Well it is Saturday, December 8th. I have been in China for one month and about 4 days.
I am enjoying my time so far here. It is very interesting to be in a very different society with different peculiarities. I find myself laughing a lot, in large part at how wierd it is that I am in China and often at odd things I perceive differently than the natives.
I do not miss a lot. I mostly miss being able to channel surf through various programs that do not interest me. Here, I have to make an effort to amuse myself in anyway.
One thing I have started to do is listen to podcasts on my iPad. Of course I do not trouble myself with podcasts that are very deep, philosophical or even newsworthy. Instead, I listen to podcasts of a dungeons and dragons campaign game. It is amusing to me, and that is all that counts.
Buying DVD's is really getting tricky, because I am a picky movie watcher. I do not really like most films. I have found that I prefer crappy horror or suspense films. I really have pretty bad taste.
Yesterday, I bought Akira Kurosawa's epic Samurai film Kagemusha about Lord Shingen and all that. Unfortunately, it is without any subtitles, so I sort of watch and follow along. Because Kurosawa is a great story teller, I can kind of piece together what is going on.
I also have been spending time studying Chinese. So far, I am almost halfway through level one of Rosetta Stone's Mandarin program. I would be further along, but I didn't have internet in my apartment for the first month I was here. I think that now I will be able to roll through alot more of it.
It is odd, but the Chinese I am learning does seem to build on itself. I do recall new words I learned the day before. I get plenty of practice.
Today, with assistance of another Chinese teacher, I took some trousers to the dry cleaners. This was a major accomplishment for me. I feel like I have crossed a threshold because now my pants will be dry cleaned. Small things accomplished make me feel very good.
Yesterday, I spoke to my real Lao Ban about my compensation package. I am going to be getting a base salary of 9000 RMB per month, plus an additional amount for working with the company to interview students who will be coming from China to study in the US.
The amount I am making is not large by US standards, but seems like it is more than enough to live on; I don't pay rent or utilities,;I can eat for a small sum everyday; I get reimbursed for travel expenses.
Last night I had a scary dream about a serial killer at my grand parents house. I had for some reason invited a group of childhood friends over to visit. I managed to kick out the old friends and was left alone in the house with this odd man I did not know. He proceeded to try to get me to let him run a wire metal brush over my wrists. I stopped him, but he insisted. The wire of the brush had sliced open my arm and I realized he was in fact trying to murder me. In the dream, I then ran out of the house and down the street, where I sought help at a miniature golf course/motel that is not on the street in waking reality. The State Police said I was insane, despite bleeding and being filmed by a news crew.
I am enjoying my time so far here. It is very interesting to be in a very different society with different peculiarities. I find myself laughing a lot, in large part at how wierd it is that I am in China and often at odd things I perceive differently than the natives.
I do not miss a lot. I mostly miss being able to channel surf through various programs that do not interest me. Here, I have to make an effort to amuse myself in anyway.
One thing I have started to do is listen to podcasts on my iPad. Of course I do not trouble myself with podcasts that are very deep, philosophical or even newsworthy. Instead, I listen to podcasts of a dungeons and dragons campaign game. It is amusing to me, and that is all that counts.
Buying DVD's is really getting tricky, because I am a picky movie watcher. I do not really like most films. I have found that I prefer crappy horror or suspense films. I really have pretty bad taste.
Yesterday, I bought Akira Kurosawa's epic Samurai film Kagemusha about Lord Shingen and all that. Unfortunately, it is without any subtitles, so I sort of watch and follow along. Because Kurosawa is a great story teller, I can kind of piece together what is going on.
I also have been spending time studying Chinese. So far, I am almost halfway through level one of Rosetta Stone's Mandarin program. I would be further along, but I didn't have internet in my apartment for the first month I was here. I think that now I will be able to roll through alot more of it.
It is odd, but the Chinese I am learning does seem to build on itself. I do recall new words I learned the day before. I get plenty of practice.
Today, with assistance of another Chinese teacher, I took some trousers to the dry cleaners. This was a major accomplishment for me. I feel like I have crossed a threshold because now my pants will be dry cleaned. Small things accomplished make me feel very good.
Yesterday, I spoke to my real Lao Ban about my compensation package. I am going to be getting a base salary of 9000 RMB per month, plus an additional amount for working with the company to interview students who will be coming from China to study in the US.
The amount I am making is not large by US standards, but seems like it is more than enough to live on; I don't pay rent or utilities,;I can eat for a small sum everyday; I get reimbursed for travel expenses.
Last night I had a scary dream about a serial killer at my grand parents house. I had for some reason invited a group of childhood friends over to visit. I managed to kick out the old friends and was left alone in the house with this odd man I did not know. He proceeded to try to get me to let him run a wire metal brush over my wrists. I stopped him, but he insisted. The wire of the brush had sliced open my arm and I realized he was in fact trying to murder me. In the dream, I then ran out of the house and down the street, where I sought help at a miniature golf course/motel that is not on the street in waking reality. The State Police said I was insane, despite bleeding and being filmed by a news crew.
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