Week 14: PICTURES!!!

{I’m going to cheat and write in English because there are way too many pictures that need some short of explanation.}

I finally regained vpn access!!! You have no idea how excited I am … ah! I feel like I am alive again – thank you, Julien. I swear, you work the magic. Well, it’s definitely been a mighty long time since I updated (especially with pictures) so this will be a rather long, but hopefully interesting entry!

This past weekend was very memorable. But I guess that’s always the case when I’m out with Zhen, Brendan, Kyu, Nicolas, and Julien. Friday night, I finally met up with Brendan after 3 weeks of not seeing him. Yes, you know he missed me. Anyway, it was Kevin’s bday so Zhen and I joined Kevin, Brendan, and their ABC friends for Teppanyaki and then Muse 3 after. We even got Kyu to come out! Yay. Of course, we ended the night at McDonalds with Zhen speaking Cantonese and eating 20 pieces of Chicken McNuggets.

Yesterday was USC’s Year-End Ball. Other than one of my classmates, I didn’t really know anyone else going, but it turned out to be a pretty fun event. Wine + food + prizes … what’s not to like? After, I met up with the dormies at the Barbie store (yes, a whole 6-floor building dedicated to Barbies) for Siyan’s birthday. Then, Muse One … where I was rescued by Kyu, Nicolas, and YeCheng. Thank you guys for coming!!

Okay, and of course … pictures!

Halloween.

Awesome Halloween party hosted by 一楼北方 right outside of our dorm. We are the shit. Btw, guess my costume!

Yes. That is Kyu. w Sabine and Elodie.

Beverages outside of my window.

Suzhou.

狮子林! I went with my classmate 续然

Suzhou Museum. Best part was that it was free!!

with 续然

More Suzhou pictures!

Some of my classmates having lunch after our last midterm!

Beautiful.

KTV.

My first time karoake-ing in China. Check out Miro and his awesome mask!

Cool shot of Zhen.

Random outings.

At Zapata’s.

Shang comes to town!!!

My lunch.

Bday parties (Nicolas/Gloria/Kevin).

Zhen’s bday present to Gloria: Jigglypoof. RIP, rip.

Gloria with Jigglypoof.

With my 口语老师！Shandai & Kyu

Bday dormies: Gloria and Nicolas at Latina’s.

Chic shot of Kyu around campus.

The boys practicing their golf moves in my room. FOCUS.

I love Zhen’s facial expression in this picture.

Haha. Oh Zhen.

McD’s!

Xmas in McD’s!

Westin hotel on the Bund.

FIGHT ON!!

Everyone wants to be Linda Kim.

w Kyu and his Jimmy Choo scarf.

Muse.

What happened to Zhen’s chopsticks??

Yes … that is life thus far. Christmas is coming up and I have no special plans. Elaine is coming soon so that is exciting!!

Anyhow, hope you enjoyed the pictures. Tomorrow: ping pong at night!!

十一个星期：怎么说……?

从现在开始，我想用汉语写我的博客（下面我会翻译成英语）。我先向你们道歉。我知道我的语法还有问题，不过我一定应该要练习。

其实，今天是我第一天在中国感到失望感觉。我突然发现我的口语进步很慢。最近我把我的注意集中打工。现在我明明看出结果是什么。我不知道我到底干什么。我把最容易的句子说错了。我疯了吗？英奎纠正了我无数次但是我还犯同样的错误。我真有泄气。比如：我每次问：“怎么样说？” 但是正确问题是 ”怎么说？”

英奎想支持我更努力练习我的口语所以他想到一个办法：我们有赌注。圣诞节的时候，如果我没有进步，我要请他去Latina吃午饭。Latina是一家巴西自助餐（比较贵！）我们的邻居，善岱，当裁判。我不会输。我不想感到尴尬。

好的。这是我的保证。

反正，我想更体验中国的生活。我想学打乒乓球！我也想去参加一个中国唱会。我的生日快要到了……那时可能在上海有唱会吧。

几乎三点了。先睡觉！晚安。

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
From now on, I’m going to type my blogs in Chinese (and translate into English below). I have to first apologize. I know my grammar has issues but I really need to practice.

Actually, today is my first time in China where I’ve felt disappointed. I suddenly realized that I barely have progressed in my Oral Chinese. Recently, I’ve been so caught up with my part time job teaching English. Now I clearly see the results of this. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me. I can’t even say the simplest sentences correctly. Am I crazy? Kyu has corrected me countless times and I still make the same mistakes. For example, “怎么样说？” should be ”怎么说？”

Kyu wants to motivate me to improve my Chinese so he thought of an idea: we are having a bet. By Christmas, if I haven’t improved my oral Chinese, I have to treat him to dinner at Latina (an all-you-can-eat Brazilian buffet). It’s expensive! Our neighbor, Shandai, will be the judge. I can’t lose. I don’t want to be embarrassed.

Well, that’s what I’m going to promise myself.

Anyway, I’d like to experience a more Chinese life in Shanghai. I actually want to learn how to play ping pong. And also attend a Chinese music concert. My birthday is coming up …… maybe I can find concert tickets around that time?

Okay, it’s almost 3 am. Time to sleep. Good night!

Week 10: Shang in da House!

Wow, I have been terrible with the updates. I apologize! There’s less incentive to update now that I can’t post pictures. I can’t get over how tragic it is that I lost my VPN configuration. I’m still trying to figure out how to reformat my MAC with the burnt CD that I bought in a local DVD shop. Sigh. Kyu and I can’t figure it out. : ( Gr. Where are Ken and Bak when I need them?!

Lately, I’ve been busy with midterms, tutoring English, and language partner exchanges. The weather has been atrocious so it’s a nightmare just walking outside to get food. I finally bought an amazing pair of leather boots from Zara out of NECESSITY, not WANT. My tennis shoes cannot bear Shanghai’s rainy winter. Anyway, let’s just say the boots are an early Christmas/Quarter-Century Bday present to myself. My most expensive pair of shoes to date! My bank account is not happy; this month’s scholarship allowance has already been wiped out and it’s only been 5 days!! Terrible. Just terrible, Linda Kim.

No new updates … except that SHANG IS IN SHANGHAI (pun intended)! WHOO. My first friend from LA to visit me. (Technically, Shang is visiting his family … but hell, I’d like to think he’s here to see me, too.). We went to 新天地 last night as my overdue goodbye & Shang’s welcome outing. 非常感谢 Shang for the drinks!! It was great to catch up and to hear about what my DT peeps are up to these days. I was so elated to hear all the good news – congratulations to my team members on getting engaged, setting a wedding date, and expecting a baby!! I’m glad that 2010 is looking great for everyone. Hopefully, it’ll be an exciting one for me as well.

I’ve been feeling very tired recently. Must be the cold. Finally starting to get involved in a book – Irene Nemirovsky’s Suite Francaise. I tried starting the book a year or so ago but gave up for whatever reason. Perhaps I’m encouraged by all my French neighbors around me. : )

My skin is at its worst … and this worries me so much. I’ve been getting facials every week but I really can’t tell whether or not it’s working. I don’t understand. This never happened during puberty. Is my body getting confused? I’m turning 25 not 15 …

Well, that’s it for now. I miss everyone! Hope you are all well.

Happy early Thanksgiving! Be sure to eat lots of turkey for me since I won’t be able to.

ps. I’ve already started listening to Christmas music! Wham – Last Christmas is on repeat 24/7.

Phoneless. :(

Yes, after having my new phone for just over a month, it is dead and gone. Sigh. 750 RMB down the drain. Karma!! *Raises fist*

It’s rather interesting that I practice less Chinese when I am in my room diligently studying for my exams. On the other hand, if I was out and about like my usual self, I would be using Chinese all the time to get around. Hm. Food for thought.

Btw, it’s started to rain/get colder in Shanghai. I hate the cold, but I hate mosquitoes more, and for that reason, I am looking forward to the chilly weather so all these blasted insects could just die. There. I said it.

Spoke to Grandma on the phone today. She was sad to hear that I was not coming back for Christmas. Missing the fam bam! Hope you are all well.

ps. Still without full access to wordpress. No time to fix computer. GAH!

Mama

A quickie:

Mom just sent me her first email and it almost made me cry! I’m so proud of her. She just started keyboarding classes in September and her typing is actually pretty good! The computer is going to use! : ) Ah, makes me miss the family. <3

Anyway, just finished two midterms of five. I wish I didn't screw up my 口语 exam but what can you do. Gotta continue studying. 加油！

Week 8: 我新最喜欢的生词：真牛！

先要祝我哥哥生日快乐！他今年是二十七岁了！

I will first apologize for the lack of photos in this (and perhaps) future entries. My Mac is dying on me and it breaks my heart! I lost a lot of configurations for most of my programs, including the VPN network I use to give me full access to wordpress. Sigh. What a pity, considering I took so many great pictures during Halloween! You guys will just have to be patient and wait until I fix this problem.

Lately, I’ve been uptight and I don’t know why. I’m really sorry if I’ve been defensive or overly sensitive. I think it’s maybe because I haven’t had that much time to myself … and time to write/reflect. Lately, I’ve been busy meeting more Chinese friends. Actually, I’ve been meeting a Chinese or Taiwanese friend almost everyday! But, I still think that it’s one of the best ways for me to study … to really practice my 口语。Tomorrow, I’m meeting a new Chinese student and 丁砚！丁砚 and I are going to a 潮州 restaurant and I’m super excited to try 潮州菜! Whoo.

Well, winter has finally arrived and it’s kicking my butt. I went with Kyu, Elodie, and Sabina to H&M today and bought some warm clothes to help me survive. Did you know that in one day, the temperature dropped over 10 degrees Celsius! I think that’s about 30 degrees Fahrenheit, right? Insanity. I heard January is going to be the worst. I need to brace for it.

What else is new？Oh! I have a student to tutor! I actually met with her Dad on Sunday and he was very excited to have me teach his young daughter some English. So I’m starting on Friday to help her with her conversational English and reading. I hope it turns out to be a good experience. I’m also applying for another teaching position … we’ll see how that goes. I need to make money, but I’m beginning to feel that maybe I’m overwhelming myself with too many activities. Other than that, I’m also planning to go to 苏州 on Thursday with my Korean classmate. I hope we will have fun, despite the cold. : ) I’m looking forward to new adventuring with my classmate! Next week I have midterms (wow, it’s been a while since I’ve taken college exams) so this is going to be a dry week and weekend. Only hard core studying allowed.

Okay, I’m going to try to watch try to watch some football …

Bye Bye Blackbird …

Decided to read some of the entries in my diary since I’ve been in Shanghai. I cannot believe how much has happened and how much has turned around in such a short span of time. If only you can read the diary … it’d bring you to tears. Bittersweet, bittersweet. As they say, everything happens for a reason.

More jibberish that I must write: For the first time in a very long time, I am no longer chasing after dreams, after evasive love, after happiness. I have everything I want here. China. Personal independence (okay, this is ironic considering I’m in China). Happiness. New Friends. Yes, I do miss my family dearly and my ‘bra and DT friends. But my life in Shanghai has nothing to be stressed about. I am myself, unbound, unrestrained, unafraid.

***

(Typing this as I wait for my Season 4 Premiere of FNL to finish downloading. Thank you Elaine for the link! You are piecing my lovelife back together … haha.)

This week has been rather busy. On Tuesday, I went to a grand opening event for the USC Shanghai Office. It was awesome to meet more Trojans! I’m really glad I went and look forward to hanging out with more of my SC fans in the future. Yesterday, I also met with 丁砚 for an awesome spicy crab dinner. I love 丁砚 for being so sweet to me! She treated me to dinner and even gave me a plant and some leftover candy from her wedding!

Tonight, Zhen, Kyu, and I met up with Brendan for a Cantonese dinner. After, the Allies + Kyu watched “Public Enemy” in Elodie’s room. Good times. Big weekend ahead … Halloween! That makes me think of Anita and Guistinna and what they are dressing up this year. Oh, how I miss my cousins and nieces.

 

One of my favorite Halloween celebrations:

Helping Dad hand out candy and donuts at the store to customers.

 

 

 

6 AM and I can’t sleep because of a mosquito.

I am going to find it and smash it. Thank you for biting my face, you little prick …

ARGH. TIMFC.

Calm. Breathe.

Realized today that I have been watching the wrong sport all these years. Never realized how incredible football (soccer) players were. Breathtaking. Thank you European/South American friends for opening my eyes.

Week 7: Koreans are funny

Quote of the day:

“What do you mean try Koreans. We are not a fruit.” -Kyu

HA!

So, let’s just start this week’s entry with some awesome photos.

Brendan with Sumin. Hahaha. On Thursday, we went to a Korean restaurant in Gubei. We were the only customers for two hours …

I love this picture of me and Kyu! The background is awesome.

Arm wrestling because we had nothing else to do in the restaurant.

Jenga!

Kyu has the best poses.

Next day …

With Zhenzino at Kevin’s place.

Zhen says Julien looks like he’s getting punched in this photo.

Anyway, I am tired like hell. Woke up early this morning to go to Pudong for a tutoring job interview. I need to make money!! The interview went okay; I just hope I get some students soon. Other than that, it’s been a slow day. Had dinner with Brendan, Kyu, Shan Dai and Zhen then visited Brendan’s place to chill. Came back to the “uni” to watch an episode of South Park & Ricky Gervais and then chilled out with the hallmates for a while.

Currently obsessed with Stereophonics – Have a Nice Day.

Okay, I’m out. PEACE!

Unstress

I’ve been so wound up lately; I apologize to my friends if my bitterness or stress have been rubbing off. I will learn how to be better cope (or deflect) conflict and tension.

Anyway, today was a million times better than yesterday. Studied for a bit with Zhen at Costa Coffee then came back and napped. Woke up to homework and then met my second Chinese friend, 丁砚. She is so cool (she brought me cake and it was my first time meeting her!) and has already told me that she’ll help me buy Nine West shoes for cheap. Love her! All the Chinese people who’ve befriended me so far are so polite and respectful. I feel really fortunate to have met such warm people so far. : ) Chatted with the neighbors, finished my homework, and chatted with Ken online! How I miss my PAK … you guys are amazing! I think Ken and I will have a live phone conversation soon which makes me happy … it’s been over 1.5 months since we’ve talked!

Nothing else exciting going on. New goal: finishing all my homework by 6 pm. I can’t study at night with people constantly coming in and out of my room.

ps. I need to 减肥！Freak!