My Good Luck Charm

I had the best four days I've had in a long time. It's all because of my bike. Seriously, just riding it around gets me to see people who also ride around, and I've had lunches and dinners with random people.

First off, the day I got my bike (Saturday), I rode it to the foodrepublic at ZhongguanCunPlaza. While there, I had the BEST chicken curry dish in a long time at the foodrepublic. Plus the Food Republic is essentially a health zone, emphazing fruits and eating right. I had an energizing smoothie for about$1. Then, I went to a coffee shop to read a book and have redbean with ice. It was fantastic. Right before I left the store, I heard an up and coming singer promoting her album. She looked like most girls in Beijing (very beautiful and young) wearing jeans and a nice top, but most of all, she had an amazing voice and it radiated within the plaza. I think she won some Chinese idol competition. I could be so wrong, but I'm glad I got to see someone who will be very famous in the not too distant future.

Then on Sunday, I rode my bike because I had to stop studying, and fortunately I met two of my favorite down to earth friends in the program, Bennet and Billy. Then we went to the Medicine House to eat some black chicken soup, kungpao chicken, and tomato and eggs. I thought it was nice, because it was a comfortable atmosphere and I had good company.

Then, when I went onto the elevator to bring my bike back to my room, I ran into William and Lydia. William, I haven't seen since Nanjing. Before Nanjing, I hadn't seen him since Zhengzhou. I figured it was time to have a nice chat. It was probably the best decision I've made. We talked until 3 AM about Buddhism and just enjoying life. Hen fang song!

Then William and I decided the next day to take the train to Chaoyang District. We stumbled onto the Pink line (THE NEW LINE), and it was just as amazing as Nanjing's, BUT even cleaner. We wanted to go to Maggie's, a foreigner's place. But when we got there, the guard asked me if I was really a foreigner. Then I spoke English, but he wasn't convinced. So we couldn't go in. Then William tells me that in the book he read, Chinese people are discriminated upon entering. Talk about feeling rejected. When we talked to the taxi driver, he even told us that if I wasn't there, William could've entered. He also said it was a whorehouse and most of the time only guys go there. *.* Then we went to Sanlitun to check out people, just a fun activity. But there was no one there on a Monday night. So we went to Houhai. It was so romantic. After walking into bars and being chased by a girl who tried to sell William flowers, we went back to Sanlitun for pizza, sandwiches, and carbonated drinks. I don't eat at12 at night ever. But since he paid an arm and a leg, I just broke a habit. No problem, it is just one day of my life, it was fun.

Today while I was riding my bike after studying, I stumbled onto Henry, our favorite KouYu comedian. He said he had tickets to CCTV, so I skipped one class to go. Since the media is controlled by the government, so I wanted to see how shady this was. IT WAS SHADY. We looked outside the location and it looked like a run down factory. Then you go inside and it looks like the SNL set in New York City, boundless technology. It was so fake though, because they said it was live on camera. And then, they made several cuts everytime the host would sweat or stumble on his words. The contestants were planted in the audience, although they looked randomly selected. And if the audience did something stupid, we'd have to work on our behavior. Talk about control. We left at some point. Before we left the factory, we watched another program being taped with a 5 guy boy band promoting their album on a TV show, like Regis and Kelly. Only the guy was Chinese, and the girl was Russian (SHE SPOKE PERFECT CHINESE and Henry called her a milf). The girl said something wrong, so they cut it, and the boy band reperformed their routine. I enjoyed watching them, but I'm disappointed that a live show was redone, and it loses the personality of the hosts. They're like robots.

Then, the other Henry who drove us there talked about how Beida was government patrolled. I never realized this until now. THERE are alot of government cars and officials on campus. Why wouldn't there be? Beida students participated in the mishap at TianAnMen and caused alot of riots in Chinese Modern History and the government needs to control that or else more people could die. We passed by the Marco Polo Bridge, where the Japanese invaded and killed Chinese people. It gets CHILLING when you live in Beida and drive through places where alot of killings took place. Henry also said his mom's friend lived in Beijing 20 years ago, and the biggest road we drove on (ZHONG GUAN CUN) used to be farmland. It's changed alot. Older people have no idea where they are in this perserved but quickly developing city.

Oh, at CCTV, I was with two Henry's and a different William that plays Badminton from Canada. When we got back to campus, William from Canada rode my bike and I thought he was so disproportional because of his height, like Nick's situation. After all, my bike's wheels are awfully small, but adorable. I played Badminton with him. I loved listening to his smashes. It sounds like Janiene's, only that because his arms are so long, he didn't have to jump or move far to control the net. I WATCHED IN AWE! I saw quite a few amazing players tonight, and they play it like the book. They hit it at the sweet spot, kept clearing, and stayed on their feet. It brought back memories of high school, only they played at a level I've only seen on TV. I totally respect that, except when I wanted to join the club, they said because my experience is not enough, they don't want me to be apart of it. That's ASHAME! These are world class players, and four years of high school Badminton isn't even enough to enter the club, not the team.

But anyway, my bike has brought me good luck for the past three days. I recommend getting a bike because I've seen so much more, eaten so much better food, and I come across incredible people. I've only had my bike for five days. Whoever told me its too late to buy a bike clearly doesn't have one.