Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Blogging in America... lame.
Leaving Ireland was... painful. Well, yeah.. it was kind of like ripping off a band aid. You know it has to be done so you mentally prepare, then you just GO. Just take off. I was excited to be home and everything, but it was the lingering days afterwards in which I felt longing to go back. My defense for the weird sentence structure is that I'm reading Dracula by Bram Stoker. Yeah, take that sentence and make it 3 times more complicated than it has to be and that is the narrative of Dracula.
Sorry, I'm only blogging because other Ireland friends have continued their blogging. I really don't have much I should talk about via online unless I'm going on these crazy excursions. I feel like most of the time I would just complain about things on here if I wasn't traveling.
Quote of the day:
"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."
-Ernest Hemingway
Sorry, I'm only blogging because other Ireland friends have continued their blogging. I really don't have much I should talk about via online unless I'm going on these crazy excursions. I feel like most of the time I would just complain about things on here if I wasn't traveling.
Quote of the day:
"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."
-Ernest Hemingway
Monday, August 1, 2011
"But then I thought, I'm in feckin' Ireland!"
One day it just hit me.
I'm actually going to miss it here. It is extremely rare that I am in a place where I am not missing my home in Beloit, Ohio. Throughout college, going home has always been something to look forward to. And believe me, this is something I worry about often. Like, what the hell, Anna? What're you gonna do when you graduate and have to be a real person? And get a job in some sort of city? Am I going to just be miserable? Or am I seriously going to model together a whole new feeling of home somewhere that is not Beloit, Ohio? Well I freaking hope so.
I'm sorry, my point is that I am actually going to be sad to leave here, which completely shocks me. I may even cry... No. Doubtful. I just want all of my 8 followers to know that this country should definitely be in some sort of top-5-places-to-visit list of yours.
On July 20th we took a day trip to Derry- I've officially been to the U.K.! -We got there and took a tour in the museum with Gerry from Derry, who I couldn't stand at first but then slowly warmed up to. Gerry took us through the history of Ireland and the Troubles and stuff, and then we explored Derry and walked the walls, watched some documentaries on the Troubles, and saw a Banksy! And now I have pound coins which I will never use.
The festival is over now. I can't believe it went so fast. Some final events I went to were the play called "The Crowing Guest", which I didn't enjoy at all. And another play called "The Far Off Fields", which was a sad story about a woman who got hired on a farm in 19th century Ireland in which her employer raped her for 5 months. Don't worry, she gets away, but she's with child. We went to kind of a wrap-up party thing for the festival on Thursday, it was a lot of fun with free food and drinks. And especially since the 13 of us were the only ones on the dance floor.
We went to Dublin this past weekend. Good times. I'm feeling too lethargic to go into any details. All I really feel like saying is that it was on more than one occasion that I stopped and said "I love Ireland."
I have finished a first full draft of my script! I have no idea if I'm good at adapting; I'm thinking no, although my story was really easy to adapt. Which is why I don't think I'm good at it. Mostly now I need to work the documentary project and on the transcribing process, which is extremely tedious. It helps that I have a pretty interesting subject, which is if you dont know, a profile piece on the local storyteller or "shanachie" if you will, Joe Brennan. He's pretty fantastic. It's basically about how he's keeping the Irish oral tradition, the oldest form of entertainment, alive in the Irish culture and the world actually by going to the schools, having workshops, and performing at festivals and stuff. We only have 5 days left here, it's going to be quite a task getting everything done on time.
Irish culture rant:
When you're about to order something, they ask you "You okay?" or "You alright then?" I just want to answer, yes I'm okay.. can I order something? And I know that's what they mean, but the tone is like.. they want to know if you're ok. And I always pause because I have to think about the right thing to respond with.. and I usually just spit out "Can I get a blah blah blah?" I just really like the bluntness of our culture- "What do you want?" Ya know?
"An Irish guy invited you to go surfing, YOU GO"
-Emily
"All Irish people talk about is how depressing the weather is"
-an Irish guy
I'm actually going to miss it here. It is extremely rare that I am in a place where I am not missing my home in Beloit, Ohio. Throughout college, going home has always been something to look forward to. And believe me, this is something I worry about often. Like, what the hell, Anna? What're you gonna do when you graduate and have to be a real person? And get a job in some sort of city? Am I going to just be miserable? Or am I seriously going to model together a whole new feeling of home somewhere that is not Beloit, Ohio? Well I freaking hope so.
I'm sorry, my point is that I am actually going to be sad to leave here, which completely shocks me. I may even cry... No. Doubtful. I just want all of my 8 followers to know that this country should definitely be in some sort of top-5-places-to-visit list of yours.
On July 20th we took a day trip to Derry- I've officially been to the U.K.! -We got there and took a tour in the museum with Gerry from Derry, who I couldn't stand at first but then slowly warmed up to. Gerry took us through the history of Ireland and the Troubles and stuff, and then we explored Derry and walked the walls, watched some documentaries on the Troubles, and saw a Banksy! And now I have pound coins which I will never use.
The festival is over now. I can't believe it went so fast. Some final events I went to were the play called "The Crowing Guest", which I didn't enjoy at all. And another play called "The Far Off Fields", which was a sad story about a woman who got hired on a farm in 19th century Ireland in which her employer raped her for 5 months. Don't worry, she gets away, but she's with child. We went to kind of a wrap-up party thing for the festival on Thursday, it was a lot of fun with free food and drinks. And especially since the 13 of us were the only ones on the dance floor.
We went to Dublin this past weekend. Good times. I'm feeling too lethargic to go into any details. All I really feel like saying is that it was on more than one occasion that I stopped and said "I love Ireland."
I have finished a first full draft of my script! I have no idea if I'm good at adapting; I'm thinking no, although my story was really easy to adapt. Which is why I don't think I'm good at it. Mostly now I need to work the documentary project and on the transcribing process, which is extremely tedious. It helps that I have a pretty interesting subject, which is if you dont know, a profile piece on the local storyteller or "shanachie" if you will, Joe Brennan. He's pretty fantastic. It's basically about how he's keeping the Irish oral tradition, the oldest form of entertainment, alive in the Irish culture and the world actually by going to the schools, having workshops, and performing at festivals and stuff. We only have 5 days left here, it's going to be quite a task getting everything done on time.
Irish culture rant:
When you're about to order something, they ask you "You okay?" or "You alright then?" I just want to answer, yes I'm okay.. can I order something? And I know that's what they mean, but the tone is like.. they want to know if you're ok. And I always pause because I have to think about the right thing to respond with.. and I usually just spit out "Can I get a blah blah blah?" I just really like the bluntness of our culture- "What do you want?" Ya know?
"An Irish guy invited you to go surfing, YOU GO"
-Emily
"All Irish people talk about is how depressing the weather is"
-an Irish guy
Sunday, July 17, 2011
All These Things That I've Done
Well one of the main reasons we came here was to help out with the Earagail Arts Festival, which has been an entertaining string of artistic events, performances, artist exhibits, and things of that nature. I've volunteered for a couple events so far, the first being at the opening art exhibition of local artist Locky Morris. His main thing seems to be turning to really simple material to make a big statement. One piece I found interesting was a piece of his living room carpet, on which his daughter took off the tag of her school uniform and dropped it; this piece of the carpet was encased in glass (with the tag still laying there) to preserve the memory of his daughter's first day of school. Simple, but an interesting approach to art... A lot of his art also represents aspects of The Troubles here in Ireland. I wish I had some pictures to show you.. but I don't.
Back to the exhibition opening.. Our job was simply to pour wine. Ok well, I've never poured alcohol for the public before and a normal person would use their common sense but of course I have all these questions. How much wine do I put in their glass? Can they have refills? How many can they have? Can I have some?
This was funny because one of the guys.. who had two or three glasses.. was telling us he hoped we got to have some. Upon telling him I was too afraid to ask, he yells "Are ye kidding me?? It's IRELAND!" Haha. It made for a nice cultural realization.
Following the exhibition, a group of us volunteered at the Carnival Parade which was kind of like a kickoff event for the festival. Well, my wine pouring mate was with me, but there was a whole group of people that were missing. I'm just like wow, they're really late..then all of the sudden they emerge out of the crowed in these insane, like.. ludicrous. outfits. I guess when they showed up some lady was like Aye! go get your costumes on! Haha. It's going to be real great when I get back to the States with this Irish accent. Anyway, so yes they we're dressed up like clowns, and I got to wear a neon vest. Our duties were simply to walk along side the parade to make sure people weren't going into the street and that everything was going smoothly. It was a great parade people were dressed up like crazy animals and dancers and there was music and dancing and huge floats. And we just walked all the way down the main street in Letterkenny and back.
These are two events I've volunteered at, and I've also attended some events. We checked out the carnival the next day at the park- first time discovering the park! That was exciting. It was mostly just grass and paths.. which lead my thoughts toward: well, this country doesn't need jungle gyms, sand, and swings because they're happy enough just running around in their extremely green grass and using their imagination. Just a cultural observation. Not saying they don't have parks with swings, but well, I haven't seen one. The next weekend we went to The Glebe Gathering, an event about a half hour away that was having another art exhibit for kids mostly. We took a tour of artist Derek Hill's house. He was a quirky guy. His house was filled with art work from artists all around the world, like a plate from Picasso, and a bunch of other crazy stuff like huge beetles encased in glass, beaded stools that his mother made, a victorian-like chair just for his dog, a decorated toilet bowl, a painting that changes color when the sun shines through it, etc. Very cool house. Then we went to Glenveagh castle and national park!! (one of 6 in Ireland). Yes, I've been in a castle now. We took a tour and I think we only got to see about 1/4 of the castle, but it was beautiful. and deer-themed. and haunted! and cursed. So I feel pretty lucky.
More recently, I went to a kids play called Star Boy, starring Joe Brennan, the topic of my documentary. He is a local storyteller and actually wrote this play without words to approach a different way of telling a story. It was cute, very good. I felt kind of ridiculous, I was literally the only one my age there. The audience consisted of parents and 2-9 year olds. I also went to see a performance by Solo Cissokho who is also a storyteller, and a musician of Souther Senegal in Africa. He played the griot (beautiful instrument) and told an old story from a village by his hometown.
That about sums it up for my volunteer and festival activities for the time being. Some fun cultural things that may be obvious but I'd like point out: They have a deep appreciation for their sheep here.. seriously, it's theme on the souvenirs.
Guiness is also a prominent theme in the culture, as well as music (much more so than in America); it is a much larger focus in the schools here.
Thanks for reading!
"Wait. Speaking of Jews... The goblins that work at the bank? Totally the jews of the movie."
Back to the exhibition opening.. Our job was simply to pour wine. Ok well, I've never poured alcohol for the public before and a normal person would use their common sense but of course I have all these questions. How much wine do I put in their glass? Can they have refills? How many can they have? Can I have some?
This was funny because one of the guys.. who had two or three glasses.. was telling us he hoped we got to have some. Upon telling him I was too afraid to ask, he yells "Are ye kidding me?? It's IRELAND!" Haha. It made for a nice cultural realization.
Following the exhibition, a group of us volunteered at the Carnival Parade which was kind of like a kickoff event for the festival. Well, my wine pouring mate was with me, but there was a whole group of people that were missing. I'm just like wow, they're really late..then all of the sudden they emerge out of the crowed in these insane, like.. ludicrous. outfits. I guess when they showed up some lady was like Aye! go get your costumes on! Haha. It's going to be real great when I get back to the States with this Irish accent. Anyway, so yes they we're dressed up like clowns, and I got to wear a neon vest. Our duties were simply to walk along side the parade to make sure people weren't going into the street and that everything was going smoothly. It was a great parade people were dressed up like crazy animals and dancers and there was music and dancing and huge floats. And we just walked all the way down the main street in Letterkenny and back.
These are two events I've volunteered at, and I've also attended some events. We checked out the carnival the next day at the park- first time discovering the park! That was exciting. It was mostly just grass and paths.. which lead my thoughts toward: well, this country doesn't need jungle gyms, sand, and swings because they're happy enough just running around in their extremely green grass and using their imagination. Just a cultural observation. Not saying they don't have parks with swings, but well, I haven't seen one. The next weekend we went to The Glebe Gathering, an event about a half hour away that was having another art exhibit for kids mostly. We took a tour of artist Derek Hill's house. He was a quirky guy. His house was filled with art work from artists all around the world, like a plate from Picasso, and a bunch of other crazy stuff like huge beetles encased in glass, beaded stools that his mother made, a victorian-like chair just for his dog, a decorated toilet bowl, a painting that changes color when the sun shines through it, etc. Very cool house. Then we went to Glenveagh castle and national park!! (one of 6 in Ireland). Yes, I've been in a castle now. We took a tour and I think we only got to see about 1/4 of the castle, but it was beautiful. and deer-themed. and haunted! and cursed. So I feel pretty lucky.
More recently, I went to a kids play called Star Boy, starring Joe Brennan, the topic of my documentary. He is a local storyteller and actually wrote this play without words to approach a different way of telling a story. It was cute, very good. I felt kind of ridiculous, I was literally the only one my age there. The audience consisted of parents and 2-9 year olds. I also went to see a performance by Solo Cissokho who is also a storyteller, and a musician of Souther Senegal in Africa. He played the griot (beautiful instrument) and told an old story from a village by his hometown.
That about sums it up for my volunteer and festival activities for the time being. Some fun cultural things that may be obvious but I'd like point out: They have a deep appreciation for their sheep here.. seriously, it's theme on the souvenirs.
Guiness is also a prominent theme in the culture, as well as music (much more so than in America); it is a much larger focus in the schools here.
Thanks for reading!
"Wait. Speaking of Jews... The goblins that work at the bank? Totally the jews of the movie."
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Hey guys.. Can we still be friends after this weekend?
Yes, so the accents took some time to get used to, as well as the blatant staring, but also the friendliness of the people; the surrounding of vast green pastures filled with sheep or cattle is new and the lack of ranch dressing in the country has been rough. But I think the weather, more than anything, is still taking its toll on me! It's cold here.. for the most part. Ninety-five percent of the time it is overcast, with the sun shining through maybe a total of 60 minutes a day.. Most of the time it's cold and windy, but sometimes it gets pretty hot! for a few minutes. You just never know what it's going to do and it's definitely one of the things I'm still getting used to. Today, for example, I grabbed by umbrella, rain jacket, sunglasses, and wore flip flops.. Ya just can't know.
Oh but it's so beautiful here. I really can't emphasize it enough. This past weekend, we spent the weekend in Galway and the Aran Islands, and it's hard for me to put in words just how gorgeous the land is.. Galway has a mix of atmospheres: Shop street was filled with small pubs and shops of Irish souvenirs and SWEATERS!(don't feel like explaining this). With Galway Bay just a short walk through there, you have the sand and the waves and the jellyfish right at your fingertips. I spent the night in a hostel for the first time- not like the movie at all! We all agreed it was like a big sleepover! I think the best part of this was when I accidentally walked into the other girls room at 2 in the morning thinking it was ours. Oops. Always make sure your door is closed all the way..
The next day was the Aran Islands (Inishmore), which we took a ferry to. We rented bikes upon our arrival and rode around a big chunk of the island for most of the day. I think this has been my favorite experience so far.. We had beautiful weather and clear skies; we saw horses and donkeys, we climbed rocks and saw dolphins- it was absolutely perfect. Oh.. I can't forget how we ended the evening. The group participated in an intense kereoke singing contest, winning of course, and bonding like no group of people has ever bonded before. All I can do now is pray that those videos will never surface.
The only thing I regret of the weekend was not having enough time in Galway.. It's definitely a place I would like to return to.
Our next trip is to Derry in a couple of weeks. These days we're beginning to adapt our short stories to a screenplay and gearing up to help out with the festival. I'm very excited to start work for the arts festival, to meet more people in this town and learn more about the culture. The people here are absolutely amazing. Besides a snooty, depressed waiter we had on the island and the boys that yell from their cars, everyone is ridiculously friendly. Fun fact- they think Americans are the friendly ones because we always say "have a nice day." But the Irish are genuinely friendly and genuinely concerned if you're having a nice day or not. It seems.
Cheers
"I left my sweater swag back at the B&B."
Oh but it's so beautiful here. I really can't emphasize it enough. This past weekend, we spent the weekend in Galway and the Aran Islands, and it's hard for me to put in words just how gorgeous the land is.. Galway has a mix of atmospheres: Shop street was filled with small pubs and shops of Irish souvenirs and SWEATERS!(don't feel like explaining this). With Galway Bay just a short walk through there, you have the sand and the waves and the jellyfish right at your fingertips. I spent the night in a hostel for the first time- not like the movie at all! We all agreed it was like a big sleepover! I think the best part of this was when I accidentally walked into the other girls room at 2 in the morning thinking it was ours. Oops. Always make sure your door is closed all the way..
The next day was the Aran Islands (Inishmore), which we took a ferry to. We rented bikes upon our arrival and rode around a big chunk of the island for most of the day. I think this has been my favorite experience so far.. We had beautiful weather and clear skies; we saw horses and donkeys, we climbed rocks and saw dolphins- it was absolutely perfect. Oh.. I can't forget how we ended the evening. The group participated in an intense kereoke singing contest, winning of course, and bonding like no group of people has ever bonded before. All I can do now is pray that those videos will never surface.
The only thing I regret of the weekend was not having enough time in Galway.. It's definitely a place I would like to return to.
Our next trip is to Derry in a couple of weeks. These days we're beginning to adapt our short stories to a screenplay and gearing up to help out with the festival. I'm very excited to start work for the arts festival, to meet more people in this town and learn more about the culture. The people here are absolutely amazing. Besides a snooty, depressed waiter we had on the island and the boys that yell from their cars, everyone is ridiculously friendly. Fun fact- they think Americans are the friendly ones because we always say "have a nice day." But the Irish are genuinely friendly and genuinely concerned if you're having a nice day or not. It seems.
Cheers
"I left my sweater swag back at the B&B."
Monday, June 27, 2011
Carey Mulligan is beautiful
Ballyraine Campus
Apartment number 8
Bedroom
I was traveling alone up until New York, but I thought I was going to be alone all the way until Ireland- a terrifying thought for a naturally nervous person such as myself. And I always think I'm more competent than I am until I'm actually in these situations. Where the hell do I go when I get there? How do I find the bus station? Is it at the airport? What if my luggage isn't there? What if I miss the bus? What if I'm the last one to arrive because I'm an idiot? Well luckily, other people in the group were connecting in New York, and I had them there to lean back on.
The flight was alright, except I got the aisle seat which means I won't be sleeping, basically. I watched Wall Street and read a book called "Round Ireland with a Fridge", which is pretty entertaining. It is about 8:30 am when we descended into Ireland, and I just see green- light greens and dark greens and little spots of white. It was a different feeling than China.. I didn't keep repeating in my mind the country I was in (Ex- "I'm in China. I'm in CHINA!") (x20). It wasn't like that; it was definitely more calm. I like to reflect on how I react to new things, if you can't tell. I think I learn a lot about myself.. and because I like to think my life is a movie, I think it foreshadows the future.
Anyway, as mentioned before, Ireland is super, super, super green. Extremely green. Very very very green. I know you think you already knew that, but you don't really know. It's pretty clean too. We find our bus stop pretty easily, we have to wait about 45 minutes. I go back inside to a different part of the Dublin airport to go to the bathroom and emerge to see a group of French hockey players.. each one with a perfect face. Seriously, I couldn't stop staring- it was embarrassing. The bus arrives and here begins my love story...
Which I'm not going to describe in the blog. The bus ride is loonngg. Its about 4 hours. Which I didn't mind at all because I love bus rides, and I was so excited to see more of Ireland. We go from Dublin to Letterkenny with 4 other stops on the way. This is the one and only bus ride I have ever been sick on. I got horribly ill, I thought I was going to puke on the guy next to me several times. You know when you're in class trying so hard not to fall asleep but its inevitable? As its happening you're falling and you slam yourself up and look like an idiot? This happened to me around 10 times. I tried so hard not to sleep, I just wanted to keep watching the scenery (which, actually, if someone kidnapped me blindfolded me, and flew me to Ireland where I opened my eyes, more often than not, I wouldn't be able to tell I was in a different area). There were a lot of hills, A LOT of cows and sheep, and again, a lot of green. The houses are different.. very spaced apart and in unusual and unique shapes. They also have a billion of roundabouts, and oh yeah! They drive on the different side of the road on the different side of the car. I didn't notice this that much because the bus was so big and I was all the way in the back sitting in an aisle seat. I think I got so sick because it was so hilly, I couldn't see out the other windows that well, we were going really fast, and I had about an hour of sleep.
Long story short.. which hasn't been that short (sorry), the town of Letterkenny is just adorable. It's kind of small, said to have only 15,000 people. It's not a big touristy place, which I like a lot. A few people I've talked to we all surprised a group of American students would come to Letterkenny on vacation. Which I then proceeded to tell them we weren't on vacation really. I'm here in my apartment with my two roommates who are also from OU, Brenna and Christina. I think we all get a long pretty well, same goes for the whole group. Since I was here first I got to pick a room first (Yeah! We have our own rooms!), I picked the double with its own bathroom. I just had to. They hate me. We get a living space and a kitchen as well; its much nicer than I expected. There is no full length mirror though. Isn't that ridiculous? Sure, provide the kitchen with sugar but no full length mirror. But that is my only complaint.
In future blogs, I will get in more detail about the work we'll be doing here, which I'm also really excited about. Besides assignments, we'll be volunteering for the Earagail Arts Festival, a huge festival in the town featuring local/famous artists, bands, readings, movies, several other events through out Letterkenny and Donegal.
Other fun things:
-The Euro is ROUGH.. Say something is 20 euro. Cut it in half and add the half (10) to the original amount and that is what it is in dollars.
-The weather is sketchhh. And by that I mean, its cold. Its on average 50-60 degrees here. The sun rarely shines. But it fits Ireland. It's still so beautiful. It's pretty windy too. The locals say it rains most days but it hasn't a lot yet.
-It's a 7 hour difference so it's almost 6 am in the states.
-It doesn't get dark here until 11 pm
-The accents are as wonderful and as mesmerizing as you think they are.
Quote:
(about the town)
"If you're going to break a window, everyone in Letterkenny is going to know about it."
Apartment number 8
Bedroom
I was traveling alone up until New York, but I thought I was going to be alone all the way until Ireland- a terrifying thought for a naturally nervous person such as myself. And I always think I'm more competent than I am until I'm actually in these situations. Where the hell do I go when I get there? How do I find the bus station? Is it at the airport? What if my luggage isn't there? What if I miss the bus? What if I'm the last one to arrive because I'm an idiot? Well luckily, other people in the group were connecting in New York, and I had them there to lean back on.
The flight was alright, except I got the aisle seat which means I won't be sleeping, basically. I watched Wall Street and read a book called "Round Ireland with a Fridge", which is pretty entertaining. It is about 8:30 am when we descended into Ireland, and I just see green- light greens and dark greens and little spots of white. It was a different feeling than China.. I didn't keep repeating in my mind the country I was in (Ex- "I'm in China. I'm in CHINA!") (x20). It wasn't like that; it was definitely more calm. I like to reflect on how I react to new things, if you can't tell. I think I learn a lot about myself.. and because I like to think my life is a movie, I think it foreshadows the future.
Anyway, as mentioned before, Ireland is super, super, super green. Extremely green. Very very very green. I know you think you already knew that, but you don't really know. It's pretty clean too. We find our bus stop pretty easily, we have to wait about 45 minutes. I go back inside to a different part of the Dublin airport to go to the bathroom and emerge to see a group of French hockey players.. each one with a perfect face. Seriously, I couldn't stop staring- it was embarrassing. The bus arrives and here begins my love story...
Which I'm not going to describe in the blog. The bus ride is loonngg. Its about 4 hours. Which I didn't mind at all because I love bus rides, and I was so excited to see more of Ireland. We go from Dublin to Letterkenny with 4 other stops on the way. This is the one and only bus ride I have ever been sick on. I got horribly ill, I thought I was going to puke on the guy next to me several times. You know when you're in class trying so hard not to fall asleep but its inevitable? As its happening you're falling and you slam yourself up and look like an idiot? This happened to me around 10 times. I tried so hard not to sleep, I just wanted to keep watching the scenery (which, actually, if someone kidnapped me blindfolded me, and flew me to Ireland where I opened my eyes, more often than not, I wouldn't be able to tell I was in a different area). There were a lot of hills, A LOT of cows and sheep, and again, a lot of green. The houses are different.. very spaced apart and in unusual and unique shapes. They also have a billion of roundabouts, and oh yeah! They drive on the different side of the road on the different side of the car. I didn't notice this that much because the bus was so big and I was all the way in the back sitting in an aisle seat. I think I got so sick because it was so hilly, I couldn't see out the other windows that well, we were going really fast, and I had about an hour of sleep.
Long story short.. which hasn't been that short (sorry), the town of Letterkenny is just adorable. It's kind of small, said to have only 15,000 people. It's not a big touristy place, which I like a lot. A few people I've talked to we all surprised a group of American students would come to Letterkenny on vacation. Which I then proceeded to tell them we weren't on vacation really. I'm here in my apartment with my two roommates who are also from OU, Brenna and Christina. I think we all get a long pretty well, same goes for the whole group. Since I was here first I got to pick a room first (Yeah! We have our own rooms!), I picked the double with its own bathroom. I just had to. They hate me. We get a living space and a kitchen as well; its much nicer than I expected. There is no full length mirror though. Isn't that ridiculous? Sure, provide the kitchen with sugar but no full length mirror. But that is my only complaint.
In future blogs, I will get in more detail about the work we'll be doing here, which I'm also really excited about. Besides assignments, we'll be volunteering for the Earagail Arts Festival, a huge festival in the town featuring local/famous artists, bands, readings, movies, several other events through out Letterkenny and Donegal.
Other fun things:
-The Euro is ROUGH.. Say something is 20 euro. Cut it in half and add the half (10) to the original amount and that is what it is in dollars.
-The weather is sketchhh. And by that I mean, its cold. Its on average 50-60 degrees here. The sun rarely shines. But it fits Ireland. It's still so beautiful. It's pretty windy too. The locals say it rains most days but it hasn't a lot yet.
-It's a 7 hour difference so it's almost 6 am in the states.
-It doesn't get dark here until 11 pm
-The accents are as wonderful and as mesmerizing as you think they are.
Quote:
(about the town)
"If you're going to break a window, everyone in Letterkenny is going to know about it."
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Stupid song made me think of you, I listened to it for a minute, but then I changed it & I'm getting a little bit stronger.
It's 2011. And I haven't said anything yet. That statement got pretty deep when I started thinking about it. That last sentence doesn't make much sense, but I like it anyway.
Once in a while, to avoid homework, I'll read fashion blogs. Boyy do I get jealous! The clothes! That these women compile together to make an outfit.. It's so inspiring.
There's a song on the Country Strong soundtrack (which I'm totally not embarrassed to proclaim my love for) that I cannot stop listening to. It's called A Little Bit Stronger- SO girly, so mainstream pop-esque, but I absolutely love it! I love her voice, and I love the melody and the country twang in there, but I think it may also be a strong connection to the lyrics. In days when I would be upset about those kinds of things.. (...guys..erughck)(that sound exactly) Simply getting out of bed, or changing the song on the radio, I never looked at those things as me getting stronger. But that's what it was, and I'm proud of myself as I look back on those times.
Once in a while, to avoid homework, I'll read fashion blogs. Boyy do I get jealous! The clothes! That these women compile together to make an outfit.. It's so inspiring.
There's a song on the Country Strong soundtrack (which I'm totally not embarrassed to proclaim my love for) that I cannot stop listening to. It's called A Little Bit Stronger- SO girly, so mainstream pop-esque, but I absolutely love it! I love her voice, and I love the melody and the country twang in there, but I think it may also be a strong connection to the lyrics. In days when I would be upset about those kinds of things.. (...guys..erughck)(that sound exactly) Simply getting out of bed, or changing the song on the radio, I never looked at those things as me getting stronger. But that's what it was, and I'm proud of myself as I look back on those times.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
And darling, you should know, I have fantasies about being alone
Whyyyyy do people blog? There's many reasons I suppose. Why do I blog? I think my thoughts are unique? And maybe I can somehow.. ugh. I can't do this. I do not want to talk about me. Every time i sign on here, I start talking about myself and I delete it and I get on facebook. By this I mean, the majority of what I write on the whim is me trying to figure out how my brain works.. or something like that. So I don't want to bore the cyber world with THAT. My drunk roommates want me to take them to WalMart. No. I hate dealing with my drunk friends when I am sober. Because that's what i have to do every time- deal with it. My lust to drink alcohol dissipates by the year. I could probably make a solid chart of my alcoholism from 15 to 21. It starts in the middle, spikes at 17-18, slowly declines until now, where its practically zero, and spikes back at 21. Well, I assume I will want to drink when I'm 21. I like to be allowed to do things. It becomes clear to me more and more that I hate breaking the rules, whatever they are. What a wet blanket I am! Well anyway, drunk friends are SO annoying. Drunk people are be funny, but drunk friends are just annoying. That's an almost solid fact I believe.
To the date, I have officially have been getting a period for 9 years. Woooooo! I know you were curious. Goodnight.
To the date, I have officially have been getting a period for 9 years. Woooooo! I know you were curious. Goodnight.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
I really have grown to love China and their taxi drivers
BCLU Dorm#17 Room 201
finished time 12:14 pm
I've battled the difficult language of Chinese. When in Rome, I've lived as the Romans do, in this case, the Chinese. I've waddled through the puddles with pee when it rained, and I've spent most every day sweating more than I ever have before. I've squatted the toilets, climbed their Great Wall, fist-fought with the Silk Market sales people (not really, but close), gotten fat over their food, sung keroke to a rap song all by myself, learned to scream waitress when I want to order/pay, I let Yu Laoshi get my heart beating 10000 beats per minute over his stupid memorization practice things in fear he would call on me. I've lived in a moldy room with a moldy shower curtain, been consistently verbally harassed in class by my gay friend whos in love with me, listened to at least 5 conversations about poop in Chinese a week, went 6 weeks without facebook, got swindled buying their traditional clothing, let a taxi drive away with my shitty cell phone, and been bench-pressed by a large Russian man. But I think the most challenging thing I will have to face in China is packing my damn suitcase! I've been obsessing about it for a week, up at night just imagining each souvenir one by one, and how they MUST fit together in one normal-sized suitcase; how I just can't bare to leave anything of mine in this country. I've thought about this for weeks.. what I will leave here. So far I have accepted that I will leave my jean jacket, one bra, and the perfume I brought with me (which i brought for the purpose of using up). Recently, I've realized I will have to leave more if i don't want to pay for two overweight suitcases. And for some reason, SO odd to me, I've almost accepted the fact that I have to leave my beloved converses, but I do not think I will be able to leave my conditioner (shampoo is whatever). This may or may not be because I want an excuse to buy new converses? Or because I'm insane. Rereading this whole thing has confirmed the latter.
Anyway, sorry to ramble about something as ridiculous as packing. I know you all were really curious. We received our grades today- for our final exam and overall- and I have managed an A. I have to be honest in saying that it really wasn't difficult. I believe our teachers really just wanted us all to get A's; everyone got an A or an A-. I am ecstatic to be done with this work and to be able to start 300 level Chinese in the fall... in 3 weeks; ugh.
Departing t-minus 15 hours. 15 hours to.. pack.
Some highlights:
Justin being asked "how much?" outside our Hotel in Xi'an.
Justin jumping on Kyle, taking down both of them and a beer pong table.
Mike getting arrested.
Mark being the first (this just to make him happy).
Yu Laoshi singing his heart out.
That actually pretty much rounds it all up.
Quotes:
Zenme shuo "bitches aint shit"?
finished time 12:14 pm
I've battled the difficult language of Chinese. When in Rome, I've lived as the Romans do, in this case, the Chinese. I've waddled through the puddles with pee when it rained, and I've spent most every day sweating more than I ever have before. I've squatted the toilets, climbed their Great Wall, fist-fought with the Silk Market sales people (not really, but close), gotten fat over their food, sung keroke to a rap song all by myself, learned to scream waitress when I want to order/pay, I let Yu Laoshi get my heart beating 10000 beats per minute over his stupid memorization practice things in fear he would call on me. I've lived in a moldy room with a moldy shower curtain, been consistently verbally harassed in class by my gay friend whos in love with me, listened to at least 5 conversations about poop in Chinese a week, went 6 weeks without facebook, got swindled buying their traditional clothing, let a taxi drive away with my shitty cell phone, and been bench-pressed by a large Russian man. But I think the most challenging thing I will have to face in China is packing my damn suitcase! I've been obsessing about it for a week, up at night just imagining each souvenir one by one, and how they MUST fit together in one normal-sized suitcase; how I just can't bare to leave anything of mine in this country. I've thought about this for weeks.. what I will leave here. So far I have accepted that I will leave my jean jacket, one bra, and the perfume I brought with me (which i brought for the purpose of using up). Recently, I've realized I will have to leave more if i don't want to pay for two overweight suitcases. And for some reason, SO odd to me, I've almost accepted the fact that I have to leave my beloved converses, but I do not think I will be able to leave my conditioner (shampoo is whatever). This may or may not be because I want an excuse to buy new converses? Or because I'm insane. Rereading this whole thing has confirmed the latter.
Anyway, sorry to ramble about something as ridiculous as packing. I know you all were really curious. We received our grades today- for our final exam and overall- and I have managed an A. I have to be honest in saying that it really wasn't difficult. I believe our teachers really just wanted us all to get A's; everyone got an A or an A-. I am ecstatic to be done with this work and to be able to start 300 level Chinese in the fall... in 3 weeks; ugh.
Departing t-minus 15 hours. 15 hours to.. pack.
Some highlights:
Justin being asked "how much?" outside our Hotel in Xi'an.
Justin jumping on Kyle, taking down both of them and a beer pong table.
Mike getting arrested.
Mark being the first (this just to make him happy).
Yu Laoshi singing his heart out.
That actually pretty much rounds it all up.
Quotes:
Zenme shuo "bitches aint shit"?
Monday, August 2, 2010
"Books are so much fun!"
happy birthday matt and dad!
So 2 thursdays ago was our midterm. It was much easier than we thought it was going to be; i did well enough. After our midterm we went to Xi'an, a city about 12 hours away via sleeper train. The sleeper train was a lot of fun & so nice. well, the beds were just a lot better than our beds at school. I actually loved traveling by train; it was very comforting. Xi'an is a very historical city & our main attraction there was the tombs of the terracotta warriors. This was soo cool, Wiki it and keep a look out for pictures on facbeook.. later. After this, we saw the Tang Dynasty Music and Dance show. This was kind of boring compared to the acrobatic show. Our hotel was amazing; sooo nice and the beds were heaven. The next day we went to Xi'an's city wall, called the Ming Great Wall. It wasn't nearly as difficult as the Great Wall; there was just one flight of stairs and the rest was just walking. It was very pretty though, the view was awesome. I've encountered this a lot, like a thousand+ year old historic site in the middle of such a modern, bustling city. Just about every place we've been to is like this actually. We then went to the Museum of Stone Tablets. This I didn't really understand. I just know I was looking at like thousands year old character writing engraved in... stone tablets. All the sites very interesting, although i didnt always understand what i was looking at. Gump (our Xi'an tour guide, as in Forrest Gump) wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as Stone (as in Rolling Stone).
This past friday we went to keroke with our teacher and the TA, lulu, who's coming to OU in the fall to help teach. I was shy at first, like always, but with some Baijiu (pinyin sp?) I let loose and later sang my heart out, unfortunately. No it was fun, we had a great time, and got to like my teacher even more- a very funny guy, without trying. We had to get up super early the next day so we just went home after. Saturday was a busy day, guided by Jason (no good explanation). We first went to the Forbidden City. I had been there before but its like a mile walk before you even get to the entrance of the actual Forbidden part. So today we started on the opposite side and got right i. It was veryy cool; I can't really describe what I saw without making it sound boring or making no sense so I'm not bothering. Actually when we first got there we got to see a little stone room thing where the Emperor would choose his like 3000 concubines. And then we saw the concubines living quarters. Tienanmen was right across the street so we saw all that. Here is where about 4 Chinese families asked me to take pictures with them and their kids, no idea how many didn't bother asking. We then went to the Temple of Heaven, and then a restaurant famous for their roast duck. Amazing. I then spent too much money at the Pearl Market, we went to dinner, and Beijing Opera- weird! very weird. It was mostly music and karate moves, I wish I had heard more singing.
A couple of us went to the Silk Market on Sunday, a big shopping center where you can bargain everything you buy, where the purses are fake and such. I think I've used my Chinese the most here, even though they all know English. Its just fun. Its hilarious because you literally fight and yell with the sellers. They grab you and chase you and have no problem hitting you. Repeating "you crazy person!" "you kill me!" "you leave now!" You want them to be angry though because you know you're getting a good price. Everyone here loves bargaining but I honestly prefer just to buy things at a set price; bargaining is exhausting.
So the trip is officially more than half over. It didn't feel as though it was going fast at the time, but it really did fly by. I would love to write more, mainly about the people here with me but I don't think its appropriate. I probably wouldn't be able to really convey what i want to say without offending someone. Probably. Its funny because I mentioned how great everyone seemed to get along in the beginning, and it was SUCH a lie! We are probably the most argumentative group to ever travel in China. Almost everyone has something bad to say about almost everyone lol. And I laugh because although everyone argues and criticizes all the time, its in a kind of... loving way. Its strange and I can't explain it without sounding super.. lame.
To note on the education, I do feel I am learning so much. Yes, the culture is an education itself, but learning the language is also very stimulating. When i hear my teachers speak to each other, or other natives talk, i listen SO hard and I just get this helpless feeling that I will never be able to understand or speak this language. It comes & goes. One of my favorite moments here was just the other day when a waitress spoke to us, she soon realized she had to speak slowly, but we managed to answer her questions about how long we were here and why we were here. It made us feel really good to actually speak & be understood, have a conversation outside the classroom. No, doesn't happen often. Today, however, my language partner made me soo happy! He said "Ni de Hanyu shou tigao le." My Chinese has improved! I knew he meant it because we were in like mid-conversation about something else. Wo hen gaoxing.
Being on this trip definitely begs the question- when the hell am i going to use this? Ehh.
"Why are you wearing a sweatshirt in China?"
"A sword and a qipao. They go together."
"And you like survive with that stupid sandwich."
"Why don't you just put it on your ass!?" (about a pastry)
"You need different coins to wash your food."
There's more than this but I can't remember atm!
So 2 thursdays ago was our midterm. It was much easier than we thought it was going to be; i did well enough. After our midterm we went to Xi'an, a city about 12 hours away via sleeper train. The sleeper train was a lot of fun & so nice. well, the beds were just a lot better than our beds at school. I actually loved traveling by train; it was very comforting. Xi'an is a very historical city & our main attraction there was the tombs of the terracotta warriors. This was soo cool, Wiki it and keep a look out for pictures on facbeook.. later. After this, we saw the Tang Dynasty Music and Dance show. This was kind of boring compared to the acrobatic show. Our hotel was amazing; sooo nice and the beds were heaven. The next day we went to Xi'an's city wall, called the Ming Great Wall. It wasn't nearly as difficult as the Great Wall; there was just one flight of stairs and the rest was just walking. It was very pretty though, the view was awesome. I've encountered this a lot, like a thousand+ year old historic site in the middle of such a modern, bustling city. Just about every place we've been to is like this actually. We then went to the Museum of Stone Tablets. This I didn't really understand. I just know I was looking at like thousands year old character writing engraved in... stone tablets. All the sites very interesting, although i didnt always understand what i was looking at. Gump (our Xi'an tour guide, as in Forrest Gump) wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as Stone (as in Rolling Stone).
This past friday we went to keroke with our teacher and the TA, lulu, who's coming to OU in the fall to help teach. I was shy at first, like always, but with some Baijiu (pinyin sp?) I let loose and later sang my heart out, unfortunately. No it was fun, we had a great time, and got to like my teacher even more- a very funny guy, without trying. We had to get up super early the next day so we just went home after. Saturday was a busy day, guided by Jason (no good explanation). We first went to the Forbidden City. I had been there before but its like a mile walk before you even get to the entrance of the actual Forbidden part. So today we started on the opposite side and got right i. It was veryy cool; I can't really describe what I saw without making it sound boring or making no sense so I'm not bothering. Actually when we first got there we got to see a little stone room thing where the Emperor would choose his like 3000 concubines. And then we saw the concubines living quarters. Tienanmen was right across the street so we saw all that. Here is where about 4 Chinese families asked me to take pictures with them and their kids, no idea how many didn't bother asking. We then went to the Temple of Heaven, and then a restaurant famous for their roast duck. Amazing. I then spent too much money at the Pearl Market, we went to dinner, and Beijing Opera- weird! very weird. It was mostly music and karate moves, I wish I had heard more singing.
A couple of us went to the Silk Market on Sunday, a big shopping center where you can bargain everything you buy, where the purses are fake and such. I think I've used my Chinese the most here, even though they all know English. Its just fun. Its hilarious because you literally fight and yell with the sellers. They grab you and chase you and have no problem hitting you. Repeating "you crazy person!" "you kill me!" "you leave now!" You want them to be angry though because you know you're getting a good price. Everyone here loves bargaining but I honestly prefer just to buy things at a set price; bargaining is exhausting.
So the trip is officially more than half over. It didn't feel as though it was going fast at the time, but it really did fly by. I would love to write more, mainly about the people here with me but I don't think its appropriate. I probably wouldn't be able to really convey what i want to say without offending someone. Probably. Its funny because I mentioned how great everyone seemed to get along in the beginning, and it was SUCH a lie! We are probably the most argumentative group to ever travel in China. Almost everyone has something bad to say about almost everyone lol. And I laugh because although everyone argues and criticizes all the time, its in a kind of... loving way. Its strange and I can't explain it without sounding super.. lame.
To note on the education, I do feel I am learning so much. Yes, the culture is an education itself, but learning the language is also very stimulating. When i hear my teachers speak to each other, or other natives talk, i listen SO hard and I just get this helpless feeling that I will never be able to understand or speak this language. It comes & goes. One of my favorite moments here was just the other day when a waitress spoke to us, she soon realized she had to speak slowly, but we managed to answer her questions about how long we were here and why we were here. It made us feel really good to actually speak & be understood, have a conversation outside the classroom. No, doesn't happen often. Today, however, my language partner made me soo happy! He said "Ni de Hanyu shou tigao le." My Chinese has improved! I knew he meant it because we were in like mid-conversation about something else. Wo hen gaoxing.
Being on this trip definitely begs the question- when the hell am i going to use this? Ehh.
"Why are you wearing a sweatshirt in China?"
"A sword and a qipao. They go together."
"And you like survive with that stupid sandwich."
"Why don't you just put it on your ass!?" (about a pastry)
"You need different coins to wash your food."
There's more than this but I can't remember atm!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
"We do have Starbucks.. We've nicknamed it "The American Temple"
July 17, 2010
11:53 PM
College Perk Cafe
The people of China have no problem with their men walking around with their shirts half way up. And you know, I really don't either because it is just so so so so hot here. I wish I could do that. But yeah, it's pretty common to see (mostly) old men showing their bellies all over the place. Honestly, sometimes the most interesting part of the day is walking around because the traffic here is absolutely nuts. They do not follow the traffic rules, and I really am starting to think they actually don't have any. I've come to the conclusion that because this city is SO crowded, everyone just pushes through everywhere. It's not about politeness or order, it's just all about getting where you need to go and being the fastest one to do it. At a mall we were at, three of us were waiting at an elevator and managed to miss it twice because people pushed by so fast to get on, by the time it was full, we barely noticed it was there. The driving is not real. I could never ever drive in this city. People say Asians can't drive, but I have to completely disagree. They can drive, they just can't drive with rules holding them back, i.e. speed limits, turn signals, red meaning stop, etc. These taxi drivers are skilled mofos, but it is scary has hell. They push and push and push. Today, our taxi driver tried to beat a bus merging into our lane so we'd be ahead of it before we got to the light. This was the closest near-death we've had; the bus prevailed and we were stuck behind it. But to my amazement, I have not seen an accident yet. In the US, you walk on the right, but not here. The bike lane kind of merges with the sidewalk and bikes are literally everywhere. I can't blame them since you have to have badass level driving skills to survive here. But people ride and walk wherever they need to, there is absolutely no order. But, I feel like the people here have their own sense of the people around them and what they're doing. Because i've almost been run over by a bike like 3 times.
The smell of Beijing.. is semi-horrible. I think I'm used to it. But I guess it's legal to pee outside here, and I suppose that's what it is. and the massive amount of pollution. The average visibility is like 2 miles ahead because of all the smog. And i'm pretty sure it's ok to litter. I don't know.. a couple of places I've been to people will just throw their trash in the parking lots and there are employees sweeping up the mass amounts.
The public toilets are probably the worst thing... the absolute worst. You squat. and you throw away your toilet paper.. that you have to carry with you. because no, most of them don't have toilet paper. And no, sometimes you don't flush. Sometimes these toilets are cleaned up, but most of them are just downright disgusting. This really made me see how spoiled we are in the states. It may or may not be actually more hygienic, because you're not actually sitting on the toilet sit. but the atmosphere and area surrounding is hard to handle sometimes. The toilet in my dorm is western though, so I just always try to go there before I leave.
So lets see.. If you're really good friends with someone, it's not rude to chew and talk with your mouth open; i've seen my language partners do this a lot and we just had to bring it up. It's also ok to eat with your elbows on the table.. I've been taking advantage of this a lot. Sorry, dad. It's really polite to put food on other's plate (in the lazy susan style); and make things with the food for someone at the table. My language partner made me a wrap thing with duck, and was definitely offended when I didn't want it. I ate it once I realized this. I've basically only eaten with chopstick. This is hugggeee because I really had no idea how to use those things and now i have to use them all the time. I'm glad I'm decent at it now, i just miss the fork. We just discovered this amazing American restaurant close by so I did get to use one there.
The nightlife is about the same. The bars we've been going to have been ridiculous expensive. Well, about as expensive as they are in the states which is expensive here. 50 RMB cover charge last night, about 10ish dollars, and then 50 RMB drinks. So outrageous. There's also airport-like security at almost every bar we've been to, even the cheaper ones. I put my purse through a scan check thingy, or a man has to look in it. and there's metal detectors. I'm not complaining though; Youngstown should probably kick it up a notch. These clubs really were amazing though.. soo high class with like side couches everywhere, huge dance floors, the loudest music. It's fun, but no longer worth it. Erika had to pay 10 rmb to wash her hands at the place last night. Oh yes, smoking works its way into my life again. People are allowed to smoke in restaurants and bars. And it's not as bad in the restaurants, but the bars are awful sometimes, just filled with smoke. I haven't ended a night smelling like smoke in so long, so it's been eh.
Welllll that's just some China culture I've noticed so far. I know most of the paragraphs sounded negative, but I really am loving it. It's an amazing experience.
11:53 PM
College Perk Cafe
The people of China have no problem with their men walking around with their shirts half way up. And you know, I really don't either because it is just so so so so hot here. I wish I could do that. But yeah, it's pretty common to see (mostly) old men showing their bellies all over the place. Honestly, sometimes the most interesting part of the day is walking around because the traffic here is absolutely nuts. They do not follow the traffic rules, and I really am starting to think they actually don't have any. I've come to the conclusion that because this city is SO crowded, everyone just pushes through everywhere. It's not about politeness or order, it's just all about getting where you need to go and being the fastest one to do it. At a mall we were at, three of us were waiting at an elevator and managed to miss it twice because people pushed by so fast to get on, by the time it was full, we barely noticed it was there. The driving is not real. I could never ever drive in this city. People say Asians can't drive, but I have to completely disagree. They can drive, they just can't drive with rules holding them back, i.e. speed limits, turn signals, red meaning stop, etc. These taxi drivers are skilled mofos, but it is scary has hell. They push and push and push. Today, our taxi driver tried to beat a bus merging into our lane so we'd be ahead of it before we got to the light. This was the closest near-death we've had; the bus prevailed and we were stuck behind it. But to my amazement, I have not seen an accident yet. In the US, you walk on the right, but not here. The bike lane kind of merges with the sidewalk and bikes are literally everywhere. I can't blame them since you have to have badass level driving skills to survive here. But people ride and walk wherever they need to, there is absolutely no order. But, I feel like the people here have their own sense of the people around them and what they're doing. Because i've almost been run over by a bike like 3 times.
The smell of Beijing.. is semi-horrible. I think I'm used to it. But I guess it's legal to pee outside here, and I suppose that's what it is. and the massive amount of pollution. The average visibility is like 2 miles ahead because of all the smog. And i'm pretty sure it's ok to litter. I don't know.. a couple of places I've been to people will just throw their trash in the parking lots and there are employees sweeping up the mass amounts.
The public toilets are probably the worst thing... the absolute worst. You squat. and you throw away your toilet paper.. that you have to carry with you. because no, most of them don't have toilet paper. And no, sometimes you don't flush. Sometimes these toilets are cleaned up, but most of them are just downright disgusting. This really made me see how spoiled we are in the states. It may or may not be actually more hygienic, because you're not actually sitting on the toilet sit. but the atmosphere and area surrounding is hard to handle sometimes. The toilet in my dorm is western though, so I just always try to go there before I leave.
So lets see.. If you're really good friends with someone, it's not rude to chew and talk with your mouth open; i've seen my language partners do this a lot and we just had to bring it up. It's also ok to eat with your elbows on the table.. I've been taking advantage of this a lot. Sorry, dad. It's really polite to put food on other's plate (in the lazy susan style); and make things with the food for someone at the table. My language partner made me a wrap thing with duck, and was definitely offended when I didn't want it. I ate it once I realized this. I've basically only eaten with chopstick. This is hugggeee because I really had no idea how to use those things and now i have to use them all the time. I'm glad I'm decent at it now, i just miss the fork. We just discovered this amazing American restaurant close by so I did get to use one there.
The nightlife is about the same. The bars we've been going to have been ridiculous expensive. Well, about as expensive as they are in the states which is expensive here. 50 RMB cover charge last night, about 10ish dollars, and then 50 RMB drinks. So outrageous. There's also airport-like security at almost every bar we've been to, even the cheaper ones. I put my purse through a scan check thingy, or a man has to look in it. and there's metal detectors. I'm not complaining though; Youngstown should probably kick it up a notch. These clubs really were amazing though.. soo high class with like side couches everywhere, huge dance floors, the loudest music. It's fun, but no longer worth it. Erika had to pay 10 rmb to wash her hands at the place last night. Oh yes, smoking works its way into my life again. People are allowed to smoke in restaurants and bars. And it's not as bad in the restaurants, but the bars are awful sometimes, just filled with smoke. I haven't ended a night smelling like smoke in so long, so it's been eh.
Welllll that's just some China culture I've noticed so far. I know most of the paragraphs sounded negative, but I really am loving it. It's an amazing experience.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Lebron Who?
Notice: Soo if anyone is actually reading this, you may or may not think I sound crazy/dumb in my entries. i usually write when i have a bunch of other things I have to do & I almost never proofread. soo thats that; sorries.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
"Why is my love absurd?"
July 11, 2010
BLCU, Dorm #17
College Perk Cafe
9:30 pm
Hiiii. So we started classes, and they're taught about the same as they are at OU, just a lot faster. At OU, we learned a half lesson every week; we learn a half lesson every day here. It's not hard, it's just a lot more commitment. The teachers, who are great, I love them, also speak almost zero English in the classroom. The language pledged we signed, however, isn't really enforced as harsh as I thought it would be in the classroom. Chinese classes are very easy at OU, and they're continuation of the same learning techniques is making students take this program very lightly. It's frustrating sometimes. So we have class 8 am to 12 pm every day, and then we're also required to meet with a chinese language partner for another 2 hours. This has been kind of a fiasco. Basically we've gotten high school students who thought it would be a fun kind of summer thing to do. Some students got really good ones, but only because they sat at the right chair at the restaurant we met them at. They're really nice, but I'm just not learning anything. Dr. Tao, the program director, is taking care of it though.. maybe.
Let's see... last weekend we went to a keroke place close to the dorm on Friday. It was so very cool; we got our own room & a buffet. The buffet wasn't very good.. and included chicken feet. And of course this was my first experience drinking in China, which is legal! This led to me singing Shake ya tailfether almost all by myself. and there's a video. Saturday night we went to a nicer downtownish area & spent the night in a too expensive bar there; you could tell because of all the Americans. very fun though. It's entertaining enough to see how the Chinese dance. Sunday, we went to a huge shopping street called Wanfujing and ate in this like fondu style Muslim restaurant. Later, we went to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. This day was absolutely unbearable, so unbelievably hot, I couldn't really enjoy it. But I'm glad I can saw I saw it. So then Monday started classes again. We really take it easy during the week because classes can get so exhausting. Constantly translating for 4 hours can really exhaust you. Friday of this past weekend we basically just drank in the dorm. We were going to go out but it was pouring rain. We ended up just drinking and playing a card game called Bu Yao (literally- don't want) for like hours in the dorm's cafe.. that, yes, sells alcoholic drinks. It's kind of strange, but of course we love it.
Yesterday was huge, so I'm giving it it's own paragraph. We started at about 830 am; went to the emperor Ding's tombs & underground palace; lunch & this cool touristy, but legit shopping center that accepted my mastercard. Then we made our way to the Great Wall, which was aweeeeeesomeee. Our tour guide for the day.. Stone, was his name, said as soon as you step on the Wall you are a hero. I mean, whatever, but it was really exciting. It's separated into certain sections & the section we climbed went up to 2000 feet above sea level.. said someone. Erika & I kind of lagged behind because I guess were the most out of shape, but at one point we were debating turning back because it was just soooo exhausting; the steps were so steep. But we decided to keep on going & finally reached the top and it was probably one of the most amazing feelings. You couldn't see much up so high because it was a cloudy day with lots of mist & such. This was actually really lucky; if it was as hot as it usually is here, I doubt I would've made it. After being more sweaty than I ever have in my life, we went to dinner.
Every dinner paid for by the program has consisted of Chinese food on a lazy susan, in a family style thing. The lot of us can't all sit at one table so we separated into 2, and my group was sitting with the Director of the Office of Study Abroad and the Chairman of the program. They came to visit for a couple days to see the workings of the program & gain some insight. This was interesting because we got to give them our opinions of the program and what we think needs to change, and they let us know a little bit of how things work on the China side at BLCU. So after this, we went to a flying acrobat show. This was absolutely like.. mind blowing. Ill post pictures & a video.
Well, I was going to talk about the culture shock, but I'll just save it because this is so long.
Quotes of the week:
Yu Laoshi: "(something in Chinese) haishi (something in Chinese)?
Mark: "uh huh"
Yu: Bu shi "uh huh"
"Nothing is Asian in Asia"
"Fuck yeah I'm gonna squat."
"I burped and it was spicy and it burnt my eyeballs!"
"Ceasar is either a total sham or the most fucking interesting man in the world."
"I'll buy you a drink."
"No.. I just want a keychain.. or a shotglass."
"The hapy lemon fiends are we you said toilet. this dwordorant is one of 4 fucking kinds they I have in China I'm way too drunk to be in Chona."
BLCU, Dorm #17
College Perk Cafe
9:30 pm
Hiiii. So we started classes, and they're taught about the same as they are at OU, just a lot faster. At OU, we learned a half lesson every week; we learn a half lesson every day here. It's not hard, it's just a lot more commitment. The teachers, who are great, I love them, also speak almost zero English in the classroom. The language pledged we signed, however, isn't really enforced as harsh as I thought it would be in the classroom. Chinese classes are very easy at OU, and they're continuation of the same learning techniques is making students take this program very lightly. It's frustrating sometimes. So we have class 8 am to 12 pm every day, and then we're also required to meet with a chinese language partner for another 2 hours. This has been kind of a fiasco. Basically we've gotten high school students who thought it would be a fun kind of summer thing to do. Some students got really good ones, but only because they sat at the right chair at the restaurant we met them at. They're really nice, but I'm just not learning anything. Dr. Tao, the program director, is taking care of it though.. maybe.
Let's see... last weekend we went to a keroke place close to the dorm on Friday. It was so very cool; we got our own room & a buffet. The buffet wasn't very good.. and included chicken feet. And of course this was my first experience drinking in China, which is legal! This led to me singing Shake ya tailfether almost all by myself. and there's a video. Saturday night we went to a nicer downtownish area & spent the night in a too expensive bar there; you could tell because of all the Americans. very fun though. It's entertaining enough to see how the Chinese dance. Sunday, we went to a huge shopping street called Wanfujing and ate in this like fondu style Muslim restaurant. Later, we went to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. This day was absolutely unbearable, so unbelievably hot, I couldn't really enjoy it. But I'm glad I can saw I saw it. So then Monday started classes again. We really take it easy during the week because classes can get so exhausting. Constantly translating for 4 hours can really exhaust you. Friday of this past weekend we basically just drank in the dorm. We were going to go out but it was pouring rain. We ended up just drinking and playing a card game called Bu Yao (literally- don't want) for like hours in the dorm's cafe.. that, yes, sells alcoholic drinks. It's kind of strange, but of course we love it.
Yesterday was huge, so I'm giving it it's own paragraph. We started at about 830 am; went to the emperor Ding's tombs & underground palace; lunch & this cool touristy, but legit shopping center that accepted my mastercard. Then we made our way to the Great Wall, which was aweeeeeesomeee. Our tour guide for the day.. Stone, was his name, said as soon as you step on the Wall you are a hero. I mean, whatever, but it was really exciting. It's separated into certain sections & the section we climbed went up to 2000 feet above sea level.. said someone. Erika & I kind of lagged behind because I guess were the most out of shape, but at one point we were debating turning back because it was just soooo exhausting; the steps were so steep. But we decided to keep on going & finally reached the top and it was probably one of the most amazing feelings. You couldn't see much up so high because it was a cloudy day with lots of mist & such. This was actually really lucky; if it was as hot as it usually is here, I doubt I would've made it. After being more sweaty than I ever have in my life, we went to dinner.
Every dinner paid for by the program has consisted of Chinese food on a lazy susan, in a family style thing. The lot of us can't all sit at one table so we separated into 2, and my group was sitting with the Director of the Office of Study Abroad and the Chairman of the program. They came to visit for a couple days to see the workings of the program & gain some insight. This was interesting because we got to give them our opinions of the program and what we think needs to change, and they let us know a little bit of how things work on the China side at BLCU. So after this, we went to a flying acrobat show. This was absolutely like.. mind blowing. Ill post pictures & a video.
Well, I was going to talk about the culture shock, but I'll just save it because this is so long.
Quotes of the week:
Yu Laoshi: "(something in Chinese) haishi (something in Chinese)?
Mark: "uh huh"
Yu: Bu shi "uh huh"
"Nothing is Asian in Asia"
"Fuck yeah I'm gonna squat."
"I burped and it was spicy and it burnt my eyeballs!"
"Ceasar is either a total sham or the most fucking interesting man in the world."
"I'll buy you a drink."
"No.. I just want a keychain.. or a shotglass."
"The hapy lemon fiends are we you said toilet. this dwordorant is one of 4 fucking kinds they I have in China I'm way too drunk to be in Chona."
Friday, July 2, 2010
"It can only get better from here because it CAN'T get any worse!"
Wednesday June 30, 2010
BLCU, Dorm #17, room 825.
The flights were fine. I barely remember them. The majority of our group traveled together from Columbus to Minneapolis to Seattle to Beijing, getting to know each other more as we discuss how much we packed, money brought, classes, the campus, etc. Everyone gets along really well; its a relief that turned out to be an enormous benefit when we arrived to a number of letdowns (stay tuned). The 11-hour flight will not even have been my longest one, when I do Tokyo to New York for 13 hours on the way home. I'm not worried about it though; because in the 11 hours, sleep, When In Rome (waste), and jumbled thoughts kept me..well, not bored out of my mind. Mentally, being in a foreign country (not counting Canada) is absolutely exhilarating. I just tried for 5 minutes to describe my thoughts while landing, and I could not without sounding ridiculous. One of the best parts of the trip, however, will probably be Mark yelling "Oh shit!" to a quiet, mostly Asian plane, when we hit the runway. It was a little hard. Physically, well, being here is definitely an adjustment. Which is working out in our second day in Beijing, I believe. First of all, I packed WAY too much. I am so very angry with myself. Then again, I really might not be later when I have all these options to choose from. It might've been worth having Michael switch suitcases with me to carry through the airport. We'll see. I'm also nervous I'm going to have to check another suitcase to fit the souvenirs. Eeeek. So we walk outside, (about 12 am local time) and its just a smoggy smoggy world. You can smell it, and you're breathing it. And it's ruining your night pictures. The time difference is also baffling me every day. Despite being so exhausted still, I think I'm adjusting to the 12-hour time difference fine. It's so crazy to think it's 5 AM at home right now. We arrive to our dorm to find out we would all have to room with other international students. This was a big letdown to me just because I had planned to live with Erika since like.. January. The dorm life in general has been.. not horrible, but really really close. My Korean roommate was not happy to see me when she came home at 4 in the morning that night and she was not very nice. She speaks a little English, but I can tell doesn't really understand me, and also Chinese, but she knows it a lot better than I do. It's gotten better but its just awkward, and I hate being in my room. Many students are leaving in about a week or so, so Erika and I will hopefully get a room soon. So, along with a not so great roommate, there are no towels and there is no bedding, which were claimed as being provided. The beds are wood, an inch of mattress pad, and a dirty sheet. They took care of the bedding by like 2 am, fine, but the so called towel.. was the size of a hand towel..and the only one we got. Some other things that bother I and my American self are going to complain about- a shower head basically put on the side of the bathroom wall; paying for the internet by the month- free wifi in the lobby but it rarely works, very thin walls, mosquitos in the elevator, not one English speaking channel, definitely not enough coffee available, having to boil the water first,
Some not so bad things- The furniture, size of the room, 2 elevators, the exchange rate, CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP everything, great people, great city. Another great thing is that I know this program is already benefiting me because I've had to use Chinese so much already. I really suck but, class starts tomorrow.
*can't usually access my blog site, so I'll be posting & writing at different times.
BLCU, Dorm #17, room 825.
The flights were fine. I barely remember them. The majority of our group traveled together from Columbus to Minneapolis to Seattle to Beijing, getting to know each other more as we discuss how much we packed, money brought, classes, the campus, etc. Everyone gets along really well; its a relief that turned out to be an enormous benefit when we arrived to a number of letdowns (stay tuned). The 11-hour flight will not even have been my longest one, when I do Tokyo to New York for 13 hours on the way home. I'm not worried about it though; because in the 11 hours, sleep, When In Rome (waste), and jumbled thoughts kept me..well, not bored out of my mind. Mentally, being in a foreign country (not counting Canada) is absolutely exhilarating. I just tried for 5 minutes to describe my thoughts while landing, and I could not without sounding ridiculous. One of the best parts of the trip, however, will probably be Mark yelling "Oh shit!" to a quiet, mostly Asian plane, when we hit the runway. It was a little hard. Physically, well, being here is definitely an adjustment. Which is working out in our second day in Beijing, I believe. First of all, I packed WAY too much. I am so very angry with myself. Then again, I really might not be later when I have all these options to choose from. It might've been worth having Michael switch suitcases with me to carry through the airport. We'll see. I'm also nervous I'm going to have to check another suitcase to fit the souvenirs. Eeeek. So we walk outside, (about 12 am local time) and its just a smoggy smoggy world. You can smell it, and you're breathing it. And it's ruining your night pictures. The time difference is also baffling me every day. Despite being so exhausted still, I think I'm adjusting to the 12-hour time difference fine. It's so crazy to think it's 5 AM at home right now. We arrive to our dorm to find out we would all have to room with other international students. This was a big letdown to me just because I had planned to live with Erika since like.. January. The dorm life in general has been.. not horrible, but really really close. My Korean roommate was not happy to see me when she came home at 4 in the morning that night and she was not very nice. She speaks a little English, but I can tell doesn't really understand me, and also Chinese, but she knows it a lot better than I do. It's gotten better but its just awkward, and I hate being in my room. Many students are leaving in about a week or so, so Erika and I will hopefully get a room soon. So, along with a not so great roommate, there are no towels and there is no bedding, which were claimed as being provided. The beds are wood, an inch of mattress pad, and a dirty sheet. They took care of the bedding by like 2 am, fine, but the so called towel.. was the size of a hand towel..and the only one we got. Some other things that bother I and my American self are going to complain about- a shower head basically put on the side of the bathroom wall; paying for the internet by the month- free wifi in the lobby but it rarely works, very thin walls, mosquitos in the elevator, not one English speaking channel, definitely not enough coffee available, having to boil the water first,
Some not so bad things- The furniture, size of the room, 2 elevators, the exchange rate, CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP everything, great people, great city. Another great thing is that I know this program is already benefiting me because I've had to use Chinese so much already. I really suck but, class starts tomorrow.
*can't usually access my blog site, so I'll be posting & writing at different times.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
this is as good as its gonna get
Right before I started watching Blow, I had logged into my blog, just out of curiosity to see how long it was since I updated and if any of my friends had updated. and as Johnny Depp's name appears, I wonder why I couldn't update my blog.. because its been 6 months since I wrote anything. And it's always the same excuse I give myself- because I have nothing to say. But that's not true at all. I actually have so much to say that theres no way for me to pick and choose the thoughts and words that I want to share with people. There is no possible way. Then i thought, stupidly, that someone, somewhere has a key to my mind that one day will unlock all of the words trying to escape. Why someONE? I don't know. It is a nice thought. This is all I wanted to say.
Monday, December 7, 2009
miley cyrus singing girls just want to have fun makes it 10 times worse
gives me hope.com gives me hope.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
with the wheel in my hands
College has completely altered my view of time. The other day I considered "soon" to be within 2 hours. Is that normal? Also, I'm on a Christian music kick. It may or may not be a cry of gratitude that I am not a Muslim or Jew after being immersed in religion for the past 10 weeks.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Night Air
So, I'm trying to read for stats and listen. I totally unconsciously give the writer of whatever I'm reading a gender. In this case, I truly did not see the first name of the author, and it did not come up in the reading. But I decided the writer was a female. But then "she" writes refers to "herself" as a 5'8 foot male. My world has been turned upside down and I feel betrayed.
Let me just say, it irked me every time I began a sentence with the word "but." BUT I'm being a rebel. Screw high school english.
Let me just say, it irked me every time I began a sentence with the word "but." BUT I'm being a rebel. Screw high school english.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)