Radio Silence, part three - This is Exhausting. Lets Drink!

I’m not going to say much more about our days/ our training. Just this: I’m doing very well and Kristy is being very flattering and has high expectations for me. Gavin had a bit more difficulty and has been reassigned to middle school level. He seems a bit relieved by the lack of puppets and songs, so I’m happy for him. However, after some long days of training, Kristy gave us the low down on some of Beijing’s bar scene.

Tuesday: Tuesday night we went out to a lake that was surrounded by bars and shops and restaurants. It was a night of firsts for us. Our cabby really tried to swindle us (she wanted us each to pay the full fare, not split it), we were propositioned by some prostitutes, and Gavin had to choke down some beer. Gavin’s drink is either wine or spirits. Most bars only sold wine by the bottle or spirits for like, sixty Yuan, about ten dollars, for a small cocktail. Beer, however, was like, twenty Yuan. Closer to $3.50. We started off in a bar called “The Reggae Bar” because it looked cozy and had the prices outside. And they were good. There was a band (every bar seemed to have a band) consisting of two guitarists and a bongo. The second we got our first drinks they started a reggae cover of “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd, one of my favorite songs and the first one I learned when I started guitar. Tonight was going well.

We had a round at the Reggae bar and wandered a bit, we bought a flask of Chinese liquor (Gavin says it’s called Shou-you or something) and hit up another bar. Not as cool as the Reggae bar but it had a so it was nice to look down over the lake. Afterwards we found a side street full of shops selling everything from leather bound journals to jewelry to fabric to coffee. We wandered into a few an perused the goods. Neither of us bought anything since we know we’re not being paid until October 10^th and there was more drinking to be done. We tried one other bar and eventually decided to end our night at the Reggae Bar. We met two women from France, a Moroccan, a Canadian, and a couple, the male was from Northern Ireland and the Woman was from Slovakia. It was a great time, the band was awesome, the prices were great, and the company was very warm. Definitely going back to Reggae bar.

 

Wednesday:

We didn’t have to train on Wednesday so after a late start, did I mention we didn’t get to bed until about 2:30a.m., we went wandering. Neither of was really looking for anything except for me. I needed beard clippers. I was planning on just letting it grow but Kristy told me that I needed to shave. I managed to convince her to just let me trim it and she eventually caved. She still doesn’t understand my attachment to my beard, but she doesn’t need to.  

Ahem… Gavin and I found tons of cool shops and a big market in a warehouse thing, like the one near my hotel, and confirmed that you really can buy friggin anything in Beijing. I had my first haggling experience outside the market. A little shop had a beard trimmer and the proprietor wrote “150” on a scrap of paper. I tentatively wrote “100” and he just laughed and nodded. I think he wanted to tousle my hair. “Cute little American.” Oh well, I know to shoot lower next time.

Kristy took us out to dinner with a bunch of her friends, one of whom was openly photographing Gavin and I at the table, for famous Peking Duck. At first I was a tad concerned. I wasn’t entirely sure what Peking Duck consists of. I figured it was just really tasty duck. However: first they brought us duck feet. I tried one and it was rather gross (it’s all bone, cartilage, and way too much vinegar). Then duck head: spicy as hell and not even a nibble of actual meat anywhere. The duck itself, served with cucumber, sprouts, melon, and Hoisin sauce with tortillas, probably not called “tortillas” here, was phenomenal.

Since the meals are typically only served with hot water to drink I had beer with the rest of the table. Gavin doesn’t drink beer so for whatever reason the Chinese seemed to get their kicks out of toasting with me and forcing me to drain my glass. Fortunately, the beer was weak and the glasses are quite small but I still developed the habit of only filling my glass part way up. Kristy told me that it’s part of Chinese hospitality and patriotism to try and get foreigners drunk. I’m on to you, Chinese guys. I’m on to you.

            After dinner, we went to the bar. Apparently Wednesday is “open bar” night at most places on the street we were sent. Basically you pay a cover, ten dollars for men and five dollars for women, and drink all you’d like. Gavin and I weren’t really up for trying to “get our money’s worth” at a place like that so instead we found a bar with amazing happy hour specials. We ended up spending a LOT of time at “La Bamba.” A beer was five Yuan (less than a dollar) and Gavin’s vodka cocktails were all ten Yuan (like $1.80).  A lot of American music and westerners so it was good conversation all around. I met a Honduran musician, an American student, and plenty of others. Also, I’ve heard “Call me Maybe” TWICE since I’ve been to China. LEAVE ME ALONE! I’M NOT CALLING YOU!!!

            We ended up doing all our drinking at La Bamba but we did try to find another place after our second round or so and I had a super “it’s a small world” experience: I ran into a girl from my Mandarin class at Carthage. Her name’s Jessica, she’s here studying for a year. Once I’m back in Beijing we’re going to get meet up and she’s gonna show me some more of the westerner hang outs.

Wednesday was a good night.