A little bit of today

So today was a pretty typical day for the beginning of my year.

My alarm woke me up, and decided not to get up. I didn’t sleep well on the train back from Shanghai and then again last night. I’ve been skipping classes often since school started four weeks ago. Before the October break it wasn’t a big deal. Everyone (mostly Eddie) has been telling us that classes don’t get serious until after the break. So I slept some more. I went to check my email and found Tanner online. We had a video chat. That’s always fun, I still haven’t gotten my mom to do one with me. She sucks (/smile). While I was down at the room where we can access the wireless internet I chatted with Geoff a little, he also skipped class.

I came back to my room and by then it was noon. Brandy came buy to get some things she had left here, she’s another girl in my program. We ended up chatting about our vacations, and life, for an hour. I cleaned my room while we talked. After she left I got dressed for real and put on some makeup. I walked across campus to the West Gate, my norm is of course near the East Gate.

My walk today was one of the best I’ve had so far. I end up walking everywhere, campus is huge and it always feels lazy to pay for a rickshaw, bus or cab. I’ve been listening to my Mp3 player lately when I walk. I haven’t owned one before. I listened to The Best of Van Morrison. I’ve been listening to that album a lot lately. I ripped it from my mom. It’s so good! There are some really classy songs, some that are really upbeat and fun, some that are romantic and some that are really bluesy. The weather today was cool; it’s in the 50s Fahrenheit. The wind from a weather system that passed over us last night is still blowing, it’s moving pretty well, I would say its breezy today. The leaves are starting to turn, and a lot of the little college roads I like to walk along are lined with trees rustling in the wind. It rained overnight so it’s damp as well. It felt very much like fall. It still smells and sounds so different that I didn’t really feel like I was home. But I definitely felt like the weather was calm, and comforting. Van Morrison also reminded me of home. I felt very content to be walking.

As I write this I keep thinking of my friend Sophia. I know she loves fall, even more then I do. We’ve been staying in touch more lately, I miss her. I miss you Sophia.

I got to the West Gate. I bought some phone cards. The man who I always buy them from at the West Gate only speaks Sichuanhua, so he chats at me and smiles, knowing I won’t respond. He always gives us white kids a good deal, he is friendly with Eddie. I called home but was too late, Mom and Scott were sleeping and Rhea wanted to finish her homework so she could go to bed as well. I went grocery shopping at Hao You Dou，好友都 , it’s translated as Trust Mart, a direct translation is something like “All We Have is Good.” It’s like a Fred Meyer. I always feel overwhelmed and kind of wander around looking at things, which is part of the reason I go. I never seem to find everything I need, I couldn’t find brown sugar for my oatmeal, but I found some other good things (I bought organic oatmeal on accident last week, it’s grown in China too, I was excited when I got home and realized I bought organic! It’s very good and cooks quickly). I also seem to hold up the line every time I go to Hao You Dou. I grabbed some potatoes, but I failed to notice the woman who weighs and labels your produce. The checker doesn’t have codes for produce, so we had to wait. This time everyone was nice to me about it.

I walked my groceries home. I put them away and ate some junk food. Lisa and I chatted. I uploaded my photos from my trip to Shanghai and now I’m writing a note. I need to write an entry about Shanghai but I know that will take longer. I’m feeling mellow and kind of lazy.

So, that was my day today. It’s pretty normal, only most days I go to class first, and then end up studying at about 5 o’clock, instead of updating my blog.

And for those of you who are actually reading my blog, thanks! I’ve gotten a lot of compliments and comments about it lately. I really appreciate it. You know me, I really like to talk, about myself and everything else. So being this far away from everyone is sometimes difficult. I do feel more connected writing this, even if I’m never sure who is reading it. I also worked really hard for this exchange, and it’s nice to be able to share it with everyone, and know everyone is proud of me.

aww, sappy