Handsome man, we have your size

Day two of Beijing consisted of a quick tour of the host university by some of the local college students. It was a lot of fun being able to meet people of our age, studying in similar educational fields as us. The most shocking revelation was probably when I met a local student who attended the same high school I did in Shanghai. The high school in question is called Shanghai Middle School, and it has two different divisions. There is a local division and an international division. I was in the international division the same time as this student was in the local division. Small world.

The tour consisted of mainly locating and explaining many of the different facilities within campus. We visited banks, cafeterias and small supermarkets. After absorbing all this information, the option was presented to us to go to the Silk Market. From living in Beijing previously, I remember the Silk Market to be a busy street with hundreds of small vendors selling knockoffs of everything imaginable to man. While the location has changed to a building connected to a subway station, the concept has remained the same. Store clerks are almost vulture-like as they try to drag you into small shops that aren't more than ten feet by ten feet. The greatest thing about the whole experience was the fact that, as the only Asian surrounded by many Caucasians, I was left unscathed as my fellow classmate were unmercifully dragged and shoved into these stores. Leroy, another Purdue student, mentioned something of a death grip as he was being pulled into a store. Aside from the physical hazards of navigating the Silk Market, we also encountered different phrases of English being yelled in an attempt to funnel us into these stores. Chad, another student was warmly welcomed by phrases such as "We have your size" and "You so handsome".

As part of the small group of students that banded together to navigate the obstacles of the market, we finally found our sanctuary with a foot massage parlor. The wear and tear of navigating subways and streets took their toll on us, and the feeling of your heel being kneaded and your calves being squeezed is something out of this world. After our half hour massage, none of us had any desire to leave the chairs that we had been sitting in. This definitely capped off our trip the Silk Market with a bang.