A countdown has begun: 11 more days and we’ll be back in the States.
The morning was a blur as always, and during our first break, Hannah and Cayleigh passed the fuck out. I thought that Hannah was just resting on her desk, but she actually fell asleep for a solid 10 minutes and then jerked herself awake. I, being the good friend I am, managed to capture a picture of her as she awoke.
Yang Laoshi roasted her kid in class. She was trying to give us a grammar pattern example, but she couldn’t get through it because she kept laughing. She asked her kid which was heavier: 30 KG back of feathers or 30 KG bag of bowling balls. Of course, he said feathers because that’s what you think of when you think lightest.
The answer is that they’re the same weight because they’re both 30 KG, and when Yang Laoshi tried to explain that to her son, he couldn’t comprehend it. (Because he’s 8 by the way.) Long story short, she said: “I thought my kid would be smart enough to get the joke, but he’s not.”
Also, Yang Laoshi wrote a character wrong on the board, and I noticed it, but I didn’t want to say anything in case I was wrong. Li Laoshi pointed it out when she got in the classroom, and now I wish I had said something.
In drill 2, we had a debate about whether or not children should go to summer camps. Cayleigh, Rachel, and I basically spent five minutes roasting over-protective parents. At one point we said that if parents are worried about their children’s safety, that’s on them because the camp probably wouldn’t be open if it wasn’t safe. As long as your child’s not an idiot, they’ll probably be fine.
Hannah tried to make the argument that if a child has a bad experience at a summer camp, they’ll be scared for life and won’t want to do said activity again. I said that was a poor argument because bad things can happen to you anyway. Take school for example a child can be bullied at school, so are we saying we shouldn’t send our children to school with the risk that they might get bullied and be traumatized for life? Absolutely not.
Granted, the side arguing against summer camps didn’t believe what they were saying, but I get too into these debates.
Hannah, Cayleigh, Rachel, Kevin, Adam, Korey, and I went to get lunch at the Muslim place on shidalu. It took forever for our food to arrive since we were such a big group, but it was worth it. That place has taken so much money from me.
Despite Korey being the last to order, he got his food first. (Asshole.) But Hannah and I got our's second, so that’s all that matters in my book.
Since we were running low on time, and Hannah and I wanted to stop for a drink before heading to newspaper class, we left before everyone else. Korey tagged along, and we stopped at our usual drink place. I decided to order the grapefruit drink, and I think I’ve found my new favorite thing.
The menu at this place is all in Chinese, which means you actually have to be literate to order. There aren't even pictures to look at. (Wow, welcome to the real world.) Since Hannah and I have been to this place several times already, we already knew what we wanted, but Korey had to read the menu. He spoke to the cashier and asked what was good.
But here’s the thing: since Hannah and I are both Asian, the cashier looked to us asking us to help translate what Korey was saying despite him speaking very clear Chinese.
I. Love. Being. Chinese. In. China.
We got our drinks and chatted for a brief moment. I’m not sure how we got on the conversation, but I probably made another “come to Nashville joke” which sparked another conversation about how we’re going to visit each other.
I think I said something along the lines of “you two live on opposite sides of the country, so you might as well come and meet in the middle,” to which Hannah responded with “we’re not on opposite sides of the country.” I looked at her confused for a moment and then clarified with “wait, yeah you are. I’m talking about in America.”
She still seemed confused and said “I know. He’s in Washington, and I’m in New Jersey. We’re not that far away.”
Korey: Washington State. You know I live in Washington State, right?
Hannah: Yeah, I know, so they’re not that far. I could drive to see you.
Me: Not Washington DC. He literally means Washington, the state.
Hannah: Oh wait! You live in Washington! I guess we are on opposite sides of the country.
I’m not sure how she just now came to this realization considering Korey talks about Washington all the time. He’s mentioned going to Seattle and Vancouver, he’s talked about snowboarding in the mountains, driving to the Pacific Ocean, and so one. And I’ve made my come to Nashville joke too many times. We’re on week 7.
Hannah’s explanation was that she’s bad at geography, and she thought I was being sarcastic every time I said that Nashville was between Washington and Jersey. Apparently, I’m just a “lazy person” so it “suits my personality.
Of course, I had to exploit that on my snapchat, and later Faith commented: “are you kidding? He was literally talking about Seattle and Vancouver last night at dinner.”
Oh, Hannah. We still love you.
I actually spoke in newspaper today. Our discussion was “what’s your ideal man?” I said I want them to respect me (which got some lols because that should be a given), and then I just went back to my usual answer of “they should also have money.”
Li Laoshi asked what I would do if I had to choose between a rich, ugly man and a handsome poor man. I said the rich man because the rich man can still provide, which the handsome man is just handsome. I feel like the question is supposed to be “rich or kind” but I digress.
I also finished with “I used to think Chinese men were the most attractive, but now I find all people attractive.” Li Laoshi was confused by that statement because she said “Chinese men have small eyes. Why would you be attracted to that?”
Like damn, these beauty standards man.
I told her that there’s such a small Asian population in Memphis that I was probably just excited to see someone who looked like me.
The other question I was asked was what would I do with 10,000,000 US. I said I would not have student loans, I would by my parents a house, I would buy myself a camera, and then I would give a lot away to a Chinese orphanage since I was once in one.
She was proud of me for actually listing things instead of giving my usual one sentence answer.
My 一对一 teacher is actually my drill 2 teacher. She called me out because normally I just do homework during those. If I don’t know how to answer a question, I’ll try to guess, but usually, nothing comes to my head, and the teacher just tells me the answer. It’s not that I’m asking them to flat out tell me, but that’s usually how it happens.
Well, Li Laoshi saw that, and she asked me: “Are you just waiting for me to tell you the answer?” Yikes.
I waited for Hannah to finish her 一对一 and then we went back to the dorms together. I studied for the tingxie and did some Runescape until dinner. Hannah was out with her yuban, so it was just Korey and me for dinner.
We went to the 餐厅, and it took forever for them to make my damn wrap. Korey was practically done with his noodles before I even sat down.
While I was waiting for food, I ran into my 一对一 teacher from last week, but because I didn’t have my glasses on, it took me a long time to recognize her face, and even longer for me to remember who she was. I think that realization happened halfway through the conversation, so that was uncomfy for me. Thankfully, she didn’t notice my confusion.
Korey and I were still hungry after din din, so we went to shidalu to get chicken sandwiches. We actually saw Yang Laoshi and Li Laoshi, the 301 class, and Hannah and her yuban as we waited for our food.
So, we decided to test Hannah and see if she would notice us. Korey and I just stayed still and waited for her to either notice us or walk past us. Of course, she didn’t even glance our way despite being right in front of her. Hannah’s yuban actually noticed us and had to stop her to get her to see us.
Good job.
We got our food and went to the 超市 because Korey wanted water, and I wanted ice cream. We had a brief conversation about memories and how it’s interesting that people will remember aspects about your life that you might not. Korey joked and said that he could remember anything, so I deiced to put his memory to the test.
I did a control F for his name in my blog and asked him questions pertaining to him. The first one was on me because I asked him what color the candle on his cake was, and he said orange, but it’s actually pink. Damn color-blind people.
Long story short, Korey does not have hyperdipsia, but he supposedly had a photographic memory.
He left my room, and I runescaped and practiced 那些花儿. While practicing, Daniel knocked on my door and asked for something in Chinese. I had no idea what he was saying, so he just said: “your roommate said I could get this” and pointed at his phone. I asked to read the text since I couldn’t understand his Chinese, but he told me not to look. I finally got what he was asking for once I pieced together 洗衣, or wash clothes. I handed him the soap and he left.
Not one minute later, I get another knock on the door, and it’s Daniel returning the stuff because it turns out he didn’t need it.
What a strange interaction.
While practicing 那些花儿, I somehow managed to hear harmony for part of it, so I texted Cayleigh and told her to come to my room so I could teach it to her. We practiced it for a little and then went to Korey’s room to practice.
This performance is more complicated than I realized. So we sing 那些花儿, and then Korey and his roommate switch to Pachelbel’s Canon, while his roommate sings a different Chinese song with the same chord progression. Korey’s then supposed to do the same thing but with an English song. And then they both freestyle or something? I’m not really sure what’s happening, but it sounds complicated but good at the same time.
Turns out the chords for 那些花儿 are the same chords for Axis of Awesome’s 4 Chord song. I joked that Korey should just do that one instead.
After practiced I went back to my room and relaxed.