This weekend I did a lot of things. So many, in fact, that I didn't have time to write about them. So here goes, in somewhat random order:
1. Friday night, a bunch of us headed out to Hans Brew Pub, which was one of the more original dining experiences I've had in China. It's a German-style brew pub located smack dab in the middle of northeastern China - I don't know who thought it up, but it's a great idea! Basically, you walk in, pay RMB 38 per person (approx. $5), and then men wearing lederhosen (no kidding!) and cowboy hats will arrive with giant skewers of meat and carve it onto your plate. There was steak, chicken, pork, squid, and pineapple all on my plate at one point or another. it was great! Plus, they brewed their own German-style beer, which was RMB 12 a pitcher (not quite $2.00). Some of the best food I've had in a while, plus random German decor. will definitely be going back!
2. Saturday morning I helped organize a trip out to the 731 museum, which doesn't really belong in a lighthearted blog post. The Japanese army operated a secret germ warfare base out of Harbin during their occupation of Manchuria - from 1938 until 1945. They blew most of it up after they lost the war, but the one building that remained was turned into a museum. It was a very, very chilling place to visit - reminded me all too much of German concentration camps, though on a smaller scale - the same red brick buildings, the same rail lines and crumbling buildings. The captions were in both Chinese and English, which was nice, though I'm always wary of the propagandistic nature of Chinese versions of history - there seemed to be a lot left out, and the accuracy of what was included I'm not so sure about (did the US commit germ warfare in Korea? the museum's final point was that the US army used the research done at the 731 site to commit biological and chemical attacks against the North Korean population during the Korean war. That I'm not so sure about...) It was definitely worth a trip to see, though, if only to further understand the long-running animosity between China and Japan.
3. Saturday night I watched Vanilla Sky, followed by three episodes of Fresh Prince of Bel Air, so I would stop getting creeped out by the movie. V. weird.
4. Sunday morning I did homework, then in the afternoon headed to the post office and went SHOPPING! Unfortunately, I found out very quickly that it is very difficult to find clothing in my size, and wound up buying a blue hoodie sweatshirt at Puma. it's super comfy!
5. Yesterday... what happened yesterday? nothing very exciting. Oh - it snowed again on Saturday. Yesterday I did laundry and went to the gym. The treadmill really, really got me yesterday - I try to avoid being shocked as much as possible, but sometimes the static electricity builds up so much I can feel the hairs rise up on my arms, and then when I accidentally brush the sidebar on the treadmill - ZAP! I swear, the one yesterday was just out to get me...
ok - off to do more productive work. more later!
