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Currency Within Borders

Currency Within Borders, originally uploaded by Knigel.

I am preparing for my trip to Beijing in two days. To be honest, I know next to nothing about China. I know tidbits; however, I must be real and accept that what I know is nothing compared with what is there for me to learn. I am looking to this trip as a learning experience of which I must keep in mind to be a traveler instead of a tourist. As usual, I will not mind giving up some comfort for the sake of experiencing something obscure or worthwhile.

I feel I will stick out like a sore thumb; however, after living in Cuba and South Korea, I have gotten quite used to curious attention. I have been told that Beijingers, due to the many foreigners, pay little attention. Still, I'm sure that I'm going to run up against some cultural differences--sometimes people just do not accept Canadian currency.

The one challenge I'm not sure I'm looking forward to is the sea of human flesh that I am about to go up against.