29 Jan

Chinese New Year’s! I met the other kids for lunch at 12:30 (since lunch at 13:00 was found to be too late for some people) and then just chilled out for some time later. We met at Checkpoint Charlie around 5:45 and it wasn’t until we were on the street that I realized I didn’t have the camera with me. Gasp! It was the first time I’d gone into the city without it, and on a day of celebration at that. Lainey and some other people did bring theirs so I’ll have to mooch pictures off of them. We were meeting some of Lainey’s friends from Wellesley and elsewhere at 6:45 at a Starbucks in Leicester Square, but they were unfortunately running late so after standing in the cold for about 15 minutes, we just decided to head over to the restaurant.

As expected, the lines outside Chinese restaurants were really long tonight but we were fine since we had a reservation. The name of the place was, Saket’s going to love this, Golden Dragon! I laughed when I saw the name but didn’t bother explaining my laugh to anyone else since they wouldn’t have found it half as funny. I brought some toothpicks back as souvenirs (and proof). My dish was “bean curd with green seasonal vegetables” which was basically just tofu with long green veggies that looked like spinach but were something else. I was proud of myself in that I managed to eat the whole meal using only chopsticks. Hooray for me. Ross McCarroll the Irishman was my dinner buddy and I must have bugged him to death with all kinds of questions about Ireland and stuff. He’s a really nice guy and patiently and cheerfully answered all my questions. Our group was large enough to split into two tables. The funny thing was, though, is that my table finished dinner and even paid before the other even got their main course! We had gone with individual dishes while they were sharing, and they ordered appetizers and soup too, but still, it was funny.

Instead of just waiting around in the restaurant, we decided to head out. Ross really wanted to go to a pub near the square called The Porcupine (his favorite around here) but Sarah and Jan (her Slovakian friend from home) wanted to go back to the dorm and I spent my last tenner on dinner and didn’t feel like spending more money (dinner was £12!!). Besides, I would have made a terrible drinking buddy. Ross told me that he left home to “get away from the drinking culture’” that’s how much they drink in Ireland! This guy can easily put away eight pints during a long meal! I felt bad about making him go back home (‘cause he didn’t really want to drink alone) but really, I’m not the person to go drinking with.

Ross and I talked about Indian food on the way home. He told me about a time when he went out with a bunch of military guys for some curry and he ordered a “five spice” dish. The mildest dish was a “one spice” while the spiciest was a five. The poor guy practically had tears streaming from his eyes while eating, but he was tough and with the help of some pints, definitely finished his plate. It took him a couple of months to find some curry he liked around here and he said his favorite place was over in Brick Lane. I really to try the food over there sometime, but I’m going to Southall (known as the real Little India around here) first. Ross also said that you should always go drinking before eating Indian food and not after because if you eat first, you’ll be too full to want to drink. Ah, you gotta love the Irish.

Back in the dorm I just relaxed and did some reading for class. Lainey stopped by about an hour later to ask if I enjoyed myself and if dinner was good. She’s so sweet. Before going to bed, I used the trip planner to find the best route to Southall. It’s pretty far from where I’ll be; about an hour’s journey total, but hey, I’m sure it’ll be worth it. Cheers!