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July 8th was the first day I was in Beijing with all my teachers colleagues getting to know everybody. They would turn out to be a great faculty, good intelligent spirits, experienced travelers with no drama. Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City were our first outing together; and though I’ve visited them three times before, this was my first with a video camera. I never used to like taking pictures (too much trouble) but this trip would be different. A picture is worth a thousand words, and they can also help in the writing, conjuring up memories. It was a very hot day, 110 somebody said. Popsicles melted in our hands. The mile long line waiting to see Chairman Mao was shaded by their umbrellas, thousands of umbrellas. Umbrellas were everywhere and it was crowded.
Like thoughts, some moments come and stay in our minds while the others vanish. The boy calling for his mother in the video is one of those memories. It’s nice to see that he finds her and it also struck me at the time how the universal sound of “Mama!” comes out of all our mouths.
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