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still here....

Dearest readers,

   I hope that all remains at peace in the world, since I have been cut off from it. I found this evening, while searching facebook, that George Carlin has died! Ye gods, why don't I find things out sooner. After informing the rest of our group at the internet cafe, we all settled into a brooding silence, wondering what other terrible events could befall the world without our knowledge.
     On a lighter note, things in Beijing have sort of improved. Barring the 6 hours of class 4 days a week and the less-than-ideal living conditions we are experiencing, Beijing is a pretty cool city. We frequented the most American restaurant we could find last night, that bastion of safety and deliciousness that only America could provide: Hooters. That's right, a hooters in Beijing, with all the normal amenities, including scantily-clad ladies. Dinner was expensive though, almost 200 U.S. for 10 of us. Now that I think about it, the more I'm here, the stingier I become. Back in the states, spending 20 bucks for dinner was no big thing, but now, it's atrociously expensive. Was the Americana taste worth it? I guess. DJ and I got to watch some F1 racing, eat some wings, but the most exciting part of the evening were the girls. The hooters girls all agreed to do their hooters song and dance for us, it was....nice. If I could include pictures at this internet cafe, I would. Anyway, we all went home with full bellys and played some Mahjong for a while (best game ever).
     The neatest thing about Beijing is something called "Silk Street". this place is the bastion of capitalism in a collectivist society. Essentially, it is 5 floors of counterfeit goods. I'm talking shirts, coats, pants, jackets, backpacks, shoes, bags, purses, you name it. We have visited this wonderful locale a number of times now to purchase gifts and items for our own enjoyment. The only thing I wish I could find is books. English books outside of classics (Shakespeare, Twain, etc.) are impossible to find. I miss books.....
     We climbed yet another mountain today, by far the worst yet. While the other mountains were shorter, or had flatter paths, this beast was a non-stop uphill destruction derby of pain. It is the most miserable I have ever been in this country, thank the gods for the ski-lift trip down the mountain, the best 10 minutes in China. And today I also learned that the Great Wall is like this mountain, but worse. Apparently there are times when we will be forced to climb on our hands and knees up stairs on this epic structure. I'm not excited. Beijing may have less humidity than Wuhan, but the temperature certainly makes up for it. If tomorrow is like today, I'm definitely going to pull a Guilin.
     Please hold, I have to comment on some news. I just read on CNN.com (only news website I've been able to check here) an article headed "Taiwan practices for Chinese Invasion". We all thought that when the KMT took over in the elections that a more moderate approach was going to be taken towards the "One-China Policy", apparently this is not the case. The country continues training for the emminent Chinese invasion, and Mr. Consertive KMT president Ma is happily participating. China angry? We'll see.
     With only a week left in the capital, I'm almost excited to be on my way. Here we've seen the least freedom, most work, most BS, and least comfort. I can't blame the program for what happened, but I can be very upset in being shoved aside like a dust-mite by the broom of the Chinese government. We take a train to Xi'an and from there a flight and a long bus-ride to Shanghai, the next big thing on the tour. in Shanghai, we stay four days and two of them are free for us to do whatever we like! I'm so stoked to see the fastest developing business capital in the world! I might even join my friend Eric seeing the Shanghai exchange, if we can. Then we fly to Weihai for the last leg of our journey.
     I'm getting a little ancy for some United States goodness again. In a country where air conditioning is a foreign idea, I'm going to enjoy some AC back home. Mom and Dad, if you're reading this, when I get home the house is becoming Antarctica's cousin for the week I'm home.Seriously though, if I had a cool room to sleep in, squatting and taking prison showers would be a walk in the park. I'll blog again in Shanghai, probably, so until then,

     Zaijian!