Sunday, September 21, 2008

Shout out to Grant Watters

Howdy Ho folks! Well, first things first, I got a new camera. So get ready for some super awesome pictures. I was considering getting a nice camera, like a Canon D60 or something of that nature, but I decided I would save the money and just get a little bit higher end regular camera. So far it's the best Christmas present I've ever gotten. Also, we found out our itinerary for our trip next week (after a ceremony in which we apparently pledged not to speak English in our apartments). We will be following the Silk Road, starting with a 20 hour train ride to Xi'an. The ride won't be too bad, because it's an over-nighter and we got a soft sleeper (which is like first class). I'm mostly going to sleep and take a lot of Tylenol PM and sleep some more. We are also going to Urumqi, which is in the far northwest corner of China. It's the largest city in that province (which is the something something autonomous region) and it only has 2 million people (which for China is like a small town). We will get to see the great wall on it's western most edge, and also I think go sledding down a giant sand dune. I'm also excited because according to weather.com the highs have been in the upper 60's, and it's in the desert, so no more humidity. Shanghai feels like Vietnam. I get back sweat pretty much the second I walk out the door. And also the sweat that I can sometimes feel trickling down from my "pecs" to my belly. So I'm definitely excited for the change in climate. And also, it apparently is supposed to get cool here sometime soon. It needs to. Mom, you would hate it right now.

Other than that, things are going well. I'm excited to travel, and also to say that after the trip I will have been across China. I'm trying hard to remember what has happened since I last wrote. Class is reasonably lame. In my Chinese politics class, I can't seem to figure out how to stay awake (it's a 3 hour class on Friday afternoon, cut me some slack). The material is very interesting though, and as you can imagine, the inner workings of the People's government can be very complex and oddly intertwined. My favorite class, by far, is the Issues in Contemporary Society class. Our teacher is very lively, and has a style of exploring Chinese society in a very Southwestern-esque style (by which I mean a liberal-academic-feminist lens, which is a fun way to look at China). It's fascinating. And Chinese class is intense, but good.

Anyhow, I suppose that's all for now. I hope things are well at home. I miss everybody. I'm excited for Dad to come visit for our break. I'm already preparing a list of things for him to bring in the extra bag (among which are Shiner Bock, queso making supplies, and if we can find a way to do it, DVD recordings of some cowboy's games).

Also, Sarah Palin is crazy.

That is all.

Also, are things going to be okay with America's financial situation?

2 comments:

tricia said...

i'm pretty jealous of this trip you guys get to go on.

we're just going to hainan and bumming it on the beach for a week.

also, i get paid AND my passport at some point this week (fingers crossed) so be expecting a trip from me soon!!

Kacy said...

things are relatively okay with the economy. the government is going to buy out the banks that are going under, so no need to worry. however, it is a major upheaval. i am just hoping that my bank that has my student loan goes under and then i can be free of all that debt. i don't know if it works that way.