Easter Weekend

What a weekend! First of all, I purchased my own mode of transportation. It's no match for the high-tech mini car featured in my dreams last night, but I think it will get me around effeciently and effectively (Goodbye, 100+ more calories burned in one trip!). I got it at Walmart for 239 RMB, which is a little less than $50. All the Chinese people I've spoken to about it say it was cheap :)

 

 

In that Saturday was the day before Easter, a friend of mine wanted to color some Easter eggs. She had never done it before and asked me for advice. Since I only have one shade of food coloring (red), we decided to melt crayons on hot eggs as well as dye a few. These are the eggs we used crayons on. I'm still waiting to hear how the dyed eggs turned out. We went for sparkly, so we'll see!

 

 

 

 

 Saturday night, the Association had a party for its members. In Chinese it's called 素质拓展, or Character Building. Looking at the title, I would expect a motivational speech. Our night of character building, however, included filling up on party snacks, playing games, and watching some outstanding performances. There are really a lot of talented people in this association.

 

 

 

 

 Everyone got a chance to act a little silly. As for me, I participated in a race to see which team could pass the most rubber bands chopstick to chopstick. Good times!

 

 

 

Bus it! Bus it Real Good!

I want you to take a good look at the inside of this bus and tell me what you see. 

 

 

 

I see a sink. A sink I see, and windows dressed in pink.

 

 

What's that, you say? A roll of paper. But, says I, where do you use it? Mayhaps behind the poster under the clock?

 

 

In the summer, after you've just ran, please sit under one of the miniature fans.

 

But seriously, the woman who drives this bus must be quite proud of herself, for she greets every rider with a heartfelt "Ni hao" and a provides a very cheery environment. Not a bad for the commute home, says I.

坚持就是胜利

我已经通过我从来没想到我本人能够得到的目的。我原来的体重一百二十二公斤。不过，从2010年末我开始减肥。首先，我几乎放弃吃所有的肉和动物品。其实，我后来决定不要完全放弃，可是我减少了很多。大约一年后，我已经瘦了三十公斤左右。那时2011年。从那时候我的进度减慢，非常慢！我不是特别不满意，因为我还是经过别的进步，比如说：我现在能够跑五公里、我在斯里兰卡的时候尝试冲浪（surfing）、我的衣服都越来越大、甚至我的手表也每一次穿差点儿掉下去了。因此，这件事引起我想＂进步＂到底是什么意思？我磅体重时，应该注意具体的数字吗？如果这个星期降下，下个星期又升上，哪能我的心情也不断跑过来跑过去嘛，那么健康是否从精神开始呢？我怎么这么粗心？我在这么糊涂时，我记住应该放眼，看一看很远的，理想的，看起来不可能的效果。你会不会想象？我这个星期想不出来，所以我在网络索搜跟我一样体重美女的照片。我发现我上轨道，不太落后，没有什么大不了了。唉！我又放松了，恨不得马上上跑步机，锻炼身体。

Meeting with the Supervisor

Earlier in the week I got a call from my college's office telling me my supervisor (also the department director) is looking for me. Whoops! I had forgotten to give them my new phone number. So I called Mr. Wang and he told me to come to class on Thursday afternoon at two.

Today I went to this first meeting of his "team." There were a handful of PhD candidates and a few Master's students as well. He asked us to give an outline of what we plan on researching for our thesis. I hadn't really understood this is what we'd be doing, so I kind of haphazardly put something together. By the time I got to explain, my mouth just fumbled through it all. It's amazing I got any clear-cut idea out. But he seemed to be okay with the direction I plan on taking. The thing is that I don't know if it's because it's actually a good idea or if it's just because he doesn't expect much from me. 

Not to give too much away, I plan on working along the lines of Magical Realism as a tool for collective memory with a focus on literature in the Northeast Asia region. Oops, I hope I haven't said too much! Anyway, this semester we'll have this "class" twice a month. It's time to get working on the thesis!

人家的第二个家庭

昨天我的朋友将对象带过来我的房间给我介绍一下。我和这个人似乎合得来，她的性格很开朗也很热情。我们俩都喜欢拉家常，特别关于我们在中国的经历或对中国的看法。我们三个差不多刚开始聊天时，我朋友说他要马上回来就走了，把我们闪下。因为我对我朋友知根知底，因此我感觉到他来为征询我对他的选择如何看。反正，无论我怎么看他们俩，但我在这里要强调此时的感情。

这个情况使我认为我与我的朋友的关系变成到家人那样的信任。非常重要记住的就是我们不在自己的国家，而且由于在国外，所以有很多机会跟不同国家的人交流，甚至有时跨国爱情就实现出来。在这时中我们父母都不在我们的身边，而很容易忘记以前的责任，越来越改变自己的思想。这样的扑朔迷离的时光下，该有＂第二个家庭＂，就是说——你的周围该有你相信的朋友们。这样的话就供你立足之地，令你清心。

我为我的朋友快乐，对他和他的对象有望、乐观。我感谢他给我这个为他的责任感，或者说家庭感。

Some More S'mores, Please

Today I made an American classic: s'mores. I've been craving a good camp out for a while, so I think this was a result of that. I got the chocolate--the cheap Chinese kind. I got the crackers--no graham crackers, but round breakfast biscuits instead. Lastly, I got the peach flavored marshmallows. Yep, peach flavored, because there are no marshmallows as you know them here unless they're imported. When it came time to make my treats, I opted for the lazy way of doing it and stuck it all in the microwave. After the chocolate melted and the marshmallows swelled up, I ate the mash-up with my bright green chopsticks, true "Lehyla Fusion" style.

First Spring Run

After the first International Student's Association had its first meeting today, I went outside for a walk, intending to end up in the cafeteria for dinner. My walk took me past the track and field. Last week's weather had me looking at it for days, wondering if it was still too icy to run. I decided to go check it out. 

I should begin by saying that I've been running indoors on a treadmill for the last six months or so. That's why at first I just thought I'd walk a couple of laps and get on my way. By my third lap, however, I just wanted to jog, winter gear and all. After that lap, I couldn't get enough, so I shed the coat and my purse on a bench and kept going. I thought I'd just go two kilometers, but even after that, my body wanted more. I began to sprint. I sped right past the drifts of snow, piled as tall as I am on the edges of the field. I jumped over the few icy patches. My hot breath hung in the air, and I could feel its moisture against my face a split second later as I ran through the vapor cloud. Under the stars I finished my exercise at ten laps.

Just think what spring will bring! 

History Made at NENU Today

They looked for me for a week, they told me. When they finally found me, I almost wasn't able to attend their meeting, but everything worked out. They asked me to prepare a speech, preferably in Chinese.

What's with all the formality?

Today was Northeast Normal University's International Students Association's election day. It happens every spring, but the historic part is the fact that the foreigners were even involved at all. First off, a group of representatives from the different continents was chosen. Then three of those people, one of them being me, were chosen to act as the president 部长 and the co-vice presidents 副部长 (that's my job). Last year there were plenty of foreigners included in the association's activities, but this is the first year that foreigners have been inducted into the association. The true news, however, is that we were also asked to attend the meeting where the members vote for its officers, and then, WE ALSO GOT TO VOTE! If all caps didn't do it, I don't know how else to show that this is BIG news. 

It's just an election. They happen all the time, all over the world.

Yes, that's true! Yet, just as there are cultural and social differences, so it goes with voting. China being as it is, the votes come from within. This past fall, when Xi Jinping was chosen to be China's new president, it happened behind closed doors, although for days CCTV broadcast each new leader's resume and experience on television.

Our election went pretty much the same way. Our sponsors and his team sat behind a large pile of the candidates' resumes. One by one, they went up to the front, dressed in business suits, and delivered speeches accompanied by Power Point presentations. It lasted all morning. Some people used clever words or catchy design to capture the audience, and, hopefully, swing a vote. I quite enjoyed those few who employed Mao-era shouting techniques and one guy's resorting to a comedian's infamous style. A couple of candidates tried to play things cool, but you could tell most were really taking this seriously. In fact, those least prepared were the ill-informed foreigners (a common occurrence). 

The meeting then turned a corner. Half election, half audition for American Idol, our candidates began to show off their talents. There was singing, dancing, and one girl presented some of her drawings. Rather than being surprised at the demand to see their talents, they actually seemed to expect it! In all, I thoroughly enjoyed the "show," but most of all, I am really looking forward to being more involved. There are a lot of things I'd like to see happen for the foreign students at NENU.