there are basketball hoops in the forbidden city and all the signs are sponsored by american express.
we got to the park to early to do tai chi. instead we were just loud and wandered around. that would be a theme for the rest of the day.
the busses to the forbidden city were crowded and the trip took about an hour. we talked about the real housewives to pass the time. beijing is too large to really comprehend. again like LA but with more high rises.
Because of the May 4th holiday the military presence around Tiananmen was very noticeable and their were fire extinguishers just in case someone tried to set themselves ablaze.
people constantly asked us to take pictures with them. it eventually got to the point where people were just handing us babies. for no less than an hour we took pictures with complete strangers. the black kids were mobbed.
the ice cream here is really terrible. the only bearable kind was corn. i dont know how you fuck up ice cream but they did.
the forbidden city workers play basketball on their breaks.
we played Frisbee and hung out. it was huge with not much to see. a lot like versailles but not as well kept.
we hung out in the concubine's palaces and wondered out load if we would catch AIDS if we got tattoos. the forbidden city was beautiful and we were too loud and the whole trip left us tired.
no taxis would pick us up because of swine flu. we lost our professors and some of the other students and ended up taking another hour long bus ride which left us over the whole experience and wanting to nap.
we got to the temple of heaven and immediately got beers. no one wanted to go in but eventually we all did. still didn't know where our professor was. we drank beer in one of the most holy places in the world and talked to other american tourists and generally didnt give a damn about where we were.
people kept asking us for pictures but only the back kids. the novelty of white people had worn off.
we eventually devolved into us sitting around and waiting to leave and talking loudly and ignoring where we were. we just sat and had a kee kee and acted a fool.
some of the students were openly hitting on the chinese students that were acting as our translators and guides. i think josh has a fighting chance. they all love gossip girl and know all the songs i sing when i walk around. its to their credit that they dont seem embarrassed by how we are acting. god knows i do.
when we finally leave the temple we run into a group of old people dancing in a park. (old people are always doing stuff in parks.) we begin to playfully mock the dancing and then are integrated into the dancing and eventually lead the dancing and by dancing i mean the macarena. seriously.
they took it better then i would have. i tried to do the dance from lip-gloss but no-one got it and we ended up leaving.
we went to a mall and got yelled at. everyone got cell phones or knock off iphones that were very shady.
dinner was terrible but the conversation was lively. someone got some liquor and we all took shots at the table. the waiter joined in.
it was one of the worst tasting things i have ever tasted and the after taste was indescribable. we bought a bottle to take home.
we wandered out got a bus planned on going out. the bus took an hour like all busses do and i fell asleep standing up.
i got to my bed in time to pass out.
it feels like we have been here for weeks. it feels comfortable and i'm falling in love with china.
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