Resolutions

Despite the fact that no one will probably ever read this as I will be too cowardly to show it to anyone, and lets face the facts - my life reeealy isn't that exciting ( a lot of people move abroad and too cooler places like niger), I am still going to attempt to write in this thing everyday for the dual purpose of maybe improving my writing and giving myself a record to read when I am 80 and can't even remember the names of my cats anymore - because I am destined to be a cat lady, more on that later.

Anyway, having committed to transcribing my awesome (irony) life to paper everyday, I'm going to need to go out and do things so that I don't fall asleep while writing about myself. this is actually a fairly hard task, because who really does more than a few interesting things everyday? When you consider your life as a whole it seems pretty sweet, but then when pressed to recount events from a single day or even week which are worth writing about people begin to sputter and grasp for some sort of a response. So i'll have to fix that somehow and become an really interesting person.

OK but enough bitching... now I will really start this blog:

Basically my impression of china thus far is a hot, humid polluted blur, filled with food i'm not too crazy about. My apartment is really nice but lacks the feeling of community you get many other places in the world that have local hangouts and coffeeshops etc. I think it is just the area that I live in and not the city itself, this is what I hope at least since I have meet a few really awesome people at coffee shops, you know who you are. Also you can't drink the water, walk anywhere, or eat anything that is uncooked. sounds like paradise. Other than this its great! really. just very different from the US and every time i go outside i find myself covered in sweat and gasping for breath within five minutes. You also can't even see the sun because it is obscured behind a thick and grayish cover of smog, making everyday look not unlike a gray winter day in seattle... my apartment complex, although being one of the nicest in the city has definite communist lineage and reminds me of the huge boxy complexes in siberia clustered around a sad excuse for a "park" in the middle - some scrubby trees and wiry grass attempting to survive amid concrete - i have been told this was all planed for the olympics.

The city is best enjoyed at night when darkness pierced with multitudes of neon lights transform the city into a completely different place. The pollution becomes invisible, the buildings look more graceful and the temperature cools down to bearable levels. Especially if you have a few beers the city becomes quite poetic.

My best experiences here so far:

mastering the art of riding a bike, talking on a cell phone and dodging the many cabs who I think get points for hitting pedestrians or something... that is all that could explain their driving style

Partying at Hohai, a lake ringed with bars which during the day is a cesspool of pollution but at night with the reflection of the neon signs is beautiful.

Trying to sneak into the tent for the russian athletes with my limited russian phrases and being blatantly laughed at by the woman running security, who I have no doubt, could actually speak russian

Watching the opening ceremonies at the annual Yen party (awesome hardcore techno / rave). And realizing in my alcohol and music fueled state, just how amazing it is that countries who are blatantly killing each other like georgia and russia, manage to make it to the olympics and at least outwardly smile and hold hands. The olympics might possibly be the only really successful diplomatic event we have.

Anyway, that is it for today.. tomorrow i'll start daily posts. good times

Ciao