Today we checked out of the hotel at 6:30am. I had gotten about six and half hours of sleep, which sounds like a lot to a typical college student but is not enough to survive the heavy activity that is touring China.
Luckily, I was able to nap on the bus after breakfast—a 4-hour-turned-5-hour bus ride to Xia’he. Breakfast this morning was especially special since we met up with Group A (the other half of the TBC students) and swapped stories about our adventures in China over a Western/Chinese (Westinese? Chinern?) breakfast. We were meeting at the halfway point, so each group had experienced what the other group was about to experience. It was a nice reunion.
After the breakfast, then bus ride, we arrived in Xia’he, a small Tibetan monastery town perched at a height of 6,860 feet in a mountain valley at the edge of the Tibetan plateau. The weather here is much colder than anywhere else we’ve been. At times, I longed for my long underwear. The town offered us a glimpse of nomadic life.
So to start, we ate at the Nomad Restaurant for lunch. The menu was in English as well as Chinese so many of the TBC students ended up there. I ate chicken fried rice—鸡肉炒米反—always a safe choice in Chinese restaurants. My drink was special to Xia’he: it was milk with butter but it tasted a little off. We quickly realized that it was because it was Yak milk. They really like Yaks in Xia’he (I had a lot of Yak meat while I was there…tastes like slightly-off pork).
Afterwards, my friends and I roamed around the town with a free afternoon. We visited several shops between the restaurant and the hotel, and I got my first real practice with bargaining in China.
Bargaining as a foreigner is really difficult. They set the starting price at 3 to 4 times higher than they would a Chinese person (a Vietnamese student told me that he was offered a scarf at 20 kuai while his white friends were offered 60 kuai). Because of this appearance judgment, naturally you would argue for about 1/3 of their first stated price. But you also run the risk of offending them if you ask for too low a price.
One student asked how much for a shirt, the seller said two hundred and six kuai and the student asked me to tell the seller (this student couldn’t speak Chinese) that he wouldn’t pay any more than 40 kuai. I did, and the seller was extremely offended (the shirt was handmade apparently).
Shortly after, I helped my friend bargain a wallet from 40 down to 23 kuai, and the seller was very happy. I’m sure that means that he sold it at quite a profit.
Lesson: You don’t want the seller to be too happy when you leave.
Sometimes I think, “Well hey, I’m already getting it at a cheap price, why I should I be angry that they try to jack up the price because I’m foreign-looking?” But an Indian TBC student stated to me in conversation a good reason for feeling that way. He said, “I want them to earn a profit, but I don’t want to get ripped off in the process.” Hearing that helped lighten my first-world guilt a little. Just a little though.
I figure that once I’ve been in China a while and grasp the conversational Chinese better, I will be able to master the art of negotiation. As it is, it’s kind of fun to bargain. If the price is too high and they are too adamant, simply walk away. A lot of times they will call back for you with a lower price, unless your price is just way too low (usually not the case).
After collecting some Tibetan shop treasure, I went back to the hotel, listened to two student presentations, and then we left to eat dinner at a Tibetan home. Five people lived in a fairly large house, and they seated us all at small tables and couches. One woman cooked all the food for us, which included lamb, dumplings, and noodles. The process took two hours, but it was relaxing to sit on the floor (where I was) and converse with other students and trip leaders. After dinner, four professional Tibetan singers came around with a tray of Baizhou and sang as each person (who wanted to) sipped Baizhou from one cup, sipped from a second cup, and downed the third cup.
Baizhou is an extremely cheap Chinese rice wine, notorious for its teeth-clenching/shoulder-shuddering taste and high proof. The kind we had though was 38% alcohol (much less) and was a slightly more expensive kind. I participated and found out that all the bad hype about its taste…was pretty much on the mark. I regretted each after-burp that forced me to relive the taste of Baizhou. Give me 黄河啤酒 (Yellow River beer) any day.
After the Baizhou serenade, we walked out into the chilly courtyard and took turns showing off dances/special talents. We Americans weren’t terribly talented in comparison, but we put in a good effort. Returning to the hotel, we had to be inside the gate by 11pm because the hotel is family-run and they go to a well-deserved bed by then—one of the quirks of visiting a small town. After my semi-warm shower and full day, I am ready for bed.
Samm Nicolino says: 
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Betsy