Random Walk China
A Trip Across the Great Wall
GREG STOLOWITZ, '10
Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: GSB Life
Dear Mom and Dad,
I know, I know…Mom must be a nervous wreck that her son (who is still single and looking) is traveling through strange lands and has not yet written to the parents who raised him. So here's the update… After a very thorough process, I chose to get away to a small island nation called China for a few days. Essentially I picked it because these four strangers (Katie Radcliffe, Sara Pollock, Eric Handsman and Scott Brodrick) posted whimsical pictures on a website and lured me with comparisons to the Olympics. They cited things like Flip Cup, Boat Races (dragon boats I had hoped) and late night cannonballs into the Swimming Cube. Needless to say, I eagerly anticipated the rich cultural experiences that awaited me.
Despite being overwhelmed by the presence of a huge bright pink suitcase, pink tennis shoes and a pink purse (Sara) at the start of my travels, my first impression of Shanghai was great. YoYo, our guide, introduced us to lots of huge buildings and a very cosmopolitan culture. After a few museums and such, "RoRo" and Rebecca Wenngatz were nice enough to show me what 'freaking' meant and Beth Lapman taught me how to dance on top of the bar…I know I know Dad, the first rule of the guys club: never dance on the bar. But at least I wasn't RoRo -- she danced so much that her head hurt the next day. I am not quite sure of why dancing causes headaches but oh well…
Oh and guess what! Remember how the news said that the opening ceremonies had digital fireworks, a fake singer and gymnasts of questionable ages? Well it turns out that the whole Olympics were fake!! The real Olympic Games apparently take place in hotel rooms so small that one has to move all the furniture into the bathroom. You create four person teams, and play Flip Cup, and even games where one person stands behind another blindfolded, and fills a cup with Tsingtao and then has to pour it in his/her teammate's mouth. And guess what? Your son is a world record holder as Katie and I only took 22.5 seconds, beating the previous record of 25 seconds held by Scott and Karen Friedlander. It was so silly Mom…Scott even picked up Karen when they set their record and twirled her around over his shoulder. He is so strong - he must work out.
I know, I know…Mom must be a nervous wreck that her son (who is still single and looking) is traveling through strange lands and has not yet written to the parents who raised him. So here's the update… After a very thorough process, I chose to get away to a small island nation called China for a few days. Essentially I picked it because these four strangers (Katie Radcliffe, Sara Pollock, Eric Handsman and Scott Brodrick) posted whimsical pictures on a website and lured me with comparisons to the Olympics. They cited things like Flip Cup, Boat Races (dragon boats I had hoped) and late night cannonballs into the Swimming Cube. Needless to say, I eagerly anticipated the rich cultural experiences that awaited me.
Despite being overwhelmed by the presence of a huge bright pink suitcase, pink tennis shoes and a pink purse (Sara) at the start of my travels, my first impression of Shanghai was great. YoYo, our guide, introduced us to lots of huge buildings and a very cosmopolitan culture. After a few museums and such, "RoRo" and Rebecca Wenngatz were nice enough to show me what 'freaking' meant and Beth Lapman taught me how to dance on top of the bar…I know I know Dad, the first rule of the guys club: never dance on the bar. But at least I wasn't RoRo -- she danced so much that her head hurt the next day. I am not quite sure of why dancing causes headaches but oh well…
Oh and guess what! Remember how the news said that the opening ceremonies had digital fireworks, a fake singer and gymnasts of questionable ages? Well it turns out that the whole Olympics were fake!! The real Olympic Games apparently take place in hotel rooms so small that one has to move all the furniture into the bathroom. You create four person teams, and play Flip Cup, and even games where one person stands behind another blindfolded, and fills a cup with Tsingtao and then has to pour it in his/her teammate's mouth. And guess what? Your son is a world record holder as Katie and I only took 22.5 seconds, beating the previous record of 25 seconds held by Scott and Karen Friedlander. It was so silly Mom…Scott even picked up Karen when they set their record and twirled her around over his shoulder. He is so strong - he must work out.
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