Day 12 -- June 5

Decidedly seven is the time I get up. My roommates, I am pretty sure, think I am crazy, of course I’m not really a big fan of sleeping in. I did my morning routine, and headed off to class. I am feeling more confident in my Mandarin, it’s interesting because the teachers only teach in Chinese. So you have to guess what’s going on most of the time, it’s actually not as hard as it sounds. I am surviving which works.

    It is getting more and more rainy, this morning around 3 am I woke up due to the rain. Sunny (my umbrella) is quickly becoming a constant companion. It stopped raining about 12:15ish when I stepped out for lunch. I went to the bakery for lunch, I got some sweet bread and an egg sandwich, cheap and delicious. Yay for student food, I’m trying to keep it around 150 NT ($5) a day. It’s not too difficult I just can’t gorge myself on food, which all in all is a very good thing. I also tried talking to Amber via skype but it’s really hit and miss with my internet.

    I met with my class an hour before the class actually starts so we could review. It was actually really good. I am enjoying the intensive courses because you have to be serious to survive them. I’m still a little worried about Shalia, she seems the least sure when speaking but who knows, she’s probably the best. Chen Laoshi (teacher) also teaches the supplemental class “Sing in Chinese” so we get to sing in our intentive class now that we know all the sounds. Yay! She’s really an excellent teacher. Very methodical, yet still interesting.

The Track

    Went for a run today after class. This would be my first run since I injured my foot. I got about 5 miles in. took me about 50 minutes which isn’t too bad coming off an injury. I wish my foot didn’t hurt so bad now. I may switch back to my broken in shoes and do some walking in these new ones. I was originally supposed to meet Jillian and Nick but their class ran late and by the time they arrived I was cooling down. I went two more laps with Jillian before my foot declared the end of the exercise period. I was drenched in sweat, my shirt felt like it had gone through the washer. Not a pretty imagine, but that’s what happens when you run in 28º C with 50-60% humidity. I quickly went back in the dorm and showered.

    I went for a jaunt in the night market looking for some food. I found a shop that proclaimed omelets. Of course it’s a little bit different there was soft crepe wrapped around eggs and vegetables along with some cheese and spicy sauce. Everything here, in terms of food, is either sweet or spicy and I am ok with this. The food was filling especially after my run. Since it was in the night market it was just a stand, so I walked back to the dorms which are incredibly close. I got back to the dorms, ate, then worked on my homework. Tomorrow is my big test for pronunciation, we are all going to meet again at 1pm in hopes that last minutes studying will help us.

    My roommate Liu again keeps giving me fruit, I have started to really appreciate the gesture.I never really liked fruit when I was back in the States now here, I sort of covet it. It’s sweet and juicy much better than most fruit I’ve eaten in the States. I’m not really sure why. There are things I don’t ever eat in the States that I eat here, so far I have discovered a love of grapes, lychee, oranges, and tomatoes (don’t have a heart attack mom, I know it’s short of a freaking miracle). Gonna study some more and probably go to bed, the run wore me out more than I would have liked. Oh well tomorrow’s a new day.