scatter

Don’t stop reading my blog yet! I’ll probably keep posting until mid February. I have two flights home, since this whole thing has been messy and nothing is refundable, so I might be home the 12^th of February. I don’t have any time between now and the end of January to pack or anything, I have a final the day before that flight would leave. So I might stay after my finals for a few days until the other flight. Ugh, what a mess.

I’ve gotten really supportive emails about my leaving China. The majority were about following my heart/intuition type of stuff, which means a lot to me. I think, yeah, my life has been pretty messy the past few years, but ultimately all the choices I’ve made were the best choices for me. I ended up in the right place. I feel really great now, yeah this whole thing sucks, but I feel motivated. I have really learned so much about myself during these past few months, on top of the past year. I really feel ready to take off. I have a lot more strength then I thought I did. I know I can go back to Seattle and I can get good grades and be super motivated, like the old Callista was. I also know that after leaving Emerson I’ve gotten to know myself and have accepted the things that make me different from other people my age; I can be different without worrying about how others view me. I feel like the next few months are going to be busy and tough, but this transition is finally taking me to a really good place. I’m going to study, and intern, and work hard. Soon enough I’ll graduate and then the real challenges begin.

Okay, fun crap

I had a really good day today. I studied for four or five hours after lunch. Then I came home. Best things ever, I had a rum and coke and then a shower. Now I don’t feel like studying so I’ll write before bed.

The Thai girls have moved to the first floor I decided, which is why it’s not so loud on my floor. But the Thai boys still are here most of the time. One of them grew a mustache. A skinny Thai boy with big hair, and a mustache, he looks hilarious. One of them keeps getting more and more gay here, I have no idea if he is, but man.

I’m excited to go home and work out, my mom and Tanner offered to be my work out buddies. Here my only option was Lisa…

Little kids here have slits in the back of their pants. They don’t wear diapers either. When they need to go they just squat wherever, or sometimes their parents help them. Lately I’ve seen this often, I don’t know why. Suddenly a mother will run by, holding up her child like he is sitting in a chair sort of, butt down and legs out straight. She rushes to the bushes or trees planted between the sidewalk and the street and the kid just does their business. Sometimes the little boys who are old enough to know what to do take care of themselves. You’ll walk past a little boy as he whips it out and takes a leak against a building or tree. It’s really funny and kind of disturbing too.

My class originally had over 25 students, there are 11 students taking the finals.

To own a big dog here is a status symbol. Pure breed dogs are also really important. German Shepards and Collies seem popular. I’ve seen some good looking Golden Retrievers. But what makes me most happy is I see tons of Samoyeds and American Eskimos/German Spitz. Think about it, what more of a status symbol would it be in China to own a big white fluffy dog that you keep clean. Some people here can barely keep themselves clean, let alone their dog.

The cute Slovakian guy didn’t say hello to me for weeks. His girlfriend came to visit, and then Tanner came to visit. But in the past few days I’ve run into him more than ever before. Shoot….

I’m wearing a shirt with pandas on it!

Hanna is researching micro finance in China for her project, which is really interesting. One funny thing is that she keeps finding men in China who take out micro loans to marry their wives!

While Tanner was here I took an incredible amount of photos of him eating. He really makes the best faces for the camera. I have photos of him eating rice from two different meals, a sandwich at McDonalds, fish head, chao mian, a chicken leg on the street, cookies, and raw sugar cane.

Laura took me to a Xinjiang restaurant I’ve never been too. The waiter kept talking in a really girly voice when he spoke Mandarin, his second language. It was really odd. I thought he might be trying to hit on Laura or tease her somehow. After we got our food she told me he was just high. That a guy she knows buys hash there. It was really funny.

A couple of French girls taught the new kitchen kitten to beg, they only gave food when it meowed for it, so seriously, this tiny fat kitten knows how to beg.

I learned the Chinese word for shemale, we were talking about Thailand, because a few people are going there for the break, so of course the topic of shemales came up.

I got stood up by those Islamic people who wanted me to host their event, they seemed more and more unorganized. They never called me back, even though I sent them a text message, bummer. Man! I was going to get a dress made for me!

My friend Allan’s English text book told her it was important to be on time to meet friends, but late to parties. How true.

On the calendar Tanner’s mom Cheri made me for Christmas, she remembered to put on my birthday, Tanner’s birthday, and our anniversary on Cinco De Mayo. So I guess from now on Tanner and I are going out for TexMex on our anniversary!

I have been studying for hours at coffee shops around campus. I must look as miserable as I feel, the waitresses keep being really sympathetic when they approach me.

Darren comes by my class during the break some times to say hello. Well the Korean woman started asking if he was my boyfriend, they know now that he isn’t, but they love to joke with us about it. The other day one of my professors saw Darren and asked where I was, and why I hadn’t been in class. But Darren got really confused, she came up and asked him “Where has your girlfriend been.” Darren was surprised and confused, “My girlfriend, how do you know my girlfriend?” She explained, “No, not your real girlfriend, Bai Wei.”

Oh Grandma asked what my name means. Bai 白means white. Wei is in this case just a last name, and they don’t really have a meaning anymore, like American last names in a lot of cases. My first Chinese teacher gave me my name, she used our last names to inspire her. So Bai Wei sounds a little like Bevans. Chinese people like it, it sounds very Chinese, and is feminine sounding as well, so good for me. They tell me my name is beautiful, just like me.

I have given mom and Rhea Chinese names as well. I am going to ask my Chinese professors if they sound alright, I am pretty sure they do, then I will post them.

Some people in China are sort of following the primaries in the US in a general sort of way. I get asked when it comes up if I’m going to vote for “the black man or the woman,” it’s great! I bet they get really confused when some of the other Americans say neither.

You remember Avril Lavigne (last name spelled wrong?). They have been pushing her stuff here really heavily here, all of it, even the really old album where she pretended to be a skater girl. My Chinese friends asked me who I liked, “Do you like Britney Spears, or Avril Lavigne?” No. It was even better though, Allan starting singing “One Two Three, Ole Ole Ole…” I laughed and said I did like Ricky Martin. Sheesh.

I’m excited to come home and eat salad. It’s not really a good idea to eat a lot of raw vegetables in China. And they have no salad dressing.

When Tanner and I were hiking in Leshan we walked into a section of the park was walled off. We had to get our tickets punched again before entering. One of the guards took our tickets and then looked up at us. He sort of stopped and looked at Tanner and then said “身体好。” This translates as “good body” but more like, healthy/good body in connotation. Tanner was in a white T shirt and backpack and did look pretty good in my opinion. It was fun to tell him he was just complimented by an old Chinese man.

I also had the lady who I buy phone cards from guess that he was my boyfriend and tell me he was so handsome.

It's tough studying knowing that I will probably fail anyways. But I keep trying.

LOVE CALLI