Today's our last night here, it's a bittersweet feeling; on one hand, I'm going to miss this place like nuts, but on the other hand, I'm so ready to come back to a place where pedestrians cross first actually mean something.
Drivers here are insane; they don't follow the traffic signs and they all just kind of all go at the same time. Cars don't stop to let people go either; if you're in the middle of crossing the street and cars are coming, god speed. It's an organized hotmess really; in a way I'm kind of disappointed that I haven't witnessed a car accident. I'm lovely, I know.
I've been busy - doing what I'm honestly not even that sure. Time just seems to be flying by very quickly. Whiteboy's been sick (:[); heat stroke, GI distress, allergic reaction to food. We [finally] went to the doctor's the other day because my family and I were all very worried - thank the lord that we didn't have to be checked in to the hospital.
Where's Whiteboy? He's been gone for 20 minutes (to pick up the stamp I've had made for him.) I guess I shall go out and find him - hopefully he hasn't been kidnapped by some crazies =/
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Engrish
We were walking around aimlessly trying to find something for dinner a couple nights ago (we do this a lot), and we stumbled into this restaurant that sold different kinds of spaghetti and gratin. All of a sudden, Whiteboy started to laugh and wanted my camera to take a picture of something on the menu - under the "drinks" menu, they definitely had "Cock Cola Zero." What the hell is a cock cola? How could they have misspelled something as common as Coca Cola, especially since they had a big Coca Cola cooler sitting in the middle of the restaurant?! We wanted to take a picture, but we didn't want to be rude and have they chase us out of the restaurant - if I had my camera phone with me I definitely would have taken one haha.
Most of the clothing here with English on have either misspelled words, or sentences that make absolutely no sense - we got kicked out a clothing stand (oops) the other night because we were laughing at the Engrish nonsense we saw on the T-shirts. I am tempted to buy stuff with Engrish just for the hell of it - but Whiteboy pointed out that if I actually wore those around campus I'd look like a FOB...>.<
What I don't understand is the fact that even the bigger clothing labels/stores have Engrish. For instance in the clothing store NET (which is like a GAP), they have shirts with "Terrier Boston" (with a cute Boston Terrier puppy on), "Drugs Ain't Work" (I know there's nothing wrong with this phrase, but let me just kindly point out how unrealistic that phrase really is), and other shirts that are really cute but with phrases that really make no sense. Since it's a pretty major company, don't they have some kind of a system to check if the words are spelled right or if the phrases make sense? I mean, wouldn't you if you were a designer?
Also, who uses the word "alight"? C'mon MRT, trying too hard.
In true TW fashion, I go out breakfast now.
Most of the clothing here with English on have either misspelled words, or sentences that make absolutely no sense - we got kicked out a clothing stand (oops) the other night because we were laughing at the Engrish nonsense we saw on the T-shirts. I am tempted to buy stuff with Engrish just for the hell of it - but Whiteboy pointed out that if I actually wore those around campus I'd look like a FOB...>.<
What I don't understand is the fact that even the bigger clothing labels/stores have Engrish. For instance in the clothing store NET (which is like a GAP), they have shirts with "Terrier Boston" (with a cute Boston Terrier puppy on), "Drugs Ain't Work" (I know there's nothing wrong with this phrase, but let me just kindly point out how unrealistic that phrase really is), and other shirts that are really cute but with phrases that really make no sense. Since it's a pretty major company, don't they have some kind of a system to check if the words are spelled right or if the phrases make sense? I mean, wouldn't you if you were a designer?
Also, who uses the word "alight"? C'mon MRT, trying too hard.
In true TW fashion, I go out breakfast now.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Squirrel
I've been home for about a week now, time's flying by and I only have a week left! Being back home has seriously made me consider the idea of completely moving back here; the cost of living is considerably lower, the food is definitely much better (and healthier for the most part). I mean, who wouldn't want to live in a place where if you're starving at 2 in the morning, all you have to do is walk down the street and you'll be able to get a full, hot, delicious meal?
My new favorite phrase in Chinese is "I'm sorry, I just came back from U.S. and my Chinese isn't very good." We had to buy a cell phone the other day because none of our phones use SIM cards (damn you, Sprint), and because we are only here for a short amount of time it's not worth it to actually open up an account so we had to get a prepaid card. I can honestly say it was one of the hardest tasks I've ever had to do (well, maybe not that hard, but close enough); I felt like an idiot. We had a list of questions to ask the vendors, and I felt like I was speaking in tongues because there were technical terms that I couldn't remember how to say - I felt like a 4 year old trying to run for president or something. Definitely lost in translation.
Did you know you can store your loved ones' DNA in a beautifully designed, carefully made crystal? How cool (read: creepy) is that?!
So I held a squirrel today; well, more like a squirrel was placed on my arm and my shoulder and stood there for a good period of time. Those who know me know how much I adore squirrels (I'm really like a dog), and when we went to Ximen Ding (it's like the NY Times Square of TW), one of the street performers was a man with 3 trained squirrels - he trained them to stand up, to hold out walnuts in their tiny little cute hands, and trained them to stand on people's arms. I asked him how he trained them, he said he's had those squirrels since they were babies. I wish I could have a pet squirrel - Whiteboy said it's illegal to have them as pets in the states...but if I ever see a stranded baby squirrel, I'm totally going to claim it and play mother squirrel.
I also ate out of a toilet and drank out of a urinal today. Only in TW.
My new favorite phrase in Chinese is "I'm sorry, I just came back from U.S. and my Chinese isn't very good." We had to buy a cell phone the other day because none of our phones use SIM cards (damn you, Sprint), and because we are only here for a short amount of time it's not worth it to actually open up an account so we had to get a prepaid card. I can honestly say it was one of the hardest tasks I've ever had to do (well, maybe not that hard, but close enough); I felt like an idiot. We had a list of questions to ask the vendors, and I felt like I was speaking in tongues because there were technical terms that I couldn't remember how to say - I felt like a 4 year old trying to run for president or something. Definitely lost in translation.
Did you know you can store your loved ones' DNA in a beautifully designed, carefully made crystal? How cool (read: creepy) is that?!
So I held a squirrel today; well, more like a squirrel was placed on my arm and my shoulder and stood there for a good period of time. Those who know me know how much I adore squirrels (I'm really like a dog), and when we went to Ximen Ding (it's like the NY Times Square of TW), one of the street performers was a man with 3 trained squirrels - he trained them to stand up, to hold out walnuts in their tiny little cute hands, and trained them to stand on people's arms. I asked him how he trained them, he said he's had those squirrels since they were babies. I wish I could have a pet squirrel - Whiteboy said it's illegal to have them as pets in the states...but if I ever see a stranded baby squirrel, I'm totally going to claim it and play mother squirrel.
I also ate out of a toilet and drank out of a urinal today. Only in TW.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Home
First off, AZN instant noodles > *. Where else can you get actual meat in your noodlez?
Anyway, so after sitting on my not-so-meaty ass for the past 27 (if not more) hours, we're finally here. I thought I had escaped from the whole flooding situation, but alas there's a typhoon visiting so it's raining like crazy here. Hmph.
I've also realized that my Chinese is shit. I mean, I can communicate and generally read pretty decently, but I can't stop adding English words in my conversations. I keep getting weird looks too - but it's probably because I have a 6'3" whiteboy with me.
So we were sitting in Narita Airport in Japan waiting to board our flight, and there was this...person, who I could not for the life of my figure out if it was a girl or a boy. I kept staring at it, and finally it's phone ran and it started to talk and that's when I realized that it was a girl...let me just so kindly point out how much I hate this whole extreme androgynous thing; it's the new "it" here (well for the past couple of years, if I'm not mistaken), but I swear they take it to the whole new level. It's not just like a girl being named Toni or a guy being named Angel like we have back home - here, they go all out. Girls with very masculine clothes (think: male button down shirt, male dress pants, male work boots). Guys with make up, piercings, man purse that might as well be a girl purse. Oh, and don't forget the very asexual haircuts. I mean what the crap?! Oh, and I'm really not feeling the lack of deodorant-use here as well...I swear, I walked by a group of guys and all I could smell was B.O. Ew.
It's 2:33 in the morning right now, so I guess it's the afternoon back home. I'm wide awake but I need to be asleep - I don't think I will have any problem with sleeping though; we all know how much of a pig I am and how I can fall asleep whenever, wherever.
p.s. Everyone's so skinny here, I feel like a fat cow. Whatev, middle fingerz to the haterz.
Anyway, so after sitting on my not-so-meaty ass for the past 27 (if not more) hours, we're finally here. I thought I had escaped from the whole flooding situation, but alas there's a typhoon visiting so it's raining like crazy here. Hmph.
I've also realized that my Chinese is shit. I mean, I can communicate and generally read pretty decently, but I can't stop adding English words in my conversations. I keep getting weird looks too - but it's probably because I have a 6'3" whiteboy with me.
So we were sitting in Narita Airport in Japan waiting to board our flight, and there was this...person, who I could not for the life of my figure out if it was a girl or a boy. I kept staring at it, and finally it's phone ran and it started to talk and that's when I realized that it was a girl...let me just so kindly point out how much I hate this whole extreme androgynous thing; it's the new "it" here (well for the past couple of years, if I'm not mistaken), but I swear they take it to the whole new level. It's not just like a girl being named Toni or a guy being named Angel like we have back home - here, they go all out. Girls with very masculine clothes (think: male button down shirt, male dress pants, male work boots). Guys with make up, piercings, man purse that might as well be a girl purse. Oh, and don't forget the very asexual haircuts. I mean what the crap?! Oh, and I'm really not feeling the lack of deodorant-use here as well...I swear, I walked by a group of guys and all I could smell was B.O. Ew.
It's 2:33 in the morning right now, so I guess it's the afternoon back home. I'm wide awake but I need to be asleep - I don't think I will have any problem with sleeping though; we all know how much of a pig I am and how I can fall asleep whenever, wherever.
p.s. Everyone's so skinny here, I feel like a fat cow. Whatev, middle fingerz to the haterz.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Still counting
In 2 days I'll be out of this terribly-flooded waterhole. Walking around in water coming up as high as my knees, without a bikini on or a margarita in my hand is not exactly fun to me. Now, walking around in 100+ temperature with 100% humidity sounds absolutely fab! Not exactly, but I can pretend.
I have yet to pack. I have yet to purchase about half the crap I need to take back. So far I've gotten requests for gummi bears (the "wild" flavors - oh boy are they pretty!), chocolate (mmhmm I tell you what - Amurrika makes the best goddamn chocolates!), vitamins, clothes, chewing gum, Spongebob themed whatevers, and other miscellaneous crap that I'm not very sure why we must get in America (do they really not use deodorant there?) I'm surprised no one has asked me to smuggle back Spam or Obama.
So with all the gifts I'm taking back, on top of my own crap because we all know how I enjoy overpacking with stuff I will [hopefully] eventually learn that I don't need, we're looking at at least 2 suitcases. 2 suitcases that I am definitely not looking forward to dragging around in different airports.
Packing is so stressful, woe is me.
I have yet to pack. I have yet to purchase about half the crap I need to take back. So far I've gotten requests for gummi bears (the "wild" flavors - oh boy are they pretty!), chocolate (mmhmm I tell you what - Amurrika makes the best goddamn chocolates!), vitamins, clothes, chewing gum, Spongebob themed whatevers, and other miscellaneous crap that I'm not very sure why we must get in America (do they really not use deodorant there?) I'm surprised no one has asked me to smuggle back Spam or Obama.
So with all the gifts I'm taking back, on top of my own crap because we all know how I enjoy overpacking with stuff I will [hopefully] eventually learn that I don't need, we're looking at at least 2 suitcases. 2 suitcases that I am definitely not looking forward to dragging around in different airports.
Packing is so stressful, woe is me.
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