BUT
I gotta write y'all, so much has happened as of late. Summary form again:
1. You know what I miss most about the US of A? MEXICO! Oh man what I wouldn't give to hear someone throw out an "hola" greeting, or for a taste of some thick and chunky salsa on my sizzlin' fajitas. In fact, my Shanghai friend came to visit and I just asked him to bring me TORTILLAS, which are about the most awesome thing that has happened to me since..um..
2. My Shanghai friend came to visit! Mr. Fangming, or Michael as he's known at Rice, started out in 101 with me at Rice and has been studying in Shanghai for the YEAR. Nuts I know. Anyway, we had a fabulous Russian-oriented weekend which included PANCAKES WITH SWEET MILK and
4. MORE LANGUAGES THAN YOUR DICTIONARY HAS ROOM FOR! Get this- we went to a Russian restaurant where the menu was written in Russian and Chinese, the head lady taking our orders spoke Russian and a little Chinese (and English?), our interpreter-waitress spoke Russian and some English, and we speak English and Chinese. MAN was that fun. Go back and read it again. Maybe the best thing that happened all weekend except for
3. Feeding tigers! That's right, I held a strip of over-sized bacon and a FREAKIN' TIGER ATE IT OFF THE STICK. CRAZY! Harbin's tiger park has about 200 tigers, and we took a bus ride through their various habitats, watched one eat a live chicken- let me tell you that's a sucky (and surprisingly slow) way to go- and then got up close and personal to feed them. I love China.
4. But sometimes, China really sucks. Last week, a 哈工大 student committed suicide, and how did the student body find out? A memorial? Official condolences? No, of course not. We found out through the grapevine because publicizing that sort of event would make the university lose face. Um, maybe it should? I'm just saying. China, that's crazy.
5. Another example, the environmentalist club on campus. Every year, they host an awesome Earth Day tree planting activity. Students volunteer, pay 10 kuai for supplies, and then go to a place outside the city and plant trees! The same place every year! Because no one takes care of the trees after planting them! So they ALL get blown down or die EVERY year! Good thing- after all, we want to be able to help the environment again next year! And all the students know about this situation! (Secretly..this cracks me up. Oh, China.)
6. Points for China though, Harbin used to have a pretty substantial (Russian) Jewish (refugee) population, and apparently the Chinese welcomed them with open arms. The Jewish peeps established some very advanced and successful industries, built a lot of important buildings...who knew! Harbin's New Jewish Synagogue museum that's who. Coooool.
7. The CET students and roomies played pictionary last week. Oh right, pictionary in Chinese. So basically, this means you're trying to guess Chinese words for badly drawn objects as fast as possible. I would like to recount my moment of triumph, which consisted of shouting "WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD!" in broken Chinese. Okay, okay, it wasn't right, but it was definitely on the right track, 说明 point for the girls team.
8. One-on-one teacher used the example "Cat's Chinese level is sufficient" and gave me a present today. Making progress!
Nine degrees; too hot,
China-Cat
Monday, April 27, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Amusing Anecdotes
Here's the latest take, neatly organized for your convenience:
Remember how I said I like to judge my progress in one-on-one class by the examples my teacher makes up? Well I'm not sure what to think about this week's example. Help me out here. About halfway through class, prof-man held up his water bottle and said, "史凯灵觉得这是一瓶水, 其实是一瓶酒," meaning, "Cat thinks this is a bottle of water, but in fact it is a bottle of liquor." Ummm...how should I take this? Our relationship is close enough for him to joke about drinking? He really wishes he could drink an entire bottle of liquor every class period? He really DOES drink 536 ml of liquor every class period?? Is this indicative of progress? I don't know.
On another education-related note, my conversation teacher recently told me she thinks my Chinese is progressing quite quickly. This made me really happy until she explained why. See, apparently I'm not afraid making lots and lots of mistakes for the purpose of getting my point across, and then she and the other teachers can help me improve! Yeah! I am willing to slaughter grammar, proper vocab, and tones in the name of communication! Progress baby! Unfortunately, I can't really deny that this really is my method. Last week, after I gave a particularly messy presentation (so I didn't bother looking up all of the proper/necessary vocab, etc beforehand) my business teacher was also really excited about my progress. I secretly suspect this common reaction is a more reflective of their desire to teach than of my progress in Chinese. These teachers are thinking, "Oh man! I really helped Cat today (here I submit: because her Chinese totally blew). Wohoo progress!" They always use that word too,"进步" ("progress" ) , to describe my Chinese...I mean, come on..one time, go for "aptitude" or "ability" or hey even "communicative competence" for a change? Please? Arghmgrupmh (translation, 怎么办).
On the other hand, a random stranger turned around in front of Sixue and me while we were walking today and said, "Hey y'all's Chinese is really good, are you Russian?" We told him nay, we're American, and everyone involved in this little exchange was very happy (people love Americans here). I also understood the plot of the latest Fast & the Furious when we saw it in Chinese theater this weekend, and most of a TV show my roomie was watching today. I think I've maybe reached like, a forth-grade level now. Maybe.
In other news, got hit by a bike today. Even worse, I saw it coming. Not in a literal, oh-crap-there's-a-biker-coming-up-fast-right way, but in a "hey, if I don't start taking bicyclists as seriously as cars while I am crossing the street, one of them is going to be the end of me" way. To my credit, I don't think I could have seen this guy (he flew into my side from the alley around a corner), and I also did manage to stay on my feet. He apologized in English, I told him "no problem" in Chinese, and we went on our merry ways. I predict this will happen again, because I still can't take bikers for a legitimate threat to my safety.
Russian student guy wore the orange suit again today,
China-Cat
Remember how I said I like to judge my progress in one-on-one class by the examples my teacher makes up? Well I'm not sure what to think about this week's example. Help me out here. About halfway through class, prof-man held up his water bottle and said, "史凯灵觉得这是一瓶水, 其实是一瓶酒," meaning, "Cat thinks this is a bottle of water, but in fact it is a bottle of liquor." Ummm...how should I take this? Our relationship is close enough for him to joke about drinking? He really wishes he could drink an entire bottle of liquor every class period? He really DOES drink 536 ml of liquor every class period?? Is this indicative of progress? I don't know.
On another education-related note, my conversation teacher recently told me she thinks my Chinese is progressing quite quickly. This made me really happy until she explained why. See, apparently I'm not afraid making lots and lots of mistakes for the purpose of getting my point across, and then she and the other teachers can help me improve! Yeah! I am willing to slaughter grammar, proper vocab, and tones in the name of communication! Progress baby! Unfortunately, I can't really deny that this really is my method. Last week, after I gave a particularly messy presentation (so I didn't bother looking up all of the proper/necessary vocab, etc beforehand) my business teacher was also really excited about my progress. I secretly suspect this common reaction is a more reflective of their desire to teach than of my progress in Chinese. These teachers are thinking, "Oh man! I really helped Cat today (here I submit: because her Chinese totally blew). Wohoo progress!" They always use that word too,"进步" ("progress" ) , to describe my Chinese...I mean, come on..one time, go for "aptitude" or "ability" or hey even "communicative competence" for a change? Please? Arghmgrupmh (translation, 怎么办).
On the other hand, a random stranger turned around in front of Sixue and me while we were walking today and said, "Hey y'all's Chinese is really good, are you Russian?" We told him nay, we're American, and everyone involved in this little exchange was very happy (people love Americans here). I also understood the plot of the latest Fast & the Furious when we saw it in Chinese theater this weekend, and most of a TV show my roomie was watching today. I think I've maybe reached like, a forth-grade level now. Maybe.
In other news, got hit by a bike today. Even worse, I saw it coming. Not in a literal, oh-crap-there's-a-biker-coming-up-fast-right way, but in a "hey, if I don't start taking bicyclists as seriously as cars while I am crossing the street, one of them is going to be the end of me" way. To my credit, I don't think I could have seen this guy (he flew into my side from the alley around a corner), and I also did manage to stay on my feet. He apologized in English, I told him "no problem" in Chinese, and we went on our merry ways. I predict this will happen again, because I still can't take bikers for a legitimate threat to my safety.
Russian student guy wore the orange suit again today,
China-Cat
Sunday, April 19, 2009
小偷
Let's see...who reads this blog.
-Friends (Buda, Houston, China, etc)
-Co-workers
-Family (Nuclear, Extended)
-Additional Family (Camp, Pseudo, Adopted)
-Teachers from Days Past
-Fellow Students
-Random Acquaintances of My Mother
Did I miss anyone? Let me know if you'd like to submit an additional category.
Anyway, hello to all of you!
Today, I got pick-pocketed. True story. This happened as a group of six of were on our way back from the movies (Vin Diesel...mmm...still sexy in Chinese). We had just gotten off the public bus and were walking on a side street off the main road that runs by campus, probably about 100 meters from the campus gate. Douning (another conspicuous waiguo CET student) and I were walking up ahead and chatting, and I had my purse slung from one shoulder down to the opposite hip and mostly behind me, as I frequently do. In crowds or on buses I am typically careful to move it in front of me where I can keep a better eye on it, but since we were on relatively familiar and uncrowded turf, this seemed unnecessary. Unfortunately, in addition to slinging my purse behind me, I apparently also forgot to zip it closed (a habit in America but I do try to keep it zipped around here), and thus presented the thief his opportunity. I didn't even feel it, but this guy, maybe 30 years old or so, just reached into my purse and grabbed my wallet as he walked past us, smooth as silk.
Now you're thinking, man, that must suck. You're gonna have to replace your wallet and whatever cash, credit cards, IDs, and Boy Scout certifications it may have contained huh. Well actually, my friends/etc, no! This story has a much happier ending.
See, I didn't notice, but Fuxiao, one of the girls who was walking behind us, DID notice and yelled "哎！哎！ 拿出来！！ " at the thief, roughly, "Hey! HEY! Give it back!!" The guy, now awkwardly caught between Douning and me and our four friends bringing up the rear, looked pretty surprised that a) he had been caught and b) a Chinese person was sticking up for the presumed tourist, but either way he pulled out my wallet and gave it back to Fuxiao before running off. Honestly, I don't know why he didn't just run first, as the two boys we were with don't really look very intimidating and he probably could have lost us in the dark, but apparently handing over the wallet looked like the best option available. I think it was a combination of the surprise and the very sharp and angry tone of Fuxiao's demand. I mean, she's small, but also at least 67% terrifying. In the end then, Fuxiao is my hero and the goods were recovered with no more harm done than giving all of us a bit of a fright. Also interestingly, much like in America, my wallet is almost completely devoid of valuable things. I had about 30 kuai (read, four dollars), no credit cards, an American bank card (which is only useful at Chinese ATMS and thus useless without the PIN), umm...said Boy Scout certifications..a Rice library copy card with $3.60ish on it..aaaand that's about it in there. The biggest lost would have been my driver's license, which I have since taken out of purse because it really serves no purpose in China.
Either way, in the future, I'm sure I will be absolutely anal about closing and monitoring my bag, as how often is a get-off-scott-free card just handed to you like that? Thank you, my lucky stars and Fuxiao.
Elicited an audible response of surprise from four guys in a car who slowed down to catcall me and a couple friends in English by replying to them in Chinese,
China-Cat
-Friends (Buda, Houston, China, etc)
-Co-workers
-Family (Nuclear, Extended)
-Additional Family (Camp, Pseudo, Adopted)
-Teachers from Days Past
-Fellow Students
-Random Acquaintances of My Mother
Did I miss anyone? Let me know if you'd like to submit an additional category.
Anyway, hello to all of you!
Today, I got pick-pocketed. True story. This happened as a group of six of were on our way back from the movies (Vin Diesel...mmm...still sexy in Chinese). We had just gotten off the public bus and were walking on a side street off the main road that runs by campus, probably about 100 meters from the campus gate. Douning (another conspicuous waiguo CET student) and I were walking up ahead and chatting, and I had my purse slung from one shoulder down to the opposite hip and mostly behind me, as I frequently do. In crowds or on buses I am typically careful to move it in front of me where I can keep a better eye on it, but since we were on relatively familiar and uncrowded turf, this seemed unnecessary. Unfortunately, in addition to slinging my purse behind me, I apparently also forgot to zip it closed (a habit in America but I do try to keep it zipped around here), and thus presented the thief his opportunity. I didn't even feel it, but this guy, maybe 30 years old or so, just reached into my purse and grabbed my wallet as he walked past us, smooth as silk.
Now you're thinking, man, that must suck. You're gonna have to replace your wallet and whatever cash, credit cards, IDs, and Boy Scout certifications it may have contained huh. Well actually, my friends/etc, no! This story has a much happier ending.
See, I didn't notice, but Fuxiao, one of the girls who was walking behind us, DID notice and yelled "哎！哎！ 拿出来！！ " at the thief, roughly, "Hey! HEY! Give it back!!" The guy, now awkwardly caught between Douning and me and our four friends bringing up the rear, looked pretty surprised that a) he had been caught and b) a Chinese person was sticking up for the presumed tourist, but either way he pulled out my wallet and gave it back to Fuxiao before running off. Honestly, I don't know why he didn't just run first, as the two boys we were with don't really look very intimidating and he probably could have lost us in the dark, but apparently handing over the wallet looked like the best option available. I think it was a combination of the surprise and the very sharp and angry tone of Fuxiao's demand. I mean, she's small, but also at least 67% terrifying. In the end then, Fuxiao is my hero and the goods were recovered with no more harm done than giving all of us a bit of a fright. Also interestingly, much like in America, my wallet is almost completely devoid of valuable things. I had about 30 kuai (read, four dollars), no credit cards, an American bank card (which is only useful at Chinese ATMS and thus useless without the PIN), umm...said Boy Scout certifications..a Rice library copy card with $3.60ish on it..aaaand that's about it in there. The biggest lost would have been my driver's license, which I have since taken out of purse because it really serves no purpose in China.
Either way, in the future, I'm sure I will be absolutely anal about closing and monitoring my bag, as how often is a get-off-scott-free card just handed to you like that? Thank you, my lucky stars and Fuxiao.
Elicited an audible response of surprise from four guys in a car who slowed down to catcall me and a couple friends in English by replying to them in Chinese,
China-Cat
Thursday, April 16, 2009
This Weak
Hey Guys,
I'm a little bored as of late. Because:
- All day, every day focusing on memorizing Chinese gets boring
This is a problem because:
- I am discovering how little work I can do to get by in this program
- It's substantially less than I previously thought
- This leads to more free time, which I spend bored and stressed because
- I don't feel like I should go out for adventures/projects/etc when I have homework that I could (should?) be doing and
- I work more efficiently when I have little to no free time so the little bit of absolutely-required homework I do have takes forever and
- The remaining "free" time stresses me out because I feel like I should be doing homework, which may or may not be the case.
Meaning today, I am bored and stressed. Ugh.
Possible Solutions:
- Take the newly-offered extracurricular "Chinese music" class. Not the ideal solution because from here, it looks to be just another class I will be forced to attend and/or be bored in. I will probably force myself to go to the first one and check it out though. Ugh.
- Explore Harbin. More difficult than you would think, though with weather warming up this has potential. Also, I should be doing homework.
- Chill with awesome people. Killing two birds with one stone, plans have been made to go walking with some cool kids in the near future.
- Drink heavily. Tipsy one-on-two class is not bad at all, but afterward I just want to sleep and typically this is not an option.
- Read / Watch movies. I need to find an English bookstore on the first front, and get some recommendations on the second. Anyone? Anyone?
- Start some drama. Too bad I really like all of the CET peeps, and only as friends. Typically I resort to facebook-flirting with people I probably ought not flirt with back at home, but even this method is rapidly losing its appeal. Siiiiigh. Suggestions?
Really though, I just ought to do my homework better. Someone motivate me.
Done complaining,
China-Cat
I'm a little bored as of late. Because:
- All day, every day focusing on memorizing Chinese gets boring
This is a problem because:
- I am discovering how little work I can do to get by in this program
- It's substantially less than I previously thought
- This leads to more free time, which I spend bored and stressed because
- I don't feel like I should go out for adventures/projects/etc when I have homework that I could (should?) be doing and
- I work more efficiently when I have little to no free time so the little bit of absolutely-required homework I do have takes forever and
- The remaining "free" time stresses me out because I feel like I should be doing homework, which may or may not be the case.
Meaning today, I am bored and stressed. Ugh.
Possible Solutions:
- Take the newly-offered extracurricular "Chinese music" class. Not the ideal solution because from here, it looks to be just another class I will be forced to attend and/or be bored in. I will probably force myself to go to the first one and check it out though. Ugh.
- Explore Harbin. More difficult than you would think, though with weather warming up this has potential. Also, I should be doing homework.
- Chill with awesome people. Killing two birds with one stone, plans have been made to go walking with some cool kids in the near future.
- Drink heavily. Tipsy one-on-two class is not bad at all, but afterward I just want to sleep and typically this is not an option.
- Read / Watch movies. I need to find an English bookstore on the first front, and get some recommendations on the second. Anyone? Anyone?
- Start some drama. Too bad I really like all of the CET peeps, and only as friends. Typically I resort to facebook-flirting with people I probably ought not flirt with back at home, but even this method is rapidly losing its appeal. Siiiiigh. Suggestions?
Really though, I just ought to do my homework better. Someone motivate me.
Done complaining,
China-Cat
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Back in Harbin
Things I Saw Over Break But Don't Have Pictures of Because My Camera is Huai le:
(but don't worry my amazing, funny, well-prepared, very chill travel buddies more than compensated for this; pictures will come)
1) The Great Wall: It's really great. It is big and long and steep and scenic and really, really old. Those emperors were totally nuts dude. Building that thing...woooow.
2) Temple of Heaven/ Center of the Universe: Nice park, really. I like the ancient Chinese worldview...it's simple and definite.
2.5) Olympic Stadium: The bird's nest and water cube and olympic tower are really spectacularly lit up at night. I felt like a kid at six flags for the first time.
3) Wangfujin Night Market: Happening place! (living) Bugs on a stick...mmmm.
4) Chinese Hospital: Suprisingly efficient, but not too much fun. Effective medicine- one Chinese prescription and one Western, standard issue apparently.
5) Massage Parlor: The best part was the bucket of warm/hot water to soak my toes in...mmm warm feet.
7) Train, sitting section: Not too uncomfortable but completely devoid of waiguorens. Not recommended for overnight travel.
8) Xi'an's Muslim Quarter: Cheapcheap decently tasty food of unidentifiable types. Made an idiot of myself here after said long train ride, as I was too tired to read the menu correctly or use chopsticks, and also fell on my butt off a tiny stool.
9) Big Goose Pagoda: Awesome history, awesome Buddha temples, awesome park, AWESOME fountain/ light show, awesome lunch/dinner...enjoyable.
10) Hua Shan: One of the five mountains you're supposed to climb to ensure...umm..prosperity? safety? an afterlife? I forget. Ah well, it was Jurrasic Park-meets-Enchanted Rock scenery, which was very unique and impressive, if a bit more crowded than we anticipated.
11) Bingmayong (Terracotta Army): Crazy Chinese emperors!! What is perhaps most impressive about this is the amount of excavation left to do. Only a tiny portion has been excavated, to say nothing of the Emperor's actual tomb itself, and that's very exciting for the anthropologist in me.
12) Ken Laoshi: He's more of a program RA than a teacher, but that makes it no less unlikely that four CET students getting off a random subway in Beijing would bump into him. What. The. Heck. HOW DID HE FOLLOW US?? Hundreds of miles from Harbin! Tens of millions of people in Bejing!! You tell me!
Probably bought you a present (yes Eric),
China-Cat
(but don't worry my amazing, funny, well-prepared, very chill travel buddies more than compensated for this; pictures will come)
1) The Great Wall: It's really great. It is big and long and steep and scenic and really, really old. Those emperors were totally nuts dude. Building that thing...woooow.
2) Temple of Heaven/ Center of the Universe: Nice park, really. I like the ancient Chinese worldview...it's simple and definite.
2.5) Olympic Stadium: The bird's nest and water cube and olympic tower are really spectacularly lit up at night. I felt like a kid at six flags for the first time.
3) Wangfujin Night Market: Happening place! (living) Bugs on a stick...mmmm.
4) Chinese Hospital: Suprisingly efficient, but not too much fun. Effective medicine- one Chinese prescription and one Western, standard issue apparently.
5) Massage Parlor: The best part was the bucket of warm/hot water to soak my toes in...mmm warm feet.
7) Train, sitting section: Not too uncomfortable but completely devoid of waiguorens. Not recommended for overnight travel.
8) Xi'an's Muslim Quarter: Cheapcheap decently tasty food of unidentifiable types. Made an idiot of myself here after said long train ride, as I was too tired to read the menu correctly or use chopsticks, and also fell on my butt off a tiny stool.
9) Big Goose Pagoda: Awesome history, awesome Buddha temples, awesome park, AWESOME fountain/ light show, awesome lunch/dinner...enjoyable.
10) Hua Shan: One of the five mountains you're supposed to climb to ensure...umm..prosperity? safety? an afterlife? I forget. Ah well, it was Jurrasic Park-meets-Enchanted Rock scenery, which was very unique and impressive, if a bit more crowded than we anticipated.
11) Bingmayong (Terracotta Army): Crazy Chinese emperors!! What is perhaps most impressive about this is the amount of excavation left to do. Only a tiny portion has been excavated, to say nothing of the Emperor's actual tomb itself, and that's very exciting for the anthropologist in me.
12) Ken Laoshi: He's more of a program RA than a teacher, but that makes it no less unlikely that four CET students getting off a random subway in Beijing would bump into him. What. The. Heck. HOW DID HE FOLLOW US?? Hundreds of miles from Harbin! Tens of millions of people in Bejing!! You tell me!
Probably bought you a present (yes Eric),
China-Cat
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Xi'an, Day #1
Stomach at 93%!
Riding a train for 12 hours on a sitting ticket? Sorta sucks. BUT, Xi'an is amazing. Actually, I've come to the conclusion that China's public face is amazing- this government can flaunt it, and flaunt it well. Better than any other I've seen in fact.
We wandered in and around gardens of the Big Goose Pagoda today (amazing), and topped off the evening with a free fountain and light show, which was amazing.
Tomorrow, hopefully some mountain-climbing goodness.
Only a few days left before I can go back through these silly little posts and add legitimate stories and some pictures for y'all.
Stupified an even smaller child,
Cat
Riding a train for 12 hours on a sitting ticket? Sorta sucks. BUT, Xi'an is amazing. Actually, I've come to the conclusion that China's public face is amazing- this government can flaunt it, and flaunt it well. Better than any other I've seen in fact.
We wandered in and around gardens of the Big Goose Pagoda today (amazing), and topped off the evening with a free fountain and light show, which was amazing.
Tomorrow, hopefully some mountain-climbing goodness.
Only a few days left before I can go back through these silly little posts and add legitimate stories and some pictures for y'all.
Stupified an even smaller child,
Cat
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Beijing Pt. II
Went to Chinese hospital/clinic.
Am taking weird medicines.
Stomach status improved from incapacitating to irritating.
Still in Beijing.
Climbed a crapton of great wall yesterday, probably not the best idea all things considered but don't have time to just squander around here.
People and weather are both still awesome.
Intending to train-it to Pingyao today, and Xi'an soon after.
Have resorted to pretending I don't speak Chinese to get rid of salespeople,
China-Cat
Am taking weird medicines.
Stomach status improved from incapacitating to irritating.
Still in Beijing.
Climbed a crapton of great wall yesterday, probably not the best idea all things considered but don't have time to just squander around here.
People and weather are both still awesome.
Intending to train-it to Pingyao today, and Xi'an soon after.
Have resorted to pretending I don't speak Chinese to get rid of salespeople,
China-Cat
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Adventuring
I am in Beijing.
With very cool people.
The olympic grounds are The Shit.
The Temple of Heaven and associated park are also cool.
My intestines have a problem in a big way right now, so I might not go to the wall. A Big Way.
Told off salespeople in Chinese,
Cat
With very cool people.
The olympic grounds are The Shit.
The Temple of Heaven and associated park are also cool.
My intestines have a problem in a big way right now, so I might not go to the wall. A Big Way.
Told off salespeople in Chinese,
Cat
Thursday, April 2, 2009
考完了!
YaYaYAYAYAyAYAYAYY!
Finished my reasonably challenging midterms!!
Did you know, that as a fairly intelligent human being, standing in front of three teacher/judges and your one-on-one professor to present a paper in a foreign language is nerve-racking? I practiced quite a bit, but apparently I still read off my prepared outline too much. Also, I had pronunciation problems. And grammar problems. And didn't understand the last question they asked me, and when I finally did I still didn't have anything to say.
On the other hand, I definitely, definitely recommend leaving a BIG freakin' hole in the middle of your paper, namely WHAT THE HECK IS FUNCTIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY, and then preparing an answer to that question in advance, so that when it turns out to be the very first question posed by the very first teacher/judge, you can answer like the fluently-Chinese-speaking BAMF (basically awesome & masterful fellow, for you who don't know...) you pretend to be.
Win some lose some I guess.
In other news, I ate an egg with a pale turquoise shell on Wednesday, or tried to anyway. Why, you ask? Because it was chillin' with some friends in a bowl behind the counter at the cafeteria where the regular hard-boiled eggs usually hang out. I do not know what injustices were perpetrated against that poor little not-a-chicken, but little did I suspect that it had been somehow transformed into a chunk of egg-textured SALT....gEEuGHdhghH. Um, I couldn't eat it.
Moral of the Story? I don't care who eggs you on, let them call you chicken for refusing to take a crack at green eggs because that crap just ain't fly (sorry...couldn't resist hamming it up a bit).
Also, Spring Break done arrived, so internet will be a bit spotty for the next week or so but I promise to take pretty pictures to post later. I will be flying down to Beijing with all the cool kids, checkin' out the wall, then moseying by train (..and/or bus?) down to Xi'an and flying home from there. (Hey cool! I just called Harbin home!) Wish me luck, eh?
I saw a Russian student dressed from head to toe in a perfectly burnt orange suit today, just going to class,
China-Cat
Finished my reasonably challenging midterms!!
Did you know, that as a fairly intelligent human being, standing in front of three teacher/judges and your one-on-one professor to present a paper in a foreign language is nerve-racking? I practiced quite a bit, but apparently I still read off my prepared outline too much. Also, I had pronunciation problems. And grammar problems. And didn't understand the last question they asked me, and when I finally did I still didn't have anything to say.
On the other hand, I definitely, definitely recommend leaving a BIG freakin' hole in the middle of your paper, namely WHAT THE HECK IS FUNCTIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY, and then preparing an answer to that question in advance, so that when it turns out to be the very first question posed by the very first teacher/judge, you can answer like the fluently-Chinese-speaking BAMF (basically awesome & masterful fellow, for you who don't know...) you pretend to be.
Win some lose some I guess.
In other news, I ate an egg with a pale turquoise shell on Wednesday, or tried to anyway. Why, you ask? Because it was chillin' with some friends in a bowl behind the counter at the cafeteria where the regular hard-boiled eggs usually hang out. I do not know what injustices were perpetrated against that poor little not-a-chicken, but little did I suspect that it had been somehow transformed into a chunk of egg-textured SALT....gEEuGHdhghH. Um, I couldn't eat it.
Moral of the Story? I don't care who eggs you on, let them call you chicken for refusing to take a crack at green eggs because that crap just ain't fly (sorry...couldn't resist hamming it up a bit).
Also, Spring Break done arrived, so internet will be a bit spotty for the next week or so but I promise to take pretty pictures to post later. I will be flying down to Beijing with all the cool kids, checkin' out the wall, then moseying by train (..and/or bus?) down to Xi'an and flying home from there. (Hey cool! I just called Harbin home!) Wish me luck, eh?
I saw a Russian student dressed from head to toe in a perfectly burnt orange suit today, just going to class,
China-Cat
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