today, kristyn told me the following:
the company she works for makes cell phone jammers (my first thought: SO alias) and one of her job requirements is to call european and american companies and try to sell the product to them. she's been doing so for awhile. well, she just found out that they are ILLEGAL in both places, and carry a potential sentence of 1 year in prison in the United States.
when in china...
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
我的工作很奇怪。
my coworker just came up and gave me something that looks extraordinarily like a jello shot. I kid you not. omg what do i do? another one of my coworkers said to me yesterday: "if you have any questions, feel free to attack me" i felt bad because he's really quite nice but that was just hilarious.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
lunch
today i went to lunch during work at this restaurant down the street. pretty nondescript, really, had stuffed chili peppers hanging all over the walls (like stuffed animal stuffed) but other than that pretty standard.
i'm waiting for my food when i notice this girl standing with a giant net. there's something in the net. oh hey look! its a GIANT FLOPPING FISH that she just took out of the fishtank. its dying before my very eyes. she takes it, walks across the room, right by my booth, shows it to the booth behind me, asks them if its okay, they say yes, she walks back with it into the kitchen. the whole time, this fish is dripping water all over the floor and thrashing and splashing as it goes right by me. ive never seen anything like it, not to mention the fact that it was HUGE. it was like the size of leo (paul's roboraptor that is).
i'm waiting for my food when i notice this girl standing with a giant net. there's something in the net. oh hey look! its a GIANT FLOPPING FISH that she just took out of the fishtank. its dying before my very eyes. she takes it, walks across the room, right by my booth, shows it to the booth behind me, asks them if its okay, they say yes, she walks back with it into the kitchen. the whole time, this fish is dripping water all over the floor and thrashing and splashing as it goes right by me. ive never seen anything like it, not to mention the fact that it was HUGE. it was like the size of leo (paul's roboraptor that is).
Monday, July 28, 2008
gt banana
i've found my new home in China. this was the second week in a row we've gone to GT banana, but its seriously some of the most outrageous fun i've had since we've been here. idk, i guess i'm a big fan of total extravagance. :)
here's a brief description of the place:
all the bartenders are good looking and they juggle sparklers behind the bar. we ordered a drink that is 200RMB ($33) but its 10 glasses with alcohol poured all around them. then they set off the sparklers that line the bar and juggle the sparklers behind that. they then light ten colorful shots on fire and dump them in the glasses, which lights up the alcohol poured around the glasses. i screamed because i thought i was going to catch on fire, and almost fell out of my chair. but it was amazing.
but the most absurd thing about the whole place is the dance floor. it moves. its on hydraulics and bounces up and down to the beat. every so often they release bubbles and fog into the air above it, set off more sparklers, or turn the lights up really brightly and then off again. oh, and sometimes strippers/dancers/singers come out of the ceiling on platforms that hang above the floor. its seriously nuts in there, the whole time. everything is super posh and super sparkely (probably why i love it, i'm a sucker for glittery). anyway, i'm also obsessed with the song that was playing the first time we stepped on the dance floor and discovered that it really did move with the beat. its called 'sunshine in the rain' by BWO (and the singer is actually quite good looking). the second time we went, it was playing while they set our drinks on fire.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_FS9kV3pTrk
awesome.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
its cool when you miss lunch with your professor
when in china #34: girls from the front desk (who fought each other two nights ago) knock on your door at 9 in the morning to tell you you have to switch rooms immediately and then proceed to turn off the electricity in your room.
July 25, 2008: Olympic Tickets
We bought women's soccer tickets today for $15 each, can you believe that? We are seeing Nigeria vs. Brazil and Sweden vs. Canada, but only after waiting in line for 6 hours, dodging policemen, and sprinting in a free-for-all race against the citizens of Beijing across a parking lot and standing entirely pressed up against 4 other people for 15 minutes within a ring of guards who were holding hands to keep us in. Basically no other way to describe it really..
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
July 23, 2008: 毛主席
i bought a wallet yesterday that is embossed with Chairman Mao's face. the irony kills me. i absolutely love it though and shall cherish it for as long as the 58kuai it cost lasts me.
July 18, 2008: Foreign Direct Investment might Make me Angry
Its fascinating to me that now Australia is standing in front of Beijing asking China not to allow Australian investment, but rather to invest in Australia itself.
I used to think about what Mao Zedong would say if he could see China now with its skyscrapers and KFCs everywhere. But now I wonder what Deng Xiaoping would say if he could see this power point about why it is beneficial for China to invest in Australia.
I used to think about what Mao Zedong would say if he could see China now with its skyscrapers and KFCs everywhere. But now I wonder what Deng Xiaoping would say if he could see this power point about why it is beneficial for China to invest in Australia.
July 18, 2008: English Interviews (你的英文很好）
So I interviewed a bunch of people at work today about "any topic you like" just to see what their English was like. I felt like an asshole, kind of like I was testing them for no reason -- especially since my Chinese is terrible compared to their English. But I DID take this opportunity to ask some questions I'd been wondering about myself. Primary research if you will.
I asked what they thought about the olympics and the most interesting answer I received was that it is important in two ways
1) For the world to see China in a new light. Many people think that China is too traditional, (all winged rooftops and tea and opium) and it is not that at all. The Olympics is pure exposure for China: that it is modern, that it is strong, but also that it is trying to be friendly.
2) For China to actively SHOW the world what it is like. This is not just about cameras coming here and seeing what's what. This is about the people of China cleaning themselves up and putting their best face on -- and hopefully it will stick.
Or at least that's how I interpreted what the dude said. I liked it though. There was this one guy whose english word choices were awesome though: he was from a province w/"strong revolutionary history" and used several terms about revolution and such.
I asked what they thought about the olympics and the most interesting answer I received was that it is important in two ways
1) For the world to see China in a new light. Many people think that China is too traditional, (all winged rooftops and tea and opium) and it is not that at all. The Olympics is pure exposure for China: that it is modern, that it is strong, but also that it is trying to be friendly.
2) For China to actively SHOW the world what it is like. This is not just about cameras coming here and seeing what's what. This is about the people of China cleaning themselves up and putting their best face on -- and hopefully it will stick.
Or at least that's how I interpreted what the dude said. I liked it though. There was this one guy whose english word choices were awesome though: he was from a province w/"strong revolutionary history" and used several terms about revolution and such.
July 18, 2008: Chinese People Have Bad Manners
Today I went to an Anti-Monopoly Law meeting with Zhan Hao (my boss). He was giving a speech about antimonopoly law in China and its affects on possible FDI by China into Austrailia (more about that later). It was pretty boring just because I don't really understand that many technical terms (or everyday practical terms for that matter) in Chinese. There were a bunch of presentations, one of which was in English, and the man who was speaking, a 60yr old Austrailian, was possibly the slowest speaker I've ever heard in my 22 years.
What WAS interesting, though, was the drive over there with Dr. Zhan. He was talking about China, and its people, the whole time. For example, when we were driving, and people were beeping horns, and yelling, and ignoring traffic rules like it was their job, he simply looked over at me and said "Chinese people have Bad Manners." It was almost as if it worried him. Then someone beeped their horn for about a minute straight and he just shook his head, pointed at them and said "see? bad manners". It was interesting to me, just because of the contrast: he is very very highly educated, drives a nice SUV, is a partner in a law firm, has traveled extensively in the EU and the US -- almost, to me, part of the group of people that is forcibly bringing China out of the realm of 'bad manners'.
But he's right. They have TERRIBLE manners. And its not just the transportation system, although that is one of the best examples of it. (Touching the ribcage, breaking out of lines, pushing, shoving, scratching, punching....) In the meeting we were in, I saw at least 10-15 people fall asleep. Blatantly, full on, asleep. Someone's phone rang every 5 minutes and every time, they answered it and talked. It was nuts. So much for respect and 'giving face'.
We drove past the headquarters of CNOOC and that was pretty sweet, given how much its been in the news lately. I'm very much the type of person who has to see something like that to really feel like I'm in the city -- just like I really loved walking by Parliament everyday. Seeing CNOOC really reminded me of where I am and what I'm doing here and also why China is so important, particularly to the United States. I mentioned CNOOC to Dr. Zhan and he said that he knew what I was talking about and commented that my government had shut down their bid for that oil pipeline/drilling rights/whatever.
We talked about Xinjiang and he said that it has many problems, because of the ethnic tensions, and also because many people follow Islam. I don't think he meant it that way, I think it was actually lost in translation, but I wanted to ask more -- what he thought about terrorism and the chances of terrorism coming out of Xinjiang but it really didn't seem like the time. And, I was about to be eating Xinjiang food later that day (and was it good!).
He was talking more about investment in China and China's investment in other places and said "China is NOT socialist. They like to say it is, but it is capitalist (in everything but name)." I'm glad somebody admits it. :) He said that maybe people fear China because "what your country did in maybe 100 years, China has done in 20. Maybe it is too fast. But it is happening." And its true. The law firm we were in was plush and a good example of the way China takes everything to the max. Now we have money, and we have to show it to everyone. Not in a tacky nouveau riche way (although sometimes this is very evident) but more in a see? we can do it too! lets be friends!
At the parking structure, we drove in, he had to roll down his window and ask someone for a ticket. They pushed a button and it came out. Then someone was there to direct us into a parking spot. As we left, there was someone to collect the ticket and someone ELSE to determine how much money was owed and collect it. Dr. Zhan turns to me and says "China has too much manpower. In your country, how many people would be working a parking structure?"
Me: "Zero, everything is automated."
Zhan Hao: "exactly. It took 3 people to get in and out. Too much manpower"
And he wasn't even counting the people directing us to a spot.
Then the symposium happened and I didn't understand much. But I did notice that the use of business cards here is rather alarming. Everyone has one, its like instead of introduce myself, maybe I'll just give you a business card. I've never had more in my life but I think I have managed to lose the ones Abroad China gave me. Its a serious thing here though, and in my opinion, bordering on American Psycho levels.
Either way, at the actual meeting I didn't do much besides write down this whole post in my notebook and covertly do my Chinese homework.
What WAS interesting, though, was the drive over there with Dr. Zhan. He was talking about China, and its people, the whole time. For example, when we were driving, and people were beeping horns, and yelling, and ignoring traffic rules like it was their job, he simply looked over at me and said "Chinese people have Bad Manners." It was almost as if it worried him. Then someone beeped their horn for about a minute straight and he just shook his head, pointed at them and said "see? bad manners". It was interesting to me, just because of the contrast: he is very very highly educated, drives a nice SUV, is a partner in a law firm, has traveled extensively in the EU and the US -- almost, to me, part of the group of people that is forcibly bringing China out of the realm of 'bad manners'.
But he's right. They have TERRIBLE manners. And its not just the transportation system, although that is one of the best examples of it. (Touching the ribcage, breaking out of lines, pushing, shoving, scratching, punching....) In the meeting we were in, I saw at least 10-15 people fall asleep. Blatantly, full on, asleep. Someone's phone rang every 5 minutes and every time, they answered it and talked. It was nuts. So much for respect and 'giving face'.
We drove past the headquarters of CNOOC and that was pretty sweet, given how much its been in the news lately. I'm very much the type of person who has to see something like that to really feel like I'm in the city -- just like I really loved walking by Parliament everyday. Seeing CNOOC really reminded me of where I am and what I'm doing here and also why China is so important, particularly to the United States. I mentioned CNOOC to Dr. Zhan and he said that he knew what I was talking about and commented that my government had shut down their bid for that oil pipeline/drilling rights/whatever.
We talked about Xinjiang and he said that it has many problems, because of the ethnic tensions, and also because many people follow Islam. I don't think he meant it that way, I think it was actually lost in translation, but I wanted to ask more -- what he thought about terrorism and the chances of terrorism coming out of Xinjiang but it really didn't seem like the time. And, I was about to be eating Xinjiang food later that day (and was it good!).
He was talking more about investment in China and China's investment in other places and said "China is NOT socialist. They like to say it is, but it is capitalist (in everything but name)." I'm glad somebody admits it. :) He said that maybe people fear China because "what your country did in maybe 100 years, China has done in 20. Maybe it is too fast. But it is happening." And its true. The law firm we were in was plush and a good example of the way China takes everything to the max. Now we have money, and we have to show it to everyone. Not in a tacky nouveau riche way (although sometimes this is very evident) but more in a see? we can do it too! lets be friends!
At the parking structure, we drove in, he had to roll down his window and ask someone for a ticket. They pushed a button and it came out. Then someone was there to direct us into a parking spot. As we left, there was someone to collect the ticket and someone ELSE to determine how much money was owed and collect it. Dr. Zhan turns to me and says "China has too much manpower. In your country, how many people would be working a parking structure?"
Me: "Zero, everything is automated."
Zhan Hao: "exactly. It took 3 people to get in and out. Too much manpower"
And he wasn't even counting the people directing us to a spot.
Then the symposium happened and I didn't understand much. But I did notice that the use of business cards here is rather alarming. Everyone has one, its like instead of introduce myself, maybe I'll just give you a business card. I've never had more in my life but I think I have managed to lose the ones Abroad China gave me. Its a serious thing here though, and in my opinion, bordering on American Psycho levels.
Either way, at the actual meeting I didn't do much besides write down this whole post in my notebook and covertly do my Chinese homework.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
July 17, 2008: WaiguoFan (外国饭）
So we went out to dinner for someone's birthday today, and we drove all the way down Jianguomennei, past the hotel that me and my parents stayed in last time we were in Beijing. It looked very nice. AND, i saw the place where this really really bad French restaurant my mom made us eat at was. But guess what?!?!?! ITS A PIZZA HUT NOW!!!!! MWHAHAHAHAHAHA victory is MINE. :) :)
July 15, 2008: Inner Mongolia
here are my photos: (be warned that the kids i am here with are...uhh...fratastic for lack of a better word)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2416872&l=99ea7&id=2206358
and
...now facebook wont work. so i guess the next link will come when i find some mongolians to help me breach the great firewall.
mongolians located:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2416957&l=c0c39&id=2206358
http://www.facebook.com/album.
and
...now facebook wont work. so i guess the next link will come when i find some mongolians to help me breach the great firewall.
mongolians located:
http://www.facebook.com/album.
July 15, 2008: Brief Summary
Work is good. Basically I just sit around and check email and stuff and then once in awhile I get a document or power point or something to translate/revise for my boss. My boss is a partner in the firm specializing in Insurance and Anti-monopoly law. He's nice and so is my supervisor, a first year legal assistant (he just got his LL.M I think). Anyway, they all think I'm getting JD (which I think is because they saw PAD and KAPi on my resume...oops). Either way I like working in the big financial district -- the buildings are insane and you feel very modern and dare I say...capitalist walking through the area. Given that we live in a super super SUPER old part of town, its a nice change of pace. I work with a Korean boy -- he is 26 but a junior at Indiana Univ. b/c he spent a few years doing his military service. He is SO nice but pretty quiet. (When I told Byron that he was quiet, Lau just responded: "he's plotting". typical, no?)
Its technically the rainy season right now. But the weird/funny/kind-of-scary-actually thing about it is that the government itself is making it rain. (I still laugh everytime I say that...China makes it rain, they make it rain, they make it rain on them hoes...) In order to get rid of some of the pollution as well as to cool the whole city off, they shoot chemicals into the sky during the late afternoon so that it rains every night. Sometimes it really works and there is blue sky the next day. Sometimes it doesn't work. Sometimes it works WAY too well -- on the fourth of July half the city flooded and our taxi literally floated home. The next day though, the sky was the most beautiful blue ever and it was the perfect temp. Soooooo strange. I said to my boss "the govt actually controls the weather!" and he responded: "the govt controls everything!!" it was awesome.
I haven't met a Chinese husband. No Chinese people really like talking to me at all, actually, its a blow to the self esteem :). I hang out mainly with 4 other girls -- three of them are white so they get a TON of stares, and one of them is fully Japanese so Chinese people think she is Chinese and speak to her. Then when I tell them she doesn't speak Chinese (in Chinese) they give me weird looks and walk away. Its kind of depressing but oh well :)
Last weekend we went to Inner Mongolia as a big group -- it was awesome, but pretty tiresome. More about that later. One of the best parts though? We had to take an overnight train to and from and it was kind of rough on the old bones so my friends and I decided to get massages when we got back. I got a 60 minute massage plus all you can eat and all you can drink afterward for...wait for it...$23. I. love. China. Not to mention it was 10x better than any massage I have ever paid way too much money for at Douglas J. Im debating making it part of the weekly routine (especially since if you go before 5pm its only $12.)
Its technically the rainy season right now. But the weird/funny/kind-of-scary-
I haven't met a Chinese husband. No Chinese people really like talking to me at all, actually, its a blow to the self esteem :). I hang out mainly with 4 other girls -- three of them are white so they get a TON of stares, and one of them is fully Japanese so Chinese people think she is Chinese and speak to her. Then when I tell them she doesn't speak Chinese (in Chinese) they give me weird looks and walk away. Its kind of depressing but oh well :)
Last weekend we went to Inner Mongolia as a big group -- it was awesome, but pretty tiresome. More about that later. One of the best parts though? We had to take an overnight train to and from and it was kind of rough on the old bones so my friends and I decided to get massages when we got back. I got a 60 minute massage plus all you can eat and all you can drink afterward for...wait for it...$23. I. love. China. Not to mention it was 10x better than any massage I have ever paid way too much money for at Douglas J. Im debating making it part of the weekly routine (especially since if you go before 5pm its only $12.)
July 7, 2008: Discovery of XiaoXin's Cafe
Email to Paul:
no joke i am sitting in a cafe right now looking at the menu...what do you think a "twoball sundae" is????
get ready for your sundae, kyle. with extra nuts.
no joke i am sitting in a cafe right now looking at the menu...what do you think a "twoball sundae" is????
get ready for your sundae, kyle. with extra nuts.
June 28, 2008: This Portion of the Great Wall is Closed to the Public
when i say climb the great wall, i literally mean climb the mountain that it was on top of. we went to a portion of the great wall that is closed to the public...closed because it is falling apart and has no safety rails or anything. nobody is allowed up there because it is very likely you will die if you go up. which is exactly what we did, and very nearly died. it went a little something like this: that's about it on my end. today is tuesday and all i want is a $1 burger but instaed i have to work for 2 more hours, take my hour long commute home and probs eat some chinese food. oh well, could be worse.
we climbed up the mountain. it was steep. and made of mud. it was raining. i faceplanted about 6 times.
we got up there. it was really misty. the wall was cool. made out of stone and what-have-you. couldn't really see much else because there was so much mist. kind of like standing in a giant white room.
we climb up a 1 to 2 story high WALL because the tour guide says the way down is on the other side.
the tour guide got confused. the tour guide was in fact a crazy man who lived in the mountains that we paid to show us the wall. he ran up the mountain like a monkey while chainsmoking the whole time. i dubbed him benjamin linus (the crazy guy from lost) because i was convinced he was leading us to our deaths while first playing mind games with us. we walked around for a good 2 hours on top of the wall because he couldn't find the way down. saw lots of the wall. lots of it.
we decide to go down the way we came up. it's been raining the whole time. its basically a mudslide. since i couldn't keep my balance the way up, i for sure couldn't on the way down. i fell around....25 times, basically skiied my way down part of it (with no skis mind you) and slid the rest of the way on my ass.
June 27, 2008: MIX blow to the Head
HOLY. SHIT. SON. i just went to the ricks o fucking beijing and what the fuck happens but somebody accidentally breaks a glass of vodka tonic, i get hit in the head, and NOW I AM BLEEDING FROM THE HEAD. i just took a taxi home and spoke the best chinese of my life but I AM BLEEDING FROM THE HEAD AND I HAVE TO CLIMB THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA TOMORROW.
June 27, 2008: DayDay Sees Barack Obama
hahahha, my gmail, upon snooping on her message, has provided me with the following ad: "obama wins nomination: nytimes.com" when its usually "beijing massage" because it keeps seeing "brothel" in my emails. i don't need a beijing massage, google, i live above one. thanks anyway tho!!!!!!!
June 25, 2008: More Work Stuff
so i finally got an assignment today: i have to translate a whole page about insurance law. i think i'm totally screwed because that's a bunch of words i don't know. i didn't want to be like 'nope can't do it' on the first piece of work they gave me but AI YA.
the guy who told me to do it said: "if its too hard, don't worry about it. don't push yourself." and i know he didn't mean it like that, he meant it like "don't make yourself crazy if you can't do it" but still, that just made me feel bad so i said i'd try my best. but i can't even find it online anymore, that's how hard it is for me to recognize these characters...so idk. also, the dictionary doesn't really help because you can't search characters.
soooo...updated: i translated the webpage on googletranslate and it got translated into pretty broken english, so i fixed that up. and then my boss was like 'this is so good, your chinese is better than you said! here read this book.' and i just stared at him. i have no idea what to do...at least he's not going to quiz me on the book. i instead had to make a power point off an english text that i already polished for grammar and stuff so it wasn't so bad. i just don't want him to think that i can translate anything. idk man, i feel like the guy from cyrano de bergebac (or however you spell it).
the guy who told me to do it said: "if its too hard, don't worry about it. don't push yourself." and i know he didn't mean it like that, he meant it like "don't make yourself crazy if you can't do it" but still, that just made me feel bad so i said i'd try my best. but i can't even find it online anymore, that's how hard it is for me to recognize these characters...so idk. also, the dictionary doesn't really help because you can't search characters.
soooo...updated: i translated the webpage on googletranslate and it got translated into pretty broken english, so i fixed that up. and then my boss was like 'this is so good, your chinese is better than you said! here read this book.' and i just stared at him. i have no idea what to do...at least he's not going to quiz me on the book. i instead had to make a power point off an english text that i already polished for grammar and stuff so it wasn't so bad. i just don't want him to think that i can translate anything. idk man, i feel like the guy from cyrano de bergebac (or however you spell it).
June 24, 2008: First Day of Work
Nothing much to do, email to Alina:
In the more extreme instances of employee misconduct such as stealing, sleeping on the job, or cursing management, certain clauses in the Employee Handbook and Code of Conduct should state that such behaviour is a serious violation of workplace rules and violation will result in immediate dismissal. This, in addition to testimony of a witness (or even video), should provide sufficient proof for dismissal.
In the more extreme instances of employee misconduct such as stealing, sleeping on the job, or cursing management, certain clauses in the Employee Handbook and Code of Conduct should state that such behaviour is a serious violation of workplace rules and violation will result in immediate dismissal. This, in addition to testimony of a witness (or even video), should provide sufficient proof for dismissal.
work is pretty slow right now. we're not sure what we're supposed to be doing -- the senior foreign counsel mentioned things that we might be working on yesterday but we haven't actually gotten anything to do. we asked the guy who showed us around yesterday but he said he didn't know either (he's a first year legal assistant) and he seems to reading a magazine at the desk next to me. everyone else is on MSN talking to their friends or answering the phone. our internet wasn't working for a second so i was doing my chinese homework all secretly since its either that or read a book about contracts (which would put me to sleep). all in all though, everyone is nice -- i'd be fine not doing anything as long as i didn't always feel bad not doing anything, you know?
June 21, 2008: Initial Thoughts
hey hey hey :)
just a quick message to tell you that i miss you very much and wish you were here!! its been fun here, aside from being so tired every night that i don't socialize at all (i can just see comments formulating in deniz's mind). either way, i have been going to bed at around 10pm and waking up at 7am (all of you that have lived with me can't believe that, i know, but its true). either way, there's no coffee within easy access, but i am forever on the hunt. i know that there is a starbucks (xi ba ke if you will) nearby, but i haven't had any time to myself yet. we have been going on structured tours and stuff but by god i will have an iced latte within the next 24 hours if its the last thing i do.
the people on my program are cool so far -- the girls are very nice, and so are the boys for the most part...but there are about 3...what's a good word...ah, broskis. Literally every morning "dude I was so blackout last night, no man, you have no idea, total blackout, I did so many shots…" and I am just ITCHING to let a "you're SO bad" fly, but perhaps its too soon. The main culprit, while blackout, also told me that he thought that British men had the worst style in the world. It was funny to me, because he was wearing sperrys AND madras all at the same time. I said that I thought they had rather good style, and he said like what so I said nicely cut jeans, blazers, and – "blazers? We always wear blazers where I'm from. Like COLOR COORDINATED blazers! Fuck that man, we always wear that." Yeah because you dress like you are in a ralph lauren commercial. Either way, I informed Lord Suter-Whaley and he said that this kid could "kiss my shiny metal ass". I'm debating whether to pass that on.
we had to take a placement exam yesterday for our chinese class and i must say...not my best work. the kid next to me who is a native speaker kept looking over my shoulder, saying "that's wrong" at my grammar multiple choice answers and then i had to write a paragraph about "my love sport". uhm...what? so of course all the guys in the group were snickering, and i literally wrote. "i like soccer. i like to watch soccer on television. americans don't like soccer, it is not on television. i am not happy." 1) i understand the complete lack of sense of the second and third sentence. 2) i somehow got placed in the highest level of chinese of our group with the native speaker and the PIKE. i am totally fucked.
nothing much to really talk about thus far. i'm bad at these type of emails...i'm uploading pictures to and they'll probably tell a better story than i can. we've been to a bunch of parks and tiananmen square, and saw the olympic "birds nest" stadium -- where the opening ceremonies will be held. today was the first day we actually saw the sky. normally, the sky is this weird gray-green color, i shit you not. its a bad combination of smog/pollution and dust. we were really excited when we stepped outside because the sky was blue...but little did we know that meant that the sun could shine. it is SO FUCKING HOT. i've been chugging water like nobody's business. the funny thing about china is that beer is cheaper than water in some places. unfortunately for me, i'm ASIAN. therefore, drinking makes me hot, red in the face, and tired. so much for a "cold refreshing beer". i should come back when i'm NOT asian (that was for you, deniz and ammar).
i told chairman mao "not now!" today, it was awesome.
just a quick message to tell you that i miss you very much and wish you were here!! its been fun here, aside from being so tired every night that i don't socialize at all (i can just see comments formulating in deniz's mind). either way, i have been going to bed at around 10pm and waking up at 7am (all of you that have lived with me can't believe that, i know, but its true). either way, there's no coffee within easy access, but i am forever on the hunt. i know that there is a starbucks (xi ba ke if you will) nearby, but i haven't had any time to myself yet. we have been going on structured tours and stuff but by god i will have an iced latte within the next 24 hours if its the last thing i do.
the people on my program are cool so far -- the girls are very nice, and so are the boys for the most part...but there are about 3...what's a good word...ah, broskis. Literally every morning "dude I was so blackout last night, no man, you have no idea, total blackout, I did so many shots…" and I am just ITCHING to let a "you're SO bad" fly, but perhaps its too soon. The main culprit, while blackout, also told me that he thought that British men had the worst style in the world. It was funny to me, because he was wearing sperrys AND madras all at the same time. I said that I thought they had rather good style, and he said like what so I said nicely cut jeans, blazers, and – "blazers? We always wear blazers where I'm from. Like COLOR COORDINATED blazers! Fuck that man, we always wear that." Yeah because you dress like you are in a ralph lauren commercial. Either way, I informed Lord Suter-Whaley and he said that this kid could "kiss my shiny metal ass". I'm debating whether to pass that on.
we had to take a placement exam yesterday for our chinese class and i must say...not my best work. the kid next to me who is a native speaker kept looking over my shoulder, saying "that's wrong" at my grammar multiple choice answers and then i had to write a paragraph about "my love sport". uhm...what? so of course all the guys in the group were snickering, and i literally wrote. "i like soccer. i like to watch soccer on television. americans don't like soccer, it is not on television. i am not happy." 1) i understand the complete lack of sense of the second and third sentence. 2) i somehow got placed in the highest level of chinese of our group with the native speaker and the PIKE. i am totally fucked.
nothing much to really talk about thus far. i'm bad at these type of emails...i'm uploading pictures to and they'll probably tell a better story than i can. we've been to a bunch of parks and tiananmen square, and saw the olympic "birds nest" stadium -- where the opening ceremonies will be held. today was the first day we actually saw the sky. normally, the sky is this weird gray-green color, i shit you not. its a bad combination of smog/pollution and dust. we were really excited when we stepped outside because the sky was blue...but little did we know that meant that the sun could shine. it is SO FUCKING HOT. i've been chugging water like nobody's business. the funny thing about china is that beer is cheaper than water in some places. unfortunately for me, i'm ASIAN. therefore, drinking makes me hot, red in the face, and tired. so much for a "cold refreshing beer". i should come back when i'm NOT asian (that was for you, deniz and ammar).
i told chairman mao "not now!" today, it was awesome.
June 19, 2008: Arrival
Airplane Ride:
Boring! I couldn't sleep and was so uncomfortable. Oh well...We had one shitty projector screen at the front of the cabin and this was my selection: (and by selection I mean they played them one after another so you had to stay awake/wait for one you wanted to see...if you were so desperate you actually wanted to see them)
The Bucket List (now, to be fair, I like Morgan Freeman but I figured it would end up making me really sad since its about cancer so I passed)
Mad Money (NO!)
Spiderwick Chronicles (FALSE!)
Definitely, Maybe (definitely, maybe, absolutely not)
I got here and the visibility is astounding...ly nonexistant. Everything is gray -- I had read lots about this but it was NOT like this the last time I was here. This is insane.
Boring! I couldn't sleep and was so uncomfortable. Oh well...We had one shitty projector screen at the front of the cabin and this was my selection: (and by selection I mean they played them one after another so you had to stay awake/wait for one you wanted to see...if you were so desperate you actually wanted to see them)
The Bucket List (now, to be fair, I like Morgan Freeman but I figured it would end up making me really sad since its about cancer so I passed)
Mad Money (NO!)
Spiderwick Chronicles (FALSE!)
Definitely, Maybe (definitely, maybe, absolutely not)
I got here and the visibility is astounding...ly nonexistant. Everything is gray -- I had read lots about this but it was NOT like this the last time I was here. This is insane.
Five Rings Over China
Okay, so I told myself I wouldn't keep a blog while I lived in China because of my miserable failure at keeping a blog in London. The other day, though, my thesis advisor at Michigan told me to keep a blog. He said he lived in Poland during the last two years of Communist rule (which I had no idea about) and that he couldn't recommend keeping a blog more. Then I thought about all the time I had to sit and think about nothing on the subway home from work every day and decided that yeah, I should do it. Here's hoping that I can actually keep it up (since I only made it to February 2007 in a study abroad period from January to June).
The first month's entries will basically be emails that I've sent to everyone copied and pasted.
As for the title, its supposed to be a shout out to Edgar Snow's "Red Star Over China". I hope you get it, and the implied similarities (of situation, definitely not of journalistic quality).
The first month's entries will basically be emails that I've sent to everyone copied and pasted.
As for the title, its supposed to be a shout out to Edgar Snow's "Red Star Over China". I hope you get it, and the implied similarities (of situation, definitely not of journalistic quality).
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