Mind the curve!

At both of our Light orientation meetings, it was guaranteed that, about midway through the program, we would reach rock bottom. We would become disillusioned, bored, and homesick. I thought it wouldn't happen to me. After all, I thought, homesickness was a major feature of the first few days. Having gotten past that, I thought I wouldn't need to "mind the curve", as our little Light-given notepads remind us. Oh, ho, how foolish I was! By this Monday, how sick I was of China! The problem began last week, came to a head last weekend with my boorish Chinese baba, and finally, Monday, tumbled downhill to reap the fields of despair!

Needless to say, I feel a lot better now (that's the whole "curve" idea--up, down, up). In fact, I found myself, a few minutes ago, casually scanning the Light website for year-long opportunities in Harbin...

But back to the present. A load of clothes is drying downstairs on the fourth floor. The new washing machines here at the conference center are really kicking. I've recently worked out a homework system which both maximizes efficacy (my score) and minimizes time. Instead of doing my homework in the evening, I use the breaks in between sections of class (about an hour, all tolled) to read tomorrow's chapter and do today's work. I finish most of the remaining problems during my lunch break (a generous hour and a half). This method has been facilitated by my ever-faster learning of each day's "recitation from memory" passage, which used to consume most of my break time. Now it typically takes an easy fifteen or twenty minutes after lunch.

I'm going to look at buying a book or two for the ten-hour trip to Shanghai. The campus bookstore is nice, and has some tasty titles in English dealing with Taoism and Chinese medicine, as well as excellent dictionaries, but I'm going to ask around and see if there's another bookstore, either large or near (better yet, both), that I might browse for a little Friday evening adventure.

Have I earlier mentioned that China is very verdant? There are plants /everywhere/. The gardens are well-kept, and the plentiful trees are tall and spindly. I re-notice this almost every day as I'm out and about campus.

A couple of other notes:

What will the living situation be like in Shanghai? Will there be internet access? No clue. Internet access is, in China, a pain.

One thing I can't get used to in China: awful service at restaurants. I sat at my table in Cafeteria No. 2's second-floor restaurant for five or more minutes waiting on a menu, as lazy and rude waitress after lazy and rude waitress passed, milling uselessly. I left and went to the Muslim restaurant, where I have some cred with the wait staff and manager-man. They get me my food in a flash, and extremely politely.

P.S. I know it's a cultural thing, the cruddy service in China. However, even if it's culturally conditioned bad service, it's still bad service.

P.P.S. My post-Shanghai goal: with my Chinese conversational skills competent and subway knowledge passable, I want to get out and do more exploring! If I can find someone interested to explore with me, that is... most would-be explorers are mainly interested in exploring China's alcohol culture on Friday nights, it seems.

P.P.P.S. Shanghai: my number one mission is the search for the elusive /ngu/ "I", apparently largely replaced by /ala/ ("I, we" (orig. "we")). Wish me well!