Time Delay

Sorry about the lack of posts lately, but this first week of class was killer. At least I think the homework will ease up from here on in.

Starting from last Saturday, I have battled the landscape, the food, and the language of China, but I find that I love every minute of it. As flustered as I get at my inability to communicate on several occasions daily, I still come away feeling that I accomplished something, even if that is remembering the word for "chicken" or "textbook".

Going back the first sentence of the last paragraph, I wish I could show you the pictures of the hike we took into the hills (really mountains) overlooking Hangzhou, but that requires use of the "preview" function which conveniently does not work in the slightest. Nor does posting pictures because that would require an internet connection that doesn't move like a baby with bricks tied to its legs. And by that I mean slowly.

My roommate and I are getting along very well; he helps me study and I tell him about things in the USA that I like such as music and movies. I found yesterday that premise of The Big Lebowski does not easily translate into Chinese. Very upsetting.

Food and other things are mindnumbingly inexpensive here. I can get any meal for less than a dollar, but I think I spend at most $6 a day on food . Beat that Rachel Ray. Try to buy any good meal, and I mean damn fine meals, anywhere for 3RMB (approx. 30something cents).

The most unintentional fun I've had here since the "fun" of trying to locate my lost luggage was definitely going to a restaurant called "Houcaller Beefsteak" here in Hangzhou. It is, get this, a fast-food style chain of steakhouses. Fast-food steakhouses.

The atmosphere is distinctly reminiscent of an Applebee's on acid with a salad bar that has no lettuce (or vegetables at all really) and fruit flavored salad dressings. By that I mean where the dressings should have been were things like apple, pomegranate, and watermelon flavored yogurt next to a bowl of Thousand Island dressing and some very tasty crutons.

Zhang Fan, my roommate, and I both ordered the NYC T-Bone platter. I told the waitress I was French so I wouldn't have to speak in English (we aren't allowed to speak English due to our language pledge) and attempted to order my steak medium. When the food arrived we had an egg sunny-side up, a very well done steak, and a small pile of what I think was Chef Boyardee pasta all in one skilled and covered in a cracked black pepper gravy. Strangely, it was damn good. Nevertheless, having to explain that I disliked all things American and could they please stop speaking English was very strange.