Not so early the next morning, we ventured out into the streets of the Haidian District. The city comes alive with breakfast foods in the morning. Although the smog was still pretty thick it seemed more bearable in the morning. Life blossomed everywhere! I do not know what I ate for breakfast—what it was called that is. It was some sort of sandwich-like food with meat (not sure which kind), green peppers, and other various spices on a bun-like object. It sort of reminded me of a Philly steak sandwich. It was very tasty and I would definitely eat it again!
A while later I went with another experienced teacher by bus to exchange some of my money at a bank. I was amazed at his ability to converse with the teller after only being in China for about 6 months. I was grateful for his help and fully expect to need it again in the very near future. In fact, he is helping me find a bike tomorrow!
After money-exchanging and walking walking walking, we stopped at another teacher’s apartment for lunch—leftovers from the night before. We rested for a while and chatted while drinking cold water (apparently a rarity in China) before heading to our next destination. We walked to another teacher’s apartment close by (also a relative term) to get some transportation cards, try out the used bikes, and briefly use the internet. During this time it was decided that we should visit a nearby Starbucks because it was buy one get one free day. It happened to be the Chinese Valentine’s Day today so Starbucks was having a deal. Knowing this tidbit of information was useful when seeing many people carrying roses throughout the city. Unfortunately 🙂 for the single ladies, the only people we had to share this special day with were the others! It was quite an enjoyable time.
Later, we ate supper at a really cheap restaurant with amazing food. I will definitely not starve here! After supper, it was back to the apartment for some moving, sweeping, mopping, and sweating. Where is this cold shower when you need it? 😉 We all sort of crashed on the couch trying to figure out our new cell phones. The group of teachers decided to visit a ‘restaurant’ (fan dian) for some chuan and pi jiu (beer). (This is pronounced chuar by the Beijing locals.) Chuan 串 is basically lamb on a stick and surprisingly tasty! Each stick was 1 kuai or about 14c. Try to think of it as going out for beer and wings at Buffalo Wild Wings.
Tomorrow I venture out on the subway without any help from an experienced teacher. This should not be a problem since I am now an expert. Hmmm…..more to come at a later date!
Highlights of the day: experiencing the life and activity in the streets of Beijing, amazing Chinese food, briefly seeing the blue sky while enjoying Starbucks with new friends, being “dinked” by another teacher, and successfully giving directions to a taxi driver without help! (I’ll let you figure out what “dinked” means!)
Downers of the day: lingering smog, cold shower in the morning, and the feeling of jet-lag sticking around. Hopefully this will be less and less in the next few days!
