01-21-2020

 

 I am now home! But first, here are some pictures of the Airbnb I stayed at last night in LA. I guess I didn't think to get any pictures of the inside...because no, I did not sleep outside 😆 I just wanted to eat a snack for dinner and the host's request was to not eat in the room.

我回家了！但先看看这些洛杉矶的一个Airbnb(爱彼迎)的图片，我昨晚住在这儿。别担心，我不是在外面睡觉 😆 只是忘了拍里面的照片。 因为房东不允许房客在里面吃饭，所以我在外面吃了晚饭。晚饭吃了一个小吃，那天我不太饿，因而晚饭吃得很少。

It's a little confusing because I left China on 1/20 and also arrived in LA the same day. 

有点迷惑的是我1月20日离开中国，同一天到达洛杉矶。

01-20-2020

 

On my way home!

Beijing Capital International Airport (domestic departures terminal)

01-19-2020

Final meal with the roomie before returning home! I think I have taken a picture of the beef curry dish on the right, but not of the chicken dish on the left.

It's SO GOOD I LOVE THIS PLACe

01-18-2020

 

More pictures of our performance day about a month ago. In this picture, one of my female classmates was putting make up on a male classmate to make his skin look clearer and whiter 😆

 

This was a picture of the stage from my group's assigned seats.

 

Two of my classmates also sang together in a separate act. They both sing very well! The male classmate in the first picture getting make up applied also sings well.

01-17-2020

 

This is a picture of the ceiling in the theater on the south campus where we performed about a month ago. I just thought this looked cool and came out especially well in photograph form.

01-16-2020

 

These are teacher apartments on my campus as seen during the evening. These pictures were taken on Christmas day as I waited to hear from the teacher I had dinner with.

01-15-2020

 

 There's just something classy sounding about disposable paper goblets.

01-14-2020

 

Guilty of starting to eat before taking this picture! This meal was from a restaurant at the south campus cafeteria. It's basically bibimbap (a Korean dish) without any meat. It still tastes good, and I've ordered it several times 😁

01-13-2020

 

I know I have posted a picture of the little buns on the right before, but I noticed I never uploaded a picture of what's on the left! It's 粥 (zhou), a very common breakfast food, which is usually translated into English as 'porridge' (but, if I'm being perfectly honest, I don't have a good idea of what exactly porridge is..)

There are many different types of 粥 because you can put a lot of different things in it. But at the very least it is in part made by boiling rice for a long time. I think the picture has 八宝粥, which translates as 'eight treasure zhou'. The 8 refers to the fact that there are 8 different items added to the 粥. I can't remember what they all are right now, and I'm sure you could find out by googling it, but I know there are at least peanuts and dates.. 

Sometimes 粥 is consumed on the go by putting it in a cup and drinking it through a straw. I have never done that, and honestly it seems a little weird to me because I feel the consistency is more suited to eat like a soup than to drink in that way..

01-12-2020

 

A picture I took a while back of the south campus cafeteria. This is the third floor, which is also the top floor.

01-11-2020

 

More snow pictures. The picture above was taken on the bus from the south campus to the north campus.

 

The building closest to the camera in this picture is one of the dorms for international students. Most of the students who live here are not scholarship students and instead pay tuition. The first floor of this building also houses the international student offices. 

This building is towards the back of campus, so the snow crews don't do as thorough of a job cleaning up here in comparison to other parts of the school. But I kind of like it. It feels like a mini winter wonderland, especially when the snow is all scraped up and off in other places.

01-10-2020

 

冬至 may have come and gone, but any day is a good day to eat dumplings!

01-09-2020

 

Posting old pictures from the same day again 😅 I've been a little busy studying for exams..

Anyways, this was before my roommate and I went to the mall. These pictures were taken around campus. The first two pictures were taken near a kuaidi (快递) pickup spot. I'm not sure if kuaidi is similar or related to regular postal service delivery, but I guess an equivalent might be Fedex. We were there because my roommate had a package to pick up.

The third picture was taken near the south gate of the north campus. The ground painting on that parking lot was completed recently, and to be honest I don't really get it...it is the only parking lot decorated in that way so it seems like the money would have suited something else better. I'm also not sure what building the parking lot is next to, that might have something to do with it..

But at least you can see the seal of the university, which is cool in my opinion. The left side (which would be the top if viewing it from the correct angle) is the Chinese name of the university, the right side (bottom) is the English name, so the middle must be what I assume is the Mongolian name of the university, but I can't read Mongolian.

01-08-2020

 

When my roommate and I were walking through the mall over the weekend we walked through this arcade which also included a mini indoor roller coaster! (first picture) 

There were also bumper cars which my roommate and I assumed were for kids, but we saw adults riding in them 😁

01-07-2020

 

Here are a couple things I saw at the store with my roommate that amused me.

Above are chips. What's funny about the ones with dogs on them is that they are marketed as "单身狗" chips. 单身 means 'single' (as opposed to married) and 狗 literally means 'dog' but in this phrase refers to someone/something that is dirty/unwanted, etc (think of a nasty, awful looking and smelling stray dog. I'm not saying you shouldn't help such a dog!! just as an illustration). It's kind of like how we use the animal 'pig' to describe someone who is a slob (I say that because I feel like it's not super common to refer to someone as a dog in English)

Anyways, 单身狗 is internet slang (memery?) that refers to someone who is single (not in a relationship), like a pitiful, lonely person. (My translation app also adds that this is a phrase used self-deprecatingly.) As far as an English counterpart...maybe something like 'forever alone'?

Get your pack of 3 tampons for ¥10!! (?????)

Ok I get that Chinese women very rarely use tampons and much strongly prefer diapers, I mean pads (#sorrynotsorry), and I think I understand the economics behind this, but it is just bizarre to me!

So I imagine most tampons, as you can see from the ones in this picture, are imported, making them a little expensive. And when you buy a huge pack, the high price is (obviously) even more apparent. And if you're someone who has never used a tampon in your life, who doesn't know if you will even like them, it might not be worth it to splurge on a large pack of tampons. So perhaps a smaller one would be more enticing to Chinese consumers. But it is weird to see pack of T H R E E tampons! Is there even such a thing in the US?? I think the smallest pack I recall comes with about 8-10?

But alas, we humans are creatures of habit, especially with these kind of private matters (definitely not a pun), so I don't anticipate the tampon market ever taking off in China. And with that...I'll keep bringing my own from the US 😁

And this might go without saying, but imma throw this out there......if you have extra feminine products (unopened, obviously!!) that you don't like or never use, DONATE THEM!!!!, don't throw them away! Women's shelters, organizations that work with homeless, there are many places that could benefit from these kinds of goods. I don't have any specific organization names, but I would say do a simple internet search for places near you that might have need, find a number to call, and ask if donations are accepted.

01-06-2020

 

tree

(dedicated with Love to Cousin Baby)

01-05-2020

 

Yesterday after dinner, my roomie and I were walking around inside a mall. We came across a store which I don't remember the name of...but it was kind of like a Miniso where they sell a bunch of random crap (I'm trying to think of a direct American equivalent, but I can't...like the 'lifestyle' items at Forever 21, not the clothes, kind of like Claire's but not as kiddie, although still cute, and kind of like Homegoods, especially the random food they sell, but without the furniture. I think that's the best I got.)

Anyways, they had a bunch mini lego packs (obviously not Lego brand, but I'm gonna call them legos for simplicity. and when I say 'mini lego pack' I mean that the legos inside are smaller than traditional lego blocks). There were a lot of different packs, for example there was a boat, a piano, a whale, and so on. We thought they looked cute, and my roomie bought one of a lion. I did not realize she intended to build him tonight...but that's what happened.

 

The pack came with picture instructions on how to build the lion, which I thought were a little lacking (granted my visual-spatial abilities are...not good). Anyways, she persevered and finished it (really, I don't think she stopped or took a break while she was building it). This is what she had to say about the experience: "Actually, it was kind of fun. I think the next time I don't want to study, I'll just go buy one of these and build it. Maybe I'll buy several to build over the winter break, since I'll be here and probably bored."

01-04-2020

 

 Dinner with the roomie! In the middle of the table was a hotpot container (two slots, one for spicy broth and one for non-spicy broth) and a small grill thing for cooking meat. It was buffet style, all you can eat for the hotpot ingredients and the other food. The plate in front of me has rice and meat, the flavors of which reminded me a bit of India Palace ;~; I MISS THAT PLACE

And of course our meal would not be complete without Dayao (carbonated beverage that kind of tastes like bubble gum to me). So no, the bottles in the picture are not beer.

01-03-2020

 

DOGS

This is actually something I thought about recently especially considering we had subzero temperatures during the day this past week...how do these stray doggies live???

dis boi was following me because I was carrying a bag after going to the supermarket. I think he thought I had food for him. I only had chocolate chip cookies, which are Not Appropriate for doggos.

 

I also went to the [south] campus print shop to print something, and dis doggo was chillin inside! 

Afterwards, I went into a store next door, and when I was leaving a doggo (may have been the same one as in the picture above) was trying to go in, and I was like "uh, is it okay for him to come in??" and the shopkeeper said yes 😁

01-02-2020

 

ABZ Burger (Abs, Abz??)

"Be Full Is Very Important"

wise words from the north campus cafeteria

01-01-2020

 

Happy New Year!

This blurry picture was taken on a public bus. I understand what the sign is trying to say, but I actually don't know what this thing is called in English? I assume it is not Life Hammer, which to me sounds like some sort of weapon that a superhero similar to Thor would use. But if anyone knows...please tell me!! I could probably google 'hammers to break glass on buses' but I'm lazy.

The only thing which comes to my mind now is Escape Hammer? 

Anyways, I feel like this is not a thing/concept that has a simple name.

12-31-2019

 

I LOVE THIS SHADE, I AM HERE FOR IT

I went inside a small shop, and this picture was taped to one of the shelves. It's hard to see/read the Chinese because it's in white, but it says something along the lines of 'this woman is a thief' because she presumably attempted to shoplift some goods.

12-30-2019

 

 Bought these outside the school gate yesterday! They're filling, but not my favorite. They're crunchy and also a little sticky on the inside, which makes them hard to eat. And I have a lot. Mainly because I was zoned out while the seller was filling my bag...and I completely forgot that I can say things (and also probably should say things) like "that's enough/that's good/that's too much!!" etc. Oh well 😅

12-29-2019

 

I think this was 红烧牛肉面 (braised beef with noodles) but what surprised me were the carrots! Actually, I think I took the picture AFTER I mixed the food a bit! When I first opened the bowl I wondered, did they just give me a heap of carrots??? 😆

But they did not. Actually, it turned out to be a good number of carrots for the amount of noodles and beef in the container (and actually there was a LOT of beef, I was surprised! Usually restaurants skimp hard on meat, even if the dish has a meat in the name..)

12-28-2019

 

PIZZA NIGHT!!!!

 

it was some sort of barbeque chicken flavor, and it actually wasn't bad! I don't remember the name of the pizza place, but it wasn't an American chain

12-27-2019

 

just in case you can't tell, Chinese New Year is coming up (and no, it's not the same celebration as the new calendar year)

12-26-2019

 

me in a bookstore

 

celine in the bookstore

and the cashier

12-25-2019

blurry selfie with an American pupper! Yes, he is American!!

I had dinner with the American English teacher at a restaurant tonight, but before going I met them at their apartment. She is in China with her husband to study and practice wrestling (they are both wrestlers)! Anyway, this is their dog Buddy who was flown to China from the US, quarantined for seven days, and then shipped from Beijing to Hohhot.

12-24-2019

Check out my classmate's sick tour sweater! The band went to so many awesome American cities like Nashmlle, Miaml, Chcaco, Washington.O.C, Saly Lake City, and the ever popular Asutny.

We had a class meeting today regarding final exams. No class today.