dui, dui, dui

Let me see. Where to start. The last few days I was in Guangzhou with John & Sonia... and a handful of noteworthy events took place.

For starters...
I got to Guangzhou and went to hail a cab to John and Sonia's... only to be refused by every one of the drivers. I finally figured out I had exited on the wrong side of the station and the taxi's were going the opposite direction than I needed to go. So I turned around and walked back through the train station. During my route, I happened to stumble upon quite a sight. This was something we heard of happening before we came, but aside from little children, I had yet to see it happen until now. There was a woman... who was squatting, going #2... in the middle of the bus station (outdoors) with people all around her. I did a double take... and just laughed. Absolutely disgusted, naturally...but for some reason, it was really funny to me. No one stared, it was like it was perfectly normal. So... I guess next time I have to go and I can't find a washroom... easy solution, I'll just go. :) Anyway... the story continues.

So I proceed to find another taxi and ask him if he could take me to the address I had written down. He tells me he will do it for 100 yuan. ONE HUNDRED YUAN! Ummm, no. Absolutely not. I had come into this bus station before and I knew that their home was only about 2 kilometers from the station which costs no more than 7 yuan. So I told him, Tai gui le! And left. Next cab driver told me 50. After hailing a number of cabs and trying all of them... the cheapest price I could get was 50 yuan. I would have walked if I thought I could get there... and if John and Sonia weren't already expecting me an hour prior to the current time. So, very relentlessly I consented and took the 50 yuan offer. I got in the cab and again told him Tai gui le! I was very upset and he just laughed and rolled his eyes, and began to try to make small talk. He asked me if I was coming from Shenzen and I told him.... “Wo shi ying wen lao shi zai Zhongshan. Wo shi Meiguoren.” By that time, we were there... ( yeah! That's how close we were to their house and he charged me FIFTY RMB. Little punk!) and I handed him one of my 100 bills to break, and he looked at it, examined it … and gave it back. So like a silly, naïve American I thought he was thinking, 'oh... I made friends with a nice American and it really was so much closer than I thought... I just won't charge her anything.' ha. FAT CHANCE. So I said, “oh...xie xie...” haha... It makes me laugh just to think I really thought that. HA! He looked at me as if to say, 'thanks for what? Give me my money!' So I again gave him the 100 and he for some reason would not take it so I very optimistically flipped through my bills for the exact amount of 50 and I found one and gave it to him. Again, he looked at it and gave it back, pointing to a ripped corner. So demanding those cab drivers are.... so I said, “Mei you!” Which means don't have … and I gave him the 50 again and shut the door. Oh man! And... he didn't have a receipt machine in the cab, so I had no way to get a receipt to somehow get a reimbursement.

I got there and Sonia had a homemade Heavens to Betsy burrito waiting for me. She is SO good. They are so good! It's no wonder I'm gaining weight. John and Sonia care of that. Homemade tortilla, homemade re-fried beans, shredded beef... homemade salsa... Mmmm. So yummy. I haven't had one of those or anything like it since before I left. We spent the afternoon together, and that night Sonia and I took the girls to a big shopping mall to get a pair of pants hemmed and make a quick stop for me. We ended up spending the entire night there. We got pedicures, and Sonia took me to try some noodles from her home city. They were so spicy... beats me how I finished all of it. My lips were tingling!

We finished up around 9:30... John met us outside with a cab to go home. We put the girls down for the night, and of course, the night was young for the rest of us, because it's China! We walked to a restaurant about 10 minutes away where I tried 'patty chicken' which is just another, less direct name for Bullfrog. :) It was a hot pot. They brought us the pot with the frogs already in it, and then they brought out a number of other raw dishes for us to cook. Lamb, tofu, lettuce, seaweed, and... pig brain. I recommend all of it. I loved the bull frog! That was delicious, hao chi. Seaweed, tofu, lamb, yummy... all of it. But the pig brain, I will never ever try again. The flavor, the texture, knowing what it is, it was not my favorite. Although, I have now tried it... didn't like it, and now I never have to try it again. Check. The hot pot itself was SO incredibly spicy. I was full to begin with when we arrived, so after eating all that spicy my stomach was not feeling well. It has become very clear that I do not handle spicy things too well. There were numbing peppers in the sauce also and that took action with the first bite. It eased and my taste buds got used to it I think as the meal progressed, but after that first bite, I didn't know how I was going to keep eating. Wheeew.

It was so fun though. Being there with John and Sonia enjoying their company and getting to know them together better. I just loved it, every minute of it.

We enjoyed a wonderful Sabbath day together and I headed back home around 6'o clock. Such a fun weekend.