Classes are "meh." Here’s just random stuff. This time it’s gonna be:
Cars and Transportation in Beijing
Reguarding car brands, the types of cars I see in China are an interesting mix. The cars are mostly of Japanese make, with a few Chinese made cars thrown in for good measure. As for luxury cars, there’s only one type: Volkswagens and Audis. That’s right. Total, I’ve seen two BMW’s (X5 and a 328I) and one Mercedes (The Smart Car (http://www.pistonheads.com/roadtests/index.asp?storyId=3420)). The Audi A6 appears to be the cream-of-the-crop when it comes to luxury in China, and I have no idea why the Audi is preferred over BMW or Mercedes. In the states, the Audis tend to run slightly higher than BMWs. Maybe it was marketing by VW that dominated the industry, but I have no idea. I see a ton of Passats, Jettas, and even Santanas (http://www.imperium.de/907/santana/).
Interesting thing to note is that cars and bikes coexist. Although I’m sure some of you already know this, I have a sense that you do not truly fully comprehend what I mean by that. I mean that, cars will get within inches of hitting you if you’re on a bike. There’s no such thing as pedestrian right-of-way here. When crossing the street, it’s like playing frogger, in that you hope to the next open space when you can. Of course, the end goal isn’t tasty flies (or whatever the hell you tried to win in that damn game). Just more dusty streets reekin’ of sewage. WIN. Even at crosswalks, there’s no guarentee that cars won’t speed the red. The bus brakes are screeching like fingernails on 1,000 chalkboards at once, and use of the car horn is both encouraged and obligatory. I can just imagine the license exam they have here (is there one?):
Instructor: Now turn right here
Student: (Turns)
Instructor: No idiot! You forgot to lean on your horn, and hit one pedestrian minimum! Failure! You get to be a cab driver now!
Student: No! Now my dream of becoming Chairman Mao’s chauffeur will never come true!
Instructor: Mao’s dead.
Student: NO!!!!
Hell, Jimmy was just clipped by a taxi side mirror. He said it "hurt," and I believe him.
Just this afternoon, Angee, Jimmy, Donald (The only other high schooler here), and I headed out to a McDonalds right outside the university campus to grab food. I’m lucky to be here typing this, instead of being SCRAPED FROM THE PAVEMENT. Crossing the road consisted of me looking for cars, praying to Jesus/Allah/Buddha, and yelling "FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCKITY FUCK" as I crossed. I was nearly run down twice. That’s life on the edge for ya – a five minute bike ride to McDonalds.
Oh yeah, something interesting happened yesterday: I went chinese Paintballin’! Woo! I had more experience than most people there thanks to Joe M and Garfo. I dished out some 0wnijj. It was a tiny indoor arena. They gave you only 20 shots per round for 50 Yuan. The guns didn’t even have hoppers (kind of a MASSIVE RIP OFF, in chinese currency). Angee went buckwild, and popped a guy fifty feet away in the face by shooting THROUGH the legs of a statue! I can’t say I had such a spectacular shot, but I got two goggle shots, the first being a reaction shot when he popped his head out, and the other with my last round from fifty feet away. It was fun, even if there were some foos who I capped who didn’t call themselves out. I’m looking for a better place to go 
By the way, the computer lab is most open at around 2:00 in the afternoon here, or around midnight your time. I know for a fact all yall are gonna become insomniacs just so you can talk to me
Can you think of anything else to say? Email me. As for me, I’m outta here.
Fw0ng
