Great Wall, Silk Street, and St Patty's. What a week.

I found it! The one and only place to buy tampons in China. And honestly I don't think that's much of an exaggeration, its the first I've seen. But let me back up.






After another stressful week of classes the weekend arrived to our great relief. We had been looking forward to it because we had planned to visit the Great Wall now that the weather had warmed up a bit. Saturday morning bright and early (7am) we piled onto the bus, the polar opposite of bright eyes and bushy tails, but excited nonetheless. Around an hour and a half later we started getting excited as we stepped off the bus. A decision awaited us; pay for a cable car or take the hike up. Easiest decision of my life, and 35 kuai well spent. Lara and her roommate Taryn were my wall buddies, and altho i forgot my camera I made sure the two of them took enough to cover me. Taryn with her short purple hair attracted a lot of attention, and we all enjoyed watching flocks of Asians ask for pictures with her. The wall was incredible, and the fact that it was a beautiful day, finally warming up only compounded that. We had a great walk although some of it was a bit of a hike. Lara was a trooper, after having just been released from a week in the hospital you would think she'd be trailing, but not even close. I practiced my Chinese bartering for a beer once we got to the end of our short travels on the wall, and let me tell you: not much has ever tasted better. Then we got to tobogan down. What a blast!

Souvenir stalls abounded at the bottom, and we spend the remaining time until we had to meet back at the buses bargaining for touristy stuff. I got a great ultra-touristy "I climbed the Great Wall" sweatshirt (so comfortable, had to have it), and some beautiful, incredibly cheap artwork. I can't wait to go back with mom when she visits in May and take pictures with A&M gear. A-A-A Whoop!

Saturday night we had a girls night. Incredible Indian food for dinner in Wudaokou (district that caters to foreigners), then a couple drinks at Pyro and then on to a dance club in Sanlitun (another foreigner district with "super bar street"). Pretty fun night all in all.

Sunday we took the subway to the Silk Street Market about an hour away. Near Tiananmen square, the Silk Street has touristy stuff and all the fake rolexes, ralph lauren, gucci, prada, LV, coach, lacoste, clothing, bags, and shoes you could ever imagine. I admit, i went a little nuts. I'm not a big shopper so when I find something I like, I know I'll wear, and I can bargain for -- I'm in. Got a couple great pairs of shoes and a dress. And they ran some hard bargains, but knocked down the price since it was my birthday, since i know how much to pay for fake stuff, and because they are always impressed by stupid foreigners attempting to learn Chinese (especially if you tell them you study at Bei Da -- Beijing University). It was a little (ok a lot) exhausting being yelled at from every direction. "Hey sexy girl, Coach wallets!" " Pretty girl, you want bags?" "Shoes, shoes, good price!" I was more than ready to leave a few hours later, but I know I'll be returning.

Then it was St. Patricks day! Finished class around 12 then accompanied Lara to Sanlitun to her follow up appointment at the American hospital. In and out, but we didnt want to waste the trip since its quite a distance, and one pretty expensive cab fare (by China standards). Hung out in a starbucks, wandered around and WHAM! stumbled across the most incredible hole in the wall grocery store I've ever seen. We were drawn in at first by the cheese, nowhere had we seen such a selection! Everything from colby, cheddar jack, feta to cream cheese. There was a fridge of butter! We were hooked. We ventured upstairs: american cereal, fresh fruit and vegetables, dr pepper, tampons, mac and cheese! it was unreal. We were most excited about bagels and cream cheese, but truth be told I'm paying for that one now. But more on that later.


We met up with Melissa and Maggie who were in the area and then went for dinner. Amazing gourmet burgers and chili con carne fries. Only downside was that the price very much reflected how gourmet they were. Then we attempted to find the only Irish bar in beijing -- Paddy O'Sheas. After calling numerous people for directions and pronunciation help, Melissa caught a glimpse of it as we drove by. A few cries of "Zai zher! Zai zher!!" and some intense gesturing and the cab driver pulled over, we had made it. A couple pints of Guinness and a free shirt (which i gave away to a chinese girl who needed it more than i did) later we called it a night. And made it to our 8ams in the morning.

(cream cheese side story -- apparently carrying around cream cheese in a purse all day and still eating it the next day wreaks havoc on your digestive system. Yikes!)

And now im waiting for the NCAA tournament to start so I can watch A&M beat BYU in the opening round! T-minus 1 hour 45 min. I hope my brackets hold up.