Randomness in China..... almost over

Lets start this entry out the exact same way I start all the others out: Im sorry, I know its been forever! Anyway, it has been forever and life has gone by faster that I can think. I cant even remember what all I have done in the past weeks here in China. Let me start first by saying I have been doing really well in the Chinese class portion of this time abroad. My Chinese I think is still getting better and better and we have finally moved on to more interesting topics (such as male and female equality, Chinese festivals and customs, and we are now learning about food health and disease)! Anyways, besides the countless hours of class and the countless number of characters I study at night, and the countless times I go to office hours (yep, im a great student), I am still having a good time. Last weekend I went with Phil, Ben, Ky, Margaret and Leslie to Beijing for the weekend. We had a few things planned and as you will see shortly some of them worked out and some of them didn’t. We arrived in Beijing only to find the hotel we booked was nestled back in a random alley close to the train station. A little sketchy? I think so, but we managed. The room was definitely smaller than my moms closet but because we manly men can do it, we doubled up and let the girls sleep on the floor. Actually they volunteered, I promise! That night we went to a street that is filled with small clubs and really small bars and we had a great time. Ben was able to meet up with a friend he hadn’t seen in years and it was nice to be in Beijing and finally see some other foreigners around. The next morning we woke up and decided to start our day of with some subway (not the one that takes u places but the one that Jared used to lose 200 lbs). Honestly, it was a glorious meal that I haven’t had in forever. I don’t even really like subway but for some reason it tasted amazing. They also convinced me to add more meat for something like 15 more cents so I couldn’t pass it up. After subway we went to something called the Beijing Pearl Market, and let me tell you, this is a place and experience I will definitely NEVER forget. The Pearl Market is a place where u can be everything and anything fake and dirt cheap. Yes, you can by crappy pearls, you can buy fake rolex watches, you can buy beautiful Armani suits, you can by crocodile, alligator (almost lacoste) clothes, etc… You name it, Im sure you can find it….but its going to take some work. You have to bargain for everything but the girl’s that sell the clothes speak really good English. Anyway, I walk into the market and I am immediately grabbed by the first girl I see, asking me if I want to buy her product…of course I don’t. Little did I know that was going to be the least abused I was going to be all day. A short while later a young Chinese lady pulled me into her “Armani suit collection” and told me that I would like SO much more handsome in one of those nice suits. I proceeded to argue with her in Chinese asking her if she thought I wasn’t cute to begin with, but she played the nice game and told me it would just make me cuter. I then told her I had no money to buy a suit so in police officer or airport security fashion I was rubbed down (in America I guess we call it sexual harassment, but because we are in China I guess its legal) until she found my wallet. Luckily she didn’t open my wallet, and when I told her I had no money in there I pointed to my friend who was standing next to me. She immediately moved to him and I sped out of that suit stand like it was my job. The girl at the next stand looked at me and said, “you know, you’re a bad boy!” In Chinese I responded by asking her why and she says (in english) “you bullshit her.” Anyway I laughed it off chatted with her and Chinese and then proceeded to more stands. Many similar stories could be said about the other vendors but for the sake of time I’ll refrain from saying them. (sorry if this was a bit too vivid, but in a few years it will be funny to read this and remember exactly that memory). I left the market with a China soccer uniform I got for 13USD that I bargained down from 132 USD, and I also picked up a few DVD’s at approx 92cents apiece. That afternoon, Ben had planned for us to go to a place just near the great wall where his cousin works. It was one of very few orphanages in the Beijing area and it was experience of a lifetime. Although we only stayed there for a few hours, meeting all the children, seeing their facilities, eating a meal there and just spending time with these kids really was amazing. Seeing their smiled when we got there and seeing how much fun they were having when we were playing basketball was something I’ll be able to picture for the rest of my life. Another thing I will never forget was the dinner we had there. Not particularly the meal will I remember, but the conversation at the table. Although they probably should have practiced their English, they realized that I wanted to practice my Chinese too, so we spoke in Chinese. Anyway, all of us split up and sat at tables with random people. I went to the table with about 4-5 boys sitting there. The others went to eat at different tables and in pairs but I decided to go alone. The conversation right off the bat was hilarious. I was asking how old people were and some say 10 and 13 (which was correct) and one kid said 80 and one 40 and one 200. It was quite amusing. Then they asked me if I had a girlfriend and of course I responded yes. When they asked me how old she was I got a really straight face and said…. 40! They thought that was the funniest thing in the world and starting going to other tables telling everyone that I had a 40 year old girlfriend. We also talked about the NBA and just about life in general. It was really an amazing experience. Between the subway home and the bus ride home, we were all so exhausted. We found a place called Peter’s Tex-Mex which had Texas memorabilia all over the walls, and believe it or not had great food. The fajitas were amazing. The only thing I was a little upset about was you had to pay almost 5 dollars per basket of chips so we only went through one. That night we all pretty much passed out ready to hit the Summer Palace in the morning… so we thought. That morning we woke up to Ky being extremely sick and after some contemplation over whether or not to go to the hospital or go home, he decided home. So we packed it up early and had to make the trip back, but all in all it was a great weekend. I still haven’t seen the Summer Palace but I’ll make it there. So what else..hmm… before I go let me explain to you what I will be doing all next week. We have a full week off (about 10 days) and my friend taylor and I are going to TIBET and Chengdu (this is where alllll the panda’s are). Tibet is extremely hard to go to and you have to have a private tour guide but after a lot of planning we finally have it all planned out. We leave on saturaday morning and arrive in Lhasa in the morning, and spend 5 days and 4 nights there. We then fly to Chengdu Wednesday and stay there until Friday night where we will take a 30hr train ride direct to Tianjin. It should be the most amazing trip! Please if you know nothing about Lhasa, look it up online because the place looks absolutely amazing. The Potala Palace, the Himalayans in the background, the monasteries and temples… it’s going to be incredible. I honestly cant believe Im going there. We are both so excited and cant wait to leave. Anyway, I should probably go study. I just got back from TGIFridays (yep there’s one here!) and it was amazing. The WORLD FAMOUS BBQ BURGER = fantastic. Hope everyone is doing well. I miss all of you. I cant believe my summer is almost over. It has been amazing and I love it here, but I think im getting ready to come home. Cant wait to see everyone. Love yall a lot and hope to hear back from many of you (soon before I leave from Tibet. I leave on Friday for Beijing). Talk to yall soon!