Trick or Treat: Beijing Style

Besides the stuffiness and coughing that seems to find me every night, I slept well! And, peace out intestinal difficulties! Imodium has become my new best friend! I slept in and spent the morning just relaxing..although I did shower!

My plan, since I was feeling better, was to go to Peking University, the main university in Beijing. It didn’t sound like anything amazing but I thought it would be fun to see the campus. Wudaokou is an area nearby and has lots of shopping and restaurants and I had read the area was frequented by international students. Oh, and most importantly, it had a PIZZA HUT!

I was getting ready to start my day and ran into Ali in the hall so we talked and she asked what I was doing. I told her my plans and she asked if I wanted company. I said of course and we were off! It took us almost ALL of line 10 to get to our subway stop to switch lines and of course, neither of us had a seat. We managed to get ourselves to the university without any problems and it was fun to walk around! In one area there was a beautiful lake with trails and it was a beautiful fall day so we were happy to get out of the city part of Beijing.

We stopped by a souvenir store and I decided I needed just a few most postcards! I found a package deal I liked, picked it up and continued walking. I was quickly stopped by a woman who informed me (in Chinese) that I needed to pay for them there. I have learned this about Beijing..you pay for things in a certain area rather than at a final checkout. So I apologized a million times and she understood. To make matters worse, I realized the postcard package I picked up was for display only. They had the new wrapped versions in the back. But then it got VERY confusing! She kept pointing to the postcards I wanted, saying new. Ali, who knows some Mandarin, tried to understand, as did I. We finally understood she was trying to tell us new, n-e-w as she spelt it out for us. Then I thought she was telling me they didn’t have any new ones so I was out of luck. So I thanked her and walked away, only to find her calling me back! Come to find out, they didn’t have any new ones, but if I wanted I could take the display version! Fine with me! After what seems like FOREVER I made my purchase and we left!

Ali and I tried to go the library but couldn’t get in without a student pass! So we decided at that point we were very hungry and I convinced her we should go to Pizza Hut! We took a cab to Wudaokou, although we may have been able to walk it but we didn’t have all day so I think we made a smart move! We were dropped off and spotted the Pizza Hut up ahead so quickly walked towards it! Along the way we passed all these people selling EVERYTHING you could think of! At first it was fun but then it was too crowded and we wanted our pizza!

The woman at the front desk of Pizza Hut was dressed up for Halloween..we were SO excited! We also took our picture in front of their Halloween sign! We were seated upstairs and it was BEAUTIFUL!!! Much nicer than the Pizza Hut’s at home! Also, their menu was EXTENSIVE. Pages upon pages of appetizers, soups, salads, pizza, pasta dishes, meat dishes, really it was amazing! Ali found a GREAT deal and we were able to get 2 chocolate milkshakes, a salad, 2 personal pan pizzas and a dessert! Everything was delicious! And pizza never TASTED so good! It was a great American meal!

While Ali was in the bathroom, this guy came over (who was sitting behind us) and said to me, “Excuse me, hablas espanol?” I was thrown for a loop because I speak English, attempt Mandarin, but was now hearing Spanish! I told him “uuh un poco!” to which he replied, (in Spanish) “Are you here in Beijing studying?” I told him I was here volunteering and said I didn’t know how to say volunteer in Spanish. Then, he changed to English and said, “And you’re here with your friend?” Geeze we were speaking too many languages! So I said yes and he said after we were done he would like to give me his number. I was confused and said fine and he left.

When Ali got back I quickly explained the situation and then he was back! He asked Ali if she spoke Spanish and she said a little at which time he handed us his number and asked for ours! Ali’s phone is lost in a cab somewhere (true story) and my phone STILL doesn’t have minutes on it (true story) so Ali made up an email to give him.

Then I asked where he was from (in Spanish, proud of me Steve?) and he said Ecuador! Ahh I was so excited! So I said (in Spanish AGAIN!) that my boyfriend was in Ecuador for the year teaching near Guayaquil and I asked where he was from in Ecuador. He’s 3 hours away but knew right where Duran is. So anyway, small world! We left and Ali felt bad for giving him a fake email because he ended up being not as creepy as we originally thought. AND I am happy because if Steve get’s on my nerves when I go visit him in April, I know I have someone else to crash with! Ha!

We left Pizza Hut for the subway because we wanted to leave for the amusement park around 5:30. But, we ended up getting back a little late. Then, Randi was trying to get in touch with Steven, who is Chinese but speaks English. He was at the hostel for a bit but is staying somewhere else now. I think he is here for work for a software company. So anyway, I met Callum, from Wales when we got back to the hostel! He just turned 18 and just graduated high school. He is in Beijing for a month doing a medical internship before he returns to Wales to go to medical school.

Steven was able to meet us at our hostel and we were off! We decided to take the subway to the end of the line and then a taxi from there since it was rush hour! I was SO glad Steven was with us because he was able to flag down the taxi and tell him where to go! So the girls went in one taxi and the boys in another! Although it took us a while to get there because apparently ALL of Beijing wanted to go as well! The park was VERY cool! I’m not sure I would compare it to Disney, but it was HUGE (much bigger than Canobie Lake Park for those of you familiar with it). It was all decorated for Halloween with cobwebs and pumpkins everywhere! Part of the park was closed (it doesn’t usually stay open at night) so it took us a while to get to the actual rides! They had people dressed up (the scream mask was popular) and would jump out and try to scare you (I’ll admit, they got me a couple of times!) Also, they had people with like inflatable axes that would hit your butt as you walked by..only in China! We saw a couple of rides but the lines were RIDICULOUS! I think because half the park was closed, it was Halloween, etc. We finally decided we couldn’t leave without going on ANYTHING, so we found a smaller ride, but still waited 2 hours for it! It was BEYOND freezing! (Literally..I think it was 35 degrees when we left) The ride was fun, but when it was over Ali turned to me and said, “That was great! Not worth 2 hours, but great!” That pretty much summed it up! We were all SO cold so we stopped in somewhat of a warm inside area and got “chicken on a stick!” It was pretty good, a little spicy but good! I was ready to go..but everyone wanted to stay so we started walking again until it started raining, well, freezing rain! I can’t say I was bummed to be leaving, but it really was miserable! It was a bit of a walk to exit the park, and since EVERYONE was leaving finding a taxi was near impossible. Apparently, in the future, the pink line will be added to the subway and Happy Valley will have a direct stop, but for now, taxi. We had to walk a ways to get away from the crowd to find a taxi. I couldn’t have been happier! I was SO cold! I felt at one with the phrase “chilled to the bone!” When we got back to the hostel the first thing I did was to take the HOTTEST shower ever. I knew it was probably bad for me but it felt SO good and was the only way to warm up!

All in all I had a great day..and night! Granted it was VERY cold and we only went on one ride, the amusement park was a great way to spend Halloween in Beijing!

Hugs and kisses from Happy Valley Amusement Park!