pictures of your mama, taken by your papa, a long time ago.
i had 3 hours alotted for uploading pictures to the internet today. only, i'm retarded. i didn't think "hey. none of the computers here have cd drives, and all my pictures are on cd. maybe i can't do that." so, i have a little more free time than i had planned.
i'm nearly done reading the book atk lent me a year ago ('the metaphysical club - a history of ideas in america'). less than 50 pages left. then, it's on to 'catch 22,' '1984,' and 'sex, drugs, and cocoa puffs.' i'm excited. they're all books i'm looking forward to reading.
and now, for a little cut-paste from emails i've been sending...
i spent the weekend in beijing with all the people in my program. we did a lot of group touring (a big part of my recent frustration, i think. at each place we went, we had 'free time.' but when masha and i tried to take the boat to the island in the middle of the summer palace, the tour guide really wanted to help us. she went with us, along with about 10 other people from our group. arrive on the island, only to find out if we wanna actually get off the boat, we have to pay again. but it's only US$1. so masha and i decide to throw caution to the wind and go for it! the tour guide really didn't want us to go, but we went anyway because we didn't wanna be in a big group of americans. well, the girl followed us and kept telling us we only had 5 minutes before the next boat came. we gave up. it doesn't pay to argue with these people. frustrating, though). the whole trip was pretty cheap, and i got to see the summer palace and hai hou (this bar/restaurant area on a really pretty lake). i also ate peking duck - it's okay, not all everyone says it is. but i'm not a big meat eater.
china is killing me!! my ailments since arriving: (1) coughing so bad that my roommate at the hostel (someone i had never met before) actually went out and bought me cough medicine so she could sleep. this lasted about 2 weeks. (2) injuring my upper back. not horrible, just hurts when i turn the wrong way. if i could go to a chiropractor, i'm sure it'd be fixed easily, but i don't know how to say it in chinese, and i think it'll be too expensive. tai mafan le. i'm hoping it just goes away. (3) various stomach/digestion problems having to do with greasy, unsanitary food and either not eating enough or eating way too much. i get mildly sick every time i eat now. i guess that's how the chinese people stay so skinny while still eating so much grease. haha. (4) about 4x the mosquito/bug bites everyone else is getting. i was beginning to think there were bugs in my bed that were biting me, but i decided i just have really delicious blood. (5) totally wiping out while attempting to run, which should actually be something good for my health. the bridges on campus have little ridges in them, which probably have a reason other than making it easier for me to trip. but, luckily for me, that is the only reason i have discovered so far. i scraped and bruised my shoulder, both hands, and both knees. i jammed/sprained/whatever one of my fingers (actually, my writing and using chopsticks finger - it was really difficult for a day or two there). and i happened to fall while running with two other girls,
making me look like more of an idiot. i took pictures of my injuries. i'll let you know when i finally get them online.
one weekend when i went to jiu ba jie (bar street)(in tianjin), we saw a really drunk guy. we were sitting outside when heather pointed across the street - more like an alley, actually. i looked, and there was a guy sitting on a step, talking on his cellphone. only, he wasn't really talking. more like puking. a lot. but he stayed on his phone, and even held it up to his ear, so the person on the other end was sure to hear the pleasant sound of puking. gross, but very amusing.
a couple nights ago, i think there must have been a soccer game that helps to determine who participates in the world cup - at least that's the conclusion we came to when i talked about it with some of my
classmates. normally, all the lights in the dorm across the landfill-esque lot (right out my window) go out at exactly 11:26 pm. (strange, eh?). but they didn't go off until after 12:30 last night. and every
20 minutes or so, that whole building would errupt in cheers. we'd look over, and they were mostly watching tv. it was kinda cool.
computer lab's closing. check ya later.
i'm nearly done reading the book atk lent me a year ago ('the metaphysical club - a history of ideas in america'). less than 50 pages left. then, it's on to 'catch 22,' '1984,' and 'sex, drugs, and cocoa puffs.' i'm excited. they're all books i'm looking forward to reading.
and now, for a little cut-paste from emails i've been sending...
i spent the weekend in beijing with all the people in my program. we did a lot of group touring (a big part of my recent frustration, i think. at each place we went, we had 'free time.' but when masha and i tried to take the boat to the island in the middle of the summer palace, the tour guide really wanted to help us. she went with us, along with about 10 other people from our group. arrive on the island, only to find out if we wanna actually get off the boat, we have to pay again. but it's only US$1. so masha and i decide to throw caution to the wind and go for it! the tour guide really didn't want us to go, but we went anyway because we didn't wanna be in a big group of americans. well, the girl followed us and kept telling us we only had 5 minutes before the next boat came. we gave up. it doesn't pay to argue with these people. frustrating, though). the whole trip was pretty cheap, and i got to see the summer palace and hai hou (this bar/restaurant area on a really pretty lake). i also ate peking duck - it's okay, not all everyone says it is. but i'm not a big meat eater.
china is killing me!! my ailments since arriving: (1) coughing so bad that my roommate at the hostel (someone i had never met before) actually went out and bought me cough medicine so she could sleep. this lasted about 2 weeks. (2) injuring my upper back. not horrible, just hurts when i turn the wrong way. if i could go to a chiropractor, i'm sure it'd be fixed easily, but i don't know how to say it in chinese, and i think it'll be too expensive. tai mafan le. i'm hoping it just goes away. (3) various stomach/digestion problems having to do with greasy, unsanitary food and either not eating enough or eating way too much. i get mildly sick every time i eat now. i guess that's how the chinese people stay so skinny while still eating so much grease. haha. (4) about 4x the mosquito/bug bites everyone else is getting. i was beginning to think there were bugs in my bed that were biting me, but i decided i just have really delicious blood. (5) totally wiping out while attempting to run, which should actually be something good for my health. the bridges on campus have little ridges in them, which probably have a reason other than making it easier for me to trip. but, luckily for me, that is the only reason i have discovered so far. i scraped and bruised my shoulder, both hands, and both knees. i jammed/sprained/whatever one of my fingers (actually, my writing and using chopsticks finger - it was really difficult for a day or two there). and i happened to fall while running with two other girls,
making me look like more of an idiot. i took pictures of my injuries. i'll let you know when i finally get them online.
one weekend when i went to jiu ba jie (bar street)(in tianjin), we saw a really drunk guy. we were sitting outside when heather pointed across the street - more like an alley, actually. i looked, and there was a guy sitting on a step, talking on his cellphone. only, he wasn't really talking. more like puking. a lot. but he stayed on his phone, and even held it up to his ear, so the person on the other end was sure to hear the pleasant sound of puking. gross, but very amusing.
a couple nights ago, i think there must have been a soccer game that helps to determine who participates in the world cup - at least that's the conclusion we came to when i talked about it with some of my
classmates. normally, all the lights in the dorm across the landfill-esque lot (right out my window) go out at exactly 11:26 pm. (strange, eh?). but they didn't go off until after 12:30 last night. and every
20 minutes or so, that whole building would errupt in cheers. we'd look over, and they were mostly watching tv. it was kinda cool.
computer lab's closing. check ya later.