The Freedom Smoothie Stand had a short and happy life.  To be honest, I am not entirely sure what happened to it.  For the last 6 weeks I had been developing a smoothie to sell to at English Corner.  My kitchen is full of random fruit juices and bananas.  As you can see, it was relatively a hit.  But when time came to open my stand this week, I just did not want to.  I didn't want to carry 100 pounds of beverages up the hill.  Nor did I want so many people paying attention to me.  Mostly, I just felt tired.  And that my future does not lie in the beverage industry.  Though now I also feel some regret.

It's strange, really.  Sometimes I think I like the idea of doing something more than actually doing it.  But I have never been interested in business.  So to suddenly become a tycoon would be odd. 

The Local Prison

The approach to my university has several signs announcing that a prison is up the road.  I was considerably consternated by this, until I asked around and learned that it is now a tourist destination.  During WWII the Nationalist held communists in this prison, and to commemorate revolutionary glory, it is now an exhibit.  Complete with wild dogs to bark at the tourists.

The problem is, the dogs bark all the time.  Morning, noon, day and night, I hear this pack of muts.  In America, if a dog barks for five minutes, it bothers 10 people and the police come.  Here if a pack of dogs bark for five days it bothers 10,000 people and there's nothing we can do because the government is raising the dogs.  The Hand of God might as well be raising these dogs.  And they raise them to bark at people.

Needless to say, I am frustrated.

Happy National Day!
On October 1, 1949 the modern Chinese state was established. And so we celebrate that here with a week off for the whole country! This means that 1.4 billion people (yes, there's more of them) can all go traveling simultaneously to the same 20 places. If China is ever re-established, I am going to suggest that it take place over several weeks, so the country can go on vacation in phases.

For my en masse vacation, I took a boat on the Yangtze river through the "Three Gorges" to the super big Three Gorges Dam. I went with David, a friendly Briton who was a surgon in the Royal Navy for 25 years. Together we, and 300 others, toured several temples dedicated to ancient suicides, several ancient towns, and numerous gorges. The trip was relaxing, except for disembarking the boat. The boat could be on fire and people could not pack in tighter. I understand why, but it still makes me crazy.

David and I were also, almost predictably, befriended by an English major on the boat. She was very sweet, though her presence did lead to some hysterics. At one point David had left the cabin, leaving me and her chatting with the windows open. The guide came to tell me something, opened the door, and let in an 11 year old girl. She promptly ran over, grabbed the English major by the hair, and started screaming. I have had less awkward situations in my life, to say the least.