Interesting 24 hours.

Today, instead of having Chinese class, our teacher told us that we would have language practice. However, this means real life application. Our class was split into four groups, and we were told to meet at a certain restaurant, so that we could use our newly learned, food related vocabulary. Seeing as I am currently very slow at walking, our group decided to take a taxi. Needless to say, we were the first group to arrive. We met the teacher upstairs, and were set to our team tasks, which included asking for chopsticks, more bowls, more cups, more tea cups, and finally ordering a dish. We were informed that CET would be paying for this lunch, and to practice thoroughly, we were all to order one dish using Chinese. Well, there were 15 people at the table, so we ended up with an incredible amount of food. We had eggplant dishes, chicken dishes, fish dishes, xiao bai dishes, soup, Beijing duck, spare ribs, and a few pork dishes. I've never seen so much food at once. Our teacher also encouraged us to order beer, which was pretty exciting by American standards. On a side note, I have had incredibly horrible stomach pains all morning, and I really didn't think that I would be able to leave my room, much less go out to a restaurant. Thankfully, I rallied my strength and was able to eat way too much food, for about the third meal in a row. So to recap, I have a cold, I have a bum ankle, and I have a hefty stomach ache. China is trying to kill me. On the bright side, all the Chinese roommates have been very helpful. When they found out that I had hurt my ankle, they were quick to offer help and advice. Apparently in China, it's impossible to find ice, but my roommate and Muh's roommate both brought me the Chinese equivalent of Icy-Hot. Also, my roommate brought me a walking stick....though I'm not really too up on using it. All in all, I was very surprised at how helpful and patient all of the roommates have been so far. I hope I can return the favor one day.

Last night, there was a group activity called the "Name Chop," where all of the students and their roommates were invited to carve their Chinese names onto a small rock stamp. Traditionally, this is how documents were signed in China. The man who was in charge of teaching us to both use calligraphy brushes and carve our stones was what I would describe as new age. He told us to balance our Qi and breathe deeply. Even some of the Chinese roommates were snickering at him. By the end of the event, I had painted a large character, that I believe means peace, painted my Chinese name next to it, and also stamped the painting in red ink with my newly carved stamp. There is a new picture up on the new picture site of both my artistic endeavor and of all the food that I ate for lunch today. I hope you enjoy!