Wow! Two entries in one week!!! Gasp!!! Can this be true?!! Hehe, actually have no class today, and in the middle of The Sopranos series marathon, I thought I might as well update because I'm not sure I'll be back online this Christmas weekend. With Ebe Dancel's Sugarfree as my background music, here we go...

It's the 23rd of December, and Christmas draws near. Having accustomed to the Filipino type of frenzy when it comes to this occasion, the birthday of Christ here seems a little "silent". I mean, you don't know it's almost Christmas unless you glance at the calendar and stare at shock. In our country, the sure sign of Christmas is the blaring sounds of caroling songs everywhere...and this is just in September. Yep, we Filipinos experience Christmas very earlier, building up the frenzy till the day itself. Here, its like, wow, its Christmas day, ok, back to studying.
Bleeech...

At least we'll have a white Christmas here. Fate and Mistress Weather decided to share their sentiments of the holiday season by blessing us with a nice snowfall these past couple of days ago.

SNOW!!!!

Wow, after weeks of anticipating, we finally got these white flurry things falling on our heads, shoulders and bodies. It was a delightful surprise, waking up in the morning and drawing back the curtains to reveal a white blanket around the university. Had my first snowball fight after class ( Being boys and all, and seeing snow for the first time, of course we couldn't resist, hehe ) then the inevitable picture taking of everything from the rooftops to benches to trees and, in one weird occasion, even the drainage ditch.

It was fun while it lasted, till evening came and we discovered what dirty snow looks like. Kinda like fine gravel. Or sand even. In any case, it's kinda disgusting to actually wade through the stuff.

Today is also the anniversary of Mom and Dad, and they're having a great time in Manila, where they'll be spending their Christmas with Mom's sister, my auntie. Things are a little hectic there, as Mom is in the middle of carrying loads and loads of bargain stuff. On a side note, what is it with females and shopping? Don't they hate the aggravation of pushing through the crowds of people and bickering over an item worth only 10 pesos? And don't they know they actually spend a lot more when it's sale day than on a normal day? Sigh.....

Having surfed the web, I discovered a much better blog site at blogger.com and I might tranfer there in a month or so. I'll be closing my account on this one and moving all my stuff there, so don't worry, everything I've written will still be intact.

Ok, that's it, back to studying again. Before I leave, here's something special for this occasion that I was able to update twice ( and hopefully more ) this week. The 23 facts when living in Beijing...
1. Bring deodorants ( there no such things here )
2. Bring alcohol, disinfectant ( also no such things around here )
3. Beware of "Kwaaaaak-Du!!!" ( spitting galore )
4. Local people here bathe once a week. When talking to them, staying windward is helpful. Unless...
5. They also brush their teeth once a week.
6. Also with shampooing their hair.
7. And cleaning their ears.
8. Then there's no choice but to talk to them 10 meters away.
9. Speaking of which, shouting, cursing and spitting at the same time complete with hand gestures is a perfectly typical conversation.
10. Bargain to death! Ask 80% off the original price!!
11. Have a blood check up. Every dish here is literally swimming in cooking oil. By the time you leave China, you'll have oil for blood.
12. Great service means literally throwing the chopsticks and slamming the plates on the table, ignoring the customers and ,when serving soup, sometimes have their thumbs inside it. Woopeedo...
13. Learn how to use chopsticks unless you did plan to diet and be thin.
14. Can't understand what they're saying? Try this: "Ting bu dong! Qing ni shou hen man ma? ( I can't understand! Please you speak very slowly! )
15. For the lovers out there, here's a nice song: Yue Liang by Teresa Teng
16. For absolute reality entertainment, TV3 jikou. Sample: Guy ask TV3 to investigate his girlfriend, finds her cheating, then confrontation ensues, all taken in real time. Good way to practice your Chinese Tingli ( Listening ) too.
17. For protection: "Xiao titi de maozi" ( lit. little brother's cap...get it? )
18. Kaoya ( roast duck ) and Soju ( Korean beer with 27% alcohol ) is the best way to get drunk in 5 minutes.
19. Don't underestimate their guards, even if they look young. They can make a 200 pound man squeal in pain. Think kung fu training since birth.
20. If you're brave, try scorpions, starfishes and bugs at Wangfujing. Totally healthy. That's what they say of course...
21. Try also the snake's blood, turtle meat and rat in a stick. After doing that, tell me how it tasted ok? I'm kinda curious, hehe.
22. It's perfectly acceptable to wear thermals outside. Just thermals. Stripe ones if you're stylish.
23. Finally, if you find yourself in an embarrasing situation or did something stupid..."Dui bu zhi! Wo shi Iniren!! Wo bu zhidao!!!" ( I'm sorry!!!I'm Indonesian! I didn't know!!! )

Disclaimer: Not all Chinese are like this! Actually they're kind and helpful and even go out of the way to give you back the correct change. These are just some of the things I experienced of course, and usually are related to the older local folk. Chinese students here are cool and friendly.

That's it! I'm pooped!! Time to get back to work!!!

Ming dian dian!!! ( See you next time!!! )
State of Mind: Weirdly alive
Song of the Day: Telepono by Sugarfree
Now reading: Groo by Marvel Comics ( got the bootleg online version )
Weather conditions today: Snowfall, 7- C, with scattered showers