JOLÍN

New Blog

2007-10-14T14:30:00.000+08:00

Dear Readers,

I have finally decided to abandon "lissaswedishblog" and move to a more appropriate name since, um, I don´t live in Sweden anymore nor do I continue to blog about living in Sweden.

So, here´s the new-and-hopefully-improved (at least more appropriately named) blog.

Take care!

rv-ing

2007-09-09T05:37:00.000+08:00

as my mother used to say, "home again, home again, jiggity-jig." jiggity-jig is right. i'm glad to be free of all mobile homes for a while (though my father DOES live in florida which means that i still have to LOOK at them). but, we three survived the 33 day journey...somehow.

we lived here*

inside the rv

the trip...what can i say? there were good moments, and okay moments, and then there were moments in which i seriously considered stabbing myself if only it would bring respite from living in such close quarters (but, really, how much of an improvement would a hospital bring). well, it is something i can chalk up to experience, remember (somewhat) fondly, and never consider doing again!

we started in florida and stopped at various places along the way. i visited iu's campus, escaped for a couple of days to chicago (then road the train to mi) where met up with the family at the beach. we all headed over to benton harbor ostensibly to show carrie where we grew up (though derek and i secretly wanted to race to the attic to see just how small those "midget" doors seem now!)

1335 miami rd. benton harbor, mi

(childhood home)

at some point, a rather nasty storm hit. the power blew right as we had begun to watch a movie. the neighbors (clearly inexperienced, if you were to ask my father) ran their loud generator (probably producing noxious fumes like carbon monoxide, but at least they had air-conditioning) and we found a leak in the slide-out--right above my head. there was also something about a cover missing for the roof. so we feared the refrigerator would fill with water. we "fixed" the problem with some duct tape and tupperware.

later on...

dad and i went out for a day-hike on the AT. but first, a nice drive on the skyline drive. and the car overheated and we thought we were in for it. but, after turning off the air-conditioner, all was well.

of course, there were more things. many more stories. feel free to email and i'll be glad to share any.

*actually, dad's rv is a bit bigger.

Nada

2007-09-04T09:22:00.000+08:00

Long Time, No Write

2007-07-16T19:13:00.001+08:00

So many things to catch up on. Blogger wasn't working for a while in China, and then I got so wrapped up in life that I forgot to relive it here on blogger for all to see =)

Let's start with the most recent events. I am now home in Florida. I arrived just before midnight on the 14th of July. Add a long wait for my bags (there were three flights on the same carousel) and a drive from Orlando and that made for a 2:30 am arrival to Spring Hill. Some emails and a snack later and I was in bed by 3:45 am. I slept until 4 pm, got up, had pizza, unpacked, and then tried to go back to sleep. That was not possible and at 6 am on the 16th I decided to call it morning. And here I am.

Things I have found odd in two days of living in "my" country (a country that seems foreign yet oddly familiar at the same time):

*Drinking tap water? What's that? I won't die? Awesome. It tastes good? Even better.
*Flushing toilet paper down the toilet. I have only successfully remembered to do that three times in the fifty odd times I've gone to the bathroom.
*The height of my father's kitchen counter. It actually comes to my waist. I feel like all of my motions are exaggerated because I've been living in a miniature world for 10 months.
*Riding in a car instead of walking. It does make for quick journeys, but where's the fun?
*Fat-free, no sugar added foods. Having to worry about high fructose corn syrup and other dangerous additives. And people wonder why Americans are so uptight about what they eat--we have so much crap in our food we have to look out for it. The pressure was right there waiting for me at my first meal.
*Air-conditioning. My dad keeps his house at 78 F, and still I feel like I'm living in a polar ice world. Glad I have my nifty fleece.

That's all for now--off to study GRE stuff. Blah.

Seaside Picnic/Sora's Bday

2007-05-31T21:28:00.001+08:00

Last Saturday we met on the beach for a picnic in celebration of Sora's life. We had a blast. First came the presents. Then the Sangria and Subs and Fruit. Then "Catch Ball" and Frisbee. Lots of Frisbee. Then the "Ha Game." Credits to Sujin for coming up with the penalty: writing your name in the sky with your butt-n-hips. Just imagine this with Asian names...you know Korean characters have circles and all....

A Birthday Toast, "Wedding Style"

Two glasses of Neal's Sangria and Sora is goooooooone...

Everyone knows it. Everyone except two curious Chinese men who intently watched the entire event.

Nadeige, runner-up, writes an "a"

Tomorrow evening we're off on the night ferry north to Dalian. Dalian is supposed to be the "Most Suitable for Living" of all Chinese cities. Weihai is one of the top ten, so we'll see how they compare. I'm just in for a change of scenery and, of course, to ride a Chinese ferry at night. Promises to be an adventure.

The Trandem

2007-05-31T21:10:00.000+08:00

We rented The Trandem for a seaside tour. Need I say more?

Rather tardy...

2007-05-22T10:22:00.000+08:00

Sumin's Tuna Creation

Today is the eve of the one monthiversary of my birthday. I never posted any pictures about that event (or, events), so here we go before any more time passes, and I look even more self-glorifying than I fear I do right now.

I have a sinking feeling that I've related this story already, but after a quick search on Blogger I am reassured that I haven't and that I must be losing my mind. That's not particularly comforting. Anywho...to the story.

Friday night before my birthday was the usual--a run with Sujin followed by a super-quick shower and nibble before heading to the Friday French Movie. Afterwards, Nadeige and I shared some chatter. It was a late night and Sujin and I had a date for yoga at 8 am so I wasn't really looking forward to getting up early. I needn't have worried, however. The aforementioned run was a bit strenuous so I had taken a Chinese painkiller a few hours before preparing to sleep. I don't know what it was (but it was sold to me by what appeared to be a legitimate drug store...operative word being "drug," I suppose). From the way I felt, I am assuming it had something aking to speed in it (not that I've taken this drug...basing this assumption on the stories I've heard/movies I've seen). I found myself completely unable to sleep, and worse, in the mood to clean and rearrange my appartment. So, from 2 am until 4.30 am, I swept, mopped, moved all my furniture, prepped dishes for the upcoming party, and listened to some new French cds I had just purchased. I fell asleep sometime after that, with difficulty and was up and roaring to go at 7.30 am. Sujin backed out, and I had that glorious feeling of an extra couple of hours. I used them to accompany Nadeige to Da Fu Yuan and purchase goodies for my birthday gig that evening. We actually made several trips to the store: Da Fu Yuan (for imported goods and French bread), LiQun (for some candies, rice, etc.), open-air vegetable market (for, duh, fruit and veggies) and the open-air fish market (for fish). Between each trip we had a sit-down with a snack and some coffee. haha.

Then began the task of cooking all this food. Nadeige kindly offered her kitchen so that my clean apartment could remain so. We prepared vegatable and fruit sushi, steamed fish, a cheese plate, and some veggie dishes. Meanwhile, Neal was hard at work preparing chicken and pineapple. All arrived around 7 pm and we were eating around 8. It was a crazy scene--Neal and I had moved Nadeige's coffee table and sofa into my apartment to create a dinner table. I also had my two armchairs plus desk chair in the room. Stuff that full with lots of food (mysteriously, everyone showed up with food as well...what can I say, they are Korean and Japanese...they cannot come empty-handed) and 14 people and whew!!

We had some cake--I was asked to bite it, hence the smashed cake-face picture. Shared some champagne. In true Chinese-style, I was asked to make a speech. That was nothing to write home about. After some conversation, the party trickled to an end. Fabulous time!

The spread:

Friends check out the food:

Nadeige's Mystery "Sushi" (our Japanese friends, though they enjoyed it, refused to call this sushi)

Surprise Cake:

Muerda! Muerda! (Nadeige and Maddy smash my face as I take a bite)

Did someone hire a clown?

Sora displays the HUGE champagne bottle (that was just enough for all 14 to have a glass)

Golden Week Pics: Four

2007-05-21T14:30:00.000+08:00

Everyone ready for a tour? Despite my look of disgust, I was really pumped about the tour even though the day didn't start off too hot. We waited for an hour for the bus and then spent another 30 minutes picking up others before rendez-vousing with the other bus and combining forces. The girl behind us was Dutch, Jewel.

Finally, after a full day of touring (the hotsprings, the tomb, the giftshop) we made it to the site of primary interest: The Terracotta Warriors. Excuse the blurriness. I think I was bumped.

From terracotta warriors to living-breathing ones:

Gently nudging in for a shot:

Nadeige desperately fights with her camera settings. You see, it was quite dark and we did have 2 hours to take pictures to our hearts' content. So we did =)

Some headless (not fully reconstructed yet) warriors in Pit 3

From the yard at the Terracotta Wariors, notice the "Don't walk on the grass" sign. Classic.

Though this was our first stop, I give it to you last: the museum/giftshop detailing how the Warriors are made. Though truly fascinating, I was not pursuaded to buy the pricey gifts.

Golden Week Pics: Three

2007-05-21T14:15:00.001+08:00

Beginning of climb up Warrior/Soldier's Path (can't recall but it clearly indicated a rough two hours ahead)

One nearly vertical section:

At the top of the North Peak. Meaningful red ribbons and locks signify something significant, I'm sure. (Such locks and ribbons were conveniently on sale the entire way up). haha. Just kidding, I think the deal is something about promised-couples to hike up and put the lock on the chain and then toss the key off the cliff. Something about eternity.

Safely at the top (did I mention my co-hikee is afraid of heights? Or rather, of plummeting to a death because of them?) and in a moderately secluded area, we dined on our packed lunch of cheese, bread, meat, and dried tomatoes.

One last view of the top before hustled down the stairs.

Golden Week Pics: Two

2007-05-21T13:54:00.000+08:00

One temple section at the Great Mosque, Xi'an

Classic doorway scene at Great Mosque. Nadeige, who has lived in Turkey, found this mosque to be rather "Chinesey" and not so "Mosquey"

Lunch on Muslim Street Market, Xi'an. That's mutton kebabs, mutton pita, and spiced rice cubes--yangroutwar, yangroumapiao, and shenme-shenme-dongxi (what-what-stuff)

Upstairs looking down on entrance to Xi'an's ancient wall.

On top of Old Smokey. I had a dream of scaling the wall and renting bikes to ride around. According to Lonely Planet this should have taken about 2 hours. When we finally found the entrance gate, we encountered a small brawl that a Chinese couple was having with the guards. For whatever reason, they demanded their money back. I was afraid they hadn't been able to climb to their hearts' content so was reluctant to buy entrance. But, after another couple who clearly understood the situation purchased tickets, we figured all must be well. Furthermore, we asked the guard and were assured "keyi" that the bikes were there and it wasn't too late to rent them. Unfortunately, the gate guard was either wrong or knowingly sold us tickets too late in the evening. Though disappointed, we walked along the wall for several hours. I was quite GLAD to find toilets on top (Nadeige had warned me against drinking so much water...but darn it if I wasn't thirsty!!)

Golden Week Pics: One

2007-05-21T13:09:00.000+08:00

5:30 am breakfast Monday morning, Jinan

Jinan Cathedral (with Chinese biker)

Muslim Street Market, Xi'an

(where I purchased Mao's Sayings translated into Spanish)

Spiced Rice Noodle Cubes (with fiery cumin sauce)

Golden Week

2007-05-18T11:30:00.000+08:00

Officially: May 1- May 7.
My Golden Week began April 29 with a crazy NIGHT train ride from Weihai to Jinan. If I had been able to move more freely, I would have considered snapping a photo to document the insanity, but... Imagine the scene: Nadeige and I boarded the train in Weihai at 8.22 pm along with several hundred others. Having attempted to purchase beds in the sleeper car (and having failed despite visiting the ticket office a mere 20 minutes after the tickets officially went on sale), we folded our bodies into the not-so-comfortable hard-seats. Sitting across from us (benches accomodate 2 people on one side, three on the other with shared legroom) was a lady and her husband who were travelling to America. Translation: big-ass suitcase in our legroom. Remember this is a night train. The lights remained on the entire night. People held conversations as if it were 3 pm not am. The train stopped about every hour and more people boarded. You may wonder, on a completely full train, how is it possible that more people could board? Well, they happened to purchase "standing room" tickets. Which means they were in the aisles, hotwater area, bathrooms, and doors. And, because it was night, many of them decided to pop a squat for a short snooze. We all tried to snooze and every so often someone needed to smoke, or go to the bathroom...this caused the domino effect of everyone having to wake up and move to let the person by. Or, maybe more people got on and the situation had to be adjusted to make room for them. The train ride was a short one--8 pm to 5 am. We arrived in Jinan, and I felt remarkably energetic for the hour or so that I slept. I had found it more amusing to watch the scene develop on the train. Geez...I still can't get over how crazy it was.

We took a taxi from the train station to Shandong University (our mother campus). Sat in the lobby of the dormitory for foreign exchange students and ate a scrumptious breakfast of toast, boiled eggs, cheese, and coffee. Oh, I think there might have been some sweet bread as well. At about 8 am, we loaded back up and walked around the city. Visited a Catholic Cathedral (I use this term loosely) and then decided that our backpacks were too heavy for our tired bodies. Back to the dorm where we left the bags and set out again to chill around the city. At about 11 am we met up with friends, Eric and Sung-Fen for a chat and some lunch. And I was a lazy bum and took a glorious 30 minute nap! A little cheese and red wine later... we were on our way to the airport.

Our flight was delayed so we had yet another opportunity to nap. One that we seized by accident and nearly missed the announcement to board for Xi'an. By the time we got to Xi'an, took the airport bus to the city, took a taxi to our hostel, we were hungry and very tired. Had a simple meal that, from the price, you'd have thought it was extravagant. This is one thing that I do believe I have had enough of--getting ripped off by people who think I am a tourist and not a Chinese-salary-earning teacher. But, anyways. Called it an early evening.

Woke up Tuesday morning early and set out for the city. I figured out the maps and buses so we public-transported it to the city. Attempted to get information about climbing Hua Shan, a sacred mountain, and were not entirely successful. Well, I suppose it depends on what you would classify as success: we got lots of information. Unfortunately, it was all different information and most of it contradicted previously received information. We let this slide and headed to the Muslim area where we browsed the winding street of goodies, saw the Mosque, and ate lunch (street food). We also picked up some snacks for the upcoming trek up the mountain (we originally intended to do this Tuesday night so we could watch the sunrise, but we were told this wasn't possible by a couple of people and that it was by a few others AND not wanting to take the 2 hour bus ride out there just to find out that we were stuck for the night, we decided to hike it Wednesday).

Wednesday woke up around 5.30 am to be out the door at 6 am to be at the bus-stop for the first bus to Hua Shan. We were successful and settled into our seats, drank our powdered coffee, and had some breakfast. Couple hours later we were at the foot of the mountain only to learn that we were not at the entrance at which we wished to be. Begin: 1.5 hrs of trying to get information on how to get to the other entrance/walk to the other entrance. End: said time. We gave up and decided to hike up the Soldier's Path. Translation: 1600m of elevation laid out in stairs. They should have this pre-programmed into the next version of the StairMaster. I swear. Nadeige and I shared the load of our day pack--approx 4 liters of water, 2 cameras, 1 bottle of sunscreen, 4 bananas, 2 apples, 2 boxes of juice, 1 bag of dried fruit, 1 back of cashews, 1 block of cheese, 1 loaf of bread, and perhaps some other things that were heavy but I cannot recall at this moment. Now that I list these things, it doesn't seem like a lot, but it sure FELT like a lot when my legs lugged it up the mountain. The best news of the day: the pack only got lighter as we climbed and ate!! =)

I was fairly disappointed with what was on top of the mountain, namely, an outrageously expensive hotel and a couple of theme-park quality restaurants. We parked our fannies and ate our lunch then took a couple of photos and then tried to head to one of the other five peaks (we were on the north peak). For our efforts, we were herded into a line of people by a few confused boys in uniforms. After 30 minutes of standing in this line without moving, an official-looking man barked something at the confused boys and they attempted to make a crowd of about 200 people form a three-person wide line. HA! hahahahaha. Long story short: we were told to go back down the mountain and we didn't fight because we were just too tired by the frustrations of the day and climb. The line that we were in was a line to the cable-cars. So, we had to take those down. Again, no complaint there as I was ready to get a-way from these people and the cars seemed to be the fastest route to that end. Once we were down the mountain, we took the shuttle bus to the bus-stop where we waited almost 2 hours for a bus back home. Exhaustion was setting in and when news came that one bus was broken and we'd have to wait for another, I really was beyond caring. So much that I didn't pay attention to the fact that the replacement bus was a city bus. Translation: the usual 2 hour ride turned into 3.5 hrs on hard plastic seats. Same price as the fast and comfortable bus, by the way. So, all in all, Wednesday was probably the MOST frustrating day of them all.

Thursday--another early morning to take the tour to the Terracotta Soldiers, some hotspring pools, a mound of dirt a.k.a. a tomb, and some souvenir stops. Once we actually got to the soldiers, we were amazed that so little had been uncovered in the 30 years or so since the discovery. Took the necessary photos (a task not quite so easy since the lighting in most of the pits were quite dim) in the two-hour alotted time, and then headed back to the city.

Friday we slept in, purchased our lunch at the grocery store, and then headed to the Melody Hotel to take the shuttle back to the airport. Sitting across the aisle from us was a couple whose flight time was 7 pm and who were on the 11 am shuttle. This fact gave me a moment's worry and then Nadeige said they were crazy and we would be fine. And we were. Back to Jinan where we crashed at Eric's place. Had a mild fight, mostly from the irritation and exhaustion that comes from a week of travelling with the entire Chinese population, but solved it by a calm dinner at a Chinese version of a Hibatchi-style restaurant, a French movie, and a bottle of red wine. During the screening of the movie, I received no less than 32 bug bites!

Saturday's mission was finding Nadeige a new pair of jeans (the zipper on her last pair was broken). Getting downtown proved a bit difficult as our first set of directions had us headed south (we wanted to go north). Fortunately, we realized we were going in the wrong direction, and I asked the man sitting next to us for help. How lucky we were that I asked when I did (two stops later we needed to change buses) and that he DID know how to get us to the right place--he was even getting off at our stop. So, the trip took a bit longer than expected but we were safely downtown and we spent the next 3 hours or so perusing the area. Nadeige got her jeans and I some shirts (several 2007 World Cup leftovers!! =). A funny story: we stopped at one shop on the sidewalk and asked the price of a shirt. The lady, avoiding our question, replied that nothing in her store was big enough for us foreigners. Saturday night we had some bruchette (BBQ) and a good 5 hours of French conversation...for me that meant 5 hours ofFrench listening exercises with short bits translated/discussed in Spanish to test my comprehension.

Sunday, another low-key day. Moseyed around in the morning. Packed (a great feat for both of us as we had purchased a bit of things during the week). Met up with another lot of French people. More French listening exercises. Trip to buy cheese. Then, we had more bruchette. This time it was close to a river/sewer-like body of water. I'm still puzzled by what it was. It looked pretty dirty but the water WAS moving and people were washing their clothes in it and filling up water-jugs (this scared me). However, it smelled a bit like a sewer. Anyways, we sat at miniature tables next to this water and had some BBQ-ued squid and beer. It was good. We thought that we had lost track of time and we rushed back to the appartment, grabbed our stuff, hopped in a cab and got halfway to the train station before I realized it was an hour earlier than we had thought. So, we had some time to kill in which I managed to amuse myself by randomly flipping through the French-English dictionary and writing down the amusing words I found. Nadeige rolled her eyes but patiently corrected all my pronunciation errors (she is an incredibly patient teacher, I swear).

One last evening of travelling--12 midnight to 7 am. This time, there was no big suitcase, and I had the window seat (a.k.a. instant headrest) so I actually got several hours of sleep. Nadeige fared worse, but we were both awake for the morning news that was kindly blasted through the train at 6.00 am to awaken the masses. When we got back to Shanda, we were amused to find that the latest progress on the main gate included a fence completely barring entrance! Even the taxi driver laughed at how crazy this was.

2007-04-20T18:45:00.000+08:00

Finally some pictures from Easter weekend. So, we hiked up what the Chinese here call a mountain. I think the epithet may be a bit generous, especially by Appalachia's standards...but, anyways. It was a pleasant hike to the top. Once we arrived, we found a nice little stone table where we squatted down and munched on some of Rachel's delish homemade hot-crossed buns (with New Zealand butter!). It was quite a treat. Benjamin found a black lady bug with red spots as pictured below. Ben's finger, my knee, and the bugaboo:

A shrine that was also at the top of the mountain:

The group checking out the location:

The way down was a bit more treacherous (including a couple incidents where I could see myself plummeting down...). But, much to our delight, everyone's shoe grips withstood the exertion and we made it down safely. At the end of the hike down, we stumbled upon the legitimate entrance to the park/mountain area (which we had bypassed so as not to pay any entrance fees, if they applied). In this area, stands this structure. Lopsided and certainly no cathedral, but noteworthy, if only because it is so utterly imperfect:

After the hike we headed "out west" to a yummy restaurant in a yurt. There was milk tea and mutton and dancers, even an area to lie down afterwards. For the first time in a long time, I felt at home.

2007-04-16T14:12:00.000+08:00

Blogger is being really funky and not letting me attach photos. So, sorry those of you who enjoy pictorial stimulation.

Let's see...

Birthday is right around the corner. My brother, Derek, informed me several months ago that this birthday would be more unique than any I have had or will have. Ever. Why? This year I turn twenty-three on the twenty-third of April. How's that for snazz? I'm excited though I've nothing of particular import planned as it falls on a Monday =(

This past weekend I celebrated the THIRTIETH birthday of our dear french friend, Nadeige. Friday night we did the low-key dinner party with curry, fish, flowers, champaigne, wine, 2 cakes, a pinata...the whole bit. I made the mistake of making the pinata into the guest of honor's favorite animal...which led to a pinata that was raided and not beaten. Half the fun, but I suppose the results are somewhat similar. Saturday morning some of Nadeige's fellow countrymen trained in from Jinan. We met for apperitif at 6.30 and then headed to the night market where we supped and got royally ripped off, despite the fact that we had a Chinese woman in tow. One thing is for certain, we won't be returning to that particular tent. What I did gain from this experience was a renewed interest in seafood. We had some oysters that were incredible, so now I am on a mission to purchase and cook some!

It was a fun weekend, though I did not get much sleep and came home after class on Monday morning, quickly ate breakfast, and slept for 2.5 hours!!

Saturday Morning

2007-04-07T13:35:00.000+08:00

This morning as I was walking on campus, I noticed the workmen who are building the new student dorms. They were hanging from little seats, chatting, and sanding the newly plastered walls...WITH SANDPAPER AND THEIR BARE HANDS. I couldn't believe it. I mean, geez.

Easter hiking trip fell through. The weather never particularly warmed up and all interested parties (including me) were feeling that getting ill at this point in the semester would not be fun. Not that getting ill is ever fun, but whatever. I think we made the right decision since no one has appropriate gear and it is now pretty cold, windy, and raining.

Yesterday, I zipped out of class and then met up with Wayne and Lori for lunch and to read the stations of the cross. Spent the afternoon with them and found out the Lori is one of the few others INTJ's in the world. We shared some amusing tales about getting the Myers-Briggs and learning that we would be good in management... a fact which we seriously doubt since we don't like being the end-all and be-all of decisions. After the relaxing afternoon, I zipped home to attend Nadeige's screening of Le Papillon. It was an excellent movie and I think I understood no more than 15 percent of what was being said. AND still it was good. So, check it out if you get a chance. Then, Nadeige and I stayed up and chatted until well into the morning--nearly 3:30 am. Towards the end, my words were barely sensical in English, let alone my attempts at verbalizing in Spanish. Seven hours of thinking/speaking and whew!!

Tomorrow, for Easter, we will meet in a group and hike up a hill/"mountain" to hold service on top of the mountain. Should be fuuuuunn!!

HAPPY EASTER, EVERYONE!!

Last Weekend...

2007-04-03T18:25:00.000+08:00

was an absolute blast. Friday night I met up with what was scheduled to be 3 students and turned out to be 6 to play ping-pong. The three extras were beginners, so I am no longer the new kid on the ping-pong block. Which is nice. We played for a couple of hours during which began an incredible lightning storm. It was really beautiful. After ping-ponging, we grabbed dinner at the on-campus restaurant and then parted ways. I headed back to my apartment and chilled for the remainder of the evening... this entailed a nice cozy stretch on the couch with the book of the week Les Miserables. I am fairly certain that either parts of the book have been edited out or I fell asleep while still turning the pages. Regardless, I am enjoying the read much more than The Hunchback of Notre Dame which I shamelessy abandoned after falling asleep twice while trying to read the first page. Perhaps I will attack it with renewed vigor after I complete Les Mis.

Saturday morning Neal and I showed our new super-cool French-Spanish-Turkish-and now-Chinese speaking French friend around the city, stocked up on things for a party we were planning on hosting that evening. It turned out being quite fun. We made a pasta bake and had salad and some zucchini for dinner. Invited Nadeige, Julie, and Rory. Small crowd, but turned out to be a blast. Upon reflection, I wonder if such nights are un-lived college days. Like the parties I never cared to go to minus the throwing up and the sex. Just pure fun. Fantastic. Lots of laughter. We played the infamous "Circle of Death" which is a ridiculous game involving cards and beer, then a French game I will call "tops." It is rather simple: once everyone has an open bottle of beer, you place your bottle cap, upside down, on top of the bottle. You take turns throwing your bottle cap in an attempt to knock off a friend's. If you miss, you drink; if you make it, friend drinks. Obviously, the worse shot you are the more you drink and the worse your aim gets. Another friend joined the party just in time for one round of beer pong, Chinese style. We set up on our tea tables. I find it amusing that it took coming to China in order to be exposed to this game. Haha.

Sunday was pretty low-key (don't get any ideas from the above story, I was feeling fine). Had my second French lesson. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep my mind out of the gutter and many of the words sounded vulgar to me which caused several spells of inexplicable laughter. Nadeige certainly knows how to test us. She had us repeating dialogues without having read a text, just listening, trying to comprehend, responding, and repeating. I found myself trying to "read" the lines in my memory but couldn't find them there. I think that this method will definitely require extra diligence on my part as it doesn't involve any visual learning techniques. Perhaps as I get better, I will be able to spell what I hear in my head and read those prompts, but until then...it will be rough going. But, it is super fun, and I am very thankful to have the opportunity to not only practice my Spanish with her, but to also get some foundations in French!!

Still waiting on updates from Honduras. My mind has been on little else. I have already tried compiling a list of the necessities so that I can begin to collect my thoughts, etc. Geez...I know these next few months will whiz by, but sometimes the days are agonizingly long!!

The Swimming Pool

2007-03-25T08:06:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I finally made it to the pool--a task I've had on my list since my brand new bathing suits arrived by express mail a few weeks ago. Let's recap the experience.

I was already downtown and hopped in a cab (I had previously picked up a business card from the hotel so I could just show it to the driver instead of having to talk). Of course, he wanted to talk and asked the three big questions: 1. What country am I from? 2. How long have I been in China? and 3. Do I like Chinese food?

He added in a few extra for spice--why I wanted to go to the hotel and I told him I wanted to swim (having just learned this word from a friend...). He seemed to find this rather amusing and dropped me off in front of the pool doors. I was impressed with his taxi-knowledge.

So, I walked in and the attendant asked if I had a swimming card. I had previously decided that I would swim in the pool to test it out before investing in the 300 rmb for 12 trips dealio. I was quite relieved to see that they had goggles for sale since I had failed to purchase any elsewhere. They also had swim caps which were tempting until she told me they were 15 rmb which I thought quite expensive and said I'd pass. Then, she rattled off some barely indistinguishable Chinese. I guessed that I HAD to buy a cap and asked if this was the case. It was. They had quite the selection of caps and I finally settled on an electric blue Lycra-like one that matches my newly purchased goggles. I got my locker key and some towels and pushed my way through the large door that, thankfully, had some English indicating it was the lockerroom...for women.

The locker situation seemed rather straightforward, but after several failed attempts at opening the small door I was more than relieved that the locker and I had no other company. I took a deep breath, plead that the locker cooperate, and tried again. Success!! It was really quite odd. The key is basically this flat piece of metal that slides into the "lock." There is a small metal part that protrudes from the right side of the lock that you must deftly pull out while pushing the key in with your other hand. Then, the key "jumps" in the lock and the door swings open. Inside the locker (and this is what I love about China) there were several hangers waiting for my clothes, flip flops for my feet (in a separate compartment), and a sign indicating the rules of locker usage.

I got suited up and managed to offend only one other person (her look was telling...it wasn't until after showering with my suit that I saw the sign NOT to do this and understood her disgust at my naivete). Up the stairs to the pool. Stood at the "foot pool," which still seems like an incredibly BAD idea to me... you know, standing water to wash your feet? I shuddered, searched for a way around, found none. Took a deep breath, imagined all the warts that would be on my feet in a couple of days, and croseed as quickly as possible.

There were quite a few children and maybe 10 adults. I was delighted that there were some lanes out and that the largest section of the pool was reserved for adults. There was no lifeguard on duty, but a man in a white cotton jumpsuit supervising the rowdy children in the absence of their parents. And now, I understand why pools don't allow children to swim without supervision...a rule that I hated as a child and know think is a pretty grand idea. These kids were, well, kids. All over the place!!

The temperature of the water was perfect. I always dislike the pools that are heated for comfort at first dip but then are way too hot if you decide to exercise after adjusting to the pool environment. This pool was a bit cool at first, but remained refreshing for the entire hour that I swam. I got out of the pool only to be followed (through the foot pool) by a man who had been eyeing me the entire hour, had even tried to talk to me (to which my reply was an over emphatic pointing at my ear plugs). He was impressed with my swimming, I guess. I retrieved Noam Chomsky from my locker and returned to the lounge chairs upstairs. The attendent told me that these lounge chairs are only for sleeping, so I couldn't incline the back to a sitting position. That's cool, I'll just read horizontally.

After some Noam, back to the pool. The odd man was still there and now my ear plugs did not phase him. He wanted to race this way and that. I consented to one freestyle 50 m race. I beat him, though not without great effort. I am soooo out of shape!! Towards the end I felt like a flailing victim of a boat wreck.

Swam 30 mins more (trying to get as much out of my 40 rmb entrance fee as possible) before feeling the extreme tiredness descend upon me. I could have fallen asleep right there in the pool if my mind hadn't reminded me this would have been a less than good idea. I hit the showers (after crossing the foot pool again, of course) and ignored the "Our work is really lack water" sign and availed myself of the endless scorching hot water. I think I clocked in at about 15 mins. I was DIVINE!!

When I was ready to leave, the same man was, guess what? Waiting for me!! Just my luck!! Exercise and picking up a man...NOT!! I refused an invitation to dinner saying that I already had plans to eat with a friend. He asked if it was a boyfriend. I looked at him and then answered that it was. His steps slowed and I continued down the hill to catch a taxi home.

Overall, I think the pool was rather fabulous. The foot pool, not so much. We'll see what happens there. But, the pool is about a 15 rmb taxi ride from home, plus the 40 rmb entrance fee, and the taxi home. It makes for an expensive trip. There is one closer that has more limited access that I hope to try this week...keep you posted.

(sorry for no pictures)

Up We Go

2007-03-21T10:14:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday, the new Americanos, Thomas, and I made our way up some mountains. Cool. Thomas and I are trying to plan out a 3-day fast n hike over Easter weekend. By "we" I mean that it occurred to me one afternoon that it would be fun and two hours later I approached Thomas (Weihai's hiking expert) about suggesting areas/leading the hike. The ridge that we went up will probably be part of that hike, so I guess you could call this a test run on fully-fueled energetic bodies. Not a complete simulation, but it will do.

It was hard going for the first little bit...right after we passed this calm little Bessie cow. I guess I've seen cows before, but these gals. Whew! Never knew udders and teats were that...large?

After climbing up (there was some grappling with rocks and branches), we got to the first peak. Here's Thomas pointing out the military base a ways off that forbids hiking around its perimeter.

And here's the lubberly view. Through the haze (fogginess + pollution), you should be able to see some land--that's Liugong Island. I think it was once a military base for the British. There is a ferry that hauls out there, but I haven't made the trip yet.

We kept "ridge hopping" towards a little abandoned building. When we got there, we were uber excited about the Chinese characters carved into the cement.

Here are Rory and Julie--I took this shot because I felt it so "Sound of Music." Austria anyone? On the way down, we bumped into a graveyard and Thomas told us of a heartwarming story about a man who led a group through his people's burial grounds (which was forbidden) and when he came back discovered that his entire family had been murdered. Though it was interesting to see such a place--the Chinese build these mounds and then put the urn of ashes inside--it was still a cemetary. And cemetaries, Chinese or not, are CREEE-PYYYY!! We continued on and found some nice level, soft ground where we could pitch our tents. All in all, I say it was a successful outing.

Yay, new friends!!!

A Mighty Wind

2007-03-18T20:41:00.000+08:00

A couple of weeks ago (March 4th), a huge storm blew through town. The Sunday started off rather normal with fairly mild temperatures, but by 2 pm it was already getting cold and the wind was picking up. It was snow-icing by early evening and the wind became so strong that Neal and I had to turn on the subtitles to an episode of THE OFFICE that we were trying to enjoy. By morning, the destruction was rather incredible:

(remnants of a banner)

There were rumors of broken windows as well. I didn't see any for myself, but I can't say that I am surprised. When the wind gets a-blowing, I feel like I live in a house with cellophane panes. The wind was still quite strong--47 mph at 5 am Monday morning. No clue about later on in the day when I ventured down to the beach. I did return thoroughly frozen and wind-burned. I had to break down and purchase some chapstick a couple of days later.

(beach area. note green "windblock" fence in background)

(pier...decided NOT to walk out there)

2007-02-23T10:15:00.000+08:00

I have just fallen in love. Her name is irrelevant...

bet that got some eyebrow raises.

haha.

Well, like I said in an earlier post (or at least I think I said in an earlier post), when Dad and I were in Shanghai we watched music videos on TV. And I saw one by Sinead O'Connor. "Nothing Compares to You" I must say, OUT OF THIS WORLD.

So, when I got back to Weihai, I looked her up on Yahoo! Music radio. And there's a station devoted to her music and to similar artists. And I love it. I love her. It's incredible. She's incredible. Maybe a bit quirky (if you read her bio, which I did). But, fabulous, really. So, now I have two guilty music pleasures: Billy Joel and Sinead O'Connor. Oh, man, three...Prince. I'm sinking, people.

Meet the Forkers

2007-02-23T08:47:00.000+08:00

Yes, two weeks ago, just 5 months and six days after arriving here in Weihai, I purchased two pieces of *gasp* western cutlery--forks. Here is a lovely picture of both of them, side-by-side on my favorite (and also new) kitchen towel.

The situation surrounding the purchase was one, intimate dinner party. I was planning on serving Italian food, courtesy of a rather expensive trip to the downtown supermarket Da Ren Fa (think a lesser version of a Super Wal-Mart) where the shelves were once again stocked with cheese--a necessity in Italian cuisine. I also managed to scrounge up some Italian bread, olives, pine nuts, dried basil and tomato paste. (I had already purchased some FARFALLE which, as everyone knows is the superior pasta shape both in terms of appearance and feel on the palate, in an earlier trip.)

Thursday came (aka the eve of the party) when I suddenly realized that I had no "proper" Italian-able utensils!! A quick trip to LiQun (the smaller, closer, and much inferior market by Shandong University) thrust me into a bittersweet moment as I knew that, after purchasing said forks, I would have gut-wrenching urges to use the oh-so familiar objects. And so I have, much to my shame.

Eating with forks (or, rather with A fork) once again is like becoming re-acquainted with an old friend. Like, "Oh, hi, there you are. You haven't changed at all..." And suddenly, you are overwhelmed with those feelings that tell you how right this feels just because it is falling into something that was once so much a part of you, perhaps even ingrained into your making. Of course, you do not realize this indellible influence until it is completely striken from your life and, after some time, reintroduced. Your new life calls for adaptation which you readily undergo. You have shoved your association with such objects into the back of your mind (this act, of course, not consciously being done). Then, one day, five months and six days later, you are eating and you realize something feels different. Not new. Not un-familiar, but different. And, you look down and see a fork nestled into the pit between your thumb and your index finger. You'd almost forgotten how the cool metal feels in that nook. And life is good.

I must say, though, that I still reach for my chopsticks. Chopstickedness has its distinct advantages, beyond the pure novelty of it. For one, it extends your arm length by at least 5 inches, making grabbing for food quite easy. Two, the ends are not normally sharp so you don't have to worry about accidentally poking yourself if you err in your delivery. Three, the blunt ends allow for easy transportation, if you are so inclined to carry a personal set with you. In fact, I've had moments in which I wonder whether I will feel the need to carry a set with me if/when* I go to restaurants upon my return to the U.S. The list continues, but I'll let you ponder the rest.

I wonder what other areas of my life have fallen into this fork/chopstick category, things or actions that I have set aside for this year but that are still there, a part of me. How will these two lives--my past and now my present--intertwine in the future? Who's to say...

*I phrased this in this hypothetical manner because, after living here a year, I do not anticipate ever enjoying restaurant-going again. Here, you walk into a restaurant, the staff takes your order, they bring out your food pipping hot, you share the dish among your friends, tea is flowing, and the staff never speaks to you or encourages you to order more or to eat with more speed. It is pleasant. And, you get to sit on heated floors in many places. That's a perfect feeling in the middle of winter...

New Year's Day

2007-02-20T09:03:00.000+08:00

We joined in the Chinese way and bought fireworks and set them off. By "we" I mean some foreigners here in Weihai. I had no part in the purchasing and a very minimal bit in the setting off. I held two sticks that looked like sparklers but shoot little pencil-nib "rockets." The whole affair was somewhat scary as several guys were setting things off all over the place. After some burning thing shot at my leg, I was pretty much ready to call it quits.

Rachel also made two pinatas per my request (there was a birthday party earlier in the week in which pinatas were present...our bats were chopsticks and we weren't blindfolded, so you can imagine the fun there). This time around we had a proper plastic bat replete with duct tape in all the right places. We played soccer with the remnants before going inside to thaw.

Dominick the Donkey

2007-02-19T10:49:00.000+08:00

Best Valentine's Day present ever, perhaps only trumped by a real, live donkey. Of course, then I would have a donkey living in my apartment which could present some unique issues. Like, I know donkeys are sure-footed, but can they handle walking up four flights of polished granite stairs? And, if the hotel managers frown at a streetcat turned domestic housecat, what would they do if I led a donkey in here? Yep, definitely best that this donkey's stuffed and not full-blown hee-hawing real.

I named him after the Christmas song by the same name. I don't really like the name Dominick. But, I do like the song. You should look it up and listen. It's a classic. It's Dominick the Donkey. Lalala the Italian Christmas Donkey. Hee-haw-hee-haw.

Travels with Dad: Part Three

2007-02-19T09:25:00.000+08:00

The promised photos from Sun Yat-Sen

At the bottom ready to climb:

A whole lotta stairs:

Stepping off the train in Suzhou, I immediately realized that the short ride had brought with it a rather drastic weather change. We were now in a cold drizzle. Everything around was wet and there were mud puddles as far as the eye could see. Emma (my student and travel guide) asked whether it had been raining in Nanjing. It had not. But, it had been raining in Suzhou--for two weeks and counting! Cold rain . . .

After a long wait, we finally got on the correct bus and were headed to Emma's grandmother's home. The house has been in the family for several generations and it is an old temple. Emma explained that it is what Chinese people call "a deep house" because there is the front section of houses, then a door to more houses, and another, and another . . . until you are at the heart of the complex. When you are trying to imagine this place, this a large gate/door at the front with more inner walls/gates/doors each one revealing what once was rooms but is now sectioned off houses. Emma's father cooked lunch for us. It was an enormous amount of food and pretty much the best Chinese food I've ever had (and probably will have). Some soup, fish, veggie dishes, and BBQ pork . . . mouth watering just thinking about it.

After lunch we headed to a cultural museum. Took one of those bicycle pulling rides around some sidestreets before the men decided to blow off his end of the deal, throw a fit in the street, and scream at us for about 10 minutes demanding extra money. It was a bit scary. On to the Suzhou Opera House which is the most famous in China. Beijing Opera is a subunit of it--all of the masters were trained in Suzhou. Saw lots of photos and costumes of famous characters. The interesting thing in all of this: none of the costumes were the originals. Everything was a reproduction. I have noticed this about quite a few things in this country--whereas an American would want to see the original and perhaps falling apart original, the Chinese seem more want to have a brand new replica. Different ideas of beauty, I guess. At a building adjacent to the Opera House we ran into some gig where old people were gathered to listen to a man and a woman give a performance that involved some singing. Apparently, though, the speech was indecipherable--Emma had no idea what they were saying.

The next morning we rose up bright and early--6:30 am to meet Emma for breakfast and then a day's worth of garden touring. The owner of the restaurant at which we ate completely ignored my request for hot tea and then told Emma that my Chinese was "quite standard." I think that was meant as an insult.

First on the agenda was the Humble Administrator's Garden. Quite large, quite beautiful, quite overwhelming. Here's a picture of the front part of the garden. I took many more photos but all look pretty much like this one--fog in the background, a pretty building, some water (perhaps a reflection) . . . you get the idea. I was still freaking freezing despite the fact that I had more clothes on than a Chinese baby (on bottom: underwear, my long underwear, a pair of my father's long underwear, jeans, two pairs of socks, winter trail running shoes. on top: bra, t-shirt, long sleeved shirt, long underwear top, sweater, fleece with hood, scarf, coat, hat, gloves). So, it was a wet cold that just seeped in to the bones.

After the Hum. Admin., we went to the Lion's Head Garden which had lots of rock formations. I think it was built by a monk and was a monastery at some point. Then, it was donated to the city? Spent a good bit of time walking through the mazes of rocks. Emma and I lost my dad and were frantically looking for him for about 30 mins before I spied him all the way across the lake!!
Here is one of Suzhou's many bridges--you know, the city used to have very few streets and travel was mostly done on boats through the canals.

In the evening on day 2, we hopped on the train to Shanghai. This train left much to be desired. When we finally found our seats up on the second floor, a couple was already quite moved in and attached to them. I showed her our tickets and said that the seats were ours to which she said, "It doesn't matter. I don't want to move. Find different seats." Okaaaay. A little while later we were in Shanghai. Met up with another student and went out to dinner . . . a noodle shop, much to my father's delight. He had been asking for noodles since his arrival and this was the first time I gave in. After dinner, we took the new and uber-awesome subway (there were two layers of safety doors and televisions) to our hotel where we checked in. Dad and I were too wired to go to bed right then, despite the fact that we had to be up early for another flight, so we watched some music videos. It was a combination of Madonna's hits and Sinead O'Connor's, "Nothing Compares 2 U." I had never seen the music video and thought it was, well, spectacular. And then, we went to bed. The morning brought the most expensive taxi ride yet for China and another delayed flight at the airport. I don't remember much of the plane issues, but I do remember getting on and off the flight and waiting around. A lot. I feel asleep somewhere in there and was completely disoriented when I woke up and thought we hadn't yet taken off. So that tells you how sleepy I was . . . didn't even feel the take-off!

We had a week left in Weihai and mostly just took small trips downtown. Dad got a massage at a Korean place and I translated for him. It was really interesting to see the lady at work. She even stood on my father's back to massage it! And then, as fast as he came, he was gone.

Travels with Dad: Part Two

2007-02-07T23:09:00.000+08:00

Early on the 20th we took a taxi out to the airport. Funny story, actually. We got out of the apartment building with all of our stuff and as we exited the complex there was a taxi just magically sitting there. So, I walked up and looked inside and the guy appeared to be sleeping. I tapped on the glass and he was sleeping!! He woke up just long enough for me to ask him to take us to the airport and for him to reply, "Bu yao."

Got to the airport, went through security, and then sat in the waiting area as our plane was mysteriously not ready to leave. We were heading south and apparently the weather was bad. When we arrived in Nanjing a little after noon, there was a woman standing there holding a sign to greet us and take us to the hotel. Sometimes, I just love private schools and their fancy-schmancy airport reception. Unlike Beijing, Nanjing didn't seem to have an airport shuttle and the taxi would have cost about 120 rmb, so I was glad for the free ride. Off to the two-star hotel which was pretty much downtown...another deal we snagged through connections...and then off to explore the city. Found an Indian joint and had the best baingan bhartha of my life. The mango lassi was also delish. And, they had an "observation deck" to watch the cook make the bread in the authentic brick oven. Oh, and the tables...fabulous!! You see, the owner had been running into difficulty explaining to his Chinese customers what spices were in each dish. So, he made these tables with sections and in each section he put a different ingredient. Covered the whole deal with a glass top and made for himself a nice point-n-tell menu. May sound a bit weird, but he pulled it off well and it was even kinda classy.

I feel like I am mimicking the writer's voice of Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City. I apologize...I guess I've been getting a little too much of that show.

We spent a couple of days in Nanjing, mostly just hanging out. We tackled the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum in a day and then were planning to head to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial. But, as the private car was coming to pick us up, we got a call from Sir Barry to say that the place was closed for renovations for the next year! Thought about taking a paddle boat ride down the river, but it was a royal rip-off and I refused to play the prodigal tourist. Below SHOULD be (yet it won't load though the computer thinks that it has...maybe in a later post) a photo from the Sun Yat-Sen. This is a before photo--we then headed through the gates you see behind us and up the 364 or something stairs straight to the top. There are various other temples and small museums on the grounds of this huge park and we stopped at a few of them before I declared that I was Sun Yat-Senned Out. I succesfully managed to get directions to a bus headed back downtown and we hopped on it in search of some good Chinese food. We ended up in the food court in the basement of a mall eating sub-par Korean food. But, we had a good chat and rehydrated of the free water that they begrudingly gave us. And, since we had wandered into the mall, we decided to partake in consumerism. Our goal: a sporty bathing suit for me--you know the Speedo lap-swimming kind. What we found were really short-torsoed imitations of Speedos--the Extra-Extra large had a torso length of 165 cm. Someh0w, I just couldn't fit my 179 cm torso into that, much to the disbelief of the saleslady. And I even told her how tall I am. Oh well. So, we failed at that attempt.

Next morning I visited the Oxford English Academy to interview for prospective work. This is the company that was giving us the "luxury" treatment with the car rides, etc. Not too shabby. Met the infamous Sir Barry, CEO of the gig. We had dinner with a group of employees at a nice Chinese restaurant and I had a 2.5 hr conversation with the head teacher there. Very refreshing to talk to someone so gung-ho about his job and life. I was hooked. So next year, maybe Nanjing?

On the morning of the 23rd, the driver took us to the train station where we hopped an express to Suzhou. A mere two-and-a-half hours later, we were standing in front of one of my students and on our way to her family's home...

Travels with Dad: Part One

2007-01-31T13:59:00.000+08:00

Begin 17 Jan. 2007 with an afternoon flight out of Weihai airport. Flew to Beijing where we took the shuttle bus downtown to meet up with my cousin, Josh. After a short rest, we took a black cab over to eat Indian food. It was my first Indian food since, well, my last visit to Beijing in October. Moseyed back to Josh's place where we watched the film Mean Girls. I found myself rather relieved for not having to experience such things in high school because I was either a.) oblivious to such things or b.) they didn't exist at Hillsboro.

We did some light touring on the 18th--the Drum and Bell Tower where we tackled some stairs:

and saw some (duh) drums and bells:

We ate some scrumptious Mediterranean pizza for lunch in one of Beijing's many hutongs. That pretty much made my day and I don't remember the rest of the afternoon, except for the fact that we saw some people ice-skating, if you want to call it that--perhaps push-chair skating would be more accurate?--on a partially thawing cannal AND that we witnessed the acrobatic show. The only thing better than the acrobatic show at full price (120-150 rmb) is the acrobatic show at a serious discount, which we managed to snag through a friend of Josh's. She-yeah!

The Ups and Downs of Exams

2007-01-28T18:22:00.000+08:00

With exams come and gone, I feel like I should reflect upon the experience which was a mixture of delight and terror. The delight first.. we thought up a purely genius exam. We carefully constructed an exam which would not only allow our students to display their increased abilities and knowledge, but also would keep us entertained through the gruelling hours of grading. Such exercises included reading the following essay and describing how it was developed, point out keywords, etc.:

Before I went to bed last night, I set my alarm clock for 6 a.m. When my alarm went off this morning, I jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed. Prior to setting out for the day, I ate a small breakfast of porridge and an egg. Smiling, I left the house because I couldn't help but think about where I was headed and what I would be doing--buying a donkey. The first part in my trip required that I take the No. 12 bus downtown. After arriving downtown, I walked to the bus station and bought the first train ticket available out to the countryside. Then, I sat on the bench and wiatied for the train to arrive. A short hour later, I was snuggled into my cozy train seat and dreaming of what I would name my new donkey. Some time later, I arrived at the farm, inhaled deeply, and smiled once more. The brays of donkeys could be heard for miles and the instant I saw Jack, I knew that he would make the perfect pet donkey. Just before leaving the farm, I paid Farmer MacDonald 40,000 RMB for him. At last, I mounted my new donkey's back and began the long journey back home.

Another section of FORM A of the exam included an essay where the students were to compare and/or contrast the three writing teachers in the room. There were two females and one male and most of the answers involved various errors, all of them more than amusing. Here are a few:

"Rachel is married and has two children, whereas Chamberlain's marriagement is a mystery."

"Neal and Chamberlain are different. Neal is a male and has a bear whereas Chamberlain is a female and doesn't have a bear, but that is mostly a difference due to the difference in gender."

All in all, the administering and grading of the exam was interesting. We had auditorium halls for all of the writing exams where all of the students sat and took the exams together. Little time commitement on our part, which was good. The oral exams were done is smaller groups and overall successful, though not really that exciting. I spent all weekend grading the exams and tallying up grades, etc.

We were told that we had 3 days to grade the exams once the first one was given, and I took that to heart and graded accordingly. However, the computers didn't even open up to enter grades until mid-week and even then the office was telling us that we would have to re-do our grades to fit the system. We had final grades and partial grades--the computer would only take 3 partial grades and a final grade. We pretty much refused to sit there and re-work all of our grades (especially since they had given us no guidance at all on how the system worked despite repeated attempts to find out this information... we were just told to relax because everything would work out.) Some boss man finally agreed to let us enter the final grades and that went rather quickly once we got started. Then, there was a fiasco with a mis-entered grade and a student calling me in tears and my boss telling me not to worry, that she would explain the situation to the student, and the wrong grade (10 points lower than it should have been) would remain in place. I flat out refused to say this was okay and asked if we could negotiate something since it would be a pity for the student to suffer for a mistake that was not her own. And, finally, the computer program which "absolutely could not be re-opened or modified" was re-opened and the grade changed....

After the whole grade issue, what frustrated me most was the fact that no one cared enough about what was right, what was in the student's best interest to do his job. And, once again, the student has to pay for this lack of motivation and interest on the part of the institution. It makes me sick. grrr....

And now, we are all free. Until 1 March, that is. We are to return to Weihai and get our new books which are bound to have yet to arrive from the where-ever-land from which them come. Then will come the rush to throw together yet another set of syllabi on the fly and lesson plans and all that jazz...

Nearly There

2006-12-15T09:25:00.000+08:00

These next few days are leading up to some important events here in sunny WeiHai.

1.) Saturday is Shanda's Christmas Party which promises to be, if nothing else, an experience. I continued to be amused by the trickles of Christmas here, such as the ginormous Christmas tree in the lobby of my building (surrounded by banners in red with loads of Chinese characters). A picture can only appropriately describe the scene. Despite the Christmas decorations, I have failed to come to terms with the reality of the situation--Christmas is ten days off and counting...

2.) Exams!!! The first week in January will bring my first ever experience proctoring exams. Whoopie!!!!! Neal, Rachel, and I met last night to write the Sophomore Writing Exam. We had a great time thinking of terrible ways to amuse ourselves during the proctoring and grading of the exams. Example: one of the exams (there are two different versions) requires our students to write a compare/contrast essay. One of the essay topics is as follows, "There are three teachers in this room. Choose two of the teachers and contrast them." Doesn't sound too bad, especially considering we are two females and a male. However, you readers are missing a vital part of the puzzle--we plan to dress up exactly the same making the contrast be quite difficult (and hopefully amusing).

3.) Visit from America (my father). I am half-heartedly working on a trip to Qingdao and from there a flight to Xi'an. Things look dismally expensive, however. The entire country is on holiday!

Other news:
1.) As you all know, I am not really all that "into" reading magazines, but I found a treasure at Rachel's house last night. It is a magazine called Psychologies. It is put out in the UK and it has lots of good reads--I think I might even have read the advertisements. Check out the link above. Grand!

2.) I have finally finished all the book lessons in my Junior Writing class, so now I can have a couple of weeks of interesting lessons. First on my list (that will kick-off here in 40 minutes) is a lesson on the great writer Jorge Luis Borges. I will dazzle my students with questions of identity and existence. I hope it will spur good conversation. Wish me good luck!

News from a Busy Bee

2006-12-05T17:33:00.000+08:00

After a couple of weeks of Blogger non-function, a couple more of me being lazy, and the last few of me being busy, I've finally decided to update you on those things of greatest import.

Belated Congratulations to Carrie and Derek for the birth of their first child, Gavin Michael. Born October 30th (it took 1.5 days for the news to reach this side of the world)!! Below are photos from the birthday party that I threw for my friends here in Weihai to celebrate the joyous occasion. We are at the Japanese Noodle Restaurant (not the real name, but that's what I will call it to make all things easy). We even cracked open a bottle of red wine and had cookies and ice cream afterwards. It was a nice time. Picture below from top left to bottom left around to bottom right up to top right: Wayne and Lori (Canadians); Lyndon, Rachel, and Zoe (Kiwis); Neal and Roz (Americans). We're not into segregation or anything. In the second picture, Benjamin (Kiwi) has snuck into the photo.

Thanksgiving has come and gone with little consequence. I was talking to my father last week and he informed me that, "the entire western part of the United States has fallen under a terrible storm. Thank goodness this didn't happen last weekend." Somewhat befuddled, I asked him what was so important about last weekend. The answer? Yes, Thanksgiving. Though we had a pleasant celebration here on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the holiday was far enough away from the American animal that it did not quite sink in. Of course, we didn't have the Thursday/Friday holiday off from work. No early morning trips for ad papers. No Christmas shopping or Thanksgiving Day movies. Surprisingly, I didn't find myself missing any of these American "traditions". It is quite nice to be so inept in a language as to not feel desirous/obligated to purchase material goods. Food and warm clothes have been occupying the majority of my shopping excursions as of late. I did, however, miss the family. Last year I celebrated two Thanksgivings: one with my mother's family in Detriot, MI (in October) and one with brother, Carrie, Dad and Carolyn in Midlothian, VA. In the latter, we ended up finishing up the cooking on the grill because the power went out before any of the side dishes were prepared.

This year saw similar ingenuity from all parties involved. I tried my hand at stove-top stuffing with only half of the recommended ingredients. Note to all: Chinese bread is not only sweet, but it turns mushy when added to broth. The result was a nice gluey-paste that tasted a bit like how stuffing should. Not too shabby. Other dishes included roasted veggies, roasted chicken, gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, salad, coleslaw, mini pizzas, Chinese dumplings, assorted seafood (shrimp and clamish things), fresh bread, a fruit juice simulating a cider, pumpkin pie, apple cake, and ice cream cake. Oooo, and we had freshly whipped cream. So, I'd say we made out pretty well, eh?

After dinner, we played frisbee between a couple of buildings. The sun quickly disappeared and we ended up drifting towards the warmth of the building until we were quite obviously no longer playing frisbee.

This past Saturday, the girls headed over to Rachel and Lyndon's house and we decorated gingerbread houses. A first for me with real gingerbread. Perhaps Jewel remembers my pitiful attempt at using Betty Crocker icing and the off-brand Honey Grahams last year? These houses actually stuck together. Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo, though I should be receiving one in an email and will be sure to post it here sometime next year!! haha.

After the decorating session, we gathered to sing for our dinner at Weihai's Golden Bay Hotel. The dinner was pretty snazzy--turkey, fresh salmon, weird desserts--the whole bit. We will splurge for Christmas dinner and rent out the Western Restaurant at this same hotel (did I mention it was 5 star? yesssssss...). We played a couple rounds of bowling and I was appropriately matched on the loser team. Our highest score in the first round? 90 (me) followed by a close second 89 (Darran), third 87 (Molly). I don't recall Melody's score (sorry, Melody). The second round wasn't much better, though it was DRASTIC improvement in our eyes. I think Darran pulled ahead with a score of 150 or so, Molly and I both scored in the one hundred and some odd teens and Melody pulled up to 80s or 90s. We make a formidable team, don't you think? Well, Melody (the younger) was cheering us on and it was loads of fun. The best part? Seeing the employees scramble around trying to find sizes that would fit our foreign feet--I think they had to resort to the backstock of shoes that looked like they should have been retired a decade ago. But, in a certain sense, all bowling shoes have that feel about them, don't they?

I can't really say that I am progressing on the Chinese language front. I had a good stint (a month or so) where I consistently cancelled all of my lessons. Pretty douche-baggy of me, I know. But, I just plain needed a break. I am now back into the swing of things. I am nearly through with my introductory book on Chinese pinyin (as far as I can gather we could say that pinyin = sound alphabet). After that, I can "begin" to learn Chinese. I've picked up a few characters here and there, but nothing too impressive. To give you an idea about my slow progress--even the students most excited about my desire to learn Chinese have stopped asking me about my progress, as I guess it is non-existent. I have learned plenty of other things from my tutor--how to take the number 12 and 7 bus downtown, how to clean and cook a fish, how to drink a good cup of herbal tea. All very useful =).

I am looking forward to the end of the semester--we are sitting in the middle of week 14 and week 18 are our exams, so you can see how very close it is!!! And, in mid-January my father should be rolling into town with an entire suitcase loaded with goodies from home. I look forward to catching up with him AND to unloading (graciously, of course) that suitcase!

Cheers!

Allyssa

Friday/Saturday

2006-10-30T09:04:00.000+08:00

On Friday, I blobbed* a bit in the afternoon before heading over to the Kiwi household for company. I ended up crashing at their place and then waking up to have an awesome Western breakfast: bacon, waffles, etc. I followed Mr. Kiwi's lead and made a waffle with bacon, syrup, and 1/2 a banana. It was delish! Funny thing happened as I was eating. I was cutting the waffle and raising my fork to my mouth (while watching the others at the table do the same) when I suddenly realized that something was very weird. Yes, I was once again eating with a knife and fork after almost two whole months of only using chopsticks!! =)

Ran home after breakfast to take a quick shower and meet up with 2 of my students to go eat Hot Pot. We had a great time. It was pretty similar to the hot pot in Beijing, except our pot of boiling broth had a divider down the middle so that we could enjoy two broths-- one la (spicy) and one bu la (not spicy). My two students ordered a wide variety of dishes to cook-- spinach, squid, clams, beef, mutton, Chinese cabbage, and cow's stomach. The last was obviously the most interesting, though definitely not the most savory. It is pretty much what one would imagine it would be-- hairy from the many cilia that aid in quick digestion and absorption of vitamins. Pretty sturdy meat as well. A bit chewy. Perhaps the only surprise was that it was white as a newborn baby's bottom =) So, I can check the digestive innards off my list of "Things I've eaten but needn't be repeatin.'"

After lunch, we walked over to the beach to meet back up with the Kiwis and to got out on the water. Below is a picture of the waves only beginning to pick up. They were over our heads by the time we finally pulled the boat in and took it back to storage for the winter.

I went water skiing and also got to drive the boat for others. It was insane!! We will have to wait until spring for more water action. =(

Say Goodbye To Flip-Flops

2006-10-23T09:53:00.000+08:00

It is winter time!! Saturday was still quite sunny and warm. And then, the RAIN began. It drizzled on Sunday and became fiercely windy by early afternoon/evening.* On the truck home from the Kiwi House, we saw that many bikes had hit the dust (and perhaps even a motorcycle/scooter vehicle). They haven't turned the heat on yet in the building and my toes, fingers, and nose can tell that the weather has changed. Luckily, our apartments came with a big fuzzy (but hideously red and flowered) blanket that I snuggled under last night. I am thinking about warm hats, mittens, scarves, and long underwear even though I haven't purchases any of these items yet!

Other news: Shandong has a running club run by a fellow foreign expert. I've joined in the short little runs up the mountain and plan on inking it into my calendar from now on. The word is that we run through winter (with a varied route, of course . . . wouldn't be wise to run next to the seaside when the temperatures drop once again).

*For those friends who hiked Roan Mtn. during our camping trip, the wind is pretty much like it was at the peak of the mountain.

Part Deux: The Great Wall

2006-10-19T17:14:00.000+08:00

After talking with some Beijingers, Neal and I decided to take their advice and head out on the 6 am bus to the Great Wall. That meant getting up a little after 4 am and rolling out of Josh's apt. around 5. We jetted out on the subway which was unsurprisingly empty and arrived at the bus depot around 5:45 am. We waited around a while before Neal jumped up and asked some women in uniforms what the deal was. They just said that we had to wait. So, we waited until the ticket office opened at 6:30 am and then we bought our tickets. Of course, I had to go to the bathroom, so I attempted to ask one of the bus drivers where the WC was. He laughed at me, said that my Chinese was horrible (in Chinese, btw), and then told Neal that it was down the way. Well, we didn't find it and I opted to take cover in a bush/tree and relieve myself. After a short scare that the bus had left during this quest, we managed to find the bus and get on. At 8 am or so, the bus was full and we could leave. While we waited, I had a nice little conversation with some people from Ecuador who are currently living in Holland. Four hours later we were in the parking lot of the Simatai seciton of the Great Wall. Here is a pic. of the map at the bottom of the climb:

Part way up the climb (we are climbing the section opposite what you see here, but it is pretty much the same):

This climb was definitely interesting. In several sections the steps are only as deep as my foot is wide. I had memories of my climb up the Eiffel Tower-- I was holding onto the wall to help steady my mind. It was a bit scarier coming down the steep sections that trucking up them. What I found quite surprising was that there were hecklers up on the wall. I was approached about 8 times to relinquish custody of my water bottle which I refused to do for the entire hike up and back . . . as fate would have it, I left the darn thing on the bus when I got off!! Anyways, here is another picture from the end of the "legal" section of the wall (you can continue past the warning sign if you are willing to pay the 200 RMB fine which, I might add, is a pretty small amount if the purpose really is to deter the determined)

According to the guidebook, the hike should have taken 3 hours up and 3 more back. We were quite proud that we did it in about 3.5 roundtrip and even had plenty of photo opportunities!

When we got back down the mountain, we stopped at a restaurant to have some sweet and sour cabbage, rice, lots of water, and Cola-- a small snack as we had plans to go to a duck restaurant. Plans changed and I think that we ended up at Pizza Hut. Call me a loser, but it was heavenly. If Weihai had a Pizza Hut, I think I would be broke right now-- it is quite the ritzy place here!

Pictures from Beijing, Part Uno

2006-10-16T09:38:00.000+08:00

Despite the fact that my "decent" camera batteries ran out early into our Beijing trip, I still managed to take quite a few pictures. (I say decent because I purchased batteries off the street that were probably recylced and each set lasted for an average of 5 photos. Grand bummer. I learned a lesson about street vendors!! haha)

This first photo is from Day One--we visited the Summer Palace. Visiting it was quite the undertaking. There are several different entrance gates and we were trying to meet up with some people at a certain gate . . . I think we ended up taking a couple different buses. But, we finally got there and had a great time walking around the expansive grounds. Below you can see an old man writing calligraphy on the sidewalk with a sponge brush. His paint? Yes, that's right-- WATER!! Pretty cool, eh?

This is the, creatively named, Seventeen-Arch Bridge at the Summer Palace. I didn't actually count to make sure that it has seventeen arches, but I trust that it does. You can rent boats to paddle around the lake that you see!

Again at the Summer Palace. This is one of the many temples. You can access it by going to the Long Corridor and then taking a left at some point. After entering this section, you have several climbs and several different temples. Also, there are several nice trails to walk around.

The Scary Net

2006-10-14T14:51:00.000+08:00

After getting eaten alive on my first night in China (when I crashed at Josh's apt. in Beijing), I decided to purchase a bug net upon arrival in Weihai. Much to my surprise, my apartment came equipped with such a suspended net. Roz told me that she had had no trouble with bugs, and I made the mistake of thinking bugs would likewise leave me in peace. I think I got about 10 bug bites added to my collection of 8 from the previous night. For some reason the bug nets are impossible to set up in the stupor of sleep. Believe me, I tried. So, now I put up my net everynight. It was bit creepy the first few nights.

Here is a picture of me inside the "net."

A bit artsy, don't you think? It was an accident, but I think it looks rather creepy. For some reason it reminds me of The Matrix-- my heat capsule is a bug-net. Hmm...

My apartment

2006-10-14T13:42:00.000+08:00

The view/the kitchen. I'm standing in the doorway of the hallway taking the photo so that you get the "full view" of the apartment. That dark shiny object in the foreground on the left is my pint-sized refrigerator. Certainly, a step-up from the mini-fridges I've become accostomed to in dorm rooms, but a mite smaller than the fridge that Jewel and I shared on Poplar Street. For me alone here in China, it isn't really an issue because I eat out quite a bit. (Notice how I've cut out the picture of the stove which stands directly across from the fridge in the kitchen). There is also a sink to your right =)

My living room (replete with elegant vinyl furniture--there's another armchair around the corner to the right in my bedroom)

My bedroom. Notice the hanging bug net? The table-like thing to the left of the bed is an electrically wired unit that controls all of the lights in the apartment--including the "Do Not Disturb" sign underneath my doorbell in the hallway.

The bathroom. My towel has a funky monkey on it. Not much to be said here. I took this picture while standing in the shower (fully-clothed). So, you needn't worry, I do, in fact, have a shower.

An email from Dad

2006-10-13T09:25:00.000+08:00

NEW YORK, NY - A public school teacher was arrested today at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set square, a slide rule and a calculator.

At a morning press conference, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-gebra movement. He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.

"Al-gebra is a problem for us," Gonzales said. "They desire solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in a search of absolute value. They use secret code name like 'x' and 'y' and refer to themselves as 'unknowns', but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval evil with coordinates in every country. As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, 'There are three sides to every triangle'."

When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said,"If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes." White House aides told reporters they could not recall a more intelligent or profound statement by the president.

--what a trip. it certainly made me smile on this tired friday morning =)

You say "po-tay-toe"

2006-10-10T17:50:00.000+08:00

I say "pa-tah-toe." You say "Chen Bao-Lian," I say "Chamberlain."

According to some official somewhere between the US and Weihai, I am Chen Bao-Lian. Shandong has readily accepted this Sino-American version of my name and perhaps even went so far as to tell my students this was my last name. Imagine everyone's surprise when I walked in the room the first day of class and it was at once obvious that I, in fact, am pretty much as far from being Chinese as is possible.

To make the situation even more comical, I was asked to pose for a photo about a month ago. Two days later, Neal, Roz, and I discovered that these photos had made their way onto a huge billboard welcoming the incoming freshmen and their parents!! There seems to be no rhyme or reason guiding the names--as you can see there is quite the mix of last names (Gann, Palmer), first names (Rachel), and invented names (me). Oh well, it is worth a laugh. I wonder where this posterboard has been stored . . . .

In a word*

2006-10-02T09:21:00.000+08:00

Before you go asking yourself, "where are the pictures," let me say that I am currently in Beijing on holiday and opted for not bringing my cables to hook up my camera. Little did I know that there would be an uber-fast internet at my cousin's apt . . . we return to Weihai on Wednesday the 4th of October, so I should be able to get lots of pictures to update you on everything that I see on a daily basis.

So, having not written a blog since 17 Sept (and then only rather cursory ones at that), I feel that I should do a bit of backtracking.

This week is National Holiday Week. Something like the 4th of July, I suppose but think bigger--they get the whole week off!! Included in this holiday is the Mid-Autumn Festival which has some ancient story connected with it. Something about a man shooting down eight of the nine moons for his love. I think his love ended up stuck on one of the moons and he's still looking for her. The traditional sweet concoctions--the moon cake-- celebrate the love. There is another story about these buns. A long time ago the Chinese people planned a rebellion of some sort by baking directions pertaining to the rebellion in sweet buns. Those are the dumbed-down versions that I've heard at least.

To celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival and the arrival of the foreign experts, we were all given Moon Cakes and boxes of apples. Neal counted his apples and the total was around 55. That's a lot of apples for one person to eat before they spoil. I've already boiled down about 8 to freeze. I've eaten 3 a day since returning from Beijing. They are quite yummy. The Moon Cakes, not so much. The version I have has dates inside. There are rumors that there may be small traces of chocolate as well, but I have not been able to decipher this ingredient at all.

Beijing was fast and crazy and fantastic and tiring all at the same time. Oh, and polluted. I blew my nose each night to find black mucous. Gross, I know, but I had to share. We visited the Simatai section of the Great Wall--definitely worth the extra hour or so drive as it was not very busy. Also caught the Lama Temple, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Forbidden City, and Tia'namen Square (saw the flag raising at 6 am and then went back to bed for another couple of hours).

Funny story about the Great Wall and guide books-- we slithered out of bed around 4:20 am and left the apartment at 5. Got to the bus station at 5:45 am to catch the 6 am bus to the Great Wall. Well, the ticket office didn't open until 6:30 am. It gets better-- we had to wait until the bus was completely full before setting off. That happened sometime after 8 am. In the meantime, we met some nice Ecuadorians and got to practice some Spanish (which made me happy and was pretty much worth being tired all day). So, beware of those guide books. They can be sneaky and lead you astray in the wee-hours of the morning.

The trip was good and I have quite a few pictures (despite the already used, cheap batteries that I fell for and bought . . . they stopped working after about 4 pictures . . .) I will post those up here tomorrow morning or afternoon depending on the speed of the internet.

As nice as Beijing was, I am sure glad that I live here in Weihai where the pace is slower, the air cleaner, and the people less likely to kill me with bikes, taxis, rickshaws, etc.

*For all curious minds: "in a word" is a phrase that flows from the pens of my students as if it were the only transitional phrase in the English language. The most amusing part? They all continue on for much more than a word. It usually clocks in at about an additional paragraph or two.

The truth is

2006-09-14T11:20:00.000+08:00

that teaching without a) much experience b) a computer c) access to unlimited copies d) good textbooks is quite a challenge. This job seems to be more an exercise in creativity than anything. For example, I have to teach juniors to write. I haven't the heart to tell them that their writing skills are at the level of about 10 year olds. Many of them have stated that they hope to write like American college students by the end of the semester. Now, granted that our semesters here are a bit longer than at ETSU (20 weeks compared to 14), this is still a rather impossible goal. They would have to progress at a rate close to one year of writing experience every week.

So, I've discarded that as a goal. I've just explained what a thesis statement is. We will work towards a five paragraph essay in the next week. After working on that for a while, I will try to move towards some more advanced writing. Did I mention that they are expected to write a thesis next year? Goodness!! So, we will finish the semester off with how to write a critical analysis. The book that we are supposed to use begins with lessons on how to write essays on comparison and contrast. And perhaps you are able to see the beginning of the problem?

My conversation classes with the sophomores will be action-packed. They are expected to have short speeches every week and two prepared speeches (one is a group presentation). Oh, and we have no computers in the room for internet access or power point presentations. Many of my students cannot properly type up an essay. They claim that typing up a paragraph or so takes them 3 hours. And the formatting on many of them is completely off. For example, I've had about 25 papers come in with two spaces between each word, comma, period, etc. Crazy.

But enough about my crazy teaching life.

Last night a whole group of us went to the Chinese Bath House. Or, I should say one of the many bath houses in town. We spent the evening there for about 12 bucks. That includes: admission into the bath house (10RMB), body scrub/exfoliation (8RMB), Korean dinner (25RMB), access to saunas (included in the admission), soaking in the tubs (also included), a massage (30RMB), and a nice fresh squeezed fruit drink (12RMB). Oh, you have to be naked. That's the catch. But, everything after the body scrub and the soak (in the womens' area) includes nice cotton pajamas and is co-ed. So there you go. Would have taken pictures, but you know, didn't want to be a freak. Just kidding, I really had no intention of taking photos and I didn't even bring my camera.

Here's a cultural tidbit:

Most Chinese families have extra slippers for guests. And, you even have a different pair of slippers for the bathroom. You might think it odd until you see the bathrooms. They are all squatter toilets. I've noted that such toilets often create a bit of a mess. So, I'm quite thankful for designated bathroom slippers.

So much . . .

2006-09-11T09:36:00.000+08:00

There is much to tell and relatively little time to catch everyone up on this past week's adventures.

I left Madrid on Thursday morning. Flew to Milan, Shanghai, Dalian (to discover that my flight did not exist and I had to purchase another one), Beijing, and finally to Weihai. The problem? ORBITZ SUCKS!! So, warning to all international travellers, stay away from Orbitz. The flights are attractively low, but you will surely make up the difference in other ways!!

Today begins WEEK 2 of teaching at Shandong at Weihai. I'm a bit sick. I have found an international group of friends--all English speakers. I still haven't been able to connect up with this David kid, but I hope to do so this week. Hopefully, my Chinese classes will get underway, but looking a bit doubtful in that department!

I have 5 classes--three writing classes and two conversation classes. The books are quite dull, so all of us are looking for materials online to supplement the books.

It is still quite sunny and warm here. I think we have about 2 more weeks of nice weather before it turns cold.

The school is about a ten minute walk from the Yellow Sea. Don't be fooled, it is quite blue. Lots of huge jelly fish. Needless to say, I have not been swimming in the water. Just on a friend's Catamaran for about 15 minutes.

Will cut down some pictures and attempt to post them here soon. Please be patient, this is China (common phrase one hears).

el último lunes

2006-08-29T00:51:00.000+08:00

¡whew! tengo mi examen de gramática mañana. ¡qué horror! he comprado mis billetes de tren. me marcho de salamanca a las 3.50 de la tarde el miércoles. no puedo esperar. creo que mi cerebro ya ha marchado de esta ciudad. ya está volando a china. quizás ha llegado....

y ahora una cita. puedes decir que es mi favorita ahora:

"los pianos no estallan por casualidad"
(la abuela en el cuento de eréndira, escrito por gabriel garcía-márquez)

¡hasta luego!

China Update

2006-08-19T02:25:00.000+08:00

I noticed something peculiar when scanning my itinerary on Orbitz this afternoon--I have two extra flights on my itinerary. I am guessing that these exist in case I don´t make my connection. The bad news: if I don´t make my connection, I will be staying overnight in the airport in Dalian (which has got to be a little piglet of an airport) from 4 pm on the 1st until 9 am the 2nd. That means my 27 hour flight will be extended 15 extra hours. The best part: the last leg of the flight is only 99 miles. Phew!! Think positive air-control thoughts for me, eh?

I also booked my hotel in Madrid for the night of the 30th. Yes, I decided to suck it up and front the money since who knows when I´ll get to sleep/take a shower... could be a couple of days later. OH, and I upgraded my room to include the European spread breakfast. AND, I am staying in a really nice hotel and it´s really cheap and has a shuttle to the airport for the next morning. It is NH Hotels. Cool, eh? I never knew spending money could be so much fun... and what a relief!!

Waiting for vital information like phone numbers and addresses from my boss-to-be in case the connections don´t work out...

I also bought a book to learn some Chinese. Valient effort, but it is nearly impossible. I think I´ll just have to put off this learning opportunity until I arrive and asses the situation. Right now, the language is a bit overwhelming.

Everything else here in Spain is good. The weather has finally broken and it is hella-cold and that makes me so happy I could cry. Right now it is like 12 degrees (Celsius) and raining. Ahh...perfect. Nice, cold air is filling my lungs as we speak. Could anything be better? I think not.

Por fin... ¡fotos!

2006-08-17T01:54:00.000+08:00

Aquí hay unas fotos de San Sebastian. El País Vasco es conocido para las mejores tapas de España (y las más caras, pero bueno). Entonces, fue necesario de salir para comer unas.

En la primera foto, estaba lista para sacar la foto.... creo que no, ¿eh?

Emily con el plato de tapas
El bar de tapas. Estaba muy llena de gente, pero encontrábamos un sitio de comer. ¡Éstas cuatro tapas nos costaron casi 8 euros!

Escucha, chicos, es todo para hoy porque son las 8 y la oficinia de computadora ya está cerrada. Venga, besos a todos =)

ummm...

2006-08-14T23:02:00.000+08:00

So, somehow I got the browser default to be in Japanese. Somewhat disconcerting considering b/c 1. I can´t read anything and 2. that I still basically know my way around blogger.com (I guess I´ve become an addict?)
I suppose I won´t be so lucky in a unfamiliar place like China which is on the count down. I leave Salamanca by night, perhaps on the train, on the 30th of August. The following morning I will continue on by plane (a startling 27 hour flight with three connections), arriving in China the 1st of September around 6 pm local time. That´s if all goes well.

Meanwhile, there are horrible fires in Galicia and storms on the coast of China... attempted terrorist attacks in London. What timing? Hoping that all will return to some state of normality before I make the big trip.

Speaking of trips, my new buddy, Emily, returned to Washington (the state) on Saturday. I suppose I´ve been moping around the house, because my señora asked me more than once if I was bored and she is taking me out for a coffee tonight.* Not really sure how watching her fold the laundry and then make lunch and dinner for two days would constitue being bored... j/k

I know I promised some photos, but guess what? Tomorrow is a fiesta day here. That makes today and official "bridge day" (Spanish: hacer un puente) which means that everyone skips out of class and work in order to have a four day weekend. The Spaniards seem to have strategically placed all holidays on Tuesdays to allow such behavior. Why do you care and what does this have to do with photos? Well, the nice computer lab that loads photos with ease is shut due to the holidays. Sorry, you´ll just have to wait.... But, one more thing to look forward to--David has requested a photo of this mysterious Spanish "melón" which is quite possibly the best summer fruit ever. It is a melon, obviously, but it is the juciest one I´ve ever had. Quite similar to watermelon in that respect. It is very sweet, but refreshingly, not sickeningly so. It has an aroma as if it has been in contact with pineapples. The taste? Indescribable. Sorry. We´ve eaten it with "nata" (whipping cream, sweetened, but not whipped) and "cannela" (cinnnamon). Mmmm....

*That is, if none of her friends call and want to go out with her. This fact honestly makes me feel like a second-rate person and I would rather spend the night alone reading. However, I´m sure I would raise hell and have to eat fried potatoes for every meal if I voiced this sentiment.

2006-08-09T00:50:00.000+08:00

photos of san sebastian and bilbao to come when i remember to bring my cable with me to the computer lab. it was great even though i managed to spend a day and a half at a beach resort without actually stepping foot onto any sand. perhaps santander was enough beach for me for the entire summer? or, other basque-country attractions had more pull? yeah, that´s it. this is just to let everyone know that i had fun... i´m still alive =)

2006-08-02T00:15:00.000+08:00

Ésta es una foto de la fachada de la Universidad de Salamanca. El hombre en la estatua es Fray Luis de León. Realmente no sé quien es aunque es famoso y viejo.

Fijáte en la columna a la derecha de la puerta roja. Aquí hay una rana que si puedes encontrar la traes buena suerte. Mira abajo. Ahora es más facil, ¿no?

¿Puedes sentir el calor? Whew!!

2006-08-01T01:27:00.000+08:00

My new hair cut. Don´t worry, that´s a smile you see tucked in at the corners. I pushed the button prematurely and "pop!"

Look at that shoulder muscle. Grr!! I´ve been doing my push-ups, can you tell? We´re going to San Sebastian and Bilbao this weekend with the newcomers (they arrive tomorrow). If you are up to it, try reading the pages in Euskera. Oh, and good luck! =) So, that´s exciting. I went to a really cool library today and found some interesting books about the art of translation. Then, when I tried to check them out (which is my God-given right as an exchange student), I found out that my name isn´t in the system. Will have to go over to Cursos Internacionales tomorrow and get that squared away because I only have 4 weeks to read all those books!!

Note about the picture: In case you can´t tell, I lost my donkey charm. No, not the love of the species, but the little charm on my chain. Lost isn´t really the appropriate word, though. I know exactly where it is. It got caught in a crack in the floorboards at the Cursos Internacionales outside patio (yes, I was lying on the floor in the middle of the afternoon trying to cool off). It is there forever and Emily and I are the only living souls who know exactly where he´s imprisoned forever. Tears. I am still wearing the chain in tribute to him. When the shock and sadness wears off, I´ll remove the chain or find another charm.

Funny story: According to my "abuela" here, America has really good quality towels. Everyone knows that American towels are great and that Spanish ones are, well, crap. And, we´re lucky to have good towels. Luck-ee! =) I kid you not. We actually had a conversation about American towels. That was pretty much the gist of the entire 10 minutes. I just smiled and nodded in agreement. Of course American towels are good. Yes, I agree. The one that I use at "home" is American and I enjoy it daily, sometimes twice a day when I´m feeling really fiesty. The key, folks, is perspective. That´s the lesson of the day. Second lesson of the day: cotton is my friend because it breathes. Or so they say. I honestly can´t tell a difference because I get hot no matter what material I wear. Even my own skin.

Well, it´s closing time here at API, so I´ll stop rambling and say goodbye. Hope you´ve enjoyed the pictures, late coming as they are.

salamanca at night

2006-07-31T23:58:00.000+08:00

Thanks to a little program called paint, a personal tutor, and a Spanish dictionary, you all can finally see the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca (at night, duh!)

Friday

2006-07-29T00:39:00.000+08:00

Last day of classes. To celebrate my new freedom, I liberated myself it another way. No, no nudity here. I cut my hair. This time (unlike Sweden), I had the forethought to bring along a photo of how I intended my hair to look after the cut. Didn´t really work out this time either, but, oddly enough, I kinda like the cut. We´ll see how it looks tomorrow when I use my own shampoo, etc. Would attempt to attach a picture here, but we all know the luck I´ve had with that. I´ll save that for Monday´s computer time. That and the picture of Salamanca.

What else? Emmm... this weekend is a slow one. Emily´s out of town and pretty much everyone else who is half-way worth spending time with has already left the country. The rest of you who are 100% worth spending time with are, unfortunately, not here in Salamanca....

Perhaps I will see a movie with this chic that I always forget her name and then feel stupid b/c it is Melissa. A name that shouldn´t be hard to remember considering I am often mistaken for a Melissa. Perhaps it is because she doesn´t feel like a Melissa. She needs some kind of really spectacular name like Sofia.

PERSONAL STORY ALERT (turn back now if you want, this is your only warning):

A few days ago, it became apparent that I would need to go to the doctor. First, I went to the hospital where I admitted that it wasn´t an emergency and that I didn´t really want to wait for two hours. The nice receptionist lady gave me the address of my insurance company. I went to the office the next day where I obtained a slip of paper that allowed me to have a consultation with a doctor w/o paying. I had the consultation, the doctor removed a specimen which I then had to take back to the insurance office. There, I obtained yet another slip, this time for the laboratory. I went to said laboratory and they couldn´t do the lab work in the requested time. Back to the insurance office for another slip to another lab. To the new lab (which just happened to be at the hospital where I started all of this jazz). Proceeded to the same receptionist (now three days later), gave her the same information. Got another slip of paper and directions to the lab w/in the hospital. At the lab, handed over the specimen and got another slip of paper. I have to pick up the results on Monday and go back to the doctor where she will "interpret" them. And that´s the end of my fun doctor-visit story.

On that note, I will sign off. I´ve got some actual work to do...

Bogus

2006-07-27T01:19:00.000+08:00

I´m really a bogus blogger. I had intended to back write for all the time that I was in Germany, but I just never really get around to it. I guess that it doesn´t help that my computer time is rather limited (unless I want to pay for usage, which I don´t, by the way... internet cafés scare me AND they´re hot... think 30 computers in a room w/o air conditioning when it is 43 degrees outside... AND that´s Celsius just in case you were thinking that´s not hot).

So, long story short, I´m scrapping the idea of telling you guys about Germany. Let´s move on to Spain already. Salamanca is pretty cool. I´ve been here a while and I guess it feels somewhat homey. I say somewhat b/c there are an awful lot of tourists here all the time and I feel relatively permanent compared to them. But I wouldn´t want to live here. It´s beautiful, but not my cup-o-tea. It´s just too hot. I think that pretty much boils it down. I used to think that I didn´t really like air conditioning. That was before Spain. I swear the sun has extra powers here or something. I have been quite diligent in my sunscreen application, but even the sunscreen can´t keep out the heat. I´ve become a smelly European. Water costs more here, so we are encouraged to wear clothes until, "they are dirty." Which I would say takes about 15 minutes upon leaving the house, but I usually wear an outfit twice (after a few days to air it out, of course). The exception: my workout clothes. I once wore those for a whole week and I couldn´t even stand the smell of myself.

Enough about that. Here´s a much anticipated picture of Salamanca´s Plaza Mayor at night. You can see the "reloj" which is the meeting place for everyone meeting for anything. The whole plaza is enclosed with walls like the one in the pic. Nice place to sit and chat. When I first got here, I worried about the sanitariness of sitting on the ground. Much to my relief, I woke up early one day and saw them not only scrubbing the ground with a scrub-brush machine (it´s rideable) but also with a water-sprayer machine followed by a squeege-machine. AND they do it every morning for all of the streets. So that´s good. Without further ado:

OKAY, SO IT STILL WON´T LOAD (I´ve tried 5 times on 3 separate occasions). I will try loading it to facebook and then accessing it that way. No promises.

Today I had my final in my grammar class. Friday is the last day of classes. Tuesday (I think) I take another language level placement test and Wednesday start the last section of classes. I haven´t decided what classes I will take for electives yet, but that will come. My translation class has been the best out of the three I´m taking. We just finished an excerpt from the all-interesting movie, The Big Lebowski. Obviously, my teacher has a sense of humor. He also has a nice smile and likes to tell us colloquialism that we should use "con cuidado". I´ll let you guess what that´s about.

Until later...

Try it English Style

2006-07-06T23:36:00.000+08:00

So here´s a short blog in English for my fellows (read: audience) in America.

Got a super cool call the other day, e-hem, I mean the FOURTH of July from the self titled "Best Brother." He truly is great and we talked through crazily-crappy reception for a few minutes before calling it quits--I had to get ready to go to my salsa dance lessons. I´d give the overall dance experience a 7. I subtracted the three points because I had to dance with a girl when we paired up and she really lacks dancing skills/experience, so I had to "play the guy" a.k.a. keep her on time. That really wasn´t so fun and she was pretty much hanging on me the whole time. It gives a new perspective to what guys have to deal with, though. After the lesson, we went to a chiquita club to practice our new grooves (with the dance instructor, mind you) and ended up watching the freakin´incredible end of the Italy-Germany game. Whew-ie! We did end up dancing a little, but I cut out early and went to bed--the dancing and the three hours of walking plus hour jog took it out of me....

Wednesday after class (9-1:15) and siesta (3-4), I met up to go to the pool with the API group. I don´t have a bathing suit, so I just sat by the pool and talked to our director´s sister. Which brings me to a topic about Spanish culture--the families here seem almost (key on almost) excessively close. For example, my host mother owns a building with four apartments. Her parents live on the ground floor, some random guy lives in the middle, and her sister and her sister´s family live two steps from our front door. There is an outer door that faces the street and this one remains locked, but the three interior front doors of each separate apartment are pretty much open the entire day so that any given family member can mindlessly roam from apartment to apartment (the random guy is not included in any of this, hence the title "random"). That´s the end of my little story here.

So, I did the pool thing. Then, Emily and I ran through some ab exercises--short and painful. Then, I speed walked home to have dinner (@ 9 pm) and take a 30 second rinse down before meeting up with Carmen (explanation to follow) at the Van Dyck Cinemas.*

Carmen is my intercambio partner. She is a doctor finishing up the last year of her fellowship in cardiology. She is traveling to England in September to do some research and wants to practice her English before she leaves. It works like this: we meet and talk in English for "un ratito" (a little while) and then we switch and speak Spanish. The night progresses for several of these rounds... we really hit it off and ended up walking all over Salamanca and speaking for 1.5 hours. It gets even better. She wants to meet everyday that we both can meet!! She is working a 2 hour shift today, but we will meet again on Friday evening! We have already selected topics for Friday´s conversation. That means I have "deberes" (works/homework) for school and for my intercambio!!

In case I haven´t already told you... Spanish television sucks. It really is painful to watch, more so than Jerry Springer, etc. Anyway, Simpsons is somewhat tolerable as they actually have half-way normal voices. Yesterday afternoon and today before lunch, I watched a little bit of a serie whose name I can´t remember, but it is tolerable AND understandable. So, that may become a tradition to watch it every afternoon to practice listening some more. I´ve already been to two movies--Almódovar´s "Volver" and somebody´s "La educación de las hadas". The first I could understand and I would definitely recommend. The second one appeared to be interesting and fun for those around me. I was pretty much 40% lost the entire time because that´s the amount this 8 yr. old kid talked and slurred just about every word.

Anywho, gotta go... it´s about 6 and I have to meet up with Emily to run before dance class tonight. Pictures to follow some other day (perhaps tomorrow if I get lucky =)

abrazos fuertes...

*I am having trouble pronouncing the name of the cinema with a Spanish accent and I think that I have actually offended a few people when talking about the cinemas. Side note to this side note: the cinema is having a summer film festival that I am contemplating purchasing tickets to because they are super cheap--like 6 tickets for 12 euros!

más fotos de alemania

2006-07-04T23:07:00.000+08:00

jewel está en la choza en alemania del este

la frontera del alemania del oeste y del este

entonces, es muy corto, pero voy a dejarlo aquí porque tengo que correr con mi amiga, emilia.

abrazos fuertes

2006-06-29T23:29:00.000+08:00

Vale, amigos. Lo siento para mi falta de seguir mis propias promesas. Pero, ahora ya voy.

Voy a empezar con un poquito de Holanda. Después de encontrar Jewel en el aeropuerto, nosotras fuimos a su apartamento y comíamos bocadillos de atún. No muy especial, pero eran perfectos para mi estómago y cuerpo que no habían dormido por muchas horas (el hombre al lado de mí hablaba TODO el tiempo. Él es de Slovakia y estudia en México. Pero, todavía, no hablábamos español…) Jewel y yo viajamos al mercado de queso, pero el viaje tardó demasiado tiempo y por eso no podíamos ver el espectáculo de “cheese carrying” o algo como así. En lugar, fuimos al Museo de Queso y unas tiendas de queso. Las fotos son de las tiendas. Quizás Jewel puede proporcionar el nombre porque no puedo recordarlo ahora.

Jewel y yo tomamos el tren de Leiden a Köln donde nos reuníamos con Max (cariñosamente, Maxi =) Pasábamos el domingo y el lunes en Köln antes de salir por otras partes del mundo. Aquí puedes ver la famosa Catedral de Köln. La foto no da justicia a la grandeza de esta catedral, pero es la única cosa que tengo.

Fuimos en coche a otras ciudades Mainz, Frankfurt, Heidelburg, Weisbaden mientras teníamos "home base" en Gelnhausen. Es una pequeña pero bonita ciudad (¿¿o quizás pueblito??). Luego, nos movamos al sur hasta Karlsruhe donde visitamos a un museo técnico de carros y aeroplanes de la antigüedad en Sinsheim. Pasábomos la noche con Brynn y su marido por una noche. Era una de las noches que alemania ganó un partido de fútbol y era un poquita loca. En no ordén específico (ni correcto) visitamos a Wartburg dónde Martin Luther vivió en secreto, Erfurt, Rothenburg (un pueblo de los años medios--la foto de Pinoccio es de aquí) y Wurzburg. Visitamos a "concentration camp", pero no quiero hablar sobre esta parte del viaje. No era muy feliz, pero importante, ¿no?

Para el último parte de la viaje, vivíamos con la familia de Maxi en el campo (Fulda). Aquí hay una vista de su casa bonita. Bonita, bonita, bonita!

Vale, las otras fotos no van a copiar en esta mensaje. Tienes que imaginar una de Pinnocio (de madera y como un niños de sangre y hueso "a real boy"), otra del campo que es muchísimo verde con montañas que existen solamente en los sueños y en alemania y últimamente una de una oveja para mi amor, David =)

Señales y viajes (Ticks and Travels)

2006-06-24T00:19:00.000+08:00

Sί, es la verdad que yo encontre señales en mi espalda. Tengo que escribir en ingles ahora porque no puedo encontrar las vocales con accentos en este teclado y no tengo mucho tiempo ()porque el internet cuesta dinero en las cafes)

transduccion: yes, it´s the truth that i found ticks on my back. i have to write in english now because i can´t find the vowels with accents on this keyboard y i don´t have much time b/c the internet costs money in the cafes--AND that´s all that´s available for the next few days. on monday, i will write more and put up some extensive photos from the travels in holland and germany!!

so, the tick story: i found them last sunday evening while i was eating dinner at the MAD hostel. they were already imbedded and it was truly disgusting. i went to the doctor on monday morning and had them removed and tested. the results are still to arrive which is incredibly slow, but this is spain and it´s hot, so everyone seems to work with more care (read SLOOOOOWLY)

because i spent the morning at the doctor, i didn´t go to the chinese embassy. when i got there on tuesday morning (after an hour of traveling there including a nice 30 minute sweaty walk), i found out that i should have done it the other way around because the embassy is only open on mondays, wednesdays, and fridays. i´ll have to make a special trip back to madrid to get the visa and just hope that i have all the proper documentation (of course, a phone call on my new cell phone is in order). more on monday-- i have one minute left =)

love to all!!

p.s. thanks for the letter kate- the next one will be in spanish here!!

Wrapping it Up

2006-05-01T08:36:00.000+08:00

Ahh... at long last the FINAL week of my undergraduate career has arrived. I was thinking, as I sat in my last class on Thursday (Hispanic Writings and Composition), how wonderful this all feels. Then I thought, "what?" It is a bittersweet time. I'm getting (oh, heck, I HAVE been for quite some time) a little anxious about "the next step." Not really sure where it will lead me, what lies ahead, and all that jazz.

Newest news...

Got a rather exciting job offer on Wednesday. Maria Costa casually asked me if I wanted to go to China to teach English in the Fall. God, are you freakin' kidding me? That is not even a question worth asking--the answer should be soooo obvious. So, I sent off my resume to the people in China on Thursday. Hopefully, they will be gracious to my poor soul and give me a job. I had to refrained from being overly annoying and calling Maria on Friday afternoon to see if she had heard anything yet. I will probably call her on Monday. I just want to make sure that she has all the details down about when I can/can't come. Their semester (at Shandong University, Weihai) begins on September 3, which means 2 HUGE/CRAZY things:
1. I will have to get my Chinese Visa from the Chinese consulate in Madrid, Spain during my short vacation in July, AND
2. I will probably have to fly from Madrid to CHINA!!! (soooo glad I haven't purchased my return ticket yet... =)

trying not to get too excited, but gosh, it really is quite difficult to refrain. Oh, and did you know that I don't know a lick of Chinese. Yeah, so that should be interesting, right?

all this potentially good news comes with some rather upsetting news: no Chile for me. Yes, got that damned letter on Wednesday evening. The China thing must have been some God-like intervention b/c it was a little to coincidental for me writing it off casually.... Maria was quite shocked a little mad (?perhaps?). I know Joe was, well, PISSED. which was certainly a new and interesting experience for me to witness. Not pissed at me, just mad that this is how it turned out.

other news-- looking to do a conference in Savannah, GA in October on Pop Culture. Will probably look at some Latin American film. It will be a nice little project to keep me busy in May until it is time to leave for Ireland/The Netherlands/Germany/Spain.

Your History Lesson for the Day

2006-04-27T05:09:00.000+08:00

Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York. This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico.
But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost. The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day. The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo.

--yeah, that's great, I know--

Veni, vidi, vici

2006-04-26T02:52:00.000+08:00

I think that's how it goes. I came upon my birthday, I stared it down and I conquered it.**

It was an emotional, but pretty nice birthday weekend. On Friday evening I pretty much did everything BUT school work. I cleaned the bathroom, my bedroom, the living room, the kitchen, etc. I made two loaves of bread (the first was sun dried tomato and the second was chocolate chip!), a pot of soup and dinner for myself. I think I also went grocery shopping at some point. On Saturday, David and I watched Brokeback Mountain through half-napping eyes. Between the post-Indian food sleepiness and the mumblin' men, I had to rewind the DVD like twenty times. Then, I got all dolled up to have a birthday dinner party at Savita's. Among the four of us, we managed to drink two bottles of wine. Now, I know that doesn't sound too excessive, especially with a meal, but both Savita and I are light weights so two glasses of wine was enough to have us rolling on the floor (no joke) laughing. Of course, before the floor-rolling began I changed out of my nice skirt into a pair of pj bottoms. Wouldn't want to flash anyone....
Some serious conversations picked up as the alcohol (and the other two guests) left us. All in all it was a fantastic night.

Sunday morning Daivd's parents came down for breakfast. We ate and again I found myself about to pass out from exhaustion. I guess that's the thing with not being able to sleep much at night. nonsense. The rest of the afternoon was pretty lazy. I can't really recall what we did except that we took a walk. I had to work an extra shift as a study hall proctor which was an adventure in itself b/c I didn't have the keys to get into the building, but those 3 short hours of fun were followed by a nice dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. ooohhh man I love those Strawberry Tall Cakes. David and I scarfed one of those down on top of a fairly substantial meal and ended up surprising ourselves and our favorite lawyer-to-be waiter, Max. We closed the place down (I feel horrible when that happens), but I left a hearty tip so that Max will still love us and continue to NOT spit in our food when we return =)

Still no luck on selling the car which is like a huge weight on my back. I think I'm going to list the thing on Ebay since all those interested have not called back. I cannot WAIT until graduation. I am finishing up a paper and a take-home final and that should about do it (barring any unforeseen assignments in my dreaded Hispanic Readings & Comp. class). Cool, huh?

**Grammatical note: As far as I know, it is still grammatically acceptable to leave out the comma before the "and" in English. If not, please correct. If so, here's my explanation for this "sudden" change: in Spanish it is grammatically incorrect to include the comma before the last item in a series (if it has a conjunction). Thus, in an attempt to make both of my languages love eachother, I am compromising =) No, not really. But, I am trying to clarify the grammatical rules for both because my grammar in both languages has fallen by the wayside.

sore throat

2006-04-20T09:59:00.000+08:00

to bring home the honors convocation last night, i woke up with a sore throat. let's hope it doesn't progress into anything full blown. that would be a sucky birthday present to myself, don't you think. also, a bad way to start the fierce killer sessions that come at the end of the year.

triumphantly, i can announce that i finished my thesis and got it bound up yesterday. got the copies signed this morning and distributed them throughout the day. karen nearly killed me when she told me i was supposed to do two theses, one for H-I-D in English and one for University Honors. thank god we cleared that up!

let's see... a few small projects, one huge paper, and some stuff to memorize in spanish, and then i am home free, baby!! =)

CELEBRATION TIME!!!

2006-04-17T08:34:00.000+08:00

Just wanted to share with the whole world what wonderful news I've received today.

Rejoice! This is Easter!!

To the left are some beautiful Easter eggs that I painted for everyone in Paint. Yay!!

NOW ON TO THE SUPER-DUPER EXCITING NEWS...

are you ready?

I'm going to be an aunt!!

(aunt again, I guess). Congrats to my super-cool brother Derek and his wife Carrie. I suppose I could attach some picture of the baby here, but I don't have any as it's still on its way. The baby is due November 5th!! (well within the deadline I gave Derek and Carrie for having the baby BEFORE I leave for Chile!! =) Now ensues the waiting period... three cheers for Spring and babies!!

translator

2006-04-14T01:37:00.000+08:00

this one is a pretty good translator-- you can do websites and blocks of text. both useful. oh and there are lots of lang. too. so, if you want to translate my spanish to japanese to make it easily intelligible for you, feel free =)

EASTER FUN

2006-04-14T01:26:00.000+08:00

Happy early Easter, everybody. Or, I guess happy Maudy Thursday?

Anyways, here is a completely commercialized comic for your Easter fun!

yeah. that's right. you know you love it =)

Selling off my stuff

2006-04-13T05:52:00.000+08:00

The purge has begun. I am trying to get rid of pretty much everything that I own (minus five "large" items: La-Z-Boy, sewing machine, bread machine, books, and kitchen pots). Caitlin and I are planning on a yard sale next weekend. Oh, and if you know anyone who wants a car really cheap... =)

It was sooooo hot today. Goodness I missed the sunshine!! Now I'm at work inside an air-conditioned building freezing my brains out.

I am looking forward to Easter, though I have not participated in any Easter-ish sort of festivities yet. I bought 18 eggs yesterday, though. So, I guess I am well stocked for the hard boiled eggs with the plastic shrink wrapping. Ummm, nevermind. I don't have the plastic thingies. Maybe I'll just draw scenes on them in pencil. Which reminds me, does anyone else's father draw big X's on hardboiled eggs before strategically placing them back in the egg carton so that the X's are not readily visible?

I think David and I are going to cook some kind of Mexican smorgasboard for Easter Sunday. I'm a little disappointed that it won't be Mediterranean, but his parents are coming and they don't really enjoy hummus and the like. So, we decided on Mexican. I think we'll do Mexican cornbread, 5-layer bean dip, some salsas, chips, and fajitas. We're are going to try a flan for dessert, but I am not so confident in my custard-making abilities.

And, all the time this weekend that I am not sleeping or preparing for the fiesta, I will be writing--yes, lots of projects, papers, etc. due next week. But, after that.... freedom will be so close! =)

ahhh.... two and a half weeks. Can you believe that? Man oh man. Graduation will be sweet-- lots of friends, lots of family, and lots of food. Don't think it could get any better....

Spoke to my M.I.A. "European gal pal" last night til, umm midnight (read: 6 am her time). We really need to start putting dampers on these conversations. But, they are so few that they almost have to go on FOREVER. Things are starting to fall in place for the summer. =) It looks like I will do the Dublin thing for a day and a half and then fly to Amsterdam and spend approx. four days in the area before taking the train (how majestic) to Cologne, Germany. We'll meet up with Max and take some tours, hopefully even getting down into the Black Forest. Jewel has her heart set on seeing Brynn, and she conveniently lives at the northern tip of the B.F., so this is all falling together. Then, the 19th, I will be in Madrid and my Spanish immersion will begin! Bye-bye English. I've promised myself that I will NOT speak, write, or listen to anything that is in English once it has begun. Which means that all of you will get a nice little Spanish lesson too! haha. I've already started to compile a list of Spanish songs to attempt to download and burn onto MP3 cds (yes, I still don't have an MP3 player b/c well, I don't have a computer so it seems a bit silly). David and I are making a trade--I gave him my super cool Crate and Barrel plates, bowls, and glasses and he is giving me his portable MP3/Cd player. I'm excited b/c I'll pretty much be able to get all of my Spanish music onto, oh, 4 or 5 cds which means more space for souvenirs in my pack!!

Well, adios for now, mis amigos. Necesito trabajar y escribir mi composicion! =)

quick post

2006-04-10T04:56:00.000+08:00

we had a lazy saturday yesterday =). we finally made it out-of-doors around 3:00 pm for a trip to the new mahoney's. i'm on a hunt for a few "essentials" for my european excursion this summer. we checked out the backpacks and hiking shoes. my head is still reeling at the prices. i didn't buy a thing, but david walked out with a pair of columbia closed-toe sandals (with breathing holes, of course) and some brown shoe polish for his dr. martens. we were so exhausted with the shopping/spending money that we settled down to watch blazing saddles. not surprisingly, i fell asleep after about 30 minutes and slept for the same. did some online searching for backpacks now that i was equipped with "mahoney wisdom" and WAS surprised to learn that the gregory tega pack at mahoney's (on sale) is cheaper than any i could find online. i even checked overstock.com. they have lots of dana designs packs (i think they are the best??), but sadly they only offer size small which is too small for my med. sized hips =)

toying with the idea of investing in either birkenstocks or hiking sandals instead of a lightweight hiking shoe for this trip. but, no one seems to carry size 11 so that i can try either on... a little scared of ordering shoes b/c i am so picky. for now, i will be content with NOT purchasing anything outrageously expensive like shoes. i will probably buckle down and buy the pack, though =)

in the evening, we went out on a much-needed date. there is a brand new indian restaurant called SAHIB behind the old Days Inn. it was pretty sweet (actually, hot)! i ordered medium and thought i was going to die. Our waiter promised us that they would have masala dosa starting monday. i will definitely be back for that!!

then, it was a speedy gonzalez trip to the bathroom so that we could make it to RTR in time for v for vendetta. interesting and somewhat scary movie. the jump-out-and-kill-people scenes were too gruesome for me, but i thought the film was excellently done. i was amazed that i could perceive changes in v's facial expressions even though he wore a mask the whole time! weird.

Future ouches

2006-04-05T08:38:00.000+08:00

I was reading up on all the necessary "to do's" before traipsing about Europe and stumbled upon this: "make sure all your shots are up-to-date." After thinking about it, I had no idea if I fell into the ill- or the well-prepared in this respect. So, I hunted for that little elusive piece of green cardboard a.k.a. my immunization record and discovered that I am almost a year overdue for a tenanus/diptheria shot. "Gosh," I wondered, "have I contracted either illness in this interim?"

which then had me searching for symptoms...

"The first signs of tetanus infection are usually a headache and spasms or cramping of the jaw muscles (lockjaw). As the poison spreads, it progressively attacks more groups of muscles, causing spasms in the neck, arms, legs, and stomach, and sometimes violent convulsions (seizures)." source.

well, I think I'm okay despite the fact that I often have headaches and cramping in my jaw. Most recently because of a soccer collision.

and diphtheria?

"Diphtheria is a bacterial infection that spreads easily and occurs quickly. It mainly affects the nose and throat. Children under 5 and adults over 60 years old are particularly at risk for contracting the infection. People living in crowded or unclean conditions, those who aren't well nourished, and children and adults who don't have up-to-date immunizations are also at risk."

hmmm.... I kept reading the webpage:

"In its early stages, diphtheria can be mistaken for a bad sore throat. A low-grade fever and swollen neck glands are the other early symptoms.
The toxin, or poison, caused by the bacteria can lead to a thick coating in the nose, throat, or airway. This coating is usually fuzzy gray or black and can cause breathing problems and difficulty in swallowing. The formation of this coating (or membrane) in the nose, throat, or airway makes a diphtheria infection different from other more common infections (such as strep throat) that cause sore throat. "

okay, good. nice little lesson, huh?

anyways, I am going to get this little injection this week. Probably tomorrow. yay! I'm soooo looking forward to the pin prick I can almost feel it now =)

Congrats ETSU!

2006-03-30T06:59:00.000+08:00

Found this lovely tidbit in my e-mail this afternoon. Soccer starts tomorrow at 9 pm and my arse is still a little sore (I think I pulled it a while ago . . . don't know if I mentioned that previously or not). So, keep your fingers crossed that all goes well and that we have a blast!! =)

Week 5 Countdown

2006-03-29T08:10:00.000+08:00

5 weeks, a mere hop-skip-and-jump, away from graduation. Yipee!

I made an online reservation for a rental car today!! Nothing too exciting, I had to go with the minivan for the extra space. Duh, to transport all of my stuff to Chicago on 9 May 2006. It is actually cheaper to rent a car for the entire week than it is to rent one for a day to Chicago and rent another back (for David) for two more days. Weird.

Received my API packet of info. (aka a scurry lot of legal papers to sign) last night. I have most of it filled out. Now, to get a notary public . . .

Other news:
1. Readers will return my thesis by the middle of next week (which really means that my vacation will be ending shortly. It's been smooth riding since I handed it over).
2. ETSU Research Symposium tomorrow. I'm moderating the Arts and Humanities section. Fun stuff.
3. My annual Women's Health appointment is on Thursday. I'm sure you're glad you know that. I would just like to say, for the record, that I really don't know why they put comics on the ceiling. I mean, I know they are trying to be entertaining and all, but I have to admit that I can't really read 10pt. font from a good 8+ feet away. Really, people!
4. I am supposed to be driving to Winchester, VA this weekend, if everything works out.

That's all from my relatively uninteresting life.

Let Us Begin the Games

2006-03-27T04:52:00.000+08:00

After much harrassing of the people in San Marcos, TX about the status of my application (which, by the way, apparently arrived much later than the nice mailman assured me it would), I have finally received word that my packet, in its entirety, has arrived SAFE and SOUND and I have been accpeted.

WHEW! I was worried for about a nano-second about that one-- not for getting in but for the U.S. Postal Service employees, God rest their souls, losing yet another one of my mailings of utmost importance. I equate using the mail service for important documents with the decision as to whether one should cram every last belonging into a carry-on or risk checking one's luggage. Anyone who has actually gone through the loss of mail and/or luggage will, I hope, understand the anxiety assigned to both.

Anyways, now begins the fun part. Making peace with the sure idiocy of the Spainish Consulate, I have decided to forego the VISA and instead remain in the greater European area* for no more than 90 days . . . we're going with 89. ding-ding.

I have purchased my tickets to Dublin, leaving from the Chicago O'Hare International Airport (lovely place, I might add) on 5 June 2006 at 7:25 ish. I arrive in Dublin at 8:40 am on 6 June. Oddly enough, I think the information tab said that they would not be serving food which is both a relief and a disappointment. I paid good money for that crappy ham sandwich and cheese of which I will only eat the cheese b/c (oops!) you keep on forgetting that I requested a vegetarian meal. What? Oh sorry, that was my trip to SWEEEE-DEN. I got confused. But, it is good to know that I am expected to bring my own dinner and breakfast. Note on the times: remember that Dublin is like 6 hours ahead, so the fact that they aren't feeding us really isn't as barbaric as it sounds.

I will stay in Dublin that night (fingers crossed that I can reserve a hostel online) and fly out to Amsterdam the next morning, where I will meet up with my long lost roommate, Jewel. I fear that I have not planned past this. I DO know that I have to been in Madrid on 19 June AND that I have an invite to Frankfurt/Koln Germany the week prior to the 19th.

I have made a list of everything that I need to purchase before departure. It includes (as it continues to grow and get edited)

1. Hiking backpack
2. miniature everything (I've got the toothpaste and shamp/condt covered)
3. digital camera (any advice about a reasonable one is appreciated, I haven't begun shopping)
4. comfortable, yet non-tennis or tennis-like shoes to wear with #5
5. several summery skirts and longer shorts/long khaki capris
6. a few blouses
7. SUNSCREEN, SUNCREEN, SUNSCREEN (actually contemplating taking several huge bottles)
8. new sunglasses
9. a good book

I think that might be it for now. Any input?

I have also compiled a list of things that I have to sell. It is a bit longer and is not as fun, so no need to enumerate it here. I cleaned out the entire apartment on Friday and have most everything set aside for a garage sale that will (hopefully) come together with a few other people in about 3 weeks. David has mentioned selling all his Christmas Villages in preparation for his potential big move north!

Know anyone that wants a car? PLEASE TELL THEM: I've got one--white '95 pontiac sunfire 122.222 miles ($2,300 obo)

Well, enough exciting news about the future, now I must carry on with my less blog-worthy (though still somewhat amusing) present. Task? Prepare for my presentation tomorrow in my Independent Study.

Waiting for the blissful day of May 6th!!! =)

*The receptionist at the Spanish Consulate informed me, oh, I don't know FOUR TIMES, that Spain is a part of Europe-- no shit Sherlock! The conversation really was ridiculous and, if you are struggling for half an hour's amusement, I would definitely recommend you checking out. Make sure you call the Consulate in New Orleans. I fear if you call any of the others they might actually be helpful, which would be a shame since you would miss out on experiencing wanting to maul someone through the phone lines. Here is a brief transcription from memory:

Lady: asdljljflkajsfklajsdfkl (whole bunch of unintelligible crazy stuff in Spanish)
Me: Yes, um, I need to get a student Visa to Spain
Lady: I've got another call, you'll have to wait.

waiting approx. 5 mins.

Lady: What was your problem? Didn't you read the stuff online.
Me: Well,
Lady: All the information is there
Me: Yes, but I have a question (hoping that she will allow me to continue).
Lady: What question it is all on the website.
Me: Yes, well, I plan to be in Europe for about a month before flying into Spain for my study aborad
LAdy: Well, Spain is in Europe, lady (1). I think you're misinformed because Spain is in Europe (2). Spain has always been in Europe (3).
Me: Yes, I understand that, but I will not be in Spain until June. Before that I will be outside of Spain but still in Europe.
Lady: Man, Spain is in Europe, man.
Me: Yes, thank you.
Lady: You need to get your information together and read the website.
Me: Yes, thank you.

--I'll stop here.

Yet Another Provocative Exercise from Joe Rice

2006-03-18T05:02:00.000+08:00

Handout I received this morning. Taken from How to Find the Work You Love

Respond to the following:
1. Of all the people you know, who is most consistently supportive of your goals and dreams? Who consistently holds high expectations of you and encourages you not to settle for less than your best?
2. Is there anyone in your life who tends to be openly hostile or negative toward your dreams? If so, who? Do you have an "soft enemies"- people who appear supportive, but then to encourage limited views of yourself? Who are they? How can you better protect yourself from these negative influences?
3. List the names of the people you would like to get to know better, people who could serve as role models or supportive friends.
4. Whose accomplishments do you most envy? List the names of at least three people. (If you really feel as though you have no jealousy, then you can frame these questions in terms of the people whose accomplishments you most admire.)
5. For each person, list at least three specific accomplishments that you most envy.
6. Now review your answers and write down the top five accomplishments you are most jealous of.
7. Finally, ask yourself how you can begin creating your own life so that you can accomplish similar things.

Completely not related to the above: I am exhausted. This week has been soooo long. I turned in my thesis to my readers this morning. I have a conference at Tusculum tomorrow morning. I've got to frame one of the thesis chapters to make it work. Hopefully, that won't take much more than a few hours, because I don't think I have the steam in me.

David and I are going to Barnes and Noble on Saturday to browse the vegetarian cookbooks. We have decided to invest in one and to begin to build up a solid pantry. It will be spectacular, spectacular. No words in the vernacular can describe. . . .

Sunday is SPANISH PORTFOLIO TIME!! Yes, that's right. I've put it off for months and now I have to do it because I must turn it in in order to graduate. Seems like that would be motivation enough, but it hasn't because it is complete b.s. busywork and I have not been looking forward to it. Oh well.

Well, I better start moving towards the writing stage. =)

Well, today was . . .

2006-03-15T07:48:00.000+08:00

Different:

Because I am nearly finished with my thesis, I did NOT spend the entire afternoon working on it. Instead, I ran a few errands around campus. The breeze made the otherwise pleasant weather a bit chilly. Here's what I did:
1. Dropped off my Honors Convocation form to Donna in 201 Yoakley. She is so great. If I were a better person, she would make me want to be a secretary too. Wow for helpfulness/pleasantness/just as happy person that makes me happy too! =) god, you'd think I was in love with her or something.
2. Picked up from Ms. Donna (see above, haha, like you've already forgotten, right?) a press release form for the Honors Convocation/Graduation jazz. Learned that I received the Outstanding Student Award for the Department of Foreign Languages. I think I actually jumped up and down. I think I am becoming an effervescent person. hmmm.
3. Went to the post office and mailed some insurance information to my father. Okay, I'll be specific--it was an invoice for the Physical Therapy for my knee. He offered to foot the bill and there's no way in hell I'm gonna turn down that generous of an offer.*

A Linguistics Lesson:

1. "Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." --Groucho Marx. This was the gist of our lesson today. We linguists (yes, see how I throw myself in with all them thinkers?) like to call silly exercises like this a practice in constituencies. It proves rather amusing entertainment =)
2. Not exactly a linguistics lesson, but wierdly related. I logged on the Blackboard this morning to upload my linguistics homework and found my name staring right back at me, "Congratulations, Alyssa"** Thinking this was some weird new feature where teachers can post personal messages in the announcement section (of course, only available to that particular individual), I opened the link to discover that she made an announcement to THE ENTIRE CLASS. Why, you ask? I wondered the same thing. Anyways, it turns out that I also snagged the student award for the English Department. I guess I have much cause for jubilation . . .

An Update on Spain:

Too anxious to wait for Ms. Tillman to contact the University of Salamanca about the graduate courses, I did it myself and learned, in no uncertain terms (and rather unpleasant words) that there are no courses taught in the faculties. I suppose the irritation had something to do with the fact that I doubled-checked . . . geez. I guess I should have trusted the concise sentence "sentimos que no hay clases en las faculdades durante el verano" to mean what one should infer: that, if there are no courses in the faculties, then there could be no graduate courses. Oh well, better to be safe than sorry! I will probably never have the misfortune of meeting the person who replied and thought I was an idiot.

I have pretty much decided to combine Summer 2 and Summer 4 sessions 19 June-29 July and 29 July- 1 Sept, respectively. The overlapping date is a bit deceptive. I will actually have the week of 29 July to travel since this would be a repeat orientation in Madrid. I think they refund the difference in cost, so that's super cool of them.

I still plan to leave Chicago sometime in the second week in May (looking for the cheapest combination here) and fly over to Europe to tool around. Jewel and I are secretly planning to take over all of the European Union. shh! No, really. We are. jk
I received a rather timely e-mail from Max, the coolest German alive. We hope to meet up sometime over the summer. Plans are still awfully tentative since he doesn't know the dates of his Biochemistry internships (yes, he has more than one!!!), and I have a lot of figuring to do before I know the best combination for travel. Anyways, it is still super exciting.

On Sunday I found that it would be rather reasonable (esp. for the beginning of the travel season) to fly into Dublin and then catch a cheapie flight to Einhoven (we're talking 45 Euros, folks!). Let's hope I can get one of those flights before they sell out!!! =)

that's all for now.

*The bill and insurance stuff is all rather odd. I think they pretty much randomly selected a few dates to pay for and then left the balance for me. Remind me to never get into that screwy business.
**Clarification: she misspelled my name and I intentionally reduplicated the mistake. don't you have confidence that I know how to spell my own name?

Spain? okay!!

2006-03-11T06:58:00.000+08:00

Yeah, so I think that I'm going to Spain this summer. To study in Salamanca with API. Of course, I still have to apply and be accepted, but small beans, right? I will be working with a Ms. Ilene Tillman to design my course of study which (hopefully) will be a variation on the intensive summer package they offer. Cross your fingers for some graduate course, k?

So, that means that a certain Amsterdam friend and I should meet up before the program starts, don't you think, friend? When are you out of school again? Check out the webpage. I think I'll do the two sessions combined (10 weeks with 2 week break in between). If I got the dates straight, that would mean a break from 1 July to 29 July, all negotiable, of course =).

I'm so excited . . . now to figuring out the money. booo.

Beautiful

2006-03-10T00:48:00.000+08:00

So, last night I hosted a small get-together at the apartment. We all made our individual pizzas with whole wheat crust (recipe courtesy of Kate).

Speaking of whole wheat, Kroger is now carrying whole wheat white flour for a mere $2.79/5lbs. which is much cheaper than the Natural Market's whopping price of $4.99/5lbs.!!

Then, we played "Would You Rather," a board game I received from lover-lips for Christmas =). Lindy brought some white wine which all agreed tasted like rubbing alcohol . . . she did have a super sweet bottle opener, though.

Matt and Caitlin brought the biggest salad I have ever seen. It was in a spaghetti pot (you know, like the industrial-size pots for making pasta for the entire block). Yeah, oh, and there were only 6 of us, which meant one thing: I ate a whole-lotta super-sweet salad. The ingredients were something like:
lettuce (duh), garbanzo beans, pear, apple, tomatoe, steamed (cold) broccoli, fresh mushrooms, boiled eggs, and goat cheese (or really good feta??).
Matt made his "family recipe" dressing which is vinegar, water, adobo spice, splenda (and something else?? not sure). Anyways, it was fantastic. Of course, there are some leftovers that have lunch written all over them.

Roommate decided to disappear for the occasion which was, well, nice. Harsh, but true.

Today is probably the most beautiful day that we've had that my short term memory recalls. Perfect temperature, nice breeze, and not too stab-your-eyes-sunny. Of course, I'm inside for the morning and afternoon working on silly homework that teachers gave over Spring Break. I just have to reiterate how ridiculous that is. Really.

My aunt Pat sent me an e-mail saying that she is going to be a GRANDMA!! Well, she's excited, but I think it's a little weird to think about my aunt's being old enough to be Grandmas. Anywho, it's a girl and she's due around end of July.

Speaking of babies, Derek and Carrie informed me that they have been trying/are trying for a baby (well, not at this minute, at least I assume not since it is the middle of the day and they should be at work, not in BED!!) We were talking about names on Sunday and then Derek suddenly decided he was uncomfortable with me making comments about making babies. Like I don't know how it happens or something. Silly older brothers! Despite what he says, I think it is wonderful that I will be an aunt (four times over, unless twins, then five) sometime in the next year, fingers crossed, AND I will not cease to tease b/c this is a wonderful opportunity to get back at Derek for years of torture. Just kidding. It's just really fun, that's all. It makes him squirm and that's even better. Maybe, secretly, I am getting back at him . . . buwahahaha! Enough rambling about this, I think an example is in order:

Derek: Yeah, well, I should probably go. We were gonna watch a movie
Allyssa: And then go make babies in BE-ED!?!!? hahahaha.

yeah, I know, it's great, isn't it?

Well, the thesis is throwing a tantrum . . . he needs some attention. Yes, it has become an entity and it is a male. He's my lover and we spend every day together. Alone. Go ahead, be jealous David!! buwahahaha.

God, I love that maniacal laugh . . . .

WHAT??

2006-03-08T22:38:00.000+08:00

In NYTimes' headlines:

"Technical Problems Cause Errors in SAT Scores"

That's really messed up. Really.

Other messed up things: teachers who agree to write recommendations for students and they turn them in AFTER the deadline, thus disqualifying students from the application pool. That's really messed up. REALLY!! (if you want more info., you'll have to do some investigating =)

Asheville

2006-03-01T20:44:00.000+08:00

Yay! We went to Asheville-- here are pictures from the Biltmore. The one where we are leaning into the photo was taken at the Stable Cafe. Yes, we are sitting and eating where horses used to eat, poop, and generally be dirty. Let's not talk about it. The trip was fun. A much needed respite from Johnson City and school. AND a good re-connecting time with David. Which is good news considering that I'll be a-working hard next week (see below).

On another, less happy note: I've now received two take home exams in addition to revisions for my Thesis and Spanish portfolio. What a lovely, relaxing Spring Break I'll be having next week, huh?

Info. on David's Ph.D. application should be arriving soon. Check out the school he applied to here.

Welp, time to get to work. I have two abstracts due for conferences today!! =)

pennies

2006-02-25T23:24:00.000+08:00

read this article forwarded to me by my grand roomie who, sadly, is not in jc anymore =(

http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2006/commentary06022302.htm

A fun, but potentially offensive game

2006-02-24T00:01:00.000+08:00

David and I started this game last night (inspired by our new fav. movie The Forty Year-Old Virgin")

here's a quote from IMDb:

David: You know how I know you're gay?
Cal: How?
David: You like Coldplay

Or, some of our own:
Allyssa: You know how I know you're gay?
David: How?
Allyssa: You have a humidifier in your room.
David: You know how I know you're gay?
Allyssa: How?
David: You don't like cream cheese on saltines.

The fun part-- how ridiculous it gets when you run out of funny things to say. Of course, none of it really has anything to do with being gay (at least in our version).

Anywho, now that I have revealed how completely base I am, I think I will go to linguistics class.

a first

2006-02-23T10:06:00.000+08:00

currently proctoring study hall AND I HAVE NOTHING TO DO!! i didn't bring enough homework . . . all my thesis stuff is sitting on a "secret shelf" in the honors house. i already finished off a data problem for descriptive linguistics (it was a bugger--took two days!!) and re-read my spanish "anecdota" for like the fifth time.

this is not to say that i have completed all my work for the week. far from it. this is just s moment of unpreparedness. on my to do list for the weekend:
*write final chapter to thesis (and "think" about cohesiveness for the rest)
*afro-hispanic cinema short review/summary on Clando
*finish the rest of part ii of descriptive linguistics project (phonemic and phonetic transcription)
*prepare for oral and written presentation of spanish linguistics article

oh, and i've got to do this all on friday and saturday because SUNDAY, we are going to asheville to celebrate!

YEP, it's two years on Monday. damn if the time didn't pass me by . . .
feel free to join in on the festivities-- now until the end of February tickets to the Biltmore are $25 (a reduced rate from the normal $45). we're all over that. i've never been and i've heard it's quite a spectacle. i think it damn well better be at 25 bucks a pop! no way i would've ever paid full price. Ooo-- and there's a winery and a wine tasting! gonna get me some-a that!

happy night to all . . . i'm on my way to checking out asheville's restaurants!

Well..

2006-02-16T07:15:00.000+08:00

So, I lost my wallet and completely freaked out. Fifteen minutes later I had both credit and debit card cancelled. Whew! Nothing charged on either one, thank goodness. Of course, I found my wallet about an hour later, but much better to be safe than to be sorry (remembering Washington, D.C. -- very painful, let's not talk aobut it). A potentially awful day turned around.

Tonight--in forty minutes, exactly, will be screening the documentary "Kilowatt Ours" in Brown Hall Auditorium. No one is here yet. Interesting fact-- I called up OIT and told them that I was showing a movie and they give me my own, personal copy of a key to Brown Hall Auditorium's media cabinet. Does anyone else think that is odd? hmm...

That's it for now. Running off to wait for peoples.

V-DAY!! (no, the heart one)

2006-02-15T08:05:00.000+08:00

Happy Valentine's Day... aren't you glad I'm not sending you THIS card? Haha.

Okay, so I painted you this lovely-donkey picture instead.

I tried to give him some smoochy-lips, but it just looks like a nosebleed. I promise no animals were harmed in the making of this portrait.

He's got an evil eye, too.

Oh, well. You can remember today as the day I mutilated an animal.

Thanks and happy loving!

-Allyssa

25 pages and counting...

2006-02-12T07:40:00.000+08:00

single-spaced pages, that is. yep. the thesis is GROWING!! it has already exceeded the minimum requirement (40 double-spaced pages). i'm a little worried that the introduction is ridiculously long, but we are just at the rough draft stage, so there is plenty of time to murder sections and/or rearrange others. you're probably wondering why i'm not writing it this very instant. my answer: i've blinked like ten times in the last minute-- i think it is time for a break from the floating words in front of me =)

off to dinner with my sweetie-pie.

Cleared

2006-02-10T02:51:00.000+08:00

Today's mail brought the following notification:

_xx_ Your record has been checked for graduation for the current semester and has been approved with the following exceptions:

Academic Profile Exam to be taken--call the Testing Center to register

So that's exciting! A little scurry, but exciting nonetheless.

Other interesting news:
My request for a study room in the library has been granted. I now have access to a room just for me =) and I have a key and everything!!! I feel so, so official.

Now, I must proofread my Spanish narrative essay (oh, boy). I dare not take my current draft to class . . . .

Snow and other news

2006-02-07T00:43:00.000+08:00

It started snowing Saturday night/Sunday morning (yes, I was awake until 3 am). David and I went to see CattleAxe at this new club in Greeneville called Starburst. The band was great, the club left much to be desired (at least according to the drunk lady who tried to engage me in a philosophical conversation about the lack of quality clubs in the area). In fact, I really enjoyed the show--the bass player was a hoot! (Aren't they all? yumm...)*

Still plugging away at the 'ol thesis. My first official draft is due the 15th of February, so there's the thing.

In Descriptive Linguistics class, we practiced transcribing the following clip. It's a hoot, so visit it and see for yourself!

Off to read Linguistica aplicada: Adquiscion del espanol como segunda lengua (yippee... not really)

*the yum refers to my bass player, of course

Windy

2006-01-26T05:28:00.000+08:00

Whew! It's been mighty windy these past few days. I nearly got blown off my feet yesterday!

The semester has officially begun (a week ago). I can't believe it is my last, at least for a while. I was looking at the plan for my thesis and realized that something is due pretty much every month from now until graduation. Breaking it up in little pieces like that makes it seem so short. The short term goal: first draft by 15 February. I am hiding away this weekend to get a really good start.

Other finale things going on: my Spanish portfolio needs to be done like NOW! I am planning to go through all of my documents tomorrow evening after a long bath. Ahh. That's nice just thinking about it.

Jewel left Johnson City this past Friday. It was hard to see her go, but I am excited about all the stories I'll get to hear on her blog. Living with a new roommate is not really that fun. Not horrible, but incredibly weird. It is like walking on egg shells in my own apartment and everyone knows that you are supposed to be able to walk around naked at home (not to be taken entirely literally, but the key idea here is comfort-- which I don't really feel anymore). I am bit worried about our electricity bill b/c every time I walk in the heat is cranked up well beyond what is necessary or economical.

David has a show this weekend in Greeneville at the Starburst (from which they were banned only a few short weeks ago). We celebrated his 30th birthday this past Monday (the 23rd). It was fun but laid back... David has not been feeling well lately.... and, you'll laugh at the reason: he had to get another MMR shot in order to enroll in his computer class at Northeast. Well, I think it is amusing at least (this is the shot most children get while they are still actually children).

My new job is going well (though it is a bit early to know anything, I guess). I actually got in a few hours of studying last night-- something that appears to be hard to come by despite the fact that my official title is "study hall proctor."

Speaking of work, I've got to.

Warm thoughts to all.

my left ear

2005-12-14T01:09:00.000+08:00

i don't know what happened. i woke up this morning, took out my earplugs, and my left ear was still plugged. weird. i wonder if this means i'm going deaf? let's hope not.

i have my interview at The Gap this afternoon. little nervous about that (more because the manager that i talked to originally will not be there and i think the one who is supposed to interview me may not be aware of this fact, which would obviously suck).

civilizations of latin america exam went well yesterday even though i was writing for the ENTIRE two hours (i am not kidding, the bell tower chimed 3 o'clock as i was finishing my last sentence). whew!

now i only have a measely 10 page paper to write and another spanish exam that won't be so pleasant....

nothing new

2005-12-09T00:58:00.000+08:00

really. but, i am still alive and chugging away at the last week of school. i have it in my head to finish raking the leaves this afternoon (of course actually completing this will depend on 1) level of energy and 2) the aid of roomie and 3) how cold it gets).

like i said nothing GRANDE going on.

p.s. note to kate: i went to an awful christmas opera. it had a little kid that couldn't sing (all the others were okay). but, the plot was lame-o and the music not much better not to mention the fact that it was only 45 mins. long (but perhaps i should be grateful for not having to sit through it any longer). the few saving graces: the set was interesting (yes, there actually was a set this time), there was a little ballet dance-thing with decent dancers, and there was a live orchestra. was thinking about our opera-goings and you the whole time! =)

kilowatt ours

2005-12-02T23:14:00.000+08:00

went to a sneak peak screening of this documentary film last night and had some time to brainstorm and network with other community greens who seem to be popping out of the woodwork! looks like all is in the works for a big premiere of it sometime in early February, so keep you fingers crossed that all goes well.

a class that i am signed up for in the spring is in danger of being cancelled (no, it's not my thesis or my independent study, sillies!!). there's a good (well, not really) story about this. so, i asked one of my other spanish teachers if i could make an announcement about the class (ahem to her SPANISH class that i am *obviously* currently enrolled in) and she said NO. that's right, you read correctly, a big fat no. she said claims that her reasoning is as follows: neither class (there are two about to be cancelled) by this other teacher are regularly catalogued class. why that makes any difference whatsoever i cannot even begin to comprehend (despite the fact that it is incorrect, the catalogue allows for special topics courses and the spanish-american theatre class). she must think i am an idiot to fall for such a stupid reason. i didn't question it to her face however, but the wheels we turning for the remained of the class and this is my conclusion: she is a mean, mean, spitefully mean lady. and i think dr. hall the department head might be interested in hearing how this teacher refuses to support her colleagues. i think this behaviour is ridiculous and i can't understand why anyone would have cause to be so unsupportive of his/her own department whose goals as a department should be held by all. okay, that's my spiel. still reeling...

today, i got out of bed at 5 a.m. which was excessively early for me (prollie not for any of you working people, though) in order to get ready for a conference with my favorite person, mr. joe rice, and then i chatted with maria costa about the next step in our research project. does anyone know the basics of qualitative data analysis? that's my goal to work on for the next little while. brush up on how to conduct a good and useful survey.

in an hour or so i will be heading to Sitar to gorge myself on Indian food (it was Jewel's suggesting this morning). and, because it is so cold (i am inside and wearing the following items: underwear, biking shorts, long john bottoms, jeans, two pairs of socks, two shirts, a hooded fleece (yes, the hood is up), scarf, and my winter jacket!) i think that a LARGE amount of spicy Indian food sounds good. And, I just get soooooo hungry when I wake up early, early.

my dad visited jc on monday and we had an absolutely fabulous meal at sushi blues. we stayed up talking from around 6 until 10 and didn't even notice the time! i love it when that happens.
we also played with the computers at the honors house and looked for different combinations of flights for the holidays. my dad ended up purchasing three one way tickets--from knoxville to tampa, tampa to chicago, and chicago to knoxville. i found this cheap airline: independence air and we were all excited that all tickets were $307 total which is a steal for holiday travel, let me tell you (many of the options that we looked at were over three hundred for a one way). anyways, independence air runs through d.c. so i get to transfer planes there rather than in atlanta (yes!!) d.c. is so much better. you should try it.

grr... my tummy* is already rumbling and its only 10:30!

*i found out in linguistics the other day that this is a word modification produced by many children who, through the normal process of language acquisition, reduce consonant clusters. thus ccv "sto-" becomes cv "to-" (i apologize, but i can't represent with apa on this computer). the "m" gets repeated because of some process (don't recall the name, maybe it was assimilation) where one sound influences another... i'll stop here because the rest of the modification is not coming to mind. ANYWAYS, it was a child's word that then became a part of our language and that's cool.

Holidays

2005-11-23T01:18:00.000+08:00

I am skipping a few classes to head out of town this afternoon. Which (hopefully) means that I can get all the way to Chesterfield, Va. before the wet ground starts to freeze. Will I get stuck there this weekend? Let's hope not.

Jewel and I have earned ourselves the right (and money) to rake the leaves from the apartment building's property. Think no rain, dry leaves thoughts for our raking extravaganza on Sunday.

Yay holidays!!

Thanks also to katel and invisiblejp for a great weekend. I enjoyed all activities including the romantic comedy, wine tasting, Indian food, Opera, good company, and good food! Say a good luck wish to both of them on their 5K run on Thursday!!

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!
(there are rumors on campus that ETSU will terminate facebook use soon...)

Big News

2005-11-17T01:43:00.000+08:00

I got a haircut for the first time since that horrible, evil lady in Sweden nipped off all my hair. It was just a trim and a reshaping to transition into a longer hairstyle, but I feel good about it and the hair dresser lady. We formed a bond this morning =). I got some samples for some REAL shampoo and other products (though she says they aren't really necessary, don't you just think they ARE better? I mean they smell better, they feel better in your hair, etc. I say whatever makes you happy...). So, in the next few weeks I may be purchasing some salon hair products which is a big step for me.

Oh, yes. I would like to share this link with you. I will say nothing about it so that you will be completely shocked when you click on it (don't worry, nothing will pop out or make loud abnoxious noises at you).

What else? It is raining which means that it isn't 70 degrees like it was yesterday.

My ILLs are still rolling in for my thesis. Did I mention how much reading I have to do over Christmas break for that? Whew boy!

I talked to a guy yesterday who spent two months in Venezuela on other people's pocket money!! (Not a bad plan, if you ask me. It isn't like he stole from them or anything, the DONATED/SPONSORED him the money!!! Can you believe that?). And, the balls are rolling in my head to get into that deal!!

Anyways, I've got to run along to Spanish class!! =)

my watch

2005-11-16T03:46:00.000+08:00

so, the watch that i have had since sophomore year (and that i, cough, cough, have run with and sweated in for this time as well) gave me a rash this morning. just thought i'd share. it looked remarkably similar to the odd rash/contact dermatitis i got from my keen sandals the summer i was a camp counselor. old watch bands/sandals made out of the same material = bad for sensitive skin types.

i feel like not much is new. am i becoming a bore? i registered for class. no big problems there. i didn't have any form of caffeine this morning and i have been lugging around all day. off to get some right now (well, not this exact minute since i am in computers, writing, and literature class).

budding plans for visiting friends this weekend, so yay! don't know what we will be doing, but i will be the guest, so i guess i don't have to worry about that one! hehe.

haircut tomorrow (don't expect anything grand, it is just an expensive, yet much needed trim).

thanksgiving is fast approaching. the decision becomes whether to skip some classes and leave early (with another girl) or wait, go to class, and drive alone (which ends up being more conveinent for furniture-loading father). that's pretty much it. i am obviously leaning towards the less bothersome option.

p.s. david decided (COMPLETELY ON HIS OWN ACCORD) to buy some doc/dr. martens (never did figure out which one was correct). if you have any votes for a particular style, put your vote in now. i think he's looking for brown ones (but maybe black, i'm not entirely sure). he is shopping around here and then hoping to purchase online!

Can we say itchy?

2005-11-13T07:44:00.000+08:00

This morning, bright and early, a group of 5 Wesley folk (organized by yours truly) headed to Elizabethton to help with Habitat for Humanity. We were told we would be doing landscaping which is cool because it was a beautiful day. Well, guess what? We hung fiberglass insulation in the crawl space! Yay! We were happy that they provided gloves and masks, but we soon found that these would not prevent all itchiness, like the dust that falls into your eyes when you look up to stuff that pink cotton-candy like insulation in the above-head boards. Despite the itchy eyes and the early morning, it was pretty laid back and fun. Supposedly Johnson City is going to have some building sites for next semester, so that should be fun to volunteer throughout the building process.

Monday is REGISTRATION!!! Yahoo! I'm really not too excited (not because I am not excited about my upcoming classes, but more because they will be my last ones as an undergraduate and my last classes for a while, in fact).

my grandmother

2005-11-10T00:41:00.000+08:00

dear all,

my grandmother is dying now. since fall break "thanksgiving" she has pretty much declined. they ran some tests and found that she has stage iv kidney cancer that has metasticized to most of her vital organs. yesterday, she was sent to hospice care. she's on a morphine drip and sleeping most of the day. please keep her in your prayers/thoughts.

thanks.

Polio?

2005-11-09T11:18:00.000+08:00

Just read this in NYTimes Online:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/08/national/08polio.html?th&emc=th

Yikes! So, um, that idea about running away and becoming Amish? Umm... yeah.

Other news: 1. Marble Slab now carries pumpkin ice cream. I had a lick and wished for more, but alas none will be had by me this season. =( 2. My knee is slowly getting stronger, for which I am thankful (can anyone tell me how much these therapy sessions will cost? Apparently not... a bit concerning, yes?) 3. Will be helping Habitat for Humanity this weekend in Elizabethton, yay! 4. Next weekend, I will venture out of JC and visit Kate and JP in North Carolina!! =) 5. Thanksgiving is so close!!

My blogs are pitifully short, but that's all I got folks!

green power and insulation

2005-11-03T00:25:00.000+08:00

in a new push to convert power over to reusable energy, tva has started this green power thing. It's cool, so check it out (or similar programs in your area).

in other power related news--jewel and i officially removed our window-unit air conditioner and sealed up the window in the living room. i got some cellophane-ish stuff that you tape around the window and then blow-dry it (being careful not to melt the plastic) in order to create a nice seal. it worked well for, eh, a day and then the bottom seal came off (which answered our question about what the directions meant by "underneath" the window--it definitely means on the actual wall, not the molding. thanks.) i also purchased insulation pads for the outlets and light switches and some stuff for around the front door. i've yet to do my room which, when i stand in it/lie in bed, i can feel a cool drafty breeze from the window. good times!

other news--it's a good friend's b-day today, so if you are reading this, STEPHEN, happy day. hope it is as steve-o-licious as you want it to be. in german (i think... that's i think this is how you would say it, not "i think this is german"): deine geburtstag ist heute (your b-day is today). unfortunately, i don't know how to say happy b-day, so the english will have to suffice, or how about spanish? !feliz cumplean~os a ti!

this weekend i will be in blowing rock, nc helping out with a church conference (for a few hours) but spending most of the time outside!! think good weather thoughts. if i had a digi-camera, i'd take some pics so you could see, but if you're really good i might try to sketch something in paint for you ;)

oh, really?

2005-10-24T22:33:00.000+08:00

I guess I just have one reader (since previous post and posted comment). So, special blog-reader, thanks. You got most all the changes. Good Job!! You get 9.8 points (I *minused* 0.2 because I can and it's cold outside today).

Oh, yeah. Did I mention that it is cold? Like super-duper cold and I didn't bring mittens nor could I find my hat? That makes a good afternoon project-- finding where I put that hat I bought new (tags still on) at the Tree Streets Garage Sale back in August.

This morning I woke up before the sun rose and headed off to the ETSU Student Health Clinic (for various things). I officially have a referral and an appointment at Buc Sports on Wednesday to "see about/treat" my silly right knee. Also, the dull pain in my left ear is apparently "of concern" as such things "are not normal." But, getting it checked out properly requires a specialist which requires a good deal of money/good insurance neither of which seem to be afflicting me right now. I am to call in November to see about the "doctor" who is coming to the clinic (not really certain what this "doctor" will do beyond looking in my ear or referring me to a specialist which is what the FNP can also do, but we'll see).

Ooo . . . I also got to listen to one of those tuning fork thingies like in this picture. I was kinda fun, but like all things medical, I was afraid of giving the wrong answer (for example: she placed the tuning fork on top of my head and asked if I could hear it in both ears. now, this may seem like a simple question, but I couldn't answer it. I had no idea b/c it sounded like it was playing INSIDE my head, not my ears/in one ear specifically. Then, she moved on and did the "behind each ear" thing you see in the picture. I guess I passed that one, but who knows? She just smiled and nodded.)

And, I did well on my German test. That's it and it's only 10:51 a.m. Whew!

*minused is not in the merriam-webster dictionary, but take it here to mean the past tense verbified version of the word minus (which is listed as adj., n., or prep.)*

What the *&#@?

2005-10-19T23:18:00.000+08:00

Imail (ETSU's student e-mail) was down all weekend. Normally, wouldn't have been a big deal except that I really needed to access it. But, I was willing to overlook this fact until I logged in this morning and found the whole site completely reconfigured. Gone is the black screen and grey tabs. Now it is white with bright blue and yellows tabs everywhere!! They scream out and stab my eyes and I hate them.

So, I thought I would share some reconfigurations of my own with you (10 points for anyone who can figure out what I changed on the blog-- for full credit you must list the total number of changes of a description of each).

Thanks. Enjoy as you see fit.

tuna and corn chips

2005-10-19T01:54:00.000+08:00

that's lunch. yumm. it was just going to be tuna and tomato juice, but there are leftover chips here in the honors house from the "fall feast" last week. they are good and stale. just the un-crunchy way i like them.

visit to detroit, mi was nice (yay family), relaxing (yay reiki), fun (yay everything), filling (yay early thanksgiving feasts), etc. though i took my video camera (yay sister) and my point n shoot, i didn't take a single picture (moving or still) of the weekend. lots of mental pictures, though.

update on the chips: it appears that the bag is a mixture of not one, not two, but THREE different bags of tortilla chips. my guess is: white corn, yellow corn rounds, and corn scoops (of course, i am remembering that the scoops were at the party)

update on the tuna: same as always--kroger brand.

update on fulbright: had the interview. mixed feelings on how it went. but, i am being optimistic: i already put it on my resume as "Fublright Teaching Assistantship to Chile, pending"
so, that's that.

update on heart: it is still beating. in fact, it's rather happy. no real reason, except to be happy. i think that's enough.

While reading the news

2005-10-09T02:51:00.000+08:00

I'm sorry to be disgusting, but you have to read this. For some odd reason it came up when I was looking for some updates on Chilean politics, Pinochet, etc.

Let me know what you think.

Project

2005-10-09T00:01:00.000+08:00

So, here at Grand 'Ole ETSU there is the wonderful little class called Colloquium. Basically, it is the opportunity to get credit for preparing for one's future/reflecting upon life. That's my take, at least. Anyways, we have this thirty-day project. Below is a description of it:

"I [Joe Rice] was reading an article in Time magazine a few months back. The piece, titled 'Living a Dare, for 30 Days at a Time,' discusses a television show that apparently has been running this summer. The show’s creator is Morgan Spurlock, who brought you the 2004 film Super Size Me. For that film, Spurlock spent 30 days eating nothing but McDonald’s. He decided it would be cool to do a television show called 30 Days; in each episode, someone 'undergoes a transformation for a month.' One episode has Spurlock and his girlfriend living on minimum wage for a month; another episode has a Christian living with a Muslim family. I like the concept of putting yourself in a situation where you learn something about yourself and about the world. So we’re all going to be doing this at some point in the semester – committing to SOMETHING for 30 days – ideally, something that takes us out of our ordinary comfort zone. And if you are looking for me to offer up a definition of what that 'something' might be, stop looking. You are going to have to define that for yourself. But if you want to run ideas by me, or if you get stuck and want to talk about ideas, no problem, just get in touch with me. The important thing is to make this an experience that transcends academic exercise. Einstein once said, 'Never lose a holy curiosity' – you might use that as a starting point for this project" (Fall 2005 Colloquium Syllabus).

My project? Crazy. Not driving/riding in a car to any destination closer than 10 miles. That is, I'm basically walking and/or biking everywhere. I've made it through 5 1/2 days so far including three rather unpleasant rainy days sans umbrella AND a on-foot trip to the grocery store where I ran in to friend-ette who lovingly delivered my $53.75 of produce and canned goods to my house. I think that may have defeated the purpose (my mind is not yet made up on this matter) of the walking experience, but it sure was nice not to have to cart all those groceries through the rain . . . my bags surely would have gotten water-logged and taken on extra weight as I walked . . . .

German is, er, starting to make sense? I can't tell if the struggle is a) normal (and many of my classmates feel as confused) or b) b/c I missed two (or was it three) days when I was working on that Fulbright stuff??? Worth pondering? Who knows.

Boyfriend David and I were going to hop on over to Jonesborough for the Ghost Stories tonight, but it looks like it might be rained out. Then, we thought, 'hey, let's go to the corn maize, that will be fun.' (we = Allyssa who, after alternating between two pairs of 'soggy' and 'not so soggy/damp' pants for the past three days, is no longer that bothered by wetness). David Dearest seems to think they won't even have the place open. What faith!! Let's hope.

One more week til Fall Break!! Ya-ya!!

other news:
*My brother bought a new house (This is a link to some pics. I hope it works for you b/c the house is damn cool. I have already been invited to visit and, man, I can't wait! The lot is .92 acres!)
*I have been unable to reach my father for 3 days. I think I remember him saying he was going somewhere, but I can't, for the life of me recall where. Just in case something's wrong, think positive parental-unit thoughts. Thanks.
*Found a cool Launch radio-shared station (Sleeps around the clock's radio station)
*Oh yeah, it's still raining. But that's okay, since I am doing research and studying this day.

Great, thanks for reading. =)

Heck, here are some more...

2005-10-01T00:16:00.000+08:00

THIS is Shade a.k.a. Loafie (okay, that's a lie, no one calls her "Loafie" except me and that's only in my head. However, she is about the size of a loaf of bread when she curls up and tucks her feet under in the silly way that cats do). Don't worry, no one is moving . . . all those boxes are David's keepsakes rescued from his parent's home (a tree fell on the house and 1/2 of it was smashed. needless to say, they bought a new house and we helped them move in last weekend)

THIS is Mister Jelly Beans a.k.a. Magical Mister Mistoffelees (again, jk). Notice that this picture shows his head. It's big, no? Notice also that he's white. He's albino (with one blue n one green eye). He's not deaf so don't feel sorry for him. He's just big-boned AND fat.

p.s. I have no pictures of the ferret/rat because he's always sleeping and he scares me. plus, this camera saves the pictures onto a disk. We'll pretend the disk was full so his feelings don't get hurt.

Just a picture

2005-10-01T00:07:00.000+08:00

So, my dear David took this picture a couple of weeks ago . . . I decided that since it has been sooooo long since all of you have visited David's little kitty Mimi, you might be wondering what the little devil has started looking like. jk. I had to take this pic. (with a borrowed nearly 30-yr. old digital camera from the library, or DAVID borrowed the old camera from the library. It looks like a this, CRaa-zY!!). But, really I cropped it in Photoshop and was proud of my work (though I didn't fiddle with it long enough to enhance the quality, get rid of red eye, take away my shiny cheeks, or paint my nose purple). he-ha-he-he-he

So, now that that's out of the way...

2005-09-29T23:52:00.000+08:00

As of late Monday night/early Tuesday morning, I THOUGHT I was officially done with my Fulbright application (notice the"thought"). Yes, I was unfortunately saddened/shocked to find out that this pesky little thing called "language proficiency report" would NOT, in fact, be filled out after my group campus interview that is half in Spanish. Silly me for thinking/being told (but who's really making the distinction?) that was the case?

Anyways, my pre-interview/form-filling-out session/conversation will occur ON TOMORROW (yes, I know that sounds funny, but I rather like saying "on tomorrow"). In the afternoon (as my interviewer is not "un madrugador" (I think is how he put it?) which = (despite what babelfish translators think) morning person (or, in the case of my negation, NOT a morning person). Cool.

So, tonight friends will flock (all two of them) to our apartment for some relaxation as none (relaxation) has really been had since school started . . . . So I am looking forward to that.

On the German front, not much happening there-- big goal for the weekend: to do the "impossible" of getting caught up (teacher thinks it is impossible, but I beg to differ since I have been 1/2 studying since the beginning). Point of clarification: teacher did not specifically tell ME that it would be impossible for ME to catch up, rather said it as a general warning to the entire class that "catching up" is nearly impossible. Geez! Have faith, lady!! (just kidding, I'm really not upset by her comment b/c, in fact, I mostly agree with her-- it takes extra work to catch up and can only be done before a certain point in the semester, like, let's just say for grins, the sixth week (umm... like next week =). I'm quite sure that this run-onish thing has been confusing enough so, it ends. Thank you very much).

Bought a plane ticket (well, not really "bought" in the generally accepted definition of the word since my financial contribution was little more than the tax and fees . . . ) to Detroit for Fall Break where I will visit my lovely grandmother, aunts (and uncles), and a few cousins!! I am excited since it has only been like FOREVER since I have seen them and Fall Break is quickly approaching (Oct. 17-18). To make it even better, I will be there for the weekend-ish part and still have Friday and Monday afternoon (plus Tuesday, if needed) to do schoolwork. Nice balance, I know.

Note specifically to old ETSU gang: 1. Dear old Nemesis of mine has been generally recognized as an evil person who should go back to Africa where she was "loved" (though this comment was not made by me, per se, I shared in the sentiment). However, it must be said that not having any REAL classes with this person certainly makes it easier to be around her or, perhaps to not be around her =) 2. Certain recent graduates are dearly missed, especially upon Kroger trips where, OH MY GOSH!!, they rearranged "all" (several) shelves; imported some stuff from France, Britain, Italy, Mexico, and SWEDEN!!; and now have like a gazillion different types of olive oils and vinegars =) AND when I find myself just wanting to chat, but oops! it's the middle of the day and thus not particuarly conveinent to call people who say, live out of town or work, etc. Bummer. . . . Let it be known, though, that I make many mental calls.

Oh, and here is a food announcement: V8 Tomato juice really isn't as repulsive as I've said it was in the past. I actually kind of like it. Am I getting old? Pondering . . . no, I just have "advanced" tastes =)