More life around Dongying

Hello little people (said in Indian accent).
I just completed an amazing but absolutely exhausting weekend.

Last week the kids were bringing paper airplanes to class all the time and trying different designs because they had a competition so when I found out where it was I went and watched.  Maybe they did a distance competition but I didn't see that part.  What I saw was just a timed thing, whose could stay in the air the longest.  As always, it was windy but some did a good job.

Also last week I took a Chinese friend with me and bought a bike.  I had been wanting one for awhile as it's way better for exploring.  I wanted a fast one, not a mountain bike and I found a pretty decent one for a little over $100.  I told the guy I wanted a light on the front and back, he said no problem.  I killed time with my friend for a bit and when I came back there were little flashy lights ON the front and back wheels.  Not quite what I meant.  I'll have to find some actual bike lights.  No one else here uses them but they're also insane.
I've experienced the driving here from watching it as a pedestrian or from a taxi but actually being part of it on a bike, especially a fast bike, is an entirely different experience.  People pay you no attention.  Back home I kind of assume everything might try to kill you.  Here it's not an assumption, everything really is trying to kill you.  Cars turn in front of you or pull out in front.  Sometimes there are special bike lanes with barriers from the road but cars just park there instead.  I bought a fast bike so I can cover more distance but I am twice as fast as most bikes out there because of it so they're also a hazard.  Fun times!

Friday night I met up with some friends for dinner and the night just sort of kept going.  A few of us met but more people kept showing up.  A number of us went to a KTV which is always an interesting experience, especially with a few Chinese people along.  After, we went to Soho which is a dance club here.  2 of our friends were guest DJing and there was an Angry Birds theme.  That game is so ridiculously big here.  It meant there were a lot of people out and we had fun.

Next morning a Chinese friend called me early wanting to know if I would go to an orchard with her.  I didn't really know what that meant and I hadn't gotten home that long ago but she's fun and it sounded interesting so I went.

The "orchard" was really a bunch of greenhouses.  Huge mounds of dirt would make up the one wall.  It was insanely hot and smelly inside so we'd just poke out heads in.  My friend thought it was a bit boring (apart from being with me of course) but I thought it was kind of interesting.  There was also a restaurant right there using all the fresh produce.  It was very busy and there were no tables but they weren't about to turn away a foreigner so they pulled out a desk from their office area and we sat there to eat.  Delicious meal, way more than we could eat and a total of $9.
After eating there she came back to my place and helped me with my puzzle and really seemed to enjoy it.  I'd been looking for someone to help me with this thing so it was great to have her helping me.
An aside here: Chinese people are reluctant to admit they need help, even when it's offered.  Good example of this is when I have friends to my place.  Most don't have their own computers so they want to go on mine for a bit.  I try and show them how to make it chinese or do whatever they need and they never listen.  They're always sure they can do it but immediately start to complain that it's "not the same" and they close all the windows and screw things up completely.  Some of them finally admit they need help, some act like they finished whatever they wanted to do.

Justin and Catherine are the couple that live right beside me.  They haven't been out a lot this year but mentioned that sometime they'd like to go to the club.  (These 2 also have a blog and their most recent entry has some awesome pictures of places during Winter and then again now, check it out here).  I was exhausted by this point but Angry Birds was going to be on again so I knew it would be a great time to go so again I was at Soho.  Again it was a great time.  You don't need to spend any money there, people just give you things if you're at all friendly.  I found myself standing between 2 tables of chinese people.  Both tables decided I needed to drink with them...

This morning I had to get up early again to go with some friends to the mouth of the Yellow River.  One guy has been here a long time and has his drivers license so her got a car and took us.  It was really fun to see a nature place like that as Dongying isn't exactly known for having animal life.  There were ducks everywhere. We couldn't actually get to where the yellow water meets the sea because there was only one boat running and each trip takes 1.5 hrs and there were 2 full boatloads waiting.  Despite this the lady told us that it would take 2 hrs... we were smart enough to know it would take closer to 4.  Also it was pricey.
On the drive there we had been talking about measure words.  Things like "murder of crows" "pride of lions".  We decided that a group of chinese tourists is called a "noise".  I still laugh about that, it's just perfect.  They get off their bus for 30 seconds, snap pictures of themselves with 2 fingers up, make a lot of noise, then leave.

Kung fu demonstration by the tongue girl

On the way back we stopped in a very small hamlet.  We ate at a small restaurant in this place and were immediate celebrities.  I'm guessing most people there had never even seen a foreigner, let alone 5 by themselves.  You could watch as the word spread that we were there eating outside.  More people would try to casually walk by and take our pictures.  A few kids were the most friendly and actually talked to us.  Their parents invited us to their restaurant after for some tea.  When we went there we were greeted by quite a lot of people who were all giddy about meeting us.  We posed for lots of pictures and watched a few of them demonstrate their skills.  One girl can completely turn her tongue upside down.  It's moments like that which make being here amazing.  If I had wheels I'd be going to a different hamlet every week.  It's just awesome.
I got back today at 5 and crashed for 2 hrs but I'm starting to get tired again so I'll head to bed.  Thanks for reading all, I really do love getting comments, especially on the pictures I post either directly on the pictures or by emailing me.
Cheerio!
Wiseguy1
PS More pics up in both the Students and May 2012 albums