Unexpected Adventures

After 9 glorious hours of sleep last night, I lazily woke up at 8:15 to a dead quiet house. I was confused, because normally everyone else in my family wakes up rather early. But today, I was first. But I am not sure if you would actually call it waking up, because I got out of bed, grabbed my computer, and got back in bed. That was to be the theme of the day, at least for the most part.

I talked to my mom and dad in American ad nauseum (no, really, I enjoyed our conversations) and started working on my college applications, something which every senior in the US can sympathize with right now. By lunch time, I had done the pre application to Middlebury, paid the fee, and written my Yale essay. I felt so proud of myself, and felt rather productive. Then I was called to lunch, and my productivity streak was broken. But lunch was rather good (even if it was noodles again), so I didn't mind being distracted. Lunch was noodles with large pieces of beef, all in a really thick sauce. Aside from the fact that it is incredibly awkward trying to eat noodles with chopsticks, lunch passed without a hitch.

I stayed in bed for most of the day, working on my essays. I'm almost done with my Georgetown application, which is a relief, because that is due soon, and I am so tired of writing essays. Enough is enough. Around 2:30, I decided that it wasn't worth the effort anymore. After a quick check that no one was online (being social comes first) I closed my door, climbed into bed, and took a nap. It was lovely, even if it was rather short (only 2 hours. Weak.) When I woke up, my sister and her math tutor were working away at our dinner table, and I started getting text messages. If those had come 10 minutes earlier, I would have been very upset.

After about a 20 minute conversation, I decided to meet my friend at BeiHai (北海公园) Park to look around. But getting there was quite a problem. I told my cab driver I wanted to go to the East Gate of Bei Hai park, but he said there was no east gate. Huh. But, I figured the important thing was to get to Bei Hai park, and I could figure out where my friend was later. Traffic was horrible though, so it took 20 minutes to get there. Five minutes before I got there, Chris, my friend, called me, demanding to know where I was. When I explained that my cab driver didn't know where the East Gate was, Chris told me to put the guy on the phone. So I handed the phone over, and when I got it back, all was squared away.

I got there at 10 to 6, and Chris had to leave at 6:15. So we bought tickets and started walking. BeiHai is a beautiful park, with a huge lake in the middle (and a retarded amount of cats). There are pretty little paths you can walk on, and these big old buildings you can walk up. We walked up one, and got a little lost trying to get back down. I saw the road, so we started walking that way and found an exit. We were only in the park for about 20 minutes, but it was enough that I have decided to go back when it is actually light so I can see things.

The real night started when we were trying to get back to school. Well, when I say we, I mean me. Chris was supposed to be going to karaoke with his family, but we were just going to hop in the same taxi and go. That was the plan anyway. But as it turns out, it is rather hard to get a taxi at night. Ie, we stood there for probably 30 minutes, and we still couldn't get one. I was ready to just jump out in the middle of the road until someone stopped for me, but I was forcefully restrained (and threatened with bodily harm - a kick to the back of the head - if I tried it. It's not a good idea to go touring with a martial arts zealot.) I was all for just jumping on a bus going the direction that we were headed in, but Chris didn't seem to think that was such a good idea. So we just started walking.

We hadn't been walking 5 minutes before a little motorized vehicle pulled up next to us and asked if we were looking for a cab. It was this little thing that looked like a bike, and is like the bike version of a taxi. You get in the back, like a little covered seat thing, and then you get motored around. It's actually really fun. We got taken to an area pretty close to school, because our driver didn't know where the school (or the street it was on) actually walked. So we walked to school. Apparently I have a death wish while crossing roads (I wasn't aware of this, I just try to get across the road as quickly as possible) so Chris "helped" me cross the road. Ie, grabbed my arm and dragged me across when safe. I resented that.

I still had to get dinner, because I told my dad I was going to eat out with my friends, so as soon as Chris hopped in a cab, I kept walking up to the school. I stopped and bought a jian bing, which is this egg wrap thing with lots of stuff in it. It's pretty damn tasty, and very portable. Which was exactly what I wanted, because I didn't want to sit in a restaurant, especially by myself. That would be silly. And boring. So I grabbed dinner and hopped on a bus.

I didn't get home until a little before 8, but my parents weren't worried. My mom was in bed almost asleep, and my sister was watching tv. Basically, everyone was doing their own thing, as per usual. I said hello, talked to my sister, and then got in bed. For having been in bed all day, I am rather exhausted. I realize today's blog was not as interesting as usual, but work with me here. I can't have wonderful days every day. ah well. I have to go to bed before my eyes drop out of my head. Good night, and good luck.