We have been having a ton of fun lately.
We got back from the lodge and had Christmas, so I have not blogged in a few days. Sorry Julia, chillax.
Our Christmas was great. We had a slow morning, we opened our gifts. I got wonderful gifts from my family, and from Tanner's family. We ate a lot of candy.
We tried to go to Pizza Hut for a casual dinner. But here it's a really nice restaurant. They had a price fix menu. So we had a five course western dinner at Pizza Hut. The pizza was actually not that great. But the rest of dinner was okay. It was nice, we got a huge corner booth to ourselves. This was even nicer because it was really crowded.
We didn't go see the Pandas after all. By the time we got out of bed and got downtown it was 1:00pm. So we walked JinLi street. It's a traditional style street with food and tourist stuff. Tanner bought us something that looked like dirt or grainy mud. It was sesame, red bean and rice flour, it was actually good.
We rested a day. I went to a class.
Yesterday we went to DuFu's thatched cottage. It's a little cottage, a famous poet retired from life and wrote poetry here. It's inside a great little park. It has some wetlands and a pond. It's been really cold lately.
We also visited the biggest daoist temple in the city. It was also having construction done. I think most of the tourist places in the city are being worked on now, since there aren't any tourists in the city right now.
The temple was nice. The deities are a story tall, I forgot how big they were, Tanner was impressed. He has worked on some blog entries, but we are having a hard time finding time to get into Roberts and get online.
Econo-box cars
I read Tanner's issue of Popular Mechanics, that was pretty cool. I really like learning things I have never had a chance to learn about. Like cars.
Um.
We added up all the money we have spent, and in the end, it looks like our three week vacation is going to cost $500. That is everything, lodging, food and travel. I love the exchange rate. I love Tanner for spending his $1,000 savings for the plane ticket.
We have a great story about a bar, I will post it another day.
We're distracted, I have archeology class soon. Bye!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Christmas Eve Update
Merry Christmas Eve!
Sorry these are all out of order again. We are in a huge rush and are going to be late for Christmas Eve dinner over at Katie's place. We still need to stop and buy each other stocking stuffers. But it was worth it to take the time to upload some photos so our families can see what we have been up to.
Our mountain retreat was half great and half kinda of silly and bad. We will write more about it after Christmas.
Tanner didn't blog today but he chose these photos out of the ton we have already taken.
I'll get him to blog soon.
We love you all and miss everyone very much.
Outside the temple we went to was a farmers market. Tanner took some photos. In the center two bins are rabbit's head, a delicacy here in Sichuan.
More shots of the farmers market thingy.
Inside Wenshu Temple, a Buddhist Temple. It's very well kept, and right inside the city.
Outside the library of the temple was a new wall. They are currently carving something into it, probably Buddhist literature. It was great to watch the men at work carving the characters. A monk stopped to watch with us.
Outside the temple in the neighborhood were huge inflatables, I couldn't figure out what was going on. Some kind of small celebration?
Sorry these are out of order again. This a shot of the scenery surrounding the lodge we went to for our retreat. It was beautiful. Both Tanner and I felt very lucky to experience some countryside in Sichuan while he is here.
There was a big going away part for Ben, who is leaving for the States tomorrow. Katie and I both looked nice. Tanner chose all these photos, I guess he didn't want to pick some from the end of the party when things had gotten really out of hand. It was a ton of fun.
Lisa and two of her Chinese friends went out with us to a Hot Pot restaraunt. It was actually okay. Lisa didn't complain about the meat flavor. It wasn't too hot. Tanner didn't get sick. It was mostly vegetables and seafood, so very different from what I am used to. Tanner wants to go again and have the kind I have had before.
Lisa, my roommate, and her friend Kevin at hot pot.
We went to a temple, see above, and outside was a sort of farmers market. This guy was very excited that Tanner stopped to look and was displaying his lovely preserved pig faces for us. Tanner wants you to note the whole chickens hanging from their heads on the right.
This is a shot of the lodge from up the hill a little ways.
Here I am in our room. It was very nice. They were clean and very cute. They had western toilets and fancy sinks. It felt like summer camp for adults to me. It had no heat, like most places here. But it did have a very effective electric blanket.
The dining room was dark. But they provided very good food. Tanner's comments...he doesn't know either. Yeah, good food, good price. Nice lodge.
This is the first photo of the lodge, everyone else is standing out front. We did hike around the lodge the next morning, up the road. It is surrounded by homes and gardens, it's on the outside of a small village. It had nice roads and the houses had scooters, I kept telling Tanner how the living conditions were so much better then Yangjuan, he kept thinking they seemed poor. He did also tell me that the scenery was incredibly beautiful. The hills are covered in a light mist or fog and the gardens are very black with bright green vegetables.
This was taken in People's Park, in front of the pond. It was a beautiful sunny morning and we had a nice walk. We accidentally got off the bus too late, and didn't intend on going here this morning, but I am glad we did.
After the park, in front of Tianfu Square.
Snoopy is all around, and Tanner thinks it's funny. He also wants to comment that there is a lot of Disney stuff, some of it obviously ripped off, and a lot of Pooh Bear. Right after this photo was taken I noticed some girls taking photos of me and Tanner with their camera phones, I guess we are just too good looking.
Jiaozi for lunch the next day. Very good. Tanner liked them. I am trying to get him to blog more. Today we are running out of time and he can reach higher in the closet so he is getting hangers down to hang up our clean clothes.
We went to Peter's Tex Mex for dinner already. I loved it, I ate so much American food. Tanner is fascinated and likes very much my longer hair. So I was shaking out my pony tail to redo it and he wanted to take a photo first.
Sorry these are all out of order again. We are in a huge rush and are going to be late for Christmas Eve dinner over at Katie's place. We still need to stop and buy each other stocking stuffers. But it was worth it to take the time to upload some photos so our families can see what we have been up to.
Our mountain retreat was half great and half kinda of silly and bad. We will write more about it after Christmas.
Tanner didn't blog today but he chose these photos out of the ton we have already taken.
I'll get him to blog soon.
We love you all and miss everyone very much.
Outside the temple we went to was a farmers market. Tanner took some photos. In the center two bins are rabbit's head, a delicacy here in Sichuan.
More shots of the farmers market thingy.
Inside Wenshu Temple, a Buddhist Temple. It's very well kept, and right inside the city.
Outside the library of the temple was a new wall. They are currently carving something into it, probably Buddhist literature. It was great to watch the men at work carving the characters. A monk stopped to watch with us.
Outside the temple in the neighborhood were huge inflatables, I couldn't figure out what was going on. Some kind of small celebration?
Sorry these are out of order again. This a shot of the scenery surrounding the lodge we went to for our retreat. It was beautiful. Both Tanner and I felt very lucky to experience some countryside in Sichuan while he is here.
There was a big going away part for Ben, who is leaving for the States tomorrow. Katie and I both looked nice. Tanner chose all these photos, I guess he didn't want to pick some from the end of the party when things had gotten really out of hand. It was a ton of fun.
Lisa and two of her Chinese friends went out with us to a Hot Pot restaraunt. It was actually okay. Lisa didn't complain about the meat flavor. It wasn't too hot. Tanner didn't get sick. It was mostly vegetables and seafood, so very different from what I am used to. Tanner wants to go again and have the kind I have had before.
Lisa, my roommate, and her friend Kevin at hot pot.
We went to a temple, see above, and outside was a sort of farmers market. This guy was very excited that Tanner stopped to look and was displaying his lovely preserved pig faces for us. Tanner wants you to note the whole chickens hanging from their heads on the right.
This is a shot of the lodge from up the hill a little ways.
Here I am in our room. It was very nice. They were clean and very cute. They had western toilets and fancy sinks. It felt like summer camp for adults to me. It had no heat, like most places here. But it did have a very effective electric blanket.
The dining room was dark. But they provided very good food. Tanner's comments...he doesn't know either. Yeah, good food, good price. Nice lodge.
This is the first photo of the lodge, everyone else is standing out front. We did hike around the lodge the next morning, up the road. It is surrounded by homes and gardens, it's on the outside of a small village. It had nice roads and the houses had scooters, I kept telling Tanner how the living conditions were so much better then Yangjuan, he kept thinking they seemed poor. He did also tell me that the scenery was incredibly beautiful. The hills are covered in a light mist or fog and the gardens are very black with bright green vegetables.
This was taken in People's Park, in front of the pond. It was a beautiful sunny morning and we had a nice walk. We accidentally got off the bus too late, and didn't intend on going here this morning, but I am glad we did.
After the park, in front of Tianfu Square.
Snoopy is all around, and Tanner thinks it's funny. He also wants to comment that there is a lot of Disney stuff, some of it obviously ripped off, and a lot of Pooh Bear. Right after this photo was taken I noticed some girls taking photos of me and Tanner with their camera phones, I guess we are just too good looking.
Jiaozi for lunch the next day. Very good. Tanner liked them. I am trying to get him to blog more. Today we are running out of time and he can reach higher in the closet so he is getting hangers down to hang up our clean clothes.
We went to Peter's Tex Mex for dinner already. I loved it, I ate so much American food. Tanner is fascinated and likes very much my longer hair. So I was shaking out my pony tail to redo it and he wanted to take a photo first.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Good Food Day
I didn't blog yesterday. Sorry!
Yesterday I went to class. Tanner hung out in my dorm room and snooped in all my stuff.
We went to have jiaozi 饺子for lunch. Jiaozi are steamed stuffed dumplings, in America they are often fried and called pot stickers. It's a good lunch food, and you can watch the restaurant employees making them, so you know they are fresh.
We were going to go to a temple in town but by the time we finished looking around campus and eating lunch we didn't have much time. So instead we walked out South Gate and then around to West Gate. We did some shopping. We got bubble tea. Which is always served warm in China, unless you ask for it cold. Tanner thinks this is kinda weird. We walked around a mall near my campus. We bought Christmas gifts for our families. Then I decided I wanted American food. So we went to Peter's Tex-Mex for dinner. We had so much food. It was pretty good. I had so much fun. It's a really nice atmosphere in Pete's, we hung around and had a long dinner. I got ice cream! Real ice cream, I haven't had real ice cream in four months. It was delicious.
Today we are going to Wenshu temple. I've been once, but it was when I first arrived, so it will be nice to go with Tanner.
We have big plans.
Tonight my roommate Lisa and her Chinese friend Xiao Feng want to go out for Hot Pot with us. I usually like hot pot, but it might be too much for Tanner. We will see. Hot Pot is a metal bowl of hot spiced oil set into the table over a gas burner. It's not made with vegetable oil. You gently place meat and vegetables into the oil to cook, then dig them out and eat them. There is also a dipping sauce, which is heavy with oil. Lisa is a vegetarian. Vegetables are popular. But it won't be the same without meat. Lisa might not even like it since the oil has animal fat in it. I foresee disaster.
Then on Friday we have a lot of plans. At 5:30 the Sichuan University students who studied last year at the University of Washington are throwing a Christmas party. They planned games and a raffle, I like the Chinese students, I think it will be fun. It might be a little tough on Tanner, having to listen to a lot of Chinese mixed in with English. Then afterwards we are having a surprise party for Ben, who is going back to America sometime soon. He recently broke his ankle too, so it will be nice to do something for him. This will be just the students in my program and some friends of Ben's, so Tanner will get to meet everyone finally. We will have a good time. I'm sure after that most of us will go to a club or a bar.
Saturday at 1:30 in the afternoon we leave for our "Mountain Retreat." We are going to a nearby mountain, to a hotel/lodge in the pine forest. We are staying there through Sunday afternoon. We are going to eat good food, play games and probably drink a lot. Then on Sunday we are moving down the mountain to a Hot Springs. Sunday evening through Monday midday we are staying at the Hot Springs.
I will post photos later today. And Tanner can update tonight about China.
Yesterday I went to class. Tanner hung out in my dorm room and snooped in all my stuff.
We went to have jiaozi 饺子for lunch. Jiaozi are steamed stuffed dumplings, in America they are often fried and called pot stickers. It's a good lunch food, and you can watch the restaurant employees making them, so you know they are fresh.
We were going to go to a temple in town but by the time we finished looking around campus and eating lunch we didn't have much time. So instead we walked out South Gate and then around to West Gate. We did some shopping. We got bubble tea. Which is always served warm in China, unless you ask for it cold. Tanner thinks this is kinda weird. We walked around a mall near my campus. We bought Christmas gifts for our families. Then I decided I wanted American food. So we went to Peter's Tex-Mex for dinner. We had so much food. It was pretty good. I had so much fun. It's a really nice atmosphere in Pete's, we hung around and had a long dinner. I got ice cream! Real ice cream, I haven't had real ice cream in four months. It was delicious.
Today we are going to Wenshu temple. I've been once, but it was when I first arrived, so it will be nice to go with Tanner.
We have big plans.
Tonight my roommate Lisa and her Chinese friend Xiao Feng want to go out for Hot Pot with us. I usually like hot pot, but it might be too much for Tanner. We will see. Hot Pot is a metal bowl of hot spiced oil set into the table over a gas burner. It's not made with vegetable oil. You gently place meat and vegetables into the oil to cook, then dig them out and eat them. There is also a dipping sauce, which is heavy with oil. Lisa is a vegetarian. Vegetables are popular. But it won't be the same without meat. Lisa might not even like it since the oil has animal fat in it. I foresee disaster.
Then on Friday we have a lot of plans. At 5:30 the Sichuan University students who studied last year at the University of Washington are throwing a Christmas party. They planned games and a raffle, I like the Chinese students, I think it will be fun. It might be a little tough on Tanner, having to listen to a lot of Chinese mixed in with English. Then afterwards we are having a surprise party for Ben, who is going back to America sometime soon. He recently broke his ankle too, so it will be nice to do something for him. This will be just the students in my program and some friends of Ben's, so Tanner will get to meet everyone finally. We will have a good time. I'm sure after that most of us will go to a club or a bar.
Saturday at 1:30 in the afternoon we leave for our "Mountain Retreat." We are going to a nearby mountain, to a hotel/lodge in the pine forest. We are staying there through Sunday afternoon. We are going to eat good food, play games and probably drink a lot. Then on Sunday we are moving down the mountain to a Hot Springs. Sunday evening through Monday midday we are staying at the Hot Springs.
I will post photos later today. And Tanner can update tonight about China.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Christmas Music at last
Tickle Toon Typhoon.
hahaha
Cheri made us a long Christmas mix CD. Thank you! I really love it.
Also, Tanner was really serious about my not missing class. But I have horrible attendance. This morning I had to turn off the alarm clock, and tell Tanner I was getting up in a minute, so that he would go back to sleep and I could sleep through class also. I guess now he's going to make me study all afternoon. Sheesh. He doesn't even know how to skip class!
hahaha
Cheri made us a long Christmas mix CD. Thank you! I really love it.
Also, Tanner was really serious about my not missing class. But I have horrible attendance. This morning I had to turn off the alarm clock, and tell Tanner I was getting up in a minute, so that he would go back to sleep and I could sleep through class also. I guess now he's going to make me study all afternoon. Sheesh. He doesn't even know how to skip class!
Julia's Request
Julia (Tanner's big sister) requested I update more often, even if they are short posts. I can do that.
Tanner arrived here with no problems, he did not get lost in the airport by himself. We stayed at a hotel on campus the first night he was here. Now we have moved into my friend Katie's apartment. She is meeting her boyfriend in Hong Kong for five days. It's nice to be in an apartment again. I don't have to share a bathroom with ten other girls. We have a nice kitchen too. We had dinner with Brandi and Dowdy yesterday. Tanner has also met Huy who lives here.
As I write this I'm eating American junk food that Tanner has left over from his plane ride. We are listening to Weezer. I feel very at home.
All day today we walked around Chengdu. We went down the major downtown shopping district, it has a bunch of pedestrian only streets. We also went to a western coffee shop that I wanted to visit. They serve "frosty's," they are just like Wendy's, but they have a lot of flavors. We walked through the huge Japanese run shopping mall, Ito Yakado. We are both really tired now.
Yesterday Tanner has Sichuanese food for the first time. He liked it! Even the Sichuan pepper that makes your mouth go numb and taste salty. I'm really glad he likes it, I really like it. And it makes our visit so much easier. He wants to add that real Mapodofu doesn't taste like what they make at his house.
We did get stared at a lot today, I think people stared at me more then Tanner.
My mom sent a ton of presents over the ocean in Tanner's bags, I'm really excited for Christmas.
Tanner's mom bought him some nice Dockers, sweet! We are totally going clubbing, often!
We've been taking lots of photos, maybe when Tanner has some time to kill while I'm in class he will post some.
Chengdu has gotten colder and I have been complaining, but Tanner says it is still warmer than Seattle, so that makes me feel better.
It's odd to be online and not looking for Tanner on MSN chat, because he is here!!!
I want to give a shout out to my friend SOPHIA! I miss you, and want to play in Canada again too.
I'm bugging Tanner to think of the most interesting things he has seen so far.
He's not sure...
Tanner thought the grocery store was awesome. There are just huge bins of cooked whole chickens, face and feet included. There was also a bin of tentacles. Oh, one Sichuan favorite is rabbit head stew, so there were two kinds of rabbit head stew, spicy looking and not spicy looking.
He is also impressed by the large, and completely unregulated intersections all over the city. Everyone just slows down and turns around everyone else, not in any order really.
We got McDonald's, my doing, not his. I wanted some cheese. Tanner thought it wouldn't be too bad to see a Chinese McDonald's. He got a burger, that was a terriyaki chicken sandwich, with a spicy sauce and had a salad coming out of it. Really, it has lettuce, carrots and purple cabbage.
He also likes me speaking Chinese to everyone, and translating various things around the city that I can read or understand when spoken.
I was annoyed by the girls at the mall who have learned to yell "Merry Christmas" at me. It is not going to make me come into your shop.
Tanner also mentioned often the differences in the city that occur in such short distances. One block will be crumbling apartment complexes and obviously suffering store fronts. The next block will be flurishing, clean and mostly new. I've seen this a little in American cities. It is very dramatic here.
Hum. Merry Christmas. I will update all week. Saturday through Monday we are going on a retreat with all the other UW people.
Happy Holidays.
LOVE love love Callista and Tanner
Tanner arrived here with no problems, he did not get lost in the airport by himself. We stayed at a hotel on campus the first night he was here. Now we have moved into my friend Katie's apartment. She is meeting her boyfriend in Hong Kong for five days. It's nice to be in an apartment again. I don't have to share a bathroom with ten other girls. We have a nice kitchen too. We had dinner with Brandi and Dowdy yesterday. Tanner has also met Huy who lives here.
As I write this I'm eating American junk food that Tanner has left over from his plane ride. We are listening to Weezer. I feel very at home.
All day today we walked around Chengdu. We went down the major downtown shopping district, it has a bunch of pedestrian only streets. We also went to a western coffee shop that I wanted to visit. They serve "frosty's," they are just like Wendy's, but they have a lot of flavors. We walked through the huge Japanese run shopping mall, Ito Yakado. We are both really tired now.
Yesterday Tanner has Sichuanese food for the first time. He liked it! Even the Sichuan pepper that makes your mouth go numb and taste salty. I'm really glad he likes it, I really like it. And it makes our visit so much easier. He wants to add that real Mapodofu doesn't taste like what they make at his house.
We did get stared at a lot today, I think people stared at me more then Tanner.
My mom sent a ton of presents over the ocean in Tanner's bags, I'm really excited for Christmas.
Tanner's mom bought him some nice Dockers, sweet! We are totally going clubbing, often!
We've been taking lots of photos, maybe when Tanner has some time to kill while I'm in class he will post some.
Chengdu has gotten colder and I have been complaining, but Tanner says it is still warmer than Seattle, so that makes me feel better.
It's odd to be online and not looking for Tanner on MSN chat, because he is here!!!
I want to give a shout out to my friend SOPHIA! I miss you, and want to play in Canada again too.
I'm bugging Tanner to think of the most interesting things he has seen so far.
He's not sure...
Tanner thought the grocery store was awesome. There are just huge bins of cooked whole chickens, face and feet included. There was also a bin of tentacles. Oh, one Sichuan favorite is rabbit head stew, so there were two kinds of rabbit head stew, spicy looking and not spicy looking.
He is also impressed by the large, and completely unregulated intersections all over the city. Everyone just slows down and turns around everyone else, not in any order really.
We got McDonald's, my doing, not his. I wanted some cheese. Tanner thought it wouldn't be too bad to see a Chinese McDonald's. He got a burger, that was a terriyaki chicken sandwich, with a spicy sauce and had a salad coming out of it. Really, it has lettuce, carrots and purple cabbage.
He also likes me speaking Chinese to everyone, and translating various things around the city that I can read or understand when spoken.
I was annoyed by the girls at the mall who have learned to yell "Merry Christmas" at me. It is not going to make me come into your shop.
Tanner also mentioned often the differences in the city that occur in such short distances. One block will be crumbling apartment complexes and obviously suffering store fronts. The next block will be flurishing, clean and mostly new. I've seen this a little in American cities. It is very dramatic here.
Hum. Merry Christmas. I will update all week. Saturday through Monday we are going on a retreat with all the other UW people.
Happy Holidays.
LOVE love love Callista and Tanner
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Getting Ready - Students From Around the World
Happy Holidays!
I have been doing much better. I know everyone will be happy to hear. I've been getting ready all week for Tanner to arrive. It has been really motivating, I got a lot of chores done around my room. I've been shopping. I need to study some more so next week I can slack off some.
My social life has been more active. I know this is because I have been feeling better, then the two feed off each other. But it's hard to find time for everything now that I am always out and about.
It is really interesting spending so much time with people from all over the world. Last week on December 6th, my roommate Lisa and her friend Ira invited me to a party. In Germany they celebrate St. Nickolaus day, he is Santa Claus. Kids get gifts and every one eats chocolate. The party was small, it was a dessert party for ten people. Along with the two hosts there were three other German people, one from Munich and two from Berlin. Ira is from around Black Forest, Lisa is originally from Bavaria. I'm learning a lot about Germany through Lisa and her friends. Germans are very proud of the fact that Germany is the largest country in Europe. They feel pretty strongly about regional differences. I still have to tease Lisa, American is a huge country. Our regional differences are certainly much stronger, all of Southern California speaks Spanish and not English. :0)
There were three Americans, and two French girls at the part as well. Lisa and Ira made mulled wine, which was hot and spicy. We ate cookies and chocolate. We all bought gifts and had a secret Santa type game, where we pulled gifts out of a bag. Lisa and Ira also made doggy bags for us to take home. They were full of cookies and candy. It was a really nice evening.
That weekend Dowdy, a girl in our program, was holding a costume party at her apartment. One of the French girls was having her 23rd birthday. It was a blast. The themes was "past and future." I went shopping and studied at Katie's place all afternoon and evening. Then we got dressed. I wore my white party dress, with the straps tied up, so it looked Roman. I made a crown of fig leaves with paper and green markers. I bought some gaudy silver earrings that looked like leaves. I also wore all of this over jeans and a silk long john shirt, Dowdy's place is one that doesn't have heat. Katie was stumped, so she ended up dressing up like a Christmas fairy. We arrived and were really disappointed to see that few people had dressed up. The ones who did looked pretty good though.
We were surprised along with everyone else when half an hour later a bunch of kids came out of bedroom in full costume. Camille, a French girl, and some French and Chinese friends had rented costumes! They rented Peking Opera costumes and had done face paint and fake beards. They looked great. They danced and sort of put on a show for a while. Then we all mingled. There were snacks. I drank a lot, it was great. I talked a lot with Katie and Dowdy, we sort of had girl bonding. I also tried talking to and maybe flirting with a Spanish guy who is in my class. His English isn't very good so over the noise we couldn't understand each other. Later on the students from Pacific Luther University (it's a college in Tacoma, they have just under twenty students here, but they only stay until this week, and then go back, not like our program) showed up. They are sort of trouble when they get together. The boys love hitting on anything that moves. I had this little guy, I say little because he was six inches shorter then me and two years younger, hitting on me all night. It was sort of funny and sort of annoying. The party went late by Chinese standards, by 2:30 the apartment was mostly empty. I stayed with Katie and we helped clean up some. The place was trashed, but didn't suffer any damage.
So. That's been the kind of social stuff I'm up to. There have been more and more parties, everyone is happy and frustrated about the holiday season. All of the Europeans and North American students are at least.
I also met a boy named Issen this week. He is from Pakistan. His English is amazing. His father is running for Parliament in an opposition party. His father has been arrested three times this year, twice in the last two months. We talked a little about the Marshall Law state that was imposed earlier this month. We also talked about the decision by opposition parties not to boycott the election. Issen was really disappointed. He wanted the parties to boycott the election so they could hopefully push for a freer election later. He thinks this one is rigged and Musharaff and his party will win most seats . I love keeping up with the news and think that U.S. relations with Pakistan are really important. So it was great to get to speak to someone who actually lives there and is involved in politics.
I'm really lucky to get be on this program. It is frustrating how segregated we are from the actual Chinese college students. But at the same time, I'm getting to meet and spend time with such an international group of students that it's really a good experience.
I've also turned down two jobs already to play "Christmas girl" on Christmas Eve. Darren offered me the female part versus his Santa Claus. Someone is hiring him and girl to go bar hopping on Christmas Eve and advertise something. Daniel has a Chinese friend who remembered me, "that very tall American girl," and wanted me to dress up and hand out candy somewhere. They both pay really well too, for just a few hours of work. But Tanner is coming all this way and sacrificing a real holiday to be with me, so I am not going to work on Christmas Eve. But I know everyone will think that it's interesting.
There are photos from the party but they are on Katie's camera, maybe I will get some. I've been taking photos of food all week, so I can make a food post for Sophia soon. I also want to post about my classes, and add photos, I love my classes.
I hope everyone is having fun at the crowded American malls (suckers!).
Love Callista
I have been doing much better. I know everyone will be happy to hear. I've been getting ready all week for Tanner to arrive. It has been really motivating, I got a lot of chores done around my room. I've been shopping. I need to study some more so next week I can slack off some.
My social life has been more active. I know this is because I have been feeling better, then the two feed off each other. But it's hard to find time for everything now that I am always out and about.
It is really interesting spending so much time with people from all over the world. Last week on December 6th, my roommate Lisa and her friend Ira invited me to a party. In Germany they celebrate St. Nickolaus day, he is Santa Claus. Kids get gifts and every one eats chocolate. The party was small, it was a dessert party for ten people. Along with the two hosts there were three other German people, one from Munich and two from Berlin. Ira is from around Black Forest, Lisa is originally from Bavaria. I'm learning a lot about Germany through Lisa and her friends. Germans are very proud of the fact that Germany is the largest country in Europe. They feel pretty strongly about regional differences. I still have to tease Lisa, American is a huge country. Our regional differences are certainly much stronger, all of Southern California speaks Spanish and not English. :0)
There were three Americans, and two French girls at the part as well. Lisa and Ira made mulled wine, which was hot and spicy. We ate cookies and chocolate. We all bought gifts and had a secret Santa type game, where we pulled gifts out of a bag. Lisa and Ira also made doggy bags for us to take home. They were full of cookies and candy. It was a really nice evening.
That weekend Dowdy, a girl in our program, was holding a costume party at her apartment. One of the French girls was having her 23rd birthday. It was a blast. The themes was "past and future." I went shopping and studied at Katie's place all afternoon and evening. Then we got dressed. I wore my white party dress, with the straps tied up, so it looked Roman. I made a crown of fig leaves with paper and green markers. I bought some gaudy silver earrings that looked like leaves. I also wore all of this over jeans and a silk long john shirt, Dowdy's place is one that doesn't have heat. Katie was stumped, so she ended up dressing up like a Christmas fairy. We arrived and were really disappointed to see that few people had dressed up. The ones who did looked pretty good though.
We were surprised along with everyone else when half an hour later a bunch of kids came out of bedroom in full costume. Camille, a French girl, and some French and Chinese friends had rented costumes! They rented Peking Opera costumes and had done face paint and fake beards. They looked great. They danced and sort of put on a show for a while. Then we all mingled. There were snacks. I drank a lot, it was great. I talked a lot with Katie and Dowdy, we sort of had girl bonding. I also tried talking to and maybe flirting with a Spanish guy who is in my class. His English isn't very good so over the noise we couldn't understand each other. Later on the students from Pacific Luther University (it's a college in Tacoma, they have just under twenty students here, but they only stay until this week, and then go back, not like our program) showed up. They are sort of trouble when they get together. The boys love hitting on anything that moves. I had this little guy, I say little because he was six inches shorter then me and two years younger, hitting on me all night. It was sort of funny and sort of annoying. The party went late by Chinese standards, by 2:30 the apartment was mostly empty. I stayed with Katie and we helped clean up some. The place was trashed, but didn't suffer any damage.
So. That's been the kind of social stuff I'm up to. There have been more and more parties, everyone is happy and frustrated about the holiday season. All of the Europeans and North American students are at least.
I also met a boy named Issen this week. He is from Pakistan. His English is amazing. His father is running for Parliament in an opposition party. His father has been arrested three times this year, twice in the last two months. We talked a little about the Marshall Law state that was imposed earlier this month. We also talked about the decision by opposition parties not to boycott the election. Issen was really disappointed. He wanted the parties to boycott the election so they could hopefully push for a freer election later. He thinks this one is rigged and Musharaff and his party will win most seats . I love keeping up with the news and think that U.S. relations with Pakistan are really important. So it was great to get to speak to someone who actually lives there and is involved in politics.
I'm really lucky to get be on this program. It is frustrating how segregated we are from the actual Chinese college students. But at the same time, I'm getting to meet and spend time with such an international group of students that it's really a good experience.
I've also turned down two jobs already to play "Christmas girl" on Christmas Eve. Darren offered me the female part versus his Santa Claus. Someone is hiring him and girl to go bar hopping on Christmas Eve and advertise something. Daniel has a Chinese friend who remembered me, "that very tall American girl," and wanted me to dress up and hand out candy somewhere. They both pay really well too, for just a few hours of work. But Tanner is coming all this way and sacrificing a real holiday to be with me, so I am not going to work on Christmas Eve. But I know everyone will think that it's interesting.
There are photos from the party but they are on Katie's camera, maybe I will get some. I've been taking photos of food all week, so I can make a food post for Sophia soon. I also want to post about my classes, and add photos, I love my classes.
I hope everyone is having fun at the crowded American malls (suckers!).
Love Callista
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
A Walk Through Campus
I had a great talk with my sister yesterday. I love Rhea!
I'm going to post photos I took last week. I live by the East Gate of campus. There are a lot of businesses, bus routes, and general city life outside West Gate. I walk across campus this way at least once a week, usually two or three times a week. So I took photos for you. Campus is nice, it's a lot like the UW. It is integrated into the city, but also separate. There is more landscaping, though it's not at nice as the UW. Just so get a feel for where I love. Plus I am up late avoiding my homework, so this is more fun.
These got hopelessly out of order. It's mostly a trip back in time from my destination, West Gate, to my starting point, the dorms by East Gate. This blog isn't the best for photo posts.
Cute couple. Also a good example of things I think about. You learn in the West that Chinese people aren't comfortable with public displays of affection, but that this is changing. I find that on campus and in the city the displays of affection are just what I would see in the U.S. But I never see people making out like you might in Paris or something.
This is the Center for Science and Technology. It's fancy looking. If you come in West Gate, it's one of the first buildings you see.
Approaching West Gate, so you are seeing the end of my walk first.
The view out of West Gate.
This is the view of the sign right outside West Gate. That is also the school font, so you see this lettering all over everything.
This woman is on a street half way across campus. She often sells me new phone minutes. She sits here every day, with her bike and a little stool. She knits really well.
This a Chinese student dorm. All of their balconies are not gated, just the first floor, sopeople don't steal from them.
This is the sports stadium, it looks like a bug. The roof is designed to capture water, that is used in a system under the roof, for natural cooling. It's ugly.
Here's the front.
This road is almost at West Gate, it's very cute. There are more buildings on either side that they rent out to the public, it's a nice residential area, with people and puppies. One family has an American Eskimo I always stop to look at.
The creepy paintings on the side of the preschool and kindergarten. This is where I get to see the kids get picked up by their families often, and it's just so cute.
Just around the corner, just one building on campus. Many look like this.
This is just a street. I walk down this street almost every day. A few more blocks down are a bunch of cafeterias and some little stores.
You see this scene all over campus and the city. This couple has a little station here every day, they fix bicycles, but she will also fix and clean your shoes, they make locks for bicycles and homes, and various other odd jobs.
This neighborhood is just next the my dorm. It used to house teachers. But the housing is older and outdated, so it's rented to city residents. Old women are often sitting here talking and sometimes watching some toddlers. On this day I saw chickens. Yes, not more then 100 feet from my front door, in the middle of campus.
This is a broader view of the same street above with the chickens.
Looking off that street into the narrow lanes in between the apartment buildings. You can see it's very lived in, laundry is hanging, ther e are some plants growing. But China is dirty and just messy, there are pieces of broken things laying around and the apartments are falling apart around the edges.
Same lane, different view.
Across from the kindergarten is a sports field. Outside are the ubiquitous scooters. The black phone numbers you see are painted all over campus and in some places all over the city. I was told they are numbers you can call for prostitutes
.
The front view of my dorm.
Blurry photo of me in front of my dorm that day.
This a good view of the lawn in front of the dorm. It's really nice. Sometimes they mow the grass and it smells great. You can also see the tall buildings, those are across the river from us. So the view from the roof is nice, we are an island surrounded by shorter buildings.
This is right across from our dorm lawn. The little building seems to be abandoned, the thing it is connected to is also abandoned. There are empty spaces like this on our side of campus. There are a lot of buildings in Chengdu that seem abandoned, there are also some concrete shells of buildings that were never finished.
This is the odd path that leads out a dirt alley and out a gate, so you don't have to leave through the official East Gate. I got out this path to get noodles and pick up junk food, or to go catch a bus. Through the doorway at the end, in the alley there are women selling vegetables and meat hanging on hooks. My mom told me not the buy the meat.
I'm going to post photos I took last week. I live by the East Gate of campus. There are a lot of businesses, bus routes, and general city life outside West Gate. I walk across campus this way at least once a week, usually two or three times a week. So I took photos for you. Campus is nice, it's a lot like the UW. It is integrated into the city, but also separate. There is more landscaping, though it's not at nice as the UW. Just so get a feel for where I love. Plus I am up late avoiding my homework, so this is more fun.
These got hopelessly out of order. It's mostly a trip back in time from my destination, West Gate, to my starting point, the dorms by East Gate. This blog isn't the best for photo posts.
Cute couple. Also a good example of things I think about. You learn in the West that Chinese people aren't comfortable with public displays of affection, but that this is changing. I find that on campus and in the city the displays of affection are just what I would see in the U.S. But I never see people making out like you might in Paris or something.
This is the Center for Science and Technology. It's fancy looking. If you come in West Gate, it's one of the first buildings you see.
Approaching West Gate, so you are seeing the end of my walk first.
The view out of West Gate.
This is the view of the sign right outside West Gate. That is also the school font, so you see this lettering all over everything.
This woman is on a street half way across campus. She often sells me new phone minutes. She sits here every day, with her bike and a little stool. She knits really well.
This a Chinese student dorm. All of their balconies are not gated, just the first floor, sopeople don't steal from them.
This is the sports stadium, it looks like a bug. The roof is designed to capture water, that is used in a system under the roof, for natural cooling. It's ugly.
Here's the front.
This road is almost at West Gate, it's very cute. There are more buildings on either side that they rent out to the public, it's a nice residential area, with people and puppies. One family has an American Eskimo I always stop to look at.
The creepy paintings on the side of the preschool and kindergarten. This is where I get to see the kids get picked up by their families often, and it's just so cute.
Just around the corner, just one building on campus. Many look like this.
This is just a street. I walk down this street almost every day. A few more blocks down are a bunch of cafeterias and some little stores.
You see this scene all over campus and the city. This couple has a little station here every day, they fix bicycles, but she will also fix and clean your shoes, they make locks for bicycles and homes, and various other odd jobs.
This neighborhood is just next the my dorm. It used to house teachers. But the housing is older and outdated, so it's rented to city residents. Old women are often sitting here talking and sometimes watching some toddlers. On this day I saw chickens. Yes, not more then 100 feet from my front door, in the middle of campus.
This is a broader view of the same street above with the chickens.
Looking off that street into the narrow lanes in between the apartment buildings. You can see it's very lived in, laundry is hanging, ther e are some plants growing. But China is dirty and just messy, there are pieces of broken things laying around and the apartments are falling apart around the edges.
Same lane, different view.
Across from the kindergarten is a sports field. Outside are the ubiquitous scooters. The black phone numbers you see are painted all over campus and in some places all over the city. I was told they are numbers you can call for prostitutes
.
The front view of my dorm.
Blurry photo of me in front of my dorm that day.
This a good view of the lawn in front of the dorm. It's really nice. Sometimes they mow the grass and it smells great. You can also see the tall buildings, those are across the river from us. So the view from the roof is nice, we are an island surrounded by shorter buildings.
This is right across from our dorm lawn. The little building seems to be abandoned, the thing it is connected to is also abandoned. There are empty spaces like this on our side of campus. There are a lot of buildings in Chengdu that seem abandoned, there are also some concrete shells of buildings that were never finished.
This is the odd path that leads out a dirt alley and out a gate, so you don't have to leave through the official East Gate. I got out this path to get noodles and pick up junk food, or to go catch a bus. Through the doorway at the end, in the alley there are women selling vegetables and meat hanging on hooks. My mom told me not the buy the meat.
Tech Savvy
Okay so Gladder, a function of Firefox, my web browser, wasn't working very well. So I read up a little and did something I've never done before. I fixed my own internet problem. I downloaded a program called Proxy Switcher. It changes my IP Address so the internet thinks I am someone else basically. So I can surf with an address from America or many other countries and Blogger, Wikipedia, New York Times, they don't get stopped by the Great Firewall because China doesn't care about other nationalities surfing habits. I also watched a flash tutorial after I downloaded the program. I learned how to change my connection settings on Firefox, and how to use this new program that I downloaded effectively. I am so impressed with myself.
I also made snowflakes and decorated our door, so it's starting to feel very festive.
I also made snowflakes and decorated our door, so it's starting to feel very festive.
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