The Weekend Update

On Sunday morning, around 10 am, I was excitedly searching hulu for the new SNL episode ... and it took a moment, but when I couldn't find it, it occured to me that it hadn't even happened yet. Oh time difference.

Metro!!!
On Saturday morning the school organized a trip to the Metro in Ningbo (45 minutes away). The best I can compare it to is Costco. It felt like my first trip to Safeway with Jess our freshman year. It took an hour and a half, zig zigging through all the isles. I think I covered enough total walking distance with that cart to get me back to Beilun.

Exactly what we need to find right before Oktoberfest, the International Wine Festival, and we were the token internationals. The people would take pictures of us sampling their wine, and one of the hosts hovered around us, switching out our glasses, and he had a box of tissues :) we're not sure why.

And another thing we need, a guy in a suit that is typically used to attract children to an event. Ariana and Dana with the wine guy.



Oktoberfest!!!
- I went to my first Oktoberfest ever! Which I'm thinking was probably not like normal Oktoberfest considering all the Chinese food, probably Chinese beer, and Chinese people.
- There was a German band that played some classics from Germany, some songs in Mandarin, and some good old YMCA, Beat It, and Mama Mia ...
- I was most surprised by the amount of children. This is an unlimted beer party. And there were parents proudly taking pictures holding their babies with the band in the background. This year's Christmas card??? Or I suppose maybe their Chinese New Year card?
- I learned to count to 3 in Mandarin. (Before every chugging contest there was a countdown)
- Connie, you were right, except it was the guys that were fascinated with me, and it took about 4 beers before those inhibitions disappeared and they came up to touch my hair and take pictures with me. The ones who still wouldn't come near me pointed and laughed like 5 years at the ones who did. Then one handed me his cell phone and said, "Talk to my friend!!" ..... really??? I mean, really???
- Our server was a sweetheart, and she spoke very well in English. She asked me if I'm German.
- Afterwards we went to Lao Wai Tan, which means "Foreign Land", so all the international restaurants and pubs, and to my pleasure, other internationals! Which is good, because somehow Ariana's phone got left there, and the dimwit who picked it up and decided not to leave it with the bar staff actually spoke English, so we were able to call Ariana's phone and track him down.

First Solo Trip to Ningbo!!!!
- Mr. Wei is one of the private drivers (like Mr. Fan), except he speaks English. So I called him and told him that I needed a ride to Ningbo. He was not available so he called one of his friends to meet me.
- I have a handy dandy Ningbo taxi guide that has every location I'd ever want to visit in English and the address in Chinese. So even though the friend didn't speak English, I was able to point at my destination in the book, and off we went!!!
- I'm feeling pretty confident at this point, I can get around, no problem :) !
- When we came to the junction for the interstate to go to Ningbo, my driver stopped the car and started asking me questions in Mandarin. He pointed at the road signs, and then looked back at me ... waiting ... I realized, somewhat mortified, that he must be asking me, "Which way to Ningbo?" I swear, it's a straight shot. It should be named "Beilun to Ningbo Hwy". There's no messing this up. So I pointed to the onramp, he smiled and hit the gas, and off we went again! Me, super freaked out. He should be able to actually read the signs!! Apparently that was the only direction he needed and that was the only turn I knew along the way, thank goodness.
- When we pulled up to my destination in Ningbo, my driver asked what I assume was, "When should I come pick you up?" Ariana had showed me where I could catch a bus from Ningbo back to Beilun, and I wasn't as time pressed for the way back, so I used my fantastic pictionary skills to draw a bus. Success :)

First Solo Trip Back to Beilun!!
- I gave up on the bus plan super quick, and just got a taxi to go back. Here's how it went:
Me: "Beilun, yi bai qui?" Which means, "Beilun, 100 rbm?" I can now say 1, 2, 3 and 100 in Mandarin. I knew the taxi was going to cost more than 100, but I just wanted to make sure that we had the same idea for how far I needed to go. If I didn't say Beilun with the right tones, I wouldn't get home.
Taxista: Pointed up to indicate more expensive, and nodded for me to get in. (Sweet, he knows where I want to go) Then he RAMBLED in Mandarin for like 5 minutes, each minute he got more and more urgent. And I heard him say Beilun several times.
Me: I started flipping through my handy dandy Ningbo taxi book, hoping to find an advirtisement for a restaurant in Beilun that I could point to. I ended up finding my school address, perfect!!!
Taxista: Looked at my school, and shook his head. Five phone calls later to his taxi buddies and he knows where to go.
Me: Relief! ... Except I started looking around at that point (I'd had my nose in the book) and realized ... I didn't know where I was. Remember that straight shot on the interstate? I didn't think I could get lost. So ... not relief?
Taxista: SUPER curious about my book. He looks through it at every stop light. Then, he found Li Ren Gardens, my apartment complex, and he pointed to it.
Me: WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, take me there, take me there!!!!
Taxista: DETERMINED to have a conversation with me. I keep shaking my head. But it's an hour long taxi ride (the road was dirt and full of potholes), and he just won't give up!
Me: I break down and call Dana and ask her for some key words like "teacher", "United States", "China" and "1 week" to hopefully let him know that I'm not a complete idiot, I've just only been here for 9 days.
- When we arrived, I was soooo tired, hungry, car sick, and just relieved, that my gigantic smile just turned into laughter. Which cracked up the taxi driver too. I think he thought it was an much of an adventure as I did.

Important detail: Apparently there is a second road to Ningbo, it's a little dinky piece of dirt, and it's not a toll road. So my first driver to Ningbo was actually asking if I wanted to take the cheap way or the toll way. My taxi driver on the way back took that road without asking, which is why I'd never seen it before and I thought I was lost, but I still arrived safely :)