Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Hi, hello, what's your name?

Hello!
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Not too much has changed since last I wrote. I guess plenty has changed, but it's all been in my head.
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My co-workers call me "Topher". There is a girl named Christine who works there and they used to call her Chris, but now I'm around, so I'm a "Topher" and she's "Dean" (-tine) or "Dean-dean". I don't think they know that "Dean" is a masculine name, so they all just think it's funny.
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One of my students is named "Lily Rong", and "Rong" sounds similar to "wrong". A couple of months ago during class, I exclaimed, "That's RIGHT, Lily Rong!"
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My 14-year-old brother loves Daft Punk. Can you say "Mission Accomplished"? I can!

Mission Accomplished!
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The irony of the relationship between happiness and money is only ironic if you think like a monster.
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Here's another "a couple of months ago during class" story: One of my closest friends in China is my manager person. She and her significant other are Chinese, around my age, and they are both good friends of mine. Anyway, I was teaching a class and she was my "assistant teacher" or whatever. Right in the middle of class, out of nowhere, she looked at me and said, in front of all the students in English, "I think you've gotten a bit fatter!"

I mention that she's a friend because this is how it works in China... Cultural Differences 101.

What did I do? I smiled and kept on teaching.
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A quick note: I would recommend that we don't lift up the typical Chinese diet as "ideal" or "healthy" by any means.
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I left some of my money in a pocket of one of my jeans before I put in the washer...

I laundryed my money. Baaaaaah.
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The latest Eisley album gets better every time I listen to it.

Eisley- The Valley. I highly recommend.
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I don't have a TV but I was given the opportunity to watch the National Geographic Adventure and National Geographic Wild channels a couple of weeks ago. I could watch those shows all day.

Actually, I could go to the places and do the things and see the sights that all of those people are seeing... all day.
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There's nothing quite like a near-empty inbox.
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For you Chinese music fans, the latest 方大同 album is pretty superb.
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I'm gonna be a pirate.
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I'll try to post more often!