Shopping w/ Aaron and Ivy, Dinner wtih Sam
Today I spent the morning making calls to the US and trying to get my graduate school applications in order. It is great having Vonage and being able to call everyone back home whenever I want.
I had lunch with Aaron and Ivy from the school. After lunch, we went to do a little shopping. We visited two large book stores, neither of which had any English books. I was able to find what I was looking for though…..an English-Chinese dictionary. The second book store was a 6 store plaza with all kinds of stuff. I noticed they had medicine so I asked Ivy to help my find some eye drops. The pollution here has been making my eyes itch and I wanted some drops to counter this. She was able to read the labels and tell me which type I needed.
After the book store, we came back to the office to get our bikes and head for the DVD shop. I robe my bike while Aaron rode his with Ivy sitting on the box holder:
We spent about 30 minutes browsing around the DVD shop. I bought 16 DVDs for $18 US. Sweet!
We took a shortcut home that took us through a poor neighborhood. It was shocking to see how the Chinese lower class lives. I felt dirty just riding my bike in this neighborhood and didn’t want to stop. I felt really bad for everyone living there, but they all seemed happy and carefree.
Sam, the guy who met me at the airport in Beijing, wanted to meet for dinner. I told him that I didn’t really know any restaurants here in Shijiazhuang and asked him to just take me some place good. We wound up riding to the same neighborhood, and I was worried that I would have to tell Sam that I didn’t really feel comfortable eating from the horrific stands on the streets.
Luckily I didn’t have to tell him that. We wound up parking in front of a little hole in the wall with no sign or anything. When we walked in, however, the restaurant was very nice and PACKED with Chinese people. We had to wait 10 minutes for a table. Sam did all the ordering and then asked if I liked beer. He went outside to the supermarket and bought 3 beers. I asked him if that was permitted and he said that everyone did it. I looked around and all the other tables had supermarket bags which at one point contained drinks. Sam called the waitress over and asked her for glasses and she brought us clean glasses and opened the beers for us.
Sam ordered 5 dishes that were all good. The first was this mushy bean curd in a brown sauce. The second was some type of seafood in a black sauce. The third dish was mashed potatoes and little bits of pancetta. Next was a long green vegetable under some type of shredded fish, and last was some chicken and hot buns. All the food was REALLY good and I wished we could have come close to finishing it all. The total was 35 Yuan ($4.30 US) for the entire meal.
The environment was very strange for me. When we walked in, there was a little girl at the next table who couldn’t stop starring at me. She must have been 5 or 6 years old. Every time I would look at her, she would hide her face and then look back. Everyone was shouting and VERY loud. When they wanted something, they just shouted the Chinese word for waiter at the top of their lungs and a waiter would come running. People would spit on the floor and almost everyone smoked. Not ideal, but typical for China from what I hear.
After dinner, we found a little coffee shop. I wanted some desert and they had ice cream on the menu. I ordered apple and they brought me this HUGE Sunday with all the fixings. It was surprisingly good. I was told that you couldn’t really find ice cream here……but this definitely hit the spot. The atmosphere at the coffee shop was really nice…..well decorated, live piano music, and to top it off, tom and jerry cartoons on the TVs 
Strange but cool. Reminded me of way back when.
November 16th, 2005 at 10:47 pm
you look sooo funny on that bike!!
-the restaurant gives a new definition to byob… and WOW 430??? man…. I paid 350 for beer tonight. haha.. miss you!
November 16th, 2005 at 10:59 pm
Rachel…..hahah…thanks
. Yeah…beer/food is dirt cheap here 
November 17th, 2005 at 6:17 am
You are definitely adapting really well Andy. You look like a natural on that bike. You have to get a motor on that thing! j/k You’re lucky to be in a place with good food. I have to admit that Daytona Beach isn’t like SoCal at all. It kind of lacks culture and food. Nothing ethnic here, well at least the tastes do not come close to what we have in SD. And its really hard to find good sushi here. I don’t think that I have anything worhtwhile to go back too…
Hope that you are having fun! Did you hear that China is creating some block to ban VOIP services? They say that this industry is cutting back from the profits too much on the large international calling business. I’ll try to find the article and send it to ya. Hope that it stays around for a bit. Take it easy!
November 17th, 2005 at 7:21 am
Amazing how much better and cheaper things are in the neighborhood. So many tourists stay at an Intercontinental and never get a chance to savor the flavor. You seem to be feeling better. Are your eyes turning slanty yet?
November 18th, 2005 at 6:09 pm
Elijah……Thanks but I don’t think I will ever get a motor for my bike. I like the workout. I heard about the VOIP thing but I am keeping my fingers crossed. My Vonage box still works
Jerome……I am feeling better and my eyes are not slanty yet
November 19th, 2005 at 8:24 am
AJ – Great commentary, as always. We loved hearing about the shopping and the dining experience. Which DVD’s did you buy? IT seems like you’re really getting to know the culture and people there. Krista and I and little Mikey are in Maui this week. We get back to the mainland tomorrow night. Let’s talk next week.
Love,
Dad and Krista
November 19th, 2005 at 5:16 pm
Dad / Krista…….I have bought sooo many DVDs here that I can’t remember what I bought when
…..Have fun in Maui….talk to you later
November 21st, 2005 at 8:13 am
Hi Andrew,
Once again you’re bringing up many fond memories of China! I remember trying to learn their table manners. I was lucky to have an uncle who lived in Beijing who pointed it all out. I recall tapping the table with your finger meant “thank you” and it was impolite to finish everything on your dish. That meant the host did not make enough food. Also, when i was served sea slugs i said “no thank you” but the polite thing would have been to just accept it and leave it on the plate. Fish bones or shells were thrown on the table (not in a separate plate) and at dim sum, if you wanted a specific table, you’d stand next to it while the current patrons ate their meal. Also, when drinking tea use your fingers to cover your mouth. I can also understand needing a break from the food. When i was in Beijing, i was craving a salad and pasta or something like that. My Dad and I found an Italian restaurant that served every dish including pizza. I remember the place was decorated with Italian art all over – including vines and trellises and a little Chinaman in the corner in a beret singing Mr Bojangles.
November 24th, 2005 at 4:01 pm
Susan….I have heard about finishing all the food, and definitely about pointing the tea pot at someone. There are a lot of different customs here and I love learning about them. The guy singing Mr Bojangles must have made you giggle