I received a knock on my door at 7 p.m., and Brit tells me that they were across the hall in 409 (I was in 410). We both had a mini laughing fit; the four of us walked to the mall area near Sanlitun. It’s about a ten or fifteen minute walk straight ahead. During the walk, we were all talking and laughing. We grabbed dinner at Bite-a-Pita, and as soon as we sat down the mood shifted. Nicky and Eileen went silent and grabbed their phones. This is where the drama begins.
Brit is one of my closest friends here. I think it’s due to our similar personalities; she’s also hecka fun and easy to talk to and a great listener. We’re both African American, so we experience a lot of the same ignorance. We have boyfriends back home, and both work at the same school. All of this makes us really understand where the other is coming from. We even do the same things sometimes! When I first got here, she invited me out to lunch and dinner with the other two (which was super sweet). We always think of one another and have the other's backs.
Nicky, Eileen, Brit, and I used to hang out the first few weeks after my arrival in Dongying. Then Nicky stopped inviting me to hang out with them. I didn’t mind much because I was getting a weird vibe from her, and our meetings would be super awkward due to Eileen and Nicky gluing themselves to their phones. Literally, me and Brit would try to make conversation with them to only receive one word responses. Eventually, we would both just give up. We both think it's rude to only talk to each other, so we just lapse into silence. I like Eileen though; she’s really funny and nice when she’s not face-planted into her phone. I just don’t expect anything from her because one day she could be interested in talking to you and the next day she’s like, “huh did you say something?”
So, Nicky and Eileen start with some “Mean Girls” behavior. They’re both like, “we’re gonna order the same thing. Oh my god twins!” I couldn’t make this up if I wanted to. Brit and I were looking at each other like, “Um okay. Well, this is awkward.” So, we both tried to make conversation with them, but Nicky and Eileen ignored our attempts. They both pulled our their phones. Brit and I sat and ate in silence waiting for our food.
Afterwards, we went to a bar across the street. I’m not really a bar or club person, though I love to dance, but a drink sounded nice at the moment. Nicky’s friend Derrick arrived about twenty or thirty minutes later. Nicky and Eileen didn’t even look up to say hi to him or introduce me to him. Brit ended up breaking the tension and introducing us to each other even though it was her second or third time meeting him. He was very nice and funny. *By the way, Nicky and Eileen are still attached to their phones throughout this whole encounter.* After another twenty or thirty minutes, I looked at my phone to check the time. I realized that Boba would be boarding for his flight and needed to head back to the hostel to Skype him. I told them what I was going to do. I also said I would probably come back out, but would text first.
By this time, it was really dark out. When we first walked to the mall area, it was very bright outside. I wasn’t paying attention to where we turned once we arrived at the mall. Needless to say, I got super lost leaving the bar area. I retraced my steps, but it didn’t help. I called Brit, and she described to Nicky (who had been to this area numerous times) where I was and asked where I needed to go. Nicky wouldn’t answer her. So Britni, who had only been there as many times as me, was helping me.
I finally get back on a street that I recognize and walk back to the hostel. I walk past a group of Asian guys and they say hello. I ignore them, but one of them tries to stop me to talk to me, but I keep going. I notice am running out of time, so I started fast walking/running. I end up walking past the hostel; I turn around and start practically running to the hostel. I twisted my ankle on some uneven cobblestone on the way. Luckily, it wasn’t anything serious. I finally located the hostel, ran up the four flights of stairs, grabbed my PS Vita, ran back down the four flights of stairs to the lobby/first floor. Sanlitun International Youth Hostel only offers wi-fi on the first floor. It takes me a little while to connect which further freaked me out. I almost pouted haha In my head I kept thinking, “And I left extra early too...hmnn!”.
Everything turned to gold when I saw Boba’s face! I had made it in time!!!! Whoooo!!!! Yay! He was waiting in line to board the plane. We had a quick conversation, and I told him I’ll see him in the future. I quickly ran back upstairs to return my PS Vita. During my run back down the stairs, I called Brit to see if they were still out. She told me they had moved to a different bar, but weren’t ready to call it a night.
I easily made it back to the mall area, but got lost once again trying to find the second mall. I had another group of guys try to stop me to holler, but I just kept it moving. I called Brit and she told me she would come get me. We both got lost finding each other. I now know how Zoro from One Piece feels! For some reason Brit's phone kept dropping the call. So, we had to call each other multiple times. I decide to stand in a well lit area. I saw a group of men walking ahead of me that were leering at me. I really didn't feel like dealing with that crap late at night. So, I decided to just walk past them. One of the guys said hello, but I ignored him. I went into another well lit area. The guys walked near me again except this time one separates and comes toward me. I'm wishing that Brit will call or show up and save me. Of course that didn’t happen.
He introduced himself to me as Kevin. He proceeded to tell me that he said hi to me before, but I didn’t say anything. I say hi hoping that he will go away. He asks me where I’m from, and I respond shortly. He tells me he’s from Nigeria and asks me do I know where that is. I’m thinking to myself, “Really?! My dude. Of course I know where that is!”. I simply respond with Africa. He tries to ask me how long I will be in Beijing. I say, “I’m not here that long, and I’m waiting for a friend, so if you’ll excuse me”. Before I can leave he’s like, “Let’s play.” I look at him like he farted and say what with an attitude to see if he will repeat himself. He boldly does so. I wave him off and tell him I have a boyfriend. He’s like, “Playing doesn’t mean anything. It’s just fun”. I give him a look to illustrate that I'm not the one and he finally understands. He tells me bye and walks away. Then I resume my epic quest to find Brit.
We finally managed to meet up about ten or fifteen minutes later. We’re laughing and sharing stories on our way back to the bar to meet with the others.. She told me she was hit on too by a creepy guy. He claimed that he had seen her everyday and that he was “so fucking in love with her, and she just didn’t know!”. She thought he might have been following her for the past few days. We talked about Nicky and Eileen's behavior; she told me they started behaving like that after I arrived. This really annoyed me, and I was about to go back to the hostel, but Brit convinced me to just go back and have fun regardless of their behavior. She also said Nicky was trying to stir up drama due to her old crush on Derrick. Nicky thought that Eileen and Derrick were getting a little too friendly. Nicky’s behavior confused Brit and I because she just got married to Pan Chou (her Chinese husband). It was starting to feel like a soap opera, and I don’t really prescribe to that kind of nonsense.
We make it back to the second bar and order a drink. The five of us make light conversation. Brit, Eileen, Derrick, and I wanted to sit somewhere comfortably and listen to music and drink. We decided to explore the nearby area to see what we could find.
We walked down the street a little bit and hear music thumping. The music sounded really good. We followed the sound of the music until we came to a club. It wasn't too far from where the bar we had just left. Everyone wanted to go in except for Nicky. She claimed, "there might be a bunch of Africans in there". We all looked at her like, "ummmmmmm, really?!," then ignored her statement, looked at each other and was like, "let's go!".
We got a table in the back, and Derrick told us all the drinks would be on him. Our booth was kinda in the dark and short distance from the dance floor. It wasn't so close that we would get bumped into by people which we liked. We were also able to hear each other easily. For about an hour we talked, laughed and danced in our seats. Literally, there was not a point that Brit, Derrick, Eileen, and I weren't dancing in our booth. Nicky refused to have the minute we walked in, but we all ignored her.
Some song comes in and I had to get out of our seat. So, I'm dancing in front of our table. I see the club lights glint off something. It was a pole! I saw a couple of girls dance on it. I guess I had this mischievous look on my face because Britni asked me what I was looking at. I pointed to the pole and smiled. She gave me a 'You better do your thing!' look. I proceeded to go over to the pole, shake what my mama gave me, and make my way back to the table. Everyone (except Nicky of course) cheered and gave me high fives. I guess I inspired the masses because the floor became crowded haha Brit, Derrick, and Eileen got up and danced. We pretty much all stayed up dancing; we occasionally sat down if we weren't feeling the songs, but as soon as a jam came on we were up again. Derrick knew all the words to the jams; I was super proud! There would be points where me and him would just be going crazy dancing, and Brit and Eileen would be cheering. We all burst out our best dance moves. Brit was hitting up her Salsa skills, Eileen was backing it up, and I broke out my Dutty Wine, Twerk, and good ol' Southern booty shaking. Derrick's jumping and fist pumping were strong. Friends from back home know that I don't play on the dance floor and give it my all. I think we all put a little extra in that night!
The club is getting more and more packed. We were the only foreigners in the club. We're all dancing in a circle and out of the corner of my eye I spot this Asian guy (we’ll call him Mr. Whisper since he will make a few appearances this evening) edging closer. Female sense makes me think he's trying to dance with one of us. I point to him discreetly and tell Brit this which makes us both laugh. We quickly guess which one of us it might be. The next song comes on and we aren't feeling it, so we decided to sit down. I happen to sit on the edge of the booth. The same guy sort of dances his way to our area. He randomly leans over and whispers in my ear, "You are lovely." I really don't know what to say, so I awkwardly murmur thank you. He walks away. Brit and Eileen proceed to oohhh and ahhh and say someone has fallen in love with me.
We dance in our seats for a few songs; after ten or fifteen minutes the jams come back into rotation. The four of us get up and continue to break it down. Mr. Whisper comes back and joins our dance circle. The next song ends up being whack, and we sit back down. He comes over and whispers in my ear again and says, “You are like a rabbit.” I believe this observation came from me continuously dropping it like it’s hot throughout the night. I laugh and say thank you. A good song comes on and we all jump up again. Mr. Whisper sticks around and re-joins the dance circle. The five of us dance for a few seconds; Mr. Whisper grabs my hand and tries to lead me to another part of the dance floor. Before I can take my hand back, he takes me a short distance away and starts to dance. I take my hand back and do a two step while scanning the room for the others. I can tell he’s trying to get behind me, but I change my direction each time so that I am continually facing him. He also reaches out and tries to put his hand around my waist a few times, but I dance back each time. I spot the group after a minute of this. I wave bye and dance away. They ask me what happend and I recounted to story and we laugh together. After a few songs, Mr. Whisper comes over again and dances in our circle once more. He tries again to take me to the another part of the dance floor, but I nicely take my hand back. He tries to re-join our dance circle, but Brit blocks him out and takes my hand. He takes the hint and gives up.
We party like crazy for another hour and thirty minutes or so. I remember some song came on and I lost it! I literally pushed Eileen's purse out of her lap and lap danced her! It must've been a really good song ha Nicky has been in the booth the whole time pouting and moping around. We all decide that enough's enough and take our butts home. Derrick had to catch an early bus in the morning. The four of us were super hype when we were leaving. Brit's dancing up the stairs and I threw my leg up on the railing leading out and was popping. Eileen ran up behind me and smacked my butt a few times! We are SO silly! Once we're outside, I look at my phone and realize it's 3:30 am.
We help Derrick find a taxi on our walk back to the hostel. We climb the eight flights of stairs with our legs burning. I set my alarm quickly before I fell to sleep. My night ended on an awesome note!
Wow this is amazing! I'm glad your night ended on a high note. :D
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