Memory Lane

I honestly have no idea why people think that is it a pleasant experience to relieve past times. Why does "taking a trip down memory lane" always invoke feelings of happiness, and puppies and rainbows and daisies? I haven't the foggiest. And yet, I always let myself get sucked into these situations. Wait, let me rephrase that. I actually run to these situations head first, and then later on, in the wake of all my old emotions, remember exactly why I should have stayed at home.

Guess how I woke up this morning? No, it wasn't because of an alarm clock. Anymore takers? I will admit, it was kind of weird reason. I'll tell you. My arms are so sore from the gym the other day, and I moved them in my sleep, and the pain of moving them in a certain way woke me up. Lovely, right? I know. All of you hardcore gym nuts should be proud. I couldn't move my arms without hurting today.

I think to think that the weather felt my pain, and was being sympathetic. Anyone else would just tell you that the smog was horrible, and that it was raining. I know, it's the middle of summer, and it's raining. What can I say, Beijing summer's are just confusing. They are the weird summer showers, where the air is still super warm, but it's raining. My brain can't handle the contradiction. Nor can my hair, for that matter. Whoever thought of hair ties was a genius.

Class was not as painful as it could have been today. The grammar was pretty easy, and there were not a whole lot of new words to remember. The one scary thing? Our upcoming test tomorrow. Part of our oral test is a debate. Yep, you heard me right. Tomorrow, I am going to be defending the idea that American culture is negatively impacting Chinese culture, in Chinese. Let the games begin! Truth be told though, I am a little nervous. I am not a huge fan of talking in front of people, much less a fan of speaking Chinese in front of people. Cross your fingers and toes that it goes well for me!

And now to return back to memory lane. Well, at least, return back to the story of memory lane. Let's keep the memories locked away, shall we?

I went out to dinner with some people from SYA (the program that I came to China with the first time, during high school), and one of my teachers from SYA. There was a whole lot of talk about SYA, both during our year, and the past year. It was kind of an awkward dinner, but still fun. There is something weird about talking about the past though. At least for me, it has a way of making me feel really uncomfortable, and not quite as confident as I normally feel. Yay for childhood neurosis.

We went to a place that I used to go to when I was here during high school. That on it's own stirred up a lot of memories. I am not saying that I wasn't happy when I was here during high school, it's just that it was a very intense year for me. A lot of things happened that I would really rather not remember, not think about. I think it also has something to do with the people. You spend a year changing, thinking that you are changing, growing as a person, and then you see people that you used to know, and you are automatically sucked back into the past. Craziness.

Funny thing happened on the way back home. Because it was already 8 and I had to study for an exam, I decided to take a taxi back home. I jumped into the back seat, told the driver where I wanted to go, and started looking through the DVDs that I had just bought. I was a little confused by the route that my driver was taking, because he was going in the wrong direction, but when I asked him, he just said relax, he knew where he was going. So I believed him. Then he pulled up to a random college, and said, "We are here!" As it turns out, he misunderstood me, and took me to the wrong place. Haven't had that happen to me yet. Not to worry though, it was soon fixed. Laughs were had all around.

Now I am trying desperately to cram for my final before I go to bed. So now, I am off to get my beauty sleep. I love you all and good night!

Sophie