Following the crowd…wait is that a cliff in the distance?!?

What did I learn Friday night friends? Perhaps you would think it to be obvious but that night I learned that I did not come to China to drink and party with Americans. How did I come to such rational conclusions? In an attempt to make friends and feel simi-normal, I have made a bad habit of surrounding myself with English, and the familiar. On Friday night my classmeates and I took a night on the town, and while I drank little, I observed much. Our adventures led us to the rooftop of a bar and from my vista I could see three things, my party loving classmates in front, the tired city below and the dark sky above. What did I think of all this? I thought, though I was in a very interesting place having a good time, that that wasn't why I had come to China, and most of me, if not all of me felt very let down by myself. I remembered how earlier in the day we had all walked down town speaking English laughing and having a good time, but some how allowing ourselves to over look the city, or at least in my case how the sites made me feel. That day I saw many beggars, some with no arms or legs, some children (one armless child was painting calligraphy with his feet). I saw a large group of blind men and women offering massages for money. I saw a pool where people gathered to fish from. I smelled terrible smells and some interesting ones. I ate fruit on a stick covered in sugar and visited a giant shopping center in seach of lotion (unsuccessfully). I road a crowed city bus and walked a crowed street. I saw how the people all blend and share the city no matter thier ecomomic state. I saw how the city moved, how it breathed and how sometimes it was gasping for air. I saw fine jewelry and antiques. I saw the people who really lived here but I allowed myself to become separted from it...what a tragedy indeed.