An article in the New York Times today entitled "Farmer in Chief" posed some very interesting ideas regarding our nation's food supply system, and it raised some very common-sense alternatives to our current addiction to using fossil fuels during food production.
Did you know
- that we currently use 10 calories of fossil fuels to produce one calorie of food,
- that 40% of grain grown in the U.S. is used to feed animals in feedlots,
- that putting plants and animals on the same farm reduces needs for pesticides and herbicides,
- and that polyculture farming is more productive and more healthy than monoculture farming?
I also found out that when Eleanor Roosevelt publicized her "Victory Garden" in 1943 as a way to help sustainably feed ourselves and support troops overseas, it led to the creation of 20 million family plots--people growing organic food in their own backyards!
In China, I've become very accustomed to local farmer's markets. In fact we have a pretty large farmer's market behind our school. Inside I can find anything from fresh, hand-pulled noodles or rice cakes to fish caught earlier that day, from tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce, to apples, oranges, and other fruits and vegetables I've never even seen before (papaya, dragon fruit, pomegranate, and many types of melons). I can buy eggs or the chicken (both fresh although I doubt the eggs came from that particular chicken...).
I also often find trucks parked by the side of the road loaded down with oranges (since we're in the wet, Florida-like south), or a wagon filled with vegetables hitched to tricycle. Presumably all this food comes from the surrounding area and its all fresh (within days of being picked... sometimes on Monday a seller's oranges start out green but by Friday they're more yellow...) but they never seem to run out (which leads me to believe the bountiful fruit farm must be close!).
I write all this to ask: How can a "developing country", like China, have ubiquitous access to organic, locally grown foods and farmer's markets (even in a dense city of 10 million), while the United States, whose citizens struggle with a very poor, corn starch heavy, bad calorie, junk-food diet, has erected barriers to the development of local, organic foods and food markets?
I can't remember the last time I saw a farmer's market in America. Moreover, I can't remember the last time I saw someone buy an animal that looked like an animal (I grew up knowing meat was packed and that's that!). The fact is that local, organic food not only reduces carbon emissions, supports local economies, and protects our food supply from terrorism (... living in America it seems you almost have to add that one as a selling point these days), but it's healthier. Healthy diets lengthen lifespans, fight disease, and naturally support our bodies' inherent chemical and biological functions. Healthy diets that rely on good calories (from fresh fruits and vegetables, not fats and oils) can reduce long-term medical costs and relieve some of the financial burden from government funded programs like MediCare and MedicAid.
Maybe it's time we all start our own little victory garden, for our own health and the health of our nation.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
My sense of the market
Well there are one of two things going on right now. Either my gut feeling about the market is really in tune to the ebb and flow of our global economy, or there is a worldwide conspiracy to stoke investors back into a market that is sitting at historic lows (some stocks are as low as they've been in 25 years!!). Two updated links on the right (Historic Lows & and Stock Valuation) both point to the fact that companies' stock value are insensibly low. Most of these companies are still very healthy and profitable, but because of various reasons people are pulling out of the market and stock prices continue to fall.
Of course if our economy is really headed into a "global recession", then companies stand to make smaller profits in the near future; however, an investment now (or within the next few weeks) will surely yield profits in the next couple of years.
Of course if our economy is really headed into a "global recession", then companies stand to make smaller profits in the near future; however, an investment now (or within the next few weeks) will surely yield profits in the next couple of years.
Here's a quote from James Grant, editor of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer and the author of the forthcoming book “Mr. Market Miscalculates.”:
“People keep on stepping on the same rakes because money, like romance, is only partly an intellectual experience. Money, like sex, brings out some thought — but also much heavy breathing and little stored knowledge. In finance, the process is cyclical. Some people learn from their ancestors, but mostly they repeat the same mistakes. Thus it has always been and thus it will always be.”
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
If I had some cash...
So I've been watching the market lately, I know everyone thinks "What a horrible time for investors", but let me tell you... If I had some cash...
I'd buy.
Why? Because a lot stocks right now are sitting at historic lows. Since I started my portfolio two and half years ago, I've been watching some pretty strong stocks do some pretty strange things. I'm sure people remember the "Shanghai Slip" in February of '07 when some computer glitches in China made the markets skip a beat for a day. A lot of US stocks slid hard and fast hitting 52-week lows in one day, but the Chinese stocks stopped dropping after the 10% cap (in China stocks can only move up or down 10% per day). This is when I bought in Apple, Inc (NYSE:AAPL) at around $85/share. As of today, Apple sits at around $90/share. Outside of these recent market malfunctions, the company is sound. Their product line lures brand loyalty like no other and every year they consistently grab a larger share of the market and beat earnings projections (although to be fair, their earnings estimates are rather conservative in comparison to the company's dynamic expansion in recent years). Two weeks ago I sold my shares of Apple at $140/share, but until six months ago their stock was rated by various companies to have a value of approximately $200/share and even peaked at $212/share (knew I should've sold then...). My point: low is the best time to buy; and, if the percentage gained is high enough to make a nice profit, sell! I made approximately 60% profit and could've made more had I been willing to settle with 110% profit six months ago.
Other stocks that I've watched crawl to speculative lows recently are a few multinational companies I invested in earlier (and when I say invested I mean made money from trading). One of them is iShares Trust FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Fund (NYSE:FXI). Although now almost all the charts I can find show that FXI never hit over $200, I found my account history online and know for a fact I sold my shares at $200/share in October 2007. In February I bought them at $104/share. Now FXI is $28/share and from what I can see FXI's top 10 holdings are all strong companies in China (Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Mobile, China Construction Bank, CNOOC, China Unicom, etc.) They list 25% holdings in IT, 25% in Manufacturing, and almost 50% in Financial Services. Although the United States' financial system is in shambles right now, I can say that if any country is in a decent position with finances-- it's China (with over one trillion dollars in federal reserves in 2006 and a savings rate of approximately 30% of houshold income). The Chinese financial system is not suffering from a lack of liquidity like the United States, but unfortunately investor confidence is just as low here. Many people I've talked to have lost a lot of money on the open market, real estate prices are still falling from mad speculation and gross profiteering; however, the companies listed on FXI's top 10 are still showing signs of successful growth! If I had to guess, in a few months FXI will tack a gain of at least 50% or $42/share (which is comparable to August's share price).
I'll post some information on OTCBB's later in my next post... "If I had $1,000 to day-trade"
I'd buy.
Why? Because a lot stocks right now are sitting at historic lows. Since I started my portfolio two and half years ago, I've been watching some pretty strong stocks do some pretty strange things. I'm sure people remember the "Shanghai Slip" in February of '07 when some computer glitches in China made the markets skip a beat for a day. A lot of US stocks slid hard and fast hitting 52-week lows in one day, but the Chinese stocks stopped dropping after the 10% cap (in China stocks can only move up or down 10% per day). This is when I bought in Apple, Inc (NYSE:AAPL) at around $85/share. As of today, Apple sits at around $90/share. Outside of these recent market malfunctions, the company is sound. Their product line lures brand loyalty like no other and every year they consistently grab a larger share of the market and beat earnings projections (although to be fair, their earnings estimates are rather conservative in comparison to the company's dynamic expansion in recent years). Two weeks ago I sold my shares of Apple at $140/share, but until six months ago their stock was rated by various companies to have a value of approximately $200/share and even peaked at $212/share (knew I should've sold then...). My point: low is the best time to buy; and, if the percentage gained is high enough to make a nice profit, sell! I made approximately 60% profit and could've made more had I been willing to settle with 110% profit six months ago.
Other stocks that I've watched crawl to speculative lows recently are a few multinational companies I invested in earlier (and when I say invested I mean made money from trading). One of them is iShares Trust FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Fund (NYSE:FXI). Although now almost all the charts I can find show that FXI never hit over $200, I found my account history online and know for a fact I sold my shares at $200/share in October 2007. In February I bought them at $104/share. Now FXI is $28/share and from what I can see FXI's top 10 holdings are all strong companies in China (Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Mobile, China Construction Bank, CNOOC, China Unicom, etc.) They list 25% holdings in IT, 25% in Manufacturing, and almost 50% in Financial Services. Although the United States' financial system is in shambles right now, I can say that if any country is in a decent position with finances-- it's China (with over one trillion dollars in federal reserves in 2006 and a savings rate of approximately 30% of houshold income). The Chinese financial system is not suffering from a lack of liquidity like the United States, but unfortunately investor confidence is just as low here. Many people I've talked to have lost a lot of money on the open market, real estate prices are still falling from mad speculation and gross profiteering; however, the companies listed on FXI's top 10 are still showing signs of successful growth! If I had to guess, in a few months FXI will tack a gain of at least 50% or $42/share (which is comparable to August's share price).
I'll post some information on OTCBB's later in my next post... "If I had $1,000 to day-trade"
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Sinos in Space!
Right now the Chinese have a three-manned spacecraft named Shenzhou-7 orbiting the Earth to complete a set of tasks that if successfully maneuvered will place China among the world's most advanced nations in regards to space travel. The Shenzhou-7 is completely Chinese, meaning each piece of the spacecraft (minus its docking technology which was imported from Russia so as to be compatible with the International Space Station), its technologies, and equipment including the spacesuit (called Feitian 飞天) are of Chinese design. Tonight is a very big test for the Chinese government and its space program. Project 921 was initiated in 1992 to send manned spacecraft into space, leading to eventual use of a Chinese space laboratory. This second phase of Project 921 includes six tests that will push the project one step further in exploring the capabilities of the Chinese space program. The six tests are as follows:
1. Blastoff:
The launch is the most accident-prone stage of space travel (see: US Challenger 1986), but the Jiuquan launchpad isn't too concerned. They've launched approximately 100 satellites in the past 5 years, all successfully, and the shuttle has been outfitted with 8 contingencies for monitoring its ascent.
2. Transfer the Orbit:
The orbit of the spacecraft will first begin at a close 200km from Earth and eventually move out to 350km from Earth, then it will transfer to a circular orbit at 343km (for smoother descent) and be controlled from Beijing space command center.
3. Saddling up:
The new Feitian suit took Chinese engineers 4 years to design and this will be its first test. Although the astronauts have trained many times using the exact same suit, putting it on in space will be much different. If they make one mistake, it will prove deadly. The entire preparation process will take a grueling 14 hours (and no... you guessed wrong... the astronauts AREN'T women!) Good luck Liu Boming! Don't forget your zipper...
4. Airlock:
To get from inside the spaceship to outside of it, astronauts must pass through an airlock. The airlock prepares them for the pressure difference. The airlock reduces air pressure to zero and upon reentry adjusts for the pressure inside the cabin. If the airlock fails to work, the mission fails.
5. Spacewalk:
Here's the money shot. Just you and space. Who will blink first? During the spacewalk, everything's more difficult. Just moving in the suit is hard enough, but outside in zero gravity, zero pressure, zero everything space...one false move could get you killed...fast. No pressure...
6. Blackout Area:
Upon return there's a blackout area, meaning no communication at all until the astronauts are approximately 40km from the ground. If they can get past this, the mission is a success. Hopefully the landing gear works...
Good luck China. Sounds like a tall order. As the United States increasingly cuts program funding for NASA, China is not only broadening its space program but more surprisingly is using its own technologies, which are being developed rather quickly (by comparison our most recently used spacesuit, the Extravehicular Mobility Unit, took 9 years to develop). We will certainly see increased activity from the Chinese as phase two of Project 921 aims to establish a Chinese presence at the International Space Station and develop a working Chinese Space Lab.
Ok, back to studying.
1. Blastoff:
The launch is the most accident-prone stage of space travel (see: US Challenger 1986), but the Jiuquan launchpad isn't too concerned. They've launched approximately 100 satellites in the past 5 years, all successfully, and the shuttle has been outfitted with 8 contingencies for monitoring its ascent.
2. Transfer the Orbit:
The orbit of the spacecraft will first begin at a close 200km from Earth and eventually move out to 350km from Earth, then it will transfer to a circular orbit at 343km (for smoother descent) and be controlled from Beijing space command center.
3. Saddling up:
The new Feitian suit took Chinese engineers 4 years to design and this will be its first test. Although the astronauts have trained many times using the exact same suit, putting it on in space will be much different. If they make one mistake, it will prove deadly. The entire preparation process will take a grueling 14 hours (and no... you guessed wrong... the astronauts AREN'T women!) Good luck Liu Boming! Don't forget your zipper...
4. Airlock:
To get from inside the spaceship to outside of it, astronauts must pass through an airlock. The airlock prepares them for the pressure difference. The airlock reduces air pressure to zero and upon reentry adjusts for the pressure inside the cabin. If the airlock fails to work, the mission fails.
5. Spacewalk:
Here's the money shot. Just you and space. Who will blink first? During the spacewalk, everything's more difficult. Just moving in the suit is hard enough, but outside in zero gravity, zero pressure, zero everything space...one false move could get you killed...fast. No pressure...
6. Blackout Area:
Upon return there's a blackout area, meaning no communication at all until the astronauts are approximately 40km from the ground. If they can get past this, the mission is a success. Hopefully the landing gear works...
Good luck China. Sounds like a tall order. As the United States increasingly cuts program funding for NASA, China is not only broadening its space program but more surprisingly is using its own technologies, which are being developed rather quickly (by comparison our most recently used spacesuit, the Extravehicular Mobility Unit, took 9 years to develop). We will certainly see increased activity from the Chinese as phase two of Project 921 aims to establish a Chinese presence at the International Space Station and develop a working Chinese Space Lab.
Ok, back to studying.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Hangzhou Slideshow!
Here are few pictures from our adventures last weekend to Leifeng Pavilion. Good thing Lola likes to carry a camera...
A view from Leifeng Pavilion
Another view of West Lake from Leifeng Pavilion
A restaurant outside Leifeng Pavilion
A restaurant on the lake
Not too sure what the Japanese architecture is doing on West Lake...
Infamous bridges of the southern China...the land of wet and rice
A view from Leifeng Pavilion
Another view of West Lake from Leifeng Pavilion
A restaurant outside Leifeng Pavilion
A restaurant on the lake
Not too sure what the Japanese architecture is doing on West Lake...
Infamous bridges of the southern China...the land of wet and rice
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Leifeng (Lay Fung) Pagoda 雷峰塔
Today Lola and I took a walk around West Lake in Hangzhou to check out some of the trendy little spots in the city. We started at a place called Grandma's Kitchen (外婆家), at one of the eight spots around town--the 中田大厦 zhong1 tian2 da4sha4 location. The food was pretty tasty but our waitress wasn't too happy. I guess if I worked at a restaurant all day slinging deliciously high-priced dishes to foreign non-connoisseurs and didn't make a dime in tips... I wouldn't smile either...but back the story: The food at Grandma's Kitchen was actually the first nice-restaurant style non-back-alley-purchased meal I've had in Hangzhou, so I left pretty impressed (even if the spicy chicken still had bones :d) From the restaurant we took a long walk to 苏堤 (su1di1), a collection of long skinny islands connected by bridges that cuts across the West Lake. I think we must've walked for two hours from the north end to the south end of the lake. As we approached the south end we could see Leifeng Pagoda in the distance, sitting atop a small mountain overlooking the Lake and the city of Hangzhou.
The story of Leifeng Pagoda, as I read it on the seemingly Google translated Chinese-to-Chinglish version of the stone storyboard posted outside the Pagoda, is one of a collection of "National Legends"--like Lincoln never told a lie kind of stuff. Thousands of years ago, an immortal used to fancy coming down from the heavens to pose as a mortal and interact with them for fun. One day he came down to the lakeside posed as a dumpling vendor. He was selling two kinds of dumplings, big ones for 3 and little ones for 2. All day people only bought the big dumplings, until he sold out. Eventually an old man came by with his son, who was starving. The boy wanted dumplings so the man had to buy a small one. The boy ate the dumpling and then didn't need to eat for three days. The old man became very worried and went to look for the dumpling vendor. The immortal dumpling vendor laughed and picked the boy up by his leg and shook him until he spit out the dumpling which fell tumbling down under the bridge where they stood.
Meanwhile...
Under the bridge was a turtle and a snake. These two had been vying for immortality for years and for the past few days had watched this vendor sell dumplings. They knew he was immortal and when they heard the story of the boy and the dumpling, they knew the dumpling was their chance. They both raced after it when it fell under the bridge. Naturally since the snake was long and fast, the white snake grabbed it first and ate it. As soon as she ate it, she turned into a beautiful woman in a flowing white gown.
As she walked around the lake she ran into a vendor selling animals. She bought a green snake and placed it into the West Lake. With her magic she turned it into another woman just like her so she would have a sister on this earth. Together they studied and practiced living among humans, promising to keep each other company.
Years later the White Lady stumbled upon a handsome young man in a tree. She recognized him as the boy who ate the dumpling so many years ago. They met and fell in love and moved away from Hangzhou to start a pharmacy. The White Lady wrote prescriptions and the man filled them. They helped the poor and had a wonderful life together.
Meanwhile...
The turtle was furious he wasn't able to gain immortality and was constantly looking for a way to gain some power. One day he noticed that the great buddha was sleeping, and the turtle stole the Buddha's grey staff, golden bowl, and robe. He turned into a man and posed as a monk. He found a monastary, but was very evil and drove many people away. Others he forced to study at his monastary, all the while looking for the White Lady to exact revenge.
One day he found the White Lady and her husband working at their pharmacy. The White Lady had just given birth and soon they would have a celebration in the baby's honor. The monk posed as vendor outside selling golden phoenix feather crowns. The man heard the vendor's call and ran outside to buy one for his wife to wear at their celebration. The man quickly returned and gave it to his wife who put it on. Soon the crown began to shrink and squeeze her head until she couldn't stand the pain and couldn't take it off. The White Lady was trapped in the golden bowl in her snake form. The evil monk buried her under Leifeng Pagoda as revenge.
Meanwhile...
The Green Lady heard of her sister's entrapment and came to fight the evil monk. Although the fight had no winner, the two of them fought for many many days and made so much commotion that it aroused the sleeping Buddha. He immediately noticed his grey staff, golden bowl, and robe were missing and called them back to heaven. Without these the monk was powerless and the Green Lady quickly defeated him. The evil monk pleaded to the Buddha for help but since he had done so many evil things the Buddha would not help him and banished him to West Lake. The White Lady was rescued from underneath the Pagoda and used her magic to suck all the water from West Lake, leaving no where for the monk to hide except on the belly of the crabs in the Lake. They say to this day you can still see the impression of the evil monk on the belly of West Lake crabs.
END :)
The story of Leifeng Pagoda, as I read it on the seemingly Google translated Chinese-to-Chinglish version of the stone storyboard posted outside the Pagoda, is one of a collection of "National Legends"--like Lincoln never told a lie kind of stuff. Thousands of years ago, an immortal used to fancy coming down from the heavens to pose as a mortal and interact with them for fun. One day he came down to the lakeside posed as a dumpling vendor. He was selling two kinds of dumplings, big ones for 3 and little ones for 2. All day people only bought the big dumplings, until he sold out. Eventually an old man came by with his son, who was starving. The boy wanted dumplings so the man had to buy a small one. The boy ate the dumpling and then didn't need to eat for three days. The old man became very worried and went to look for the dumpling vendor. The immortal dumpling vendor laughed and picked the boy up by his leg and shook him until he spit out the dumpling which fell tumbling down under the bridge where they stood.
Meanwhile...
Under the bridge was a turtle and a snake. These two had been vying for immortality for years and for the past few days had watched this vendor sell dumplings. They knew he was immortal and when they heard the story of the boy and the dumpling, they knew the dumpling was their chance. They both raced after it when it fell under the bridge. Naturally since the snake was long and fast, the white snake grabbed it first and ate it. As soon as she ate it, she turned into a beautiful woman in a flowing white gown.
As she walked around the lake she ran into a vendor selling animals. She bought a green snake and placed it into the West Lake. With her magic she turned it into another woman just like her so she would have a sister on this earth. Together they studied and practiced living among humans, promising to keep each other company.
Years later the White Lady stumbled upon a handsome young man in a tree. She recognized him as the boy who ate the dumpling so many years ago. They met and fell in love and moved away from Hangzhou to start a pharmacy. The White Lady wrote prescriptions and the man filled them. They helped the poor and had a wonderful life together.
Meanwhile...
The turtle was furious he wasn't able to gain immortality and was constantly looking for a way to gain some power. One day he noticed that the great buddha was sleeping, and the turtle stole the Buddha's grey staff, golden bowl, and robe. He turned into a man and posed as a monk. He found a monastary, but was very evil and drove many people away. Others he forced to study at his monastary, all the while looking for the White Lady to exact revenge.
One day he found the White Lady and her husband working at their pharmacy. The White Lady had just given birth and soon they would have a celebration in the baby's honor. The monk posed as vendor outside selling golden phoenix feather crowns. The man heard the vendor's call and ran outside to buy one for his wife to wear at their celebration. The man quickly returned and gave it to his wife who put it on. Soon the crown began to shrink and squeeze her head until she couldn't stand the pain and couldn't take it off. The White Lady was trapped in the golden bowl in her snake form. The evil monk buried her under Leifeng Pagoda as revenge.
Meanwhile...
The Green Lady heard of her sister's entrapment and came to fight the evil monk. Although the fight had no winner, the two of them fought for many many days and made so much commotion that it aroused the sleeping Buddha. He immediately noticed his grey staff, golden bowl, and robe were missing and called them back to heaven. Without these the monk was powerless and the Green Lady quickly defeated him. The evil monk pleaded to the Buddha for help but since he had done so many evil things the Buddha would not help him and banished him to West Lake. The White Lady was rescued from underneath the Pagoda and used her magic to suck all the water from West Lake, leaving no where for the monk to hide except on the belly of the crabs in the Lake. They say to this day you can still see the impression of the evil monk on the belly of West Lake crabs.
END :)
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Toxic Neon Ice Cubes Exported from China!
So Lola showed me these really awesome ice cubes with lights inside them, and I just wanted to share. At first I thought they were moon cakes (see the posting below)
and really thought things were getting out of hand. The crafty Chinese are always stumping me with their futuristic technology. The other day I heard a plane that sounded like it was about to land on top of me. I look everywhere and couldn't find the thing for the life of me. I'm pretty sure it was invisible... Anyway, these ice cubes have some sort of glow-in-the-dark jelly inside them that emits light in the cold (perfect for ice cubes, right?), but watch out! If you eat them, your belly will glow under the sheets... Brave enough to try it? Check out the auction on the Chinese auction site Taobao
and really thought things were getting out of hand. The crafty Chinese are always stumping me with their futuristic technology. The other day I heard a plane that sounded like it was about to land on top of me. I look everywhere and couldn't find the thing for the life of me. I'm pretty sure it was invisible... Anyway, these ice cubes have some sort of glow-in-the-dark jelly inside them that emits light in the cold (perfect for ice cubes, right?), but watch out! If you eat them, your belly will glow under the sheets... Brave enough to try it? Check out the auction on the Chinese auction site Taobao
Mid-Autumn Festival and Typhoons
Dear all my familial readers whom I've grossly neglected in the recent weeks. I found out today that you can actually put AdSense on your blog and make money from it--now a completely new incentive to keep track of what I'm doing in China. I might start posting some stuff I read in the news here too, so keep watching.. I know you love to read about politics and the economy.
This weekend in the Chinese Mid-Autumn festival or 中秋节 (zhong1 qiu1 jie2). It's a holiday that comes from China's agricultural roots. All I really know about it is they eat moon cakes, which despite their waxy funky candalistic outside features possess quite delicious soft insides with many different flavors...including beef! Even Starbucks over here sells a highly overpriced version that comes in four or five different colors. Green Cake? Seriously, Starbucks.
The weather in Hangzhou is typically really nice, but Lola told me Typhoon Sinlaku just hit Taiwan and is bouncing around China's southeastern coast. Bet you'd never guess it's raining... :)
This weekend in the Chinese Mid-Autumn festival or 中秋节 (zhong1 qiu1 jie2). It's a holiday that comes from China's agricultural roots. All I really know about it is they eat moon cakes, which despite their waxy funky candalistic outside features possess quite delicious soft insides with many different flavors...including beef! Even Starbucks over here sells a highly overpriced version that comes in four or five different colors. Green Cake? Seriously, Starbucks.
The weather in Hangzhou is typically really nice, but Lola told me Typhoon Sinlaku just hit Taiwan and is bouncing around China's southeastern coast. Bet you'd never guess it's raining... :)
Friday, June 6, 2008
The (b)Log of My Travels
So I decided this year to set up a little something different to keep in touch with everyone back home. This will serve as a way for family and friends to keep up with my while I bounce around China trying to figure out if the world's most polluted cities (Day 3, still no clouds..) is really where I want to spend the rest of my life. I don't really mind it though...if I could find a decent massage parlor that doesn't want me to slip an extra kuai or two under their belt for an extra hand or two under mine (Mom...I'm kidding :d). But seriously, now that I'm here again, I completely understand why I drank so much last year. There's not much else to do. Study or drink...you try making a decision like that! Luckily they did open a really cool Internet Bar close to my dorm (on the same floor my teacher lives actually) and for $.07 an hour I can use my own computer and their internet. Not bad, huh? There are SOME advantages to being over here :D
Well I'm going to try and set up my internet in my room and take a nap. The lag still has me behind.
Well I'm going to try and set up my internet in my room and take a nap. The lag still has me behind.
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