guess you become the X factor in a very difficult and complex equation (the street) which people do not know how to relate to..

The first hour going around the city was an hour in which i caused distress to other fellow bikers. I guess they are not used to rules. So finally when a man collided with an older lady because i was doing the right thing by staying on my side of the road, i decided i had enough of the rules and that it was probably safer for me and others to just be part of the madness!

Which is so much fun! Actually i fit in pretty well i must say!.. But don't worry im careful!

So now i have a request! My bike is all black (you can see it in the pic) and pretty but it needs some extra kudos to gain respect on the road..

So I am asking you all to please think of how we can fix my bike up! I want suggestions! Do you have any cool sticker you would like to send to me to put on? Or anything i can attach to my bike anywhere? Please suggest! I am open!

So many cool things are happening around here, and i am making some really nice friends!

Campus is so beautiful! And i started playing football with some friends! So it seems as if things are working out well slowly!

I've seen some beautiful places and i am scared of how much this all feels like home..

i belong.

ShidON

love is the strongest adhesive!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMbbtiXPqGo

its just universal you know?

you can go to any country in the world, and as much as they may differ, love is just the strongest force!

It is said in the Baha'i Faith that love is the energy that holds the atoms and molecules together in the universe... which means we are all here because of love!

This has great implications for all of us! It means that if we dislike someone, the problem is within us, because love is there, that connection is and will always be there.

We are all connected through love, but we have to work to maintain that connection strong and not let the transitory things of this short life get in the way of who we love!

This post is for all those who remember every day that this connection exists, and who fight for love. 

Who see distance as a unique opportunity to englobe more into their network of love.

Who believe that 'where there is love there is always time'

Who are not uncomfortable with cheesy words, because they mean them.

Who, though hurt, and upset, will agree to change.

This post was inspired by the thought of my 'dumb' cousin Roshan who, unfortunately, i love with all my heart :)

ShidON

moved

I found a flat, and i am about to move-in in just a few hours. Its another beginning...

Actually everything here is really a beginning for me...

But before saying anything i just wanted to share with you my love for the Hinton family who has been taking care of me for the last week (my first in Beijing) and for a long time when i was in italy, as they were helping me out with visa issues.

They are a wonderful family! Sean and Tebby have been so generous to me and really inspirational as their lives are lived to help others and serve them! 

Their three girls, Jasmine, Camille and Zoe are really great to have around and you know that there is always something interesting about to happen. I feel very lucky i became uncle Shido for all.

Moving on, last night i went to a jazz night at the Hilton in central Beijing with some friends i had met in Macao.

First of all its just great to discover these new streets, this new atmosphere, this great new city. It really is something else!

the eve was a great opportunity to re-encounter some old friends from past service experiences, and for making new friends and meeting wonderful people which is really thrilling and exciting... yet, as i returned to the Hinton hotel :), as i was approaching my bed time, and was reflecting on my day, one moment in particular was standing out above all the others!

So... here is what my heart and my mind were thinking about... 

i met this chinese friend called Bruce (i dont know his true name...dang not a good start)!

We started talking about life, its purpose, its meaning, and about the need that every person has for an Universal Educator. And as he was sharing his ideas and his thoughts on the topic i could see through his thickish glasses these two black eyes... that were full of a light i have never seen before...

I wondered...

A few minutes later two of his chinese friends came along, Robin and Betty (chinese names NA). And as we started conversing on these interesting themes i could see that also in their eyes something was shimmering and glowing quite brightly. The conversation was so intense an beautiful, and their vision of how to create a better world lifted me up to places i have never been to.

All of a sudden we were interrupted by somebody who was leaving the place and was saying goodbye to the four of us... and as i looked deeply into their ways of expressing their love, friendship, peace, unity, harmony towards this person i was moved... deeply moved.

I always believed the chinese were very special people. now i know.

And i thank God for this immense and immeasurable opportunity He gave me to learn and discover the beauties of the world He created because of His love for us.

as their eyes pierced my soul, i felt a new light burning within.

ShidON

BE(ijing) HAPPY

I am now officially a Beijinger! It is such a great feeling!

After 7 months of longing!

It is such a vibrant and beautiful place.. so clean, and orderly, and full of life and of interesting things! And most of all full of... beautiful... people!!!

Yet i had my first small (very small) share of hard times (guess its normal not speaking the language!!!) 

But most of the time, when things are hard, i sing, i whistle, i smile at someone, i think of life, and look around, and see there is so much i need to do and learn from!

Here are some of the sights that have filled my heart with joy!

A taxi which will take me quickly to the airport....... NOT!!! Clearly this picture is of the Bird's Nest!!!

...the football field where i hope i will meet great friends... and where i will reveal my great potential as a footballer :)

... meeting friends at uni when riding my future bike...

... a new culture to learn and discover...

... and old martial art masters to learn self defense from...

And i realize that the happiness they give me is because they remind me of what i am, who i am, why i am here, and where i want to go. And they remind me that happiness is a virtue, not the cause of some external factor.

So lets try to be happy, always!

ShidON