Around the World in 330 Days: Brian's Fulbright Journey in China and Elsewhere: Day 244: A Day with Faculty Friends

Today, Saturday, I actually got out and socialized a bit. First we went downstairs to meet Alex's new son, Kieran. We gave him a Porg that we got at Disneyland, and I also got to meet his wife, Helen. Kerry had met her before. We chatted for about an hour, mostly about school stuff and China. They had a nice apartment--it certainly looked like more of a home than ours: plants, pictures, books, etc. Ours is much more spartan by comparison. It was nice to talk to them. I had been hoping to get to know Alex better during my stay here because he seems like a nice guy, easy to talk to. But he's been busy, and I've been travelling so much. Life gets in the way, and I get that.

Afterwards, we met up with Richard to hang out. First we took a taxi to a mall and had lunch at Carl's Jr. This may not seem like a big deal to you Americans out there, but having access to refillable iced tea and napkins brought tears to my eyes. And the burger wasn't bad, either. Oddly enough, they served fries with a few onion straws. I have no idea why. And a chocolate chip cookie! The price was comparable to what you'd pay back home.

Once lunch was done, we headed over to the Wanda Cinema to see Avengers: Infinity War. Took awhile to get there, and it was very crowded. One thing about Chinese movies: no previews. They start RIGHT AWAY. I guess they don't have the tolerance for lateness that Americans do. The movie was okay--not totally my thing, but the special effects were amazing. A lot of people died at the end, so that was sad--and death and sacrifice were big themes. The movie was quite long: about 2. 5 hours. There was a preview of the next film after all the credits: I guess there's going to be a sequel.

After the film, we hung out in the mall a bit. First we went to a MLB store. Mostly all they had were Yankee and Dodger apparel, with a smattering of Red Sox, Angels, and (gasp) Tiger stuff. Once I saw a Yankee cap for 800 RMB (about $130), I was so out of there. That is INSANE. Some Western things here are RIDICULOUSLY expensive. Then we headed to a bookstore Richard recommended. We looked at children's books for learning Chinese characters (by copying them), and Richard bought some colored pencils.

We went to Taco Bell for dinner. I mainly wanted to see a Taco Bell with beer and margaritas, and Richard was right: it did have both. I got a variety box that I shared with the guys. The shrimp burrito and the taco were my favorite; I wasn't as crazy about the chicken quesadilla--too spicy. And they didn't provide enough sour cream, ketchup, or cheese for my liking. They screwed up Richard's order quite badly--forgot to bring him his tacos--and the ice cream I got melted almost instantly. Plus, no diet soda. So the place wasn't a total hit.

After dinner, we took a taxi home. All in all, a good day.