Land of the Dragon

I am in Nanning, roughly three hours from the vietnam border, waiting patiently for my visa. the Vietmanese consulate is closed today and there isn't a whole lot to do here, so i am killing time in the chinese internet cafe. let me tell you a little about these cafes, i can't decide if they are totally rad or kind of creepy. Its a whole floor, maybe 4,000 sqare feet - no lie. Hundreds of computers and little chinese faces glued to the pale comfort of the glowing screen. They play games, they myspace, they talk to eachother online - for HOURS! and they smoke and drink pepsi. Actually, this isn't too different from working in cubicle-ville in the states - minus the chinese and the indoor cigarette smoke. God, i think i will have to replace a lung. But whatev.Met my very first solo female american traveller in Yangshuo, we hiked, we laughed, we talked in our dorm beds until late, it reminded me of college - but less beer this go round :) AND she lives in Colorado! how cool is that! Very. It was nice to have a friend.It seems like as i walk around i think of so many things to write about. It is an overstimulation of the senses, but sometimes when i sit to record it - i forget. The political, economic, and cultural climate is completely facinating. It is a little sad to me that i will be leaving china. but i am ready to be in a new country and ready for some beach time! China wasn't what i thought it would be. i don't know what i thought it would be. It is the land of the dragon - fierce, endless, and scaly :)China has taught me to be grateful. To remember as well as to forget. I am grateful for the lives we lead in the US. Grateful that we love - and can choose whom we love. Did you know, if you are reported to the authorities in some parts of china for being gay, you can go to jail. JAIL. You can go to jail for owning a picture of the Dali Lama. You can be sentenced to house arrest for being a Christian. You can be haggled by the mafia AND the politicians because you are in an inter racial relationship. I am not naive, i know terrible prejudices happen in the US as well. But, we are SO very lucky. So so so so lucky.