MSN chat is very common and everyone is shocked that I don't have an account. This is the most amount of internet time I have spent since, well, ever, because I am far away and this is the only communication that is easily cheaply available..
Tonight I went to the bar and asked for hot water for my hot coco. Wang Chung Nan the bar tender said to me, “these kinds of drinks are for little kids who are still on milk.” Hum… although Yao Ming’s billboard ads with Beijing Olympic symbols on it says “Be like Yao Ming drink milk” is everywhere in the big cities, I guess not all are buying into it. Wang majored in English because there was no major for history his passionate subject and he settled for English at his college. He's from a farming community in Sichuan. He is working here because he speaks English and at a touristy place and a youth hostel, his English skill comes in handy. He has a job at the bar because in getting any job now in China all the jobs ask for 1-2 years of previous work experience. As a new college graduate he did not have previous working experience and working on his family farm didn’t count. This cafe bar job did not require previous job experience. Wang studied for the law exams and took it but missed it by 30 pointed. He decided he would not continue to pursue the field of law. He talked about New Years and being able to hopefully go home and eat local new years home made food by his mom. We exchanged the differences in both cultures on education etc. Wang said he had lots of interest but the community discouraged any sports activity and artistic pursuit because they were unrealistic impractical financial ideals.
While at the bar the guys talked about guys in the room and the sleeping situation at night, they joked about the evening sounds. I suggested calling it a symphony, they corrected me and said it's more like many motors running loudly at once. We all laughed.
I talked with the owner for a bit. He lent me his notebook while all the computer stations were all taken by internet group games. He shared with me his hostel business experience and I talked about my travel experience in search of housing etc… We both agreed on the importance of getting listed positively on the Lonely Planet book. He said he sold the previous youth hostel and started this one because this is the only youth hostel in the area. It’s so new it’s not even on the Lonely Planet Guide. On top of it all, Lonely Planet, he tell me updates their info every few years and publishes new info every 2 to 3 years even if it has the current year printed on the cover. I have been having fun chatting with the owner here.
Before I went to bed I watched TV with the female works here on a report on the Chinese gymnastic world champion on the Horse. It was very inspiring to watch the interview, she talked about her dedication to the art and all her sense of responsibility to her community's hopes and dreams for her, her advancement in making the national team and now a world champion is really advancing her parent's family living standard. Her parent's supported her training by sewing gloves day and night to make ends meet. The ladies offered to share their midnight snack with me with was very kind but they were BBQ intestinal parts of some animal that I could not eat.
