Our friend Mark Levine (马克力文), in his young sixties, is a guy full of energy. Originally from Los Angeles/San Francisco, he is currently Foreign Expert at Minzu University of China, also doing teaching at other universities.
Previously he was with Beijing Dance Academy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Huaiyin Teachers College.
He considers himself an American sociologist and has lived in China since 2005. he teaches Western Culture, Public Speaking and English
He is also a guitarist, song writer and singer and has written 60 songs about life in China. He also sings Chinese songs while not speaking Chinese (OK, a bit like me!). He has performed in 7 Chinese provinces and has appeared on many Chinese TV stations.
See here more on our colorful musician:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/markhlevine
http://www.bjstuff.com/profile/MarkLevine
On Sunday 23 June he performed in a Houhai bar (Jia Ding Fang) to an audience of friends and CCTV4 who is shooting a documentary about him. I was lucky I could make it, see the pictures of his performance.

He is joined by Ms. Fu Han, the erhu player and also his agent (and interpreter).
And yes, he is great to listen at!
The funny thing was, looking for the bar I met at the door an old friend, a waiter I have known since ages – also called Mark – who now works at that bar. I was promptly offered a nice white beer!

Originally on Monday I just wanted to buy a book in the Xinhua Bookstore (huge!) and look for a repair shop for an old watch. I ended up exploring once more the crowds, the small alleys with an amazing diversity of Chinese trinkets and also the food street. Ended up buying some, including a Chinese version of Manneken Pis.
The food offered is very “local”. There is a choice of sea urchins, shrimps, centipedes, scorpions (small and large ones), silk work cocoons, big spiders; intestines, stomach, stinking tofu, chicken kidneys, Peking Duck; leg of lamb, lamb kidneys, penis & testicles; fruit and other stuff I forgot.

Some of the small scorpions on the sticks were still alive! This time I went for the lamb and chicken kidneys, sea urchin, bread stuffed with minced lamb meat.
Most people were Chinese, relatively few tourists. The Chinese were pretty happy to see me eating all the funny stuff, asking questions and taking pictures. So I also asked them to take my picture. A little girl (she was so cute) exchanged hello / nihao with me what prompted the parents to take a picture with me holding her hand. Sweet.
To be on the safe side, as preventive medicine, I headed to one of my favorite hangouts in Sanlitun for a treatment of Vedett (bottle), Maredsous (on tap) and Canadian Ale. All excuses are good for a beer.

This year, on 8 June, the 7^th Annual Morning Tears Fundraising BBQ, again in the gardens of the Belgian embassy. We were all worried with the rain clouds but we were spared from a shower. I guess many did not come because of the menacing clouds.
The food and drinks were done by our good friends Renaat Morel and Patrick Desmet (The Tree), so we all got to eat and drink too much.

We came with a group of around 25, all Chinese faces except myself. We had in our group a famous Chinese calligrapher and painter who donated some of his work to Morning Tears and Renaat & Susan.
The Rotary Club of Beijing has been working with the NGO Morning Tears. Their work with children of imprisoned parents has earned the respect from the Chinese government.
See: http://www.morningtears.org.cn/index.php?id=238&L=1
Morning Tears is an organization for children whose parents are in prison.
It started in 1999 as a small organization in China without formal structure. Today Morning Tears is a registered Non-Governmental Organization with legal accreditations for child protection in several countries around the world. Over 9 million people are held in prison institutions around the world. Prison populations are growing in nearly all the countries of the world. The psychological problems and emotional pains that children face are often overwhelming. The arrest of a parent causes fear, confusion and panic. Before and during the trail children feel anxiety and frustration. When their parent is being sentenced they feel hopeless and helpless. Stigmas and Biases become part of their childhood.

Chinese media are full with articles looking into the bad habits of Chinese tourists abroad and much soul searching. For me, that is no surprise. They are behaving the same way as they do at home. Little or no respect for anything.
On social network sites and local forums, locals from Chiang Mai (Thailand) posted evidence of what they say are offensive acts by Chinese tourists:

A tendency to not flush the toilet.
Flouting traffic laws when driving, riding a bicycle, or parking their car.
Being loud – even in five-star hotels.
Littering, spitting, queue-jumping.
Allowing children to defecate in public pools.
Terrible English-language skills that lead to difficulties in communication.

That sounds oh so familiar! You don’t have to go to Thailand for this. Every day in Beijing. And, of being loud, Chinese people need to buy better mobiles or get their ears fixed: they shout when talking on the phone so anybody in a radius of 50 m can hear it. Worst are people from the South or even Hong Kong.
One reason why sometimes I avoid the crowds in China, unless I go there to watch the crowds rather than the venue.