Qingdao, Famous For Beer

QINGDAO CITY POP 7,579,900 SHANDONG PROVINCE 94 MILLION
JANUARY 11TH, TUESDAY

Famous for Tsingtao beer.

I'm coming down with a fever, too many late nights. I can't sleep and have the chills all night. I need rest.
Catch soft-seat express.

Bobby Li tells me to catch a bus, I can't find it. Bobby Li tells me to meet him, I can't find him. Bobby Li introduces me to his friend Mr. Li our driver and then Bobby Li buys me lunch. I'm sick so I'm not that hungry, especially for the spicy food they serve.

Back at his place I just want to lay down, but he won't let me. Out on the street I walk around in the wind by the coast for a couple of hours, can't find a coffee shop to rest in.

I just want to lay down.

Meet up with Bobby, wants to buy an iPad, catch a bus to downtown, I pass out. He doesn't buy.

Meet friends for dinner, there's Bobby's girl he's just started seeing, her friend who's a 26 year old virgin. Bobby's American friend who sleeps with alot of Chinese girls. Bobby's fitness trainer and some old guy named Frank who has a 4oomm lens on his camera and insists on taking pictures of us while we eat. All the meanwhile I'm battling my fever and trying to keep up with the toasts.

We head to a bar to play some games with dice, Bobby almost gets in a fight and then they abandon me in the bar.

Lily says she'll get me a room but instead takes me to her place. She tells me she's never had a stranger over before. Lucky me.

JANUARY 12TH

I'm her prisoner, think Misery with Kathy Bates and you'll have a pretty good idea of my situation.
She won't let me leave.
Wake up, body's achin', the fever has fully kicked in, I'm coughing up green stuff and my head is pounding.

Luckily Lily has no job or ambition to do anything and I sleep all day, and the next one too. She's like my little protective angel.

We go grocery shopping and she makes dinner for some friends, which actually turns out to be a dinner party trying to hook up two gay guys. They can't tell if the German guy is gay, don't worry I tell them, he is. The Chinese guy has one glass of wine and is on his ass.

Lily likes to party, she don't work. Takes me to a high end bar. I pass out from exhaustion. She buys me a drink, I don't finish... I must be sick.
The gay guy hits on me.

She buys me pizza.
Makes me dinner, lunch and breakfast.
Gives me beer.
Takes me to a movie.
Shows me the sites.
Leaves food from previous meals lying around, has a maid.
She's lonely.
She's also a little clueless and rambles on about nothing as I daydream looking out the window. I wish I could do that in another language.

But! She nurses me back to health.

But! She's so annoying.

I tell her my train leaves 15 minutes earlier than it does, good thing as she's slow to the punch. She doesn't want me to leave. With my restored health I give her a wave good-bye and tell her I'll be in touch. I couldn't be bothered.

She asks if I will come back from Beijing to visit her...