Larry King suggested to Jerry Seinfeld that Seinfeld got cancelled. Find the video online. It's amazing.
I had some street food yesterday. It's some crazy Chinese fruit that's like a cross between an apple and strawberry. They put a bunch of them on a wooden stick and then dip them in caramel. It's pretty fantastic. And it cost 26¢. Sweet. Literally.
Special thanks to Jenny for the birthday package. The card (yes, I opened it a week early) made me laugh hysterically. I'll probably frame that joker, because it is that funny. It has to do with arm-flap like less-than-young women develop. O man.
Midterms are coming up. Ay carumba.
T
Friday, November 2, 2007
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Lama Temple
I had a good day in class. Then I went to lunch at a place we affectionately call the greenhouse, because the walls are very green. Bright green. The food was nice, and having lunch with friends is always nice.
Now I'm in the same coffeeshop as yesterday, but this time I'm with a friend. We shopped for a while and he bought a belt and I got some gloves. Take that winter! They were a bit on the (Chinese) expensive side, but they should do me for the winter, so that's all that matters. Now I get to ride my bike for twenty minutes and to use chopsticks successfully when I get where I'm going.
Last night we talked to Austin and will be moving in with him in December. That's pretty exciting.
There are some guys in the corner talking in English about Chinese movies and making movies and all this stuff I want to eavesdrop in on. They're white, and they look business-y. I'm highly curious, but I don't think I'll be that kid who butts into the conversation. I don't want to get the "sit down, kid, the grown folks are talking" look from anybody today.
T
Now I'm in the same coffeeshop as yesterday, but this time I'm with a friend. We shopped for a while and he bought a belt and I got some gloves. Take that winter! They were a bit on the (Chinese) expensive side, but they should do me for the winter, so that's all that matters. Now I get to ride my bike for twenty minutes and to use chopsticks successfully when I get where I'm going.
Last night we talked to Austin and will be moving in with him in December. That's pretty exciting.
There are some guys in the corner talking in English about Chinese movies and making movies and all this stuff I want to eavesdrop in on. They're white, and they look business-y. I'm highly curious, but I don't think I'll be that kid who butts into the conversation. I don't want to get the "sit down, kid, the grown folks are talking" look from anybody today.
T
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Happy Halloween!
They don't celebrate much in China. Except at Pizza Hut, which is just weird in itself.
The apartment is nice, but we're gonna have to share a bedroom. For $100/month savings and a big living room, I think I can handle that.
I'm meeting with my conversation partner tonight. Better get to it!
T
They don't celebrate much in China. Except at Pizza Hut, which is just weird in itself.
The apartment is nice, but we're gonna have to share a bedroom. For $100/month savings and a big living room, I think I can handle that.
I'm meeting with my conversation partner tonight. Better get to it!
T
Monday, October 29, 2007
Today I had sweet and sour chicken with a scoop of white rice for lunch.
Right now I'm in the process of getting my Chinese name put into an application online. We'll see if it works out.
In a little while I'm going to look at the apartment. I'm trying to be hopeful but not overeager and realistic.
My class wants to go out partying tomorrow night for Halloween. Who knew they celebrate in China? I haven't decided if I'll go or not. They want me to, but I just don't know if it is a good idea. If I do go, I won't stay out late. I want to be a well-rested student if I can't be the best in the class.
My roommate is at the doctor's office for his knee. It would appear that he messed it up doing the 10K and didn't realize it until recently. So that's that.
I can think of a few things I'd like to buy, but who knows if they even sell stuff in China in my size? Not that I'm enormous, but I don't want to spend a day looking all for naught.
Today two girls were staring at me as they walked past, and I realized it and looked back at them, and they looked away at the same time. It was funny as I watched them try to seem like they weren't looking.
T
Right now I'm in the process of getting my Chinese name put into an application online. We'll see if it works out.
In a little while I'm going to look at the apartment. I'm trying to be hopeful but not overeager and realistic.
My class wants to go out partying tomorrow night for Halloween. Who knew they celebrate in China? I haven't decided if I'll go or not. They want me to, but I just don't know if it is a good idea. If I do go, I won't stay out late. I want to be a well-rested student if I can't be the best in the class.
My roommate is at the doctor's office for his knee. It would appear that he messed it up doing the 10K and didn't realize it until recently. So that's that.
I can think of a few things I'd like to buy, but who knows if they even sell stuff in China in my size? Not that I'm enormous, but I don't want to spend a day looking all for naught.
Today two girls were staring at me as they walked past, and I realized it and looked back at them, and they looked away at the same time. It was funny as I watched them try to seem like they weren't looking.
T
Catching Up
Victory number 259 of the day: I switched Blogger back to English on my dashboard. Hold your applause.
In case you actually read this thing and have half a mind to care about me (all 12 of you out there...), I have indeed been depressed lately. However, I am sorting things out with a lot of help from Dad and some good friends. Things are getting better, and I am growing exponentially. So that's really all I have to say about that.
Apart from that, I've been reminded by more than one person lately that I've been a bit absent on this very blog. My apologies. Life has been very similar to the usual daily grind of a 20 (almost 21) year-old guy studying Chinese in Beijing for a year. Classes are getting quicker in progression and so are the weeks. It seems that Monday butts up against Friday these days with very little Wednesday in between. Yesterday I remembered the Chinese word for park to tell the taxi driver. It's "gongyuan" in case you were curious. I realize that Chinese looks all the same in roman letters. It really does have a very narrow range of sound combinations phonetically. But it's kind of pretty after all.
Yesterday was a day of many taxis, it turned out. In a different taxi I told the driver "BeiShiDa de Dong Men" which actually sounds like "Bay-shur-dah duh dung mer" because I'm in Beijing and they put "rr" on the ends of things. So when the taxi driver said it back, he actually said it without the "rr" sound. He said "Bay-shur-da dong mun" which is how it should be said with no Beijing accent. I told him he said "mun" instead of "mer" and he said that "mer" isn't Mandarin. I laughed so hard. He basically condemned all his taxi driving colleagues' Mandarin in one fell swoop. Taxi drivers' Mandarin is the hardest to understand because they have the thickest accents. I like Beijing accent, but sometimes that's the difference between a solid standard American accent and a Brooklyn one.
I learned recently that Shanghai people and Beijing people are mortal enemies. They each think they are the more cosmopolitan people of China. Shanghai is the business city whereas Beijing is the capitol. It's probably like Los Angeles vs. New York in the United States. New York is totally better, by the way. I can say that now, since I've spent a few days in each.
Beijing is coldish now. The winter's coming on fast ready to kill! for you Les Mis fans. It's been in the 40's today. I wore a scarf today for the first time in China. Well, the first real time. I wore one a while back because it was cold from the air-con in my dorm, but that was more of a joke. I am hesitant to wear my peacoat at this point in the cold weather because that is conceding defeat. I don't have anything heavier or warmer than that one big wool coat, so if I wear it in October, that means I'll just die when January rolls around.
My roommate and I are considering moving in with a guy we met here. He's a good guy, and I would save $100 USD per month by living in that apartment. It's hard to say no to that kind of money, you know? We're going to decide tomorrow, I think. So far I'm in favor, but we'll have to see. My American girl friends are planning on moving to an apartment, too. They want in that same building because they really like the apartments there. I'll let you know when we decide.
Ok, I should go home now. I ditched class today to study, which I did, but I should be responsible and head home and continue studying without the distraction of free wi-fi in "shing-bah-ku kah-fay" which is how one says Starbucks coffee here. I actually used that today.
T
In case you actually read this thing and have half a mind to care about me (all 12 of you out there...), I have indeed been depressed lately. However, I am sorting things out with a lot of help from Dad and some good friends. Things are getting better, and I am growing exponentially. So that's really all I have to say about that.
Apart from that, I've been reminded by more than one person lately that I've been a bit absent on this very blog. My apologies. Life has been very similar to the usual daily grind of a 20 (almost 21) year-old guy studying Chinese in Beijing for a year. Classes are getting quicker in progression and so are the weeks. It seems that Monday butts up against Friday these days with very little Wednesday in between. Yesterday I remembered the Chinese word for park to tell the taxi driver. It's "gongyuan" in case you were curious. I realize that Chinese looks all the same in roman letters. It really does have a very narrow range of sound combinations phonetically. But it's kind of pretty after all.
Yesterday was a day of many taxis, it turned out. In a different taxi I told the driver "BeiShiDa de Dong Men" which actually sounds like "Bay-shur-dah duh dung mer" because I'm in Beijing and they put "rr" on the ends of things. So when the taxi driver said it back, he actually said it without the "rr" sound. He said "Bay-shur-da dong mun" which is how it should be said with no Beijing accent. I told him he said "mun" instead of "mer" and he said that "mer" isn't Mandarin. I laughed so hard. He basically condemned all his taxi driving colleagues' Mandarin in one fell swoop. Taxi drivers' Mandarin is the hardest to understand because they have the thickest accents. I like Beijing accent, but sometimes that's the difference between a solid standard American accent and a Brooklyn one.
I learned recently that Shanghai people and Beijing people are mortal enemies. They each think they are the more cosmopolitan people of China. Shanghai is the business city whereas Beijing is the capitol. It's probably like Los Angeles vs. New York in the United States. New York is totally better, by the way. I can say that now, since I've spent a few days in each.
Beijing is coldish now. The winter's coming on fast ready to kill! for you Les Mis fans. It's been in the 40's today. I wore a scarf today for the first time in China. Well, the first real time. I wore one a while back because it was cold from the air-con in my dorm, but that was more of a joke. I am hesitant to wear my peacoat at this point in the cold weather because that is conceding defeat. I don't have anything heavier or warmer than that one big wool coat, so if I wear it in October, that means I'll just die when January rolls around.
My roommate and I are considering moving in with a guy we met here. He's a good guy, and I would save $100 USD per month by living in that apartment. It's hard to say no to that kind of money, you know? We're going to decide tomorrow, I think. So far I'm in favor, but we'll have to see. My American girl friends are planning on moving to an apartment, too. They want in that same building because they really like the apartments there. I'll let you know when we decide.
Ok, I should go home now. I ditched class today to study, which I did, but I should be responsible and head home and continue studying without the distraction of free wi-fi in "shing-bah-ku kah-fay" which is how one says Starbucks coffee here. I actually used that today.
T
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Today I only had one class, but I really really really really didn't want to be in it. I went and stayed the whole time, because I figure that's pretty much why I'm here. So I'm honoring with my attendence if not necessarily my grades. I had a bad time in class because I (gasps all around) can't read. I can't read Chinese very well. And sometimes that is supremely frustrating, because it seems that everyone else magically can. After class I ate with my roomie in McDonald's.
This afternoon I took a much needed trip around the city to buy a few things. Mainly books and dvds and coffee. That's pretty much where I spend money. I bought each of my male American comrades a book (though one was a request, and he's paying me back) and I bought a book on how to write characters better, since that's my problem. Then I bought a couple of movies for myself and one as a present for my roommate. It's Charlie Chaplin in The Kid. I'm sure I'll watch it, too.
Now I'm (once again) at Starbucks in Xidan using wireless. This time I'm downloading loads of podcasts. Hooray!
I listened to a boatload of music today, including Tomlin, relient K, Rocket Summer, and Switchfoot. Quite a lot of music, but then, I did go all the way across the city.
I'm hungry.
T
This afternoon I took a much needed trip around the city to buy a few things. Mainly books and dvds and coffee. That's pretty much where I spend money. I bought each of my male American comrades a book (though one was a request, and he's paying me back) and I bought a book on how to write characters better, since that's my problem. Then I bought a couple of movies for myself and one as a present for my roommate. It's Charlie Chaplin in The Kid. I'm sure I'll watch it, too.
Now I'm (once again) at Starbucks in Xidan using wireless. This time I'm downloading loads of podcasts. Hooray!
I listened to a boatload of music today, including Tomlin, relient K, Rocket Summer, and Switchfoot. Quite a lot of music, but then, I did go all the way across the city.
I'm hungry.
T
Monday, October 22, 2007
Today I had a decent Chinese language learning experience. I got my teacher to explain a sentence structure that I don't understand. I still think it's weird, but I kind of understand it.
My roomie has been sickly today with some sort of stomach ache or other. I had class (in more than one way) and couldn't be around to be a kindly nurse. I did accompany him to the drug store to purchase a thermometer. You try miming a thermometer! Try! It can't be done. I pointed at my mouth and ear, said something about too hot or too cold, and otherwise made a fool of myself to an ever-growing audience of Chinese women. Finally my roomie drew a picture on a piece of paper and the women suddenly understood. (As he drew the picture, they kind of laughed about the fact that he was drawing a picture.) Then they got one out and started lauging about my pointing at my ear. No, I know that you don't put a traditional thermometer in the ear. However, kid thermometers go either in the ear or in the rear. I wasn't going there. So I tried to explain that you use them for kids, but that I didn't want a kiddie thermometer because we're in our twenties and let's not be ridiculous. Ok, so I don't know the word for ridiculous. We got the thing, but we don't know how to read it in Celsius other than 37 is body temperature. Silly rest-of-the-world system.
Something is happening in China's politics. The VP got fired and stuff's shifting. I'm not worried, but it is notable.
Another small victory is that today I got my cell phone to store names in Roman letters as opposed to Hanzi characters. Hooray for the shift button pressed a bunch. I'm glad, because my arbitrary system of character assignment only works to the extent that I could remember the characters I assigned each person. I was running out of memory.
I'd very much like to make a Beijing subway system video soon, because it's kind of crazy. I don't know if I can without looking completely ridiculous. I'll try, though. If only YouTube had smell-o-vision...
T
My roomie has been sickly today with some sort of stomach ache or other. I had class (in more than one way) and couldn't be around to be a kindly nurse. I did accompany him to the drug store to purchase a thermometer. You try miming a thermometer! Try! It can't be done. I pointed at my mouth and ear, said something about too hot or too cold, and otherwise made a fool of myself to an ever-growing audience of Chinese women. Finally my roomie drew a picture on a piece of paper and the women suddenly understood. (As he drew the picture, they kind of laughed about the fact that he was drawing a picture.) Then they got one out and started lauging about my pointing at my ear. No, I know that you don't put a traditional thermometer in the ear. However, kid thermometers go either in the ear or in the rear. I wasn't going there. So I tried to explain that you use them for kids, but that I didn't want a kiddie thermometer because we're in our twenties and let's not be ridiculous. Ok, so I don't know the word for ridiculous. We got the thing, but we don't know how to read it in Celsius other than 37 is body temperature. Silly rest-of-the-world system.
Something is happening in China's politics. The VP got fired and stuff's shifting. I'm not worried, but it is notable.
Another small victory is that today I got my cell phone to store names in Roman letters as opposed to Hanzi characters. Hooray for the shift button pressed a bunch. I'm glad, because my arbitrary system of character assignment only works to the extent that I could remember the characters I assigned each person. I was running out of memory.
I'd very much like to make a Beijing subway system video soon, because it's kind of crazy. I don't know if I can without looking completely ridiculous. I'll try, though. If only YouTube had smell-o-vision...
T
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