China is awesome.
I may be leaving soon. My plans beyond this coming week are not clear. I had an internship locked up which somehow slipped through my grasp at the last moment, and now I don't have anything. But I don't really want to come home, this place is too good.
I spent the last week in Guiyang with Joker. The first night we went to a club called Pink, met some girls, talked to the manager, and the two of us danced and sang on stage with mics to "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi. As soon as I hopped off the stage I had more girl friends and lip kisses and free boos.
The next day I drove Joker's Mom's car on the Chinese highway and ate dog meat for the first time. I went clubbing without Joker another night and met a bunch of just-graduated policemen and an entourage of their beautiful women, who were so fascinated by me that they pulled me to another club to meet some of their other friends for more free drinks.
I hit up Joy, a friend of Lisa's, the girl from Beijing, one night, and she came out with us and introduced me and Joker to four very sexy nurses, who then spent the night at Joker's house playing word games with us. We went with Joker's big brother, and some of his friends for barbecue in the woods somewhere, got to ride a pony around the area, and played sichuan-style Mahjong. Guiyang, in short, is one of my favorite places in the world.
After a 30 hour train-ride back to Shanghai, I find myself back in my apartment with Brett. Joker is back too, though he flew in by plane, and is only here for three days or so, whereas an interminable expanse of no-plans stretches before me. I think I would be bored to return home. I don't live in a city, and Boston surely can't compete with the lights of Shanghai, nor Guiyang which has the advantage of gorgeous women. Even if it could, it would be far more expensive, and less fascinating at every step as China is.
As things stand now, I am in Shanghai looking for work to keep me occupied for at least another month or so. An internship would be great, and for a worthwhile one I would gladly stay the whole summer and give up any chance of visiting Rome this year, or seeing my high school friends. On the other hand, that is seeming not so likely as time is quickly passing. My roommate started his internship the same day I had my interview with Pricoa, on May 17th, which will soon have been a month ago. While he is three weeks in, I sat around doing nothing, and finally decided to visit Joker in Guiyang for 10 days.
So what are other possibilities? I have an apartment with Brett until July 17th. That's long enough that I need some kind of structure if I am to stay here, rather than return home on Jun 17th, as my current flight ticket home specifies. One thing I am considering is teaching English somewhere. That would be especially good if it were for people more my age, so I could make friends, but I would also teach kids, or whatever comes my way. I could do volunteer work, and I plan on meeting an old restaurant boss friend to see if he will teach me to cook Chinese style. Finally, the new term at caijingdaxue, my old school, has already begun for the summer, with new American students, and me, Brett, Dan, and Jose, who remain in Shanghai, will meet with them this weekend, so I should have some new people to go out with after this weekend.
Anyway, that's the update from Shanghai. Looking for work, having a good time. Part of me misses home.
Hugs to everyone!
-Nick
Wednesday 9 June 2010
Sunday 9 May 2010
It's Been a While...
Well now. It's been a while since I wrote on my blog. The semester is over (save for a pending essay I must write for my internship), and people in my program have already left. I'm staying here. I don't have an internship yet but I'm waiting on one possible one. Either way, I'm staying here until June 20th, or thereabouts, at which point the return journey for my original flight to Hong Kong in December expires.
I don't know how to explain the way in which my program came together, and how I've enjoyed my time here. The times were good, the people were good--even when they weren't good they weren't bad. Since my last post we had the trip in the Pearl River Delta. We all traveled Shenzhen, Hong Kong (where I met up with Gary, Chris, Josh, and Eric), Macao (where I bungeed off the Macao tower and frittered away $80 on gambling the roulette wheel), and Zhuhai, where we chilled in a luxury hotel with local hot springs. Colin, Jake, Justin, and Dan all became good smoker buddies of mine. I remember at the beginning of the semester Kai Wang warning us against smoking weed, and I told him how I loved weed, but for his sake would refrain. By the end of the semester I was smoking every day, as usual, and even came to my graduation ceremony baked. The people we met, and the stories I have to tell, are too good to disclose through blog.
Brett, Brenden, and Joker are still my best buds here. Brenden leaves for home tomorrow, only to return to Beijing in a month, when I will still be here. Brett has a job and is staying here with me and Joker in our dorms for a combined 40 kuai per day, split between us. This Tuesday, once almost all our program has left, me and Brett will go to Beijing with a close friend of Joker's, who I christened Lisa, and who studies there. We'll probably tour around, because Brett hasn't seen Beijing, and I want to do some Beijing-cheap shopping, buy my Mom some pearls, and hang out.
After a week I'll come back and hang out in Shanghai for another week, when Colin and Jake return from Japan for several days. Assuming I still don't have an internship, I'll then head out to Guiyang with Joker, leaving Brett behind here, and then go to Chengdu and Qinghai, returning around June 10th, after which I will have 10 days more in Shanghai to hang out, go clubbing, shopping, play video games, and all the rest. Brenden will return on June 15th to visit us here.
So that is my tentative plan for the foreseeable future. The Alliance summer semester will start while I am here, so I'm planning on dropping by, meeting some new summer students, and talking to the teachers and coordinators that made this trip so awesome.
For the time being though, there is a feeling in the air of loss, of time gone by, like there is whenever something awesome, that absorbs you and affects you and changes you, is over. At my graduation ceremony I was handed an envelope with a sheet of paper I filled out at the beginning of the semester. It explained my goals and hopes for my time in China. There were three major goals:
"I hope I can become proficient in interactive Chinese, as well as reading and writing. I also hope to make some awesome new friends, and get some work experience with an internship.
I am excited about the amount of learning, both in the classroom and outside, that is possible. I'm excited to get to know this city, and China at large, and Asia, and the world. I'm excited to see changes in my self, my perspectives, and my apptitude.
I am nervous about not living up to all the things I'm excited about"
I lived up to all these things. And now the change continues...
I don't know how to explain the way in which my program came together, and how I've enjoyed my time here. The times were good, the people were good--even when they weren't good they weren't bad. Since my last post we had the trip in the Pearl River Delta. We all traveled Shenzhen, Hong Kong (where I met up with Gary, Chris, Josh, and Eric), Macao (where I bungeed off the Macao tower and frittered away $80 on gambling the roulette wheel), and Zhuhai, where we chilled in a luxury hotel with local hot springs. Colin, Jake, Justin, and Dan all became good smoker buddies of mine. I remember at the beginning of the semester Kai Wang warning us against smoking weed, and I told him how I loved weed, but for his sake would refrain. By the end of the semester I was smoking every day, as usual, and even came to my graduation ceremony baked. The people we met, and the stories I have to tell, are too good to disclose through blog.
Brett, Brenden, and Joker are still my best buds here. Brenden leaves for home tomorrow, only to return to Beijing in a month, when I will still be here. Brett has a job and is staying here with me and Joker in our dorms for a combined 40 kuai per day, split between us. This Tuesday, once almost all our program has left, me and Brett will go to Beijing with a close friend of Joker's, who I christened Lisa, and who studies there. We'll probably tour around, because Brett hasn't seen Beijing, and I want to do some Beijing-cheap shopping, buy my Mom some pearls, and hang out.
After a week I'll come back and hang out in Shanghai for another week, when Colin and Jake return from Japan for several days. Assuming I still don't have an internship, I'll then head out to Guiyang with Joker, leaving Brett behind here, and then go to Chengdu and Qinghai, returning around June 10th, after which I will have 10 days more in Shanghai to hang out, go clubbing, shopping, play video games, and all the rest. Brenden will return on June 15th to visit us here.
So that is my tentative plan for the foreseeable future. The Alliance summer semester will start while I am here, so I'm planning on dropping by, meeting some new summer students, and talking to the teachers and coordinators that made this trip so awesome.
For the time being though, there is a feeling in the air of loss, of time gone by, like there is whenever something awesome, that absorbs you and affects you and changes you, is over. At my graduation ceremony I was handed an envelope with a sheet of paper I filled out at the beginning of the semester. It explained my goals and hopes for my time in China. There were three major goals:
"I hope I can become proficient in interactive Chinese, as well as reading and writing. I also hope to make some awesome new friends, and get some work experience with an internship.
I am excited about the amount of learning, both in the classroom and outside, that is possible. I'm excited to get to know this city, and China at large, and Asia, and the world. I'm excited to see changes in my self, my perspectives, and my apptitude.
I am nervous about not living up to all the things I'm excited about"
I lived up to all these things. And now the change continues...
Wednesday 31 March 2010
April Fools Day Reflections
Well that didn't take long.
Just over three months since I first arrived in Hong Kong on Dec 22nd, I am now talking Chinese all over the place. I remember when I was leaving Beijing January 12th morning, Sara's mom advised me to "open your mouth" and speak, because in Beijing I had been like a lost lamb, hardly able to string three words together, and never able to understand anyone, even though apparently northers speak more slowly than people in the south (like Shanghai).
I'm certainly not fluent. I still have major problems understanding, but I can get around easily, and people understand what I am saying. It simply struck me one day while I was ordering 麻辣牛肉粉 on the phone, and giving my address, that I was speaking Chinese without even needing to think. That's pretty crazy I think. Not to mention all the bad words I've learned to say for when Chow, Johnny, or Andy is around. Oh the goods times that lie ahead...
Things have started moving really quickly. I remember when I came here every day was long and winding, with excitement and disappointment both intermixed, and every day stood out. Now the weeks flow by, and I hardly notice. Is this semester almost over? What happened?
Today is Thursday, April Fools Day. I came to class today and Shuai bu lei had turned around all our desks, and was laughing uproariously about it. Ria told me she was leaving Brandeis for a semester (but not entirely because apparently she doesn't think I'm that gullible), and I told her good riddance. Sadly she was joking.
Lets see...Oh yes, this Saturday we begin the trip I've been waiting forever for--HONG KONG BABY! I love this city. Why? Probably in part because its the first part of China I ever visited, and marks the beginning of this long adventure I've been on for the past quarter of a year--and which may go on for another quarter or more. Also, I'll be able to access facebook and other websites that China censors, which means FREEEEEEEEEDOM!
Of course, prices in Hong Kong are (I'm sorry Johnny) significantly higher than in Shanghai. According to my excel sheet kept for this purpose, I have spent about $650 in total expenses since Feb 5th--almost two months. That includes eating prepared food three meals a day, buying odd expenses (like new glasses because I lost my old pair, or a plunger for my stupid toilet), going out to clubs and bars, aaaaand my trips out to Guiyang, Zhejiang, and Suzhou (this past weekend). Even including all the outlier expenses, thats about $11/day. Since I think the cheapest meals in Hong Kong were roughly equivalent to cheap meals in America, that is one major drawback, but the shopping will be better, the people more civilized and cleaner. And oh yes, and Gary and Chris will be there, as promised when I last spoke to them in Hong Kong. Kick Ass.
We are actually flying out to Shenzhen first, on Saturday. I remember when I was first planning to go to Hong Kong Chow recommended I fly in to Shenzhen, and I had NO IDEA what that was. Shenzhen is one of the top cities in China (although that is mostly, if not entirely, because it connects Hong Kong to the mainland), ranked beside Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou in production. And from all I've heard it's skyline is more modern and magnificent than Shanghai's. We will spend two nights there, and then cross the border to Hong Kong. Our hotel in on the island itself, probably somewhere way out east away from the city center, and apparently next to a cemetery. But it won't be hard for me to visit Kowloon and that old bar me and those English folk would frequent. Maybe I'll be able to climb the mountain behind Hong Kong and get that view I missed out on because of all the mist last time.
After that we go to Macao for one night. Our program director insisted we not have too much free time in Macao, lest some of us accidentally gamble all our money away. After this we visit some other place, which has a name that I've forgotten, but which is north of Macao and has some hot springs. I need a bathing suit...
Sweet. What else. I still don't know what I'm doing after this semester ends. I hope to know soon, but if I don't hear anything my plan is to bum around for a while--watch lots of Chinese tv and movies, like 爱情公寓, to make my improved Chinese even better, hit some clubs, and perhaps do some shopping. Tomorrow I'm going to have a tailor-made suit done for me. The standard price I'm told is anywhere between 400-800 kuai, which means I'll probably be forking out not much more than $100--a good deal if a Jew ever saw one. I'll explore China some more. I really want to go to Chengdu, and Yunan. But also perhaps Chow, Johnny, and Sharon will be back in Hong Kong and I can visit them there on my MULTIPLE ENTRY VISA! Kick Ass.
-顾尼克
Just over three months since I first arrived in Hong Kong on Dec 22nd, I am now talking Chinese all over the place. I remember when I was leaving Beijing January 12th morning, Sara's mom advised me to "open your mouth" and speak, because in Beijing I had been like a lost lamb, hardly able to string three words together, and never able to understand anyone, even though apparently northers speak more slowly than people in the south (like Shanghai).
I'm certainly not fluent. I still have major problems understanding, but I can get around easily, and people understand what I am saying. It simply struck me one day while I was ordering 麻辣牛肉粉 on the phone, and giving my address, that I was speaking Chinese without even needing to think. That's pretty crazy I think. Not to mention all the bad words I've learned to say for when Chow, Johnny, or Andy is around. Oh the goods times that lie ahead...
Things have started moving really quickly. I remember when I came here every day was long and winding, with excitement and disappointment both intermixed, and every day stood out. Now the weeks flow by, and I hardly notice. Is this semester almost over? What happened?
Today is Thursday, April Fools Day. I came to class today and Shuai bu lei had turned around all our desks, and was laughing uproariously about it. Ria told me she was leaving Brandeis for a semester (but not entirely because apparently she doesn't think I'm that gullible), and I told her good riddance. Sadly she was joking.
Lets see...Oh yes, this Saturday we begin the trip I've been waiting forever for--HONG KONG BABY! I love this city. Why? Probably in part because its the first part of China I ever visited, and marks the beginning of this long adventure I've been on for the past quarter of a year--and which may go on for another quarter or more. Also, I'll be able to access facebook and other websites that China censors, which means FREEEEEEEEEDOM!
Of course, prices in Hong Kong are (I'm sorry Johnny) significantly higher than in Shanghai. According to my excel sheet kept for this purpose, I have spent about $650 in total expenses since Feb 5th--almost two months. That includes eating prepared food three meals a day, buying odd expenses (like new glasses because I lost my old pair, or a plunger for my stupid toilet), going out to clubs and bars, aaaaand my trips out to Guiyang, Zhejiang, and Suzhou (this past weekend). Even including all the outlier expenses, thats about $11/day. Since I think the cheapest meals in Hong Kong were roughly equivalent to cheap meals in America, that is one major drawback, but the shopping will be better, the people more civilized and cleaner. And oh yes, and Gary and Chris will be there, as promised when I last spoke to them in Hong Kong. Kick Ass.
We are actually flying out to Shenzhen first, on Saturday. I remember when I was first planning to go to Hong Kong Chow recommended I fly in to Shenzhen, and I had NO IDEA what that was. Shenzhen is one of the top cities in China (although that is mostly, if not entirely, because it connects Hong Kong to the mainland), ranked beside Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou in production. And from all I've heard it's skyline is more modern and magnificent than Shanghai's. We will spend two nights there, and then cross the border to Hong Kong. Our hotel in on the island itself, probably somewhere way out east away from the city center, and apparently next to a cemetery. But it won't be hard for me to visit Kowloon and that old bar me and those English folk would frequent. Maybe I'll be able to climb the mountain behind Hong Kong and get that view I missed out on because of all the mist last time.
After that we go to Macao for one night. Our program director insisted we not have too much free time in Macao, lest some of us accidentally gamble all our money away. After this we visit some other place, which has a name that I've forgotten, but which is north of Macao and has some hot springs. I need a bathing suit...
Sweet. What else. I still don't know what I'm doing after this semester ends. I hope to know soon, but if I don't hear anything my plan is to bum around for a while--watch lots of Chinese tv and movies, like 爱情公寓, to make my improved Chinese even better, hit some clubs, and perhaps do some shopping. Tomorrow I'm going to have a tailor-made suit done for me. The standard price I'm told is anywhere between 400-800 kuai, which means I'll probably be forking out not much more than $100--a good deal if a Jew ever saw one. I'll explore China some more. I really want to go to Chengdu, and Yunan. But also perhaps Chow, Johnny, and Sharon will be back in Hong Kong and I can visit them there on my MULTIPLE ENTRY VISA! Kick Ass.
-顾尼克
Tuesday 23 March 2010
Late March
What more can I add to this web journal? I've settled down, found a pace of life I can live with, am doing the things I want to do, and having fun. But I'm not traveling anymore. I finished that two months ago when I came to Shanghai, save for a week-long excursion into the heart of China. I live here now. That means everything I miss about home is taking a back seat, and the missing fades every day. There isn't any need to miss things when things are as they are inevitably. What good is missing my home when I have a temporary home here, and will see my home home again in time. Not to mention the fact that I can do so much here that I can't do at home.
My roommate is the fucking man. I love this kid--and kid he is, being only a freshman. I can study and learn in an atmosphere completely different from detached and forlorn Brandeis. But I feel like I've said all this before...
In the intervening period since my last post I've mostly hunkered down and got to work. Every night is Chinese homework, on weekends a 380 character essay, and the occasional economics essay from another class. I dropped Finance in the end, not because I really wanted to, but it was definitely the class with the most work (which is still pretty little) and I needed some time during the week to begin searching for internships. Every Thursday afternoon I've been calling local American companies in Shanghai, asking what I can do to apply for summer work. So far its yielded a couple leads, but not enough for me to be satisfied. I WANT to stay here this summer. Living in Shanghai for the summer would give me the chance to explore China more after my semester is over--like Nanjing, Xian, Chengdu, Yunan, and Hainan. I would have place of my own in Shanghai to live (presumably), which would be badass. Here's hoping I don't get disappointed.
As a class we spent the weekend before last exploring Zhejiang province. I can't tell you everything that happened, because although it was a good adventure with lots of people on a bus, not a whole lot of it sticks out. We did see the home of Lu Xun, perhaps China's most famous writer, and exploring some beautiful countryside. We also saw the most two incredible taiji performances, the first of which ended suddenly with an enormous amount of water being unleashed into a cordoned-off area from up a hill. It was like real life special effects. The second performance, which was 45 minutes long, was even more incredible, with a backdrop of an enormous fake volcano, in front of which was a small stage surrounded by water. These dancers in butterfly and dragons costumes would run out from the base of the volcano while crazy light shit was happening all over, and suddenly an enormous metal dragon--or dinosaur or something--would rise out of the water and roar. Later on there would be lotus boats with girls plucking string intruments, volcanic erruptions, and huge ying yang signs.
I've become a huge fan of a tv show called 爱情公寓 or love apartment. It has the most beautiful Chinese women I have ever seen, which of course means such women don't really exist. These three bombshells act alongside these four Chinese dudes in a sitcome basically like Friends, where they are all friends with each other and have all sorts of drama and stuff living in this apartment together. Problem is, I don't really understand it at all, so when me and Joker are watching it before going to sleep he'll burst into enormous laughter all the time, and I'll just be like "what the hell did she just say?" Still, it's funny to watch Chinese people act like goofballs, because that's all they really are anyway. Plus it's good for my Chinese. Apparently Chinese tv shows only go for one season, and then they are completely done, so I bought the series for 8 kuai and am now watching it. I'm also watching South Park all the time, and when I'm done with that I'll probably move on to Entourage.
This weekend I'm going to Suzhou with a bunch of people. We are only going for a day, because apparently there isn't much to see there, but the Chinese know how to play up all their cities. One of the first things I was told when I arrived was that Suzhou and Hangzhou both have the visual beauty to match heaven. So I'm looking forward to that. The following week our class once again departs, this time for the southern tour, which will take us to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao. I'm so excited about this trip that I've been hardly thinking about anything else this week. Guangzhou is a tier 1 city along with Beijing and Shanghai, and Shenzhen apparently has a more modern/futuristic skyline than Shanghai--which is amazing incidentally. I enjoyed my time so much in Hong Kong that I just can't wait to get back there and visit the bar with the peanuts and huge Hoegaardens. And perhaps I can meet up with Gary and Chris without that know-it-all fatty who hosted me last time. Macao is China's Las Vegas, and I fully intend to throw down a couple of my father's well-earned dollars on the riskiest game possible.
The weather is getting nice here, day by day. We've had some great weather recently, although it began down pouring just an hour ago when me, Joker, Brett, and Brendan were out to eat at Joker's favorite north-east style food place. The internship is going well. The Big Boss, Mark, whom I hadn't really spoken to since I arrived, invited me to a meeting he held with the English-speakers to teach us a webchat program which we are using for customer service with people who order food on the Sherpa's website, and then gave me a personal tutorial. Clearly I am filling a need, and that's all I could have asked for in an internship, although it can be repetitive at times.
It is Tuesday night, which means tomorrow I have my internship and no class, and thus have no homework to do. Given that, I'm about to do one of the following: 1) Play Fallout 2) Play Pokemon 3) Watch 爱情公寓. Either way, it's gonna be one sweet night. And either way, I'm very Asian.
PEACE
Nick
My roommate is the fucking man. I love this kid--and kid he is, being only a freshman. I can study and learn in an atmosphere completely different from detached and forlorn Brandeis. But I feel like I've said all this before...
In the intervening period since my last post I've mostly hunkered down and got to work. Every night is Chinese homework, on weekends a 380 character essay, and the occasional economics essay from another class. I dropped Finance in the end, not because I really wanted to, but it was definitely the class with the most work (which is still pretty little) and I needed some time during the week to begin searching for internships. Every Thursday afternoon I've been calling local American companies in Shanghai, asking what I can do to apply for summer work. So far its yielded a couple leads, but not enough for me to be satisfied. I WANT to stay here this summer. Living in Shanghai for the summer would give me the chance to explore China more after my semester is over--like Nanjing, Xian, Chengdu, Yunan, and Hainan. I would have place of my own in Shanghai to live (presumably), which would be badass. Here's hoping I don't get disappointed.
As a class we spent the weekend before last exploring Zhejiang province. I can't tell you everything that happened, because although it was a good adventure with lots of people on a bus, not a whole lot of it sticks out. We did see the home of Lu Xun, perhaps China's most famous writer, and exploring some beautiful countryside. We also saw the most two incredible taiji performances, the first of which ended suddenly with an enormous amount of water being unleashed into a cordoned-off area from up a hill. It was like real life special effects. The second performance, which was 45 minutes long, was even more incredible, with a backdrop of an enormous fake volcano, in front of which was a small stage surrounded by water. These dancers in butterfly and dragons costumes would run out from the base of the volcano while crazy light shit was happening all over, and suddenly an enormous metal dragon--or dinosaur or something--would rise out of the water and roar. Later on there would be lotus boats with girls plucking string intruments, volcanic erruptions, and huge ying yang signs.
I've become a huge fan of a tv show called 爱情公寓 or love apartment. It has the most beautiful Chinese women I have ever seen, which of course means such women don't really exist. These three bombshells act alongside these four Chinese dudes in a sitcome basically like Friends, where they are all friends with each other and have all sorts of drama and stuff living in this apartment together. Problem is, I don't really understand it at all, so when me and Joker are watching it before going to sleep he'll burst into enormous laughter all the time, and I'll just be like "what the hell did she just say?" Still, it's funny to watch Chinese people act like goofballs, because that's all they really are anyway. Plus it's good for my Chinese. Apparently Chinese tv shows only go for one season, and then they are completely done, so I bought the series for 8 kuai and am now watching it. I'm also watching South Park all the time, and when I'm done with that I'll probably move on to Entourage.
This weekend I'm going to Suzhou with a bunch of people. We are only going for a day, because apparently there isn't much to see there, but the Chinese know how to play up all their cities. One of the first things I was told when I arrived was that Suzhou and Hangzhou both have the visual beauty to match heaven. So I'm looking forward to that. The following week our class once again departs, this time for the southern tour, which will take us to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao. I'm so excited about this trip that I've been hardly thinking about anything else this week. Guangzhou is a tier 1 city along with Beijing and Shanghai, and Shenzhen apparently has a more modern/futuristic skyline than Shanghai--which is amazing incidentally. I enjoyed my time so much in Hong Kong that I just can't wait to get back there and visit the bar with the peanuts and huge Hoegaardens. And perhaps I can meet up with Gary and Chris without that know-it-all fatty who hosted me last time. Macao is China's Las Vegas, and I fully intend to throw down a couple of my father's well-earned dollars on the riskiest game possible.
The weather is getting nice here, day by day. We've had some great weather recently, although it began down pouring just an hour ago when me, Joker, Brett, and Brendan were out to eat at Joker's favorite north-east style food place. The internship is going well. The Big Boss, Mark, whom I hadn't really spoken to since I arrived, invited me to a meeting he held with the English-speakers to teach us a webchat program which we are using for customer service with people who order food on the Sherpa's website, and then gave me a personal tutorial. Clearly I am filling a need, and that's all I could have asked for in an internship, although it can be repetitive at times.
It is Tuesday night, which means tomorrow I have my internship and no class, and thus have no homework to do. Given that, I'm about to do one of the following: 1) Play Fallout 2) Play Pokemon 3) Watch 爱情公寓. Either way, it's gonna be one sweet night. And either way, I'm very Asian.
PEACE
Nick
Wednesday 10 March 2010
Good Morning America
Good Morning America.
It's 11:43 at night and I just finished my Chinese homework. Today is Wednesday, and I spent the bulk of my day at my internship, from slightly after 10 when I arrived until after 6. It's fun to be in the middle of projects, doing real work that people get paid to do, but it sucks not getting paid to do it. And it can get boring and repetitive. My boss Jason is trying to keep me entertained. He told me he'd have me talk to an Italian restaurant boss who speaks bad English in the afternoon but that never happened. Part of what is so tiring though is the 40 minutes or more it takes to ride the taxi in and out through logjam traffic, which is still much better than the hour and a half I was doing commuting by metro before.
When I got back to my room me and Joker ordered some mapodofu and kung pao chicken from 川香馆, I watched some South Park, listened to Infected Mushroom, enjoyed the comforts of home from afar. Joker got his Xbox about a week ago, shipped from home, and he's been playing all sorts of games 24/7. He's a Grand Theft Auto addict. He's also been playing Left for Dead, Call of Duty, and all such hack slash and shoot games. I've been playing him in Street Fighter 4. I'm always the Japanese sumo wrestler named Honda cause he's kickass. I promised I would introduce Joker to Fallout 3. It was...wait guess...5 kuai! That's less than a dollar. For a $50 game. The Chinese are ripoff artists, and I love it.
I've been on a crazy schedule, and though I could continue I've more or less decided to drop my Thursday class. I need the afternoon tomorrow to start making phone calls for internships, which I've been meaning to do since Monday. It's a little unfortunate cause I like the class, but having a class or internship for 6+ hours every weekday is too much, and the workload is sure to increase.
This weekend we have an organized class trip to some "culturally relevant" places around Shanghai that aren't extremely well known: Shaoxing, Xinchang, and Hengdian. Five of the 39 Chinese roommates we selected by ballot to join us Americans, and Joker apparently just missed out, coming in sixth. Its probably because we sit in our room every day playing Xbox. Or maybe its because he's a sexual deviant and the devil incarnate, both of which are completely true.
As the semester proceeds and midterms approach, I'm getting excited for the Hong Kong trip. We'll be going to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao, all within a week. Leaving America on December 21st of last year seems like forever ago. And I have nothing but warm memories of my time in Hong Kong. Those Chinese people can speak English and have manners, and still everything is cheap--though not quite as cheap as here. Shanghai is amazing too, but its part of China, and the vibe is completely different in Hong Kong. Here everything is delayed gratification. Play is for the foreigners, the students, who flood enormous club dance floors. It's all about the future here, even for me. Hong Kong is (still) the now. Come earlier April, I'm there, perhaps hanging with Gary and Chris at a local bar shelling peanuts and downing Hoegaarden like just three long months ago.
I serially miss people from home. No use in naming names, because I'll inevitably leave people out. But the things you learn from people stand out more clearly when you have to create a new life on your own. No doubt a lot of people have taught me a lot of things. And there are people here I'm learning from too, which to my mind is absolutely incredible, and I count myself lucky.
Thinking about this blog, it occurred to me during a shit break I just took how unusually frank I am when writing stuff down. In fact, I don't think I have much to relate, nor many people interested in hearing it. I set up this blog to keep in touch and communicate with people back home, but I don't hear back very often. I can't post pictures. And to post anything at all I must climb the Chinese Firewall. But it can be therapeutic to verbalize a string of thoughts in text, even without anyone on the other end, and I'm betting I'll be looking back someday at my entries from the comfort of my warm room, when "China" is just a 6-month linguistic, cultural, and experiential impression on my mind.
From China, this is the Italian explorer signing off.
It's 11:43 at night and I just finished my Chinese homework. Today is Wednesday, and I spent the bulk of my day at my internship, from slightly after 10 when I arrived until after 6. It's fun to be in the middle of projects, doing real work that people get paid to do, but it sucks not getting paid to do it. And it can get boring and repetitive. My boss Jason is trying to keep me entertained. He told me he'd have me talk to an Italian restaurant boss who speaks bad English in the afternoon but that never happened. Part of what is so tiring though is the 40 minutes or more it takes to ride the taxi in and out through logjam traffic, which is still much better than the hour and a half I was doing commuting by metro before.
When I got back to my room me and Joker ordered some mapodofu and kung pao chicken from 川香馆, I watched some South Park, listened to Infected Mushroom, enjoyed the comforts of home from afar. Joker got his Xbox about a week ago, shipped from home, and he's been playing all sorts of games 24/7. He's a Grand Theft Auto addict. He's also been playing Left for Dead, Call of Duty, and all such hack slash and shoot games. I've been playing him in Street Fighter 4. I'm always the Japanese sumo wrestler named Honda cause he's kickass. I promised I would introduce Joker to Fallout 3. It was...wait guess...5 kuai! That's less than a dollar. For a $50 game. The Chinese are ripoff artists, and I love it.
I've been on a crazy schedule, and though I could continue I've more or less decided to drop my Thursday class. I need the afternoon tomorrow to start making phone calls for internships, which I've been meaning to do since Monday. It's a little unfortunate cause I like the class, but having a class or internship for 6+ hours every weekday is too much, and the workload is sure to increase.
This weekend we have an organized class trip to some "culturally relevant" places around Shanghai that aren't extremely well known: Shaoxing, Xinchang, and Hengdian. Five of the 39 Chinese roommates we selected by ballot to join us Americans, and Joker apparently just missed out, coming in sixth. Its probably because we sit in our room every day playing Xbox. Or maybe its because he's a sexual deviant and the devil incarnate, both of which are completely true.
As the semester proceeds and midterms approach, I'm getting excited for the Hong Kong trip. We'll be going to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao, all within a week. Leaving America on December 21st of last year seems like forever ago. And I have nothing but warm memories of my time in Hong Kong. Those Chinese people can speak English and have manners, and still everything is cheap--though not quite as cheap as here. Shanghai is amazing too, but its part of China, and the vibe is completely different in Hong Kong. Here everything is delayed gratification. Play is for the foreigners, the students, who flood enormous club dance floors. It's all about the future here, even for me. Hong Kong is (still) the now. Come earlier April, I'm there, perhaps hanging with Gary and Chris at a local bar shelling peanuts and downing Hoegaarden like just three long months ago.
I serially miss people from home. No use in naming names, because I'll inevitably leave people out. But the things you learn from people stand out more clearly when you have to create a new life on your own. No doubt a lot of people have taught me a lot of things. And there are people here I'm learning from too, which to my mind is absolutely incredible, and I count myself lucky.
Thinking about this blog, it occurred to me during a shit break I just took how unusually frank I am when writing stuff down. In fact, I don't think I have much to relate, nor many people interested in hearing it. I set up this blog to keep in touch and communicate with people back home, but I don't hear back very often. I can't post pictures. And to post anything at all I must climb the Chinese Firewall. But it can be therapeutic to verbalize a string of thoughts in text, even without anyone on the other end, and I'm betting I'll be looking back someday at my entries from the comfort of my warm room, when "China" is just a 6-month linguistic, cultural, and experiential impression on my mind.
From China, this is the Italian explorer signing off.
Friday 26 February 2010
Whatever
Gosh I'm in such a good mood.
I've been busting my ass all week doing work (notwithstanding my post a couple days ago). In Chinese class my teacher held individual meetings with each of us, her six students, and told us what we could work on, and our grades. I have a 9.2 so far, on 10. But she told me I had to memorize more words and start coming to class on time. Last Monday my electricity wasn't working so it took me a while to make my morning noodles, and by the time I finished eating them and reading the news I was about 20 minutes late.
I had my full week of a regular schedule for the first time. I had my internship in the afternoon on Monday and all of Wednesday. My boss is paying for me to take a taxi in now instead of hopping the metro, which takes about twice as long, so I can sleep in a little longer on Wednesday mornings, and not come into the office in a sweat.
And now it's the weekend. I worked out this evening, which was Kick Ass. And then I went with Joker and the bros to a barbecue place that serves the best beef, lamb, potato, and fish skewers, plus the best tasting sweet bread, and these awesome garlic sauce covered oysters. It was the perfect post-workout meal.
And now I'm listening to a song I rediscovered yesterday when Joker was watching a documentary of sorts on the Britpop genre. Oasis's Whatever. I have no idea where or when, but I knew instantly I had hummed along to this toon many times. It's funny how something like that can catch up with you anywhere. The world is increasingly interknit, yet still infinitely large. There's always more to explore. If you ever stop being curious--the moment you trick yourself into thinking you know it all--your done. Don't be arrogant. And never stop caring about things, because caring is the only thing that makes all the people in the world one. I believe that beyond all our appearances, all our thoughts, expressions, and all our differences, we are functionally, systematically the same person. A template called man (or woman), on which our personalities are just a ornament.
I'm having a fantastic time here. It's a lot of work, but I'm self-discovering. I'm learning tons about China and the world around me, and myself. I've made my friends, and continue to make them. Ok. I miss my marijuana. But I know she'll be waiting for me when I get back, and then perhaps nothing will separate us ever again. In the meantime, I re-balance a life that was perhaps too Brandeis-centered and complacent. Living in a city is awesome. I haven't even been to Pudong, the financial center east of the river, but I inevitably will, and in the meanwhile I can hardly stop thinking about the things that lie ahead.
Tonight I relax and unwind. I'll play my games, and maybe I'll do some Chinese homework for Monday, since I've got nothing to wake up for tomorrow. Tomorrow morning Joker has the TOEFL--I think that's for Test Of English as Foreign Language. In any case, I've been helping him all week, and tomorrow is the big day. After that his parents will ship us his Xbox and maybe we can find a fake Fallout on the street somewhere to play. Or just Street Fighter 4. HONDA!
I'm thinking a lot about what I'm going to do this summer. I think an internship is possible, but honestly I still don't know WHAT I want to do. HOW am I supposed to know that? I've got lots of places to apply to yet, but the more I think about it, the more I think I want to stay in China for the summer. I want to keep working on my Chinese. China is going to change the world in a matter of years. It is already changing the world, and it is no where near it's potential. If I don't find an internship I really want elsewhere, then hopefully I will find something here in Shanghai, or somewhere in China. Barring that, I might take a Chinese language class in Beijing for the summer. Brenden is already signed up for such a class, and it seems like a fruitful way to continue my studies here.
Wish I had facebook man. Also wish I could post pictures on this blog. Miss America, greatest country in the world. Miss my friends and family. There's a really really attractive Chinese girl on the tv right now. The Chinese are shameless promoters of their most beautiful women.
I've been busting my ass all week doing work (notwithstanding my post a couple days ago). In Chinese class my teacher held individual meetings with each of us, her six students, and told us what we could work on, and our grades. I have a 9.2 so far, on 10. But she told me I had to memorize more words and start coming to class on time. Last Monday my electricity wasn't working so it took me a while to make my morning noodles, and by the time I finished eating them and reading the news I was about 20 minutes late.
I had my full week of a regular schedule for the first time. I had my internship in the afternoon on Monday and all of Wednesday. My boss is paying for me to take a taxi in now instead of hopping the metro, which takes about twice as long, so I can sleep in a little longer on Wednesday mornings, and not come into the office in a sweat.
And now it's the weekend. I worked out this evening, which was Kick Ass. And then I went with Joker and the bros to a barbecue place that serves the best beef, lamb, potato, and fish skewers, plus the best tasting sweet bread, and these awesome garlic sauce covered oysters. It was the perfect post-workout meal.
And now I'm listening to a song I rediscovered yesterday when Joker was watching a documentary of sorts on the Britpop genre. Oasis's Whatever. I have no idea where or when, but I knew instantly I had hummed along to this toon many times. It's funny how something like that can catch up with you anywhere. The world is increasingly interknit, yet still infinitely large. There's always more to explore. If you ever stop being curious--the moment you trick yourself into thinking you know it all--your done. Don't be arrogant. And never stop caring about things, because caring is the only thing that makes all the people in the world one. I believe that beyond all our appearances, all our thoughts, expressions, and all our differences, we are functionally, systematically the same person. A template called man (or woman), on which our personalities are just a ornament.
I'm having a fantastic time here. It's a lot of work, but I'm self-discovering. I'm learning tons about China and the world around me, and myself. I've made my friends, and continue to make them. Ok. I miss my marijuana. But I know she'll be waiting for me when I get back, and then perhaps nothing will separate us ever again. In the meantime, I re-balance a life that was perhaps too Brandeis-centered and complacent. Living in a city is awesome. I haven't even been to Pudong, the financial center east of the river, but I inevitably will, and in the meanwhile I can hardly stop thinking about the things that lie ahead.
Tonight I relax and unwind. I'll play my games, and maybe I'll do some Chinese homework for Monday, since I've got nothing to wake up for tomorrow. Tomorrow morning Joker has the TOEFL--I think that's for Test Of English as Foreign Language. In any case, I've been helping him all week, and tomorrow is the big day. After that his parents will ship us his Xbox and maybe we can find a fake Fallout on the street somewhere to play. Or just Street Fighter 4. HONDA!
I'm thinking a lot about what I'm going to do this summer. I think an internship is possible, but honestly I still don't know WHAT I want to do. HOW am I supposed to know that? I've got lots of places to apply to yet, but the more I think about it, the more I think I want to stay in China for the summer. I want to keep working on my Chinese. China is going to change the world in a matter of years. It is already changing the world, and it is no where near it's potential. If I don't find an internship I really want elsewhere, then hopefully I will find something here in Shanghai, or somewhere in China. Barring that, I might take a Chinese language class in Beijing for the summer. Brenden is already signed up for such a class, and it seems like a fruitful way to continue my studies here.
Wish I had facebook man. Also wish I could post pictures on this blog. Miss America, greatest country in the world. Miss my friends and family. There's a really really attractive Chinese girl on the tv right now. The Chinese are shameless promoters of their most beautiful women.
Tuesday 23 February 2010
Intrepid Explorer Nick
I haven't written here in a while. Spring break has consumed most of my last two weeks, as I traveled to Guiyang, the town of my roommate Joker. I went with Brett and Brenden, and have some amazing stories to tell about the trip, though perhaps nothing better than Brett's constant attempt to be left behind at train stations, or his ignorantly ordering 5 whores instead of dumplings from a vendor, and getting yelled at angrily in return.
We traveled by sleeper train on Wednesday, about about 12 days ago. Brett lost his ticket beforehand, and in our desperation we scoured his entire room for an hour or more. When it looked like we'd be leaving him behind, I called Joker, who had returned home by plane some days earlier. He told me we should try to get him onto the train, and then re-buy the ticket of his seat, which should be empty. We managed all this with some success, but when a girl arrived to claim his place in our 4-bed room, we weren't sure what to do. His ticket must have been stolen and re-sold to this girl. But Brett was lucky enough to buy a ticket on the other end of the train to sleep in at night. It was a 30-hour train ride, and there was a college student studying English from Suzhou, near Shanghai, that we learned a lot from, and taught much to. We watched South Park, and played President most of the time.
Joker picked us up from the train station in Guiyang at about 1am. His family was celebrating the new year with his father's parents in the suburbs somewhere (it took an hour an a half of driving, wedged between Brett and Brenden and my new AWESOME duffle bag, but I guess the suburbs extend quite far in China...). We were dropped off at a hotel right near Joker's grandparents' place, and spent a night in the miserable cold with poor facilities and a bathroom that stank of rotting bodies.
But the future was bright! The next morning we went exploring the area with Joker and one of his little "brothers" and little "sisters," which were just part of the extended family. We took lots of pictures, and explored a quite temple area, where some old founder of Chinese gongfu practiced, and apparently ascended to heaven Mohammad-style. I think I mentioned how me and Brett both practiced Kenpo. It was funny to see the resemblance in styles, from pictures of the local school. And frankly made me a little nostalgic for those days of my childhood when I could kick above my head without pulling both my hamstrings and groin at once.
There are no white people in Guiyang. I wonder how many people know what its like to stand out so completely in the world. Well, I guess its still nothing compared to Abdul, the black guy in our program, who apparently made a girl cry in Kunming when he waved to her there over break. Still, in Shanghai there are white people. In Guiyang no such thing. And oh--the girls! This area of China has ONLY pretty ones. Some days later, after the new year, we would go to a club, and I swear you could toss a rock into the crowd and if you didn't hit a man it would be a pretty girl unconscious on the floor. And the waiguoren foreigner appeal? Instant conversation opener. Not to mention all the dirty phrases I've picked up. The Chinese like their tofu.
We spent two days celebrating the new year at the grandparents house. Joker's mom taught me how to make kong pao chicken, and his dad and uncle taught me Chinese chess, caligraphy, and painting. We ate the best food I've eaten in China (which, in hindsight, is making me sick of Shanghai food) at a family gathering, getting toasted over and over again, and against our will downing shot after shot of baijiu, the Chinese hard preferred liquor. All we could hope was not to offend the Chinese people and get thrown out on our asses, so we got drunk instead. This wasnt just dinner either. Daily we ate two dinners in grand fashion, plus lunch. By noon every day I wouldn't be able to think straight.
And oh the fireworks! The night after our arrival was the new year! The year of the asian tiger opened with fireworks all over this apparently quiet, poor suburb. If this is what happens out here, I remember thinking, how do Beijing and Shanghai survive their own people on a yearly basis? Although the symphony in the sky mostly covered about half an hour straddling midnight, people shot off rolls of exploding crackers before every meal the next day, and fireworks around the city continued for well a week.
The third day of our arrival we packed into a car with Joker and his dad and headed back to Guiyang, where Joker's parents' house was. There were only two beds, so me, Brett, and Brenden played rocks paper scissors for the single bed. Of course Brenden beat us both, so while he lay in luxury for 4 or 5 days, me and Brett fought for comfort in a bed with short blankets, with a pillow wedged between us to preserve our hetero pride. On the bright side, my netbook, which I bought in Hong Kong, was picking up the wireless network around Joker's fine house all the time, so I was able to do my news searching and keep in contact with people back home.
It would take too long to recount all the glorious escapades of our time in Guiyang proper. Suffice to say, we partied quite a bit, and drank more baijiu under the gaze of Joker's family. We visited and old town full of cool market do-gadgets where I bought a wicked slingshot for 10 kuai, perhaps my single greatest purchase ever, and some other cool souvenirs and gifts for the friends and family I may never EVER see again! We went to the zoo and saw baby bears with boxing gloves and boxing shorts duke it out in entertaining fashion (under the watch of several referees). At the zoo you could pay 40 kuai to throw a live chicken into the siberian tiger pit. It was appalling but also fascinating to watch as a bird was unexpectedly thrown out, to see it land, the largest tiger rise from its resting place and come running, the chicken attempt to get off the ground and then...POW! Two huge paws smashing the chicken to the ground, then a mouth grabbing the chicken's neck from behind. As I walked past the tiger pit, the next chicken, small and looking very nervous, was isolated in the middle of the spectator area.
We also climbed a mountain and saw some of the most ugly-assed and feral monkeys in the world. A sign read "please don't beat the monkeys."
To make a long story short, we managed to find a train ride back home through Joker's "connections," though it appeared quite difficult at first as train rides back to Shanghai were booked through the following week, during which we would be missing classes. We considered plane tickets, but the price was incredible--1700 kuai, or about 250 dollars, one way back to Shanghai. When Joker pulled through with cheap tickets for us all on Saturday morning, enough time to get back to Shanghai on Sunday, we were all grateful. Of course, we partied that night, I drank way more than I should have, and we nearly lost Brett in Guiyang when we were departing the next morning, but all turned out alright in the end as drunken and lost Brett got a taxi to the train station and met us there.
Well, its Tuesday now, and I've been thrown back into the swing of classes and work. I'm late for a meeting now (at 10pm) and barely had time to write all this, but that's the news from this end. Hope all is well with my readers.
-Intrepid Explorer Nick
We traveled by sleeper train on Wednesday, about about 12 days ago. Brett lost his ticket beforehand, and in our desperation we scoured his entire room for an hour or more. When it looked like we'd be leaving him behind, I called Joker, who had returned home by plane some days earlier. He told me we should try to get him onto the train, and then re-buy the ticket of his seat, which should be empty. We managed all this with some success, but when a girl arrived to claim his place in our 4-bed room, we weren't sure what to do. His ticket must have been stolen and re-sold to this girl. But Brett was lucky enough to buy a ticket on the other end of the train to sleep in at night. It was a 30-hour train ride, and there was a college student studying English from Suzhou, near Shanghai, that we learned a lot from, and taught much to. We watched South Park, and played President most of the time.
Joker picked us up from the train station in Guiyang at about 1am. His family was celebrating the new year with his father's parents in the suburbs somewhere (it took an hour an a half of driving, wedged between Brett and Brenden and my new AWESOME duffle bag, but I guess the suburbs extend quite far in China...). We were dropped off at a hotel right near Joker's grandparents' place, and spent a night in the miserable cold with poor facilities and a bathroom that stank of rotting bodies.
But the future was bright! The next morning we went exploring the area with Joker and one of his little "brothers" and little "sisters," which were just part of the extended family. We took lots of pictures, and explored a quite temple area, where some old founder of Chinese gongfu practiced, and apparently ascended to heaven Mohammad-style. I think I mentioned how me and Brett both practiced Kenpo. It was funny to see the resemblance in styles, from pictures of the local school. And frankly made me a little nostalgic for those days of my childhood when I could kick above my head without pulling both my hamstrings and groin at once.
There are no white people in Guiyang. I wonder how many people know what its like to stand out so completely in the world. Well, I guess its still nothing compared to Abdul, the black guy in our program, who apparently made a girl cry in Kunming when he waved to her there over break. Still, in Shanghai there are white people. In Guiyang no such thing. And oh--the girls! This area of China has ONLY pretty ones. Some days later, after the new year, we would go to a club, and I swear you could toss a rock into the crowd and if you didn't hit a man it would be a pretty girl unconscious on the floor. And the waiguoren foreigner appeal? Instant conversation opener. Not to mention all the dirty phrases I've picked up. The Chinese like their tofu.
We spent two days celebrating the new year at the grandparents house. Joker's mom taught me how to make kong pao chicken, and his dad and uncle taught me Chinese chess, caligraphy, and painting. We ate the best food I've eaten in China (which, in hindsight, is making me sick of Shanghai food) at a family gathering, getting toasted over and over again, and against our will downing shot after shot of baijiu, the Chinese hard preferred liquor. All we could hope was not to offend the Chinese people and get thrown out on our asses, so we got drunk instead. This wasnt just dinner either. Daily we ate two dinners in grand fashion, plus lunch. By noon every day I wouldn't be able to think straight.
And oh the fireworks! The night after our arrival was the new year! The year of the asian tiger opened with fireworks all over this apparently quiet, poor suburb. If this is what happens out here, I remember thinking, how do Beijing and Shanghai survive their own people on a yearly basis? Although the symphony in the sky mostly covered about half an hour straddling midnight, people shot off rolls of exploding crackers before every meal the next day, and fireworks around the city continued for well a week.
The third day of our arrival we packed into a car with Joker and his dad and headed back to Guiyang, where Joker's parents' house was. There were only two beds, so me, Brett, and Brenden played rocks paper scissors for the single bed. Of course Brenden beat us both, so while he lay in luxury for 4 or 5 days, me and Brett fought for comfort in a bed with short blankets, with a pillow wedged between us to preserve our hetero pride. On the bright side, my netbook, which I bought in Hong Kong, was picking up the wireless network around Joker's fine house all the time, so I was able to do my news searching and keep in contact with people back home.
It would take too long to recount all the glorious escapades of our time in Guiyang proper. Suffice to say, we partied quite a bit, and drank more baijiu under the gaze of Joker's family. We visited and old town full of cool market do-gadgets where I bought a wicked slingshot for 10 kuai, perhaps my single greatest purchase ever, and some other cool souvenirs and gifts for the friends and family I may never EVER see again! We went to the zoo and saw baby bears with boxing gloves and boxing shorts duke it out in entertaining fashion (under the watch of several referees). At the zoo you could pay 40 kuai to throw a live chicken into the siberian tiger pit. It was appalling but also fascinating to watch as a bird was unexpectedly thrown out, to see it land, the largest tiger rise from its resting place and come running, the chicken attempt to get off the ground and then...POW! Two huge paws smashing the chicken to the ground, then a mouth grabbing the chicken's neck from behind. As I walked past the tiger pit, the next chicken, small and looking very nervous, was isolated in the middle of the spectator area.
We also climbed a mountain and saw some of the most ugly-assed and feral monkeys in the world. A sign read "please don't beat the monkeys."
To make a long story short, we managed to find a train ride back home through Joker's "connections," though it appeared quite difficult at first as train rides back to Shanghai were booked through the following week, during which we would be missing classes. We considered plane tickets, but the price was incredible--1700 kuai, or about 250 dollars, one way back to Shanghai. When Joker pulled through with cheap tickets for us all on Saturday morning, enough time to get back to Shanghai on Sunday, we were all grateful. Of course, we partied that night, I drank way more than I should have, and we nearly lost Brett in Guiyang when we were departing the next morning, but all turned out alright in the end as drunken and lost Brett got a taxi to the train station and met us there.
Well, its Tuesday now, and I've been thrown back into the swing of classes and work. I'm late for a meeting now (at 10pm) and barely had time to write all this, but that's the news from this end. Hope all is well with my readers.
-Intrepid Explorer Nick
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