Some things

I wrote down some things a couple days ago to post when I had the internet back, and now I do, so here they are:

"I haven’t had internet for all of June, and it makes my life so different. No blogging, can’t check my precious precious email, can’t check the weather online, etc. I love the internet. I’m not entirely sure what I do with the time I would otherwise spend online, but I think a great deal of it is spent napping. Also doing crossword puzzles. And homework!

So, what have I done in June worth noting? I went and volunteered at the migrant school again, which was great, as always. We learned about “o” and “u” sounds, and the past progressive tense. With the kids we had two groups, one who made paper airplanes and had a contest to see what kind of airplane flew the farthest, and one who made paper butterflies by painting one half and then folding and unfolding it to make symmetrical designs. I made a paper airplane and a butterfly myself, and it was highly educational.

Last Friday I went shopping at the Silk Market and bought tons of awesome stuff. I got myself (get ready for it) ...shiny gold sneakers! They are sooooo sweet. I also spent like an hour just chatting with the girl I bought the sneakers from and the other salespeople in that area. It even got me a good price later when I bought a suitcase from the girl across the aisle. Most people in my program brought one or two big suitcases for the semester, and I had only brought one little one, but I’ve gotten enough stuff this semester to warrant another suitcase, so I figured I’d get a big one because they’re dirt cheap. My new suitcase is nearly twice the size of my old one, and is a Samsonite (or at least a really good fake), and cost $12 American. You’ve gotta love China.

Also this past Sunday, I went out for pizza with my Kouyu class because my program is ending soon so they had a farewell party (although I’m still sticking around so it’s a little weird). Everybody got me presents, which I was totally surprised by. Asians are a lot bigger on giving presents for every occasion, though, and my class is half Japanese/Korean people. My teacher gave me a vase and flowers that are both made from cow bone – the hollowed-out bone is the vase, and the flowers are carved from bone. My roommate thinks it’s kind of gross, but I think it’s pretty cool. It smells a little cowish though, but whatever.

The only un-fun thing about that night was when I randomly got all these crazy welts on my torso...out of nowhere, I was all swollen and splotchy and kind of freaking out and worried I was having some kind of allergic reaction, and it went away after I took a cool shower but the next day it came back and I was all trying to figure out how to get medical care and whether I should go to a hospital and what is covered by my insurance in China but then I didn’t get anymore weird welts so I guess there’s nothing to worry about? Silly times.

The other main thing in my recent life is that I’m moving...my program’s housing only lasts until the 10th, but I’m staying until the 30th, so I found a classmate of a classmate whose roommate moved out but they had already signed a lease for a year so they were looking to sublet for any possible length of time, so on Tuesday I went to check the place out. It’s really close to campus (esp. since I have a bike) and it’s the same rent as my on-campus housing but like 10 times nicer. It’s a beautiful apartment (with a kitchen!!! feichang hao!) and the girl who lives there is really chill. Her name is Christiane and she’s from Brussels! And the apartment has wireless internet so my life can be normal again. And my bathroom sink is (seriously) made of blue glitter. I’ll take a picture sometime, because it is amazing.

6/7-
Today on the bus I saw a man who looked exACTly like Mr. Meo; offering further proof that Katie Meo is Asian. That's right."