Beijing

HI I'M IN CHINA!!!!!

With my grandparents on my dad's side......gahh I love my grandpa ^^. He's just like, really mellow.....well, kind of. Awwww ^^.

First impressions (kind of--I just don't remember too much from when I was here five years ago/when I used to live here) and other things:

• Wish I had taken pictures, and I'm sure I'll get to later on, but there are dozens of huge blocks of several high-rises (not the high-end kind) here (and probs in other big Chinese cities). I didn't realize how many housing units were needed to house China's billions, but dang......it was like something out of the Matrix except in real life.
• THERE ARE MOUNTAINS. I don't know why I didn't remember to expect this, since I climbed mountains last time with my grandpa, since he lives right at the foot of these mountains haha. It makes me happy ^^.
• I am happy! THIS IS MY HOMETOWN! I was born here! Yeah, maybe I don't know the language too well anymore, or the social mores, but I definitely feel at home....which led me to think about differences in upbringing amongst people....'cause, living here in my grandparents' place is super different from living in the U.S. (which is totally extravagant in comparison), and yet I feel very comfortable here. Well, I guess I don't know about other Asian Americans or even other foreign-born Asian Americans, but it would appear that we are used to living in two very different environments, which is pretty cool. It's more austere here, more old-world, but I love it anyway.
• Haha so....this may be TMI or gross, but oh well I think it's kind of funny. Last year around this time, I got lice, which freaked the heck out of me, since I'd never had it before, and it was just like......you know?? Nobody wants disgusting little bugs crawling around on their scalp and sucking blood and pooping! Anyway, I washed everything like crazy and used a bunch of that lice shampoo stuff, and eventually got rid of it before O-week advisor training started. So ever since then, I guess I've been super sensitive to whenever my head got abnormally itchy, and I was starting to get worried on the plane ride here, because I was thinking that it was such a bad time to be getting lice, if indeed I had it (because it's annoying when you have to deal with extra stuff like that when you're traveling, you know?). BUT THEN, I was like, wait, maybe it's the BEST time to be getting lice, if indeed I had it, because my grandparents totally won't be scared of it!!! Because Chinese grandparents don't get scared of stuff like that! And I was right! Lol. Oh yeah, I don't have lice btw, PRAISE THE LORD. But I told my grandma and dad, and they wasted no time digging through my hair trying to see if I did or didn't, and (1) it felt great, because I love it when people play with my hair, and (2) I was like, yayy they aren't scared of me.....hahahahahaha. Anyway, my grandma took me to the neighborhood clinic, which didn't actually help with anything, except the doctor and my grandma were like, "You have so much hair," "Your hair is so black," "Your hair is so clean though," lol.....(but actually, lice prefer cleaner hair, just fyi)....anyway, just an anecdote because I remember telling a few people last year, and they were pretty scared, not that I blame them. Maybe it's an age thing lol.
• I cut a random melon today. Random because it doesn't exist in the U.S. But it is very similar to cantaloupe, except it's super sweet. Indeed, its Chinese name translates literally as "sweet melon."
• It's hot! It's like Houston. Maybe less humid? Mer, idk.
• Limited access to Facebook.......I really want to go climb a mountain with my grandpa again. Hopefully he'll be up for it :).
• Apparently my dad wants me to go with him to the American embassy on Saturday to be a real-life example for his talk on how to get into elite universities. Uhhh.....I need to think of what to say.....
• Oh yeah! Itinerary for the next few weeks:
• Beijing until the 6th
• Tianjing, 7th - 10th
• Shanghai, 10th - 14th
• Guilin, 15th - 19th
• Beijing, 19th - 21st

Yeah so apparently I'm going to Guilin. I was kind of begging my dad not to let me go, because it's expensive, but one of my aunts volunteered to take me.......and they wouldn't take no for an answer?? I'm really, really grateful.....I've been wanting to go for years now, but knew it might be out of the question.

Anyway, I'm going to help my grandma make zhong zi this afternoon for dinner, which will be really fun =]. I remember us (plus my little sister) doing this when my grandparents visited Indiana some years ago. Man. I think it's because we get so caught up in life in the U.S. that makes me enjoy the simple things when all of the fast things get taken out. Ahhh. Okay. I'ma go. =]