done.

Done with paper and done with midterms.

that means I'm done with anything substantial here.

3 weeks of freeeeeeeeedooooooooooooooom!!!!!

done with midterms and thus, FINALS!!!!!

In gay and joyous celebration, I give you...PICTURES!!!!!!

Me and Jessimuhcuh - when she stopped in Shanghai for a visit....YuYuan and night, a glorious time.

Classmates who eventually bought swords and mock battled - some other guy joined in and won ;)

woooooooooosh.......

Me and Little Confucius (小孔）

The haze is aesthetic until you realize it's smog and pollution....

The pagoda in Hangzhou -- it was nice, they hadn't redone the paint on the outside....

We got to take a boat ride to the Islands of Hangzhou!!!!

Well- wishes and locks.....

Sign in front of a snake pit. "Violet Toxicity Snake No Catchlt"

Open space that is usually filled in the morning or late night by Taichi-ers

The new phsyics building - which was built in only 3 months

If you look hard, sweepers still use straw brooms.....

3 cats taking an afternoon snooze in the sunlight

Hope you enjoyed!!!!

500.

Today marks a great day.

I have completely run out of the index cards I brought with me.

With 100 in a pack, cut into quarters, I have (for sure) studied 400 words. Now add that amount plus the extra 100 words (in the mini essays for each lesson), and that makes 500.

Yes, folks, I have been asked to remember 500 words (and, thus, probably 1200 characters) for my reading/writing midterm.

500 words. That's 1000 for the semester. Awesome, but crazy.


And that doesn't even include my listening, newspaper, and dialogue skits.......

Fire -- 火灾

Hi everyone!

I know that some of you more well-informed individuals have heard already about the huge fire outbreak in the Shanghai downtown. I'm okay and everyone on is campus is fine. The fire began mid-afternoon in a 10 story apartment complex in the center of the Jing'an district静安区 (famous for its Jing'an Temple 静安寺).
Apparently, some of the scaffolds caught on fire and set the uppermost floor on fire. From there, the fire spread and the building was quickly evacuated. However, this evacuation did not keep 90 people from being injured and 14 deaths (a number of victims that could've been avoided).
If you don't know something about construction in China, scaffolds are not made of steel, but bamboo. Our guess (although the press would never say so) is that a worker was smoking and failed to be careful about putting out his cigarette, but the news has not mentioned the cause of the fire. The fire was put out around 7 pm last night. During the day, I saw a huge chimney of black smoke through the bathroom window (I live on the 15th floor of my building) and only at dinner did I find out what happened. I do not live far away from the Jing'an district - only 3 subways stops, so the smoke was more than visible (although the building was not). People stormed the area like tourists, taking pictures and trying to get a better view -- a reaction that I very much dislike. People dying is not something to gawk at. Where the rest of the survivors are going is beyond me. It is hard to find space in Shanghai. That being said, the building won't take long to be reconstructed. Things are built quickly in Shanghai and things move on.

Things that I roll my eyes at....

I forget to describe the usual life here and what it feels like to live in Shanghai...here's a brief description of life here:

Right now I'm living in one of the nicer dorms here on campus. Chinese service extends a gracious hand to making sure international students are well-pampered during their stay abroad. We have nice warm beds, an air conditioner (that can also act as a heater), nice showers with full time hot water, and a clean** bathroom (I'll return to this in a minute). Provided in the room is a tv, a hot water thermos (hot water tap is in the bathroom because you can't drink the water), desk with western outlets (my american plugs work!),etc....In comparison is the Chinese students dormitory, which has a less comfortable bed, slightly less space, no air conditioning unit, and no full-time service shower. Instead, at night, I often see groups of girls in their bathrobes and towels walking back from the showers (located outside and around their dorm) carrying their shampoo, etc. The hot water is timed, and the showers are of lesser quality. I'd also like to mention that this is one of the top three universities in Shanghai. So when the girls on my floor decide to smoke it up in the bathroom and leave their cigarette ashes everywhere (the sink, toilet, and on top of the toilet paper dispenser) - I have to roll my eyes. Not only this, but some people think it's okay to cook their meals (which is fine by me) and then leave the food remains in the sink or on the counter - which inevitably leaves at least 3 of the 6 sinks clogged EVERYDAY. Not to mention the toilets, which are clogged at least 4 or 5 times a day, both by people who can't take care of their #2s or by understanding that toilet systems in China DO NOT SUPPORT throwing away toilet paper. It clogs the system, and don't tell me you don't know because it is CLEARLY marked on every single door. You are just lazy and rude. Furthermore, it's not the Chinese way to go up to floor and ask for a meeting about proper bathroom etiquette, but instead accuse the person who happens to be in the bathroom at the time the maids are cleaning up the mess (3 times a day). On some days, this is my roommate, and on some days it is me.

These things can be helped. Toilet paper can be thrown in the waste basket located right next to the toilet, cigarettes can be smoked out on each corridor's balcony, food can be thrown away in the trash (instead of down the drain), and if a mess is made, it usually takes 1 minute to clean up. That way, when I want to brush my teeth or wash my face in the morning, I don't have look at a clogged sink of previous food scraps and food spittle staring back at me. Not pleasant, folks. And it hurts to know that these people don't understand how spoiled we are for being in this dorm in the first place. All I can really do, though, is just roll my eyes.

River Town: 2 years on the Yangtze (长江）

Usually I'd write about something exciting that's happening here, but things are pretty calm as Midterms are approaching (one full week from now). Luckily, I only need to take one week of my midterm exams, and then no more tests until I leave!!!! (how sweet is that?!?!) Thus I'd like to dedicate some of this blogspace to a book I've been reading for my St. Olaf culture class sponsored here. The book, River Town: 2 years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler (who also did Oracle Bones), is utterly fascinating.

Peter Hessler, after graduating from Oxford, leaves America with his good friend to join the Peace Corps. With no Chinese experiences before, he and his friend are shipped off to Fuling (a small city near the 3 Gorges Dam -- under construction at the time) for the next 2 years, employed to teach English and Western literature. And the story goes on -- Peter writes detailed accounts of mistakes he makes (wearing shorts in China to an assembly and arguing back to teacher) and his life as a foreigner living among Chinese (one of two in the entire city....the other one, being his friend). A lot of the cultural differences I already knew, from growing up around Asian Americans and being in China a good number of times already. But the fact that he led this life right after he graduated from school made it all the more relevant to my journey in the east. As I continue to read his memoirs, I find that I'm not just reading about his journey, but lining up similar aspects to my own.

ah, well -- that's enough ramblings for now......
not much is going on. just studying and relaxing......

ADDRESSS

pleeeeeeeease, if you are going to send me a letter by snail mail, be aware of a couple things (even though it's probably too late)

1) it takes 3 FULL weeks to arrive. Please do not send post after the 1st week in December because of this reason
2) you MUST put my room # on the envelope: #1501
3)please PRINT your handwriting (not cursive or sloppy etc etc) -- the people receiving post have very little English skills. Bonus to you if you use CAPITALIZED LETTERS.

thank you everyone!!!