Fire Emblem

The much-awaited(?) gigantic final post has arrived, wherein I dump all of the stories and pictures I haven't shown you yet!

First order of business: We saw the Olympic torch as it came through Qingdao! In order to get a good spot, we woke up before 5 so we could leave the dorm as soon as they unlocked the doors at 5:30.

We weren't the only ones.



The intersection immediately in front of campus was one of the major gathering points to view the relay, and so there was plenty of entertainment to keep folks busy until the torch came through.



And the videotape, featuring the voices of the lovely Lisa and the enchanting Jessica:
http://picasaweb.google.com/GandalftheCrazed/FireEmblem/photo#5236421143261120930

Unfortunately, it turns out that getting up early was largely pointless, as the sidewalks had been divided into sections reserved for those businesses and organizations which had sponsored certain aspects of the Olympics. After a short time of pretending "we don't speak Chinese, what are you saying?", we were gradually moved further and further down the sidewalk by police until we ran across a group who took pity on us and allowed us to stand in one corner of their reserved section.

Then the waiting game began. It was a few hours long, but I don't remember exactly how many.

Some of us were industrious and studied:



Others read Kurt Vonnegut:



Still others stood around in boots with nothing to do because their so-called "friend" had stolen a certain Kurt Vonnegut book from them. For shame, Miss Dickson.

Then the precursors to the torch began to arrive.

Because nothing says "Olympics" quite like a Coca-Cola themed truck featuring dancing Chinese people wearing Ronald McDonald wigs.



And finally came the big moment. The big moment of which I largely have no record because approximately a bazillion Chinese people materialized out of thin air between me and the torch, each of them carrying a flag about the size of the Chrysler building. Through the crowd, I managed one semi-decent shot, where "semi-decent" is defined as "the torch is visible".



Here ends the tale of the Olympic torch.

In China, the 4th of July is the best of times, and it's the worst of times. On the one hand, it's an excuse for all of us to get together, throw a party, and speak and sing English as much as we want without feeling guilty that we're not studying.



The original plan was for us to take a grill and some hot dogs to the beach, where we would light fireworks, sing, and generally party like it's 2009. But then it rained.

So we ended up going to The Duzi with a grill and some hot dogs, where we lit fireworks, sang, and generally partied like it was 2009. We filled all of their back room, most of their front room, and spilled out the front of the building to man the grill. We sang The Star-Spangled Banner and Hey Jude, among other songs that I don't remember.



Never before have so many given so much for such a terrible-tasting hot dog. Seriously, the degree of planning and price-comparing that went into choosing and procuring these pieces of garbage was matched only by the degree to which they were different from anything American.
Ironically, the Chinese students who attended the celebration didn't like them either. I can only assume that somewhere, there exists an alien species which considers Shineway brand meat sticks to be a delicacy.

Fortunately, we had other Americanisms to take the place of hot dogs. Of course, even they required slight improvisation:



(Yes, Virginia, that is a chopstick.)

Speaking of improvisation, one night we decided to make cookies. We (meaning, Natalie) made the dough, but lacked an oven. Fortunately, we (meaning, Miles) had just the thing:

A wok.



Like me, they weren't much to look at, but had excellent taste. Given that they were cookies from a wok, we decided to dub them "wookiees". Yes, like the guy from Star Wars.

I realized that I haven't yet posted a picture of my tutor, Wendy.



Here she is, in all her blurry glory (I swear, she has some sort of anti-camera field around her) at our favorite ice cream/milk tea place. (She practically refused to smile for the camera. I think it's a Chinese thing, kinda.)

In the States, we often joke about street signs, like the infamous "SLOW children at play". As it turns out, China has a pretty well-known version of this joke, which I unwittingly posted last year.



The intended meaning of this sign is, "Be careful, don't slip". However, the lower left character has (at least) two pronunciations and two corresponding meanings. If you interpret it the wrong way, the sign reads, "Slide carefully."

I think I've reached some new threshold of nerdiness by telling this joke.

Immediately before returning home, several of us traveled to Beijing for the weekend to experience the Olympics. We took the night train, a nine hour ride. For some reason, the train staff refused to change the channel on the onboard TV sets so we could watch the opening ceremonies. Not to worry, though, because we periodically received text messages from our classmates back in Qingdao, assuring us that we were missing the best opening ceremony in the history of awesomeness.

Such good friends.

Instead, we passed the time by playing cards, daring each other to befriend the girls in the next row, and sleeping under the seats.



This is the apartment that we stayed in for the weekend. All five of us. Later, we were informed by some guys who lived in the same building that we had been ripped off, which I have no trouble believing, though it served our purposes well enough.

For the more observant of you, yes that is exactly what it looks like, and believe me, there is no better way to make a 3-guy, 2-girl living situation slightly awkward.

The girls went to watch gymnastics on Saturday, while Kennedy, McDaniel and I went to the Temple of Heaven.



(Where's Waldo? Kennedy is in this shot.)

The temple grounds are absolutely ginormous. They're probably not bigger than you can imagine, but they're bigger than you will imagine. While exploring these grounds, we came across a grove that looked like something out of a movie -- flawless rippling grass, exquisitely placed trees. We stepped over the barely-even-a-fence and went wandering. About halfway across the field, we stopped under a tree to rest and take in the scenery. Kennedy said, "You know what this spot would be good for?"

And that is the story of how I came to take the best nap of my entire life, on ground where emperors have trod.



We wandered the back streets and residential alleyways of Beijing that night, and ate Peking Duck, which is every bit as good as its reputation would suggest. The next day, we hopped on a plane, which brought us to Chicago a full hour before we had even departed.

If I was interested in defending my reputation, I would simply tell you how good it felt to be back in the land of the free and the home of the brave, or about how impatient I was to make the last leg of the trip to Memphis and rejoin my family. In reality, while those things are true, two other things were and are also at the front of my mind: Mt. Dew, and China.

The first thing I did after we cleared customs and security at O'Hare was to seek out a drink stand which carried large bottles of Mt. Dew. I was about to approach the cashier and ask for one, when panic struck: "I don't know the Chinese word for Mt. Dew!!!"

"Oh, wait. They speak English here."

(Ironically, the cashier had a thick Indian accent and slightly curious grammar.)

As for why China is still at the front of my mind...the reality is that it's a home to me now. Maybe not home-home, but also more than a "home away from home." The language, the architecture, the crazy T-shirts, the food (and food prices), all of it is just ingrained into me now, like sweet tea. I'm hoping to go back next summer, but plans are sketchy right now. Until then, I'll just have to say...


Home

Sweet

Home.

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Hey, I ain't dead yet. ;-) I apologize for the lack of posts in the past...week? 2 weeks? I don't even know. Finals will do that to a guy. In any case, there /will/ be another post here.

Just not right now. I'll probably be home before I get it put together. It'll be the last one, and it (hopefully) will be huge.

Just, uh, not right now. ;-)