Potpourri
It's been a while since I posted, so I thought I'd give my massive audience a little update on what has been going on lately. Actually, that's one of the reasons I haven't posted; nothing monumental has happened, but if you add everything up, I think I can squeeze out a few paragraphs. Also, blogger has been inaccessible for a week or two for some reason, so that has also foiled any plans I had of posting.
I haven't travelled to any faraway places recently, but I did have dinner with the man that invited me to go hiking about six weeks ago. He gave me a phone call one night and I was able to understand that he wanted to go to dinner that very instant, and in a few minutes he arrived to pick me up. This is the same man that doesn't speak any more English than the words "go" and "ok" and "hello". At times I feel like my Chinese is progressing really slowly, especially since I spend a lot of time with other English speakers, but this night confirmed that my fluency has increased a lot, even if my vocabulary has not grown at the same rate. We were able to talk much faster and about more topics, which was a great encouragement to me. I still need to be a bit more deliberate about studying, as this would increase my mobility and enjoyment of the culture a lot. Anyhow, the main reason I write is because these situations often leave you in the position of eating something you really have no desire to eat, in this case, cow stomach. When eating in a large group it's easy to avoid such "delicacies": just let the silk worms and sea slugs spin on by on the Lazy Susan, and usually no one takes note. When the dinner party consists of only three people, however, food is offered without any real room to decline it. So, when the thick, translucent, chewy, cilia-covered stomach was offered, I had to suck it up and put it in, my mouth, that is. I really don't understand why it's eaten; it wasn't bad, but it had no taste or desirable texture, and i don't see how it could be of any nutritional value. I also had to eat some plants that looked like osteoporosis-ravaged bones, but they weren't too bad, either.
In the last couple of weeks the weather has also changed quite a bit. Gone are the days of sun and 80 degrees, and here in their place are windy ones that are quite nippy. A week or so ago it got down into the 40's with a fierce 30 or 35 mph wind, but it has since warmed up a bit to around 65, enabling me to continue playing tennis for a while. Once it gets too cold, I think I'll have more time to study and read, but for now I'm enjoying meeting new people on the tennis courts, so hopefully they can turn into friends when it turns colder.
My classes have also been going well. I think all of my five classes like me, save one really boring one. I'm having them do mid-semester evaluations for me this week, and I have gotten the results back from one of the classes, so hopefully my suspicions will be confirmed.
At times, though, I think I derive more pleasure from their assignments than they do. This week being Halloween, I passed out candy and read them a few scary stories (one by Poe, the other the scary hook-on-the-door-handle-while-a-young-teenage-couple-is-parked-alone-in-the-woods one). After I briefly outlined the elements common to most scary stories (villain, surprise, everyday people, everyday situation), I had them write their own. Well, the results were pretty hilarious; I have posted the best below, as they were written.
"The Breather in Self-Study Room"
It is said a true story. Beside our classroom there is a self-study room. Some students like to study there because it is quiet. One night, one student of our class studied there alone. It was very, very quiet and there was no wind outside. He was studying concentrately when he heard a sound. It sounded like somebody was breathing heavily. At the beginning he thought there was another student who was sleeping. But it was strange that there was nobody in the room. After a while, he heard it again. It increased heavier and heavier, just like "ha---ha---." When he turned back his head, the sound stopped. And when he turned to his book, the sound appeared again. He was badly frightened and rushed out of the room.
It so happened that other students met the same thing.
The room still existed. No one cal tell who will be the next person who will hear the strange sound.
(Untitled 1)
This is a true story. When I was in my primary school, I once went spring-outing with my classmates. We climbed a hill on which there are many graves. In fact the hill is used for burying dead body. After lunch, we were eating watermelons. And then a naughty boy climbed on to a grave and tried to scare us. During our going down the hill two girls just became mad and one of them picked a knife to attack all of us. Then she fell senseless. When she woke up, she didn't know what had happened at all. But she told us that an old man came to her and told her to pick the knife to attack the boy who just climbed the grave. She didn't know what had happened at all.
(Untitled 2)
A Young doctor who studied medical science always dissected corpses at laboratory. Everynight when he left the laboratory the corpses were intact, but he found that the digits of the corpses seemed to be bitten by something the next morning. He thought it might be mouse. So, he kept a cat. The cat caught a mouse. To his surprise, the strange thing continue to happen. He stayed up to find the reason of the strange thing, but he slept. The next day he found the digits were still bitten by something. He was frightened. Thus, he asked his friend to accompany him to find the reason. They chatted happily and enjoyed the beer. Then the friend went to WC. When he came back, he found the doctor asleep, so he himself watched. Suddenly, the doctor stood up, walked near to the corpse, and started to bite the digits.
And, my personal favorite:
"The Cabinet"
When I was in junior middle school, I lived and ate there. At that time, several people lived in one room and each of us had a big cabinet under the bedplate. One evening, after I finished washing my lunchbox, I planned to put it into the cabinet. Quietly I walked towards the cabinet and opened it with the dim light. At the moment I put the lunchbox into it, suddenly I saw one head and a hand. Without a word, I threw the lunchbox to the ground and rushed out of the room. I was really scared. I didn't know what happened until my roommate told me that it was him who was eating a meal in the cabinet! He was always a strange person and always did something out of your mind.
So, what is your favorite?
I haven't travelled to any faraway places recently, but I did have dinner with the man that invited me to go hiking about six weeks ago. He gave me a phone call one night and I was able to understand that he wanted to go to dinner that very instant, and in a few minutes he arrived to pick me up. This is the same man that doesn't speak any more English than the words "go" and "ok" and "hello". At times I feel like my Chinese is progressing really slowly, especially since I spend a lot of time with other English speakers, but this night confirmed that my fluency has increased a lot, even if my vocabulary has not grown at the same rate. We were able to talk much faster and about more topics, which was a great encouragement to me. I still need to be a bit more deliberate about studying, as this would increase my mobility and enjoyment of the culture a lot. Anyhow, the main reason I write is because these situations often leave you in the position of eating something you really have no desire to eat, in this case, cow stomach. When eating in a large group it's easy to avoid such "delicacies": just let the silk worms and sea slugs spin on by on the Lazy Susan, and usually no one takes note. When the dinner party consists of only three people, however, food is offered without any real room to decline it. So, when the thick, translucent, chewy, cilia-covered stomach was offered, I had to suck it up and put it in, my mouth, that is. I really don't understand why it's eaten; it wasn't bad, but it had no taste or desirable texture, and i don't see how it could be of any nutritional value. I also had to eat some plants that looked like osteoporosis-ravaged bones, but they weren't too bad, either.
In the last couple of weeks the weather has also changed quite a bit. Gone are the days of sun and 80 degrees, and here in their place are windy ones that are quite nippy. A week or so ago it got down into the 40's with a fierce 30 or 35 mph wind, but it has since warmed up a bit to around 65, enabling me to continue playing tennis for a while. Once it gets too cold, I think I'll have more time to study and read, but for now I'm enjoying meeting new people on the tennis courts, so hopefully they can turn into friends when it turns colder.
My classes have also been going well. I think all of my five classes like me, save one really boring one. I'm having them do mid-semester evaluations for me this week, and I have gotten the results back from one of the classes, so hopefully my suspicions will be confirmed.
At times, though, I think I derive more pleasure from their assignments than they do. This week being Halloween, I passed out candy and read them a few scary stories (one by Poe, the other the scary hook-on-the-door-handle-while-a-young-teenage-couple-is-parked-alone-in-the-woods one). After I briefly outlined the elements common to most scary stories (villain, surprise, everyday people, everyday situation), I had them write their own. Well, the results were pretty hilarious; I have posted the best below, as they were written.
"The Breather in Self-Study Room"
It is said a true story. Beside our classroom there is a self-study room. Some students like to study there because it is quiet. One night, one student of our class studied there alone. It was very, very quiet and there was no wind outside. He was studying concentrately when he heard a sound. It sounded like somebody was breathing heavily. At the beginning he thought there was another student who was sleeping. But it was strange that there was nobody in the room. After a while, he heard it again. It increased heavier and heavier, just like "ha---ha---." When he turned back his head, the sound stopped. And when he turned to his book, the sound appeared again. He was badly frightened and rushed out of the room.
It so happened that other students met the same thing.
The room still existed. No one cal tell who will be the next person who will hear the strange sound.
(Untitled 1)
This is a true story. When I was in my primary school, I once went spring-outing with my classmates. We climbed a hill on which there are many graves. In fact the hill is used for burying dead body. After lunch, we were eating watermelons. And then a naughty boy climbed on to a grave and tried to scare us. During our going down the hill two girls just became mad and one of them picked a knife to attack all of us. Then she fell senseless. When she woke up, she didn't know what had happened at all. But she told us that an old man came to her and told her to pick the knife to attack the boy who just climbed the grave. She didn't know what had happened at all.
(Untitled 2)
A Young doctor who studied medical science always dissected corpses at laboratory. Everynight when he left the laboratory the corpses were intact, but he found that the digits of the corpses seemed to be bitten by something the next morning. He thought it might be mouse. So, he kept a cat. The cat caught a mouse. To his surprise, the strange thing continue to happen. He stayed up to find the reason of the strange thing, but he slept. The next day he found the digits were still bitten by something. He was frightened. Thus, he asked his friend to accompany him to find the reason. They chatted happily and enjoyed the beer. Then the friend went to WC. When he came back, he found the doctor asleep, so he himself watched. Suddenly, the doctor stood up, walked near to the corpse, and started to bite the digits.
And, my personal favorite:
"The Cabinet"
When I was in junior middle school, I lived and ate there. At that time, several people lived in one room and each of us had a big cabinet under the bedplate. One evening, after I finished washing my lunchbox, I planned to put it into the cabinet. Quietly I walked towards the cabinet and opened it with the dim light. At the moment I put the lunchbox into it, suddenly I saw one head and a hand. Without a word, I threw the lunchbox to the ground and rushed out of the room. I was really scared. I didn't know what happened until my roommate told me that it was him who was eating a meal in the cabinet! He was always a strange person and always did something out of your mind.
So, what is your favorite?
posted by Mysteries of The Orient at 1:34 AM
4 Comments:
definitely the random mention of having a beer together
How can you choose a favorite? I laughed, I cried, I screamed with horror. Ok, mostly I just laughed. But have you been in the self-study room lately...?
hahaha. I may have to forward one or more of these on to some friends who otherwise would not have access to such humor.
i think the one about the doctor eating the digits was the best. maybe it is because it is similar to something i would do in my sleep.
maybe not, but it was spooky.
Post a Comment
<< Home