The Not So Disappointing Search for the Invisible KTV

I know I said I would update over my break, but considering it was my first real chance to get out of my room and see Beijing, it completely slipped my mind. Sorry! Although now you can read about all my adventures in one post instead of multiple, which is convenient.

The first day off, I have to admit, I slept. A lot. Though I don’t think my choice in activity was much different from my classmates’, as we were all either sick or falling over in our chairs at school the week leading up to the break.

Though the days leading up to the break were really exhausting, the last day of school was a lot of fun. It was the Erfuzhong “olympics”  (Erfuzhong is the school I go to, by the way), where the entire school competes against the other grades in track and field events and hula hoop and double dutch contests. Now, I didn’t actually participate in any of these events because I barely had time for sleep, let alone training to run a 400m (also, I just really don’t like running). Even though I wasn’t apart of any of the races or games, it was so much fun to see my friends winning and losing against all of these Chinese kids and also seeing the traditions the school has pertaining to this day (the traditions are wearing Yoshi hats and eating sushi in the freezing cold).

One of the priceless photos that we gained from the olympics is this gem here of my friends Caitlin (right), Dehlia (left) and I (I hope you know which one that is) sitting in the back of the crowd swaddled in blankets and our hideous uniforms.

After that lazy day, my friend Caitlin was unexpectedly whisked away to the Chinese countryside where she didn’t have a shower, shared a room with her entire family, and had a dead baby chicken left on her bed (we still don’t know whether that was a threat or some sort of, “Welcome to the family! Enjoy our cutest dead chick.”). Though we felt bad for her, my other friends Dehlia and Miles and I went out to a part of Beijing called Yong He Gong which is where the Lama Temple is. We spent our first real night out in Beijing walking around the streets trying to find a karaoke place. However, after asking many shop owners and sketchy people we found out that it, in fact, is not a real place.

The next night we had much better luck and ended up going back to Yong He Gong to check out the hutongs. Hutongs are these old alleyways filled with boutiques, bars (that we didn’t go to, of course), coffee shops, and stands. We ended up spending most of our money that night on street food and vegan chocolate cake from the restaurant called, “Veggie”. Hutongs also happen to have some really awesome music and performances that warrant them another visit.

Most of my nights were spent with my friends, while my days were spent with my family. I really got to know them over the break and they took me to some really fun places like Chaoyang Park which has a ropes course and outdoor laser tag, one of the ugliest and most hilarious art exhibits that I’ve ever seen, and to my Nai Nai’s house (grandmother’s) to make dumplings and play Chinese chess (which I was a pro at because of Grandpa Donald <3).

We had so many amazing experiences this break and I’m definitely not excited to be back in school, but what can you do.