Camera Cat Fish Head Go
Trip Start
Sep 03, 2011
1
9
Trip End
Jul 10, 2012
Where I stayed
The Spot Cafe, Tianjin China
Pearl River University, Bao Di, Tianjin, China
Tianjin, China
Friday, December 30, 2011
For the first time in a long time, I was sardined into a corner while riding the Metro this evening. When I first started my life as a local in China, I would hop in a cab and point to an ad hoping he or she can read body language and my verbally constipating (yet boldly earnest) pin yin. This goes without saying but I'm exceptionally talented at getting lost no matter how many years have been granted for me to familiarize an area. Today I've pushed GPS technology and crutches aside and gave a crack at the printed map. Holy shizer, I'm ashamed (yet not) to say I'm completely incompetent when it comes to even unskillful navigation. I really stink at this. So I'm opening doors for a racist/sexist comment to ensue, aren't I? Anyway, with much determination I found it - The Spot Cafe! And that she is, a blip not wanting to be found on this friggin' map. I spent the entire morning matching the subway stops with my city map and went for it. *Pat on the back for Christine. Yay.
My vacation started a week ago. That equates to more time to relax, more opportunities to practice my Chinglish and executing travel plans for winter break. Today's blog is nothing remarkable. Just a grand tour of my every day minute by minute moments while sipping on an Almond Chai Latte at the (yes, folks) Spot Cafe. I took some pictures starting from my apartment all the way until I've arrived here to give you a feel of "Tianjin" without the mile walk and without freezing your nads/nanas off.
During the past couple of weeks I've learned a couple of words in Mandarin I want to share with you guys - "Jyah Yo," which means "add oil" is an expression that gets tossed around enough that Alzheimer's could set in and I still wouldn't be able to shake this idiom off. If you ever get sick of using words of encouragement in English and need an exclamation, this is my gift to you. It pretty much translates to "You can do it!" or something of that nature. The other word is "Jing Chong" - easy to remember, no? From what my friend told me, it means "often."
Frozen spit. About as appealing as it sounds. I've been able to accept change and find appeal under different circumstances, but public spitting is just as gross to me now as it was when I've first arrived into the land of immense beauty in ancient culture, art, poetry and calligraphy. Old ladies and men of all ages spit in hallways, office buildings, restaurants, sidewalks, streets, malls, corridors, campuses, restrooms and just about any place conceivable to the mind. It's worse now because as winter creeps in loogies freeze and get glued to the ground. Sometimes I'd wish it to be even colder so it would solidify on the way down before it hits the surface. That way, it can be swept aside.
The sounds of gunshots in LA resemble almost too closely to the way fireworks echo off in China. I sometimes forget firearms aren't permitted and get this adrenaline rush every time I hear it. After being conditioned for 29 years, building a callous takes some time... If anyone were to carry weaponry at all, it would be the sharp and shiny kind. To be on the receiving end of either one doesn't seem fun but I suppose bullets are less messy, and mostly seen in black and white film noirs (a genre favorite). The things I think about when I'm not working...
