Night Life

Because we had a big presentation this morning, last night we decided the best thing to do would be to go out dancing, and so we did. Wednesdays are a good night for this - really! - because there's a restaurant with half-price pizza and drinks right down the block from a bar with free admission and drinks for women that night. I cannot tell you how excited I was about pizza, but let's just say my excitement was proportional to my disappointment when I realized I had accidentally ordered pizza with HAM. Still, it was pizza and it was half price, so I picked off all the ham and washed it down with some Tsingtao and all was well.

We went with my roommate and a few of her friends, as well as two other very nice second-semester girls. Bai Kunning, Zhu Meina, and Gai Wenwen go most weeks, but Lili and I hadn't been before. It was a lot of fun. The music wasn't bad, and although at first we were the only ones on the dance floor, by the end of the night there was quite a crowd. I think I may have even been hit on by a Chinese guy, although it was kind of noisy and I could be mistaken. I haven't been out in ages, so this was nice, and it was more or less our last chance to go out as a group, since everybody's leaving. I myself have to go to the train ticket stand and get my ticket for Chengdu.

Tomorrow we're going to an orphanage, so Lili and I went to the store to buy some little toys to give to the kids. We're informed that they will be mostly girls and handicapped kids who have been abandoned by their parents. I am excited but nervous. It's hard to go cheerfully into a situation that I know will make me feel sad and guilty. But I cannot feasibly adopt all of China's orphans myself.

Watched The Shining the other night - not actually the scariest movie I've ever seen, but I'm such a wimp I squeaked and covered my eyes for one or two bits, to the others' amusement. I had to watch Jeeves & Wooster afterwards and lock all the windows. To make matters worse, my roommate was out with her boyfriend, and so I lay in bed knowing the sound of the door opening would scare me to death. When Bai Kunning finally got home she was startled to find me sitting bolt upright in the dark. Serves her right for making me watch scary movies.