journal number 2

A new flame flickers in my room after a shopping spree today. It is from a nice zippo style lighter with Mao's big smiling face on the front of it, underlined by Chinese writing. I got it in the underground market place a few miles from the university, and it is now the second thing I have had the chance to haggle for since being here. I'm rather sure that my skills of negotiation are diminished by the fact that I do not speak Chinese well at all, but today I think I did alright. Initially the asking price was 78 kuai, about 10 bucks American, I offered 50 and they acted like it was an absurd offer, but offered 70 kuai for it. I made a show of looking unsure about it then told them never mind, I was pretty sure I could get the lighter anywhere. But as it just so happened I did hear them calling me back with a new offer of 60 kuai, and a fill of lighter fluid, I made it clear that I was reluctantly accepting the offer and took the lighter for about 7.50 American which I my self am pretty proud of with the 18 kuai I saved I could literally eat 5 large meals.
When we reached the end of the underground market, a long half mile long tunnel that stretched under many blocks, we took some stairs to the surface and found ourselves right out side a very nice looking Chinese antiques shop. Now I have never been able to walk away from an Asian antique shop so we went in to look around. At the back were what I'd been looking for for days, 3 nice strait swords, I went back to look at them and asked the sales lady to hand me two of them, I drew the blades and was in heaven, they were beautiful spring steel blades, with gold painted dragons on them. The sheath was polished wood and there were two red tassels on the hilt, per traditional taiji sword decoration. I looked at the price and again, was made greatly appreciative of the exchange rate that I benefit so greatly from. The sword was 360 kuai, about 45 dollars American, should I have gotten this sword from a shop in America it would have been well over 100 dollars. It was a very nice shop so I didn't bother trying to haggle, they didn't do that sort of thing in upscale places like this.
In China there are a lot of Asian people, as you would imagine. But what they do not have is a lot of white people. In fact once we get away from campus we almost never see another white person. So when we walk down the street one may think we were celebrities. Usually while we go along we have all sorts of people just strait out staring at us. Often if there is some one that is learning English, or even if there not, they will shout out “hello” to us from where ever they are, we've had people literally stop traffic with there cars to pause and shout their American greetings to us. The other day I was walking alone and was held up by a crowd of young school kids, I had about 20 9 year olds shouting “hello” to me all at once, it was very cute and scary.
Today for lunch we went to pizza hut. I know it seems cheesy to go half way around the world and eat at pizza hut but there you have it. Now when you think pizza hut you think of greasy pizza and paper cups with lids and straws, sticky floors and unsavory characters. What you absolutely do not imagine is menus, waiters, door men and women, soups, salads, escargot, beautiful ceramic plates, nice glasses, art on the walls, jazz playing in the back ground, all sorts of gourmet desserts, and people who, once they deliver the pizza to your table, serve it for you as well. I have never experienced a restaurant like this, and I didn't think the first time I did it would be a pizza hut.
Later on after the sword and the lighter we found an indoor shopping center, the first 4 floors were just clothing, but on the top floor we found something amazing, row after row of shops dedicated to Chinese art, antiques, calligraphy, and all manner of Chinese high culture. While there, we went into a little shop that had one woman in it painting, she was making stunning images of all sorts of animals and flowers. My friend, Ryan, saw a particularly beautiful painting of a scene from “journey west”, an old Chinese legend, with a monkey holding a staff leaping from heaven onto a maiden with two swords. We had a long conversation with the woman about the pictures she did. She made a lot of copies of each painting but she copied each one by hand, with only a brush and her paints. Eventually my friend bought the painting for 500 kuai, we are to return in 10 days when she will have it mounted on a scroll. When she made the sale she said she would give us each one of her paintings for free, and I got a lovely painting of a little bird in the grass. I can't wait to return, and to finally start learning Chinese so I can talk to her.
In other news, I did end up going to the doctors, it was stressful not being able to speak to anyone there, but I made it through eventually after getting test after test preformed on me, I have to go back on Friday to get my blood test results and all that. And as far as negotiating bureaucracy go, I have been trying like mad to get money out of the bank but I have no idea what I'm doing. I already missed the registration days. Registration ended on the 5th, but I still need to pay my 9410 kuai for tuition and registration fee. I really have no idea whats going on right now but this is what I think is going to happen. I gave them a check for 15 hundred American dollars from my own account. At some point they are supposed to call me when they have my money ready, and then I can go down and get it. Now thats only a theory and I don't really know if thats how it's going to work but we'll see. Other than that everyday so far me and my English speaking friends, 3 Americans and 2 Australians, have been walking for miles in random directions just getting our selves acquainted with the city. It's quite an amazing place. Today we got a little lost and found our selves in a really old residential area. The roads were more like alleys and the people around there looked even more shocked that normal to see us. There was a stream running down the middle of the maze of houses and walls and there was a well that people were gathering water from with buckets and jugs on ropes. It was one of the most amazing and oldest places I've yet found in china.

Well thats the news so far from china, more surely will follow in due time, I hope all you my friends and family are having your own adventures in your own lives.