Saturday, June 30, 2007
BACK IN CHINA
Wow, it's been a while since I was here. I haven't noticed much different as of yet, but most of my 24 hours have been sleeping.
Upon arriving I attempted to use my Chinese cell phone, only to discover that my SIM card had been locked. To resolve this I had to take a taxi across Beijing to the China Mobile Headquarters. The taxi driver said nothing the whole ride, except swearing at other cars he had almost hit - cao ni ma! cao ni ma! cao ni ma! (f**k your mother.) It was a phrase I already knew, but I have now learned another context in which it can be used. After struggling to deal with the phone people - she said she fixed it and asked me for money, I tried to make a call, it didn't work, I told her, she said it did...repeat x3 and a nominal fee, my phone is working again. Anyone who wants to call...my number is (whatever country code) 136.7879.2844.
I have forgotten most of my reading and writing, but my speaking is still quite good. So good in fact that a half dozen people have already assumed I speak more than I do and gone off babbling. I guess it's back to pretending I can't speak at all.
Last night I was going to go out, eat duck and visit friends. Instead, I fell asleep at 6pm and slept til 4am. Oh well, I'll do it tonight. I am very excited for good Peking duck.
Today I will be visiting my friend Henry who is studying at Beijing Foreign Language University. I'm not sure what's planned for the day. I might also go to Panjiayuan, the outdoor flea market open only on Saturdays. I'd really rather not this early in my trip, but it may be my only opportunity. My mom's college roomate's son, Tim is here in Beijing for a few days before going to Tianjin for an internship. I will probably go out with him later as well.
I have not really planned an itinerary as of yet. Beijing, Shanghai and Kunming are definate, but I'd also like to go to a few other places, perhaps Guangdong (Canton), Hong Kong, Taiwan or somewhere else. Where There Be Dragons, the program on which I did a semester also runs summer trips in China. This summer they have 5. I'll be visiting some of the program leaders when I go to Kunming, but conveniently, one of the trips has almost the exact same itinerary as I do. Perhaps I will shadow them for a bit.
There's more to come. Keep Reading. If you want to email me I can be reached at Eisenberg1 AT comcast DOT net. If I type the actual address, I'll get a million more spam than I already do.
Wow, it's been a while since I was here. I haven't noticed much different as of yet, but most of my 24 hours have been sleeping.
Upon arriving I attempted to use my Chinese cell phone, only to discover that my SIM card had been locked. To resolve this I had to take a taxi across Beijing to the China Mobile Headquarters. The taxi driver said nothing the whole ride, except swearing at other cars he had almost hit - cao ni ma! cao ni ma! cao ni ma! (f**k your mother.) It was a phrase I already knew, but I have now learned another context in which it can be used. After struggling to deal with the phone people - she said she fixed it and asked me for money, I tried to make a call, it didn't work, I told her, she said it did...repeat x3 and a nominal fee, my phone is working again. Anyone who wants to call...my number is (whatever country code) 136.7879.2844.
I have forgotten most of my reading and writing, but my speaking is still quite good. So good in fact that a half dozen people have already assumed I speak more than I do and gone off babbling. I guess it's back to pretending I can't speak at all.
Last night I was going to go out, eat duck and visit friends. Instead, I fell asleep at 6pm and slept til 4am. Oh well, I'll do it tonight. I am very excited for good Peking duck.
Today I will be visiting my friend Henry who is studying at Beijing Foreign Language University. I'm not sure what's planned for the day. I might also go to Panjiayuan, the outdoor flea market open only on Saturdays. I'd really rather not this early in my trip, but it may be my only opportunity. My mom's college roomate's son, Tim is here in Beijing for a few days before going to Tianjin for an internship. I will probably go out with him later as well.
I have not really planned an itinerary as of yet. Beijing, Shanghai and Kunming are definate, but I'd also like to go to a few other places, perhaps Guangdong (Canton), Hong Kong, Taiwan or somewhere else. Where There Be Dragons, the program on which I did a semester also runs summer trips in China. This summer they have 5. I'll be visiting some of the program leaders when I go to Kunming, but conveniently, one of the trips has almost the exact same itinerary as I do. Perhaps I will shadow them for a bit.
There's more to come. Keep Reading. If you want to email me I can be reached at Eisenberg1 AT comcast DOT net. If I type the actual address, I'll get a million more spam than I already do.
