There are a few different groups of students here from different areas of the world. I'm not sure whether everyone harbors rivalries or it's just us Americans making it up. The Koreans are pretty sheisty. There are no clothes driers here and we have to hang dry our clothes. The Koreans have a penchant for stealing them. The French we don't like because, well, they're French. The Japanese we don't really have an issue with. They're all girls and generally pretty nice. The new ones though are the bane of my existence. The Portuguese. Or we've taken to calling them Brazilians because apparently they hate it.
At first I didn't know why I hated the Portuguese. It may have been something about the way they carried themselves or an undue pride given their faltering economy and long lapsed hegemony. Today though I was finally given a reason. The food they serve us here sucks. One of the few things that's decent are the freedom fries (yes, I called them freedom fries). We've got a good 60 people and the women that work the joint clearly can't count or do basic math so our fries were overrun within seconds. Seeking to pull a jack move I walked to the other side of the building to the room where the Portuguese eat. Only one person was there and their buffet was completely full. I went to get a modest amount of fries and was stopped. "You can't eat here, this is for the Portuguese." I didn't know quite how to react. My first instinct was to say "I'm an American, I'll eat where I please" because, let's be real, it's the Americans who should be keeping the Portuguese out, not the other way around. Instead I let it slide and went back to the Meiggou room. Eventually they brought more freedom fries which were again devoured quickly leaving us wanting. Upon leaving I walked through the room packed with those filthy Portuguese only to find that their tray of fries was half full! Freedom fries are like a quarter of the average American's diet. We need them to survive! Yet while the Portuguese are running a fry surplus and the Americans are running a severe fry deficit they can't even spare me a half serving. That is not justice. I feel like it should be taken to some sort of acronym. Possibly the ECHR, maybe the ICOJ. Optimally, we should just bomb them senseless, but the democratic peace precludes that. Dang!
Here are a bunch of pictures that are in no way related.
In China...
At first I didn't know why I hated the Portuguese. It may have been something about the way they carried themselves or an undue pride given their faltering economy and long lapsed hegemony. Today though I was finally given a reason. The food they serve us here sucks. One of the few things that's decent are the freedom fries (yes, I called them freedom fries). We've got a good 60 people and the women that work the joint clearly can't count or do basic math so our fries were overrun within seconds. Seeking to pull a jack move I walked to the other side of the building to the room where the Portuguese eat. Only one person was there and their buffet was completely full. I went to get a modest amount of fries and was stopped. "You can't eat here, this is for the Portuguese." I didn't know quite how to react. My first instinct was to say "I'm an American, I'll eat where I please" because, let's be real, it's the Americans who should be keeping the Portuguese out, not the other way around. Instead I let it slide and went back to the Meiggou room. Eventually they brought more freedom fries which were again devoured quickly leaving us wanting. Upon leaving I walked through the room packed with those filthy Portuguese only to find that their tray of fries was half full! Freedom fries are like a quarter of the average American's diet. We need them to survive! Yet while the Portuguese are running a fry surplus and the Americans are running a severe fry deficit they can't even spare me a half serving. That is not justice. I feel like it should be taken to some sort of acronym. Possibly the ECHR, maybe the ICOJ. Optimally, we should just bomb them senseless, but the democratic peace precludes that. Dang!
Here are a bunch of pictures that are in no way related.
In China...
This is a Holiday Inn by the airport
7-11s serve lots of interesting meals, not just snacks.
And yell at you for taking pictures.
And yell at you for taking pictures.
Cigarrettes are still prominently displayed in department stores
Buicks are a status symbol
and look way meaner than Buicks in the States
those simple stick figures that explain simple concepts are remarkably complex, really cool looking and sometimes hilarious
Birthday cakes are all angel food, but the choice comes in when you pick the fruit on top
Fish are sold like lobsters...
... and stingrays are sold like fish.
The Chinese are really big on fish. I can't figure out which ones are sold live and which ones are iced though. If anything the iced ones usually look more exotic.
The Chinese are really big on fish. I can't figure out which ones are sold live and which ones are iced though. If anything the iced ones usually look more exotic.
Regular farm animals make up a large portion of the zoos, and for some reason like to put on a show
but like in America, it's still the three legged monkey that's the crowd pleaser
there are surprisingly few commie flags flying.
toilets don't have seats and instead involve squatting (this is not a urinal).
Seriously though, the bathrooms here are disgusting. In busy ones piss gets tracked all over the floor, it's slippery even by the sinks.
Seriously though, the bathrooms here are disgusting. In busy ones piss gets tracked all over the floor, it's slippery even by the sinks.
they have super efficient ways of wasting your food stamps. "China Welfare Lottery". Actually I'm pretty sure they don't have any social welfare programs here, and it's possible this isn't a lottery in the sense I'm thinking... but that doesn't make it any less funny.
when you order "lemon black tea" in the school cafeteria they still give you Lipton.
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