Dear Bethie

Dear Bethie,
Thank you for the scarf. It was very useful on my trip to Beijing.
You can put it across your pillow if the night train to Beijing is a little dirty.
You can wet it from the train’s faucet and use it to wash your face the next morning. You can even let your friend borrow it to wash her face, too. Then you can hang it over the bunk’s railing and it’ll be dry before you arrive.
It can be tied over one’s face if one has the bad luck to visit Beijing during a sandstorm. I really think the Defias Bandit look will be hot this year.
You can sit on it to watch the flag lowering in Tianamen Square.
You can tie it across your hair when you hike the Great Wall on a windy day.
You can use it to dry off if you don’t know the Chinese for “extra towels”.
You can wrap up your purchases in it so pushy street vendors don’t know you’ve been shopping.
You can also tie it around your hips to fit in at the Russian restruant where you end up having dinner after finding that all eastbound trains out of Beijing are full.
Your friends can use it to spot you in case you become separated in the Beijing airport right before May Holiday.

Love,
Meg

PS I’m not dead! I just got stuck in Beijing! (isn’t that the coolest no-posting excuse ever?) Over the next few weeks, I’m going to post about Beijing and backdate my entries.