Finally getting into the city of Chengdu during the day was fun. We arrived in the city after a bumpy couple of taxi and bus rides. I really wish that I could communicate with the people here. My vocabulary is slowly starting to expand but I wouldn't call anything I know useful. For example, I sat down next to a nice Chinese man on the bus. He stared at my eyes, smiled, and offered me an orange. I could say no thank you but I also wanted to ask him things. Past yes, no, thank you, hello, strawberry, panda, cat, dog, beautiful girl, handsome boy, and beer I can't communicate anything. It's quite frustrating so I am constantly just sort of smiling and waving my hands. Mal and Audra always have lots of excitement when we go into the city. Everyone LOVES their blond hair. Men will tap their shoulders and say "herrroooo!!!" almost every other step it seems. As flattering as it sounds it's actually kind of scary to have random Chinese grabbing at you. I don't get as much attention because of my dark lots but what I get is plenty for me. Well, my hair used to be dark but now it is a sort of shade of purple due to a somewhat unfortunate incident with Chinese hair dye. But that is neither here nor there and I can definitely rock it in Asia with my feathers!
Anyway, we were on a mission in the city of Chengdu. We got there at 3:30 PM and all the bargaining shops closed at 6:30 so we had to book it through the super crowded streets. There were tons of people. More people than in Tokyo, and most of them would try and discreetly take pictures of us! We responded by taking pictures back but they still didn't pick up on it. It seemed like every other store was a Nike store (a real one) and we saw the Golden Arches for the first time since Tokyo! We begged Emon to let us go but he said he would take us someone better for dinner. We all had a longing look as we passed by..
We arrived at this huge five story shopping mall type place. It looked nice from the outside but in the inside it was one huge (excuse my language) clusterfuck of people, trash, and cheap clothes, accessories and anything else you could imagine. Looking through all of the shops was like looking out over the Tokyo Tower into the Tokyo Skyline. It didn't end. I split up from the group and tried to do some solo shopping but with little success. It was just too overwhelming and I was still tired and hungover from getting in at 5 AM. They had plenty of cute, cheap stuff and I find myself fantasizing about all the things I am going to buy almost as much as I fantasize about how much meat I am going to eat when I get back to the US. Remember the spitting I mentioned in my last post? It's not limited to outside. They do it right in the shops. The best part of the whole experience was walking past a booth where she offered a bunch of fake colored contacts. Now, I think white people wearing colored contacts is kind of creepy because it just looks super fake. But it is even creepier when Asian people have huge blue eyes. Anyway, I was walking past the booth and the woman was smiling at me. I smiled back and said "creepy". She smiled back and said "yeah, creepy!!!". That is reason #172638713 why I love China. You can get away with saying lots.
After the mall came the best part....AMERICAN FOOD!!!!! We stopped at STARBUCKS and they had a WESTERN TOILET!!!!! I didn't even have to go but I used it because it is such a luxury around here. After Starbs we headed to Eamon's favorite restaurant called Grandma's Kitchen. It was like America threw up in a cramped Chinese Restaurant. Upon entering we found where all the Americans in Chengdu congregated! There were American newspapers so I finally saw what was going on in the world! I guess there was an earthquake in New Zealand and there was an awesome article about Kate and William. But oh, the menu, the menu! Sandwiches, pizza, burgers, spaghetti, meat meat meat meat meaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!!!!! It took us a half hour to order. I got deep fried spaghetti with meat sauce. It looked so delicious and I was in awe of all the protein but alas, my stomach has shrunk so much I couldn't even finish it! Oh it pained me so to leave 3/4 of my dish untouched. Seriously. I know I said this on my facebook but listen to your parents when they tell you there are starving children in China that would love to eat your dinner. I am one of them.
After dinner we headed back for an early night. The taxi ride was the best yet. The driver literally flipped a bitch in the middle of oncoming traffic and no one died. Marvelous, really. We started off the night with our usual hall parties and it turned into a full on power shower to ring in Mal's 21st (for a second time). It was fun but not the best idea because I guess the dorms are not made for power showering as it basically flooded our whole hall! The best part was explaining to Tao and Vince what powershowering was. They think we are clinically insane.
The next morning we awoke early for an adventure out in Chengdu with Bernie! We rode in a posh gang bus and our first stop was Mcdonalds. I got two cheeseburgers and fries and I savored every bite. I could have had four cheeseburgers. Actually honestly I felt a little sick after but it was amazing. Next we saw some Shumao. It was cool...I guess. The first couple pandas were cool but I quickly got bored because honestly they are not that exciting. They just lick each other and eat bamboo. I could do that. We ended our excursion with some classy hot pot and had a cake..to celebrate Mal's birthday for the third time!!
China is getting better and better everyday. Except for the public restrooms. I almost vom every time I walk in but I know it is going by way too fast and I am going to be sad to leave this place! Hopefully the dell man comes soon so I can upload all my thousands of pictures I have been taking. They are gonna be great :)
Oh, and another thing I love about the Chinese..Tao Vince and New Yearrrrr!!! They wear the same clothes everyday and they love to sing the most random American songs. They will often break into "eeevverrry night in myyyy dreaaammmsss I seeee you I feeelll youuuuuu" or "You raaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiseeee me upppppppppppp!!!!"
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