10:40 p.m. on a Saturday

and we are all exhausted. We're going hiking on a mountain or near a river or something at 7 a.m. Today we were out at 6:30 a.m. No rest even on the weekends.

People are getting sick. Two of the guys stayed in bed all day, and a few others are coughing (SWINE FLU?!) and sleepy. Speaking of swine flu, one hotel banned us and we weren't allowed to visit a certain University because we "may have swine flu."

Yesterday we were put in groups to interact with some Chinese students. Others said the hour spent talking was awkward, but luckily I was put in a good group. We sang them American National anthem (poorly) and they sang China's. We exchanged small talk about our daily lives and I bombarded them with restaurant recommendation requests and research for my paper. We also played a hand game taught by Keith.




The afternoon was spent in "Little Korea." We went to a lecture given by a woman who started a language school. The focus was a tad unclear-it was a mix between small businesses, woman entrepreneurs, the Korean population, and the importance of Chinese. After Kristen Anne and I explored Little Korea, but by explored I mean we found cute stores and got cute dresses. I also went to my first McDonald's but like in America is only got a hot fudge sundae. There was a lot of yelling and chaos.




Dinner was an "American" dinner of Papa John's pizza and salad. The pizza was awful, cardboard, and tasteless, but I ate three slices out of desperation. One had shrimp and other unidentified objects. Chinese people put anything they want on pizza.



We went out to Hoa Hi again. This time we invited our Chinese friends and our Chinese teachers. Mine didn't come, but the other one did. We got dressed up and went back to our "regular" club. We got the VIP treatment. They put us at a big back table and served us and we danced. Again there were old Asian men there. We stayed for about an hour and then decided to move on. We stopped in a reggae club but then ended up not staying and just walking around. They went back to the club but some of us left. As life goes, we couldn't get a taxi as it started to drizzle. 30 minutes later we got one and headed back to bed.






We awoke EARLY this morning and got breakfast out. I ate another "egg in a bag" on the street and we had some more dumplings in a restaurant.
We went to go see the Mao Mausoleum today. Waiting in line was a miserable experience. We waited in a line of thousands (the amount of people there was amazing)and were pushed around for the entire hour we waited. Robin told me that the Chinese push but I had never experienced it until now. It was amazing how rude these people were and the sense of entitlement they felt to get in front of us. I learned to push back and at the end stuck my elbows out to walk through.


The mausoleum was really strange. It felt like I was going to a wake. Keep in mind that Mao has been dead 33 years. People were still buying flowers (which Anne is convinced they reuse everyday) and praying to the statue of him in the front. After waiting forever, the guards had the nerve to literally rush and push us through the mausoleum. (Probably so I couldn't study his body and see it was a fake)
All of the sudden, there was Mao..in the flesh...or so they say. Under a glass case, visible for all visitors to see, was his body under a communist flag blanket and with a glowing orange lit up heard. They turned Mao into a jack-o-latern. It was creepy seeing him lit up. Some Chinese were crying, but I was unmoved by the whole thing. Clearly I have no connection to Mao. I found it odd and a little unsettling seeing how much these people worshipped this guy. Some of us have been trying to think of a celebrity/politician that would be on the same level and have none.
Maybe Elvis? Would people come see JFK?
I don't think so.
The whole thing was like an amusement park. Waiting for an hour for a short ride that is usually overrated.
I'm glad I went though.
No pictures were allowed, sorry.

For lunch we split into groups and went to people's homes to make dumplings. I went to a lovely apartment with a welcoming family who was hysterical at my (lack of) dumpling skills. The dad really got a kick out of me and though he didn't speak English we somehow communicated enough that I knew he was telling me that I was awful. He was very funny.




I really enjoyed going into the home and seeing the real people of Beijing. It's conversations that take place over tea in someone's living room that I find interesting. They invited us to come back,and after I practice my dumpling skills I just might. I am dumpling-ed out for a few days though.

We had a guest lecturer today who I talked about in the last entry. I wish I could have paid more attention as he was interesting and honest, but I was exhausted.

We had the evening off, but no one did anything thrilling as we were exhausted. We lounged for a a few hours and had plans to go for Middle Eastern food, but then Tom mentioned pasta and I got a hankering for spaghetti. I remembered passing a restaurant called "The West" so some of us headed over.
I'll add pictures soon, but The West was hilarious. It was decorated to look like a typical college bar with sports pennants, American beer, and brick decoration. We sat on the roof with two guys from Florida we met who are studying in Shanghai. One was a sexy black man named Elijah. He gave the others girls his contact info for when we go to Shanghai because he works at clubs and can show us around town.
I had Penne Bolognese and it was so satisfying that I ordered another to go. I miss tomato sauce. They were out of bread which sucked. I also ordered milk and it came hot. It was a nice calm dinner and the first time I ordered for myself at a restaurant here.

Off to bed.
I am caught up now and not stressed.

H