Tania in China

Wed, Oct 25: More Work, Nice Dinner

Work is more of the same - a lot of hurrying so that we can be ready to connect next week if possible. It is now looking possible, however, it also looks like Luigi will be leaving Friday afterall. Darn. I am sure we will be ok, but I am still a bit nervous because I am not sure I have a good handle on what exactly is left to be done. I have a list from Luigi, but I am afraid that there is something that everybody just assumes I know about that I don't. We have been doing lunch at the buffet every day just because it is close and you can eat there quickly - table service is not the quickest thing here in China. But I have to make sure I go out to lunch with the guys at least a few times a week once Luigi is gone.

Since he is leaving so soon, we decide to have a nice dinner, and head to a restaurant called Kafa. It is in another "yuppified" area of Nanjing, all full of restaurants and bars and clubs. The restaurant caters to Ex-Pats with a continental menu. We both have a beer - Luigi a Heinekein, me a Chinese beer, and it is funny that both of the labels look almost identical except for the language. Not a lot of copywrite protection here in China... I have a steak which is really excellent. I don't usually like filet because it seems bland to me, but this one was really flavorful. It also came with fries that were cut really, really thin - just the way I like them. We also got an appetizer of pesto bruscetta, and Luigi had apple pie while I ordered Creme Brulee. Imagine my disappointment when I find out that it is not Creme Brulee but Creme Caramel. It is just not the same at all! A trio starts singing just before we leave - covering American 'soft rock' hits, and the place is really jumping with a very large going away party taking over most of the restaurant. The bill, even with the beer, came to under $15 US per person. And that is expensive "foreigner" food.

I get back to my room and actually don't have to spend my night blogging since I was able to steal enough seconds here and seconds there to finish most of it at work, so I actually settle down to watch another episode of The Simpsons - only the second time I have done that since I arrived. I thought I would be watching DVDs all the time, but it has not worked out that way. Maybe once things calm down at work...

posted by Tania @ 4:18 PM