Summer is here and some days it gets hot, humid, and really quite oppressive. Beijing’s gray skies only add to the general feeling of glumness. On such days one can find that many of Beijing’s men, most notably taxi drivers for they spend most of their time outdoors, when lolling about, tend to hike up their shirt to near their breasts, exposing their frequently pudgy bellies to the moisture and pollutants laden air. This does not always, matter of fact never, make for a pleasant sight, but is probably an effective way to cool down. I need to find out if they call this anything in particular in Chinese.
I know in India, and at least in Bengali, the phrase to ‘open’ your tummy and sleep exists. The Chinese variation on a universal theme perchance?
About Me
- Giscard
- Itinerant idiot. Also impoverished. In all likelihood because of my itinerancy and my idiocy, since each is the other. Currently on a leave of absence from Columbia University, where I chase a pretentious and ever elusive goal, the realization of which would allow me to place three certain letters after my name, and mislead people on questions of Global and Sinological importance. As part of that overall process, spending 06-07 in Beijing, learning how to express myself poorly in yet another language.