May went super, super fast. Last week was the last of my "catch-up" blogs but that still leaves 3 weeks that were not talked about! So, in a couple sentences, I'll finish May:
First, there was a field trip on May 8th so the class got to go play in a near by park. Second, we had our Spirit Week during school! Monday was Crazy Hair day (class contest pictured below), Tuesday was Pajama Day, Wednesday was Matching Day, Thursday was Fictional character day (I was Mr. Duck... again, also picture below) and Friday was XIS Spirit Day (wear blue and yellow). Last, May 22nd was Science day. The students set up our class room with science projects- it was fun.
Now that we are all caught up, here's the latest and greatest from China. Normally, I try to keep these posts somewhat short. This story deserves
all the details, enjoy!
The Main EventWe had a 3-Day weekend last weekend (May 29th-31st) to celebrate the
Dragon Boat Festival. Myself and Cari planned a last-minute trip to Beijing to visit with
Zack and Carrie (my principal and his wife) who are living in Beijing for the next month or two in order to have their baby. Since the hospitals are much nicer in Beijing, many foreigners will leave Xi'an to have a baby in Beijing. We left Thursday after noon and arrived late on Thursday night.
Cari was going to stay with Zack and Carrie and I had planned on finding a hotel or hostel nearby. Since I didn't know where Zack and Carrie's apartment was, I decided not to book a room anywhere until after I arrived in Beijing. Being very over-confident of my knowledge of Beijing, I started my search for a room at about 11:30 pm. To make matters worse, I had been struggling with 拉肚子 (literally: pulled-stomach... diarrhea) for the last 24 hours and my ankle was still sore from being sprained on May 19th.
After about an hour of searching around the apartment, I decided to go to a hostel I had researched earlier on the internet. I hailed a taxi, which didn't have a map, and struggled to explain to him where I needed to go. We ended up driving to the wrong place and having to double back, making the trip almost 200 kuai ($30.00) which is a lot when the cab fare starts at 10 kuai. At this point though, my stomach was very unsettled and the money made little difference; I was just happy to be at the hostel.
The Clerk at the hostel told me there were no rooms available and when I asked her what I should do, she said "There is a KFC and McDonald's down the street." Determined not to spend the night in a McDonald's, I bought a map and continued my journey. There were many hotels and hostels in the area so I thought I would find a new place soon. Then,
it happened.
It was about 1 am while I was walking down the street and my head under my hat started to itch. I itched it. Then my arm started to itch. I itched it. Then my hand... then my legs... then EVERYTHING! Trying to be positive, I thought to myself "Well, at least this is keeping my mind off of my sore ankle and upset stomach!" Before I knew what was happening, I began to break out in hives. Everyplace on my body that created friction was covered in small red bumps; under my watchband, between my fingers, my "elbow pit," behind my ears... everywhere! I found myself itching not just because it felt good (and wow- did it feel good!) but because it was the only relief to the tingly and stinging sensation that was covering my body as if invisible insects were crawling and biting me everywhere. In addition, I could feel my face beginning to swell.
It was in this state that I continued to search for a room. I was turned down a couple times due to "no vacancy" but, part of me wonders if the Clerks were just denying me because I looked like a drug addict; all red and itchy asking for a room at one in the morning. As I walked the street, I felt like my body was falling apart.
I finally found a place with a room and when I arrived, there was a black man with a thick accent (it sounded like a language from an African country) bartering with the Chinese Clerk (the African had great Chinese). I walked in exhausted and in a haze. The Clerk showed me a room and I nodded at her- just hoping to get a room and end this crazed wandering and itching. I sat back in the lobby and became glued to my chair; half dizzy, half asleep and 100% uncomfortable. I waited as the Clerk and black man argued for what seemed like an hour. Then the Clerk got my key and motioned for me to follow her to the room. I stood up, still wearing my backpack and man purse, and the sudden movement was more than my fragile state could handle.
I blacked out.
(Dramatic Break...)When I woke up, I was on my backpack like a turtle on his shell. My arms were extended in front of me; one arm was being held by the African man, the other by the Chinese Clerk. I felt as if I had just woken up from a long sleep and all I could say was "Where am I? Where am I?" As the two struggled to help me to my feet, I could tell from their slipping grips that my entire body was covered in sweat. I was drenched. As I came to my feet, it was not long before I muttered "我需要你的厕所" ("I need your toilet"). I stumbled around the corner and found a large sink where I began to vomit everything I had ate in the last 24 hours. The whole time, I was attempting to tell the clerk I wasn't drunk... although I'm not sure if she believed me.
For anyone who has had the 拉肚子 (pulled-stomach), you know that a good vomit normally does the trick and this was no different. Making my way back to the chair in the lobby, I felt 100 times better. My head was clear and I felt much more cool. Somewhere in the Chaos, I noticed the black man had disappeared- either to his room or away from the crazy "sick" white guy. In the chair, the Clerk handed me the paper towel I only now noticed she had been holding up to my chin. The towel was covered in blood and there was some spots on my shirt as well.
I sat in the chair embarrassed and discouraged as the Clerk told me I could not stay there. Whether she thought I was a crazy drunk or just seriously ill, she felt it was best for me to go to the hospital nearby. Feeling I had already out-stayed my welcome, I didn't argue and returned to the street rather defeated.
Thankfully, my body was feeling much, much better and there was another hotel within half a block. Once I heard from the new Clerk that there was a room available, I stopped listening and nodded "yes please!"; price didn't matter, size didn't matter, it's 2:30 am, JUST GIVE ME A BED! I arrived in my room to find it was a double with two beds and had its own shower! I was thrilled to run some cold water the areas of my body that had been hit the worse from the hives and I managed to get a good look at my chin.
Although the cut only ran about an inch and a half long, it was very deep and any movement of my jaw would open the flesh several centimeters. At that point, I was very thankful that I carried a man purse with some alcohol cleaning wipes and band aids inside. As I played doctor in the mirror, I kid-you-not, I was thinking about how this night would make such a great scar story! After some quick repairs and making sure to change all my clothes (the thought of invisible insects all over my body made me play it safe), I finally fell asleep some time before 3 am.
The Rest of the WeekendThe next morning, my left shoulder was stiff and sore along with my jaw. For fear of reopening the wound on my chin, I had to make sure not to smile to big or make any sudden moments. I think dehydration was a likely cause for the how my body was self destructing. I retold the story for Zack, Carrie and Cari. Cari was very upset that I had made such a foolish and dangerous journey on my own but agreed it made a good scar story.
Since Carrie is over 8 months pregnant, our weekend plans were very relaxed. This was my 3rd trip to Beijing and I will be visiting the city another 2 times this summer (I estimate I will have visited the Forbidden City 5 times before I leave China), so I was thrilled to spend a weekend in Beijing enjoying something other than sightseeing. It was possibly the most Western/American weekend I've had since coming to China-
even more than Bangkok!First, the food: we ate at a tex-mex restaurant, Papa Johns Pizza, T.G.I.Fridays, a burger restaurant (with the tag line
"We'll give you your American fuzzies"... whatever that means!) and
Coldstone Creamery; AMAZING! We also watched two movies in English:
Night at the Museum 2 and
Star Trek. Both were very entertaining! And to top-off the weekend, a trip to
IKEA. Apparently Alabama does not have an IKEA so Cari had to travel half-way around the world for her first trip to an IKEA (and, of course, she loved it!).
It was a great weekend of awesome food, great friends and some valuable lessons.
Other NewsSummer is finally here. Ever day this week, the forecast has read mid-80's to mid-90's, and its climbing! Not to mention, SCHOOL IS ALMOST OVER! Here's the newest countdown:
Last Day of School: 9 Days... only 6.5 days of class, 52 hours- AHHHH!!!
T.Matt Arrives: 16 Days?!? I got to get planning so we both don't end up wander the streets at night... covered in hives!
My Parents Arrive: 34 Days
I return to the US of A: 53 Days
Things are going to get crazy very quick. I'll be sure to post next week and most-likely the week after. But, once my travels with T.Matt begin, I have no idea how often I will be able to write in my blogging! Thanks for keeping up with me this long! My year in China has almost come to an end... but I know I have some good stories still left in me (I just hope not too many scar stories!)
Thanks for reading!
