王维的诗歌

“独在异乡为异客”

上面的一句话就是《九月九日忆山东兄弟》的第一句话。刚才我的室友来我的房间给我介绍一下这首唐代诗歌的意义，正好今天是农历九月九日。更巧合的是，这句话有点儿代表我的心情。所谓的”独在异乡为异客“那个人其实就是我。那个孤独住在国外的外地人就是我。

那么，说的孤独的感觉有什么原因？住在中国学汉语基本上是我的一个目的，一个理想。为什么我不满足呢？好像梦想不到的事。
一来，据说，不管是什么事，你都需要下苦功夫才得到成功，我当然相信。世上没有一个没下苦功夫练习功夫的
英雄。。。我所有崇拜的英雄都是练习功夫的，都是人间的高手 ：）在吉大学汉语我们都不必努力学习，只要努力准备考HSK. 对我韩国、日本和俄罗斯同学们来说，考上HSK是他们唯一的目的。我的根本不是，我在这儿的目的是，学好汉语。学好中文是为了什么呢？是为了考上HSK, 或者为了找好的工作，还是为了追中国的女孩儿？应该是为了交流，为了开阔你的眼界吧。很遗憾的是这只是我的看法，因此上课的时候我简直很无聊。再说老师们教的方法也是为了”帮助“我们准备考那个HSK.我受不了，在这个情况下，上课的时候，怎么学好中文？没有什么办法我是无法控制这个情况。最近我就感到了这个无聊的感觉，无聊如懒猫，无聊如懒猪。有的是有无聊是最恐怕的事情，绝对会带来一种孤独，一种寂寞的感觉。

二来，我很想家。我已经很久没在家了，我算六个月差不多。半年没见家人了，半年也没见朋友了。 一个人在“异乡”不得不感到孤独。我在中国的朋友不少，但是朋友是朋友，一个中国朋友不能代替一个美国朋友，朋友绝不能代替家人。关于这一些因素，明摆着我感到了这种又闷有孤独的感觉吗？

好的，我写到这儿吧。 不要写太多，我也不要把这博客变成一种诉苦诉冤的博客。再说，我已经写得太乱了，呵呵一个外国人七乱八糟的文章。如果能看得懂的话，那么你的中文肯定很棒啊。

哦，差点儿忘了，今天有一件事情一定会让我心性快乐，可以参加一个十分有乐趣的活动。今天我会出去攀岩！！呵呵不要发奋学习，那么我就会发奋攀岩啦！

我走了。。。给你看看一些秋天在长春特色“风景，"一个玉米场和我的万圣节装饰

The sweet potato menace

I'm sure you think the title is abit odd. How is the sweet potato a mennace? What wrong can it do? Is it some sort of intruisive plant species? Well, no. It's simple that i ave found myself eating about two a day. They are so warm, and the weather is so called. But i seem to continutally gorge myself on sweet potatos. Case in point, tonight i had lunch...and then a sweet potato. And guess, what. After dinner i had another one, this time it was nearly a 1 pounder. When will the sweet potato stop calling to me, begging me to eat it even when i'm not hungry? At least i suppose it's a better snack than other things, got my fiber, a bunch-o vities. Maybe if i cut it down to one a day i wouldn't feel like such an oinker.

Now on to a completely topic. Over the past weekend i went to visit the Puppet Emperor's Palace (伪皇宫）。This is the Palace Emperor Puyu (溥仪) occupied during the Japanese occupation of Northeast China during the 30's and 40's. I won't get into much of the history, both because i'll probably get it wrong, and becasue i think you all should come to China and see the place for yourself. Oh, how convenient, while you at it you can visit me too!

Moving on, i actually thought this place was more visually pleasing than the Forbidden City. Almost everything appears to be in a more original condition. You can actually get a feel for that time period in China history while you're there. It simple has not been fixed up to a point which would take away from the original feel and atmosphere.


In addition, which makes the palace visit even better, there is a pretty descent exibit onsite detailing the events of the Japanese Invasion of the North East. I have never been to a Holocaust Museum, but i believe this to be the Chinese version of a Holocaust Museum. Even upon entering you are struck with awe, not only by the rather solemn atmosphere, but also by the fact the it seems to be the only place in China with proper english translations. You realize this as soon as you walk in as there two giant characters with read "勿忘“ and it is translated (as far as i know)perfectly into 6 different languages. This is the only place in China that i have seen this sort of effeciency of translation. The rest of the transaltions are just as good, far better than those in the palace, and even the forbidden city. Although i will say the translations toned down the original message quite a bit.

This was the other interesting point about the museum, it really let you know how the Chinese felt about the Japanese at the time (i'm reserving all comments about the present situation/feelings for quite conversation over coffee). They do hold a little bit back in English, but the Chinese (from what i can understand of it) really does a good job of illustratring the sentiments of the period. I do wonder what the Japanese translation says...ｈｍｍｍ？？

eh, so to sum it up...i got to quit eating all those damn deviously delish, mind, body and soul warming sweet potatos, Changchun has a pretty cool palace you should see, and fianlly if you come to china you trip just won't be as fulfilling if you don't visit the Japanese Occupation Museum.

狗不狗？

我从末没说出来我第一天在长春得第一顿饭。我需要写中文因为我不想让我妈妈知道这件事。

我喜欢一个人吃饭，跟我一起吃的人不管是不是好朋友，我还是喜欢一个吃饭。吃反的时候，我跟那一些吃的菜有一个特别好的关系。世上没有人，也没有鬼，能改变这个关系。甚至连一个细腰长腿的美女，也不能改变我跟菜关系。

 

 

我第一天在长春我也是一个人出去吃饭。那天我找到了一个很小的饭馆儿，决定了我想在那里吃饭。一般来说，饭馆儿越小，菜越好吃。难怪我决定了吃那个饭馆儿的菜。外面，没有什特点，窗户里连一个菜单也没有。我想不到他们的特色菜是什么菜. 你猜猜看吧。对，就是狗肉! 我喜欢狗，我喜欢养狗。狗是人类的宠物，是人类的朋友。当然狗并没有猫的好，但是在我看来，基本上狗不是一种菜！我是爱吃的人，我不怕吃东西，越奇怪越好。什么东西都愿意吃。 不过，我不愿意吃朋友，狗也是朋友，我本来就不想吃。怎么会知道，在那个饭馆儿里三个老人不仅会劝酒，而且会劝狗，狗肉，狗爪。那个时候，我真的无路可走，我不是一个无礼的人，我绝不能不喝了几口酒，吃了一些狗肉。虽然我很后悔，但现在我怎么办呢？我现在可以说“我吃过狗肉，” 很遗憾的是我原来不想吃得让我说出来这个句子。

 

 

hmm...现在没有什么有趣的写下来。噢，写完了。。。88



星期五的运动结果
跑步：18：37
马步：4：08 x2
pullup: 3 x 3
dead arm: 15妙
situps: 普拉提;20分钟
dips：10 x2

“苦修、素食、禁欲。。。要做到这三件事，就得付出多么痛苦的代价”

nothing special...only memories

So it's about time for another - terribly grammatically incorrect - update...although this one may be even less interesting than most. At least at the end I'll post my latest workout results for y'all to laugh at (that should keep you reading through the end...)

Anyway, this week was quite boring. I went to class late everyday. Even if i left on time i still couldn't bring myself to walk in that door on time. It's just too boring. All i do these days in class is read my own book. I have realized that all the classes here are not truly intended to teach chinese, rather they are intended to prepare the Korean and Japanese kids for taking the HSK (the chinese equivalent of the TOEFL). Therefore, reading my book in class is far more interesting, and hopefully will prove to be far more beneficial to my studies.

Outside of class life is not too bad these days, just too relaxing and so i must find things to keep me busy...including cooking alot more, just taking random walks, running and working out in the cold, and of course．．．dare i say, shopping. Yes, unlike in the states i have found shopping here quite fun (except for shoes...see the next post), only because you get to bargain (argue) with people over the price.．．it's damn good speaking practice too! I actually went out and bought 2 sweaters and 2 lightweight jackets yesterday...i spent more time bargaining over the prices than i did looking at clothes.

Let me give a brief explanation to help you realize the bargaining situation and time scheme...minute 1: They give you a pretty high price which isn't entirely unreasonable, but you know it's high; min. 1.5: they see the look on your face and immediately discount the price 20-50%. minute 2-4: you pretend to ponder the quality of the item and start asking questions about where it's from and it's authenticity (even though by this second minute you know your gonna buy the damn thing anyway). minute 4-7: chat a little more and "become a good friend" and get the price down another 5% or so. Minute 7-15: you argue over the last few yuan...yesterday this eight minute period was spent arguing over 2yuan on a korean jacket that's made in china damn it! (I got the price 2yuan lower). minute 16-18 you chat a bit more get you items packaged to your liking take a name card and move on to you next targeted purchasing location. Yes this is just a rough breakdown...give or take a few minutes here and there :)

And finally went out with my classmates to an indian restaurant for lunch today, only to realize that i had a flood of memories come back and smack me in the back of the head...brining a tear to my eye which of course never fell. Indian food just may be my favorite food in the world...i have never actually had it in India of course, but it was my default food when i was sick of fast food in Singapore, and when i just wanted something different in Hong Kong. I remembered all of the nice Indian folks in Singapore's "little india"; who always hit me with that exta-spicy somethin' at my request, and all the scary looking Indian, Bangali, and Pakastani folks i met at Hong Kong's Changking Mansions （重庆大夏）...who turned out to some of the greatest people that i met travelling. I remembered how much fun (and sickness) i had while i was travelling over the summer...and blah blah blah... And so i leave you...with not a single picture (i may add one later at my discrestion)

Enjoy!


This weeks workout results (from wednesday)
Run: 16.04 min. (in my new shoes) (3 songs on the mp3)
squat jumps 5 sets of 10
pushups 7 sets of ten (various types) starting the finger tips and knuckles again
dead arm hang 12 secs (weak!)
chin ups: 2 sets of 3 (barely)
pull ups: 3 sets of 3
dips：２ sets of 10
sit ups: 20 minutes of (hardcore exercises from my sister's pilates routine)
horse:4:08 for wednesday....but just because i'm proud (骄傲必败。。。我知道，我知道）
12:08!

Made in China?

Let me begin with saying, why the hell did my landlady have to give me such a shotty ass key.

I was heading out to go for a run about 45minutes ago, but while i was locking my door my made in china key snapped!!! I had to go get a lock smith...professional thief to open my door! And he charged me a riduculos price...50RMB to break open a door. In the states you can grab a random dude off the street to help you break into a house for free damn it!! What's more is that i called my landlady and she was like, i'll give you a call in the morning to see about getting you a key. I kind of want to just change the lock on her. Not only did i have to waste money getting my door unlocked, but now i'm trapped in my damn house!

Anyway, other than that my day was quite uneventful. I went by some kitten food and veggies to cook for the rest of the week. I also took a bunch of random pictures around Changchun Now, because i can't go running i am going to just sit in a horse stance until i fall down (30sec.), and do pushups until my arms give out (10...maybe)haha.


Which brings me to a new random point. I have become lazy since i left the states, i just don't have the same motivation to work out. I freaked myself last week when i realized i could barely complete three pullups. Since then i have been working out everyday, just your basic calistenics. But to make sure that i stay on top of this, i am making my plans/goals public...no better motivation than fearing people laughing at you. So looking at the chart below, i invite you to laugh, and continue laughing until i get my ass back into an acceptable physical condtion.

On a final note. My last post was not in english. I was inspired by my friend Grant's wife Cherry, who is from China but has an incredible english blog. So every so often i will try my hand at some gramatically incorrent and confusing chinese blogs.

Enough already on to the staggeringly pitiful results of todays (indoor...remember no key) workout

Run: 0 min.
Horse: 4 min. 8 sec. (but not a good one) 伟钧，你记得我们在UF第一个学期吗？我们再竞争吧！"天上的红太阳高高的满天光" 我没想到那首歌有那么长啊！发现了我不会控制我的退，就摇撼不已，好凄惨的啊！
push ups: 5 sets of 10
squat jumps: 5 sets of 10 (the people below me were not happy)
sit ups: 7 sets of 20 (various types)
jumping jacks: 10 sets of 20
“成功是百分之一的灵感加百分之九十九的汗水” 自强不息！

中秋节

今天是中秋节。是我第一次在中国过这个节日，可是是我一个人过的，所以不太有意思。

不过，今天下午特别有趣。十四天之前，我第一次带了我的新收养的小猫打针。那个时候我就发现了他其实不是一只猫，而是一只小老虎！全世界的猫根本不喜欢打针，他跟普通的猫一样。但是油条是独一无二，是世界上最不喜欢打针那只猫。一看见医生，他就知道了医生在做什么。他既挠两个医生又撒尿在一个医生的衣服上。并且他发出大声嗥叫了！连我们三个成人都怕他大怒。他挺厉害！打针之后，花了半个小时抱着他，才他愿意跟我搭车回家。

那就是上上个星期了。今天我再带了他去打第二个（最后一个！）针。今天我不仅要带我焦虑不安的猫去，而且他原来的主人想陪我们去。不要说我，就是油条也不太喜欢她。在车上，在医院里的气氛都挺不安。因此，今天很有意思。最好的是现在油条大过了针，有很长时间才需要再去打。

吃了晚饭之后，我出去运动了。。。跑步什么的。然后，因为今天是中秋节，我决定了中秋节时，不找到一个高的地方赏月，至少吃一个月饼怎么新？正好我找到了一个很好安安静静的地方，是一个吉大体育场旁边的游戏场。我登了那里的猴子铁条（？？monkey bars)，一边赏月一边吃一个月饼。

我正在准备睡觉。 我知道我的语法有很多错误。基本上我的写法有许多错误，但我希望你能看得懂这个外国人非常论的文章。如果你想修改一下我上面写的那就好，可以发email或者leave comments。。。晚安！

是我在猴子铁条上，我在带我的老头儿帽子。喜欢吗？我买了就是因为是太便宜了。

A flashback to Beijing

I went to Beijjing...more than a month ago...

After i left Hangzhou i hoped on my least favorite mode of transportaion again and headed to Beijing, with a quick stop in Shanghai to visit some folks along the way. MY trip was pretty nice, aside from Beijing's pollution. Danlu, one of my highschool/college friends has an aunt in Beijing, so she met me at the train station and helped me find my way around and treated me way too many times to lunch and dinner. I don't know what i would have done in Beijing without her showing me around and/or telling me the best sites to see.

Ｂasically i did what i do in every city i vist...i walk around aimlessly and find interesting stuff (sometimes). But this time i did hit up most of the available tourist attrations, even though nearly everything is under restoration in preparation for the 2008 olympic games. In all i visited a couple public parks, including beihai,houhai, and xiangshan parks(北海，后海，香山）
and also hit up Tian'an Men (天安门) the Forbidden City （故宫) the Ming Tombs （明十三陵） and of course...the Great Wall （“不到长城非好汉”）But, I didn't make it the the temple(天坛), or the Summer Palace (听说颐和园所有的好看得东西都在修啦！我就决定了下一次我可以去看看） but i have an awesome picture painted Danlu's granpa of Tiantan.

That pretty much covers my trip to Beijing, not terribly exciting (minus the intentionally unmentioned dent put in my wallet my a teahouse scam...sorry it hurts to bring it up, maybe i'll explain some other time). And then from Beijing it was on to Changchun to Jilin University, where i am now (吉林省长春市吉林大学南校园）...

look for more posts soon, my boredom, means your entertainment, i hope.

shots...and a gripe session???

So this is a bit of a flashback post leading up to a point in the present...that is today.

So about 2 weeks ago i adopted a kitten (see last posts pics) named 油条 (youtiao), named after a fried breakfast food. Now i love my kitty, but i unfortunately he came with some baggage. Baggage no cat should come with. His original owner won't leave me the ｆ＊ck alone. She is constantly calling...not to check on my beautiful kitty, but to come over "chill" at my house. Now i realize that this is partly a scheme of hers to practice english...but god damn it give it up...i don't want to talk to you. Just leave me an my kitty alone, for christ's sake he claws and bites you evertime you try to touch him. gripe session over. (a pic of the evil one)

Anyway, the point of this is that i brought youtiao to get his second round of shots today, and he hates shots so it makes for a very long and tiring day. In fact, i have never heard a house-cat "roar," that's right folks, i said "roar," the way youtiao does. This isn't your average "i'm a cat and i'm pissed off" sound...this is the "if you freakin' touch me i'm going to claw out you eyes, and piss on the open wound" sound.

Anyway, the tramitic experience is over once and for all and my kitty is finally immune to whatever he might get himself into.

Back in Action!

If you did infact miss me, then you will certainly be elated that i am back and posting, fo sho! Because it's been a long arse time since my last post, there may be a temporary lapse in information which will be filled in...eventually. It's not much, just a trip through Beijing, and then a wole bunch-o-crap about my new (temporary) home in Changchun.
I appologize to you if i have not responded to any comments yet. I couldn't see them for a while.

With that, i begin again! in the meantime though i leave you with some pics of my new kitty...