杭州 Day 4-5

Friday, September 12, 2008: 杭州 Day 4 - Errands Galore
中国 Day 4
Asia Day 4

• Dreamed that all of my family's valuable electronics got jacked. We devised a plan with the police to catch them jackers. We set up a nice, empty house full of televisions and such. Then, we caught the culprits when they busted into the house. Also had another dream that I hung out with Eduardo, who was drunk.

• Got up around 10. Chatted with friends and family.

• Lunch with Romain, Thomas, and Zicheng at a really close restaurant. Ate tofu, two types of veggies, and yummy orange-chicken-style meat, with rice.

• Met with Patricia, Michael, and Alice. Went over some make-up test procedures and looked over the textbooks. Toured Wenyi campus and the facilities.
• We were finding out where to get the microphones and keys to the classroom, and then Michael was asking the lady to help me a bit because I don't speak that much Chinese. The lady said that she deals with a lot of foreign teachers and they don't have to say a word, just sign their names. I thought it was funny so I chuckled and then explained to Patricia what that meant. Michael marveled, "Wah, that was pretty accurate!" I then asked, "How do you say 'Microphone' in Chinese?" "Mai Ke Feng," said Michael. "LOL." Then he said, "You can also say hua tong."

• Came back, chilled for a bit. Handyman came to fix the water heater. Michael came by to deliver an electric oven (cool!). I gave him a map of the U.S. and I talked about U.S. holidays, entertaining him. Then, I mopped the floor, even though he offered to help ^^. I told him, "Hard work builds character."
• After this handyman left, another one was called to fix my somewhat clogged toilet. Well, Michael came back to report the handyman's findings. He said, "He found a lot of toilet paper inside the toilet...next time, don't throw toilet paper into the toilet, throw it into the wastebasket." I was blushing from embarrassment. RAHHH!

• Went shopping with Patricia at Vanguard, bought about 90元 worth of snacks/cleaning supplies. When we came back, I heard a loud watery sound coming from my bathroom. The bathroom was raining...from the hot water heater.

• Called Michael, who got the handyman to come back to turn off the water heater. He shall return tomorrow. I was on the phone with Michael, who taught me a Chinese phrase about patience: "三人行必有我师。" This means that when three people are walking, there's one of them that can become your teacher (you can learn from anything if you have enough patience); this phrase is attributed to Confucius.

• Then, a cleaning lady came by and we had a Chinese convo. She said my Chinese is good, but I was like, "No!! It's not!" LOL. So we had a little chat...and she remarked how young I am and I was like, "Nah, you're young as well."

• At night, I was on the computer for a long-ass time. I finished some homework and chatted. Slept around midnight.

...

Saturday, September 13, 2008: 杭州 Day 5 - Baba Arrives!
中国 Day 5
Asia Day 5

• Dreamed about hanging out at baseball stadiums and seeing the stars and the milky way. It was so beautiful because the sky was lit up with the natural lights of the spectacular galaxy.

• I did some laundry. It was hilarious because the washing machine plays "Jingle Bells" when it starts to wash and just as the washing stops. Later, the handyman came by to fix the hot water heater. Now, 'tis in full working order :D :D.

• I was conversing with Michael about the hot water heater business and he spoke of the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival and how the typhoon is coming. He said, "You can add that to your resume: I survived a typhoon." Haha, I even survived a leaky bathroom and water heater leaking madness. Nothing really surprises me anymore, hah.

• Awesome Jazzy ambiance. Zicheng was playing some jazz on his saxophone, as I heard the sound of cars driving on rainy roads. I look outside my window and see the rain on the ground and a dreary, cloudy gray sky (now it's dark blue). I felt like I'm living downtown in an urban city (which I am), but it doesn't really feel like I'm in China. Really cool effect.

• Baba came today!!! Around 7pm, I heard his loud, notable voice outside of my window and I opened the window to shout, "Hey Baba, come to this building, I'm on the second floor!" Hahaha...and then he came forth and brought some gifts. New hair dryer, new phone, some medicine, and some mooncake. We played with the phone for a bit, and then went to the very front gate to find a cab.
• Inside the cab, he asked the driver where was the best place to eat. The driver said something to the effect of, "hell if I know"...well, it just seemed like he didn't know where anything good was.
• Whilst the cab stopped for a bit, I saw some guy just chillin' on the sidewalk. He was sitting in a straw chair, which was tilted; his feet were planted on a fire hydrant. He was just sitting there, wtf!
• So, we settled on a restaurant not too far from where I live. It was quite nice - nice decorations and colored washing towels (for wiping your hand, in place of napkins). After the waiter directed us to our seats, he set the table, when Baba complained it was too hot. We moved up a few seats, where there was a vent/air conditioning, when Baba said, "Eh?? There's water dripping from that vent." The waitress was like, "Er...there's no way that water can drip down..." when Baba said, "No, see, it dripped on my shirt. Oh, come look, there's water drops on the chair next to me. Sit on it and see..." Baba walked around the restaurant and the waiter subsequently directed us to another seat. It was near a vent, but not underneath one. Baba ordered a bunch of dishes: edamame, small fried/slightly sweet fish, vegetable soup (mushrooms, bok choy, bamboo shoots), a spicy/delicious fish with small bones, beef fiber (I don't know how to say it in English, but in Canto, "gnow gun") soup with white carrots, some bao with meat inside, two bowls of rice, and two 王老吉. I have to say...it was the best meal I've had yet! LOL. I ate a lot...wow. And...the best part was picking out the small bones from the delicious fish meat (okay, the meat itself was the best part, not the bones). Midway through our meal, Baba asked the waitress, "Er...why's it feel so hot? It's as if the vent wasn't working..." and the waitress was like, "Oh, one of our other guests thought it was too cold." So the waitress turned on the vent again. I thought this whole episode was hilarious. Baba is just hilarious.
• After this, we went to Vanguard (my third trip in a row). In the taxi, Baba was pointing out some strange restaurant names and he's like, "Hmm, this sound curious, doesn't it...do you know what they serve?" The cabbie was just like, "Eh, dunno." We also saw some workers taking down some canvas things in preparation for the typhoon, which is coming tonight/tomorrow. Bought pots, dish detergent, and other kitchen stuff. Came back to the apartment...and Baba is washing/cleaning the stuff (scrubbed the sink, wok; washed the floor) for me :/...ahhhhh, I feel like such a lazy arse :'(