Gotta Love that Exchange Rate

How do people come up with such catchy titles for their blog posts? I read other people's, mainly "Sex and the Ivy" (link on the right) and then write my own and feel like I have the brain capacity of an eight year old.
On to the interesting stuff. This weekend, as per our study abroad program's wishes, we set off on a short excursion with our roommates. In anticipation of this, me, Charlie (my best friend on this program) YoYo, Gao Lifang (two friends from Middlebury who's Chinese names are too cool to not use when referencing them) Xiao Bei (another girl on the program) and Zach (last friend name for this weekend, swear) took off for a night in Tiantai and then a day hiking in the area.
After a four hour bus ride highlighted by a game of poker in which Xiao Bei referred to the Jack of Clubs as the Jack of Clovers we arrived in what looked to be a small town's shitty little bus station. We couldn't have been more wrong, Tiantai turns out to be a bustling metropolis, which we only discover after requesting to be taken to the best hotel in the city. We lived like kings for a night on about a total of $25US per person. Drinks, swimming, girls in ugly one piece bathing suits, shady South Africans, you can find it all in Tiantai! (new slogan for that city)
The following day, 6:45 Am bright and early wake up call and off to the mountain where we saw blue skies, gorgeous bogodas and views and sweat the hangover off, frankly I think that this was the most fun part of the weekend. Most interesting to me were these ladies, old and young, situated in various spots on the path with enough supplies to actually set up shop and sell. How they lug their shit up this hill (more like a mountain path, but they insisted it was a hill) I have no idea, but its fun when you're struggling with a small backpack up this hill and these women look like they didn't even break a sweat. 21 years old and in the best shape of my life!...maybe not.
We finished the trip up with a night in Shipu, a small ocean town that I best equate to Kingston, Jamaica. They're not well off, but everyone we met, with the exception of two con artists seemed content. I don't think I'd have a problem living their kind of life, everyday waking up to the waves crashing on the shore and realizing you've got nothing to do but chill in your ocean side shop. That would be the life, now its off to Starbucks to do my homework! China, gotta love it!