AMP Treatise

Some random notes I wrote down during the trip last Monday

• The Chinese students put on music over the bus's horrible speaker system for almost the entire 4 hour bus ride. It was pure torture. Four hours of what was basically Easy Listening 101.7. Kenny G, Bryan Adams, Muzak with "Chinese Characteristics" (literally! Elevator music! That's bad enough for the 20 seconds you spend in an elevator, much less four hours). Although, I would prefer this hands down over the Chinese karaoke singing I heard a couple of weeks ago. But seriously, why Kenny G???
• Table Manners: On the way back from the waterfall the first day, it eventually ended up with the 4 international students walking all the way down (the rest cheated and took a bus), and the conversation quickly turned to the table manners of the Chinese. The Indian didn't really care because he said in India you always eat with your hands, but for the two Spanish and myself, the manners are somewhat appalling, at least initially. There really are very, very few rules regarding who to do (and not) when eating in China. Feel free to spit any bones or undesirables right onto the table, no need to even lean down, either. Many times, you simply get a little tiny bowl and thus there is no room for anything else, hence the spitting. And you can throw out all the years of "no elbows on the table" rules. Doesn't matter. Smoke whenever you want and feel free to hawk loogies on the floor, too, especially if you're inside! What's funny is, you find yourself adopting these mannerisms and when I go back to the States, everyone will be horrified, so you've been duly warned. Yes, I expect to get thrown out of the house during Christmas at home.
• After the 4 hours on the bus, then the 4-5 hour hike up to the waterfall, we finally made it back around 5:30 for dinner. Siddhartha immediately retrieved an armful of beer and before I knew it, I was being toasted individually by every student. The odds were NOT in our favor. 3 drinking internationals and 25 toasting Chinese. And they don't just want to toast, either. "Chug with me! We finish bottle!" Oh god. It was a drinking fiesta, one which Eduardo did not survive. I did, however, "gain much face" by drinking 8, 9 or 10 750ml bottles of beer, besting the nearest Chinese student by double. But they were relentless so this wasn't really my choice! I literally had to hide at points.
• After a while, a fire was started and soon thereafter, and I have no idea if this is common or not, a congo line around the fire. Another couple of hours and everyone was taking turns jumping over the fire. But, they did this in a kind of limbo/jumping hybrid style. They'd sort of limbo up to the fire under some sort of imaginary limbo bar then take a leap of faith. Leg hairs were singed. I can't remember if I participated in this activity.
• The Redneck Chinese Jetski Boats. Of Death. On Tuesday, after the 300 meter climb, they had these insane boats and drivers. You got in, while the driver was shoveling water out of the boat, put a death grip on the side handles, and before you know it, the driver is careening around the lake turning so often and fast the boat nearly becomes vertical.
• And of the 25 or so names I learned on the trip, I have now forgotten them all. Awesome.
• Chinese Breakfast: They simply just do NOT understand the western concept of breakfast, which is to say something different than you'd normally have from lunch and dinner. Nope, its the same things you eat during the rest of the day, rice, rice porridge, beef, fish, vegetables. This is perhaps, next to rural toilets, the worst part of daily life in China. Thank you Carrefour for your selection of international cereals.

Just now, we came back from an all you can eat Australian BBQ. It was heaven. 80RMB (US$10) for sirloin steak, filet mignon, sausages, chicken, ribeye steaks, lamb chops, and vegetables. Oh, and that included one free drink. Of course, these are no NY Steakhouse cuts, but hell, you have to be thankful for getting any meat that is too big to hold with chopsticks here.

Not that I'm really complaining, because it really is great here. Just... ah... different.

Oh, and I think I'm now used to coming within inches of my life during every cab ride. I've even started to goad drivers to go faster. This will probably be my undoing.

One more thing! At Lion's Bar, a small little pub-like place near the school and our new favorite place, we were introduced to a new and apparently very typical Chinese drink. Chivas Regal mixed with bottled green tea and ice. It was actually pretty damn good, give it a shot if you're adventerous and can find bottled green tea. Or if you're just an alcoholic looking to introduce more antioxidants into your diet.