Today we got to a late start because we were up very very late last night (almost 3am). We got up at about 8am, but didn’t actually get really going until later – maybe 11am. The first hours of the day were spent slowly getting up, going to CCB to get money from BoA (another 3,000 RMB) and then we went to some other bank so Justin could open an online account there (I think it was China Merchant’s Bank).
After we got going, we walked almost to Peking University on the road that our hotel is on. Just before one of the gates to the university we met four of his college friends at Ho’s Restaurant. Justin and I paid for it for all of us (which was 267 RMB). I thought that it was good, but I’m not sure that they did. They tried to order things that they thought that I would like so that it wasn’t too spicy (which of course is what they all like). 🙂 Occasionally they would break from the mandarin and ask me something in English. I don’t really have to worry about my voice going out over here as I don’t talk much (not that I do in America either though). I also liked this meal and day not only because of the food, but because of the company. They all know that Justin is gay so I can actually be myself. They asked how we met (Internet), how long we’ve been together (Oct 13, 2007 officially became boyfriends), how long since I came out (2yrs), who initiated the boyfriend-ship (me), etc. It felt good.
After dinner, we all went for a walk through Peking University. At all the gates to the University there are guards who check all of the student IDs, but they just let me go without even saying anything. I was told after we got through the gate that it’s because they don’t know any English so they don’t want to say anything! Once we got into the University and were walking out, I pulled out the iPhone. I found yesterday that I couldn’t connect to the wireless in the hotel. After doing some digging, I found that the iPhone (and Apple TV) can’t connect to any wireless networks that don’t have standard characters in them (eg: a-Z, 0-9). The one in the hotel is all in chinese characters so connecting just plain doesn’t work. Guess that’s something they’ll have to fix before the iPhone can ever come to China. Anyway, I pulled it out at PKU so that I could see if I could find a wifi that I could connect to. I wanted to try and update the iPhone, but ended up having no such luck. I got Google once, but we were walking and every other access point either didn’t give me an IP or just didn’t work. Bummer – going to try later sometime.
Anyway, we walked along quite a long stretch of the University. I think it’s bigger than Purdue, but Justin isn’t sure. Almost all of the pictures below are from various buildings on campus. About halfway through the pics are a few of the stadium used in the Olympics for ping-pong. The one with Justin in front of a door is him in front of the lab he worked at here at PKU. A few pics later, there is one of Justin and then me with a huge naked statue. Apparently it was donated to PKU but no-one really likes it. It’s… strange. 🙂
After some more walking, we came to the PKU water tower (no longer actually in use) and the lake. As it is winter, the lake is frozen so there were many many people that were skating on it. There are pictures below of that and of several buildings in the area. The buildings are quite ornate and beautiful. After walking some more, the group started to thin out and eventually it was just Justin and I again. We left the University and Justin wanted to show me some more stuff before we called it a day.
We next went to what’s called the “Silicon Valley of China.” It was madness. There are tons of knock-off products in there but we got out quickly also because the people at the booths practically pull you in and it is almost insanity in there. Next up, we went to Carrefore. Carrefore is actually French I think, but it can be thought of as a Super-Walmart. Walmart came to China late so although there are Walmarts, Carrefore is more popular. Now, this is where the insanity was most visible. All of Carrefore is underground in two sub-levels (food is on the upper-level and everything else is on the lower level). Before you can get to the actual Carrefore entrance, you go through a mall. We were getting hungry so we ate at KFC. This was an expensive meal and it really wasn’t that much food. It’s not like the KFC’s in America at all – it’s more like a McDonald’s. It was 64.5 RMB (there are a few pictures of it below). After eating we then went to Carrefore. The shere number of people in there is truely staggering. I’ve never seen such madness and craziness as I saw in that one place. It’s hard to describe. There is one picture below with Justin and a stuffed animal. I’m not sure just how much is visible in it, but that was from inside of Carrefore.
Eventually, we got what we wanted (some food and face wash) and escaped from there. It was only about a block from our hotel so we went back. Justin’s got to be working shortly on his CV for the Visa which is tomorrow. If he gets a “check” status, then he has to wait three weeks before he can try again which would mean I’d have to go home by myself and he’d be staying here, something I would truely hate. He’s taking a nap right now while I work on this blog post. I’ll be waking him up in about 2 minutes and then I’ll take a 30min nap to try to recover. My back is shot from all the non-stop walking today.
Pics are attached, feel free to comment or whatever! Until tomorrow, have a good night.
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