I know I haven't written much this week, but between my exhaustion and non-stop desire to explore the city, I've had a limited amount of time to write anything down! Rather than going back and explaining every detail, as I usually like to do, I will just highlight a few more things I may have forgotten to write down, so in years to come, I will be able to remember this trip vividly.
1. The train ride over here. Sitting on the middle bunk with Carmelo, Lexi, Courtney, and myself (the bunks are not that large) and teaching Carmelo how to play BS. He rather enjoyed using that phrase throughout the trip, especially to the vendors who tried to rip me off. Speaking of getting ripped off, a vendor at the silk market was rather frustrated with me and went behind my back and pretended to hit me in the head with my ukulele. Well, good thing Carmelo understands Chinese and what the lady was mumbling about me, and he came in, took the ukulele, and said he would set her shop on fire if she touched me. He's a good one to have around.
2. Beijing. It is rising. That is all.
3. Cedric at 7-eleven, and myself leaning against the tree just outside that a man informed me, after the fact if course, that someone had just peed on. They're all for using the bathroom in the streets, on trees, in trash cans, etc. here.
4. Corn's and my washcloths that we had to use as towels. We aren't the brightest, and forgot to bring a normal sized towel, most of our hostels had provided them before. However, we weren't fortunate enough this time to have one, so we bought two from the front desk. They were pastel pink and green and had lovely embellishments of birds on them. The best part was that they covered about one fourth, if that, of our bodies.
5. The mysterious bread napper. Jenna had purchased a brand new loaf (loaves here are like 6-8 pieces, usually) and counted the pieces, so she could determine how many sandwiches she could make. Each day, a piece of her loaf went missing, but not because Jenna ate it, they just magically disappeared. Once Jenna's loaf was gone, the napper moved onto Courtney's bread.
Who it was will forever be a mystery to us.
6. Our roommate from New York. She always talked to us during the wee hours of the night, about scattered topics, typically. She was a chatter, and even though I didn't always understand her variegated rambling, she was a fun one to have met.
7. Our sweet friend Jackie, always in the best of moods and so eager to spread his happiness all around. "I just want to know that...", was a common phrase he would begin with, and always end with an excited, "oh yessss". I'm going to miss this guy; he said he will visit us in Zhongshan before we leave, so hopefully that wasn't the last time I see him.
8. Sweet Carmelo. He was so kind and giving to me the entire trip, whether it was him making sure I had food, that my hair was dry after the shower (he assisted one evening, because my small towel wasn't cutting it) that I got on and off the train quickly enough, etc. he just always went out of his way to make sure I was comfortable and taken care of. However, sometimes I'm resistant to help because I feel bad or am confident I can do it on my own, so him calling me out on my stubbornness gave me a little reality check of how stubborn I really am. He said it so kindly, though, so I took it as constructive criticism, rather than an insult. He's a wise one, I really care about him. It was a sad goodbye this morning, but I'm sure we will all see him again while we are still here.
9. The constant hollers while walking down the halls of the silk and pearl market, "hey girl, you want to buy a scarf" or "come in my shop, I will give you a student discount" etc. etc. Some of the people at these markets were ruthless, but I must admit, my bartering skills did improve greatly throughout. I made a few angry, yet made some good friends as well. These markets were just so fun, I could go everyday for the entertainment alone.
10. One of the funniest, or scariest, experiences of the trip was when I began to slide down the steep slope of the Great Wall. I chose to wear the toms I had purchased the day before, and found that to be a very large mistake. They were cute, yes. But did they have any support or traction? Not in the slightest. On one of the steepest hills we climbed, I lost my footing, fell to the ground, and Courtney tried to help me, but all she had in arms reach was my hair. It was a painful fall, and catch, but it was so funny that I couldn't help but laugh.
Beijing was incredible, I couldn't have asked for a better vacation.
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