It has been a while since my last entry, and for those of you that were waiting patiently, checking facebook or my blog 3 times every hour... you can finally have some satisfaction.
Last week we got our first test scores back and I made As. Not really much more to write about in that department, just thought you might like to know.
I was not sure what I would be doing in the way of language study over the summer and I looked into a few programs. They all looked as though they would end up costing me quite a bit of money, so I decided to try my luck at finding a private tutor in my University. After putting an ad on the bbs, I think I found a good candidate. His english name is Ben, he is working on his PhD (at the Harvard of China) in linguistics including teaching Mandarin to foreigners. I will have 2 hours, 5 days a week of 1 on 1 lessons. Each week will cost 500 RMB, about 70 USD. I should be able to cover 1 semester's worth of material in 2 months. It is really amazing to think that here, I can hire a tutor with such qualifications for only $7 an hour.
Now let me tell you about "wu mao". Wu mao (or 5 mao) is a demonination of Chinese currency. It is worth 1/2 of a RMB, about 7 cents US. One day around a month ago, I decided that I needed a break from Chinese food and I headed down to the MacDonalds at the Golden Recources Shopping Center (for a brief period of time it was the biggest mall in the world). I parked my bicycle with all the others and thought nothing of it. After eating I went out to where my bicycle was located and some old lady was staring at me while I unlocked it. It was really disturbing since she wasn't saying anything. After a few moments, she said "wu mao". She was holding a wu mao note in her hand and pointing to my bicycle. I knew there was no way she thought I would sell it for 7 cents, so I figured she wanted to pay me wu mao to let her ride on the back. It is very normal for people to piggy back on bicycles in Beijing, but I declined because it was late. As I tried to take my bike away she grabed it and started yelling, "WU MAO!" Well, I thought, two can play at that game, so I started yelling back and jerked my bike really hard from her hands. I really did have to pull hard because this lady had a kung fu grip like no other (I have experienced 2 amazing kung fu grips here, I'll tell about the other one in a bit). As I rode away, she was still screaming.
A few days later, at a different shopping center, an almost identical situation materialized, except it was a different lady, and this time it was san mao (3 mao). As this lady was beginning to raise her voice, everything became clear. She was a security guard. I saw a Chinese person give her san mao and I realized she was there to guard the bikes, but not for free. Imagine the remorse I felt for the way I had acted to the first lady. Well, about two days ago I had the opportunity to right a wrong which I had unwittingly committed. I went back to the Golden Recources Shopping Center, and when I was ready to leave... guess who was waiting by my bicycle with a terrible look on her face. Go ahead, guess. Anyway, I handed her 1 RMB and told her to keep the change. I explained to her that I was paying for the last time as well as this one, and I apologized. I told her that I simply did not know what she was going on about when I first met her. She smiled and I saw tears begin to well up in her eyes. Her reply was, "mei guan xi' which means "it doesn't matter". It was a very heartwarming experience, and I actually teared up a bit myself. It can be really hard to deal with culture shock in China, but it's all worth it when things like this happen.
Aaaaaand back to the kung fu grip: The bicycle guard was the second encounter, but the first really blew my mind. I went to the Silk Market, which is basically a really big building with fake goods that are way over priced. The idea is that the fun is in the bargaining, and it really is quite fun. There are lots of stalls and all the attendants mob you to try and sell stuff. As I was walking by one stall, a tiny little girl grabbed my index finger. She did this before I could even see her. I tried to pull my finger out of her grip, but I couldn't. I am not kidding, I simply could not get free. I pulled and jerked as hard as I could, but she allowed herself to be thrown around rather than let go. I stopped jerking for fear that I would hurt the poor girl. I guess she eventually decided I was a lost cause and let go... thank god. I might still be there if she didn't. The kung fu grip is not a myth people.
