Well, as more and more contracts come to a close we see more and more familiar faces leave our social circle. This week, another of our British teachers, Dan, left this morning to return to the UK. Sunday night I left work with Ana and James and kept pace with their bus on my bike as it went from Yopindo to Tongzilin.
The plan was to hang out with Ana and Rodrigo, but it turned out that Dan's going away party would be held that evening at a restaurant adjacent to the Haka Bar.
We were the last to arrive, and among those there was Dan-the guest of honor, Steven, his coworker, Nick (my DOS) and his wife Jessica, as well as a few of his local friends. We sat and passed around wine glasses, toasting Dan good luck in his travels and future plans. I had the opportunity to speak to my heretofore unknown stalker from the Bookworm, A bespectacled Chinese girl named April.
She told me that she recognized me from the bookworm, and verified that I only ever sit in one of two seats, either on the couch by the entrance, or a couch in the back. She went on to tell me how she was always curious about the computer projects that I work on, but was always too shy to say 'Hello' or ask me what I was doing. Finally, she admitted that when I would visit the bookworm with Ella and Emma she would lurk nearby to listen in on our conversation. I'm easier to understand, she said, because I speak standard English and I consciously slow down my speech pattern to assist in comprehension. But she seems very nice, I actually saw her again last night, but I'll get to that later.
I also had the chance to speak to Jessica again; we had first met during the evening of our trip to Cookin' Chengdu in October. She has played harp for the last 23 year and performs regularly here in Chengdu but has an idea for a business venture catering to the wealthiest Chinese clientele. The idea is to set up an American affiliate of a Chinese firm that would hire American musicians to make an all-expenses-payed tour through the most upscale clubs, bars, and social venues in China, and be payed handsomely for it. Martha, one of our lost teacher's from America made more money doing a handful of performances at city bars and clubs that she made in a month at EF. So it can be expected that the richest establishments, desiring the best performers, would pay through the nose for performances. I recommended my friend Heather, who played piano and sang in the lobby of the Dolphin Hotel at Disney.
Jess, playing matchmaker, also introduced my to one of their mutual friends, an American girl, Rachel. Rachel is here from Washington DC, working to pay for graduate school, where she hopes to take courses for speech therapy. She's introverted, intelligent, and attractive. We spoke for awhile about past jobs and future plans, and I showed her and April some of my computer projects. She was a classics student with a major in Linguistics. We only met later into the evening, so I didn't have much time to get to know her at Dan's going away party.
After many glasses of wine, toasts, and a speech or two, we all went our separate ways at around 2:30 in the morning. I had abstained for drinking too much alcohol, knowing that it was my intention to ride my bike all the way back to Yopindo. The ride, while long and tiring was at least free of traffic.
Monday's classes went as normal, and late on Tuesday morning, I texted Rachel to see if she wanted to meet up at the Bookworm for their Tuesday quiz night. She said she'd meet me at the Bookworm a little after 8. I caught a can in the Yopindo area and was dropped off at around 8 o'clock. Who do I find sitting in my usual seat when I arrive, but Dan. We said hello, and he offered me a book from his collection and a messenger bag. While I spoke to him, Rachel arrived, and shortly thereafter, Nick and Jess. It turns out that we would've had to have arrived at 7:30 to take part in the quiz night, but we ordered food and drinks anyways and I had the opportunity to speak to Rachel again.
After a few hours, we left the cafe and Jess convinced Dan and I come visit her and Nick's apartment back in the Tongzilin area. We had a little more wine when we got there and I played on of Heather's music videos for Jess to see if she'd be interested in adding Heather to the portfolio of acts for her upcoming business venture. We got into discussions about music and pop-culture, and Jess gave me dating advice, encouraging me to arrange some dinners out with Rachel.
Upon leaving their apartment building around 1:30 I became hopelessly lost in the labyrinth of pathways in his high-rise complex. I could only see roughly 30 yards in any direction and every path looked the same. Eventually I came across a resident, and thankfully, he knew enough English to understand when I told him I got lost looking for the exit. With his assistance I made my way back out to the street and caught a cab back
The plan was to hang out with Ana and Rodrigo, but it turned out that Dan's going away party would be held that evening at a restaurant adjacent to the Haka Bar.
We were the last to arrive, and among those there was Dan-the guest of honor, Steven, his coworker, Nick (my DOS) and his wife Jessica, as well as a few of his local friends. We sat and passed around wine glasses, toasting Dan good luck in his travels and future plans. I had the opportunity to speak to my heretofore unknown stalker from the Bookworm, A bespectacled Chinese girl named April.
She told me that she recognized me from the bookworm, and verified that I only ever sit in one of two seats, either on the couch by the entrance, or a couch in the back. She went on to tell me how she was always curious about the computer projects that I work on, but was always too shy to say 'Hello' or ask me what I was doing. Finally, she admitted that when I would visit the bookworm with Ella and Emma she would lurk nearby to listen in on our conversation. I'm easier to understand, she said, because I speak standard English and I consciously slow down my speech pattern to assist in comprehension. But she seems very nice, I actually saw her again last night, but I'll get to that later.
I also had the chance to speak to Jessica again; we had first met during the evening of our trip to Cookin' Chengdu in October. She has played harp for the last 23 year and performs regularly here in Chengdu but has an idea for a business venture catering to the wealthiest Chinese clientele. The idea is to set up an American affiliate of a Chinese firm that would hire American musicians to make an all-expenses-payed tour through the most upscale clubs, bars, and social venues in China, and be payed handsomely for it. Martha, one of our lost teacher's from America made more money doing a handful of performances at city bars and clubs that she made in a month at EF. So it can be expected that the richest establishments, desiring the best performers, would pay through the nose for performances. I recommended my friend Heather, who played piano and sang in the lobby of the Dolphin Hotel at Disney.
Jess, playing matchmaker, also introduced my to one of their mutual friends, an American girl, Rachel. Rachel is here from Washington DC, working to pay for graduate school, where she hopes to take courses for speech therapy. She's introverted, intelligent, and attractive. We spoke for awhile about past jobs and future plans, and I showed her and April some of my computer projects. She was a classics student with a major in Linguistics. We only met later into the evening, so I didn't have much time to get to know her at Dan's going away party.
After many glasses of wine, toasts, and a speech or two, we all went our separate ways at around 2:30 in the morning. I had abstained for drinking too much alcohol, knowing that it was my intention to ride my bike all the way back to Yopindo. The ride, while long and tiring was at least free of traffic.
Monday's classes went as normal, and late on Tuesday morning, I texted Rachel to see if she wanted to meet up at the Bookworm for their Tuesday quiz night. She said she'd meet me at the Bookworm a little after 8. I caught a can in the Yopindo area and was dropped off at around 8 o'clock. Who do I find sitting in my usual seat when I arrive, but Dan. We said hello, and he offered me a book from his collection and a messenger bag. While I spoke to him, Rachel arrived, and shortly thereafter, Nick and Jess. It turns out that we would've had to have arrived at 7:30 to take part in the quiz night, but we ordered food and drinks anyways and I had the opportunity to speak to Rachel again.
After a few hours, we left the cafe and Jess convinced Dan and I come visit her and Nick's apartment back in the Tongzilin area. We had a little more wine when we got there and I played on of Heather's music videos for Jess to see if she'd be interested in adding Heather to the portfolio of acts for her upcoming business venture. We got into discussions about music and pop-culture, and Jess gave me dating advice, encouraging me to arrange some dinners out with Rachel.
Upon leaving their apartment building around 1:30 I became hopelessly lost in the labyrinth of pathways in his high-rise complex. I could only see roughly 30 yards in any direction and every path looked the same. Eventually I came across a resident, and thankfully, he knew enough English to understand when I told him I got lost looking for the exit. With his assistance I made my way back out to the street and caught a cab back