Day 102 - And So It Begins

Thursday, May 19th, 2016

Smog Level: 3/3 Mountains

Feverish

After laying in bed, sweating all morning, I drag myself out to go to school. I have today off, but Mandarin lesson and free food combine to make me move. Part of me thinks that pushing through illness is a valuable ability, while the other half-thinks it's just a mild case of food poisoning. Either way, I'll be further inoculated toward the bugs they've got over here. 

Zombie Walk

Bright sun, gentle breeze, and rustling trees do their best to make me feel welcomed, but I'm focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. People float by, doing their usual thing. A van drives wherever it wants on the walkway. Pardon me. I freak a woman out by walking too close to her as some other men pass. Oh well. Eyes on the prize: just make it to the bus stop. It arrives promptly. 

"This Was A Mistake" 

The food at the caf is … on the low-end of their normal options. Despite being extremely hungry, I can’t seem to bring myself to put much of it in my mouth. Aurora eventually shows up, she quickly eats, and we egress to the teachers lounge. I’m a zombie on a leash.

She’s supposed to teach me mandarin, but I can barely focus on something that requires that much thought. Instead, I edit her book review. Editing doesn’t require much thought at this point, and her English is good enough that it’s not a complete overhaul.

She says she feel bad for forcing me to meet her today. She couldn’t have known, of course, and she didn't force me. I call our meeting short so that I can return to bed and a western toilet. Chinese toilets seem like hell if you are heavily dependent on them.

Words of the Day

English - Mandarin [pronunciation]

Sick
bìng
[bing / be-ung]
Sick Person
bìngrén

[bing-zhen / be-ung-zhen]

Editing Music
野子 (Wild Child)
田馥甄(Hebe) & 蘇運瑩

Note: I learned that R-E words in romanized chinese is pronounced like an english Z, or a french soft J (as in "Je"). Super counter-intuitive, but just another stumbling block to deal with. There's still a small, subtle R in there, but it's more heavily a Z.