Day 18

We woke up late today (suffering slightly for the hotpot we'd consumed the evening before) and didn't get out the door until 10:30. I dressed up again today, opting for the green dress so as to be cool yet formal.

We walked to the Wutaishan wangba (internet cafe) first, so as to contact a few people and see how many responses we'd garnered. We had 101 responses when we checked, exactly 11 more than we'd had the day before! So distributing the surveys was worthwhile. I didn't like to think of it as 11 surveys for 399 flyers as much as 11 surveys for 40 minutes work.

Then we decided to walk to the copy shop, which was rather far away as we hadn't planned ahead and gone to the closer of the two locations. So on the way, we stopped on Shanghai Lu and had lunch at the Slow Life Cafe, the Mexican place that Drew, Mason and I used to hang out in every Thursday night.

I had a cheese quesadilla, which was greasy but didn't contain any fresh vegetables and Andy ordered the Tacos. We enjoyed the music, which was a live album of the Eagles, and watched the traffic roll by on Shanghai Road. Andy ordered a Tequilla Sunrise, even though it was 11:55 and technically he was drinking alone. We both pretended it wasn't to loosen him up to the idea of distributing a thousand more of the surveys.

We walked to the copy shop and had 250 copies made and chopped for less than $5. It was boiling hot at this point, around 1:00, so we grabbed a naicha (milktea) and walked to the subway.

We arrived at Xinjiekou at 1:45 and began distribution at 1:50. 40 minutes later, we had handed out 500 copies and we retreated to relax a little and cool off.

We had been told by a nice young man in a white business shirt and a nametag to stand at the top of the escalator instead of the bottom, which had the benefit of being public property, but the real cost of being in the sun and far from any trace of airconditioning. Still, it was gratifying to have a small run-in with an authority and still be able to distribute.

Our break was a trip to Watson's (the British pharmacy) where I bought three of my favorite lipglosses, and a coffee and cake at Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut is exceedingly strange and nice in China. It offers afternoon set teas, with a coffee or a tea and a light snack or dessert, all for less than a coffee at Starbucks. I got the iced coffee, which was literally black coffee with ice, and a chocolate cake. Andy got regular coffee and tiramisu.

I must have looked a little dismayed at the taste of my coffee, because the waitress promptly returned with a small packet. It looked like a dairy creamer container, with a clear cup and a pull-off, brightly colored seal, but the liquid inside was clear and highly viscous. "Sucrose," the lid proclaimed.

I'll admit, I took a photo of it.

We resumed distributing flyers in the heat. It was again around 4 PM, and the sunlight was shining directly into our subject's eyes, which made them a little less likely to grasp a flyer. I was also dissapointed with how few of the painfully thin girls took a flyer. It seemed like they were less likely to take one than their healthier counterparts.

At about 4:15 or 4:30, we grabbed a cab home and relaxed, both of us being somewhat poleaxed. Though we'd only clocked in about an hour and a half's work, it was exceedingly tiring.

We relaxed for a little and then sought dinner, only going as far as our hotel's restaurant. Afterwards, we stopped by our room and then went out to the wang ba, where we are now. I added a few more entries, and we'll be headed home to bed soon.