Guilin - Day 1

It was about 1:00p.m. when we arrived in Guilin. Gavin and I hauled our stuff through the train station and met Summer and Molly who’d been sent to collect us, two locals who work for Kristy and our set up to be Gavin and I’s teaching assistants. Molly is a bit like a Chinese Barbie, very pretty with a very high pitched voice; she’s my assistant. Summer is all business and often looks stern or cross but seems very efficient. She’s going to be Gavin’s assistant.

They took us to our hotel, let us wash and then took us to lunch. It was sort of like an ala carte buffet. Lots of little plates with food and some were meant to just be taken, others you pointed at and a waitress brought over. I couldn’t discern the system and I didn’t care. I’d only slept those few fitful hours on the train and eaten the light breakfast Li had given me along with a cup of noodles and some small rice and fish meal I’d bought on the train. I. Was. Hungry.

After lunch we were swept off to see our new apartment. It’s sort of a shit hole (though it’s the apartment I’ve seen in the country so I don’t want to judge to harshly) but it’ll do for two weeks. After that we were basically left to wander. We wandered through the market right outside our apartment and through a big mall and along a river walk. It seems very cool here. Then again, we’re right in the center of Guilin. In Beijing, we were a bit farther out from the middle. Anyway, a quick detour to our hotel for a breather and we went out again and found a sprawling pedestrian street with tons of little shops and restaurants. We ended up walking around for almost three hours. At one point, a local man came up to practice his English with us and showed us a little noodle shop where you can get Guilin’s famous rice noodle dish for 3.5 Yuan. A freakin’ steal for a hearty bowl of dinner. We ended the night at an Irish pub for a quick night cap. It was empty but also 8:00p.m.

On our way back to our hotel we saw some huge dance being performed on a large outdoor stage. We watched a few numbers and I gave up and went back to hotel. Gavin was back only twenty minutes behind me. Apparently there’d only been three more dances. Someday we’ll figure this place out. Someday.