Henan / Doug's Birthday

I didn't expect to go to Henan this weekend. I ended up running into Nick after class who told me that he wanted me to go, so I did. Turns out, one of the participants got sick, so I took his seat. We went on hard sleepers so I went into three out of a dozen compartments to talk to people. Steven, Jessie, Eileen, Max, etc. are so funny, since a few of them are gay, and they just know how to have a good time. It was Peter's birthday, so that compartment had alot to drink. I like James Crosby for always trying to diffuse awkward situations since I was the only one not drunk. Actually Sina probably wasn't either. Talking to white Chris, asian Chris, James, Sherene, Billy (before he was asleep) was really cathartic because we never really talked before that and sleeper's high contributed or served an excuse for our honesty. We slept at 4:30 and I still woke up at 7 AM. Jogging in the morning helps me naturally wake up.

At Henan in Zhengzhou, I got a chance to talk to William. He is an English major with a dry sense of humor. People say that he's quiet, which is true, but he's more observant than people give him credit for. Since he sat next to me on the whole bus ride, I got a chance to tell him what has been on mind these past three weeks, and I really appreciated that genuinely listened to what I had to say. And he knew when to say insert his comments, which were sharp and clever. He reminds me alot of my sister, Linda, but he's alot more free spirited.

Zhengzhou was a mess. Not really a mess, I enjoyed it immensely, but our dao you was really shady. She acted alot younger than her age, which people tolerate in China, except the way she dressed and her makeup asked for attention. Apparently her second job is a matchmaker. Since that night at KTV and the coffeeshop was really messed up, I'll just tell you when I get back in the states.

Last night, Doug celebrated his birthday at Kro's Nest. I didn't go but I eventually heard about it at 12 AM last night when his body slammed at my door and I immediately woke up. When I opened the door, he was on the floor just laughing with Bennet and Aileen. We eventually got him up and he ran into his room. Jiuby on the other hand was really drunk and asked the taxi driver to bring him to Ximen which is silly because Youliao is 15 minutes away. He ended up sleeping at the Ximen gate so the police picked him up and drove him to Youliao with a smile on their face. Yup word travels fast in Youliao. But I love my hallmates because they are just true blue.