Strange spots on forehead, robbed at Summer Palace

It has stopped raining, but three of us have broken out in strange
spots on our faces, mostly on our foreheads. We're not sure why.
They're not zits. They may be bug bites, but they don't itch...yet.
However, they're beginning to swell. Our first theory is that perhaps
they may be from bugs that only come out in the day, since all three
of us took long afternoon naps yesterday. Does such a bug exist? Our
second theory is that it's a disease. Our third theory is that it's
an allergy. We've been eating lots of weird food lately. Our fourth
theory is that it may be due to general filth and poor hygiene. We
don't think our beds have been changed in the entire time we've been
here, and maybe not even before then. Anyway, it's both unsightly and
annoying. If we don't get better by the time we get back, perhaps no
one will want us back. We are concerned.

Today we went to luncheon again with the elderly retired professor
ladies. It was a smashing success. They taught us many useful
Chinese phrases. However, we also had pork, Chairman Mao style.
Chairman Mao style apparently means "with as much fat as possible".
Vile. The rest of the food was good, more or less, although I'm not
terribly fond of the jellyfish with cilantro and bean curd with eight
treasures dishes.

We're designing a questionnaire for our students, and then going to
the antique market and Starbucks. Also, apparently the Wal-Mart here
is sparklingly clean and has stunning service. Some people went there
yesterday and had a free tea ceremony (Chinese tea ceremony is
different from the Japanese tea ceremony - it involves three teapots
and two sets of tinytiny teacups. It's very involved.) and samples
of lots of green tea products.

The trial simulation today did not go well. The Japanese athlete is
thinking about firing her attorneys and representing herself.

Note: Apparently, grass is rare here. Although almost nothing else
has been translated into English for our convenience, the Chinese
appear to not want to have large foreigners trampling all over the
university lawns. Therefore, they have placed little signs that say
things like "Please show the feeling of love to the green land" and
"This grass is living please cherish."

The countdown has begun. Only two more nights in the spot-infested
hotel before we leave for Beijing. I hear Japan is more into
cleanliness.

Additional note: I almost forgot to post about our experience at the Summer Palace in Beijing. We were robbed. That is, we weren't mugged, but merely outwitted. There was a box of nicely carved wooden chopsticks that one of us liked, and tried to pay for with a 100 quai note. The vendor said that the note was torn, and gave it back. Later that day, when we tried to pay for a large meal at a restaurant (this was the meal with the chicken knuckles), we were told that the bill was counterfeit. I guess the vendor had exchanged the real one for the fake one. Moral of the story: don't use large bills (fifties and hundreds) to pay for things on the street. However, to put this theft in perspective, 100 quai is only worth about 12 dollars.