Day two of Orientation

This is random - a few days before I left for China I wanted to play the violin a little bit. It was sentimental. Anyway, to do so, I needed to cut my nails, so I gave the nails on my left hand a vicious trim, leaving my right hand alone. Thinking that I'd have nail clippers here...

I don't. So I look ridiculous, as I always do, with my right hand with long fingernails, my left hand looking like a boy's. Honestly, I prefer not having nails. I don't see how people function with them - how do you type? Grab things? Touch the faces of your children?!

So that's been bothering me all day, my asymmetry.

Anywho, today we took a neighborhood tour and spoke a little bit more about culture shock. A psychiatrist came to give us a presentation. Man, it was hokey. The guy seems friendly enough, although he got his masters in folklore (but hey, it was at UCLA, and he DID get his doctorate) - anyway, instead of really talking to us about culture shock he just showed us pictures of Chinglish. Granted, many of them were funny, but he only devoted about a slide to the stages of shock (it's funny that they're so similar to the stages of grief).

1. Euphoria
Everything's new and fun!! No toilet paper?! Just something to add to my resume!
2. I can't remember the name, but I'll call it, "I'm tired of this Bull shit"
How many times must I get hit by a cyclist?! THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN IN AMERICA.
3. Acceptance
I know it isn't my home, but I know it's just Different, and that's okay.
4. Basically becoming a participant in the culture

I wonder which stage is, "I want to go to the post office but I don't know enough vocabulary to ask them." Maybe that's the fear that comes before the euphoria.



The language pledge didn't begin today, it starts Monday, but my apartment building is basically filled with students who've been here for a semester (or two) already, and so their roomies came in early and I kind of started the pledge early.

Rebecca's roommate, Shao (or maybe it's Xiao, I haven't checked), is hilarious. She came into my room and started speaking Chinese soooo quickly I could only catch bits and pieces. She immediately situated herself beside my pictures, asking all kinds of questions.

Perhaps I accidentally said that my boyfriend is "expensive" (gui) rather than "tall" (gao).

Anyway, she was really friendly, if not confusing at times. She asked where I studied, and when I told her she said, "MICHAEL JORDAN DE DAXUE MA?!" (Michael Jordan's university?!) I was crazy impressed. She plays basketball.

Rebecca then showed me pictures from her hike with Mickey, a classmate of hers from Kansas who's here, too.

I met MY roommate! SHE IS WONDERFUL. CET gave us a stipend to take our roomies out to dinner tonight, so I went with her and some other students with their roommates.

At the dinner she says randomly, "I love to cook with my mom, so I want to teach you how to cook in the dorm."

I wanted to say, "Girl, how'd you know I can't cook?"

The conversation was kind of fun! I tried to tell her my major, and ended up basically saying, "Um... I read, and I think, and I talk, then I think, then I read?" She guessed, "Psychology?" "No, not psychology, but the two are similar...." We didn't get it. Next time it comes up I'll tell her it was Confucius' major.


She and a few people went out to a bar tonight, but I'm starting to get really exhausted. I only got about eight hours last night, nine the night before, none on the plane, four before that... it goes on. I haven't actually thought about that until now. I need sleep.


Side note -

I cannot tell you how good the food is here. I probably said this in some way yesterday, but I'm serious: I thought that when I ate here, I'd think, "Well, this is a little weird, but, hey, it's kind of... exotic? And that's great!"

Instead it's just really, really good food. I'm so excited! Tonight I ate Jia Chang Doufu (home cooked tofu) for the first time ever, something I've wanted to do since the first time I ever heard of it. That and tons of vegetables prepared in different ways. Broccoli with garlic, mm mm. It didn't occur to me until today that there is a whole mess of food available to me here, and hey, a fairly 'expensive' meal should cost less than ten bucks.

The weather outside was great today, too! Plenty of blue sky (a surprise) and not too cold at all.

For now, I'm excited to get in my jammies.