the mere fact that i was there to learn tai chi at the shichahai sports facility was already a little bit mind-blowing - but there was something else about being able to hang out with rania and folks my own age. of course, it was a little challenging to 'hang out' when they didn't speak a lick of english and my mandarin was, well, worse than their english.

the most fascinating bit of the conversation {thankfully translated by rania and her sister tammy) was when one of the guys busted out his cell phone. it appeared to be either a next generation treo or a nokia designed for the space program. they laughed as everyone else at the table brought out their cell phones and pda's - comparing each other's gadgetry, reminiscing about the days when they were growing up communist. back when coupons were issued to each of their families which would indicate how much rice they could get, or whether they were allowed to receive a bicycle or not.

growing up in china, plastic was precious. rania's painter friend recounted the time when she was a kid and her dad had a chance to go on an international trip. he came back with a plastic teapot... and it was was the most beloved plastic teapot that ever was. nowadays, plastic flows from the economic rivers of 'made in china' tchotkes and souvenirs, kitchen appliances and electronics. the land of restrictions and communism is now all about capitalism and having the resources to make anything... and lots of it.

one of the guys ordered another round of beer. the waitress whisked away all the empty bottles of american budweiser and placed several, cold, tall replacement budweiser bottles where the previous ones once stood. the conversation went from the teapot to the proper way of preparing oolong tea.

oolong tea, he explained, is not allowed to be steeped in the water. he described the process of how you should put the leaves in a sieve and simply pour the hot water through the leaves and into the cup. the mere process of filtering the water through the oolong was enough to make the tea. letting the leaves stand in the water would ruin the taste and make the drink something of a travesty. after translating all that, rania looked over at me and shrugged.

"wow, who would have thought? i'm definitely no connoisseur of tea!" she said.

"neither am i, but... one man's meat is another man's poison." i nodded towards the table, "they're drinking budweiser!"

we looked at the near-empty bottles and laughed.

i talked a little while longer (via rania) with rania's painter friend. she seemed very cool. she talked a little bit about her art show that just toured through europe and amazed about how ancient the televisions in the hotel rooms were. her boyfriend spoke with awe about the amazing european shoes. it was the first time he realized that the shoes made for the people in china were piss poor compared to the same shoes made for the feet of the western world. so incredibly annoying that the people who make the shoes are given the rejects and the worst of the lot, while the rest of the world's distribution gets better arch support.

the painter lit another cigarette and smiled at me while saying something to rania. whatever it was she said caused rania to explode in laughter. little sparks of delight flew around her and i was oblivious to the reason.

"huh? what?" i asked, feeling a little like a three year old kid, only able to catch certain words, but not quite being able to put them all together.

"she says that you talk like a south park character!" rania explained.

that completely cracked my shit up. was it because i speak english too fast? is it my high, squeaky voice? is it because i rabidly swear like someone who's just learned how to use swear words? maybe i'm not articulate at all and i sound like kenny.

as awesome as that statement was, to this day i still have no idea what she meant.