So, it has to be stated. I may be losing my mind a little bit. I go from really testy (it is obvious) to fine, and then to freaked out in about 2 seconds flat. No lie. My emotions are all over the place. It may be because I don't exercise, but I know that if I join a gym then I will never go, and it will just be a waste of money. It is a problem that I still have no solved.
This morning was slow start, although I impressed myself. Although my alarm went off at the usual time, I didn't get out of bed until 5:50, a full 20 minutes later than usual, and still, I was able to get out of the house at the same time. It was pretty good. And I even had a bowl of corn flakes, my last one. It was great.
I almost missed my bus this morning, but another one came right after, so I wasn't too upset. The whole time (all during the bus ride that is) I was saying my speech to myself. I got it down so that I could say it quickly (rapid fire man, it's the only way to go) and I felt totally ready for my speech. Well, as ready as I was going to be. You know the point where you practice so much you make yourself nervous? I felt like I was hitting that point, and decided it was a good place to start.
People showed up pretty early to school this morning (not earlier than me though) some because they had Tai Chi and some because they just did. Everyone with speeches was really worried, as we should be, I imagine. I went into a room with my friend Elle, and she said her speech to me, as a practice run. Her topic was Chinoiserie, so it was pretty impressive. Then Chris came in and started saying his. He was smart because he memorized the concepts of his speech rather than the actual words, so it was much more fluid than mine and Elle's. That did not give me confidence.
We had to walk down to the room where all the speeches were going on, and it seemed to me that it went much faster than yesterday. Before I knew it, it was my turn to talk, and I had to do a long walk up to the microphone. It was probably one of the most terrifying things I have done in my life, I was that nervous. I didn't know where to look, or where to put my hands. As I was walking up the microphones, I took a deep breath, and said, in my classic screwball way "Bugger this." Apparently, I was too close to the microphones though, because that got picked up. It earned me a couple laughs.
By the end of my speech (I only forgot one part, for a split moment) my face was bright red, and I was shaking. It was absolutely horrible. I had to go back to my chair and hide my face. I don't ever want to do that ever again. The rest of the speeches were really good. When they were done, we had to go mingle with our family members who came to watch us. My mom met Chris, and laughed a lot. She is so funny. I got lots of looks from Chris's sister, but what can you do? Chinese people will be Chinese people.
A quick jian bing run, and I was back upstairs, and back into regular SYA routine. The rest of my day was pretty basic. History first, learning more about Mao and the Communist Party, and then Calculus. I was in a groove in Calculus today, and I could actually do the integration problems Mr. Pettus wanted us to do. It was amazing. Hopefully my streak will continue onto tomorrow. Cross your fingers.
I wasn't too hungry for lunch, but I went downstairs with Chris anyway, because I wanted to go outside. Today was a nice day, only 45 degrees, which is actually seeming warm to me now. I only wore a long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt, which, on hindsight, seems insane to me. More evidence that I am slowly losing my mind.
I had the period after lunch off, as my study period, so the two hours until my last class went by slowly. I sat in the small study room upstairs with a variety of people (coming and going) and tried to do homework. I say tried because I have found that it is way to easy to get distracted here. I did get some work done though, and that is the important thing. English was last period of the day, and it is easy to tell that that was the last period. Both our teacher and us had run out of steam, and we were let out 5 minutes early.
After school, I made the lovely discovery that they only homework I had to do was studying. In celebration, Chris, Sterling and I went downstairs to the DVD store to buy something. After an intense study of the selection, I bought all 6 Star Wars movies for $6.11. I love China. Seriously. With a deal like that, how could I refuse? I also bought Because I Said So for about a dollar, but that one didn't work when I played it later, so we won't talk about it.
We had to run back upstairs to get our stuff, and then I went home (after helping Elle with her math. The math test tomorrow has the potential to end very badly...) When I got home at quarter to 5, no one was home, much to my pleasure. I made myself a cup of English Breakfast Tea (which is the greatest on this planet) and tried to get Because I Said So to work. I gave up after half an hour, and just put in the first Star Wars.
My sister brought dinner home at around 6:30, and after a quick dinner break, I went back to watching Star Wars, and didn't finish until about 8. It was great. I will admit it, I am a nerd, but at least I am a happy nerd. Chinese homework and studying followed right after that, and now, I am just getting ready for bed. I got 7 hours of sleep last night (yes!) but I am still tired. I think it is high time that I went off to slumber land. Good night all.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Ready? Because I Am Most Definitely Not...
Hello all. My life has been crazy, and I know that is an excuse I use a lot, but I am in Beijing for god's sake: have some pity on me. I go full steam all day. But here is another one, ladies and gents. Enjoy.
I have gotten very good at pulling myself out of bed at 5:35 every morning. My family, and most of my friends, think I am absolutely bonkers, which is entirely possibly, but never the less, the fact remains that I get 7 hours of sleep a night if I am lucky. Which, most of the time, I am in fact not. Last night, I think it was about 7. Maybe 6 and a half. I can't quite remember what time I went to sleep, which should worry me more than it does. Oops.
I was out of the house by 6:05 this morning, after a yummy breakfast of corn flakes (with Californian milk!) and some small coconut cookies, which are about as addicting as crack. A lot of food is as addicting as crack here it China. It is a serious problem for my waist line. But back to my story. It was 19 degrees when I walked to the bus stop this morning, which, surprisingly for many of you back in warm Davis, is actually warmer than normal for me. I was excited that it was 19 degrees. I actually had to do a 100 meter sprint for the bus (with a back pack on my back and books in my arms, mind you) to get to my bus this morning, which arrived earlier than normal. It is supposed to get there at 6:15, 差不多, (chabuduo, meaning more or less. It is quite a frustrating expression to hear, as a matter of fact) but this morning, it decided to arrive at 6:10 and make my life difficult. Of course.
As per usual, I was the first person to school this morning, at 6:20, which, I will admit, is a little earlier than usual. But only by 10 minutes, I swear. I have a speech to give tomorrow, in Chinese (please, someone just shoot me in the head now, thanks) so I sat down and started memorizing it. Before I got distracted and started doing my history homework, which I am embarrassingly far behind in. But don't tell. The deficit is slowly getting smaller. As soon as people started arriving though, I was distracted for good, and eventually, just gave up.
All of SYA walked to a bigger room for the speeches. Everyone has to get up and talk for a certain amount of time, in Chinese, while all the teachers and the students, and Chinese parents listen. Oh, and did I mention, it's filmed. Bugger. The speeches today were good, and I was just thinking, I have to do this tomorrow. It is going to be a disaster. I am really nervous.
演讲以后(The way I would say "after the speech" here in China) we trooped back upstairs for our weekly meeting, where all the faculty make announcements and such. This meeting frustrates me a little, because by the time we are done, there is not enouh time to run downstairs to buy my daily jian bing, which is a problem for me, as I am addicted. But, it is not good for me to eat one everyday. I will get fat. Or so I keep telling myself.
My Chinese tutorial was up first, with Shen lao shi. He made us read our speeches to him, so he could critique us. After deeming mine fine, he moved onto Elle's (another girl in my tutorial) who chose a really hard topic to write about. If I told you what it was, I would have to kill you. So she and Shen lao shi worked together on it for most of the time. I have to go after Elle, so I am going to feel like an utter fool.
English was next. Due to my want to censor what I write (Mom's orders) I will not go into detail about the class. He kept us past the bell though, which is frustrating to me. The bell rings, we are free. End of story. Teachers who keep their students past the bell should be shot. That's all I have to say about that.
For lunch I caved and got a jian bing. When it comes to these babies, I have no willpower. None at all. If you don't know what a jian bing is, look it up, because I can't explain them properly, and I am done trying to. It just ends badly. After eating, I went back upstairs, tried to get some history done, went to Mr. Pettus about math questions, and then dragged myself to history class. We are in about the 1920's China right now, and learning about Mao Zedong and the Communist party. It is embarassing how little I know about Mao. I like to fake my way through it though.
Calculus was last today, and we probably got yelled at for wasting our teachers time for about 20 minutes with stupid questions. He then proceeded to tell us about how we are one of the slowest learning classes he has ever had. Isn't that lovely? That is one of those thoughts that is better not said, thanks very much. And you wonder why no one pays attention in math. There is only so much that can be done when you are being yelled at for being stupid. Mhmm...
Today was the first day of me getting a math tutor as well, and I had to rush from Calculus to get to the room where I was meeting her. Due to a miscommunication, she wasn't quite ready, and so today was a little frustrating, as a lot of the questions I had she couldn't answer. I am going to try again next week though, and hope for better results. I definitely need a tutor, because if going to my math teacher is just not helping. It also does not help that I want to give him a black eye. Just a passing thought.
I hung around school for about an hour more until leaving at 5 and catching the bus home. I left my bus card all the way up at the 6th floor (I realized this as soon as I reached the bottom floor, of course) so I had to borrow Chris's. No one was home when I got home, so I busted about my speech, and started practicing. My mom and my sister came home at around six, and my sister went to go do homework, while my mom started making dinner.
The dinner conversation was interesting. My mother brought up Chris, and started talking about him, asking how he was, if we were still friends. Then she said she talked to his host mom, and his mom said he liked me alot. That got lots of kicks and giggles from my sister and mom, who started teasing me that we were going to get married. They most definitely know, although how, I have no idea. The social networks in China are truly amazing. A quick IM to Chris proved that he had gotten the same grilling, and we came to the conclusion that we had been ambushed. How very Chinese.
Now, I am freaking out about my speech, and trying to remain calm, as the airline hostess always tell us to do. I have memorized it, but I know I am going to forget it all. Wish me luck everyone!
I have gotten very good at pulling myself out of bed at 5:35 every morning. My family, and most of my friends, think I am absolutely bonkers, which is entirely possibly, but never the less, the fact remains that I get 7 hours of sleep a night if I am lucky. Which, most of the time, I am in fact not. Last night, I think it was about 7. Maybe 6 and a half. I can't quite remember what time I went to sleep, which should worry me more than it does. Oops.
I was out of the house by 6:05 this morning, after a yummy breakfast of corn flakes (with Californian milk!) and some small coconut cookies, which are about as addicting as crack. A lot of food is as addicting as crack here it China. It is a serious problem for my waist line. But back to my story. It was 19 degrees when I walked to the bus stop this morning, which, surprisingly for many of you back in warm Davis, is actually warmer than normal for me. I was excited that it was 19 degrees. I actually had to do a 100 meter sprint for the bus (with a back pack on my back and books in my arms, mind you) to get to my bus this morning, which arrived earlier than normal. It is supposed to get there at 6:15, 差不多, (chabuduo, meaning more or less. It is quite a frustrating expression to hear, as a matter of fact) but this morning, it decided to arrive at 6:10 and make my life difficult. Of course.
As per usual, I was the first person to school this morning, at 6:20, which, I will admit, is a little earlier than usual. But only by 10 minutes, I swear. I have a speech to give tomorrow, in Chinese (please, someone just shoot me in the head now, thanks) so I sat down and started memorizing it. Before I got distracted and started doing my history homework, which I am embarrassingly far behind in. But don't tell. The deficit is slowly getting smaller. As soon as people started arriving though, I was distracted for good, and eventually, just gave up.
All of SYA walked to a bigger room for the speeches. Everyone has to get up and talk for a certain amount of time, in Chinese, while all the teachers and the students, and Chinese parents listen. Oh, and did I mention, it's filmed. Bugger. The speeches today were good, and I was just thinking, I have to do this tomorrow. It is going to be a disaster. I am really nervous.
演讲以后(The way I would say "after the speech" here in China) we trooped back upstairs for our weekly meeting, where all the faculty make announcements and such. This meeting frustrates me a little, because by the time we are done, there is not enouh time to run downstairs to buy my daily jian bing, which is a problem for me, as I am addicted. But, it is not good for me to eat one everyday. I will get fat. Or so I keep telling myself.
My Chinese tutorial was up first, with Shen lao shi. He made us read our speeches to him, so he could critique us. After deeming mine fine, he moved onto Elle's (another girl in my tutorial) who chose a really hard topic to write about. If I told you what it was, I would have to kill you. So she and Shen lao shi worked together on it for most of the time. I have to go after Elle, so I am going to feel like an utter fool.
English was next. Due to my want to censor what I write (Mom's orders) I will not go into detail about the class. He kept us past the bell though, which is frustrating to me. The bell rings, we are free. End of story. Teachers who keep their students past the bell should be shot. That's all I have to say about that.
For lunch I caved and got a jian bing. When it comes to these babies, I have no willpower. None at all. If you don't know what a jian bing is, look it up, because I can't explain them properly, and I am done trying to. It just ends badly. After eating, I went back upstairs, tried to get some history done, went to Mr. Pettus about math questions, and then dragged myself to history class. We are in about the 1920's China right now, and learning about Mao Zedong and the Communist party. It is embarassing how little I know about Mao. I like to fake my way through it though.
Calculus was last today, and we probably got yelled at for wasting our teachers time for about 20 minutes with stupid questions. He then proceeded to tell us about how we are one of the slowest learning classes he has ever had. Isn't that lovely? That is one of those thoughts that is better not said, thanks very much. And you wonder why no one pays attention in math. There is only so much that can be done when you are being yelled at for being stupid. Mhmm...
Today was the first day of me getting a math tutor as well, and I had to rush from Calculus to get to the room where I was meeting her. Due to a miscommunication, she wasn't quite ready, and so today was a little frustrating, as a lot of the questions I had she couldn't answer. I am going to try again next week though, and hope for better results. I definitely need a tutor, because if going to my math teacher is just not helping. It also does not help that I want to give him a black eye. Just a passing thought.
I hung around school for about an hour more until leaving at 5 and catching the bus home. I left my bus card all the way up at the 6th floor (I realized this as soon as I reached the bottom floor, of course) so I had to borrow Chris's. No one was home when I got home, so I busted about my speech, and started practicing. My mom and my sister came home at around six, and my sister went to go do homework, while my mom started making dinner.
The dinner conversation was interesting. My mother brought up Chris, and started talking about him, asking how he was, if we were still friends. Then she said she talked to his host mom, and his mom said he liked me alot. That got lots of kicks and giggles from my sister and mom, who started teasing me that we were going to get married. They most definitely know, although how, I have no idea. The social networks in China are truly amazing. A quick IM to Chris proved that he had gotten the same grilling, and we came to the conclusion that we had been ambushed. How very Chinese.
Now, I am freaking out about my speech, and trying to remain calm, as the airline hostess always tell us to do. I have memorized it, but I know I am going to forget it all. Wish me luck everyone!
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