Farewell Beijing

So as you may or may not know, the former being more likely, I'm moving to Hong Kong. My time has come to an end in Beijing. I'll have been here for just under a year and a half. It's kind of crazy. In a way, it feels like I just arrived. It's just time. I'm worn out here, tired. Tired of the city, tired of the city filth, tired of my apartment, tired of my school, tired of my company, tired of the job, tired of the poor air, tired, tired, tired….I'm just tired. It's all been adding up and wearing on me, and that weariness has slowly been taking its toll. Restaurants that I used to be quite fond of just don't do it for me anymore. I've lost interest in the parks I used to enjoy and areas I've visited. It's become even more apparent knowing that I'm moving.

Well, this past weekend was pretty wild and left me exhausted. I'm still recovering from the lack of sleep I suffered. So let's see. Friday (6/15) came around, a day I'm always thankful for. One of my friends was visiting from Shanghai, so at around 11, I went out to meet up with her and her friend. I was early and they were late, so I was waiting around for a little bit, but whatever. Sh*t happens. I had already talked to another friend of mine that was out and about that night. He had been telling me to go to this lounge that I went to the previous week. I would of enjoyed going there again, but it just didn't happen. They had a friend at this roof top bar, so went there for a while. The other friend of mine ended up joining for a bit before retreating to a club. Following so far? I actually really like the rooftop bar as well. I had been there once before. It's more of a relaxing bar; live jazz music during the week, dim lighting, etc. It was a little crazier on the weekend, but not too bad. Myself? I would much rather go to a bar with some friends than go to a club. Clubs are loud and crazy. I can't hear myself think, let alone hear anybody I'm trying to talk to. After hanging around for a bit at the bar, though, we did end up going to the club my other friend(s) went to. Not a terrible decision. It was bikini night at the club and with it being summer, beautiful girls everywhere. My retinas were burning. My previous visits to this club weren't particularly great. I got to see young, gorgeous girls with lots of old men the first time. It's so gross and so sad. The things these girls sacrifice for money is crazy. I just want to ask them 'What's your problem?' I have some other questions too that I want to ask them, but I'll leave those out. It just boggles my mind. Anyways, I actually did have fun this time at the club. Prior to arriving, I knew that one of the guys I was friends with that went earlier was friends with the director of 'Mr. And Mrs. Smith' and the 'The Bourne Identity'. With my friends having a table there, me and the people I was with were able to get in for free. A nice change. The place was absolutely crazy. Shortly after spotting the director, I made my way over to him and introduced myself. Because of how loud it was, I had to yell and started with 'Are you the director of….?' As soon as he heard director, he screamed back with confirmation. We introduced ourselves and soon thereafter, he grabbed a bottle of alcohol off the table and poured some into my mouth. Not my style, but couldn't refuse the director! I ended up leaving that club with a few people, and heading back to another bar. Got home at around 5 in the morning, much to my dismay. The sun was already up…..I hate that. I had fun, though.

I met up with the girl and her friend for lunch later in the afternoon, then they left for the airport. Afterwards, I made my way over to Hou Hai because it was fairly close. On the way, I decided to wait in line for the street's famous 'cheese'. It's more like yogurt, but regardless, delicious. The line is always long. I was just planning on pointing to one of the pictures and asking for that one, but decided to ask the guy in front of me what the name was. He happened to speak English, so I asked if he could just order for me. He was happy to help, and even refused money when I tried to pay for it. I insisted, but it just wasn't happening. It was only 10rmb, but still. Who does that? I finally just thanked him and we parted ways soon after. That was nice of him. So, not all Chinese are rude and selfish. I can explain that comment later. Found my way to Hou Hai, and low and behold, the guy I got a picture of months ago was there strumming on his Chinese violin thing. I have only given some money once or twice because there are so many beggars. Because of that and because of the photo I got, I threw this guy 100rmb. I was a little worried about someone stealing it, but hopefully he got it.

It was a little strange walking around Hou Hai, knowing it would be my last time. I slowed down my walking pace, which is difficult. I usually walk pretty quickly. It was a beautiful day and the temperature was comfortable. Not too hot with a nice breeze. But again, a little odd. The fact is, I may never see that lake again. I have no idea if and when I'll be back in Beijing. I slowly made my way around the lake, and eventually departed for home.

By the time I finally got back to my place, it was about 9:00 at night. I forget if I cooked something or ordered some dumplings and noodles from a nearby place. Anyways, I hung out at home for a bit. My friend from the gym had been pressing me to play poker again. Earlier in the week, I wasn't really feeling it, but now I was somewhat interested. About two or three weeks ago, I lost 1,000rmb. Figure that's about $160. Not too crazy, but I don't like losing. And I don't like losing money. That's why I was a little cautious about returning. It's not that the players were real good, in fact, they were all fairly new to the game, or so I was told. I made a few bad moves in the beginning, and afterwards, I just received non-playable hands for the remainder of the night. I was not happy, but whatever. So, I decided I would go play. We didn't get there until about 11:30. Fortunately, I can walk there from my apartment. I was feeling good about it, and decided that I was going to win one way or another.

Within the first 5 hands, I picked up Ace-Jack. I ended up hitting trip Jacks on the flop and a lot of money went in there after. I ended up beating out the guy on my left who also had trip Jacks, but I had the better kicker (Ace). That's got to hurt. With that hand, I had already won all my money back from last time with a little extra. I set aside the minimum amount I wanted to walk away with and played on. I picked up a few more chips in another smaller hand or two and then lost some. Like last time, after that, I just keep seeing the worst hands you can see in Hold 'Em. 4-3, 4,7, 2,3, 2,6, 5,3, etc. I got to a point and decided I would keep playing until I was dealer. You know, every time I play poker and call my last hand. I always get in some kind of predicament for that last hand. Majority of the time, if it's too questionable, I'll just throw it away because it's my last hand and I don't feeling like taking a hit on my chips. This time I wanted to have a little fun. I picked up pocket 2's. Now the blinds were (The ratio of chips to real money was 1-10.) 25 and 50. I raised it up to 300. So that's 30rmb. The guy behind me that I beat out earlier went all in with close to a 1,000, so 100rmb. Everyone else folded, so it was up to me. Now, usually I wouldn't play with 2's, or I'd be real cautious with them. But again, I was having fun. The dealer pulled out the timer on me, so I only had a minute. Most of the people at the table spoke English, so it was a fairly friendly game. They were playing much better and much more reasonable than the last time I played. I let everyone know I was going to show my cards, but I wasn't folding. So I flipped them on the table, and the timer is still going down. There was some talk and I was laughing, and asked what people thought I should do. I mean, I wanted to give them a bit of a show. Ultimately, I called. I figured, well if I win, it will be an amusing hand to talk about, more so because I'm a foreigner. If I lost, well, all is fair. So, the flop came out and the guy paired his Ace. At this point, he's got me beat and my chances of winning are slim to none. The turn comes out, nothing. I threw in the towel at this point and stated that was pretty much it. With only one card to go, 8-10 players at the table, my chances of hitting another two are not very good. The dealer turns over the river, and what do you know, it's a two! That was followed by myself and the rest of the table shouting 'OHHHHH!!!' I couldn't believe it. I completely knocked out that guy on my left, terrible. I did apologize, but it's poker. Apologies don't go very far. He was cool with it, though. I gathered up my chips, which was followed by some low mumbling and confusion until I stated that it had been my last hand. I was feeling good, shook hands with everyone at the table and went to collect my due. I bought in for either 700 or 800 and ended up winning an additional 700rmb. Not bad! Still down 300 overall, but I can live with that. I had fun playing.

Oh, as I was making my way out, I chatted with my friend that I went with for a bit. I had questioned him about his plans for the following day, and he told me he was going to a BBQ with some colleagues. I had jokingly requested to join, but he had stated it just wasn't possible and apologized. Not a big deal. Then, he had an epiphany, and said 'Wait! You should go.' I was a little thrown off to hear him say that and after he stated he was serious. I asked about when and where. He was leaving at 7, and it was a 2 hour drive really far west in Beijing. No way, no how. He persisted, and realizing it was one of my last weekends in Beijing. I finally agreed. I was going to have to get up at 6:30 AM on the weekend. That's really against my weekend wake up policy. On top of that, I already had set up a Skype call before heading to poker, so I came home and chatted until about 3:00 in the morning. I knew what awaited me. Panda eyes and sluggish movement accompanied with an incredible exhaustion. I was already on a loss of sleep from the previous night and just overall because I had been staying up later during school nights. Oh well.

My friend making an attempt at grilling.

Now if you're not on a loss of sleep and wake up with very little sleep, sometimes that can feel almost refreshing. If you're already tired and then lose more sleep, that's not fun at all. My friend was driving, so I managed to catch some sleep here and there on the way there. I was actually really glad I went. The place was pretty amazing. Wish I brought my camera, but I didn't know it was going to be like that. When we were nearing our destination, we started driving on roads that look like they might be featured on that most dangerous roads show. Really beautiful, though. They were winding up through the mountains with awesome views. The day was perfect, so aside from a lack of sleep, I was really happy I managed to join. We got there around 9:00, and I was drinking a beer by 10:30. What a day. The day was followed by countless chuanrs (kebabs) and other tasty foods from the Chinese BBQ. The one guy was apparently some kind of chef in his earlier days, so he knew what he was doing. Everything was delicious. You come to this area, and you rent a table before hand, you can then rent a little BBQ grilling device or bring your own. These are the only grills you'll see in China for the most part.

That school week cruised on by and wasn't too difficult to get through. The last two weeks for me have been like the schools in the U.S. right before summer vacation. You know how it is. Teachers take it a little easier, a little less demanding. The work load lessens and the general attitude is just more casual. So that's how I've been since I made my announcement of departure. Now, I did face a little bit of a dilemma. I don't care much about my company so I could have just left when the time came and been done with it. The problem with that was if I leave before my contract ends, I face a $1,000 penalty. So I could have just left after pay day, but I still would have lost half a month's pay because of how I get paid. 15th of every month. So that would have been 4,000rmb. Besides that, I didn't want to screw my school. I like my school. They've been good to me, so I didn't want them to have to deal with without a heads up. Ultimately, I decided that I would rather get screwed than see my school get screwed. If it meant the $1,000 penalty, so be it. I notified my company and I was quite pleased with the result. Because I gave them notice, I only got charged half the contract penalty. I can live with that. I told the school, my teachers, my kids and got to do things the right way. I was pleased I did.

This past weekend was another great time. It was even better because of the Dragon Boat Festival, so we got Friday off as well. Friday was decent. I said goodbye to an old friend accompanied with a few drinks. Earlier that day, my roommate and I went out and bought all kinds of fruits to make another batch of sangria for Saturday night. The first one was so good that we decided a second was in order. It was fairly similar to the first, but we threw in some litchi fruit and they were amazing. It also had more time to sit in the refrigerator so that didn't hurt either. Saturday was a lot of fun. My roommate's wife went to her home town to visit before heading to Canada with my roommate. So he was free. Another friend of ours was girlfriend free at the time so he came over with his laptop. That was followed by a bunch of Halo games and the consumption of sangria. In total, we went through 4 bottles of wine between the 3 of us. I'd say I was the most sober. For dinner, we headed to this place where we thought we would be able to cook our own chuanrs, but they were pretty much cooked when they gave them to us. They were some of the best I've ever had, though. I know everything tastes better when you're inebriated, but still. Rain had been threating the city of Beijing all day, and we finally felt the sky's wrath on our walk home. We tried catching a bus, but that just didn't happen. Nearby trees weren't doing much to keep the rain off us and we were ill prepared. In other words, no umbrellas. My roommate and I started to make the trek home and had to leave the other guy. He wasn't moving, and we were tired of waiting. What a walk home. Two drunk white guys sloshing home through some of the heaviest rain I've ever seen in Beijing. And it was relentless. Chinese people were hiding out on the sides of the streets near buildings and under umbrellas and laughing at us. I don't blame them. It was probably pretty amusing to witness. I even thought it was hilarious at the time. It was about a 20 minute walk home and by the time we made it, we were completely drenched. I took a shower and went to sleep shortly after.

Sunday was pretty relaxing with some packing here and there. Hung out with my roommate and the other friend from the other night as well. His girlfriend joined as well. We just met up after dinner and played some pool. I'm pretty bad more often than not.

.Pretty cool gift.

This past Monday was my last day of school. I said my final goodbyes to all the classes and teachers. I made sure to get a group picture with all of my classes so that was cool. I did not teach at all. That was the last thing I wanted to do. We just played games and I let the kids do what they wanted to do in some classes. It was a nice way to go out. With the one class, the teachers were expecting me to teach, but I wasn't having that. I slid two tables over to where the kids were sitting, grabbed some of their cool toys, like the magnets and other building things, and told the kids we were just going to play. The teachers laughed and the kids were happy. No complaints here. One of the teachers gave me a pretty awesome gift, which was really nice of her. I've always felt a good friendship connection with her despite our minimal communication. I can sense she's just a very kind hearted woman.

King and Caesar acting like...well, themselves.

I re-gifted some coffee and walnuts from Malaysia and Sichuan province. I don't drink coffee and was never too thrilled about the walnuts, though it was a nice gesture from one of the mothers of the girls I tutored for. I've had it for a while, and decided to pass it over to my boss at the school. I figured it was a nice gesture. Oh, and I probably got the warmest goodbye from one of the security guards after I told him. He was so shocked when I told him it was my last day. He stood up, shook my hand, patted me on the back, and asked about where I was going. I was so stunned by his reaction to that news. He's a real nice older guy, though. We never talked much, mostly just a hello and goodbye from time to time.

And so, it's Tuesday now. I'm leaving tomorrow morning bright and early. Still haven't finished packing because I'm waiting on some laundry to dry. It's a good thing I took today off, though. I would have been up all night. In total, I've sent 3 boxes to Hong Kong ahead of me. Two larger ones and one smaller. Moving sucks. Having some pizza tonight which probably won't be great, but I'm in the mood. And then, back to finish up and sleep in Beijing one last time.

Thus ends my journey here in Beijing. Some of you have been with me from the very start, some started later, and some of you just read here and there. Regardless, thank you. It's nice to know that people enjoy reading about my adventures, stupidity, and overall life out here in China. Beijing has been the experience of a life time, and though I've hated it at times I will ultimately miss it here. I've met so many people in the last two weeks; it almost tempts me to stay. Almost. My time here has come to an end. I'm ready for the next Asian chapter. Beijing can hold me no longer. It certainly has been a road less travelled, but I know I'm on the right So with that…farewell.

But wait! I'm heading to Shanghai for a few days, then off to Hong Kong. So don't worry! You'll be reading more posts soon enough. Straight from Hong Kong. =]

-Jeff