Aug 27 2013

WHOA. Time is flying. I don’t know where it went.

Key thoughts: For your hotel room, there’s a little slot to put your room key in which then allows electricity into your room. Kinda handy, actually, and pretty smart. Oh, and they also give us little combs along with toothbrushes and toothpaste! Mini things! Kinda cute.

To finish up Sunday:

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Center! And talk about another tourist trap. Luckily I didn’t get grabbed or nothing- and even luckier Katie let me use her fan because that sun was killer. We took the subway once again, and were left on our own. It’s kind of cool to walk around the building- I think you can pay to get closer.

Walking around we found a little flat water fountain springing up and kids running through. Katie spent about twenty minutes trying to get the perfect picture of the cutest little boy playing with a red-pink umbrella. And she got some great images! Just adorable, seriously. These kids are so cute, we can’t wait to start teaching!

Oh, and I finally had my American-Celebrity moment. Abby and Greg found us, and the four of us got our picture taken [with Abby’s camera], with the center. And then this Asian couple ran over, took a few pictures and asked to be in the picture with us. It was so funny, weird, crazy, and just fun. More of that to come in the next few months, so I’ve heard! Definitely made me feel special ;)

Katie and I were taking more pictures and got lost from the crowd [unconsciously and yet slightly purposefully?], and wandered around the cool building with a few other neat landmark pieces. It was so hot, but it was really cool to actually see it and be there, you know? We really enjoyed it.

Uh-oh. Guess who had to get us back to our hotel?

She made me do it!

Apparently we’re going to start working on my direction skills, so Katie had me take us back through like three transfer lines and across a few crazy streets [neither of us can get over that chaos] to our room. But I totally aced it! And no, it didn’t take several hours or anything like that. I think we got ice cream after that in celebration.

Okay guys, the ice cream bars here are so funky. We got a cheap one for 1 yuan that had a slight banana taste to it, totally white and definitely sugary. We’ve had another that I think already mentioned slightly tasted like root beer in the center? Yeah, and then there’s this chocolate coated one with purple inside- pastel purple. It sort of tastes like those cheap malt balls around Easter time. Katie thinks it’s kind of fruity. Definitely took a little getting used to, to be honest, but by the halfway mark, I was really enjoying it. There’s also this chocolate and vanilla zebra striped one. Nothing miraculous, but pretty decent. I feel in America they’d cheap that one out and only do the stripes on the outside, whereas mine was inside as well. They also have magnums for 7 yuan!

Speaking of food, a miraculous thing:

Getting off the subway we saw this guy which a medium sized drink, like one bought from a gas station or an ICEE at a movie theater even. Then there was another clear lid type thing put on the opposite way, like a bowl [it was a bit bigger than the lid], with caramel popcorn in it. It was the most ingenious thing ever. And no, he hadn’t just made it on his own, I think, but you can actually buy it like that. Super handy or WHAT?

Then to the third coolest part of the day: Spencer Barnes got his mission call! Now getting to that was quite the adventure as well! Katie wanted to Facetime her little brother ever since she got the email saying he had received the letter. Well, who wouldn’t?

Thus the search for free wifi began! Partially dressed for bed, we stepped out of the hotel and into the street to wander for at least ten minutes up and down our street. Awkwardly standing in the street, we waited for her phone to make the connection between the small crowds of people sitting on tiny chairs at tiny tables eating late meals in front of night vendors serving shish kabobs and more. They gave us the weirdest looks we have yet to receive in this unique country.

But at long last, we were able to make the connection- and then had to hope her brother was willing to get up a few hours early. Poor guy! Fortunately he made the grand sacrifice to answer, though, and share the awesome news.

Northern California!

Of course that was legit to me. He wasn’t too sure on anywhere else besides Sacramento, but I filled in with a few ideas since I was raised there the first 10 years of my life. And that’s still not even to the coolest part-

He’s speaking another language! Pudong, Pumong, some east Asian language. It’s so cool!