Yesterday I discovered how small this city really is. Not literally of course, 10 million people is still pretty dang big. I actually came across a discussion on an internet site that I frequent. It turned out to be a few people discussing teaching in China, “hey, that’s me!” I thought. Intrigued I read through it, this person lived way down south and had been in the country for a month or so. I kept reading. Came across a message from another member, “…I live in Xi’an…” was the part that really caught my eye. Holy shit, this dude lives in Xi’an too? I must meet this goon. Exchanged phone numbers with the guy, found out his name is Dwayne, and agreed to meet up at Papa John’s pizza near the large Wild Goose Pagoda the next day.
I know what you’re thinking, “that sounds like a date…and there’s Papa John’s pizza in China?!”, okay, not a date, it was a dude that I met up with and if you lived in a country where your kind were few and far between, you’d try to make all the friends you could. As far as Papa John’s in China, yes, there is and it taste just like Papa John’s in the U.S. except it’s a classy joint rather than a walk in closet with a bench to sit on while you wait for your to-go order.
I managed to find my way via a two-bus journey, 336 to the bell tower and 606 to the Wild Goose Pagoda. Easy enough. Called Dwayne and found him within 3 minutes. Turns out he had been walking around the pagoda area for an hour looking for Papa John’s while I had just gotten off the bus, walked forward a block and been blessed with it’s presence. Dwayne and I ordered a pizza and a couple beers, and started talking about our current state of affairs in China; our work, our students, our current friends, good places to drink, places to find American things, etc. Dwayne is also a teacher, he teaches at a private English language school just outside the east gate. He told me some pretty good stories about the crazy stuff that’s happened over his first couple months. I was a little envious that nothing that cool happens at my school, but then again, if I had to deal with those little kids like he does, I’d probably end up teaching them a lot of bad words.
The pizza was actually pretty good, albeit pretty expensive compared to typical Chinese food available pretty much anywhere. It’s like the difference between hitting up the dollar menu at McDonald’s and getting a nice t-bone at TGI Friday’s. But hey, I haven’t had any pizza for nearly two months. Can you remember the last time you went without pizza for two months? Didn’t think so.
After the pizza we walked around the corner to a nice, small bar for a few more beers. The “Glamour Live Bar” was rather classy looking as well but I definitely didn’t see any live glamour. Liars. Eventually a few guys that had been sitting in the corner for the last hour wandered up onto the small stage, which was littered with instruments; guitars, bass guitars, drums, mics, and speakers. I hadn’t expected a live show, in fact there was only like 5 people in the bar if those 4 were going to play. But play they did, they were like an alternative rock band. Not punky, but definitely not rocking out hard. I actually thought they were pretty good, despite the fact that I only understood a few random phrases in the lyrics. A good show. Unfortunately we had to cut out of the show early so I could make sure I caught a bus back to school. If I didn’t catch a bus I’d have to pay 40-60 yuan to take a cab back as opposed to the 1.5 yuan bus ride. Made the bus home and considered the night a success. Looking forward to hanging out with Dwayne and his other buddies soon, hopefully a Halloween party of some sort.
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