Today, being God’s day, I decided to make it a lazy Sunday. Roommate and I were feeling a little beat from all the excitement of the past week, I think. Yesterday we took another walk, this time around our neighborhood, and I discovered a nice strip of shops the next (very large) block over with a bakery and cafe that sells boba. And then there was also last night, which lasted into early this morning. It was a real shame because I finally had conquered my jet lag the day before.
The night started at about 10 p.m. when on our way out, one of the students from Penn State called to confirm our meeting time and place. They had suggested earlier the Sanlitun area, which is directly on the other side of town from where Chris and I live, also on the third ring. Neither of us had ventured out that far yet, so Matt from Penn State told us to meet them at the subway stop. He informed me that he was a tall-ish white guy, which in my mind, seemed enough for identification. Alas, when Chris and I finally got to the other side of town nearly 45 minutes after the appointed time, the subway stop was deserted and there was no tall-ish white guy named Matt from Penn State. Taking a gamble, we grabbed a taxi to the Adidas building Matt had mentioned. Sure enough, there was a street lit up by bars. After wandering up and down yelling “Matt” at every possible foreigner we passed with no luck, we plopped down at an outdoor table and ordered a couple of Tsingtaos. Chris continued to mention Matt in some nonchalant way every time a tall-ish white guy walked by. No one even paused. And then—success!
“Matt from Penn State?” we asked in a rush of excitement. Did our plan work? Was it a small world after all?
No. This Matt was from Britain.
So while we never found Matt from Penn State and his friends, we did meet some other fine Americans. There was Jeff of the FDNY, who was touring China with his father. He had brought his Chinese-English dictionary, and as we were talking, several of the bar waiters borrowed it. Every once in a while, they would snicker, and pretty soon I found out why:
“How do you say this word?” one of them asked Jeff.
“Oh. Orgasm.”
Another waiter entertained us all night with his knowledge of the differences between Western and Asian cocks, Western and Asian women’s preference of cunninlingus and nasty pick-up lines. His command of English on these topics impressed me, but then again, he did tell us he was the “motherfuck P-I-M-P.” Fo’ realz. I think he knows more Jay-Z and dirty rap lyrics than I do. Ironically, toward the end of the night, a real pimp came up to our tables. He very adamantly referred to himself as a “ladies’ manager,” though.
Time flew by. By the end of the night, we had collected a large table of Americans from all over the country, each here in Beijing for a different reason. Ryan, who now lives in Shanghai teaching English to elementary school kids, was hosting some old college friends. Some other guys, whose names I can’t really remember now, were here for a friend’s wedding. It was almost 4 a.m. by the time we left and got a taxi, and the sun started rising on the ride home.
It was a great night, but Chris and I definitely paid for it: we had 10 Tsingtaos altogether, and it left us broke. Chris had to withdraw money from the ATM to pay for the taxi. Bottled beer, like most everything else, is hella cheap here, only a few yuan. But by virtue of being at a bar frequented by foreigners at night, we had to pay 15 times that. I offered a lower amount, but no go: 45 yuan a bottle, which is even more than what they cost in the States. So be warned: Stay away from tourist-y bars in China.
Tomorrow is my last day of vacation. It’s been nearly a month since my last final exam, and I’m actually looking forward to having something to do again. I need the structure that work (or school) provides. I would be starting tomorrow, but someone on my flight just had to have the A/H1N1 virus. Chris and I were told to stay away from the office, but we were still allowed to roam the city and ride the crowded subways. Go figure.