Days 129-130: Chinese Lesson, Dinner with Connie's Family

Not much really happened last Thursday that I can recall. Kerry went shopping. I think it was a pretty rainy day--we seem to be getting a lot of that here. I took a brief walk with Kerry--lots of rain and wind.  The temperatures are in the mid-40s. Carol came over in the evening and we paid her some money for the Nanjing tickets and to top off our China phones.  We had spaghetti for dinner.

Friday was a bit more fun. In the morning, we went with Richard to see the new Star Wars movie and met up with Alex at the theater. We had a bit of a difficult time getting a cab, but we managed to walk in just as the opening "context" was scrolling on the screen. One interesting thing about China: NO PREVIEWS IN THE THEATER.  Also, since we were early, no one was at the refreshment counter, either. This just isn't a "customer service" culture. I actually really liked the movie. It was very "shoot 'em up" at first, but one thing I like about the Star Wars films is that there's always a good human element. They're quite psychological, not just about mindless violence. It's probably the only sci-fi series I like. Afterwards, we had lunch with Richard at McDonald's, and then we all walked to the SISU campus where we parted ways.

We had our group Chinese lesson in the afternoon. There weren't a lot of people there--just me, Samira, Kerry, and the Japanese professor--but it was a good time.  We practiced buying and selling things with "play" money. Samira and the Japanese professor made a menu for a fruit stand; me and Kerry made a (deliberately expensive) menu for a coffee shop. We acted out shopping scenarios. The second half of the class focused on vocabulary from the new lesson. And then Xia Ke (Class was over).

Kerry and I then went to the subway to go to Latina, the Brazilian place where we were going to meet Connie and her family for dinner. We bumped into the in the subway and then we all went together. It was on 88 Tongren Road, but we couldn't seem to find it at first.....90 skipped to 86.  In that same area, there was a building called the "Kerry Building," oddly enough, and a sign boldly proclaiming "LOVE KERRY."  Funny!  The buffet there was really good, but the meat was just mediocre. A lot of it was too well-done for my taste. Some of it was nice and rare, though, and they had this cheesy beef that was out of this world!  And even though we got the "deluxe," they really didn't bring us that much seafood.  Still, it was a nice experience, and it was wonderful to see Meara, Kiernan, and Rory one las time. This might also be the last time we see Connie, but we're hoping to see her as well before she leaves.  The kids are leaving the 10th, but she's staying on a bit longer.  The only negative consequence of all this is that I got a bit sick to my stomach from all the meat--it was just too much. I have to remember to check myself before I wreck myself when I go to places like that.

We said a hurried goodbye to the kids on the subway, and then we went home and packed for Nanjing.

Here are a couple pictures from Latina:

From the buffet at Latina.

Left to right: Kiernan, me, Meara, Connie, Kerry, Rory.