I’ve met my best friends in China in the most unconventional places. I had to trek an hour and a half from Peking University to take a series of health examinations in order to apply for my residency permit. They drew my blood, did an EKG, an eye exam, and a sonogram. The next day I grudgingly headed back over to pick up the results. Another guy had done the same, and we met while in line to pay. We’ve been inseparable ever since.
I picked up another good friend in the elevator of the hotel on my first night in Beijing. We now live in the same apartment complex. I found my Spanish roommate online. I guess it was love at first click, as we are already best friends.
I admit that my method of friend making follows no normal mode of rationale and may appear on the surface to be crazy or unsafe. Decision making for me has never come from logic. If it had, my life would not be what it is today.
I’ve always used my instincts, so it comes as no surprise that this week I made two friends in another unlikely place – a traffic jam. My roomie and I were coming back in a cab from the silk market when our ears are filled with the glorious beats of techno music. We look over at the Range Rover that is playing the music. The two guys in the front seats glance our way. We make eye contact and there is no need for words because we already know what to do. The four of us start dancing. Traffic starts moving and they yell for our number. Our cab weaves through traffic and we manage to pass it off on a napkin just as they exit the highway.
The next day is Chinese National Holiday, a day to celebrate the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The guys pick us up and we spend the day racing past historical sites like Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. Our eyes take in the masses of people that crowd the streets, while our heads nod to the rhythm of techno. We rent a boat in HouHai and paddle out along the lake. I end up doing most of the paddling, as both of the guys smoke too much to be able to do strenuous exercise.
Next, the guys bring us to the home of a laobeijing ren (old Beijing person). It’s a traditional Chinese home in a hutong. This guy is the coolest person I’ve met in Beijing. He’s rocking a matching tropical shirt and short suit that he got from Thailand. The shirt is halfway open, so his chest is exposed and you can’t miss the big Buddha that hangs off his silver necklace. Vegetables grow above our heads, a tea table is out on the porch, and a hammock swings in the breeze. We sip tea, we lounge, we feast. I eat my first crab, my first pig heart and my first pig tongue. Usually I cringe at the thought of eating such food, but today is no ordinary day. We stuff ourselves with moon cake and dumplings.
Next we go to a bridge and watch as red lanterns are sent off into the autumn sky. They linger alongside the pagoda and I feel as though I’m taken back in time to another century. A beat brings me back to the present and I follow it. I follow it to a part of the square where there are no people, but a lone DJ playing techno. I start dancing again. Maybe I look crazy, but I don’t have time to care what other people think. Slowly other people come and again there’s no need for words. We follow our instincts; we dance to the beat.
我在中国一个最不寻常的地方遇见了我最好的朋友。我曾经为了申请我的居住许可而从北京大学出发，经长途跋涉一个半小时，去做了一系列的健康检查。我在那儿做了抽血，心电图，视力测试以及声波图。第二天，我回去拿检查结果。在排队付钱时，我遇见了另一个取结果的人。从那以后，我们再也没有分开。
在我到达北京的第一个晚上，我在酒店的电梯里遇到了我的另外一个好朋友。如今，我们住在同一个小区里。我曾经在网上遇到了我的西班牙室友。我想这就是一见如故吧，而我们现在也已经成为了最好的朋友。
是的，我在交朋友时，总是不守常规，并且可能看起来有些疯狂和不安全。我是一个从来不按常理做决定的人。倘若按照理行事，我的生活就不会像今天这样。
我总是这样随心而行。因此，并不意外地是，这周，我在堵车时认识了两位新朋友。当我听到一阵电子音乐时，我和我的室友正在从丝绸市场坐出租车回家。我四处看去，发现一辆路虎车里正放着这种音乐。而那辆车里，坐在前排地这两个人也正在向我们看来。当目光交汇时，语言仿佛已是多余，因为我们都明白了彼此眼里的含义。于是，我们4个人开始在车里跳舞。当堵车开始舒缓时，他们大声地向我们询问电话号码。而我们也成功的在他们的车即将使出高速出口时递上了写有我们电话号码的纸巾。
第二天是中国的国庆节，一个用来庆祝中华人民共和国成立的日子。他们来接我们一同游览历史遗迹，例如，天安门广场，故宫和颐和园。我们的眼睛看着比肩继踵的接到，头随着电子音乐的节奏肆意摆动。我们在后海租了一条船，沿湖划行。结果，我成为了划桨的主力，因为其他两人由于抽烟太多的而不能剧烈运动。
接着，他们带我们去了个老北京人的家 。这是一个住在胡同里的传统的中国家庭。他真是是我在北京见过的最酷的人。他把热带衬衫和他从泰国买的短西装混搭在一块儿。这件衬衫半开，所以他的胸部暴露在外，让我的目光不禁注意到他银色项链上的佛像挂坠 。这里的蔬菜的长的比我们还高，走廊上摆着一张桌子，以及微风中吊床轻轻摇摆。我们喝着茶，懒洋洋地躺着，享受着这惬意的时光。我吃了我人生第一只螃蟹，第一个猪心和第一个猪舌。我通常不敢吃这类食物，可是注定今天是不平凡的一天。此外，我们还吃了月饼和饺子。
最后，我们去桥上看放红灯笼，当火红的灯笼飞在秋天的夜空中，徘徊在宝塔边，我似乎回到了一个世纪之前。突然，一阵音乐带回了我的思绪，我跟着它，到了广场的某个地方。这里没有人，只有一个DJ在播放着电子乐。我又开始跳舞了。也许，我看起来很疯狂，但我没有时间去思考别人怎么想。慢慢的，慢慢的，有其他人加入进来了，语言成为了无谓的交流。我随着感觉，随乐舞动 。