Heart of the City

These pictures were taken right outside the front door of our building during the financial summit. Living in the center of the political action has given us the opportunity to experience democracy in totally new ways. These Tibetans were protesting the presence of the Chinese President, Hu Jintao because of the conflict that has been going on for years. 

It is not an unusual thing for sirens to blare outside our window, but as every diplomat went up our street to attend the meeting with their security, we finally just joined the crowd outside. We learned some of their chants, "Stop the killing in Tibet!" "Stop the torture in Tibet!" 

I wish I could convey the rhythms, they were really catchy and by the end of the day Matthew and I could hold our own little protest with our lyrics. The Chinese supporters showed up only twice: once when the Chinese president arrived, and once when he left. They all had the same hat and the same flag... it was almost too organized. They had no chants, no passion, and no vigor for the argument. Matt and I could only conclude they were paid off by the Chinese government.  Anyway, it was a really interesting experience and we were excited to be so close to the action.