First Time McDonald'r in Zhongguo
So, I apologize for the lack of those updates I kept promising. Somehow, procrastination has remained a closer friend than I would have hoped in these past three weeks.
Much happened during the study tour, albeit nothing life changing. The bathroom situations were infinitely more interesting than those in Europe, and there's something to be said about an awareness and acceptance of a lack of privacy. I wasn't pickpocketer potential but had to endure numerous curious stops-and-stares, the end result of which is a plea for money. I remained generally unscathed except for a short bout with altitude sickness brought on by incense burners. I watched friends felt up by local children piqued by a big-breasted curiousity; I endured hundreds of flies during a meal in a Tibetan village; I first watched die and then ate large meals made of poisonous snake, furry rabbit, and of every part of the yak imaginable, although I did pass on the snakes' blood mixed with liquor. I showered in a shower/toilet compact unit inside a Lijiang hostel and bedded down with hundreds of potentially malaria-infested mosquitos and received only swollen welts on the sole of my left foot; I illegally went out of bounds only once although I felt like doing it many times more; I shared my trough (no dividers, open room, no door) in the Potala Palace with a young Chinese stranger while peeing down the side of a cliff and mooning monks outside the opening that served as a window; I waited as a friend of mine was surprised by a monk in the co-ed trough bathroom with no dividers while doing her business; I, along with other friends, had water thrown on me at one monastery by a group of men who thought it funny to hear foreigners scream; I learned to bargain for Chinese goods and get acceptable Chinese prices, even had one guy ask if my Chinese was so good b/c I had a Chinese boyfriend; I wrote melancholic poetry while traveling down the Li River in Guilin on a river barge surrounded by some of the most famous scenery in the world; I played ERS in an airport in Chengdu in the middle of the night and alarmed Chinese security in my shockingly excessive excitable state; I suffered bouts of low self-esteem because I don't look exotically American enough to be chosen for picture status of natives and had to pay for the one picture I did take; I got up close and personal with true-to-life monkeys on Emei Mountain and splashed happily through clear water; I saw the most breathtaking view of the Himalayan Mountains on the way to Tibet and was so close to Mt. Everest I could almost taste it; I had a local guide who reminded me of the Lemur off of Madagascar by always saying "You Know"; upset a male friend of mine because I complimented him by saying he was a rugged puppy dog (and then another line about Lifetime movies) and was given a crash course in man points; I got sick from eating Italian meal once back to Beijing because I'm no longer used to that sort of heavy food; I took great pains trying to steal pebbles from the Great Wall; got sick after attempting to guzzle traditional Chinese medicine which is a cross between dandelion tea and molasses when you sip it, not when you chug it.
That's about it. Not so exciting, I suppose. At this point, I don't really have much to say about things.
I only have two more weeks left here. Should have spent today working on that crazy econ paper. I was able to BS six and a half pages that make no sense yesterday, but now I just have to put it together to transform it into something workable.
Tomorrow after class, I'm going to go shopping with Jingjie and Matt at xidan to shop for the rest of the souvenirs I have yet to buy for you wonderful people.
And on Wednesday (or Thursday, maybe) Matt and I are going to go to Wanfujing Bookstore and I'm gonna try to get all my texts for the fall. On Wednesday night, I'm going to see some Chinese acrobatics with some of the rest of the group.
The paper has to be turned in on Sunday, August 7th. That would leave me two days this week to work on it. :-( I could shoot myself for procrastinating so much, but at least I have six pages of filler work already, lol.
On Saturday, we go to the PanJia Antique Market and the Temple of Heaven and our last group lunch.
I don't do anything the following week except to prepare for final exams and finish out any shopping left to do.
Then, on Saturday August 12th, a few friends and I will be visiting the Children's Orphanage in Langfeng. It should be interesting and I hope to take a Chinese train for the first time.
and FINALLY, on SUNDAY AUGUST 13th, at exactly 1pm, I get on that plane to head back across the ocean to Toronto (almost a fourteen hour flight... :-( ) and then another hour or two back to Washington DCA. I should arrive in America around 7:30pm on Sunday. My family will be staying overnight in DC and then we will return home the next day.
After that, I have to leave to go back to W&M the weekend before August 30th, when classes start, so I have approximately TWO WEEKS to spend with friends and family. And I would REALLY REALLY REALLY love it if we could all get together like old times before I have to head back down and do the whole away from home bit again and miss out on even more random adventures. I know you all have your whole lives now and are quite busy with everything on your lists, but if you wouldn't mind telling me when you would be able to get together during that time, just some idea, then I would really appreciate it. :-)
Much Love for my beautiful people who live in Paradise!
Only 13 more days til' I return to Paradise myself!!! :D
Much happened during the study tour, albeit nothing life changing. The bathroom situations were infinitely more interesting than those in Europe, and there's something to be said about an awareness and acceptance of a lack of privacy. I wasn't pickpocketer potential but had to endure numerous curious stops-and-stares, the end result of which is a plea for money. I remained generally unscathed except for a short bout with altitude sickness brought on by incense burners. I watched friends felt up by local children piqued by a big-breasted curiousity; I endured hundreds of flies during a meal in a Tibetan village; I first watched die and then ate large meals made of poisonous snake, furry rabbit, and of every part of the yak imaginable, although I did pass on the snakes' blood mixed with liquor. I showered in a shower/toilet compact unit inside a Lijiang hostel and bedded down with hundreds of potentially malaria-infested mosquitos and received only swollen welts on the sole of my left foot; I illegally went out of bounds only once although I felt like doing it many times more; I shared my trough (no dividers, open room, no door) in the Potala Palace with a young Chinese stranger while peeing down the side of a cliff and mooning monks outside the opening that served as a window; I waited as a friend of mine was surprised by a monk in the co-ed trough bathroom with no dividers while doing her business; I, along with other friends, had water thrown on me at one monastery by a group of men who thought it funny to hear foreigners scream; I learned to bargain for Chinese goods and get acceptable Chinese prices, even had one guy ask if my Chinese was so good b/c I had a Chinese boyfriend; I wrote melancholic poetry while traveling down the Li River in Guilin on a river barge surrounded by some of the most famous scenery in the world; I played ERS in an airport in Chengdu in the middle of the night and alarmed Chinese security in my shockingly excessive excitable state; I suffered bouts of low self-esteem because I don't look exotically American enough to be chosen for picture status of natives and had to pay for the one picture I did take; I got up close and personal with true-to-life monkeys on Emei Mountain and splashed happily through clear water; I saw the most breathtaking view of the Himalayan Mountains on the way to Tibet and was so close to Mt. Everest I could almost taste it; I had a local guide who reminded me of the Lemur off of Madagascar by always saying "You Know"; upset a male friend of mine because I complimented him by saying he was a rugged puppy dog (and then another line about Lifetime movies) and was given a crash course in man points; I got sick from eating Italian meal once back to Beijing because I'm no longer used to that sort of heavy food; I took great pains trying to steal pebbles from the Great Wall; got sick after attempting to guzzle traditional Chinese medicine which is a cross between dandelion tea and molasses when you sip it, not when you chug it.
That's about it. Not so exciting, I suppose. At this point, I don't really have much to say about things.
I only have two more weeks left here. Should have spent today working on that crazy econ paper. I was able to BS six and a half pages that make no sense yesterday, but now I just have to put it together to transform it into something workable.
Tomorrow after class, I'm going to go shopping with Jingjie and Matt at xidan to shop for the rest of the souvenirs I have yet to buy for you wonderful people.
And on Wednesday (or Thursday, maybe) Matt and I are going to go to Wanfujing Bookstore and I'm gonna try to get all my texts for the fall. On Wednesday night, I'm going to see some Chinese acrobatics with some of the rest of the group.
The paper has to be turned in on Sunday, August 7th. That would leave me two days this week to work on it. :-( I could shoot myself for procrastinating so much, but at least I have six pages of filler work already, lol.
On Saturday, we go to the PanJia Antique Market and the Temple of Heaven and our last group lunch.
I don't do anything the following week except to prepare for final exams and finish out any shopping left to do.
Then, on Saturday August 12th, a few friends and I will be visiting the Children's Orphanage in Langfeng. It should be interesting and I hope to take a Chinese train for the first time.
and FINALLY, on SUNDAY AUGUST 13th, at exactly 1pm, I get on that plane to head back across the ocean to Toronto (almost a fourteen hour flight... :-( ) and then another hour or two back to Washington DCA. I should arrive in America around 7:30pm on Sunday. My family will be staying overnight in DC and then we will return home the next day.
After that, I have to leave to go back to W&M the weekend before August 30th, when classes start, so I have approximately TWO WEEKS to spend with friends and family. And I would REALLY REALLY REALLY love it if we could all get together like old times before I have to head back down and do the whole away from home bit again and miss out on even more random adventures. I know you all have your whole lives now and are quite busy with everything on your lists, but if you wouldn't mind telling me when you would be able to get together during that time, just some idea, then I would really appreciate it. :-)
Much Love for my beautiful people who live in Paradise!
Only 13 more days til' I return to Paradise myself!!! :D