China Update 20

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So where did I leave you guys last? The next thing that happened isI went to Yellow Mountain with four French guys. Well, one British guy who is a Frenchman at heart and lived in France more than any other country. (He never lived in Britain, but has British parents). The night before we left (Friday night) I borrowed the room key from the French guys and gave my room key to Joan. Dennis was coming Sunday and would get the key from her when he arrived. We were returning late Sunday night.
All Friday I spent the day running around like crazy. I had to hit a lot of shops to buy the things I wanted. This was Peter's (our new roommate from Holland) first day in Shanghai so I made a few extra stops and turned the day into a tour. He was very appreciative and now feels good about Shanghai. I left him to meet up with the company he will work for at a bar at 6pm. That Friday night I spent the whole night packing my room. All of the full drawers and shelves were relocated into my suitcase and backpack. They were then placed in the living room. I washed the sheets for Dennis and cleaned the room. I ended up going to bed at 3am. This trip was planned by the French/British guy, so at this point you guys know as much about the trip as I do.
The French guys were supposed to wake me up very early (exactly time unknown), but didn't get up themselves. They woke me up very late and we left in half an hour. I had already packed one change of clothes and toothbrush/toothpaste into my backpack. I woke up and went and slept on the couch as they rushed around getting ready. We took a taxi because were too late to take the metro.
Leaving as early as we did meant that we avoided all of the commuter traffic. We arrived at the bus station and ran inside. They called the French/British guy to ask where we were supposed to be. We went into the basement and ran to another lobby. The bus was already full and they were waiting for us to leave. We didn't get on because we were still short one guy. He arrived two minutes later and the bus driver was yelling at us for being late. The bus was in total delayed 10 minutes.
We went to a small city at the base of Yellow Mountain. It was extremely small, poor, and underdeveloped. There were two small stores that sold food. We paid some amount to take the bus there and back. We then paid another amount when we arrived for arrangements to be made for us on the mountain. We would be sleeping in tents. I was a little unsure as to how we were 'not camping'. We took a bus a little ways from the city to the base of the mountain, it cost 13 Yuan. The lady behind the ticket counter would not make change for the 20 Yuan I gave her even though she had the money sitting in front of her. So Pierre and I paid together. I was ready to strangle her but it's no big deal.
At the base of the mountain I was ready to pay my 60 Yuan to take the cable car up to the top, but all of the French guys wanted to climb to the top. Seven kilometers of stairs and over three hours later, we arrived in pain at the top. Since we are all guys, we moved fast and never stopped to rest. You know we cannot appear weak. It was very surprising that there were local Chinese men who would pass us going up the mountain. They even carried wooden yokes across their backs that held around four cases of water on each side. I was very surprised because they could easily just move everything up and down via cable car at night after they closed it to tourists. At the top was the mountain there is a city. But since it is on the top of a mountain, there is .5, 1, or 2 kilometers between each building. These kilometers are almost all stairs going up or down.
We found our hotel and checked in. The hotel showed us to a group of 50 tents behind their hotel where the poor people sleep. It was around 140 Yuan ($20 US). The smallest hotel room with only one bed was 1,650 Yuan. To order an extra bed (if you have room) was over 500 Yuan. Because we were in tents, there were no showers and the bathrooms were terrible. We used the bathrooms in a different hotel because it was tiled, had lights, and no flies. The only western toilets on the mountain were in the hotel rooms. (The Chinese people’s idea of encouraging us to rent a room).
Each of the two hotels had a buffet which had terrible looking food and cost 160 Yuan for lunch and dinner. Although my two roommates were ready to pay, the other three of us were not about to pay 160 Yuan just to eat rice. The rest of the food was not really edible. I would only eat the rice and tofu. We found a small shop. Each hotel had one and we bought a small bowl of noodles. It was the only non-snack food they sold. In Shanghai, the bowl of noodles is less than 2 Yuan and at the poor village at the base of the mountains the bowl of dried noodles is less. We paid 20 Yuan for it and were both grateful for hot food and upset about being ripped off. As we ate the sun set and we took pictures. Life was good. We went to bed exhausted at 9pm and woke up the next morning at 3am. We set off to hike to a famous part of the mountain to see the sun rise. It was all uphill from where we were. I hate stairs. We arrived there around 4:15 and couldn't get good spots because all the Chinese people were already there. I found a small rock to stand on behind two older Chinese guys. Their wives came, and in normal Shanghai fashion, one of them pushed her way in front of me. I was standing on a rock and could still see though. She had room in front her here (between her husband and the other guy). But she then decided she wanted the rock I was standing on so she pushed me with her bottom. I got mad and slammed her forward a few times. I was ready to beat her and her two guys. A French girl next to me was visiting China and was amazed by the rudeness of the Chinese lady.
Standing on my rock I had to balance myself with my arms in the trees. I would frequently lift the branches for other people to take pictures. When the sun finally came up, the old Chinese lady gave up trying to get my rock and rushed to stand between her two guys. She had a better spot than me the whole time, but she wanted more. Chinese people really disgust me. I didn't ever hit her but I believe that is the reason I may have anger issues. Chinese people do not fear each other and I believe that is the reason for their rudeness. They will scream in your face and say the meanest possible things to you because they don't believe that someone will ever hit them.
I want to wear a shirt that says, "I’m American. I believe violence solves problems. If you mess with me for no reason, I WILL hit you." After sunrise, we left and while I was under the impression we were going a short distance to get breakfast, the guys (always speaking in French) knew we were going to see some really pretty areas. We walked up and down stairs until 2pm. My legs burned and I still really hate stairs. Around 2pm, we found a staircase going to the bottom of the mountain. We arrived at the bottom around three in the afternoon. We walked around town until 4pm and had dinner. We had dinner at the place that got us reservations at the top of the mountain. The small place had a table with six seats. There was a small table with two seats against the wall and two private rooms filled with stuff. After our dinner we were talking and 5 thin, voluptuous French girls walked in. The French guys saw them but didn't stop talking. They didn't turn to eye the French girls. They just kept on talking. They ignored the French girls completely. Being an American, I immediately saw the cultural difference. A group of American guys would never let a group of beautiful girls exist in the same room without speaking to them.
The bus had 15 people which was perfect. But the driver wanted to make extra money and drove to all the bus stops in town picking people up. This means that we ended up stopping at various locations at every city between Yellow Mountain and Shanghai. This extended the already 6 hour bus ride. We arrived around midnight I believe and took a taxi home. On the bus, the original 20 people were all French except for two Israeli girls and me. One of the families we picked up was a group of 8 people who appeared Chinese but spoke French. I didn't get their stories, but they spoke in French with the other French people the whole ride home. I think there was more French than any other language on that bus. They outnumbered the Chinese. I ended up sitting next to a Chinese girl who I was not that nice to because I was not feeling very fond of Chinese at that time. We spoke for around three hours. When we arrived in Shanghai around midnight, we took a taxi to our apartment.
I stayed up and washed my clothes because I had plans later the next day to go to Wuyishan. Dennis was also home so we spoke for a long time and I put Rosetta Stone on his computer. I had time to kill while my clothes were washing. I spoke with Peter and learned that his first night in Shanghai was crazy. Apparently he lost his wallet, cell phone, and had to take four taxi cabs because he was lost, given bad directions, or (according to him) the drivers refused to take him home. He ran away from all of them without paying and caught a man on a motorcycle. He (while drunk) forced the Chinese man to the back of the bike and drove to our apartment. Peter is a body builder and used to be a model in the Netherlands. I ended up going to sleep around 3am.

Monday - I woke up at 5am and ironed all of my clothes. I did it without steam because I was trying to dry my clothes. I didn't care about any wrinkles, I was just trying to get them dry. I left my apartment at 5:40am and went to the metro. It’s right below my apartment so I was there in less than a minute. Unfortunately I had to wait until 6am for the trains to start coming. I caught the first train to the Pudong International Airport. I arrived at 7:15am and headed to check in. I was walking slowly because my legs still burned from Yellow Mountain. It was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life.
My flight was MF8552 H Monday 09 August PVG to WUS 07:55-08:55. The lady who got my ticket for Wuyishan told me that we would meet around 7:45 and get on the plane. I know that check in stops half an hour before the plane leaves, but I listened to her anyway. This is a government sponsored trip, so I had no idea if we would be on a commercial plane or not. Geoffrey, the French guy who agreed to come with me, called me at 7:25 and told me that they were announcing the last call. I was walking as fast as I could across the 18 entrance/exits of the terminal and arrived at the check in at around 7:28. They told us that we could no longer check in.
I called four or five numbers at least 15 times and sent more than 50 text messages. No one called back or answered until 8am. Geoffrey left around 8:30 but I stayed until new arrangements were made. I left the airport at 10am. We had plane tickets at the other huge international airport in Shanghai for 9pm that night. This time, just as before, people were supposed to meet us and go with us. They said that we would meet at 5:30pm, have dinner and then go to the airport to exchange out tickets. We would go early because it would take two hours to exchange out tickets. Then I left the airport.
On the hour and a half metro ride back to the middle of city, I pondered what to do and decided that I should have some fun that day. Dennis had the keys because I was leaving all week, so going back to my room was not an option. I really wanted to sleep at Peggy’s house, but according the Chinese culture sleeping on her couch is not acceptable. She signed me up online to get a two hour massage for 77 Yuan by the blind people at a certain massage place. I went there and got out around 1pm. I went and ate subway. The uncooked vegetables were delicious. Then I went to Raffle City (a maybe eight story mall with a movie theater). I wanted to watch a movie in China since I had not done that yet. I searched every floor of the mall for the movie theater and could not find it after over an hour of searching. I asked several people for help but they all pointed me in different (non-successful directions).

Plans...

8.9 Monday
Morning 7:55aircraft to Dahongpao-Shuiliandong scenic
Have lunch
Afternoon - go to Wuyi Palace to drink tea and chat, enjoy the cool

8.10 Tuesday
Go to Tianyoufeng Scenic. See a sea of clouds. Climb the peak and listen to beautiful legends

8.11 Weds.
Morning - enjoy Taoyuandong,
Afternoon - visit the Former Residence of Zhu Xi

8.12 Thurs.
Wander around by myself
Evening - Go back to Shanghai



Reality...
8.9 Monday
After less than two hours of sleep, I missed the plane due to bad directions. I spent the next 4 hours trying to figure out what is going to happen. I finally leave the airport. I got lunch at Subway. I tried get a massage but was too sore from Yellow Mountain. My legs hurt really badly. Then I went to the movie theater. I actually spent over an hour in the mall searching for the movie theater. Finally I found a cute girl to take me there. She helped me buy a ticket and sat next to me, etc. I left the movie early to meet with the people about going to Wuyishan. We went to Pizza Hut and then the airport. They exchanged our tickets and went with us to Wuyishan. I passed out exhausted that night after midnight

8.10 Tuesday
I woke up at 7am! We went on a boat ride down the river. Then we visited a tea place in the mountains. It was in between two large cliffs. It’s famous for its red tea. Then we went to dinner with the mayor or governor of Wuyishan. He was paying for us to be there. Afterward, I passed out exhausted that night.
Our trip is to be inconspicuous, international tourists near a girl who paid to go to different tourist spots in China and do commercials. The governor of Wuyishan has paid for us and her to make a 24 minute commercial to be played on the international channel. The error is that the governor assumes that all white people look the same. They figure seeing white people in every shot is important and no one will be able to tell that we are the same people in every shot. (Yeah, like that will work!) The girl was Isobel Yeung. I just found her luggage sticker stuck on my shirt. She’s British, but her dad is from Hong Kong and therefore Chinese. She looks Mexican though which is interesting. I was shocked that they used her because her skin is so tan. Chinese people strongly prefer white skin. Isobel’s job is making commercials for all the tourist places around China. She lives in Shanghai, but is usually never there for more than two or three days at a time. She has been living like this for over a year and doesn't both taking pictures of anything anymore. She has probably seemed more national parks, mountain peaks, and stuff than any other person. She has learned Chinese since all the people she travels with speak Chinese and two of them speak poor English. Her Chinese is excellent.

8.11 Weds
I woke up at 8am. We climbed Wuyishan. We came back to the hotel around 4pm, went to sleep and woke up at 5:30. We ate dinner and then went to a show at night! It was amazing. One of the greatest things I had ever seen. It needs to be in English though. ha ha ha. We went back and went to sleep again.

8.12 - Thursday
I woke up at 8:30, half an hour late. We filmed a picnic. We went to the home of the founder of neo-Confucianism. We returned to the hotel around 2pm, checked out and left at 6pm. We drove around to several different restaurants until we found one that our driver liked. We had dinner went to the airport. Our flight was MU5532 Thursday 12 August WUSSHA from 22:50-23:50. Our flight was supposed to leave at 11 and arrive at midnight. That was no big deal except our flight left at 12:30 and arrived at 1:30am. I took a taxi and arrived at my apartment around 2am.
I called Dennis who was at a club. He said he was getting ready to come home and would meet me outside. At 2:25am someone else came to the building and let me in. I went upstairs and waited on the 22 floor. I got tired of waiting and called Chris, the French guy, to let me in at 2:45. I waited a long time because I didn't want to have to wake them up. I started doing my laundry and repacking my bags. Peter (the new roommate from Holland) came in drunk at 3:30am saying something about the police having Dennis and wanting to arrest him if he didn't pay 500 Yuan for a broken glass pane. Peter got the money and ran off. They both showed up around 4:15am. Peter was now holding a traffic cone claiming it was what he took from the city because they had to pay way too much money. I heard several bits and pieces of the story. The key points are that Dennis plainly waked or stumbled into a large mirror or glass advertising display on the sidewalk. It measured about 4 feet by 3 feet. The glass cracked or shattered. (I saw a fuzzy picture of an advertisement with cracked glass). A random man told the owner although it belongs to the city. The owner wanted 500 Yuan. Peter tried to bargain with him and was yelling at him to call his glass repair man. Peter insisted the glass repair man didn't sleep. The 'owner' refused and then Peter said he would pay him. But if he ripped them off, Peter (a massive body builder) would return and beat the crap out of him. The 'owner' got scared and called the police. The police did not want to arrest Dennis who was too drunk to function. The man who 'saw' Dennis break the glass told the police, but would not look Dennis in the eyes. Dennis felt like the man lied and was insulting him. He then proceeded to yell threats at him. Peter gets the money and pays the 'owner'. Then he grabs Dennis (not a small person) and tosses him over his shoulder. Then Peter sprints away with Dennis waving to the onlookers. I went to bed around 4:30am

8.13 - Friday
I woke up at 5am again. This time it would be okay because my plane for Beijing left at 8:30am and not 7:55am like the Wuyishan plane. I ironed my clothes to get out as much moisture as possible and left at 5:45am to catch the 6am metro. I arrived at 7:20 and got in line to check in. At 8am they made a special line for last call people to check in for the flight to Beijing. It was all in Chinese but I somehow understood the meaning and double checked with the guy next to me. I checked in, went to security, and had two minutes before the plane started to board. I went to the bathroom and then boarded my flight Friday August 13 MU5129 8:30-10:55.
I got confused with the seat numbers and ended up sitting next to a Brazilian family. They spoke to me in Portuguese and I spoke to them in Spanish for most of the flight. They lost me on a few technical words about importing and exporting but I was able to keep up most of the time. I arrived and met up with some friends of Vivian; a girl named Serene and her friend Bob. The next few days passed without incident. Serena and Bob or Serena and her boyfriend took me to all the places I wanted to go each day. At the end of the day they dropped me off at my hotel room at 9-11pm every night. Then they would pick me up every morning around 9 am. They were terrific. Bob has pretty good English. Serena's English is not as good and her boyfriend speaks no English (he understands a little).
We had a great time going all over Beijing. I’m probably the only person who will tell you that going to the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, the center of the city, and all the markets we had time for are not exciting enough to write about. ha ha ha. But I loved Beijing. The people are really nice. People and cars obey the traffic laws normally. They act like normal people. Someone picked up my suitcase when I dropped it. She saw I was struggling with it. Everything is cheaper and the people are not as greedy as the Chinese in Shanghai. There are lots of large open spaces and the city is very clean. The overall appearance is wealthier although I saw a lot more poor people. The cost of living is much lower. The metro costs less than half of the price of the one in Shanghai. Buses are also super cheap.

8.17 - Tuesday
We saw The Great Wall. This was a very long day and exciting. I haven't written about it yet.

8.18 - Wednesday
My flight back to Shanghai was MU563 from 4:15-6:30. I also had an awesome time waiting because the flight isn't international. That means the store in the airport sold everything at Chinese prices. I bought a large bucket of noodles and four candy bars for 20 Yuan. This would have been great but my flight was delayed over an hour. I started writing this blog entry then and am still writing it Saturday at 2am. :-)
When we finally boarded the plane we sat on the runway for about 30 minutes before finally taking off. I ate the airplane food too. I arrived at the apartment around 9pm. I did my laundry and was feeling terrible. Peter had left for a cheaper room. Dennis told him that the room Peter was going to pay 3300 Yuan for cost 2200 for the last tenant and can be easily found for 1800. Peter didn't negotiate the price when he moved in. Chris had also left.
In Fabian’s old room there is now a Chinese family of five. The parents sleep on the bed and the kids and Grandma sleep on the ground. Grandma uses the bathroom for 15-20 minutes all the time. I waited for her to get out at 11pm. When I was done showering before 11:30 and still brushing my teeth, I opened the door and saw her peeking out at me. She went in for another 20 minutes to shower? (The shower was running). I laid in Peter's bed because I didn't want to sleep on the couch (no air conditioning in the living room) I was constantly moving and trying not to move. My stomach was hurting a lot and moving made me nauseous.

8.19 - Thursday (graphic content)
I didn't sleep and I ended up running to the bathroom at 2am. I didn't make it and projectile vomited from the bathroom door to the toilet, unfortunately missing the toilet. Then everything ran out of me. I ended up leaving a semi-clean bathroom at 2:45. I blame the dried noodles, tap water, or airplane food. I woke up with Dennis at 6am because I was feeling terrible. I talked with him until he left at 7:30 or 7:45.
There is a problem with Dennis' apartment. His lease is until the 26th but the landlord wants him out as soon as possible. He was going to meet with her Thursday night to discuss everything. He doesn't have all the receipts and she is claiming that he didn't pay rent and utilities because all the different landlords were collecting rent when they were still together. They have now divided up the apartments and she ended up with ours. She already cheated Joan and the German guy out of part of their deposit. The other German, Fabian, also lost part of his deposit. I gave Dennis the receipt from when I paid and told him that our tenants in Barstow trashed out house. So he decided that if she keeps his 2400 Yuan, he's going to break the windows, slash the mattress, and paint the walls.
The important thing is that he has no money. He has to save money go back to the US and he's ready to go back as soon as possible. He only returned because he wanted to finish the last month of his contract with the job he hates here. He’s going to keep working for the company until he gets enough money to pay for a ticket home. The important thing now is that he doesn't have a place to live. He needs the 2400 for a security deposit. He’s pondering living in a cheap bad motel for 60 Yuan per night or something until he gets his first paycheck here. He might also stay with Peter.
I lay in bed until 10:30 but I couldn't sleep. He has his sheets on the bed so there is nothing to block the window. The room becomes like the side of a lamp in the mornings; it's brighter than it is outside. Feeling terrible I went out. I went to emart and bought groceries. I came back and ate breakfast (a single piece of bread and juice). I was walking in the bathroom when my terrible stomach pain turned out to be pressure and started leaking on the floor. I ran to the toilet and emptied myself there. I then cleaned the floor again. I had showered the night before and had cleaned myself and changed my clothes again at 2:30am. I decided that this second incident called for another shower.
I called Zoey and told her that I needed to move back into the apartment for my last two days. I was nervous about Dennis being kicked out and the landlord passing any additional bills to me as well. In a sickened daze I went to yuyuan market to buy a second suitcase because my things had expanded beyond a single backpack, carry on, and suitcase. In the metro at the Yuyuan garden exit, I found a family from the Netherlands that was lost. I walked them the 15 minutes to the entrance of the garden and explained to them how everything works. I left them. I was not really capable of bargaining because I couldn't stand for long periods of time without leaning against something.
I went to the floor that sells suitcases and asked the first store for 40 Yuan. (Peter was able to get a large hiking backpack for 40 Yuan so I tried 40 Yuan for a suitcase.) They told me it was way too low and they wanted 150 Yuan. I went to the next store and offered them 70 Yuan. They said they wanted 250 Yuan. I left and went to the next store where I asked for 70 Yuan again. They told me they wanted 200 Yuan. I went to the next and last store. The guy was doing business with a lady so I waited 20 minutes sitting on his suitcases. When she left, he told me that he wanted 225 Yuan. I asked for 90 Yuan and he offered me a smaller suitcase. The wheels were plastic but the zippers were good so I took it. I didn't even bargain. It was terrible, but I couldn't wait to get home. The price of the suitcase isn't my biggest problem. It’s the weight. I can probably get all of my clothes into the small suitcase, but the weight will be too high. My souvenirs weigh twice as much but they are in my carry on. The other large and light weight souvenirs are in my big suitcase. On my way downstairs I bought some nice lanterns and a Chinese flag. The lanterns were 15 Yuan but I spent way too much on the flag.
Then I went to the metro station. I felt dreadful, but there was a lost girl asking the security guard for a map. They don't carry maps so I went to the expo booth and got a large map of the metro and of Shanghai for her. I found her just before she got on the metro. I gave her the map and got in the next car. I didn't have the opportunity to speak to her. Then I noticed that in my hurry and lacking focus, I didn't check to see which way I was going. I had to change directions. No worries though because doors didn't seal and have to open and close again. I made it out of the metro and walked the 15 feet to catch the metro going in the other direction. Back at my apartment, I packed my bags. My two suitcases are almost equal. My carry on weighs around 100 pounds and then I have three backpacks. One was breaking on my trip in Beijing, so I donated that one to Dennis' apartment. The other backpack is Zoey’s (for her laptop) and has all my stuff in it. I took Zoey’s backpack with my stuff, the carryon and one suitcase over to Zoey. The trip involved going down four stories one step at a time with each suitcase. It took over half an hour. The metros are thankfully air conditioned, but the metro was full. I didn't care; I sat or collapsed on the ground. There are escalators going up so it wasn't hard getting out of the metro and back into the 100 degrees, 90% humidity for the half hour walk to Zoey’s apartment.
Zoey had me take four different capsules of Chinese medicine. It’s known for being so weak that westerners can't feel its effects. She also had me drink an anti- diarrhea mix with water which had the consistency of mud. After lying on the couch and talking to her for half an hour, she gave me the key and I went back to Dennis' apartment. I arrived there around 5pm and searched the whole place for my stuff. I repacked my suitcase and backpack. I left Zoey’s laptop and my backpack so I could use the computer when I came back to Dennis'.
I went to the bathroom again. I lay down for no more than twenty minutes when he arrived. We spoke for a while and then I headed out. I had still not bought Chinese candy for my friends back home so I went to emart and picked up lots of different candies. There are a lot more candies I want to buy but as of Saturday at 3:16am I’m still looking for a closer store. The only stores I know are three and four blocks away from the Laoximen metro station. Laoximen is about 40 minutes in a metro away from my Zoey's office.
I was going to Zoey’s office and was on the ground in the metro again. The seats where full, but wasn't crowded at all. There was a younger man across from me who could have, but didn't bother to offer me his seat. When we were exiting the train at the Jiangpu station, his keys dropped out of his pocket and onto his seat. I grabbed his keys and rushed after him pulling my suitcase. I tried to yell for him but only the two people in front of me heard because I was out of breath from being sick and pulling the suitcase. I was waving his key so they yelled to him. He grabbed his pocket and sprinted back into the train. The doors closed and I was waving his key at him through the glass. One of the men who waves a flag to signal that the metro is clear to leave came up. I put the key in his shirt front pocket and pointed at the man waving in the train. The guy understood so I left.
I assume the guy went to the next exit and then came back. (Each metro has a man who waves a flag to signal that a metro is clean to leave.) The government requires this now because some dumb lady could only get half her body in and would not wait for the next train. She died because she tried to ride the train with half her body sticking out. This was the perfect opportunity for the government to create more jobs. I finally made it back to Zoey’s. I went to the bathroom again. I had a grand dinner, fruit juice and water. I couldn't sleep because the couch is small and terribly uncomfortable. My stomach also hurt a lot. Zoey told me to take more Chinese medicine before I went to sleep but I didn't eat any food so I decided to skip the medicine too. Vivian called me and really wanted to talk. She is really nice and adjusting to life in England. I showered and went to sleep.

8.20 - Friday
I woke up when Sofi arrived. She's always a beautiful sight to see first thing in the morning. Is it love? No, it's just my stomach again. I went to the bathroom but I was pretty much empty. Sarah had been continuously harassing me to pick up my last paycheck, so I had an appointment to get it on Friday around noon. I really didn't want to get the paycheck because it was only 400 Yuan. It takes me two hours to arrive there for this apartment and two hours to come back home. Not to mention walking in the humid Shanghai heat through the fish market for twenty minutes from the metro to my building and then back again. I could always take a taxi there. It would be around 100-150 Yuan each way, leaving me with 100-200 Yuan.
Since it was money and I wanted to see Sarah one last time, I went to get my check. I texted her on the way and found out that her last day was Thursday. I got my 400 Yuan which was good because I would have to go to the bank if I wanted to spend more. Sarah and I spoke for a while over the phone and said our goodbyes. Then I went to the Jing’an Temple to buy some chocolate for Peggy. It's the really expensive chocolate. She told me to come over around dinner time because her family had tea to give me (a parting gift). I couldn't go empty handed and she told me never to bring her fruit again. The last time I brought fruit, it wasn't big enough or ripe enough or something. I think I spent too much on too small of a melon.
At the Jing’an temple, I bought a few pieces of bread and ate them. I was very hungry and nauseous for the next several hours. Fortunately I didn't puke. :-) I texted Sofi and offered to buy some beef and pork to make her lunch. She said she was leaving but Zoey would be here and would appreciate it. So I texted Zoey who said she was excited to have me cook for her and went to Laoximen. It’s not on the way back to my apartment. At the Jing’an temple meat is more than twice what it is at the normal stores so I went to the market at Laoximen which is not on the way home but it's the only market I know how to find.
On the way I bought pork, beef, chili peppers, beef seasoning, sugar, a drink and cream puffs (two boxes for 8 Yuan). On way back from Laoximen, a guy dropped 5 Yuan so I called him and gave it back to him. That would happen in Beijing but not in Shanghai. I arrived back at the apartment later than I expected around 3:40 instead of 3:30. Zoey’s dishes from lunch where still on her desk so I washed them and the rest of the dishes in the sink. I cooked the beef and then the pork. Just after 4pm, I brought her early dinner. She groaned and grunted in disgust. Although I was tempted to throw the dishes in the trash, I decided that patience is important because Chinese culture is different than American culture. I reminded her that the CORRECT response is to say thank you. She said thank you also a little heartlessly. I went back into the kitchen and was cleaning everything up when she informed me that she was a much better cook than I and the food tasted bad. So the dishes that I made every few days and that my French roommates liked tasted bad to her. That’s okay. Zoey lent me her laptop with the only copy of her wedding pictures. She cannot say thank you or not insult me when I do something nice for her. She also tells me a lot that I have a cute face, but I’m fat. By 4:15 I was out the door and on the way to Peggy’s apartment.
I sat and talked with Peggy for a long time. Her mom gave me a Chinese soup spoon full of wine. She made it herself and has kept it for over 10 years. It was very strong and was supposed to make my stomach feel better. It might have a little. They also talked me into eating dinner with them. I ate a small bowl of noodles (boiled, not fried) and two small shrimp. I had absolutely no appetite and ate until I felt nauseated. I ate about half the volume of a peach or apple. I spoke with Peggy a lot about starting a business. My latest business is a candy website where I would pay people to manage small storage facilities and to ship my product to Chinese consumers. She gave me some ideas that would work very well but also told me that if she was to work for me, she would, of course, lie about the numbers and try to make as much money as possible regardless of how much I paid her. She would also try to find cheaper suppliers and become her own boss, even if she was my only distributor in China. I was very surprised because I considered us friends. She told me that friends shouldn't work together. She was very proud that she would betray me and steal from me. She said that Shanghai people are known for being very 'smart with money'. I told her that greed should not be greater than integrity. Although we disagree, I told her if you have all the money in the world, it doesn't make you a good or happy person. I had dinner at her house every Friday and her family gave me family a large box of tea which I’m sure costs more than they spend on food in a month. This is Chinese 'culture'.

Every time I was in the apartment, the whole Chinese family, excluding the dad, sits in front of the TV. They don't speak. They don't go to school or leave the apartment. I saw the mother get groceries one time. They have no towels in the bathroom. They have no soap or shampoo. They have no food in the kitchen. They make rice in a rice maker on the floor of their bedroom. The grandma sleeps on the couch sometimes. This with all their other behavior makes me see that Chinese people are like rats. They think only how to get more, more, more and care only about themselves. I don't know what defines humanity, but I don't believe they have it. Sure some people are good but most of them don't even act human.

It’s now 4:30am. I need to shower and then go to sleep. I'm not so worried about sleep because the less sleep I have now, the more I’ll sleep on the plane. Sofi is going to take me to the airport tomorrow at 1pm. I’m going to try to have her take me there at noon. Abroad China is paying for the taxi which is great because it will be at least 150 Yuan. I’m going to try to have her take me to a barber and candy store before I go but we'll see what happens.

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