I think I like weekends.

Yesterday because our Great Wall trip (hehe, that sounds like we tripped over a wall) got canceled, a group of us went with Fu-laoshi to the market in Wudaokou, which is the area in which we're staying. Sure, I could have gone to see Tiananmen, or the summer palace or a number of other sites, but there's time for that later and honestly, I don't want to do laundry yet. So off to buy clothes at ridiculously cheap prices thanks to nonexistant labor laws! ...Yay?

And then the shopkeeper got mad at me for taking pictures.

It was quite the experience haggling. We had the best luck when Fu-laoshi would step in for us or mouth a suggested price from the sidelines. There was Engrish abound, my favorite being a t-shirt proclaiming the quality of "IDAHO SEEDS" in giant letters.

The snacks and tea provided were a much appreciated addition to our intended meal of Pocky/Pretz and juice.

Later that day we went on an HBA-sponsored trip to see 京剧, or Peking Opera. It was at a nice hotel and seemed to cater to foreigners, but nontheless it was interesting to actually see in person. Instead of one opera, it was a couple scenes, the longest of which being a battle between the monkey king and 18 warriors. The choreography and stunts were amazing, but I would have rather heard more singing, I think. Of course, none of our young teachers wanted to go and were surprised that we wanted to.

Can someone please explain to me how they do this? It's adorable!

Even if I didn't enjoy the show, it would have still been worth going for the free snacks! I brought back four nectarines and a bunch of individually wrapped sour green plums. No one else liked the green plums, which were sort of like fresher-tasting 梅干し (umeboshi). I plan on hunting these down at the supermarket.

We finished off the night with some karaoke, which was moderately entertaining. There's only so much fun to be had when you don't know any of the songs and can barely read the lyrics because they're all in traditional characters (thanks, Taiwan). I should really improve upon my knowledge of Chinese pop music....on second thought, maybe that's not the best use of my time.

Today is my birthday (!) and so far it's been great despite a failed attempt to locate a vegetarian restaurant. Tonight we meet our language tutors and host families. I'm unsure how much contact I'll have with either, but the more Chinese people with whom to speak, the better!