Oh, China!

Oh another day when I need to blog before I forget everything and fall asleep! Today was my second day of sightseeing with Qing and she met me at the hostel at 8:30. We took the subway to the Summer Palace, which was a ways away! It was really beautiful (although it was foggy..) but it had a LOT of steps and was very spread out, so I was tired when we left.

The Summer Palace was the first place I have been asked to have my picture taken! Good thing Qing was there because I don’t speak Chinese and would have had no idea what they were saying.

We then took a short taxi ride to the Old Summer Palace, which was mostly just ruins (stuff I am not really into..) BUT one thing I loved was the maze! Qing told me that the emperor would sit in the gazebo in the middle and all the concubines would race through the maze at night and the first one to get to him got a gift from him (get your mind out of the gutter)!! I thought that was funny. Overall, I thought it was overrated. Maybe because I am not into “ruins” and it was a LOT of walking, it was very cold and I was hungry. Qing told me there weren’t any places to eat nearby so we decided to take the subway to lunch. But, there were vendors outside and instead got some egg pancake thing. My first couple of bites were good, but then not so much. Luckily I was prepared with snacks of my own.

We took the subway back to my hostel so I could get my postcards and a box of things I wanted to mail home (to save on space and weight). We walked to the post office and I was SO glad she was there! First of all, the U.S.A on my postcards (or Ecuador if you’re Steve McGunnigal) had to be in Chinese. I have no idea how I would have managed that if she wasn’t there. Then, everything had to be inspected. It took us FOREVER but I finally managed to get a box and everything packed. I chose the slowest and cheapest way (it said 3 months but Qing thinks it will be sooner..) but figured I don’t need those things until I am home anyway (no peaking Mom and Dad)!! It was quite an experience.

I asked her if she could take me back to Tiananmen Square (since the weather was so bad yesterday). I wanted to take some pictures and also see “The Egg” which is a venue that holds ballet shows, etc. I was so happy I asked her to go back because it was definitely cool to see everything without being FREEZING and wet and with snow in my face!

She then told me I could return my subway/bus pass and get 20RMB. At first it sounded like a great idea..but after we got started I thought..is this really worth $3? We had to walk to the bus stop and then take a bus to another stop and walk..well quite a bit. When we finally made it, the line was SO long. We waited for about 5 minutes (we had only moved up one person) when I told Qing it really wasn’t a big deal and she could keep my card (as a tip!) So that was that! We parted ways. Overall I am SO very glad I was able to hire her as a guide. It would have been exhausting trying to do everything by myself and it was so nice to “follow” someone for once.

When I got back I quickly went to the bank and grocery shopping before I met my friends for dinner. We had talked about going to the movies (the movie 2012), so we decided to check it out. I had read you need to pick your seats when you buy the ticket (like an airplane) so that was VERY interesting. I asked the ticket woman if she spoke English (she said a little) and we tried our best. It is very interesting because I feel like a lot of Chinese who don’t speak English feel inadequate. They get very shy and almost embarrassed when they can’t understand. I shouldn’t say “they” but the majority of people I have encountered have acted this way and I find it very interesting and almost sad. I am in their country and feel like I should be speaking their language, not the other way around.

We asked her about the 7:45 showing and she said it was 80RMB per person which we thought was a bit expensive (about $12 which is normal for the U.S.) So we asked about other prices and she said after 9:30 it was 40RMB. The next show after 9:30 was at 9:45 so we checked out seats but only the first row was open and we knew it was a long movie so decided on the 7:45 showing. Since we had splurged a bit on the movies Callum recommended we go to the Noodle place because it is good AND cheap, so the five of us (Randi, Ali, Callum, Helena and myself) had a quick dinner before heading back to the movies. Dinner was, interesting. I ordered rice and a chicken dish..but had NO idea how spicy it was going to be. It started off..ok..but then I QUICKLY ordered a sprite because my water was no help. I downed that sprite and had to order ANOTHER. It amazes me how spicy a dish could be! It got to the point my LIPS were burning..really bad.

We made it to the movies right on time and it was very fun because it felt very “western”. The movie theater was huge and packed and the seats were very comfortable. They only have 5 minutes of previews which I liked. The movie was ok..typical end of the world movie! BUT without ruining it I have to tell some stories. The movie is about how in 2012 it is going to be the end of the world. For part of the movie this man is looking for a map that will tell him where he needs to go to get on a ship that will save humans! So there is ALL this suspense about finding the map, then he almost loses it, etc. So FINALLY the people in the movie ask, “WHERE ARE WE GOING?” And he opens up the map and it says..CHINA! Ahhh the theater went CRAZY it was so funny! Everyone was clapping and cheering. So then, they arrive in China and in the movie someone comments (about the factory they had built), “Wow I can’t believe how quickly they built this, etc.” and in the movie another character says, “Only the Chinese could do this” and again people went CRAZY! It was so funny. There was one part of the movie that has Tibetan monks who were speaking Mandarin but the subtitles were still in Mandarin (where in the U.S. they would be in English) so we had NO clue what was going on but it was funny when everyone laughed and we were just like..uuuh?

We really had a GREAT time at the movie but I was exhausted after getting back and am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

Hugs and kisses from a Chinese movie theater.