July 02, 2007

Dalian (CHINA)

Build up for July Fourth Celebrations

Am I the only one who cannot believe July 4th is only two days away? Perhaps it is because I am in China and have missed out on all the build-up, but goodness: only two more days!

I remember spending my last 4th of July in the capital of Inner-Mongolia. After a day of horse-back riding through the sea of Mongolian grasslands, I bought a bottle of red wine and sat at a restaurant/bar on the ground floor of the newly built Holiday Inn hotel in Huhehaote (呼和浩特). Although I should have known better, I was hoping to find other Americans with whom I could celebrate.

The following sums up the extent of those celebrations: on the morning of July 5th I took a taxi to the airport, and after grabbing my backpack out of the trunk, I took the taxi driver aside and gave him the previously mentioned (un-opened) bottle of red wine.

Depressing, huh? Some time I will get around to telling the story of my 21st birthday and you will really see how bland my life can be.

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