China. Taiwan. What do you think of when I say those two words? What cliches come to mind? I always imagined them to be very similar. Sure, people always told me that Taiwan was much more developed and sophisticated than China, but I never believed them. Or if I did, there was no way I could imagine it. And I didn't have a whole lot of time to think about it before I got here.
Let me go back just a couple of days, so you can really understand what a chaotic mess I really was when I arrived in Taiwan. Last week, I went on this amazing retreat, called the Hoffman Institute, which focused on breaking all of the negative patterns I learned from my parents, and learning how to live a forgiveful and compassionate life. And it worked. So well, in fact, that when I went into a Safeway to buy your basic lunch stuff, and I felt like a deer in the head lights. WHAT THE FUCK. Everything was so bright, and so jarring, my head hurt. Me and a group of people ended up congregating around the fruit juice display (like moths drawn the brightest flame) before wandering down the isle, still in the group, and moving as quickly as felt safe. So you can understand why I wasn't feeling quite ready to go Taiwan yet.
After my dad dropped me off at the airport, I had to steel myself to go to security. I am fairly sure that I had that familiar deer in the headlights look about me, and I know that my heart was racing like a mad man's. So many people, and so many lines going everywhere! And everything was making noise. EVERYTHING. It was overwhelming. I am surprised no one stopped me and said what the fuck is wrong with you, because I had to keep closing my eyes, and taking deep breaths. I may or may not have been shaking by the time I got to my gate. Whereupon I discovered that my computer has permanently eaten one of my Hoffman cds. There goes my chance of ever watching a DVD on my computer ever again. It's a good thing I just got the DVD drive on my computer fixed. Awesome.
The flight was a breeze. If you ever in your life have the chance to fly EVA Air, take it. I have never been so impressed with an airline as I was with them. As soon as the hostess handed me a small thing of Haagen-Daaz ice cream, I was ready to kiss her. And after the obligatory Dramamine, my flight was set. Thank God for Dramamine. Seriously. Oh, and did I mention that they had a plug so you could charge your computer WHILE ON THE PLANE????? Fuck you United.
Of course, I had to wait for my bag for half an hour. That was so much. For one horrible minute, I envisioned that my bag had been lost in transit, and that I was now stuck with no clean underwear. It was not a happy moment. But then it came in sight, and I found my ride. Amy and Sen Chen. They are my guardian angels. It was 10:45 PM by the time we got in the car, and my head was spinning, from the heat, the Dramamine, and the fact that I am in Taiwan. But they were saints. Saints who were extremely relieved that I could speak Chinese. To their credit, they started with English, but it did not take much arm twisting to convince them to start using Chinese. And guess what? Speaking Chinese is just like riding a bike. There were a couple of embarrassing moments, which I will never admit to ever again, but I am getting back in the hang of it. It is almost like speaking English. ALMOST. And I was blown away by how clean everything was, and how orderly the cars were driving on the street. It is sad that I expect no one in Asia to follow traffic rules. It made me think that Taipei in actually a Western city undercover.
The fun really started as soon as we got to my dorm. My exhaustion, and the fact that I had just flown internationally 24 hours after getting back from Hoffman was finally kicking in. And we couldn't find my dorm room at first. All we could see where buildings in every direction, 15 stories high, and none of them were my dorm room. And then, as soon as we did (with the mosquitos doing there best to make sure we didn't have enough blood left in us to get there) we discovered that their computer was broken. This would only happen to me. You have to pay to get electricity in our room, and it all goes on a prepaid card that you add onto as you need. And since it was the middle of the night, I quite obviously needed electricity. Feeling my way around a brand new room in the middle of the night is not my idea of a good time. But anyway, the lady behind the computer needed the computer to charge the card, and the computer wasn't working. No bueno.
This entire time, Amy had been talking to me, helping me to see how Taiwan was laid out as we drove along the highway, pointing out landmarks so I wouldn't get lost, and telling me why the highways look the way they do. They kept telling me how the roads were laid out, so that I would always be able to find my way back. I could have hugged her, if it wouldn't have been more awkward than the both of us could handle. People here don't touch. If you thought I had problems hugging, just come to Taiwan. I will look like... someone who hugs a lot.
Back to the dorm room. I know you are all dying to know what happened. I was sitting at one of the tables with my bags, practically comatose from exhaustion and shock, while this lady made desperate phone calls trying to figure the problem out. Thankfully, Amy paid my deposit, which is more than I could have asked for. Right around 12:30, they finally told me that I could go to my room. Hallelujah. Our little procession moved along the corridor, opened the door, and looked around. At first glance, it looked fine, if a little spartan, and then we all took a closer look at the bed. Something wasn't right. My jet lagged brain took a little bit longer to process what was missing. Oh wait. The mattress was missing. My bed was a wooden plank. All I could think was, well, tonight is going to suck. Then I started imagining trying to buy a mattress tomorrow morning, and wrestle it into my room. Let me tell you, I got even more excited. I didn't know whether I should burst into tears then, or wait until after I had slept on the wooden plank.
Amy was outraged, to say the least. Then she saw the millions of little gnat bodies that littered my floor, and that was the last straw. She told me to take anything I desperately needed for the night, and then get back in the car, because she was taking me back to their house for the night. She said she would deal with it in the morning. And then proceeded to berate the poor lady behind the counter. If I hadn't been quite so tired, I think I would have felt bad for her, but as it was, my brain wouldn't function quite enough to actually decide how I was supposed to be feeling. All I could do was smile, nod, and follow. Anything else was too much. Amy was ranting in the car that the dorm people wouldn't let her into the dorm before I got there, otherwise she could have cleaned it up for me, and set it up for me. She was seriously not pleased. I tried to be polite, and sweet in the car, but my brain was so tired, I seriously couldn't do anything but respond. And I felt like a broken record, saying thank you all the time.
I don't know how much time any of you have spent in China, but if you have, you will know that Chinese people, as a general rule, are both extremely friendly, and extremely pushy. Aside from the stream of questions ("Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Can we get you anything?") they had a very good idea of how I was supposed to sleep. I was all ready to just take all my disgusting clothes off and just fall asleep, but nope. Amy gave me one of her old dresses, and told me to jump in the shower. Pause for a second. Try to imagine me in a 58 year old Chinese woman's sleeping dress. Laugh all you want. I definitely had a moment of mirth. And no, I didn't take a picture. So don't even ask. I tried to tell them I didn't need it, but there is just no reasoning with them.
I didn't sleep all that well (you will never ever find a Western sized mattress in China. It is all wooden boards and then mattress pads that are a couple of inches thick) and it is so humid that a very loud air conditioner had to be on all night. I woke up every hour, and finally gaving up with the air conditioner at 4:30, and sleeping all together at 6:30. I took that opportunity to continue on my Merlin marathon. I am currently on season 1, episode 6. You should totally watch that show if you haven't, by the way. Amazing. And right about where my mental capacity is at the moment.
This morning was defined by Amy, once again. She told me that I had just gained another mother in her, and she was going to treat me like her daughter. And she did. They gave me a desk lamp, a mattress pad, sheets, a pillow, a hair dryer, a mop, and a cell phone, with promises of a bike tomorrow. Amy then moved me back into my room, with both of them reassuring me that if I needed anything, at any time of day, all I needed to do was call them. How lucky am I? I am 100% that if I had had to deal with all this shit on my own, I would already be back in America right now. No questions.
This is an appropriate moment to comment on just how fucking beautiful this campus is. The main street is lined with coconut palms, and there are trees and grassy fields everywhere. Both of them work in a building about 5 minutes away from where I am going to be going to school. They showed me a bunch of the land mark buildings, and then Amy and I went out to breakfast. I bet you are thinking of some extravagant Dim Sum like thing for breakfast right? Wrong! (Not only because no where except Hong Kong actually has Dim Sum.) Nope, we went to Subway for breakfast. Yes, Subway. As in the sandwich place. What to know what I had for breakfast? Chicken sandwich with a chocolate chip cookie and a drink. Not what I was picturing either. She kept saying we were going to Subway, but I was hoping she meant we were going to take the subway somewhere. Serves me right for trying to be logical.
As I really want to make sure people keep reading my blog, I am not going to detail the rest of my day. But I will add a little more. I finally paid for internet in my room, and was then informed that I would have to wait until either this afternoon, or tomorrow morning for it to work. I was distraught. And then had the stroke of genius that every Starbucks has wifi. So guess where I ran right after my shower. Yep, Starbucks. And I am having a very hard time prying myself from this seat. I didn't even mind overpaying for a cup of tea. Don't ask me how much. I am going out to dinner tonight with Amy and Sen Chen, and then they are going to show me the supermarket. I'm going to have to do something extreme to forgive them. Stay tuned.
Miss you all. So much. But hopefully this way I can share a little bit of my amazing adventures with you. I'm going to try to do things I wouldn't normally do. :)
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Saturday, August 14, 2010
I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane
My last day in Beijing. What does one do on the last day? Well, in my case, pack. And eat dumplings. And get a massage. Glamorous life, I know. Try to control yourself.
I'm coming home tomorrow. That's right, you heard me. I will be in California, with access to my cellphone. I don't have time to write this blog right now, and actually, I don't really want to tell you what happened today, mostly because it is a little embarassing for me. But I will definitely update this later. Right now, I have to get my beauty sleep, because I have to wake up early tomorrow morning.
I'm coming home tomorrow. That's right, you heard me. I will be in California, with access to my cellphone. I don't have time to write this blog right now, and actually, I don't really want to tell you what happened today, mostly because it is a little embarassing for me. But I will definitely update this later. Right now, I have to get my beauty sleep, because I have to wake up early tomorrow morning.
Friday, August 13, 2010
One Last Hoorah
This was it. The last day of class. The last day of HBA. The end. It sounds so sinister, doesn't it? I have been half dreading, half hoping for this day. And now, finally, it was here. Time to face the music.
First up, our final written exam. I was feeling lose as a goose, and carefree. My written test was actually not as hard as I thought that it was going to be. I felt pretty confident for it, and it was not the hardest test that we have ever had. There were some points where I am fairly sure that I didn’t respond correctly, but hey. It happens. I don’t need to be perfect.
I finished the test in 2 hours and 5 minutes. And then I was liberated. That was it. It’s done. HBA is done. My summer was over. I actually didn’t know what to feel, or what to do with myself. So I just bought myself some soy-milk, and walked back to the dorms with my friend to change into more formal clothes. We had our graduation ceremony today, so I wanted to be wearing something a little more formal. Besides, one of my teachers was feeling uncomfortable because she was wearing something really formal, so I figured why not.
During our graduation ceremony, a bunch of people talked, thanking us for coming to HBA, and doing such a good job. For about half an hour, it was just people talking, and listening to themselves talk. Awesome. Then we got our diploma’s, and it was off to Chinese tables. No, wait, ENGLISH TABLES. That’s right folks, I am officially allowed to speak English again. And we had to get the teachers to speak English as well. They were all so nervous to be speaking English in front of us. It was actually kind of cute.
I actually have a confession to make. Even though we could speak English (officially) a lot of us kept speaking Chinese, because we were just used to it. Sometimes, it is just easier to keep speaking Chinese. Especially with the teachers.
We were going to another college to eat lunch, but once we got there, it was actually pretty cool. There was a huge restaurant, and there was a buffet, with American Chinese food, and American food. It wasn’t the greatest food, but it was fun. But it was also sad. Oh so very sad. Because this is probably one of the last times that we are ever all going to be together. There were lots of pictures being taken, let me tell you. We also all crowded together to take a big class picture, and then paired off to take pictures with all of the teachers. I was actually kind of sad to see this end. Which is weird, because I have never really thought of myself as an emotional person. But I was starting to get really nostalgic.
At 1:30, it was time to go to the gym. Even though I had eaten a lot of food at lunch, I was still going to go to the gym. It was my last day with Jack. How is that for sad. When I got there, I first took some pictures with Jack. They are pretty fun. Jack posed them especially, and even rolled his sleeves up to show off his muscles. Then we both had to flex for the camera. It was adorable.
Then it was time for working out. While I lifted, Jack took pictures of me. And he totally kicked my ass today. I thought that I was going to die. And the hour went by way too fast. I closed my eyes, and then we were done. After my super long, lovely massage, Jack taught me how to do cupping. That’s right folks, I can now unleash a new form of torture upon the American population. You want someone to suction glass jars onto your back that will leave bruises on your back for days? Look no further, I am here to help! I also bought 12 cups, and one of my friends gave me a lighter. It’s going to be a fun couple of weeks.
It was hard to leave the gym. I didn’t want it to be over, because Jack was going to Shanghai this weekend, and I am going back to America. But I gave Jack my email address and phone number after he asked for it. Hopefully, I will be getting an email sometime soon. Cross your fingers.
For the rest of the afternoon, I tried to relax. It had already been a long day, and it wasn’t even near to be over yet. But I needed a cup of tea, and a movie, stat. Not for long though. As soon as I got back to my room, I started crying. Seriously, I don’t know what is wrong with me. I am not normally this nostalgic. I was just so sad to be leaving Jack, and that HBA was over, that I just lost it. What can I say, it happens. I guess it was just my time to let some stress off.
At 7, it was time for dinner. Most of the 4th kids and the teachers were all going out to dinner, and then going to sing karaoke. I decided, what the hell, it’s my last day in Beijing (well, second to last day) and I was going to go out, and I was going to look good doing it. Time to take my black top out for a spin. Haven’t had a chance to wear it yet until tonight.
Dinner was actually a lot lunch. It was Chinese food, sure, but it tasted like American Chinese food. Not really the best thing to be eating. I felt extremely honored though. My teacher, for the entire 20 minute walk over to dinner, held my hand and talked to me. Female teacher, by the way. That may sound weird to you, but that is just the Chinese culture. Good friends walk down the street arm in arm, hand in hand, gossiping. I felt like a local.
After dinner, it was karaoke time. If you know me at all, you know that I don’t sing. Unless it is in the shower, or no one is around. But I went to karaoke, in the spirit of celebrating with my friends. When we first got there, I didn’t sing, but then, as it turned into a huge ‘everybody sing at the top of your lungs’ kind of thing. It was fun. We sang along to Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, and other such classics. It’s funny how those songs are really only okay when you are singing karaoke. But they are the most fun to sing at the top of your lungs.
Once again, at the end of karaoke, we had to say goodbye to the teachers. And it was still horrible. I hate goodbyes. Really. I would much rather say “See you later.” Bah.
For the final act of the night… dancing. And oh, how much fun it was. We got there at 11:30, and I stayed until 1:30. We had originally had 4 tables waiting for us, but by the time that we got there, we had lost all of our tables, because not enough people had shown up. Oops. But once we got in there, it didn’t matter. I just danced. The clubs in Beijing are amazing. The music is so loud that you can’t even hear yourself talk, and it is packed with people. And that is all that I am telling you about tonight.
And now, it is way past my bed time. Good night all!
First up, our final written exam. I was feeling lose as a goose, and carefree. My written test was actually not as hard as I thought that it was going to be. I felt pretty confident for it, and it was not the hardest test that we have ever had. There were some points where I am fairly sure that I didn’t respond correctly, but hey. It happens. I don’t need to be perfect.
I finished the test in 2 hours and 5 minutes. And then I was liberated. That was it. It’s done. HBA is done. My summer was over. I actually didn’t know what to feel, or what to do with myself. So I just bought myself some soy-milk, and walked back to the dorms with my friend to change into more formal clothes. We had our graduation ceremony today, so I wanted to be wearing something a little more formal. Besides, one of my teachers was feeling uncomfortable because she was wearing something really formal, so I figured why not.
During our graduation ceremony, a bunch of people talked, thanking us for coming to HBA, and doing such a good job. For about half an hour, it was just people talking, and listening to themselves talk. Awesome. Then we got our diploma’s, and it was off to Chinese tables. No, wait, ENGLISH TABLES. That’s right folks, I am officially allowed to speak English again. And we had to get the teachers to speak English as well. They were all so nervous to be speaking English in front of us. It was actually kind of cute.
I actually have a confession to make. Even though we could speak English (officially) a lot of us kept speaking Chinese, because we were just used to it. Sometimes, it is just easier to keep speaking Chinese. Especially with the teachers.
We were going to another college to eat lunch, but once we got there, it was actually pretty cool. There was a huge restaurant, and there was a buffet, with American Chinese food, and American food. It wasn’t the greatest food, but it was fun. But it was also sad. Oh so very sad. Because this is probably one of the last times that we are ever all going to be together. There were lots of pictures being taken, let me tell you. We also all crowded together to take a big class picture, and then paired off to take pictures with all of the teachers. I was actually kind of sad to see this end. Which is weird, because I have never really thought of myself as an emotional person. But I was starting to get really nostalgic.
At 1:30, it was time to go to the gym. Even though I had eaten a lot of food at lunch, I was still going to go to the gym. It was my last day with Jack. How is that for sad. When I got there, I first took some pictures with Jack. They are pretty fun. Jack posed them especially, and even rolled his sleeves up to show off his muscles. Then we both had to flex for the camera. It was adorable.
Then it was time for working out. While I lifted, Jack took pictures of me. And he totally kicked my ass today. I thought that I was going to die. And the hour went by way too fast. I closed my eyes, and then we were done. After my super long, lovely massage, Jack taught me how to do cupping. That’s right folks, I can now unleash a new form of torture upon the American population. You want someone to suction glass jars onto your back that will leave bruises on your back for days? Look no further, I am here to help! I also bought 12 cups, and one of my friends gave me a lighter. It’s going to be a fun couple of weeks.
It was hard to leave the gym. I didn’t want it to be over, because Jack was going to Shanghai this weekend, and I am going back to America. But I gave Jack my email address and phone number after he asked for it. Hopefully, I will be getting an email sometime soon. Cross your fingers.
For the rest of the afternoon, I tried to relax. It had already been a long day, and it wasn’t even near to be over yet. But I needed a cup of tea, and a movie, stat. Not for long though. As soon as I got back to my room, I started crying. Seriously, I don’t know what is wrong with me. I am not normally this nostalgic. I was just so sad to be leaving Jack, and that HBA was over, that I just lost it. What can I say, it happens. I guess it was just my time to let some stress off.
At 7, it was time for dinner. Most of the 4th kids and the teachers were all going out to dinner, and then going to sing karaoke. I decided, what the hell, it’s my last day in Beijing (well, second to last day) and I was going to go out, and I was going to look good doing it. Time to take my black top out for a spin. Haven’t had a chance to wear it yet until tonight.
Dinner was actually a lot lunch. It was Chinese food, sure, but it tasted like American Chinese food. Not really the best thing to be eating. I felt extremely honored though. My teacher, for the entire 20 minute walk over to dinner, held my hand and talked to me. Female teacher, by the way. That may sound weird to you, but that is just the Chinese culture. Good friends walk down the street arm in arm, hand in hand, gossiping. I felt like a local.
After dinner, it was karaoke time. If you know me at all, you know that I don’t sing. Unless it is in the shower, or no one is around. But I went to karaoke, in the spirit of celebrating with my friends. When we first got there, I didn’t sing, but then, as it turned into a huge ‘everybody sing at the top of your lungs’ kind of thing. It was fun. We sang along to Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, and other such classics. It’s funny how those songs are really only okay when you are singing karaoke. But they are the most fun to sing at the top of your lungs.
Once again, at the end of karaoke, we had to say goodbye to the teachers. And it was still horrible. I hate goodbyes. Really. I would much rather say “See you later.” Bah.
For the final act of the night… dancing. And oh, how much fun it was. We got there at 11:30, and I stayed until 1:30. We had originally had 4 tables waiting for us, but by the time that we got there, we had lost all of our tables, because not enough people had shown up. Oops. But once we got in there, it didn’t matter. I just danced. The clubs in Beijing are amazing. The music is so loud that you can’t even hear yourself talk, and it is packed with people. And that is all that I am telling you about tonight.
And now, it is way past my bed time. Good night all!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
No Pain, No Gain
I used up all of the money in my wallet this morning to pay for breakfast. I had run out of milk, so cereal was out of the question. Luckily, I managed to scrape together 10 kuai, which is roughly a dollar and a half. I paid in basically the Chinese version of quarters. I think that the servers are starting to hate the sight of me.
Then it was time for the last day of class. It's amazing how much spirit people get when they know that we are in the final stretch. We were positively busting with energy. Even though we spent most of class time just going over simple grammar that we all learned in first year, but it was helpful still. There are some things in Chinese that I am convinced I am never going to get the hang of. And we laughed, and had a great time. Laughter can definitely make you remember things better. There was then a super funny fake class that one of the kids in our class put on. It was hysterical. I can't explain it properly using Chinese, but basically, he just used the easiest grammar you could possibly think of, and just joked for a while with it. Hysterical.
For the rest of the day, it was a lot like that. Everyone was excited that it was the last day, that we were all almost free. Sure, there was definitely some useful learning that went on, obviously. But you could tell, everyone was just counting down the seconds until the end of the day. Who can study in this kind of atmosphere? I definitely can't. Well, at least, I have a hard time studying. Since it is finals tomorrow, I suppose that I can rally and study at least for a little while. I'm not too worried for the test tomorrow, actually. I will probably regret saying that later on, but I still have 12 hours to live in bliss.
We had our speaking test today. I actually felt pretty confident for it. I figure, if you are relaxed, you will do fine. So I wasn't worrying a whole lot. And the teachers that I was taking the test with are pretty easy going, so I was relaxed and happy, talking about capitalism, and Africa. I know, who comes up with these topics? I thought that I was home free, until it got the final minute, and the main teacher walked into the room to listen to the end of my test. Then my teachers really woke up, and started asking lots and lots of questions. Some of which I couldn't answer. I felt cheated. Why on earth would she come in, just when I was in the final stretch? People always want to show off in front of their bosses.
And then I was home free. Well, as home free as you can get with a written final tomorrow. But I had three hours to kill by studying until I had to go see Jack. Oh yes, today was a Jack day.
I studied, and then it was off to the gym. He was five minutes late, but I suppose I will let that slide just this once. I was completely exhausted after 15 minutes. He pushed me so hard on my arms that I had to give up on one of the exercises half way through. I have never given up. Ever. I will push myself to throw up, but this time, my arms simply gave out. There was no way that I was going to keep lifting weights. Mostly, it went well though. Until we got to the end, when it was time to get stretched and massaged (still taking applications for anyone that wants to help me as soon as I get home). Anyway, the stretching. It normally hurts much more than when we work out. But if I tell Jack that he hurts, he just tells me to suck it up, and push harder. That is what he did today, as well. Except that it really hurt today. I told him that it hurt, and he kept pushing. I was fine with that, until I felt a tell tale pop and crackle in my hip. That is never a good sign. That was when I called it quits. I think that I might have just tweaked something, not torn it or anything. But can I just say, I told you so? I was waiting for this to happen. Ouch.
I caved in. I ate dinner tonight. Well, not really dinner. More like, I had broccoli, and this pumpkin sticky bread thing that is amazing. I figure that I am only in China for a little while longer, I am going to enjoy myself, and that is that! It was good.
I have spent the rest of my night signing cards for my teachers, studying for the test tomorrow, and relaxing. And now, I am going to bed. A girl needs her beauty sleep! Goodnight.
Then it was time for the last day of class. It's amazing how much spirit people get when they know that we are in the final stretch. We were positively busting with energy. Even though we spent most of class time just going over simple grammar that we all learned in first year, but it was helpful still. There are some things in Chinese that I am convinced I am never going to get the hang of. And we laughed, and had a great time. Laughter can definitely make you remember things better. There was then a super funny fake class that one of the kids in our class put on. It was hysterical. I can't explain it properly using Chinese, but basically, he just used the easiest grammar you could possibly think of, and just joked for a while with it. Hysterical.
For the rest of the day, it was a lot like that. Everyone was excited that it was the last day, that we were all almost free. Sure, there was definitely some useful learning that went on, obviously. But you could tell, everyone was just counting down the seconds until the end of the day. Who can study in this kind of atmosphere? I definitely can't. Well, at least, I have a hard time studying. Since it is finals tomorrow, I suppose that I can rally and study at least for a little while. I'm not too worried for the test tomorrow, actually. I will probably regret saying that later on, but I still have 12 hours to live in bliss.
We had our speaking test today. I actually felt pretty confident for it. I figure, if you are relaxed, you will do fine. So I wasn't worrying a whole lot. And the teachers that I was taking the test with are pretty easy going, so I was relaxed and happy, talking about capitalism, and Africa. I know, who comes up with these topics? I thought that I was home free, until it got the final minute, and the main teacher walked into the room to listen to the end of my test. Then my teachers really woke up, and started asking lots and lots of questions. Some of which I couldn't answer. I felt cheated. Why on earth would she come in, just when I was in the final stretch? People always want to show off in front of their bosses.
And then I was home free. Well, as home free as you can get with a written final tomorrow. But I had three hours to kill by studying until I had to go see Jack. Oh yes, today was a Jack day.
I studied, and then it was off to the gym. He was five minutes late, but I suppose I will let that slide just this once. I was completely exhausted after 15 minutes. He pushed me so hard on my arms that I had to give up on one of the exercises half way through. I have never given up. Ever. I will push myself to throw up, but this time, my arms simply gave out. There was no way that I was going to keep lifting weights. Mostly, it went well though. Until we got to the end, when it was time to get stretched and massaged (still taking applications for anyone that wants to help me as soon as I get home). Anyway, the stretching. It normally hurts much more than when we work out. But if I tell Jack that he hurts, he just tells me to suck it up, and push harder. That is what he did today, as well. Except that it really hurt today. I told him that it hurt, and he kept pushing. I was fine with that, until I felt a tell tale pop and crackle in my hip. That is never a good sign. That was when I called it quits. I think that I might have just tweaked something, not torn it or anything. But can I just say, I told you so? I was waiting for this to happen. Ouch.
I caved in. I ate dinner tonight. Well, not really dinner. More like, I had broccoli, and this pumpkin sticky bread thing that is amazing. I figure that I am only in China for a little while longer, I am going to enjoy myself, and that is that! It was good.
I have spent the rest of my night signing cards for my teachers, studying for the test tomorrow, and relaxing. And now, I am going to bed. A girl needs her beauty sleep! Goodnight.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The End is Near, Run For Your... Health?
I haven't written in a while, I know. It's not for any particular reason. Obviously, I could say that I have been too busy studying, or that I have just been really into Chinese, but the truth is, I have just been plain lazy. But I am back now. I might just paraphrase, if that is quite alright with you.
I have seen Jack twice since I last wrote to you. He is on a new kick, after finding a new way to torture me. For many of you, it won't seem too bad. Probably. Anyway, he has decided that he wants to see me sweat. So he has started making me go outside, to the smoggy, humid air, and exercise. Exercising in the humidity? Not so much fun. It definitely gets my body temperature up. I am going to take this opportunity to let you in on a little secret about me when I exercise. First off, I get super red in the face. That is the first clue that I am actually working hard. The second thing about me? I don't sweat a whole lot. I mean, I do sweat, but it's not like Niagra Falls or anything. I tried to explain this to Jack, but he just laughed it off. Out we went. And guess what? I actually did sweat a lot more. It was disgusting. Kind of like how I am explaining how I sweat is disgusting. I think that China has taken away my politeness. Just forget everything that I just wrote.
This also marks the beginning of the end. I am starting to get ready for all my tests. I have a speaking test tomorrow, and a written test on Friday. Everyone is finishing up studying, going into finals mode. We are all seriously burned out. I have almost no studying energy at all. I am done. My brain is too full of Chinese. I can't remember even the simplest characters. Oh well. I suppose that I normal. I need time to review, and process.
It's kind of sad to be seeing everyone packing up and getting ready to leave. I will be sad to leave Beijing, but I won't be sad to see HBA done. It has been such an intense summer. I have worked my ass off, harder than I have worked in a long time. But it was just what I needed to make my Chinese better. I haven't worked this hard in Chinese since I was in Beijing last time, and I have finally realized that my Chinese has come a long way this summer. It has gotten more formal. I still have such a long way too go, but it's better than kick in the head. I'm not nearly close yet.
So that's that. I have basically summed up my last couple of days. And I will talk to you all later!
I have seen Jack twice since I last wrote to you. He is on a new kick, after finding a new way to torture me. For many of you, it won't seem too bad. Probably. Anyway, he has decided that he wants to see me sweat. So he has started making me go outside, to the smoggy, humid air, and exercise. Exercising in the humidity? Not so much fun. It definitely gets my body temperature up. I am going to take this opportunity to let you in on a little secret about me when I exercise. First off, I get super red in the face. That is the first clue that I am actually working hard. The second thing about me? I don't sweat a whole lot. I mean, I do sweat, but it's not like Niagra Falls or anything. I tried to explain this to Jack, but he just laughed it off. Out we went. And guess what? I actually did sweat a lot more. It was disgusting. Kind of like how I am explaining how I sweat is disgusting. I think that China has taken away my politeness. Just forget everything that I just wrote.
This also marks the beginning of the end. I am starting to get ready for all my tests. I have a speaking test tomorrow, and a written test on Friday. Everyone is finishing up studying, going into finals mode. We are all seriously burned out. I have almost no studying energy at all. I am done. My brain is too full of Chinese. I can't remember even the simplest characters. Oh well. I suppose that I normal. I need time to review, and process.
It's kind of sad to be seeing everyone packing up and getting ready to leave. I will be sad to leave Beijing, but I won't be sad to see HBA done. It has been such an intense summer. I have worked my ass off, harder than I have worked in a long time. But it was just what I needed to make my Chinese better. I haven't worked this hard in Chinese since I was in Beijing last time, and I have finally realized that my Chinese has come a long way this summer. It has gotten more formal. I still have such a long way too go, but it's better than kick in the head. I'm not nearly close yet.
So that's that. I have basically summed up my last couple of days. And I will talk to you all later!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Wakey Wakey
I had a very rude awakening when I woke up this morning. My alarm went off, and I had no idea what the hell was going on. I didn’t know where I was, what day it was, or what that noise was that was waking me up. When I realized that it was my alarm going off, then I started thinking if it really was the week, and if my alarm actually deserved to be going off. It took me a while to figure out what was going on. It’s a very disconcerting way to wake up.
You can definitely tell that this is the last week here. Everyone is just about completely checked out. We are all giving it a go, trying to behave normally in class, but people are falling asleep, and it is obvious that people are all just thinking about the end of the week, when we no longer have to come to class. I have started to take more notes in class, which has the double bonus of helping me learn, and keeping me awake. Too bad it took me until the end the summer to figure this out.
During the 20 minute break in between reading class and small class (I know, horrible names, but I have no idea how to translate the names. Just go with it) the entire HBA (students and teachers, plus people that I don’t think are affiliated with HBA…) all trooped over to the library to take a group picture. It is amazing how long it takes to set up a group picture that actually only takes a couple of seconds to take. The preparation is not worth the outcome, in my humble opinion.
I also got my HSK test results back. I didn’t do as well as I had hoped I would do, but it was an improvement from last time. Oh well, it’s getting better. That did make me a little bit grouchy for a while though. I felt bad for the people that were in my conversation class. I got over my little fit after a couple of minutes though. Can’t stay mad forever. I think it also definitely did not help that I was hungry. I get super grouchy when I am hungry.
I got creative for lunch. Well, actually, I just changed things up. I got cold noodles (which are actually pretty good. They put lots of sauce and hot stuff on it. Yummy yummy) and Pumpkin bread things. I’m not sure what the translation is, but it’s sweet pumpkin sticky stuff, with red bean sauce in the middle. It was my treat. At the end of my trip here, I enjoy little treats.
You can definitely tell that this is the last week here. Everyone is just about completely checked out. We are all giving it a go, trying to behave normally in class, but people are falling asleep, and it is obvious that people are all just thinking about the end of the week, when we no longer have to come to class. I have started to take more notes in class, which has the double bonus of helping me learn, and keeping me awake. Too bad it took me until the end the summer to figure this out.
During the 20 minute break in between reading class and small class (I know, horrible names, but I have no idea how to translate the names. Just go with it) the entire HBA (students and teachers, plus people that I don’t think are affiliated with HBA…) all trooped over to the library to take a group picture. It is amazing how long it takes to set up a group picture that actually only takes a couple of seconds to take. The preparation is not worth the outcome, in my humble opinion.
I also got my HSK test results back. I didn’t do as well as I had hoped I would do, but it was an improvement from last time. Oh well, it’s getting better. That did make me a little bit grouchy for a while though. I felt bad for the people that were in my conversation class. I got over my little fit after a couple of minutes though. Can’t stay mad forever. I think it also definitely did not help that I was hungry. I get super grouchy when I am hungry.
I got creative for lunch. Well, actually, I just changed things up. I got cold noodles (which are actually pretty good. They put lots of sauce and hot stuff on it. Yummy yummy) and Pumpkin bread things. I’m not sure what the translation is, but it’s sweet pumpkin sticky stuff, with red bean sauce in the middle. It was my treat. At the end of my trip here, I enjoy little treats.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
A Little Bit of Culture
I woke up at 8:15 this morning. It was a bit early for me as well, especially on a Sunday morning, but I had plans. I had a quick breakfast and tea, checked my emails, talked to my parents, and out the door I went. I had to get some cash first, and luckily, the ATM that I tried this morning worked. (The one that I tried yesterday didn’t work. But that ATM has been broken for a while, so I am just going to keep saying that it is still broken.)
I was going to the National Museum with my Chinese language partner Qiao Xue. I met her at a subway stop, and then we rode the subway over to the proper stop. I went to the Museum a long time ago, when I was doing the SYA program, but it’s been a while. It was nice to see Qiao Xue again. She is a really cool person. It was a little hot today, but the Museum was close to the subway, so it wasn’t very far to walk to get there. Once we got there, we got tickets, and started browsing. Well, obviously. What else do you do museums?
There were a couple of fun little places to go see. There was a gorgeous jade exhibit and a whole hall dedicated to Buddhist art. I’m not religious, but I love looking at Buddha statues. They are amazing. I kept thinking back to the Art History class that I took last semester. I really wish that I could remember more of what I learned. It would have been so helpful. If only I had time to learn everything in the world! Ah well, I guess no one is perfect. I’ll just have to imitate Mary Poppins.
We left after about an hour. I got the feeling that she wasn’t really having that good of a time, and I prefer to just kind of walk around and quickly look at everything. We decided to get lunch together. Well, actually, I mentioned that I was going to go to a restaurant for lunch, and she decided to join me. The more the merrier, I say!
The cutest thing in the world happened as we were heading over to lunch. We were riding the subway over to our proper stop, and on the way, two moms and their kids got onto the subway right next to us. The kids were two little girls, probably about 5 years old, and full of energy. They immediately starting climbing all over everything, and jumping around. The mom tried to test the girls character recognition, but it didn't work too well. One of them kept looking at me and smiling, and then jumping around even more. Then, she ran up to her mom, and started whispering. I heard the word "English" and knew that she was talking about me. Then she looked at me, and said "Auntie, hello." (Auntie is what they call older women, when you are addressing someone. Cultural thing.) I almost died, it was that cute. Then I told her that she could start talking to me in Chinese, because I could understand it. They then started taking turns, asking me in small voices, questions about where I was from and what I was doing in Beijing. Their moms were silently encouraging them. It was the cutest thing ever. I love Asian babies, I think that they are adorable. I would have stolen this one, but I felt that the mom might have had something to say about it. I have never been so sad to get off the subway in my life.
I actually almost got us all killed on the way to the restaurant. At first, I wanted to go to an old place that I used to go to, that had the best soup ever, but it was closed. As in, out of business closed. So that was a no go. Instead, we crossed the road and went to another place. I have always maintained that if you are a foreigner, you can cross the road in China no sweat, because there is no way that they will hit you, because you will sue them for all them are worth. Well, I was proved wrong today. We were crossing the road, and I was not being particularly careful, and almost got taken out by a truck. Qiao Xue did the smart thing, and jumped backwards, out of the way. I am clearly not as smart. Instead I jumped many steps forward. As in, I had to move infront of the car to get away. Well, I never said I was a genius. I did a matrix like move though. What an adrenaline rush.
Lunch was actually pretty good. Kung Pao Chicken, and Beef and Potatoes. As well as this good sweet bread. Hard to explain, but take my word for it, it’s super good. We had a nice little talk, and then it was time to leave. I paid for lunch, even though I had to fight for the right. You have to be exceedingly pushy here, I have found. Just another one of those cultural things, I guess. I’m good at getting people to let me pay the bill, but I can’t call the waiters over yet. Oh well. I’ll get used to it in time.
I went back to my dorm room for some rest. I was full and happy. I did my homework: read the text, made the flash cards.
I went to get a massage at 6. Originally, I wasn’t going to go, but my back was killing me from going to the gym, and I only have a week left here, so why not? I went by myself tonight, because that’s what all the cool kids do. My favorite person was busy, so I just got whoever they had left. As it turns out, I got a woman, who I had never had before. When I walked in, all my friends said hello to me, and then the massage started.
Holy shit, this woman was intense. She was going to town on my back, much more so than any body else that had ever given me a massage. I couldn’t understand a word she was saying though, her accent was super thick. I needed a translator to translate it into proper Chinese for me. She didn’t look very strong, but she was. There were times when I almost turned over and said something. But a couple of deep breaths got me through it. Who knew that would work?
When I was done with the massage, the lady told me that I should get a foot massage. I’ve never had one before, so I thought, why not? IT WAS AMAZING. First my feet soaked in hot water, and then the lady came back, and gave me a massage. Last but not least, she used a hot rock to scrape at my feet. Obviously, it was a Chinese medicine foot massage, so it still hurt, as they tried to fix my body, but afterwards, it felt amazing.
A couple of notes about this massage. There were a couple of Chinese guys that were getting a massage at the same time as I was, and they couldn’t speak a word of Chinese. The massage people kept trying to talk to them, and it ended in disaster. That made me feel good about my Chinese. Later on, we were both getting a foot massage at the same time, and I acted as a translator for them. That was a big boost for my ego. They were surprised that I had been studying for six years. I think that they had been hoping that I had only been studying for 6 weeks, so that they would be able to learn it faster. Dream on, kids.
Also, my favorite little massage monk kept telling me that I was pretty. Last week I was too skinny for cupping, and now I keep getting prettier. I could kiss him. That is what every girl loves to hear.
And that was my night. I walked home, watched a movie, and went to bed. So begins the last week in China!
I was going to the National Museum with my Chinese language partner Qiao Xue. I met her at a subway stop, and then we rode the subway over to the proper stop. I went to the Museum a long time ago, when I was doing the SYA program, but it’s been a while. It was nice to see Qiao Xue again. She is a really cool person. It was a little hot today, but the Museum was close to the subway, so it wasn’t very far to walk to get there. Once we got there, we got tickets, and started browsing. Well, obviously. What else do you do museums?
There were a couple of fun little places to go see. There was a gorgeous jade exhibit and a whole hall dedicated to Buddhist art. I’m not religious, but I love looking at Buddha statues. They are amazing. I kept thinking back to the Art History class that I took last semester. I really wish that I could remember more of what I learned. It would have been so helpful. If only I had time to learn everything in the world! Ah well, I guess no one is perfect. I’ll just have to imitate Mary Poppins.
We left after about an hour. I got the feeling that she wasn’t really having that good of a time, and I prefer to just kind of walk around and quickly look at everything. We decided to get lunch together. Well, actually, I mentioned that I was going to go to a restaurant for lunch, and she decided to join me. The more the merrier, I say!
The cutest thing in the world happened as we were heading over to lunch. We were riding the subway over to our proper stop, and on the way, two moms and their kids got onto the subway right next to us. The kids were two little girls, probably about 5 years old, and full of energy. They immediately starting climbing all over everything, and jumping around. The mom tried to test the girls character recognition, but it didn't work too well. One of them kept looking at me and smiling, and then jumping around even more. Then, she ran up to her mom, and started whispering. I heard the word "English" and knew that she was talking about me. Then she looked at me, and said "Auntie, hello." (Auntie is what they call older women, when you are addressing someone. Cultural thing.) I almost died, it was that cute. Then I told her that she could start talking to me in Chinese, because I could understand it. They then started taking turns, asking me in small voices, questions about where I was from and what I was doing in Beijing. Their moms were silently encouraging them. It was the cutest thing ever. I love Asian babies, I think that they are adorable. I would have stolen this one, but I felt that the mom might have had something to say about it. I have never been so sad to get off the subway in my life.
I actually almost got us all killed on the way to the restaurant. At first, I wanted to go to an old place that I used to go to, that had the best soup ever, but it was closed. As in, out of business closed. So that was a no go. Instead, we crossed the road and went to another place. I have always maintained that if you are a foreigner, you can cross the road in China no sweat, because there is no way that they will hit you, because you will sue them for all them are worth. Well, I was proved wrong today. We were crossing the road, and I was not being particularly careful, and almost got taken out by a truck. Qiao Xue did the smart thing, and jumped backwards, out of the way. I am clearly not as smart. Instead I jumped many steps forward. As in, I had to move infront of the car to get away. Well, I never said I was a genius. I did a matrix like move though. What an adrenaline rush.
Lunch was actually pretty good. Kung Pao Chicken, and Beef and Potatoes. As well as this good sweet bread. Hard to explain, but take my word for it, it’s super good. We had a nice little talk, and then it was time to leave. I paid for lunch, even though I had to fight for the right. You have to be exceedingly pushy here, I have found. Just another one of those cultural things, I guess. I’m good at getting people to let me pay the bill, but I can’t call the waiters over yet. Oh well. I’ll get used to it in time.
I went back to my dorm room for some rest. I was full and happy. I did my homework: read the text, made the flash cards.
I went to get a massage at 6. Originally, I wasn’t going to go, but my back was killing me from going to the gym, and I only have a week left here, so why not? I went by myself tonight, because that’s what all the cool kids do. My favorite person was busy, so I just got whoever they had left. As it turns out, I got a woman, who I had never had before. When I walked in, all my friends said hello to me, and then the massage started.
Holy shit, this woman was intense. She was going to town on my back, much more so than any body else that had ever given me a massage. I couldn’t understand a word she was saying though, her accent was super thick. I needed a translator to translate it into proper Chinese for me. She didn’t look very strong, but she was. There were times when I almost turned over and said something. But a couple of deep breaths got me through it. Who knew that would work?
When I was done with the massage, the lady told me that I should get a foot massage. I’ve never had one before, so I thought, why not? IT WAS AMAZING. First my feet soaked in hot water, and then the lady came back, and gave me a massage. Last but not least, she used a hot rock to scrape at my feet. Obviously, it was a Chinese medicine foot massage, so it still hurt, as they tried to fix my body, but afterwards, it felt amazing.
A couple of notes about this massage. There were a couple of Chinese guys that were getting a massage at the same time as I was, and they couldn’t speak a word of Chinese. The massage people kept trying to talk to them, and it ended in disaster. That made me feel good about my Chinese. Later on, we were both getting a foot massage at the same time, and I acted as a translator for them. That was a big boost for my ego. They were surprised that I had been studying for six years. I think that they had been hoping that I had only been studying for 6 weeks, so that they would be able to learn it faster. Dream on, kids.
Also, my favorite little massage monk kept telling me that I was pretty. Last week I was too skinny for cupping, and now I keep getting prettier. I could kiss him. That is what every girl loves to hear.
And that was my night. I walked home, watched a movie, and went to bed. So begins the last week in China!
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