Hanging out in Hangzhou

Day 35 - Mexican food in China?

The big crackdown came this week. Hangzhou police started cracking down on
pirated DVDs here. Today, they are back. I forgot the Chinese saying,
but it was pretty good about Chinese policy versus local business. I have
so many thoughts about this, but I won't go into them now.

On Wed., I organized an evening outing for our classmates to the Maya Bar in
Hangzhou. It is the only Mexican bar here. I chose the place because it
had a Chili Night. For 30 RMB, we got a huge bowl of chili. The only
disappointment was the lack of guacamole. =) We also ordered some nachos
and some of the other students had chicken burritos. Everything was really
really good. I decided to take some pictures. They turned out alright --
It was a low light situation and I hate flash. I made the best use of the
light we had, but it doesn't always work out. Sorry about the poor quality
of the pics.


height="375" alt="Judith and I!" />

The
entire set

My brain is full this week. The afternoon one-on-one lessons have been
super helpful. I'm feeling more confident every day with my Chinese
speaking and listening. A bit more details on this -- I've decided to take
the approach that I need more listening. By listening more clearly, I can
understand what everyone says -- then I can respond slowly, but I can work
on that.

I really need a nap, but I haven't been able to fall asleep lately. I've
been waking up thinking about the Chinese I've been learning, watching
Grey's Anatomy on DVD, tossing and turning, etc. Luckily there is no plans
for the weekend besides having a suit made and shopping a bit.

Until next time

posted by Mike @ 7:02 PM