teadrinkingraven

I’m trying to decide on East Asian Studies with a focus in Chinese or Chinese language pedagogy.

I’m getting a small plot of land soon to plant veggies!

Kyoto to visit Junko
Shopping with Aki
Pick up Kansai-ben
Go to snowy mountains in Hokkaido and watch monkeys from a boat or onsen (especially this)
Eat Okonomiyaki without burning a hole in my wallet

Originally, my bf and I were going to completely customize our trip to China with these cities in mind: Suzhou, Hangzhou, Huangshan, and Nanjing. We knew the exact sites we wanted to see and the accommodations were already selected but we had doubts about transportation. (Apparently public buses are a pathological nightmare.) And since we are still really newbie at this traveling alone stuff, we decided that the first time in China would be best with a tour. After some research, we found one gem of a package on Gecko’s Adventures. It’ll cost us at least $2000 for the land tour alone but it’s off the beaten path and includes everything we dreamed of visiting. This way, we’ll have the piece of mind of not freaking out over getting lost or running out of money while we’re there.

All that’s left now is finding the cheapest flights, preparing our tourist visas, reading safety tips, and saving a lot of money for emergency funds. We expect to depart either in late March to April or May to June.

Update 03/20/09
Tickets and tour packages have been purchased and visa applications have been sent out! We leave on April 22th and return May 22th. It’s official!

Update 03/26/09
Bought travel insurance, will send out the papers tomorrow.
Deposit for hotel reservations in Huangshan paid.
Need to book reservation for two days in Shanghai and train tickets to and from Huangshan as well as research common scams, travel safety, and good places to eat.

Update 04/07/09
Only about 2-3 weeks until I fly out from MCO. Got a notice from the tour guide that there might be changes trip itinerary: we might be skipping the areas that border Tibet due to some political stuff going on there. Instead of Langmusi and Xiahe, we may be going to Emei Shan, Datong, and a few other great places.
Doing research on recommendations made by friends. 全聚德 in Beijing but I’m not sure if it’s worth it yet.
(http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/China/Beijing_Shi/Beijing-1024960/Restaurants-Beijing-Quan_Ju_De_Peking_Duck-BR-1.html)
Looking up bakeries now， like 稻香村. http://www.daoxiangcun.com/
北京市东城区东直门内大街19号 电话：010-84043305

Travel companies that offer reductions on hotel rates:
Chinaetravel
http://www.chinaetravel.com
China Travel
http://www.chinatravel.com
Ctrip
http://english.ctrip.com
Elong, Inc
http://www.elong.com/www.elong.net
Sinohotel
http://www.sinohotel.com

Possible accommodations:
Hostels:
Mingtown Etour Int’l Hostel in Shanghai ($9.23)
http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/MINGTOWNEtourInternationalYouthHostel-Shanghai-12164

Koala Int’l Youth Hostel in Shanghai ($15)
http://www.hostelworld.com/availability.php

Mingtown Suzhou Int’l Youth Hostel ($8)
http://www.hostelz.com/hostel/93892-Mingtown-Suzhou-International-Youth-Hostel

Green Tree Inn Suzhou Kaixuanmen Hotel ($33)
Expedia Deal

Sights I want to see:
Buddhist Temple
Confucian Temple
Daoist Temple
Scholar’s Garden
Palace
Mountain
Yangtze River
Lake
Forest
Waterfall
Cave
Art museum
Silk making
Castle
Tea House

or a place I can really call home

I bought a Clairol Nice N’ Easy dye kit from Wal-mart and followed the instructions after putting on a .87 cent poncho and smearing petroleum cream around my hairline. My little sister also helped section my hair and comb some of the dye on. Forty-five minutes later, my hair looks soft, shinier, and slightly brighter.

I have dark hair that is hard to bleach and have had it professionally dyed before. It saved me a lot of money and I got the results I wanted. For subtle changes and root touch ups, I’d definitely try this one again (not without an extra hand of course) but for something more dramatic, I think I’d go to the salon… but wow… $6 vs. $65. Judging from the price alone, the choice seems obvious.

every night for at least 6 months…

ARGH…so far no good.
Need to set the laptop away from me at night!

Been below the normal BMI forever and I need some healthy pounds and muscle!

Going off the bloodtype diet has made my metabolism more efficient than ever so I’ll just need to increase my calorie intake and work out regularly (lift weights?).

...and resist the temptation to buy anymore.

This includes clothes I don’t wear, books I won’t read, little knickknacks I bought as souvenirs, electronics I don’t use, etc.

Took it in December of 2008 but I was too ambitious and didn’t pass. I might consider retaking it when I am truly ready.
I don’t think this goal is worth much but measuring fluency is tricky. My long term goal is to achieve real understanding of what I’m reading and watching for fun.

Took four semesters of Zhongwen at UCF and used the New Practical Chinese Reader Texts but I still feel like I don’t know diddlysquat. I can get the gist of what my boyfriend and his family say when they talk to each other but I can only form very basic sentences. I would like to reach the point where I can fully understand what is being said and speak enough to tell jokes, have polite discussions, and explain how I feel or what I need.

Right now I’m listening to Serge Melnik’s listening files while I drive and I hope to watch more Taiwanese dramas to get a better sense of the language’s pace. And I might go over some NPCR texts for the vocabulary. I should write and chat to my Chinese language exchange friends more often, possibly use the mic feature on MSN. Maybe start skimming blogs? Although I’m nowhere near that level yet.

I wonder where I can get a hold of Chinese kid shows online though. Maybe I’ll just grab a few things when I’m in Shanghai or Taipei…

—-update june 26, 2009-——

I found a Chinese tutor that can help me get my speaking up to speed for 4-6 hours a week! Also, planning on attending a Chinese school on Saturdays starting August. I’m real excited.

In the meantime, I’m getting an overview of Chinese history from John King Fairbank’s China A New History.

—-update june 30, 2009-—-—

I’ve been reviewing from my old textbooks from college, 新实用汉语课本. Right now I’m trying to review about 3 chapters a day. I’m almost done with book one.

As of now, according to the book, I am capable of (albeit in a plain and simple way):

问候别人， 文需要，人指认， 问国籍， 问姓名， 自我介绍， 请求允许， 找人， 告别， 问地点，道谢，评论，建议，请求重复，婉拒，初次见面，谈专业，谈家庭，问职业，谈学校，约会，问年龄和出生，祝贺生日，喜欢不喜欢，解决语言困难，买东西 … etc.

—-update july 22, 2009-—-—
Been getting help from a Chinese friend online and the tutor on Sundays. Working on sentence structures and tenses atm.