Day 19: "Nothing exciting..."

This week went by pretty quick…

Wednesday (Day 15): I was invited to watch an Asian Samba performance, which is a popular form of music in Brazil. The SambAsia group (which is really their name) had approximately 10 percussionists and 4 vocalists; basically there was a lot of drumming going on with some vocals which I didn’t quite understand. All sorts of people came to watch the performance; quite a few appeared to be South American or European, probably 60% of the people in attendance were Asian while the other 40% were foreigners (like me). It was an interesting mix of people all grooving to the Samba. I'll post some pictures once my colleague sends them to me.

Thursday (Day 16): My air freight was supposed to arrive anytime between 9am – 5pm. So, I was able to take the day off to wait for it. It was about 8pm by the time it actually arrived. I was just happy it arrived. The fact I didn’t have to go to work on Thursday was nice as well. My air freight consisted of all the clothes I couldn’t fit in my suitcase. It is great to have a different selection of clothes to wear. I was quickly growing tired of wearing the same combinations every week. The rest of my shipment should arrive any day now.

Friday (Day 17): Was an extremely long day, I guess it was because my allergies were acting up once again. I took some allergy medicine early in the day, which put me in a medicated fog for the rest of the morning. After work, I went to a colleague’s house to play poker and video games on their Wii. That Wii can be addictive. Mom, can I have one for Christmas?

Saturday (Day 18): I needed some new dress socks and did not want to “negotiate” the price with one of the local clothing vendors, so I went to a familiar place - WAL-MART. Before I left the apartment, I planned my route to ensure I didn’t get too lost. I used the Chinese Bus System Internet site and found out which bus will get me close to the nearest Wal-Mart (Beijing has 3 Wal-Marts now).

Once I walked in the store it was almost like going to Wal-Mart for the very first time. I was amazed at all the stuff they have, it was bigger than any Super Wal-Mart I’ve even been to in the States. They had 2 floors of stuff. Everything from alcohol, fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and everything else you would expect a Wal-Mart to have… I spent a good hour just wondering up and down the aisles. Finally, when I found the sock section, I became a little disappointed… They had a great selection black dress socks, but very few brown ones…AND…apparently Men in China often wear Nylon socks (the stuff they make pantyhose out of). Oh, well it was all about the adventure anyway.

Saturday evening for dinner, some colleagues and I went out for Middle Eastern food (it tasted just like Chinese food); however, the best part about dinner was the belly dancers! Who would have thought, “Belly dancers in Beijing?” Once again I was able to have a couple of beers with the feast of Middle Eastern/Chinese food all for about 12 dollars.














Sunday (Day 19): Today was uneventful; I slept in until noon then went to the office for a couple of hours… Nothing exciting.


One last thing, the fog like stuff in the pictures is spelled "s.m.o.g."