I'm still standing.

Yesterday I went downtown to the Ancient Observatory. It's pretty cool. There are all these old astronomical tools there, but they are unfortunately gated off so people like me cannot play with them. There are some cool sundials there, though, that are pretty accurate.

Last Saturday I attended a traditional Chinese story-telling competition which was supposed to in some way welcome the Olympic games. I don't get it either. Anyway, it was pretty cool. Afterward, being pretty much the only white person in the audience, I was interviewed by a local tv reporter who wanted to know what the Other thinks about Chinese story-telling. I said it was interesting and that I was surprised at how well the Americans and the Canadian who participated spoke Chinese. They were pretty inspirational as far as language learning. It was a good experience overall and in the process I was able to secure a contact with a woman who works for a tv station in China and is a friend-of-a-friend.

I explained to my parents over the phone what the process is for clothes-washing here. I guess it never occurred to me to tell anyone about it until now. We wash in the washer, but it's a second-world washer. You fill it up with a hose, add detergent and clothes, then turn a dial. It agitates for about 15 minutes. Then you turn a switch and it drains the water. Refill the tub with clean water, let it agitate again (this is the rinse cycle). Repeat if necessary to get the soap out. Then, you're left with clothes sitting in water. Drain the tub. Put them into the attached spin dryer. Really, it's a big salad spinner for clothes. Do that for two sets of 5 minutes each (in small batches). Then hang everything up on the drying rods that every apartment includes. Ours happen to be inside, but some are on the attached but not enclosed balconies. This may require a video. There are many things I am realizing in my life that people would probably go, "Wait, you do what?" and I don't think to tell about them.

Things are generally well, but I admit that I feel a bit burnt out on being a student. And I'm quite primed for a return home.

T