A few quick hits from the previous week...
- All the signs had pointed to my internship being unpaid, to the point where I had just accepted my uncompensated status without directly asking if I was getting paid for my time here. So you can imagine my delight when they informed me that I still had to go get my paycheck from the month of May with about four days left in June. All in all, I made a cool 4,000RMB during my time here, which amounts to a grand total of $632.91 in American dollars haha. Although this turns out to roughly $2.63/hour, I was still pretty pleased to be getting anything at all. On the bright side, this sum pays for all of my living expenses while in China plus some, so I guess it's all about perspective and expectations. As Mr. Chi City would say... get money, get paid.
- I had donkey meat for the first time this past week. Apparently it's a trendy meat these days--the restaurant I went to specialized only in donkey dishes. Aside from a slightly weird red hue, it didn't really taste much different than beef.
- While finally making it out to the Bird's Nest and Water Cubic (which you can swim in yourself for only 50RMB, or about $8), I noticed a little food stand selling weird fried insects. Of course, there were the expected beetles, grasshoppers, and scorpions that everyone always talks about, but I was quite shocked/disgusted to see these giant fried tarantulas also skewered on a stick. I mean, these babies were as big as my hand probably. The vendor got mad when I tried to take a picture, but my cousin was able to snap a blurry photo while running away.
- Excited to make my second ever trip to the Great Wall tomorrow. Different portion than the tourist-heavy part I went to in 2004, and I'm going at it solo this time around. I think it's one of the places in the world where I've come closest to reaching the sublime (thank you, E100... the gift that keeps on giving.), so it should represent a nice final image of China and last hurrah to my time in Beijing.
1 comment:
Did YOU just thank E100?!
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