Hootaaaz, and my very cool bicycle with its very cool basket

Not a lot has been going on since my last post, just some of your general run of the mill studying and partying. I have decided to try and limit myself to hanging out with foriegners only one night per week. I want to force myself to make Chinese friends. I have a few friends already. One is the security guard at my community's gate. He makes 35 RMB per day, which is less than $5. I call him Gomer Pyle because that is who he reminds me of. Every night, when I come home late, he is curled up on his desk passed out... drunk. I treated him to KFC on saturday which ended up costing twice as much as his daily salary. I am really suprised at his ability to look fasionable. With his income, I would not be able to dress well at all, but somehow he pulls it off.

Friday night was foriegner night, and this week we went to Hooters. The second you walk in, all the waitresses yell, "welcome to Hootaaaz!" It really is impossible not to chuckle just a bit when you hear it. All joking aside though, the Hooters girls probably have some of the best English of any Chinese people I have met here. The food was not great, and way overpriced. That's what you get in the states though, so it really wasnt a dissapointment.

After hooters, we all went to a bar nearby. They were playing old music and I must have heard YMCA like 5 times. We started a congo line on the dance floor. We didn't have to pay for a drink all night. Being a foreigner in China often works out well in unexpected ways. Also, if you are a lesbian in Beijing looking to find pretty girls who are as well, then this is the bar you want to visit. All the guy's in my group were just a tad bit jealous of some of these girl's partners... ok maybe a lot jealous.

Last but not least, as any man who is worth his weight in Einsteinium, I am lost without my wheels. I bought a bicycle and I ride it to school 5 days a week. It takes 40 minutes to get to class and 40 minutes to get back. I'm not talking about a leisurely commute here either. Im talking 40 minutes of hard peddling, traffic dodging, sweaty back and armpit smelling goodness. I am so fast that only the electric bikes, and cars pass me. To anyone worried about me riding a bike in the Beijing traffic I have this to say. It is safer to have a bike here than it is to walk, because if someone hits you while on your bike, it will damage thier car more. That last statement was tounge in cheek, but it is actually kind of true. The taxis stop for no man though.

Here is a pic of my bicycle:

I had the basket put on by a guy who fixes bikes on campus. My basket is cooler than most because it has a decoration:

Yes, that is a butterfly on my mountain bike.