没有书法!!!!!!!!!!

大家好！Guess what!? I’m skipping calligraphy tonight! Aren’t you just so excited for me? It’s nothing against the professor, but when he speaks turbo-Chinese partially in a dialect we don’t even understand, it makes for a fairly pointless lecture. That, and he also teaches the slowest paced hour of ink and brush painting that has ever been conceived by man. I sit there doodling all these Chinese characters on this practice paper while he tells me my technique is good but my characters are ugly. Quelle surprise! No soy artista, señor DUMBASS!! But that’s OK, it’s not that long before we’re totally done with his class all together.

I’m enjoy China a lot more now that I’m actually used to it and I know what’s going to happen (which is probably the whole reason culture shock totally blows in the first place), so I don’t have the same anxiety I used to. But, now something else has set in; BOREDOM!! I know that sounds bad; I’m in a foreign country on the opposite side of the planet (still in the Northern Hemisphere though, Amber), how bored could I be?! Well, think of it this way; you are in a place where you can only have the most superficial of conversations with the natives where they also are entertained by doing entirely different things, you have a very limited number of friends you can actually converse with and with whom you actually care to spend any reasonable amount of time with, the television has decided that it’s going to cater to (gasp!) Chinese speakers, and your tolerance for watching American TV series on DVD’s is nearing the breaking point. Well, I still have my books and I did just buy Trois Couleurs (a famous French movie series in three installments), but there is only so much those two things can do for me. But, anywho, I’ll be fine. I’ve decided that lugging my laptop over to Salvador’s to use the oh-so-wonderful internet is totally acceptable. Today I think I may download some emulators since, really, I honestly don’t have anything better to do sometimes than go back and win Super Mario Brothers on the original NES. I know what you’re thinking; “study Chinese fool!” That’s a great idea, but there’s only so much I can process before I need to take a mental break to avoid overheating.

So, the weather is actually really nice here lately; I’m a big fan. Somehow I’ve escaped the freakish heat of VT this summer, so that’s kind of cool. I really expected it to be unbearably hot here, but I guess I was totally wrong. Oh! You know what?! I haven’t eaten lunch yet! That’s just silly, I tell you! That’s why I’m feeling kind of drained! It’s easy to forget that sort of things sometimes, especially when only certain foods interest you. Being finicky certainly has its bad side. Well, I think I’ll make the most of this internet connection and do some downloading! Yeah!

Cool Link

Hey Guys! Amber had this cool link on her webpage and, really, who doesn’t want to help further our understanding of computer science? Check this out!

Blah, Blah, Blah, Chairman Mao, Blah, Politics, Blah, Blah

The great and glorious Chairman Mao has created the best society ever in the legacy of communist China! All is well and good, there is no poverty, and the people sing songs at the top of their lungs and dance in the streets. Oh wait! That’s just too much Chinese culture class talking; let me start again…

Today was really long, especially as I sat through two hours of cultural re-programming, errrrr, Aspects of Chinese Culture class. It’s not bad, it’s just very, VERY, VERY long sometimes. He teaches us a lot of interesting things, but there is always a hint of the Chairman Mao thought process present. It’s not bad (I still haven’t really formed a solid opinion on the guy just yet), but it does get a little tiresome. I can take the differences in culture as long as the professor isn’t trying to brainwash me. The thing is, I doubt strongly that he is actually consciously doing itl it’s just part of his thought process as a Chinese person growing up in the turbulent period that he did. It’s amazing that many people survived really after waht the radical changes did to infrastructure on every level from governmental to food-level. The book that I’m reading, China, Inc. is really informative and in tandem with Yin laoshi’s class, I feel like I get a fairly balanced view. Who knows?

So, about those crazy Chinese; I’m finally really getting use to them! I mean, I’m starting to understand what is customary and normal, and what is weird Western behavior. Although I do understand the CULTURE more, I still have many mountains to climb as far as the language is concerned. Today I was talking with the Er Kuai lady (she makes the peanut-crepe type breakfast that I eat nearly everyday), and when her husband asked me something I totally didn’t get, she just smiled at me and said (in Chinese of course), “he hears what you’re saying, but it’s not sinking in.” It was kind of funny that I understood that and nothing else, but that’s life, right? Terribly ironic at the strangest places. However, I’ll be just fine if I start nearly choking myself on new vocab every day. I’m already learning a ton in a sink or swim environment; I might as well tie myself up in iron chains and grab on to the Titanic, right? Actually, that’s not entirely true. If I work on vocab without necessarily memorizing the vocab, I should be OK (in theory) and not cause my brain to combust. I’m meeting with Qian Yu Hui tonight, so maybe I can practice some 生词 (new words) with him.

Other than school, there’s really not that much that’s new. The weather yesterday was MARVELOUS. It’s not that sunny here on a regular basis (or in all the parts of China I’ve seen, for that matter), but yesterday was absolutely glorious with blue skies and loads of sunshine, but not terribly hot weather. That, my friends, is a nice day. I hear that you guys in Vermont are all melting because of the incredible heat; who thought I could come to Southern China and escape the heat?! LOL. Life really IS ironic! So, I have to go, but I hope to write soon and I hope even more to HEAR from people soon!! OK, bye for now!

A Little Closer to Fluent

Well, not a lot to report, but it has been awhile since my last entry, and one of you (cough, ERIN!) asked so very nicely for entertainment, I just can’t help but writing something. Today was pretty lack luster; just another cloudy, humid day with not much excitement. I did have a few tests, but that was no big deal really. Tests here aren’t nearly as strenuous as in the States.

Oh! Talk about working toward fluency! I actually spoke Chinese quite a bit today ON PURPOSE!! My new speaking partner, Qian Yu Hui, is really cool and his friend (who is a really amazingly beautiful Chinese girl), is also really nice. But, the coolest thing of the day other than learning that I can actually use my Chinese for more than ordering coffee or fried rice, was meeting a girl named Joan who just recently graduated from high school and has amazing, nay, INCREDIBLE pronunciation in English. It’s really quite amazing to see how well people can speak a language when they learn from a young age. China is doing well starting kids with English in 5th or 6th grade. If I’d started Chinese then, IMAGINE THE FLUENCY!!

Well, I’m uploading pictures to webshots with bunches of captions and such so you should all check it out in place of the somewhat crappy page I had before. You can find it at here. OK, I need to zip home! Adios!

好的

The wireless in my room is a little shakier today. It’s right on the cusp of strong enough to conduct a signal that will carry the internet and a signal just weak enough to be connected yet not actually do anything. Fortunately, we have discovered that our favorite coffee houses (Salvador’s and the French Café) are both equipped with high-speed wireless AND (and this is really great too, more than you might think) power outlets! It’s rare enough in China to find Wi-Fi, to say nothing of free power! Obviously you have to order something to use these wonderful things, but that doesn’t matter; who can ever get enough coffee?! Erin! I found iced coffee here! Not that it’s any good, mind you. I don’t think it’s the quality, I think it’s the fact that none of my wonderful friends are here to drink it with me. But, I’ll stil enjoy this Iced Grasshopper that I purchased (that’s an iced mint mocha for those of you who might have been worried.

So, it’s pretty cool to be back online, although only partially. For some strange reason, AIM seems to hate me lately. It won’t get past verifying my user name and password today. That’s no big deal really; it’s 1:22AM back home so it’s unlikely anyone will be up on a Sunday night. It’s so funny to be halfway through Monday and to have all your friends sleeping through Sunday night. Actually, it’s probably good since I really should be doing work while I’m here. I often feel as though I’m not taking advantage of China as much as I should. I think I realize why people recommend staying for so long. As comfortable as you might be in your own skin at home, self-assured, contented, and self-reliant; cultural re-adjustment is a BITCH! I think by the time you are actually comfortable enough to get away by yourself and really interact with the natives and thereby get a true immersion experience, it will be time to go home in a program as short as this. That isn’t to say that I’m not learning a TON, I am. It’s just that I can’t really afford emotionally to stay here as long as true fluency in Chinese would demand. That is, I just can’t detach myself from the situation at home; it’s at least 50% my responsability that Shirley is living there, and therefore at least partially my responsability for taking care of her. I can’t guarantee I can do anything that great, but I can give Mom, Dad, and Heather a break; I can listen to everyone when they just need an outside ear; I can run errands; I can be a shoulder to cry on. I can’t do any of those things from China, and it is really bothering me more than I ever thought it would. For good reason, probably; Shirley got much sicker and Mom got so stressed out and stretched thin from responsability that she had to leave her nice new job. I really felt badly about that and that I wasn’t there to help her out. I really want to study abroad again, but I want to do so nearer home, like Québec City or St. Pierre et Miquelon. I’ll talk to Gisèle or my advisor and see what I can arrange. My French is very important to me, and I really want to perfect it (something else which greatly annoys me as that was part of my life plan for last year). Life happens, right?

Classes are really going well here, like I mentioned above, I am learning really rapidly. The only thing is going to be trying to pull off this Chinese minor. Yin Laoshi seems Hell-bent on not allowing me to take Chinese 101 in the fall, which is understandable since I won’t have credit for Chinese 52. The only thing I don’t understand is why taking Chinese 51 at double speed and IN CHINA wouldn’t at least him giving me a chance. I skipped Spanish 002 and 52 and got straight A’s in my Spanish classes, and I realize Chinese is more difficult, but honestly; I deserve a chance to prove myself. He said that people that don’t regularly go to class but have the proper requirements often don’t do well, to which I think the retort is obvious; people who don’t go to class don’t give a shit! I mean, I have been truant in the past, but I go on a regular basis for most classes except for chemistry, which even supports my thesis further. Oh well, I’ll just go over his head; I’ll talk to his WIFE!!! He he he. That’s all for now, folks!