Out & About

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We went to the Lotus Center today and had lunch with Hu Tao and his friend. The whole group came along. It was really nice getting to eat with everyone and get to know a few more people. We bought a few things and had a wonderful lunch. Everyone tried new things including myself and some of it was incredibly spicy. My stomach was a little upset but I don’t think it will be a recurring thing. I just need to get used to the food.

When I went back to the room, I cleaned up a little and finally got organized. I got a bike as well. That was quite the ordeal. We stopped at this little bike stop on campus so that we could bargain and I got into a little argument with the merchant. I bargained the bike down a little bit and before I even got it off of the lot, it broke three times! So I went back to the guy and said “I want a new bike.” And of course, being the salesman he was, he said no; he would just fix it. Well being the customer I am, I said forget it after too many arguments and I said “Give me my money back.” He gave me back 10 RMB less than I gave him and he called me a liar when I asked for the 10 back and after another few minutes are arguing I just said “ENOUGH! I’m leaving. Keep the money.” I was so pissed but it didn’t matter in the end because I got a bike anyway at the student store. I may have paid more but I just don’t care.

We leave for Xi’an tomorrow and I still need to pack. The bus departs at noon for the airport and we’re all so pumped! We cant wait to start exploring and getting to know one another.

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