#2

So.. let me catch you up even further since I do nothave time like i wanted to write everyday.

I got food poisoning from eating in Da Wang Cu last week. It is the village right next to the hospital which s right next to the University. We ate gong bao ji ding. In Western terms... Kung Pao Chicken. It is better here... trust me. we had sweet and sour pork, some stupid freaking dou fu (tofu) soup that was so spicy it poisoned me. I don't know what happened but I didn't eat the next day. But the real fun was that night. I had a bad ache in my gut, but figured it was indigestion so I'll just go to bed.

HA HA

I was woken up an hour and a half later with the urge to puke my friggin guts out... and puke is just what I did. I can't describe the feeling becasue it sucked that bad. There's no words for it. I was choking on spit and the hydrochloric acid that came up with my sweet and sour pork... not to mention that ghey ass soup and tofu and the gong bao ji ding. I won't get any more graphic with the food, but to help you understand further my pain...

a rumbling came from some where else...

Oh yes friends... you are on the right track.

So I wait...

and te third time i start puking my insides out that rumbling came back harder than ever...

But right before I embarass myself to the point where i am going to hurl myself out the fifth story window so my head can land on the ground and crack like an egg, i jump up, wipe my mouth and assume sitting position to ...

lets not get graphic and keep this tasteful... no pun intended.

o_O

so lets just say ol' Z was hurting for the next couple of days... and if someone had the audacity to mention gong bao ji ding or dou fu... i would have went all OJ Simpson on them.

Next...

Holiland. 0o0oh baby. this place makes cakes that don't have any milk or dairy so we can eat them. they have green tea flavored and peanut flavored cakes, a grape flavored cake... of course chocolate. not as waxy as they used to make it. I think the Chinese pallette is developing more to the sweet stuff. Thank coke and pepsi and their high fructose corn syrup for that. Cheap assholes.

So we are getting Quinlon a custom made birthday cake for his first B-day.

We found the the most famous tea house/restaurant in the city and it was awesome. We got a private room with a bigscreen T.V. in the wall and the chopsticks were gold tipped on the ends you don't eat with. Real Real fancy. So we order Gong Bao Ji Ding and Tang Cu Ji Rou. kung pao chicken and sweet and sour chicken. our fav. dishes. Before our food arrives we enjoy some Crysanthamum tea with fresh strawberries, lychee, a beef jerky of sorts, and some pastry with a filling. It's all delicious. The best part is that we have three attendants and the manager all in the room with us. They are chasing Quinlon around, playing with him and taking pictures. I can't tell you how many of the restaurant staff came in to se him becasue I lost count i think at 239874932874. It happens all the time everywhere we go. This kid is going to be famous... if at all for nothing... he will still be famous. it's those damn eyes. :D

So our food gets there and it's delicious. We enjoy a nice quiet meal and I don't think we said two words to eachother, but enjoyed the peace and quiet and Q and his entourage roamed the private room. After the meal we sit down and have more tea. I'm thinking.. this is gonna cost me a pretty penny. My mind is wandering on how this works. Do we pay for this room by the hour? does it cost by the plate and the room time? is it a flat fee and then how many pots of tea after ward you drink you are charged by? Is it like some rich unheard of place in Vegas where you pay like $300 per lychee and strawberry?

The possibilities were infinite and then it happened...

One of the ladies comes in (she was probably a decade younger than me, but lady none the less) and gives me a gift. A tea set. A beautiful little porcelain tea set in a case that has the restaurants insignia on it and contact info.

Oh boy.

They just gave me free shit.

I know this is gonn acost me... BIG TIME.

So I wait. I'm totally prepared to pay around 800 - 1,000 for this trip. My fault for not asking or getting prices. I thought it was a regular fancy restaurant where you sit at a table, look at a menu, go, "oh my god this place is freaking expensive! who owns this place , where is Gordon Ramsey?!?!" order food eat it, pay the bill and leave.

So I get the tea case... finish my tea and we get ready to leave. I ask for the bill... and wait. I really don't care becasue the experience was beautiful and Xi Lan (jessi) saw the advertisement forthis place on T.V. so we knew it was gonna cost.

She comes back and...

BAM!!

244 kwai.

I laughed my ass off. that's roughly $40.

R

U

Kidding.

If any of you come to China... we're there!!!

So we get ready to go and jessi goes to the bathroom.

As she comes out she tell me go in there and read the back of the hairspray bottle.

OKAY.

So i go and read.

DIRECTIONS FAIL

Allow me to clarify it for you. It states:

Wash blow clearly to fuck the or put on the half the hair after fucking. aking (not a typo... it's really - aking) just the right amount of article useds for the palm side, double crumple to wipe even. carve with the finger Need the shape.

Again... tha tis typed with no typos and how it is printed on the can. The rest is just strangley trnslated Chinese into English. But this is... quite humorous.

Anyway...

We got Quinlon some cool birthday gifts... party on Saturday and then with my bos at the restaurant on his birthday which is Monday. I will get more pics up soon of stuff talked about, but i really don't have time. I spend most of my day running around, studying or playing with Q and time with Xi Lan.

I got another job, part time at a very prestigious private school. This will cover my... ancillary expenses.

I also had a meeting with a friend of a friend. He will become my Shu Fa (calligraphy) teacher. He showed me his work and even demonstrated for me on the spot. We had a lot of talk and he will teach me out of friendship. The sword ( my specialty) and the brush (his specialty) are very kindred. The mind must be still and the body calm. When a sword is swung it's movement can not be retracted when already committed. When the brush is moved... the ink can not be erased. Both allow expression of the inner self and the practitioner always strives for perfection. I have practiced sword for many years and although I love it so much I feel it is time to learn the ways of the brush. At least I will have a physical manifestation to show for my work. I also think they will compliment each other. Calligraphy has always been a great passion of mine and now that I am in China... I finally have a teacher. My teacher's father is a very famous calligrapher in China so... I am really lucky to learn from a friend.

Other than that... I get to see my master, the first time in five years at th ebeginning of May. I can't wait!! and then again during summer holiday for a month or so. I have so much work ahead of me but it's so much fun.

that's all for now.

more to come...