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So, last night we missioned back to Wangfujing to eat some scorpions. You pay RMB20 for four fried scorpions, who by the way were still alive. Everyone shared a stick: I ate one whole scorpion. It was surprisingly yummy! If it wasn’t so expensive and had like next to no meat on it, I would’ve bought it for dinner. I kid you not. It tasted like slightly burnt chicken skin. We then missioned around the street some more, did some shopping and ate some more strange market food. Me and Jenny were busy munching these dough balls sprinkled with sugar on the street, when randomly a small kid and his dad came to sit almost next to us. The kid then without any remorse took down his pants, took a pee, while the dad was looking in a sort of “yes, yes well done my son” kinda way. The kid then pulled up his pants and then the family darted off. This is was in a big tourist public place. WHAT THE F—–! I was so disgusted.

Alas, we left along with another long packed subway journey ahead and arrived the res all sweaty. After a quick shower some of us got some cheap drinks and went the park on campus to have a little kuier. It was fun. We’re planning on doing it tonight again. Anu, who bought the bottle of Great Wall Wine (which was good by the way), walked to restuarant nearby to let them open the bottle. To her and everyone’s shock a rat jumped from ceiling onto the counter and onto the floor and darted off. Can you say crazy “cliche”?

Today, after class, I was planning on going to the Bird’s Nest, but got sidetracked by Erin and Jenny to go back to the Pearl Market. Oh man, now I realize how people can become shop-a-holics. I bought the most randomest crap that I’ll probably never use! Got some presents for friends though, but that was just ridiculous.  Tonight, we’re again going to chill at the park with some cheap beer (RMB2 a  can).

Tomorrow, I’m definitely going to the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube.

So like I said, yesterday was “catch up on sleep day”. Today, I got up for my early morning class and afterwards missioned to Zhongguancun E-Plaza. I’ve told you guys about this place. It’s a huge huge huge computer/electronics market just a block up from Renmin University. I spent like three to four hours there shopping and looking around. I got some really awesome presents for my friends. I’ve got some crazy surprises (for me included!). You’ll see when I get back. Alas, on the downside my money is running low, but I’m going to manage. Still need to do some leftover shopping for some friends.

Tonight we’re going back to Wangfujing street to eat some fried scorpions! Yummy! Mark, one of my classmates, ate a snake and he said it tasted like burnt popcorn. haha. I guess a scorpion would taste very crispy and bland. I’ll let you know! Then we’re going to buy some wine and chill on campus for the night. Also on my to-do list is to see the Bird’s Nest (Olympic Stadium) and go to the Silk Market.

You know, I’ve been finding this week kinda strange. I’ve gone from talking about things I miss from home (good food, friends etc) to talking about stuff I’m going to miss from Beijing (hilarious menus, bargaining etc). This place is starting to grow on me.

Anyhoo, cheers for now!

So, like I said, last night we went out like 10pm to catch the last trainsto Wudaokou. Our mission was to party all night and then mission to Tianamen Square for sunrise. First, we went to Lush, again like I previously posted, is this tiny place above a bookshop that reminds me of a smaller, but better ventilated Bohemia. On Sunday nights, it’s open mic nights, so there were many people jamming their own tunes along with many cover tunes. Flight of the Conchords was popular that night! The house band playedtunes between the performers and were really good. There was this one girl who played in the house band, who was just mesmerizing: she had this red haired uber-sultry look, good voice, could play guitar and wait for it… did beatboxing! If there ever was love at first sight that would be it. hahaha.

Anyhoo, drinks were flowing and many people played more covers. Later the night two dudes called PG Restricted did some Eminem rhymes. It was hilarious! They even took off their shirts. The things people do for a free beer. A comedian also strutted his stuff, with some crazy offensive material. It was so edgy that some of the girls in our group got offended and flipped the guy off stage. The guy’s got some balls. I found it funny though. Each to his own I suppose.

After Lush we missioned back to Propaganda again: danced, drank and played pool with Nigerians. 4am came surprisingly quick after we went back to Lush to grab their 2-4am burger special. We then took a taxi to Tiananmen Square to watch the sunrise, but what we found was one of the more unique experiences I’ve had the privilege to experience.

At about just after 4 the square was filled with people and tour groups. Apparently the sunrise is very popular! I took some videos: it looks a huge concert! I’ve never seen so many gather at such an arbritrary time. It was so strange. People were flocking to the front, looking towards the Forbidden City and Mao’s big portrait. Just before 5am a group of soldiers walked onto the plain for the a flag ceremony while the national anthem played in the background. After that the guards were relieved of their position, the crowd was let loose to do whatever they pleased. So so so strange. We took the early morning subway back to res, but one train took like 20minutes to arrive which made me very agitated as I was craving sleep like crazy. I only managed to get in bed at 7am. Slept till 4pm and the rest of the day will continue to be a chill day.

The upcoming week I’m going around to do some leftover shopping.

Cheers for now

So after my previous post, we (me, Erin and Jenny) went to play Ping pong with one of Erin’s Chinese friends (who is kinda stalker-ish, which makes it very funny). Erin invited us with so that she won’t be alone. The table is on the 10th floor of a random building on campus just outside an elevator. Super duper random. We took turns, and in the end it was rather fun. The dude taught me a “magic” trick with a ring and chain, which I’ll show you guys when I get back.

Anyhoo, after the games we rested the afternoon and then decided to check out the English Corner on campus. It’s such an amazing concept. People come together at the University to practice their English. We went there without any expectations, but woah there were a lot of people! We were quickly swamped by people asking us questions. Most people don’t believe us when we say that we’re from South Africa. Some still think Nelson Mandela is president. They asked me many questions about South African politics, its industries and equality. Some talked to my about me studies and such. One guy asked me how strong the South African army is… er… wait… how strong is our army? Does anyone know? haha. It was an interesting experience!

After that we missioned for the night to HouHai district. WOW! I’ve never been so impressed with a nightlife area ever. I was overwhelmed. Every single place had the awesomest character and there were at least a 100 hundred places. The only downside though is the prices. It cost me 25Y for a beer. Ouch! Alas, it was worth it. We only spent a short time though, but we chilled at a jazz cafe which had live jazz. Really great place! All my friends will love it!

The rest of the night we strolled around the whole place looking for cheap booze, but alas none was to be found. When we’re about to go I found a guy playing some guitar on the streets. His tunes were amazing so I bought impulsively bought his CD. Can’t wait to listen to it at home! We got back fairly late though, and I got like under 4 hours of sleep.

I almost overslept for the bus this morning to the Great Wall. We all made it though, but very sleepy. Now, the Great Wall. It is amazingly impressive, however, it is SO crowded by tourists. It’s another example of a great place losing it’s touch because of all the tourists. We went to the Badaling area of the Great Wall which had two sides to walk on (left or right). We decided to take the left route. Although it was shorter and didn’t go as high as the other side, it had way less people. It made the trek much more bearable! Still, even when you get to the top, there are vendors trying to sell you things. You’d think you’d escape them on the Great Wall, but alas no you still here, “Look here! Cheap Price, just for you!”.

When we took the bus back, we, to our suprise, stopped at this random Cloisonne factory. It was so pretty and mesmerizing. We had lunch at the place too, which some amazing Chinese food. It reminded me of South African Chinese food ala Magic Flavour. I loved it!

Now, the plans for the weekend in still undecided. Chilling tonight, but tomorrow we might go to the Forbidden City and then party all Sunday night to see the sunrise on Tainamen Square! However, I’ll keep you guys updated!

Cheers for now

After the night’s performances me, Erin and Jenny missioned to a place on campus called Canaan Pizza and Steak Restuarant. It’s a really cosy place! I had some pizza there and is by far the best I’ve had in China. Super yum! Afterwards we chilled in Erin’s room and chatted again about various philosophy and things. Was fun, but I got to bed a bit late. Decided to bunk class on Thursday morning. Hehehe. I’m a naughty boy.  Also decided to drop Chinese Politics, because it’s just too much work for the time I have left. I have to prioritise. Spending time in Beijing is more important than essays.

So, with the afternoon free, me and Izelle missioned to Hong Qiao (Pearl) Market. It’s by far my favourite one thus far. I bought lots of goodies for me and my friends. My favourite items I bought for me include a Cool Boy, which is a handheld NES/SNES that plays carts made for it. The screen is really clear and the system sturdy. I also bought a Rubik’s Cube! Hehehe. They seem to be very popular here. One of my purchases also included a USB memory card reader. Thus, check for the link at the end of the post for my Flickr photos! Facebook is currently blocked! Bleh!

Anyhoo, after a long at the market we had some dumplings at a place on campus and went to bed early. Now, my classes are done for the day, and I’m planning on going to play ping pong with Jenny and Erin soon. Tomorrow, we’re going to climb the Great Wall! Very excited for that!

Cheers for now

P.S. – The stupid Flickr account has limit to the amount of photos to upload! So I only uploaded as much as I could. Enjoy here! My time might run out for uploading most of the photos, so excuse me if all the photos don’t upload correctly! I’ll fix them as soon as possible!

Last night we all went for hot pot at a restuarant quite far away from campus. Hot pot is really interesting. You get this boiling pot on your table that has two sides of water: normal and uber-spicy. You then order ingredients that you want to cook. We ordered lamb, calamari, meatballs, potato etc. You throw it into the pot, let it boil for a while, take it out and enjoy. I love how the Chinese dinners are really social. You chat, have some drinks, throw something into the pot, grab something here, grab something there, then munch some… repeat. It’s really nice.

Afterwards we decided to go for a drink at Propaganda again, but first we checked how Lush looked like. Yes, the word Lush might remind one of the place in Stellenbosch, but on the contrary this Lush, which is close to Propaganda, is above a bookshop and really small: a very Bohemia type vibe. Alas, we didn’t stay, we were meeting other people at Propaganda. Above Propaganda is a place called La Bamba (a mexican restuarant type place). We settled and got some drinks. We shared embarrasing moments and all that jazz over some nice drinks.

Today, after class, we went to a place on campus that sells pizzas. It was very good, although my Hawaiian had corn on it!? It didn’t bother me though. Anyhoo, after the munchies some of us missioned to find a place recommended by a friend of a friend. It’s a British place called Old Bike Cafe. It’s this really quaint small place with British memorabilia and it had coffee! Actual nice coffee! Today’s weather was phenomenal. It was the first time since we arrived that you could wear a sweater. It also rained lightly all day.

After awesome coffee, we missioned back to get ready for the night’s variety performance by the Chinese students. It was crazy awesome! I was blown away: choirs, accordions, violins, Beijing Opera etc. There was an erhu performance and afterwards they asked if someone wanted to try it. Me being my curious self jumped at the opportunity. They quickly learned me to play to simple notes on the erhu, while the other guy played a melody over mine. It was so fun! I got a signed orchestra CD as well. I wish I could’ve experimented with the erhu some more! Jenny, also representing South Africa, tried some Beijing Opera moves. It was fun!

Now, I’m just chilling. Got a strange story to tell. When my roommate left, he left some stuff on his desk. I haven’t touched it yet, but once in the previous week I noticed the items were rearranged. I found it very odd. Someone was coming into my room. Yesterday I bough a new toilet roll and left it on my desk. The afternoon after class when I got back, it was gone! I was flabbergasted! I devised a plan to test if someone was coming into the room: I put a small piece of paper just in front of the door, thus if someone opens it, the paper will move. When I got back from class this morning, the paper had indeed moved, and strangely enough… get this, the toilet paper was returned standing right on my desk. I found it really weird. Nothing else of my stuff was moved or taken, even my Game Boy and mp3 player lying on my desk wasn’t touched. I think my roommate is still perhaps in the area, or I don’t know. It’s really strange!

Cheers for now

The past two days I’ve been spending my time doing class/study oriented things for Chinese Politics. We have this thick reader book which contains crazy articles we have to read before class. Crazy workload on a summer school in my opinion. On Monday I spent most of the day reading it and then went to class, got back/chilled before we went out for another dinner at the same Peking Duck restuarant with our teacher. That place has the best Chinese food in town. I actually ate a lot of the food. Was super yummy. Wish they had the place on campus!

Today, I had more class, intermediate chinese and politics again in the afternoon. So had to prepare again! It’s kinda bleh having to waste my time in Beijing by reading articles for class, but the Chinese Politics class is really interesting – will tell you guys about it when I get back, however I’m considering dropping it to increase my exploring time in Beijing. Tonight a few of us are going for some hot pot, then maybe mission out afterwards to some clubs or shizzle.

So other stuff: our beds are really hard. The matress is thinner than a futon, so it’s impossible to sleep on your side. However, since my roommate is gone, I grabbed his matress and stuck it under mine. So much better. hehe.

Beijing is a really rough place, especially in summer. Everyone is sweaty and the humidity is crazy. What makes it worse are these siff sewage smells I’ve told you guys about, and then of course the famed pantless infants. On a walk past a bus stop you’ll see way too many naked bums or even some child doing his thing in the street. It’s absolutely disgusting! Even worse is the mother breastfeeding on the pavement. Whenever you see a strange puddle on the pavement, it’d be best to steer clear as you never know what it might be. Also, the snorting and spitting thing is still tough to get used to.

But alas, I shall greet you guys now. Not much to write about now. Stupid class. hehe. Tomorrow night there’s a free Beijing Opera performance on campus! Really looking forward to that!

Cheers for now

P.S. – Again, sorry for not posting photos now, I’ll be making a photo blog when I get back, along with a Flickr stream.

Going to the Beijing Zoo seemed like such a lazy supper hot Sunday morning thing to do. Ate some leftover pizza for breakfast (doesn’t taste strange anymore though! haha) and met Mark, Lauren, Izelle along with Mark’s Chinese partner Helen and her friends, Connie and Casy, outside the dorm. They managed to help us get on the bus. It’s the first time I took a bus in Beijing. Woah, that thing is crazy jerky. If you don’t hold on or have a weak sense of balance you’re bound stumble all over the place.

When we got off, we were met with multitudes of tourists, Chinese or otherwise. It was crazy! We first missioned to see some reptiles and amphibians. It was ok, not all that interesting, however some of the toads, reminded me of BattleToads. They looked like some missing link or something! The park was huge to say the least, you have to walk a lot, which did not bode well. I’ve been walking all week, so walking is kinda bleh right now haha, so we strolled at a slow pace to each section.

At first, a zoo in the forsaken Beijing seems odd. It does not make sense to me, to place one here. You see cityscapes and wildlife in one scope. It does not gel too well. The lion and tiger dens were the most shocking. The lions were lazying in their “abodes” just sleeping away the hot weather, however alongside it you could see so many empty water bottles as people tried to stir them with a well aimed shot. It’s the most appaling thing I’ve seen a long time. I felt so sad for the lions. I even witnessed one idiot chuck a bottle straight into the lion’s face and it did not stir. It thus seems the lions are used to it. It is a sad affair. The tiger (which was beautiful by the way) was also strolling around looking for munchies on the ground. It found a packet of eaten chicken legs someone chucked into the grounds. It was so horrible to see it.

The bears, although funny, were also thrown with food. The bears have even learned to do tricks so that people will throw them food, where it explicitly says don’t feed them. One bear even had a cracker stuck on his back from a misthrow by someone.

The pandas however where in sealed rooms so the crowds could not interfere. They were especially cute: typically panda. In the end, I don’t mind zoos if the animals are correctly cared for, but this zoo just upset me. The pandas were a highlight though.

So the first week in Beijing has passed. It felt as if I’ve done so many things in such a short time span. At first I struggled to get a grip of this strange place, but now I’m firmly in the zone and met some kiff friends. The next two weeks will probably go by within the wink of an eye. For some strange reason I wouldn’t mind going back to SA. I miss food, friends and family, but this place is just too unique to just quickly shrug off. When people told me to prepare myself for a culture shock, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I thought it would be nothing really. Luckily I adapted quickly. Nothing beats lots of water, sleep and vitamins (thanks mom!). About the water: it’s amazing how much you drink in Beijing. I go through at least 3-4 bottles in a day.

Anyhoo, I’ve got to get back to my dorm and start reading my Chinese Politics readers for class tomorrow afternoon. I don’t usually have class on Monday, but only for next week it was moved from the previous Thursday.

Cheers for now

The Wangfujing mission was amazing last night (Day 4).  Was definitely not what I expected. The pictures (which I’ll probably post when I get back) will show you the amazing street. It’s a big street with lots of lights and shops: think Times Square type vibe, but Chinese. There were also these small alleys with many Chinese ornaments and vendors: and yes there were live  scorpions to be cooked. Alas, I didn’t brave it, but I’m definitely going back to get some the scorpion munchies! Bought some kiff stuff for the flat and saw a schweet ukulele, that I’ll probably go and buy later. We strolled for quite some time there, but our feet were killing us so missioned back on the subway. Chinese trains are interesting and typically crowded. It however takes really long to get to places. Beijing is BIG! However, the best way to kill time is to get in the zone and that is exactly what happened.

Somehow it got out that Erin, a third year girl, likes linguistics and knows Tolkien’s alphabet (yes, she knows Elfish, but can’t speak it). We started talking along with Jenny (another kiff third year girl) about linguistics and languages. Later it evolved into religion and all such jazz. All this while we were missioning home on the train. Felt like a Waking Life moment. Was so kiff!

Day 5

I had class as usual in the morning, but pretty much had nothing planned for the afternoon. I did research for my trip before I went, and found out there is a street called Gulou Dajie which is famous for having literally guitar shop, games shop, guitar shop etc. So I made my first solo mission on the subway. Got there and strolled in the street. Was fascinating! Many memorabilia stores with figurines and such. Saw some awesome things to get for my friends! I made my way back, extremely tired from all the walking.

That night we all missioned as a group to a nearby restuarant to get some Peking duck. The restuarant was awesome! It had seperate rooms with classy decor and stuff. We ordered some good Chinese food (things that were actually edible!) along with the Peking Duck. Was nogals yummy! We ended the night with an ice-cream mission.

Day 6 – Friday

Again, I have classes in the morning, but this time a few of us planned to see The Temple of Heaven in the afternoon. I’ve been entrusted with being the guide, because of superior subway deciphering skills. Pffft, subways are meant to be easy to navigate hahaha, but I play along. Anyhoo, we got there in the afternoon and boy was I impressed. Many said it will be boring, but wow, this place even rivals Versailles. The place is HUGE! The temples majestic and people fascinating. The place was alive with people dancing, playing instruments, doing some sports and all that jazz. Throughout the park they also had speakers playing tradional music. It was quite the magical experience.

However, close to when we were about to go, my chest got strangely congested. It never does. I reckon it might be the city center pollution? Anyhoo, when I got I took a nap to sleep off the strange cough and wheezy bors. Erin then sms’ed to meet her at the campus park along with other people and their Chinese friends. We ended playing Mafia with them! It was so strange and fun to play it with them. One the Chinese dudes’ name was Ross, named after the popular Friends character! He spoke the best English though and I reckon him a formidable player. hehe. Other names include: Peanut, Bonnie, Cherry, Lilly etc. It reminds of the coloured/black people and their names: Diamond, Precious etc.

Day 7 – Saturday

We woke up early to catch a tour organized by the University to the Summer Palace. Scrap that comment about the Temple of Heaven rivalling Versailles, this place was even more epic. It just blew my mind. The scale and the audacity of it was just mesmerizing. Alas, we could not stay long as the bus went back after two-three hours (I guess we only saw like a quarter of the park!).

For lunch some of us decided to try to mission to Mistica Pizza. It’s facade is a western restuarant and to some extent it succeeds. Nice atmosphere and prices (but expensive in China terms). The pizza tasted funny though, but it was pizza so I was very glad! The menu was also hilarious. Many spelling mistakes and Chinglish was abundant.

After that we (Mark, Lauren, Izelle, Jenny) met up with Erin to go to Ya Show market. It’s a 5 story building with clothes and other paraphenalia. We almost didn’t get there as we took a guess which subway to get off. We made it though! haha. Bargaining was the order of the day. It was strange and I completely failed with my first purchase of 65Y for a t-shirt which I could’ve gotten for 30Y. It’s a “I love BJ” t-shirt. +1 for ambiguity!

Also shopped around for a DS Lite, got them down to 500Y (R600), but I’m going to continue looking around first. Also saw some kiff games I wanna get. Bargaining was fun, but I don’t like it that much. I felt too bad for doing it! hahaha. It’s a fun experience though!

Sleepy and tired now, going to the Zoo tomorrow. Would be  fun!

Cheers for now

P.S. – Excuse my typos and grammar. I have to type this without letting my time run out too fast!

Ok, so after the first two days I felt a little distraught. How was I going to cope etc. But alas, I’ve found my zone. Monday night’s karaoke got cancelled so I went to bed early after a Game Boy jam at a park on campus. I donned my earphones and made some tunes, was a nice solace. Tuesday I woke up with renewed vigour. Sup, alas again came in like 4am in the morning, but he at least wasn’t inebriated. Tuesday classes began.

We have class in this HUGE building. It’s insane. I’m taking pictures, but it doesn’t do it justice really. My first class was Primary Chinese at 8. I went to class… no-one was there. For a moment I hesitated my schedule times, but a girl came in and said that the times have changed to 10h. Which was good. The HUGE building was near the west gate, one I don’t normally use. So I decided to stroll around the streets to while away the time. Walked a whole block, just scoping out the shops and things. Then I noticed it again: the smell. I forgot to mention, Beijing has weird smells. Like really distinctive smells. It’s like gag inducing smells. The one this really strong aromatic oil type herb smell that’s always near restuarants and in our dorms. It’s really overpowering. I’ve gotten slightly used to it now, so it’s better. The one other smell is this siff sewage smell that you encounter walking on the streets. Also disgusting.

Anyhoo, as I got back the campus, I whiled a little more and went to class. What a snore fest! The class was way too easy. I’ve since moved to Intermediate Chinese with other classmates. The classes are truly international: Chinese, Korean, Israel, Belguim, Italy, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Canada etc. It’s really interesting. After class I chilled a bit, got some food at this place on campus: Hollywood. It’s like Western food, but done in a Chinese way. Some of the stuff still have this distinct Chinese flavour, but it’s my go to place for munchies now. The portions are huge though for like really cheap. You pay 22Y (R26) for 6-7 huge chicken drumsticks fried in batter (KFC style) with fries. Really was too much to eat. The cokes cost 2Y (R2.5)! Have since ate some eggs and bacon there and some fries; also the place has free Wi-Fi so I chill there while I check my email. I’ve also found this really nice snack in the convenience store at the res. It’s a peanut butter sandwich in a really poofy bag. Funnily enough the company that makes is called Bimbo. haha. There is also a strawberry jam one. Yum!

The afternoon I had Chinese Politics. Wow, it’s really interesting, however it has relative crazy workload. We have to hand in essays and read readers before class etc. But it’s a small price to pay for the interesting Chinese Politics landscape. Really enjoying it! After class, which ends at like 5 in the afternoon I missioned back to dorm to chill and prepare for karaoke. YEAH BABY! To my surprise my roommate was gone! I was elated, he went back to Korea. However, if he comes back sooner, or someone else moves into my room, I can always move in with Mark, one of my classmates, ’cause his roommate also left! WOOP WOOP! Was so happy about it!

So at 6pm, we all missioned to this undeground karaoke place, 15 minutes walk from the campus. It was hella fun! You get a buffet and cooldrinks with the karaoke. We sat this big room with soft couches and it had this big screen projector displaying the words and such. The mics are a little too loud though hahaha. We sang many Western classics; Uptown Girl, Bitter Sweet Symphony, Big big girl etc etc. Was really fun. I was they had these in South Africa. It cost each of us like 54Y (R75) for a big room+free buffet (which alas was Chinese, blegh) and cooldrinks. Booze was expensive though. We were about 14 of us.

Afterwards at like 10pm we still had some buzz left and decided to mission to Propaganda, a club in Wudaokou, which is a popular foreigner hangout. It was one crazy experience! I’ve never been to such a crazy place before. The place is fairly slim, but is has three floors. Graeme, one of the third year students, described it as a more classier Terrace. Because we were foreigners we got a lot of attention and preferential treatment. We pay half price for drinks! I got a double vodka and coke for 10Y(R12). Which is great! Not that much cheaper, but still a good price. The dance area is downstairs. It looks like a dungeon area. The music was this really gangsta type music: ala shake your booty and grind music. The Chinese are not afraid to get jiggy when the music and booze start flowing. I’ve never seen so much grinding and dry humping in a club before. The girls were hit on like crazy by the Chinese guys. Some just can’t take a hint, lol! There also this really androgynous looking kid, which was really really tiny;  like scarily contortionist tiny. She, wish we figured out later, asked Stephanie if she a was a lesbian and swooned around her telling her how beautiful she was. WTF!

Anyhoo, I’m definitely going back there. Very cool place. We stayed until about 1am. I got back with a taxi while Sound of Silence came on the radio. Loved it. This morning, I was a little sleep deprived (+1 for partying and not roommate coming in early like a nocturnal Korean bat). Went to Intermediate Chinese. The class is understandable, but I still struggle to speak on spot. This will definitely force me to improve! The afternoon we decided to mission to the electronic stores again. Again I was amazed. Last time we only checked one floor, now we missioned throughout all the floors. I found the gaming area+arcade! It’s so awesome. I wish I could buy more things, but customs won’t allow me to take it back. There’s a drum controller for 400Y! SUPER CHEAP! Licenced games cost 200Y! I got some nice Mario figurines and saw some awesome stuff to get for my friends. Will go back there in the last week, after I’ve scoped every place! Got lost in the building a few times, but we managed to get out safe. Had some munchies at McDonald’s there. SALVATION! It tastes like the early BP mornings.

Alas, now my time is almost up here at the Internet cafe. Have to mission. We’re going to Wangfujing tonight, a famous night street market! Also sorry about the photos. Don’t have my docking bay with me. Will have to buy a cheap memory card reader somewhere, but I’m afraid to go into  the cheap markets, for the fear of being swamped again. Haha.

Cheers for now