好完儿！

I had sort of forgotten how much fun China can be.


Last night XG, (my Chinese friend/tutor/tour guide/guardian angel) and I went and saw a rock show at the venue called Mao. There were five bands playing punk to post rock, lots of smoking, and by the end of the night, more waiguoren (foreigners) than Chinese. I haven't been to rock show in years and had a lot of fun. Between studying on my own and hanging out with XG, my 中文 is getting better by the day.


More fun: I went shopping today, which I normally avoid. But having won tickets to a party at club China Doll this weekend to see DJs Cyantific and Logistics,
I decided it might be nice to have something besides hiking boots or sneakers on my feet. Walking around the silk market was a bit overwhelming, but in the end I came away proud of my bargaining and with a few fake brand-name goodies in tow. I got to speak a lot of Chinese and found the people working there to be very nice, once I took off my headphones and started talking to them. (I've discovered that wearing large headphones is very practical: they deter unwanted conversation, keep my ears warm, and if I choose, sometimes allow me to listen to conversation the surrounding people assume I can't hear. And of course, they deliver spirit lifting music and thought provoking prattle.)



Before shopping, I met up with a local Frenchmen I'd come in contact with on thebeijinger.com, the ex-pat website where I won the tickets. He moved to Beijing two years ago and told me a lot of very useful information, such as always look at the toilet of a place you're thinking of renting first. This is the best way to gauge the quality of an apartment or office. Also that I should divide whatever they're asking for at the silk market by 10, and that there are 400 million people with internet access in China. He related some of his experiences owning a company and working for Macintosh, and explained that you must be Chinese or have a Chinese business partner to have a company that sells products in China, but not services. Hmmm.

He also observed that there are basically two types of foreigners in China, those that like it, and those that don't. He encouraged me to just be positive, and I'd be one of the ones that enjoys it. 当然呢！