Hua Shi Hotel Jiangyin

... English, you no longer wonder if he can understand the air traffic controller.
You
regard it as part of the adventure when the waiter correctly repeats
your order and the cook makes something completely different.
You are not surprised when three men with a ladder show up to change a light bulb.
You blow your nose or spit on the
restaurant floor (of course after making a loud hocking noise)
You look over people’s shoulder to see what they are reading
You ...

... and taiwan was longer than that.

i said i haven't traveled too much this year. the only trip i took was to go to thailand. and y'all never told me i needed the boarding passes to get a reimbursement that is clearly stated in the contract. i asked about other receipts. i've got plenty of medical receipts. she said they're going to have to be traveling ones. i said does it matter if they're not in rmb? i found some rail passes/receipts ...

so it's official. i have less than a month in china now. and not surprising, it's beginning to affect my sleep. i woke up this morning at 7. my first class isn't until 1 p.m. so why was i up so early? because of stress and anxiety. despite my better intentions, i always procrastinate til the last minute to do everything. preparing for home hasn't been an exception.

i finally bought the final leg of my trip today. from nyc to nola on 11/17. so i'll be in ny for a week hanging out ...

... br>- reminisced about high school, new orleans and america in general
- shared our horror stories about living and traveling overseas as americans
- craved good yummy food, like steaks, anything from an oven and anything from new orleans
- realized, in general, just how awesome and kick-ass we are. even without "real" jobs

during that time, i:
- felt like i was in 16 and 61 at the same time
- understood what it means to be single and to be married and how ...

... rencontré beaucoup de gens. Et surtout un sculpteur qui travaille cet art chinois très ancien (à ma connaissance uniqueau monde dans sa formulation tout au moins) la sculpture de racine. Cela consiste à prendre des racines tortueuses, les débarasser de l'écorce et trouver une forme signifiante en sculptant une infime partie de la racine 1/5 du total au maximum. Cela donne souvent des oeuvres fantastiques ou la nature dépasse l'imagination.

... better.

the only thing she kept telling me that the house was finally fixed after katrina and that everything was finally where it was supposed to be. and now, it's going to be months again before the house is decent again.

so called stephen since it was too late to call my dad to find out exactly what happened. they took all the money at home ...

... as loud a noise as possible and spitting it out wherever they choose. The freedom to spit and all the special contributory actions that go with it are not saved up for the privacy of their homes they share it with everyone. Let's list a few places;
The street
The internet shop floor
On the train
On the bus
The restaurant floor
And my personal favourite is when old ladies spit ...

... 1 lady monk doing sliding squats (apparently she will do this for 2 or more years) we decided it might not be for us.

Longman Caves are just like the previous caves we saw but in a riverside setting with a temple nestled in the forest and about 5 times bigger. If you ever get the chance to go please make these part of your journey - enjoy the pictures.

... knows exactly how many of us will fit, with absolutely no space between us. Next we went to the Yuyuan Garden and old town areas. I think they also call it the Yu garden. Going through the old town area, we saw lots and lots of Spring Festival decorations. These are very elaborate--they must use them from year to year. They don't look like plastic, the fabric looks like a silk material. They are gaudy, as you can see, and in primary ...

... t like it although I really tried to) 23. Fresh peeled pears (excellent) Replacement batteries (more on this later) were giving out, so I only have one picture of our table. Look how fancy the chairs are. Frogs in the market look like our lunch dish except ours were cooked. Here you can see how they prepare the pigs' feet, stuffing a leaf and tying it before cooking in a sweet sauce. There were dozens of ...