Acrobatics show

This past Wednesday CRCC planned this month’s cultural event for all the interns – there are 79 of us by the way, and next month there will be 110. For the event we went to see the Peking Acrobatics Show right here at the Chaoyang Theater (Peking is the traditional name for Beijing, FYI). The show travels all over China similar to the Barnum and Bailey Circus back in the states and tickets to see them perform are highly sought after. And for a good reason too; the show, although it was short, was spectacular. Amazing feats of strength, balance, coordination, and acting. There was even an act where 8 motorcycles were driving all around this large metal sphere all at once, barely avoiding collision while driving sideways and upside down. My favorite section of the show was entitled “Hercules” in which a few performers performed acts of superhuman strength. They were lifting themselves and their fellow acrobats up in the air and balancing them on body parts like they were as light as a feather. There was even a part where a female performer literally danced ballet on the wingspan of a male performer as he walked around stage. I have never seen anything like it before in my life.

Work has been going pretty well for me. My supervisors are extremely friendly and they all speak English, being that they are part of the law firm’s international relations department. I even went to the gym the other day with them to play some badminton and ping pong. Needless to say I did NOT do too well. Also, Chinese do not believe in air conditioning apparently so I was dying in there. They told me to avoid rush hour traffic by coming into work after rush hour and leaving before it starts! A 10:00-4:30 work day is a win in my book. They have me doing a lot of research on US laws and how they related and are applicable to Chinese law; the two are surprisingly similar. I have also been helping them to understand merger and acquisition and intellectual property law, since the translations from English to Chinese, and vice-versa, are often skewed. This Saturday we are all meeting at the Beijing Summer Palace to do some sightseeing together so that will be nice.

The firm’s senior partner, Mr. Andy Gu, is also incredibly friendly and polite towards me and the other intern working at the firm (a nice kid from France who is here on his own). Mr. Gu offered to drive me home from work today being that his home is just down the road from my apartment. During the drive we spoke about law in China and the US, Chinese culture and traditions, Beijing economy, and even politics which I found out is a sensitive subject in China. China is a single-party state when it comes to politics and that party is the Communist Party of China. There is no voting, or bi-partisanship, or elected officials in China which we are so used to in the US. Mr. Gu told me that people here have grown accustomed to this trend and there seems to be no forecast for change anytime in the near future. Makes you appreciate the system we have back at home regardless of how ‘rigged’ you may consider it to be.