"Worrying about first impressions"
Updated: 2007-10-15 14:16
Later that week I met an old friend, an English fellow, and he and his partner took me out to a Thai restaurant. It was a nice place but when we got the bill I almost vomited the food straight back out again at the waitress, "Shenme? 360 yuan? Kaiwanxiaoba? In Haikou I know workers who get only 500 yuan a month! Next time I want to eat Thai food I'll catch a plane to Bangkok – it'll be cheaper than eating here!" I raged like a fire breathing dragon. This was my first impression of eating out in the sanlitun area. Sorry.
To calm me down my friend took me for a walk outside through little back alleys full of bars and clubs. What I saw were mostly foreign devils getting drunk and silly. He said a lot were students studying Chinese; others were probably workers like him. I quickly hopped inside a taxi and headed back to my bed.
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| A couple stroll along the jianan lu canal |
The next morning, just before nine, my colleague from the Daily knocked at my door and off we went to the soccer field. He is the captain of the office team and I felt like Beckham as I put on my boots.
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Oh but as I sit writing this now, I think back to yesterday and the moment of glory when I kicked a goal. And then - when I accidentally kicked an opponent in the leg and he crumbled. And then I fell over and hurt my knee, (and wanted to cry). But it was worth it. I can hardly walk now but I had fun and met some nice people who I had no idea were in my office.
As for the weather – well Beijing has shown me blue skies 4 out of 5 days. I went for a walk today and found a lovely grassed park that I will go back to again and again. There is a local restaurant that has all my favorite Chinese dishes like brown fungus, broccoli, seaweed and cold tofu with coriander - all for less than 30 yuan!
And as for making that good first impression, and trying not to worry – well, I hope I've gotten beyond that now.
Useful phrases and expressions
passing judgment – to pass judgment means to decide if something or someone is good or bad; to evaluate
in the back of my mind - to have a thought or idea that you keep and are always aware of
carousel – a machine that goes around in circles, at the airport it is the baggage collection area
lap - your upper legs, when you sit down the place where you put things on
menacingly – to do something threateningly, to give warning, to create a sense of fear
from top to bottom – this means everyone or everything, here it means all the staff, from the boss through to the cleaner
vomit - to be sick, to throw up already eaten food
crumbled – to fall down, to collapse.
by Brendan John Worrell
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| About the author: |
 Brendan John Worrell is currently a polisher for China Daily Website. He used to be a teacher and has taught at university and colleges in China, Australia and the UK and also at the high school and primary school level. In the field of writing Brendan has been published most recently in the Tiger Airways In-flight magazine ‘Tiger Tales’, writing about Hainan, Sanya, and in the upcoming issue the sister city relationship between Haikou and Darwin. He has also written travel articles for the Thai English Language Newspaper, The Bangkok Post and the Taiwanese English Language Newspaper, The Taipei Times. Brendan loves China, the Chinese spirit, his Chinese wife and the color red. He can be contacted at brendan@chinadaily.com.cn. |
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