Busy Week

Rui'an is possibly the most beautiful place in the entire world, and is most definitely the most breathtaking place in China. It was well worth the 6 hour ride on the bus there and back - we watched Drunken Master 2 twice. And yes, it was awesome.

The hiking in Rui'an was tiresome, there weren't formal stairs or tourist friendly paths. They were slippery stones and almost no railings anywhere - there were quite a few falls and injuries on the way climbing back down. There was a potential for a typhoon to hit land near us, which meant that no one else had come to the area we were climbing that day. This also meant that the wind was blowing just enough to make it very comfortable instead of skin melting Hangzhou hot. They told us not to swim, but when our 5 man MAN GROUP climbed up all the way to the 9th pool we had to get in. As the other students arrived they opted to join us, and then the teachers did as well. It was ridiculously fun and overwhelmingly beautiful, trees and waterfalls like I've never seen before. It was as if all those Asian nature paintings that look too pretty to be real had come to life.

The performances in Rui'an went well. I played all the different "Chinese person" roles in our skit, ranging from teacher to random people on the street to dressing in drag to play a girl. The latter was the most popular, and somehow we were the only ones to put together that putting a 200 pound guy in girls clothing is hilarious. I got the best actor award for the night, and as my prize won a very fitting pink clock.

In our four person group, Dan and Andy did most of the writing and joke crafting and then Ron and I did all of the embarrassing parts and complex speaking. It was very convenient having Ron and I (two of the best if not the best two speakers in the program) together, we could actually have witty conversations and make jokes aside from dressing up like a lady. Though there were many parts that everyone loved, I think the part of the skit I most enjoyed was the ending Dan decided to add during the writing process. Essentially it involves me tearing open my shirt and mimicking the "THIS IS SPARTA" to yell "THIS IS CHINAAAA" and kicking him in the chest. All the Americans got it, half he roommates got it, and few of the teachers understood. They all yelled and clapped, and as we bowed the roared for more it was fantastic. The roommates explained to each other why I had just torn my 衣服 and kicked a student in the Chest, and the teachers all talked amongst themselves and tried to figure out why all of the other Americans were so happy. Needless to say, last night we all watched 300 together last night to educate them.

I found a 'hamburger' here in China. There is a red and white sauce of unknown origins, the meat seems to be lamb, and there is for some reason an egg involved. It is tasty, but it is no hamburger. I think tomorrow we are going to KFC to get JJ and Bob some comfort food, I am very excited.

I have, of course, made friends with the entire gym staff. I go there 2 hours a day, it is to be expected. Apparently I was described as very approachable and easygoing, easy to talk to. Bob is described as nearly the same, but apparently JJ's long hair and demeanor makes him look fierce and some other great adjectives that mean something along the lines of unapproachable. In any case, yesterday one of the trainers beckoned me into the office in the center of the gym. When I say office, I mean more of like a raised pedestal with waist high walls, I don't really understand it. I didn't really understand why he wanted me up there at first, then he pulled out the measuring tape. The other trainers watched as he measured my arms, which to me was very weird. I measured in at 42cm, or 17 and a half inches, which I think is pretty monstrously awesome. I told the head teacher about it, and she said they are sizing me up for an advertisement. Apparently a student last year and the year before were both chosen for different advertisements, one was picked up at a bar and the other oddly enough at a gym. She thinks they probably want me to be in an advertisement for the gym, and that if this is the case they would pay well. I don't really care about money though, I care more about my dangerously inflated ego.

And last but not least, before showing you the pictures and video, I will let you know that I finally road on my first 3 wheeled motorbike taxi with JJ in the back with me, and we raced against Bob and his roommate through the streets of China. It was dangerous. It was awesome.