A Taste of Rock Bottom

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On Friday, I sat in the terminal of Hongqiao Airport writing my blog since I had time to kill and free wifi. When it was closer to boarding time, I went over to the gate. Unfortunately, I had to wait a while to board since my seat was 12J and they were boarding all of the people who had seats in the back. After I boarded the plane, I fell asleep since I was tired from the night before. I haven't been getting good sleep since I would have to wake up to car horns, people yelling at each other, and some weird siren that goes off every 10 minutes at 6am. Mingtown People's Square Youth Hostel is a great place to stay at, but the area outside gets rowdy every morning and it's impossible to find a taxi around the area. I fell asleep for a little bit and then I looked outside the airplane window and it was pouring rain. Our flight got delayed for about an hour which was a little frustrating. When I arrived at Beijing, I called Silas, but unfortunately his cell phone was running out of batteries so it was difficult to reach him. He finally sent me a text message telling me to take a taxi to get there. I went outside the terminal and there was a long line waiting for taxi cabs, but the line moved quickly since so many taxis were passing through. I jumped into a taxi and showed him the characters on my phone of the place I wanted to go to and he started driving and THEN he told me he had no idea where that place was. I called Silas to tell him that my taxi driver didn't know shit and basically the taxi driver told Silas that he doesn't know shit and he doesn't know where anything is........?????????????????????????? are you fucking kidding me? Silas had to look for a Chinese friend to explain to the taxi driver how to get to where I wanted to go. The driver had to stop several times to ask locals where my destination was. He was a dumbshit. Finally I was dropped off at an apartment complex. I didn't trust the taxi driver, so I asked some locals if I was at the correct place. I asked this old couple sitting down and their response was basically "I do not know. I'm not from Beijing"....bullshit. My response was "you must be joking". I told Silas where I was and we were finally able to meet up. I went up to his place to drop my stuff off. After a long day I was hoping to finally be able to take a "you know what" and clean up in a decent bathroom. When we got upstairs his apartment was as Chinese as it could get. I asked him if I could use the bathroom and he said yes but he had to show me something. I opened the bathroom door and the odor was a harsh mix of urine, fecal matter, and some possible unidentifiable/never-been-discovered matter, along with that musty feeling. The floor was a disaster, and there were some creepy crawlies. My heart stopped for a moment and I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. The first words out of my mouth to Silas was "how long have you lived here?" He has lived here for about 3 months and the rent each month is around 900RMB ($132 USD). His monthly salary is 3000RMB which is around $444. He said he has been able to live alright with only $444 dollars a month. I really had to take a #2 so Silas told me that when I was finished, I had to pick up the plastic bucket on the ground, remove the lid on the toilet, and fill the toilet twice with water so it could flush. He also warned me that his room had no lighting and no air conditioning. After I took a #2, I grabbed the bucket cursing to myself and put it in the sink to fill it up with water. I looked at the condition of the sink area and cursed to myself even more. Eventually, I was able to flush the toilet. We decided to walk to a mall area to grab some KFC. KFC in China has a lot more chicken sandwiches than the states. With meals, you also get the choice of a salad, french fries, and a mango juice drink (which I love!). We talked a lot about what we have been up to for the past year. After dinner, we went to the market to pick up some beers, snacks, and an extra pillow for me to use. Silas's room has two twin beds, so it was nice. By the time we returned to his apartment, it was getting late and it was almost time for us to go out. I was very sweaty and sticky and he asked me if I wanted to use the shower. Here were my options: 1. Feel gross for a whole weekend and not use that shower, 2. Man up and use the damn shower. I went with option 2 since I figured that I will come out cleaner afterwards. Luckily he had shower slippers that I could borrow. As I walked into the shower, I had to approach the situation like it was a puzzle. Where was I going to put my boxer shorts and my towel since there were no hooks. I didn't want to put my stuff on the toilet, because that's gross. I didn't want to put it on the sink because that's gross too. I found a little air conditioning box thing to put my stuff on top. I had to work slowly and carefully since I did not want to drop anything. Good thing I was able to balance on one foot, which made it easier to maneuver taking clothes off without having falling over onto that fungi covered, urine smelling, shit-colored floor. After using the shower for the first time, all of my showers there afterwards weren't so bad. The biggest obstacle was using it for the first time. We drank a couple beers and went to the famous bar street in Beijing (near Silas's workplace). The street had so many bars, and a lot of expats. We ended up at a bar called Kokomos which was at the top of a building with no roof. Silas and I shared a pitcher of Sangria. His coworker Takai came with her friends, so we drank and socialized with them. Takai is a Japanese girl from England, so it was interesting listening to her talk.
The next day we woke up around 3pm. It was nice not having to wake up to jungle noises at 6am and I definitely felt well rested. We decided to walk around Beijing since Silas wanted to change the straps on his watch. He was able to change the straps from leather to metal for 40RMB (less than $8). We decided to eat dinner at Saizeriya (same Italian restaurant like the one in Daning Center in Shanghai). The menu changed a little bit since they had more items, but they did not have the unlimited fountain drinks anymore. At night time we decided to meet up with Takai and her friends again at the bar street. We went to a place called BarBlu. Takai and her friend liked making fun of our American accents, so I made fun of them back with my British accent asking if they knew about Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and if they thought I was talking a "wee bit queer?" lols.
We woke up at 3pm again so we decided to visit the "Bird's Nest" (Olympic Stadium). We took a series of buses to get there. Unfortunately, they were having a soccer game and an event at the water cube, so we could not go in. We took a taxi back to Silas's place and ate outside on the street behind the apartment complex. I had a plate of chicken with cucumbers for 10RMB, and we split a tray of skewers. Cheap food in China is the best food. Hopefully I won't have to use the Flagyl.
I was definitely happy to see my friend Silas this weekend here in Beijing. It was awesome being able to catch up with him. Even though the only site seeing I did here were the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, which were closed, I learned a lot about living in the ghetto like a real China man. It's definitely an experience that you can't get traveling with a tour group. I am still trying to determine which bathroom is the dirtest bathroom I've ever used: Silas's or the hostel bathroom in Harbin last year. At least now I know what it is like to live in a real shithole if I can't find a job after pharmacy school.

Silas: "I have hit rock bottom here. The only direction I can go is up" lols

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Photos

Dirtiest Bathroom Candidate
toilet with shower

Dirtiest Bathroom Candidate
sink and toilet

Dirtiest Bathroom Candidate
shower

Bed
I slept by the window

Where we eat
Lot's of plastic tables and chairs, dogs running around, and dirtiness = great food