Day Two:

Last night I went to Ali Baba’s (a bar owned by Daniel, who runs the business end of the school) with the guys for Tom’s twenty-eighth birthday. It was a hectic scene complete with pounding music, lasers, and a rambunctious patronage. I mostly sat at the bar observing, talking with Lion, Tom, Andy, and being introduced to the regular faces, many of whom were former Kung Fu students. I had a good time, but it got too smoky for my taste as the night went on. Cigarettes are common in China, and unfortunately they’re typically fouler than their American relatives.

There were a lot more westerners than I expected at Ali Baba’s, at times outnumbering the Chinese, but only for brief moments. There are also plenty of Russians who, I’m told, come here to study at Chinese universities. Tom got pretty schwasted and we left, under Andy’s supervision, at around two. We endeavored to stuff Tom into his jacket, only to discover that Andy grabbed somebody else’s (a very small somebody else). Then we endeavored to get Tom out of the jacket. He was of little help. On the way out Lion swiped two of my ice cream bites and introduced me to the Russian he was chatting up as “Taylor, he is my Kung Fu brother,” which tickled me pink, to use an outdated phrase. Andy rode back with us in the Cab since I can't speak Chinese and Tom was in no shape to try. All Tom managed was to tease Andy the whole way back, which enraged him to no end. Andy is a quality guy. He goes out of his way to be helpful even when it’s not part of his work.