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Ni Hao
Thanks for all the comments on the blog everyone, it is much appreciated! I miss you all, and wish you could be here with me! Hope everyone is great in the UK!!
I have finally (after a month) got my computer back in working shape, wahoo - which means I am available for Skype conversations!!
A few new thoughts, and some things I missed before from the National Holiday week:
Chinese Massage - A while ago, me and the boys George and Matt decided we would go for a massage after a meal out. There are many many massage parlours around China, and some look dodgier than others. We chose one which looked respectable, much to the aparent disapointment of Matt who said he wanted a little extra special massage. haha! Oh well... So we went in, and all chose our appropriate bed. We were allowed to remain fully clothed. I was all excited, hoping it would be lovely and relaxing - ha - it was far from that! Whereas every other massage I have had, they massage the muscle - this one, massaged sharply right on top of my bones - sometimes using thier elbows. hah! It was not very relaxing, and me and the boys just kept laughing, as we didn't want the ladies to know we were not enjoying it. hahah! By the end however, we were very relaxed - but that might have been because it was over! haha
Male Attention - In my last blog, I talked about the students who seem to be fascinated with me, well its also occassionally some of the Chinese men!!! I was innocently stood waiting for the bus the other day, when a very poor man approached me. He had been collecting plastic bottles from the side of the road, (as most of the poor do in China - as if you recycle them you get money for each bottle). He started talking to me, and I obliged.. using my limited Chinese. I asked him if he spoke English, he said no.. I told him I was a teacher .. etc.. Not exactly riveting!! Then he started asking me something that I wasn't quite sure of.. but i recognised the word "pungyou" which means friend.. (it is through hindsight that I imagine he was asking if I had a boyfriend) I just shrugged my shoulders alot, but he was insistant on asking me the same question over and over again!! Then he decided to change tack - and pointed over to the woods, and then made this very graphic signal at me... I was stunned. haha.. prompting me to politely say No and walk away! Luckily the bus appeareed moments later.. phew!!
Chaoyang West Gate - We decided to try a different area to socialise in last week, an area closer to home in Chaoyang. It was decidedly much more western influenced, and we stopped for pizza in a famous restuarant called Annie's. FYI: The pizza in China is disapointingly not as good as the pizza in England :( We also found a western supermarket called Jenny Lou's and got really excited looking at imported products such as Twix etc... I thought it would be ridiculous prices... but it turned out to be the opposite!! So cheap.. Smirnoff Vodka (Red Label) was 5 pounds, for a large bottle.. and Baileys was 9 pounds. They had every spirit imaginable, for half the price in England.. I am definitely stocking up sometime soon! haha!! After meandering around shops and restuarants we decided to hit the bars, and stumbled on a real red carpet - complete with paparazzi for the anniversary of a club's opening! Its a big club in China, so there were several "celebs" on the red carpet. It was quite exciting to see... unfortunately I didn't get my picture taken on the red carpet by a paparazzi - but I did by my friend Jin who snuck a picture in whilst no-one was looking! hahaha!!! The night was eventful, and ended with one of my friends getting punched and another accidentally ending up in a Mongolian Brothel! hahaha!
Rugby - Desperate for some western food, we decided to head to an irish bar and watch the rugby - France vs Wales! It was packed, and had a really exciting atmosphere. For a couple of hours, it really didn't feel like I was in Beijing - as everyone in the bar was western!! It was a great place to meet people, and we exchanged numbers with a couple of Frenchies who we have since met up with.. even though they beat Wales - I was able to get over it!! ha
Crime - There are never any police around in China, which is bizare to me, as in England you always see them!! Crime does seem very low in China, and I feel very safe here!! You can openly count money in public places.. and not be worried. All locals will hand you things you have dropped and it seems that everyone will help you. I have been told that crime is very low, as the punishments are excessively high for criminals - especially those who target Westerners. I do however panic everytime I am in a taxi and they take a side road, or a dodgy lane.. my heart jumps into my chest.. but its always some form of short cut, so its always ok. But I guess its good not to be too trusting. ha
Thats all for now... love u!!!
- comments
Ananda Why don't you cover Why don't you cover China's financial suroppt of the genocide in Darfur? Or the horrific animal abuses, human rights abuses (10 years of prison for blogging, just one example), to Tibet, to horrible environmental standards, to poisoning us here in the states Coke, McDonald's, GE, ADIDAS, and others are Supporters of the Genocide Olympics.Google the color orange. Think the olympics shouldn't be political? TELL THAT TO CHINA: Google: China revokes visa of gold medalist