We had to wake up at the ass crack of dawn to go see the pandas because they’re most active during the morning. This meant that I got five hours of sleep last night, which means I’m running on about 10 hours total of sleep for this trip.
Everyone convened in the lobby at 7:20 except for Logan. He thought Holden was coming with us, so he was waiting for him to get up. It was kind of funny when Holden was telling the story because he was like “I bet you thought I was just some asshole who wanted to sleep in as late as possible.” Long story short, Holden’s already been to Chengdu and seen the pandas, so he did the same thing and stayed and slept in.
We had a jarring 30-minute ride to the research base. I kind of just close my eyes and hope I don’t die whenever I get in a car in China because people cannot drive for shit here.
The research base was cool. We basically had to shove our way through just to see the pandas, but there were so many of them. Literally, there were five of them just hanging out and eating.
Since there were so many people, Korey offered to put me on his shoulders so I could take pictures from a higher vantage point. It actually worked, but I was honestly worried I was going to die.
After seeing the main attraction, we went to see the red pandas, which were the cutest things in existence. Baby pandas are cute, and adult pandas and just pandas, but red pandas stay cute forever, so they’re the best kind of panda. (Although, my loyalty stays with the giant panda.)
We went to a panda café since it was raining and I taught the girls how to play rummy. I also ordered a smoothie, which I got served in a bowl with a spoon.
An hour before we had to leave, the girls plus Daniel went to go and find a gift shop.
We walked around in the pouring rain trying to find the place, but when we did, it was worth it. I ended up buying an over-priced panda, backpack, but it’s coming from my stipend, so yolo. Rachel found a Captain American panda, which was funny because we had been talking about how Korey’s obsessed with Captain America and Pandas not an hour prior. And speaking of Rachel, she’s the real MVP because she ended up helping buy a lot of my shit because I was dumb and only brought 400 RMB. So thanks for being the #boat.
Everyone gathered at the gate, took a group picture, and then it was back to the hotel. I ended up sleeping (and messing up my neck and spinal alignment in the process) for the 30-minute ride because I was literally falling asleep standing up.
Once everyone made it back, we decided we should go get Pizza Hut. I somehow managed sitting with all the guys minus Danni, and the girls ate upstairs. I was under the assumption that we’d push the tables together, but that’s not what ended up happening.
Logan and I ended up splitting a medium pizza, which was our first mistake. We should have gotten the large (despite it being 100 RMB) because the medium was the size of a personal pizza in America. American food is too damn expensive in this country, which is why you should not eat it.
Korey and Kevin managed to each eat a large pizza if that says anything. And Holden didn’t even get his food until after everyone finished. Like Korey and Kevin managed to eat an entire large pizza before Holden even got his food.
We finished before the others, so we walked around the mall for a bit, and Korey keeps making annoying jokes that I was dumb enough to fall for twice. He kept saying I dropped my pocket, and both times I looked down searching for something. The first time I just didn’t process what he said, but the second time, I thought I dropped my phone.
I decided not to fall for it a third time.
We met up with the others and then walked to the metro. I’m so glad it rained today and not yesterday, but it was practically flooding. Surprisingly, I managed to keep my feet dry.
I got stopped in the security line because I had shaving cream in my backpack. The Chinese literally don’t know what it is because that’s the second time it’s been under speculation. The first was at the airport. But basically, the woman asked me if I had something like “hutong” and I didn’t understand what that meant. I ended up pulling out a bottled water, which is not what she wanted. I’m glad Kevin and the other’s didn’t get too far away because I had to get him to save my ass. I’m just glad he didn’t understand at first either. He figured it out when she made a hand gesture. I think what she was saying was anisole. Problem solved, but that was 一点麻烦.
Since we got to the station so early, we ended up playing card games. We played BS, and I should have won, but I announced I won before someone had the chance to put down a card (because I thought you had to announce your win) and I had to pick my damn cards back up. Also, I ended up with all of Korey’s sixes, so basically I was stuck holding four sixes, and he knew I was lying every damn time I tried to put them down.
We ended up breaking into two groups, and I play Kings in the Corner with Kevin, Korey, and Holden. It’s basically like a more intense solitary, and I really liked it. I’ll have to remember that one and suggest it to my parents.
Korey and I ended up playing go fish, which I haven’t played in years. Somehow, I actually managed to forget how to play, and halfway through I actually realized there was a moderate strategy to the game, so that’s my b.
Korey also made me play a game called fire or smoke, which is basically saying smoke if you see a black card and fire if you see a red. I thought there was going to be some catch because it seemed too easy, but I didn’t know what it was. Turns out it just means Korey throwing cards at my face when I finally got to a red card. AKA, fire the cards at my face.
The last game we played was speed, which I was not good at. It requires too much fast thinking, and I prefer my games slow.
The best part about all the card games were the Chinese nationals coming up to us and just staring at the Americans playing their card games.
I sat next to Kevin for the train ride, although I tried to sit next to Hannah and Korey since there was an open seat, but some woman kicked me out because she wanted to set her bags there. I watched Korey play fire emblem for a while, studied, talked to Kevin, took an unpleasant nap, and then chatted with Hannah and Korey while Kevin slept.
Korey took my phone and started scrolling through all my pictures looking for memeable moments. Logan joined and we took screenshots of all the ugly faces I had on my phone.
The train ride was smooth, and we made it through the metro with only one minor hiccup. Korey and Kevin weren’t paying attention to our stop and they got trapped in the metro when the doors closed. Some people were asking if we should wait, but they’re big boys, so I think they be fine.
I made a joke about how easily either one of them could beat up someone, and Logan asked if that was the criteria for survival. I’m going to say yes.
Most of us went to eat on 师大璐 at a placed called 胬肉面, so you know it’s already going to be good. I had the best food I’ve ever put in my mouth. It was basically potatoes, rice, and beef.
We made a trip to the 超市and then called it a night.
I’ve been typing for almost an hour now, so I think it’s time I got more than five hours of sleep.