周末

Note to self: when traveling to a foreign country, be sure to pack clothing which allows you to gain a few because this will inadvertently happen.

The theme of this weekend was a perpetual search for the Fete de la Musique which turned out to be impossible to find. Nevertheless, the adventures which resulted as byproducts of this quest totally made the weekend worthwhile.

Saturday was a day like any other weather-wise, meaning it rained constantly. Liren and I took a trip to South Shaanxi Road where it was rumored there was a stage for the Fete. Alas, our time was spent eating Malaysian food samples from a food tent outside the Metro stop and wandering one of the many malls of China with Rachel. One of the more interesting foods was the bird's nest soup which is made by boiling (? or maybe a different cooking verb) a swiftlet's nest with sugar. Apparently, it's a rarity and is sold for 38rmb/gram. Personally, I thought it was a bit tasteless and had the consistency of yolk. Plus, the fact that the nests are so sticky that sometimes the birds become glued to the cave walls until they die of starvation was somewhat depressing.

The mall trip(s) culminated in us wandering into a Howard Johnson hotel where we spent some time sitting in the lounge area, eating free candy and watching Britney Spears music videos on MTV. We are really good tourists.

But, actually, we really are. At one point, we wandered off into a park and sat in a little беседка. There was a group of men across from us that was playing Chinese chess. It was a really nice non-touristy moment where we could observe a couple of Chinese men become really intense about a Chinese board game while we sat peacefully, away from the rain.

Saturday was also the day we went to a fake market -- on Liren's quest for a fake Longchamp bag, we were led from room to secret room to secret room inside the secret room. The whole fake market enterprise prompted a lot of questions: How could there be such an obvious building for fake items? How were the fake items designed? What if the designer of the fake items teamed up with the real designer -- could magic happen? What exactly was the floor plan of this building full of secret doors? Where in the world were the items made? Was this all part of one business or was each little store its own rented-out shop? How long would it take for the fake item to fall apart?

Saturday night consisted of a trip to Club Angel, where two guys from our group felt slightly uncomfortable (perhaps googling the name will explain the reason), and Zapata's, a Tex-Mex place full of great music (GYPSY KINGS!) and persistent expats. My favorite moment at Zapata's, though, was of a girl who challenged an Asian guy to a dance off only to thrust herself at him and do some strange tribal-like contortions -- girl's got guts.

Sunday was less eventful, though Katie, Rachel, and I took a long trip to the Bund in search of another of the Fete stages. By this time, I wasn't too surprised that we didn't find it, but I was glad that we visited the Bund and its views again. Later that night, we had dinner with the Hong Kong students who are staying at our hotel and who also have internships in the city. They are all very smart and down-to-earth and I'm glad we are getting to know them better.

At work, Joe and I have been assigned to make a proposal powerpoint for Hay Group's new client. I'm rather excited because we'll be doing actual work (not editing, proof-reading, etc).

In other news, I think my lungs are going to collapse soon. It's either all the second-hand smoke around here or the mildew in my room burrowing into my lungs. I think I might go to a bakery called Baker and Spice for dinner today -- I keep thinking of the bread and pastries we saw there yesterday. Rachel and I took a moment to sniff the granola to ascertain that it was real.

I am also dreadfully tired today because I was terrorized by a mosquito until 2am yesterday when I finally destroyed its tiny blood-filled body. Great times!