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Free Coordination With Sport And Fashion. (seen on a backpack)
If you've never had hot yams off a grill, I highly recommend them. My favorite Beijing food--I can't walk past the yam seller without a purchase. And, happily, there's a yam seller just a short walk away from this internet center. What a treat--16 new e-mails from you and then a hot yam to top it off.
To those who asked me how I have time to write, let me just say that school is in high gear and I'm working very hard. After three days of class, we're now responsible for nearly 100 words, written and oral. Unfortunately, all those words and I still can't say, "Geez, that's a lot to learn!"
My tai ji teacher is a riot. About 60 pounds of energy and humor. I'm studying with three friends, from the US, the UK (via Brussels), and Switzerland. My Chinese is the worst of the three of us, but the teacher knows a little English and throws it around when we least expect it. There's a lot of bilingual giggling. And tai ji is a nice break from all those xie's and xue's and jings.
Random notes:
- every neighborhood (defined by about 5 to 7 blocks) is fully enclosed by a gate and guarded by a uniformed soldier. Soldiers stop strangers and bikes that don't have their current registration.
- If you say the words fast enough, tone doesn't matter.
- charred yams are yummy.
- Roomie has developed a crush on an Indonesian man whose phone number was, unfortunately, one digit away from that of George, a Thai man who, over the phone, sounds like he's from Ohio. It took three languages and six people over 30 minutes to straighten out the problem. I'm not sure it's actually be straightened out, but I've posted a note over her bed that says, "Jerry: 2898." That should relieve George of a few phone calls.
- *now* the Chinese say that left-handed people are beautiful.
- When in Beijing, always carry a clean tissue in your pocket. Always. Trust me on this one.
- "to sleep" and "to study" sound nearly the same in Chinese. Unfortunately. Explains why roomie turns the lights out when I say I plan to study and turns them on when I suggest sleep.
- In my classmate's Chinese/Japanese dictionary, the words are arranged alphabetically. Starting with 'a'. Anyone else find that odd?
- For about a dollar, you can get two dishes and rice from a vendor on the street. For another 50c, you can eat in a restaurant and have tea with your meal.
- The food here is unbeatable.
For those playing along at home, Lynne is painting her house, mom and dad had a big blow-out for my brother and his new wife, and Diane had a wonderful time at the a cappella concert. Yes, Diane, I'd love to go to the Harmony Sweepstakes. Thanks for the invitation and, since I neglected to bring my datebook to Asia, could you remind me of our date when I get back? Thank you, Sid, for giving me such explicit instructions on when the Oscars are and, Wendy, I was home for the Olympics and didn't leave until the closing ceremonies were over. I appreciate the update on the games at any rate. Thanks to you, too, Diane, for the actual world news update.
And to answer Elnora's question: "If your roommate is Korean, why do people need to know Chinese to try to pick her up?" They don't need to, if they are fluent in Korean. Ah, there's the rub. <Grin>
Gotta go study. Or sleep. Whatever comes out of my mouth, that's what I'll do. Deal?
Miss you all!
De feng.
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