This is one of those times where I have so much I want to write that I don't even know where to start... and so I've avoided writing anything for the past week, lol.
I think I'm at the point where I'm more or less adjusted to being here and dealing with the language pledge. (Which I'm technically breaking by writing this. Shhh.) Considering how I've never really tried to speak any language other than English prior to arriving here, I'm surprised at how quickly I tore down so many of my reservations. Just six months ago, I refused to go to Kenyon's weekly Chinese table meetings, where students eat dinner with the Chinese professors and speak Chinese the whole time. Now I have to do that exact same thing at least twice a day. The whole "embarrassment" factor gets stripped away pretty quickly in this environment... yeah, my tones suck and the professors always have to slow down when they talk to me, but I'll never get better unless I keep at it. :)
EDIT: btw, my daily schedule is pretty hectic until the afternoon. I think I'm busier here than I was last semester, haha.
M-Th
Class A (large classes, about 20 students): 7:50-9:40AM
Class B (small classes, about 5-6 students): 9:50-11:30AM
One-on-One Session w/Prof: 1:45-2:00PM
F
Test: 7:50-10:00AM (I usually finish some time btwn 9:30-10:00AM)
Have been watching a couple Taiwanese dramas while here, namely 战神 (Mars) and 花樣少年少女 (Hana Kimi). The Hana Kimi drama is particularly interesting. It's so different from the Japanese version! And much better, in my opinion. This is a spoiler, so I'll write it in Chinese: 第二个episode的开始，左以泉(Zuo Yi Quan)已经知道盧瑞莃(Lu Rui Xi)是一个女人! 我还没看完日本的。可是我听说了，在日本的，左以泉(Zuo Yi Quan)故事的结束才发现了。我认为台湾的比较有意思，因为我懂为什么左以泉(Zuo Yi Quan)跟盧瑞莃(Lu Rui Xi)的爱越来越大。左以泉(Zuo Yi Quan)很快地发现他自己的感情。:)
- Snuck into the nearby town with a friend last weekend and watched Toy Story 3. :)
- Learning to play Mahjong while here. I get to play one hour a week, Thurs. nights. Maybe once I get back home, I'll watch Akagi. :3
- Been watching a lot of Chinese/Taiwanese movies here, too. They're so depressing! What the hell.
- I was so wrong about Jay Chou. So, so wrong. Prior to coming here, for some reason, I thought all he sung were love ballads. SO WRONG. He's so versatile. And so good! Seriouslyyyy, I wish I had known earlier. And fyi, a lot of people here also listen to S.H.E. and Wang Leehom, haha.
- I'm not that good at Nimble Strong. LOL.
Have a couple memes I need to fill out tomorrow. In the meantime, have some Jay Chou.
