Some observations that one might not make instantly about China

• Some people keep all of their fingernails trimmed. Except for one. Which they grow to a disgusting length. You might think the purpose is to gross out foreigners, but it's actually a status symbol. With a nail that long you can't do manual labor, and most of these people are from the country side
• High school in China is super intense. But once you get to college it's pretty much clear sailing because the classes are too big to closely monitor student progress and because everyone slacks together, so there is no pressure except for about once a month
• Long Jing Tea is Hangzhou's famous tea, but I am pretty sure that it tastes like tree bark. I much prefer Ou-Long Tea
• Nearly 1/2 of our program has been in the director's office in tears
• I am addicted to Sprite (雪碧). I have it at nearly every meal, using it to counter act whatever foreign food I am eating
• I have lost weight (but not much, Grandma!)
• Every Tuesday I go to 家乐福a combination mall/uber-Target to visit friends that I made that work in a Tea Shop. They give me free tea, but I try to avoid Long Jin!
• I ride my bicycle all around the city--it's really pretty amazing. The city is rather compact, so 20 minutes can get you most places, and the bicycle traffic is more or less undescripable. I was terrified of it for the first month and a half
• I had Thanksgiving dinner at Pizza Hut with the only other year long student

Hopefully you find these musings thrilling and wonderful. In exactly three weeks I will be on a plane to come home. Thank God for Christmas! Above is me with my roommate, Wang Guo Jiang