This morning Max and I decided to wake up early and go to play ping pong with some of the locals. Max knew of this spot where a lot of good people play, but we had to get there early because they are all old and like to play in the morning. So we woke up at 6:30 to go play ping pong against the old people. When we got there the place had some tables outside along with some basketball courts, and badminton courts. We went inside where the good players are and there was probably 20 tables lined up in a big hallway. At first Max and I play a few games to warm up, while everyone is staring at the people less than half their age as well as the foreign kid. After a little while I decided to ask one of the guys who were taking a break if he wanted to play. I had seen him playing before and could already tell my odds were slim of winning, but I was feeling good and ready to play. When he came over he talked to Max a little and we began. I was really on top of my game, but this guy was much better than Max so it took some adjusting to a new partner. He played really fast and I made some nice shots, but I fell to my first opponent 11-8. Oh yeah, he was at least a 65 year old 5’2” dainty china man, but he was good. So after my brutal loss Max and I played some more and a woman came over who had been hitting on a table near by that said she wanted to play with me also. She was probably around 55 years old, but was probably the best person there. She gave me a few pointers while we hit and I had found my new coach. After we played for a while my next opponent approached the table. We didn’t actually keep score, but we both were keeping mental score that was getting intense. I was pumped from my lesson, and I was determined to take down a true native that didn’t suck like Max. After about 15 minutes of play I was able to determine, due to my mental score, which is subject to change, that I had won our unofficial match. Now this even younger probably 50 year old woman was also the worst person in there that goes to this ping pong champion building facility for the elderly, but I had finally taken down a true Chinese ping pong player.
Now obviously the rest of the day doesn’t matter, but I will tell you what we did anyways. With a victory under my belt, Max and I headed back to the house before Baby George and Gordon even woke up. When everyone was finally awake and ready we headed out for lunch. The place we had originally planned on going was closed for renovation, so we found this really nice sushi place to eat at instead. This sushi bar was really cool because it was like you see on TV in Japan. We sat down at a small table for 4 and a conveyer belt full of sushi constantly passed by the end of our table. We could chose whatever plate we wanted and the price of the sushi was determined by the color of the plate. At the end of the table there was also a faucet for hot water because we each had individual tea bags. The restaurant had a small menu of hot food you could order, but the sushi was delicious.
After lunch we walked around some of the shops in Nanjing doing some last browsing for souvenirs because we only have a couple more days in Nanjing before we head back to the US. After walking around for a while we went back to the house and chilled for a little. A little later Max and I went to go play basketball in one of the parks and George and Gordon decided to take naps and chill at the house. The place Max and I went was a court that he usually goes to at one of the colleges in Nanjing. Now basketball is a true American sport that I should really be able to dominate these little Chinese people at, but while most American kids grow up running and jumping I was only rolling and skating. Needless to say my basketball skills are very sub par for America, but I figured I would try my luck here with some shorter people. When we got to the court and I was able to scope out the competition I really began to like my odds. Max and I jumped in to a pickup game quickly and sadly to say I fit right in. Although the skill level of the game may not have been up to American standards it was a lot of fun. Max and I both made a few shots here and there, but were both dominant players for our teams. We won some games and lost some, but it was really fun to be able to play a pick up game and not be the worst person on the court, which the only time I can say has happened before is when the hockey team would attempt to play basketball.
When we made it back to the house and finished taking showers it was perfect timing for dinner. We went to Max’s grandparent’s house on his dad’s side for dinner. They had made homemade dumplings for us, which were really really good. Gordon’s stomach was a little upset, but Baby George, Max, and I stuffed our faces eating more dumplings than would seem humanly possible.
After stuffing our faces with dumplings we ended up just going back to Max’s house to pack and get a good night’s sleep for our flight to Beijing in the morning. Our flight is at 8am so we have to leave the house at 6am. Completely pooped after a tough day of competition its time to hit the sack. Tomorrow we plan on wandering around Beijing without a formal schedule, so I will let you know how it goes tomorrow. Until then, goodnight.
Marty
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