I packed up some blankets and my Christmas gift for Jing up in my smaller suitcase and got a ride to the train station. In the morning, I was back in good ole' Beijing. Oh civilization, how I missed you.
After a 15 minute walk and a 45 minute a subway ride, I finally met up with Jing and she took me to her mom's friend's house (we call her a yi), where she was staying. It was good to be with someone who spoke English.
For Christmas Eve, we wandered around our favorite Hutong for chewy and delicious noodles, and even went back to Beijing Normal University to pick up some shack jiaozi and some movies. Around 8pm we headed back to Jing's and bought some chocolate, fruit, cookies, and bread. We were making chocolate fondue.
For the rest of the night we ate chocolate covered fruit and cookies, talked with Ayi and Shushu, and watched Knotting Hill (it was Jing's favorite movie to watch on Christmas). In the morning, we made Ayi and Shushu an all american meal: French toast. Of course, we didn't have any syrup, so we improvised and sauteed the leftover fruit and made melted more chocolate. I didn't know if Ayi and Shushu enjoyed it (Chinese people usually don't eat such a sugary meal for breakfast) but they finished it, at least.
After breakfast, Jing and I had a movie marathon, and before I knew it, it was time for supper. Christmas also happened to be Jing's dad's last day in China, so we ate at this supper nice restaurant with all of Jing's dad's friends. We had Beijing duck (my favorite!), shu mai (a dumpling that's wrapped up in this thin wrapping and looks kind of like a flower), and so much more. I would have taken pictures, but I didn't think it would be polite.
The day after Christmas we were taken out to eat again. I also tried to get help for my visa, (the office in Beijing said I needed more documentation). Jing's dad called in all of his guanxi (relations) but it seemed to be getting more and more confusing. Everyone told us different things. Oh Chinese red-taped bureaucracy. In the end, we decided to follow up in Jiaozuo, since that seemed the easiest to get my visa extension. After lunch, Jing and I wandered around Qianmen a bit and then met up with our teacher, Shang Laoshi, who took us out to eat at another fancy restaurant on this street that was covered in red lanterns. We had Beijing duck, again, along with dessert! Afterward, Jing and I decided to explore the red lantern street. It was very pretty.
We also came across some people dancing and playing music in front of this mall, and we joined in. Neither of us knew how to dance, but it was still fun. The night ended with another movie and I was excited for the next day.
On Tuesday we went back to the mall with the dancers from the night before. After exploring that mall, we at a Uyghur restaurant on the red lantern street and then went to an ice skating rink. It was really tiny, and the skates hurt a lot! Jing is on the ice skating team at Dartmouth, but couldn't show me any of her tricks because of the rink and skate conditions. After ice skating we went to the movies (on the recommendation of Shang Laoshi) and watched Flowers of War. It was by the same director who made Hero. I was extremely impressed, and recommend it to others. :) But beware, it's a tear-jerker, and not for the faint of heart.
On the last day, Jing and I finished up our chocolate, and lazed about the house. I was sad to be leaving. However, I had work the next day. (Also I bought my tickets too late and was stuck with a hard seat on the way back to Jiaozuo. I was not too excited about that).
We ate at Annie's (an italian restaurant) as our farewell meal, and Jing sent me off at the subway station. I'm just happy to know that she's coming to visit me at the orphanage during Chinese New Year. (I'm also going over to her dad's hometown during the weekend of Chinese New Year, since it's only 20 minutes away.)
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