I'm Not Dead Yet!

Alright, I know it's a long shot to think that anyone still reads this blog, but I felt an obligation to post something for the lost soul who stumbles upon this page.

In my last post I hinted at the possibility of creepiness and foul play. Because of that, I understand that it might have been easy for you to assume that my absense was due to said creepiness and foul play. Let me ease your mind by saying that this is not the case. My site hasn't been shut down and I'm not in a prison camp. The reason I haven't been posting has much more to do with the fact that I lost my internet connection. The way I lost it is remarkably boring, but the product has been unbelievably annoying. The only thing I can really do these days is snag a few minutes of computer time from Phil or Anna.

Short emails: Yes
Blog Posts: No

The only reason I'm posting now is because it's Saturday night, everyone that I know who speaks English is playing THAT GOD DAMN WARCRAFT GAME, and I have found myself in a downtown net cafe.

SWEET FLIPPIN' UPDATE:

Well, for starters, the only real thing I can complain about is the rabid obsession that has developed amongst my friends here in China. They call it "Wow" but you might know it as "World of Warcraft". If they aren't eating, teaching, or crapping, they are playing that damn game. I'm not going to pretend that I'm staying away from Wow for pure reasons. No, instead my computer has made it is impossible for me to join them, but honestly...I'm sort of glad that something forcibly prevents me from doing so. The worst of it come during the weekend. I have found it impossible to get any of my Carleton friends to join me for a Friday night adventure and have now started to look towards other groups for such an event.

Other than that, life is peachy. My classes are all going really well and provide more than enough entertainment for my otherwise entertainment-starved soul. Like before, it's still the little things that make teaching so rewarding. Every day I have to hold back the laughing tears when my students ask me questions such as: What are "Lovely Lady Lumps?"

I went to Thailand a few weeks ago. We were only there for 3 nights, but it was worth every penny we spent to get there. To simply a very long description, I dubbed Thailand as "Party China". It shared many cultural characteristics, served the same kind of food, but had a much much much much better night life. The bars were fantastic, were swarming with foreigners, and had a plethora of Western drinks, including Margaritas and Kamakazis. One reason why the night life was so good (and why Bangkok was so much fun in general) was the fact that Thailand is much more Westernized than China. At times, the trip felt like a visit home. We went to Subway Sandwich shops, listened to a Beatles cover band, and comfortably spoke English to just about everyone we met. The great thing was that we didn't have the tourist guilt that I imagine most other people would have when eating, drinking, and engaging in all things Western. I've mastered chopsticks and I've eaten more rice and noodle dishes than you could imagine. Damnit, I want a 12 inch Meatball Sub! It was also great to talk to some new foreigners. One of the nights we went out, Andrew and I met some really cool German girls and spent the night bar hopping with them. It felt like college again. It was great. Much to my Chinese students delight, I did see many transvestites during my trip. The Chinese have a very strange fascination with them. If you mention you are going, or have been to Thailand, "BoyGirls" will always be the first question/comment you hear. The strange thing is that they all believe these "BoyGirls" are incredibly beautiful (and some are), but as far as I can tell, homosexuality is still very taboo here.

I've lived through a Chinese Thanksgiving and a Very Special Chinese Christmas is on the way. For Thanksgiving we purchased a turkey. Those that went to the farm got to witness how a bird can go from loving its life to being oven ready in less than 15 minutes. Andrew and company worked their ass off preparing a very traditional, American meal and it tasted great. However, we still ate everything with chopsticks. It was downright poetic.

Christmas is in full swing here in Changsha. I've had an interesting talking to my students and observing the local customs, trying to figure out the strange relationship China has with Christmas. Everywhere you go, people are wearing Santa hats and "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teethe" blares from speakers. Yet, I have to wonder what is at the core of this celebration. The holiday has very little religious sentiment for me, but at least it conjures up very pure images of family, giving, and togetherness. Here, it's all about the showmanship. I mean, almost every notion of X-mas that Chinese people has are from movies (think of how many movies revolve around the holiday), so it almost seems like being Christmas-y is a way to express how Western, or modern a person is. I don't know, like most things here, I have ideas, but few answers.

Things are great. I'll try to post more. Tommy Out!