1.3 billion and we picked a fighter

Dear Erin & Grant,

I thought I'd provide an update tonight on the events of last evening. I'm already quite homesick. Tonight I ate steak at a steak house offering pig knuckles on multiple pages of the menu. This distresses me in many ways. They also offered various American cocktails, although in slightly altered form. The ever popular "Pink Lady" was offered as a "Pink Lary." Pink Lary is someone I never need to meet. They also featured a "Glasshopper" and "Whispey Sour." I bet a "Glasshopper" goes down pretty hard.

Last night after work, my co-worker and I decided to head to the local WalMart for a look around. (I'll have to post pictures of all of this upon my return. For whatever reason, I cannot access the Internet from my room, so I can only post from the hotel lounge.)

WalMart looked approximately like it does in America, with some notable exceptions. First off, they had a whole section featuring dried pig parts hanging from string. It was foul. I gagged every time I got near that aisle. It literally looked like disassembled pigs dried, hanging from clothesline. With so many good things to eat in this world, why do these people torture themselves this way!?

After leaving WalMart we watched a young guy with no arms sing in a street marketplace for change. It was really touching, in a weird way. Individuals with issues like this are seen throughout the streets of Shenzhen, usually begging. This guy had a whole routine with a harmonica. It was something.

On our way back to the hotel, we got behind a guy carrying a large quantity of some sort of shouldn't-be-eaten food on his back using a large bamboo pole and two baskets. As we followed, my co-worker took his picture. The flash caused him to turn around, at which point he began glaring. A few feet further, and he stopped and accosted us about taking his picture. A young guy who overheard him shouting stopped and explained to us that the guy thought we were making fun of him. The kid said that he explained to the angry man that we were only taking note of this part of Chinese culture, which was actually true. This didn't really help matters. The guy continued yelling at us, and he then proceeded to chase us down the street...bamboo pole and all. I was astonished at the speed with which the man was able to make chase without losing his cargo. We finally managed to lose him, but I slept with one eye open all night. How we managed to take a picture of the one easily offended worker in Shenzhen is beyond me. I made my co-worker keep his camera in his pocket all day today though. The last thing I need is a beating by a wiry man with a large stick.

The last thing I'll mention is that it's really hot here. I mean REALLY hot. It's ridiculously hot. When you land yourself in direct sunlight, it's almost intolerable. Really. My co-worker declared himself "hotter than a monkey's" er, nether regions. He's a southern Indiana boy, so he says things like this frequently. I might not put it so eloquently, but I think he's right. By the end of the work day, I smell like a goat and my clothes are soaked. But luckily, everyone here is equally saturated, so we're all miserable together.

I can't really believe that I still have the majority of the trip remaining before I return home. When I get back, I'm relatively sure you'll need to burn my suitcase rather than open it. The combined stink of my body and terrible environmental conditions here in the city will make for a quite unpleasant laundry situation upon my return.

I love you both... I hope the Holiday Inn in Reno treated you well.

Love,
Bret