Beginning of the Week

Thursday August 14, 2008
Monday I slept in, then Sam and I went to the dumpling place near the Coffee Beanery. We ate way to many dumplings, then got coffee and then walked home. We chilled at the house and watched the Olympics and were generally boring.

Rick, Sam and I went to a place near Rick's for dinner, had some great ribs and crispy rice stew, then Rick and I went to Hemp House because Sam wasn't feeling well. We hung out there, played some pool and saw Yeshi, Rick's Tibetan friend who was with a friend. They had some drinks with us, Rick went home, and I stayed out with them. We left the bar and went downstairs to a good shou cou (bbq) place and ate and talked and then took a cab home.

On Tuesday I got up and walked over to Rick's. We took a cab north to a wholesale market, which is one of the most incredible shpping experiences I've ever had. Essentially, it is blocks and blocks of stalls, set off of roads, in mazy courtyards and in basements. The stalls are not organized in any way, and sell everything from kitchen supplies to soap to water fountains to ashtrays to posters to athletic equipment, etcc. And the best part is that bargaining is allowed. So I bought 3 knock-off soccer jerseys, a soccer ball, some pillowcases, a tea cup with strainer, a half-pound of rubber bands, a bunch f double-A batteries and a retro Montreal Expos baseball cap. It was a good afternoon of shopping.

Then we caught a cab down to Sichuan University for soccer, arrived about half an hour early and warmed up. We trounced the Chinese again, although I once again failed to score given a great opportunity. After the game Rick and I high-tailed it to the Bookworm for trivia. We met a few other expats on our team, mainly Brits, and took second place. Trivia is every other week so it should be a good activity. After trivia I was exhausted, took a cab home by myself and showered before bed.

Wednesday I got up and watched No Country For Old Men, Sam and I ordered food and then watched some Olympics. Then we went to a neighborhood tea-house and whiled away the afternoon playing do di ju and sipping tea – it was a very Chengdu afternoon. Then we hung out at Rick's place for a little while and met up with Pete for dinner, walking through the rain. I bought an umbrella, as a basketball jersey doesn't keep the rain off too well. We went to Sweetlick's (as we call it) in Yulin and got some great food, including some great sweet n sour chicken (the first time I've had it in China). Oh, also, there are no fortune cookies in China.

After dinner we grabbed a cab to Oz and Callum's for poker. They live at the 29th story of an apartment building downtown that afforded great views of the river and the other skyscrapers. We had 8 players (Adam – English, Oz – English, Callum – Scottish, Pete, Rick, me, Sam and Nate – all Americans) and played til late. Oz, Adam and Nate went to go to shou cou and Sam and I took a cab home and fed the piranhas.