I am such a lazy son of bitch, I am just gonna copy and paste an email I sent to my best bed, and consider that a real update on my blog. Keep in mind that unless you are Jamie, you might now get some of the references in here, but that's okay. Just go with the flow.
开始！
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Yeah, that last blog entry way a bit of a bummer. I was feeling pretty out of it that day. Fortunately it was just a day or two day slump. What has been on and off annoying me is my lack of time to do things. However, once I cut the daily exercise out of my schedule I do okay with time. It's no lie to say that I stay pretty busy. I usually put in between one and a half hours and two hours of studying/homework each weekday. On Monday CET has a kung fu class that I have been going to, and after that I go to the Beijing juggling club. I teach an 一对一 English class on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, and two on Sunday evenings. I also started taking a modern dance dance class with a Chinese company (really cool, it has been years since I have done modern dance! Not since high school, really.), which is on Thursday. With a test every Friday morning, the afternoon is free, so I end up spending it doing that weekend's homework, or hanging out with 张强. 张强 and I have gotten together two or three times since the beginning of this semester, and having a college student friend outside of the CET program really helps me to feel grounded in the city. (as if I don't have enough other stuff going on. Ha!)
Every now and then I get frustrated with the classes, usually on days when I have a commitment in the evening so I feel rushed for time, and days that class feels particularly useless. I believe that am indeed using the same book that you used last semester, the red one. Although I am occasionally dissatisfied with the practicality of learning about AIDS and world population problems, it is usually okay. The business class (and to a lesser extent the 一对一) really gets to me though. The teacher for the business class is just terrible. Every day in class we just read through the text and a list of words. I am not kidding when I say that half of the class is her saying a word and the students repeating it. Another factor is that so much of the stuff in that class is the kind of thing I would use in a business conference, or two companies negotiating prices, but these are things that I really don't see myself using. The 一对一 classes were fine back during fall semester, but now they feel like a waste. If I have questions about the grammar or stuff it is great, but I usually understand the stuff fine (it is wonderful how grammatically simple this language is, right?). In the fall it provided an opportunity to speak Chinese for a while in just free conversation, but now I know plenty of Chinese people out in the city, and I speak Chinese with the roommates and other CET students. Especially on days when I decide I want to exercise, I don't want to go to 一对一.
I think the combination of the tight schedule gives me the desire for more time, and the perceived uselessness of some of my classes really makes me wish that I didn't have to take those classes, resulting in a bit of simmering rebellion.
Meng Lili and I are doing pretty good. She is really romantic, and I think sometimes she wishes that I was more romantic too, but I am gonna planning a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant over in Chaoyang (that's on the East side, if you have been away from Beijing too long to remember. Hehehe. 我跟你开玩笑), and then go see a vidoe/dance performance in the 798 art district. I figured that I should do something really nice, since last time we got together it felt a little akward, and I am going away for a week for Spring break. Having a Chinese girlfriend really makes me realize what a fantastic resource TheBeijinger.com is. Every time I wanna do something cool with Meng Lili I just search TheBeijinger.com for an event on that day, and there is ALWAYS something going on. Ethnic Mongolian folk music, Beijing Improv shows, an environmental saving-energy party... It's a good method. I have learned a few new words from her too. Ya know how when you are hanging out with Chinese people, every you tend to pick up a few new terms or phrases every now and then, right? It's kinda cool.
You definitely influenced my flirtation skills and habits while in Beijing. I was never that outgoing in America. Now I need to constantly reel myself in whenever I find myself with a really strong desire to flirt with {insert pretty girl, Chinese or foreign, here}.
My neighbor is pretty cool, so we end up hanging a lot. It is nice to be right next to him, 'cause he is relaxes and fun. He likes to go to bars and drink and dance, but he doens't live for getting wasted. It's a good 情况.
By the way, my bits of Chinglish here remind me, you should hear some of the people here talk! A few of the girls say 'like' all the time when they are speaking Chinese. As in: "这个周末我想去，like， 一个新的酒吧"。 I get a kick out of it.
I have a goal: I want to juggle five balls. I just started working on it. I am a long ways away, but I can already see my progress. I also did some fire staff twirling last weekend, outside of Obiwan. A buddy put a clip on facebook. Check it out if you get the chance. It is super simple stuff, but it was fun!
Spring break I am heading to Sichuan. To see the big Buddha in Leshan was my first goal, but when I learned that one of China's holy mountains was right next to Leshan I got put on my plan too. It it only about an hour bus ride from Leshan to Emei Shan, and I hear the monkeys on the mountain are absolutely wild, stealing cameras and drinks from hikers, and even not letting you pass if you don't give them a 'toll'. It is weird that I am totally hyped to be mugged by shaggy yellow-haired primates? I also wanna check out the panda breeding center, and spend a few days in Chendu, getting a feel for the city. I am flying out of Beijing on Saturday morning. Working on a regular basis is kinda nice, 'cause now I have the cash to spend on a plane ticket. :)
I am indeed still with learn first, doing 3-4 classes a week, pulling 260 a class. My spending habits have gone up like crazy this quarter, and I must be taking cabs half as often as Steph now! My students are cool though. I only have two, and one of them I have 2-3 classes a week. His English is pretty good, and he is going to high school in America in the fall, so we talk about American dating, youth culture, school, and that kind of stuff a lot. Pretty easy, and really fun. I love getting paid to do something I enjoy. That is the best kind of work, hand down.
My summer plans aren't finalized yet. But I am thinking about going to that acrobatic school south of 4th ring road. I figure that I am young, and if I don't spend at least a little time pursuing my dream then I will regret it later. I also emailed Madeline Chu to ask about SIP stuff, and she said that she thinks doing a bunch of research and interviews with the people at the acrobatic school would be a great SIP. I asked her if she could be my SIP adviser, but she hasn't gotten back to me yet, and it had been like two weeks. :( If the acrobatic school works as a SIP, then I will probably go for those study abroad SIP grants too. If going to the acrobatic school doesn't pan out, I am still at a loss for SIP ideas, and I am just gonna find a place to rent and hang out/play/work in Beijing for the summer until Fall quarter starts. I was worried about visa stuff, but a friend from juggling club is opening a business in about two weeks (a bicycle and juggling supplies shop), and she says that it would be pretty easy for her to list me as her employee. I'd like to even really work for her, but I don't know what my situation will be yet. With teaching English and my still fairly cheap lifestyle, I could make it work. It would also give me the time to do so many things that I have started doing, or have wanted to do in Beijing, like dance class, martial arts class, practice juggling more, go to community lectures/classes, read and research for SIP, read and research my personal interests, check out cool events, volunteer at NGOs, spend time with local friends, respond to some of those adds looking for foreigners to be in movies/adds, etc.
Wow, that took a while! I am gonna to teach an English class now. Good luck on your 期中考试!
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hahaha
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