Xanga Renewed

 

On a different subject,

 

在中国住久了以后,我也会情不自禁的看见比较中年的老外,心理就把他规范为"老外"而不是"同伙人".这点倒是比较奇怪,我以前从来也没把白种人和我自己本身排除,不过就是因为在中国大家有这想法,我也发现很难不产生某种距离感.当然,这只是包括中年的人,毕竟我都是习惯和我同年龄的白种人长大所以和他们相处当然会比较自然,但是每当我看见一个中年老外的时候,尤其穿西装坐地铁,我就会想到"这人以前在国外都是做什么的"?因为大家都知道,老外实际上来到中国除非特殊情况下,一般都是会比较吃香的.我还记得新辉上次跟我讲过有一个从某个美国中间的Rural洲写了一个文章关于自己以前什么都不是,就在某个便利店工作完全没前途的人,但是来到上海以后被捧的象王子一样高.大家都会不停地看他和一些比较低级的女人也直接把自己往他方向丢,真是让我想不通.(刚刚那句中文好象有点不通....我想说的是Throw herself at him. 貌似中文没这种说法因为我听都觉得别扭) 莫非这些女人真的认为这个老外能让他麻雀变凤凰?结果后来那篇文章也写了很多他自己想法,让我觉得很懊恼.为什么呢,因为1.我为美国人会这么写感到耻辱,还有2.我为一些中国人能把他捧到这么一个高台上感觉到很可惜.阿弥托佛,罪过罪过~~

 

另外让我印象很深刻的是有天我从美国来的一个朋友来到中国玩,我就带他和我一个复旦朋友和一个学生去Park97玩.我和Hsiao进去帮女生拿酒的时候,出来看见有一个老头子(我想给他一个借口说他喝醉了但是看起来完全不象)既然对我那个复旦的同学下手,关键这人已经50多岁了诶!!他不会真的认为我那同学有可能会考虑到和他在一起吧?结果他看见我过来我就问他:

 

Me: "Can I help you?"

Him: "Umm, no not really. Are you two together?"

Me: "Not really, but kind of. She came here with me."

Him: "Oh good...in that case I just wanted to chat with her and perhaps get her number. She's very beautiful, you have a very beautiful friend"

Me: "Umm...thanks?"

Him: "No, I realize that I'm too old for her, but that's alright I will just leave my e-mail address and we can have her decide if she wants to contact me. It's just that she's very beautiful."

Me: "I don't know if she'd be comfortable with that."
Him: "Oh, that's perfectly fine, like I said I know I'm too old for her but we can start being friends."

 

我唯一能说的就是, Wow, the nerve! 蛮大胆的这么老还来泡20岁的女人,他胆量可以让他身上穿着炸弹和狮子一起从飞机上无降落伞地跳下来并且空中搏斗去了.不过,虽然我知道我同学并无那种意思,但是还既然发邮件给他,让我觉得很惊讶.当然她肯定只是想和他做朋友,但是这男人已经很blatantly表达出他的意思,我觉得这种朋友到不如不要交.莫非他认为多说几次她很美丽就能搞定吗...她就算答应虽然不关我的事我可不答应.

 

Holy shit 已经早上9点了半个小时什么都没干,开始做事了.

 

 

 

Well my sis finally got some of the pictures up from our trip to Japan, although Christina forgot her USB cord so we can't get hers (a pity...I liked the pictures on her camera more.) Oh well sisters are ditzy expect it haha. This is a pretty long excerpt so uhh only start reading it if you're bored otherwise you won't finish it.

 

So there were a lot of surprises that we encountered in Japan...where should I start...first of all, the primary cities I visited were Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Toyama. Let's briefly compare it to that of Shanghai.

 

In terms of society, I think that there really is no comparison here. However, I understand that it is hard to control the standard of civility in China due to its colossal population size, and I'm glad to know that the people I am friends with are not the kind of people I'm about to talk about. People in Japan don't litter, and it's amazing because there are SO few trash cans on the streets. I had a terribly difficult time locating one whenever I needed it, which I'm guessing makes it easier for everyone not to litter. They just carry their trash with them until they find a trash can. I mean literally, there is no trash on the streets. I guess this could be some form of patriotism as well; people who litter are frowned upon and must ask themselves "are you from Japan? If you are, why are you destroying your homeland?" Secondly, despite the fast pace life of Tokyo, people aren't in a hurry to get places like the people in Shanghai. No pushing, no shoving, very respectable, and I can get on the subway without having to fight for my life. Something that really astounded me was that even on escalators, everyone lines up in such a polite fashion that's it's amazing! Everyone stays to the left, and leaves a huge gap on the right side for people who are in a hurry to pass through. When I first got on the elevator, I was obvlious to this fact because they dont' do that in anywhere else I've lived. However, when I looked behind my shoulder, I noticed that it was completely empty behind me and when I turned back around to face the front, it was clear all the way up as well. That's when it hit me, that the right side is meant for people to walk on through. During peak hours, there are people who use this custom to their advantage, but it's still pretty rare. They'd rather line up on the left side then they would charge through on the right. Thirdly, people are INSANELY helpful in Japan. Don't ask for directions if you're not ready to due some serious hand-gesturing and face-expressions. It's hard for them to understand your English, but they try their best and won't give up until they think they've helped you. A few people that I met even stopped other passer-byers on the street to ask them to help me. If they don't know, they won't just point you in the wrong direction to get you off their back either. I can't stress how many times I've asked for directions in Shanghai and had four seperate people point me in four seperate directions. The public transportation system is very advanced and the concepts are simple to grasp, even for a first-timer like myself who doesn't speak a bit of Japanese. People in Japan dress very fashionably as well..Never once did I see an OuBaSang wearing her daily PJ's while riding the subway. I love the fashion in Japan for girls although the fashion sense for guys is a bit too feminine for me. All I can say is the number of times my head turned while walking on the street would've probably resulted in me wearing a neck brace if I stayed there for another year.

 

Of course, there are a lot of things that can't compare to China as well. For starters, all I can say is holy shit to the rate of living in Japan. If you think America, is expensive, try multiplying that by two and you'll get the rate of living in Japan. Now I can see why in the manga that i've read, people who are poor generally eat at home, because that will make a huge difference! Don't expect to eat less than 1000 Yen (around 10 US dollars, 75 RMB) for a standard meal. In China, you can always eat something decent for less than 20 RMB, 2 or 3 RMB if your standards for eating aren't high. That's why I never have an incentive to eat at home and prepare my own meals, but it'd be totally worth it in Japan. I mean, I never, ever drink starbucks in China because relatively speaking, it's fairly expensive despite the fact that it's a universal price around the world. I drink starbucks a lot in America, but that's because starbucks is comparatively averaged priced. In Japan however, we stopped by starbucks every other day, because it was good coffeee and relatively cheap compared to so many other things there. 3 USD in Japan, 3 USD in Shanghai, but it just feels different and more worth it in Japan because you can get so much less with 3 USD, while in China you can get so much more. Same goes for Haagen Daaz...why would I pay three times more for Ice-cream that I don't even buy in the states when a pint is only for 3 USD as opposed to 11 USD here. Also, I took a picture of a fruit store in Japan on my phone but I lost the cord for that when I moved, but anyway it was a picture of three cantaloupes that cost yes not 100USD, not 200, not even 300, not 400, not even KAOing 500, but 525 bones. This was for THREE cantalopes!!!! HA MI GUA!!! Three HA MI GUA cost over 4000 RMB. Sure they looked good and fresh but aside from that, didn't deviate much from your every-day cantalope you buy from a street vendor. Ridiculous. Must've been some Haagen-Daaz related mark-up. Also, the average person to work at even a convenient store can earn around 10 USD an hour, which is definitely enough to keep them going and sustain them. I can understand why my friend Elaine would choose to work at KFC as a part-time job while she was in Japan studying abroad, because it's so much worth it more to work there at an hourly-waged job than it is in China, which of course can't be helped either and is understandeable. Secondly, the average level or English proficiency in Japan is considerably lower as well among people my age. Some might say one of the reasons behind this might be because most of my friends are all from Fudan, but I've made a lot of friends from other universities aside from Fudan and all those people can communicate with my properly and understand what I say. When I used to teach English, I don't know how many of my students could understand 100% of what I said, but it certainly seemed that way from the random students I selected to answer my questions. 

 

Things I'll miss about Japan: The vending machines. I spent so much money on buying drinks and such from vending machines...there were vending machines within every 50 yards or so of eachother. I was so addicted to putting money into those damn things and rolling colas in different bottles out of them. I'll also miss the desserts...I had so many strawberry parfaits and strawberry cakes for the first few days and still didn't get sick of them. I tried Pachinko but that was retarded...didn't win a thing, biggest waste of money ever. I'll miss the sushi like mad crazy though. My Japanese friends here have told me tales about how they never eat sushi in China because it's of such poor quality, but I never really expected the slightest possiblity for it to differentiate as much as it does. The sushi in Japan can be qualified with one word; AMAZING, especially the sushi from the ZHu Di Market in Tokyo (where they import the fresh fish for sushi stores to come and buy in the early morning). I'll also miss feeling tall, because Japanese people around my age are on average, shorter than people in China.

 

Anyhow, in terms of places we went to, we mainly shopped around areas of Tokyo, and I visited a university while I was there, the Tokyo University of Music. Very decent place and looked like a college where I would be really happy at. One thing I miss about schools are places to  hangout. At fudan, there are no general places to hangout, unless you qualify the grass field outside of Guang Hua Building as a hangout location...generally when we're done with classes, we have lunch and everyone retires back to their dormitory. At schools in America and in that university, they make the dining areas clean and comfortable, so after meals or between classes, students can sit there and chat, do homework, or just chill. I also visited the school Cheryl teaches at in Toyoma, and it was just like how it was portrayed in manga. We attended tea ceremonies and met a lot of Cheryl's friends, and we then headed to Osaka and Kyoto to visit primarily tourist locations and places of historical relevance. I enjoyed this part a lot, although it was fairly tiring. As you can see, after writing an excerpt of this length, I've slowly lost the will to type and explain about these things...take a look at the pictures for more reference or just give me a call if you're important to me. If you're not important, I won't pick up anyway hohohohoho. No i'm j/k.

 

To sum up, I'm glad I'm back in China with my friends and I definitely do miss Japan a lot. Thanks to Kat for picking me up at the airport too, or I woulda missed at least two airport shuttles due to their imcompetent or lack of the concept, "lining up". I'll miss my two sisters and my mom as well, but I'm used to that part already. I definitely wouldn't mind going again in the future or perhaps even going there to live for a while if I found a job or just to study, but there's no room for that on my agenda for the next few years at least.

 

<KayJay>

 

p.s., if you look at the pictures, you'll see a picture of two dolls in this certain historical pagoda we visited. Scared the shit outta me when I went into that room though because it looked like some scary-ass doll that came out of a horror movie.

其实每个男孩，本来都是想做一个感情专一的好男人的。
　　其实每个男孩，本来看女孩子都是看脸而不是胸部的。
　　其实每个男孩，本来都是不会讲黄色笑话的。
　　其实每个男孩，本来都是渴望爱一个人直到永远的。
　　只是，没有任何女孩爱这样的男孩，她们觉得这样的男孩太幼稚，太古板，没有情趣。
　　于是男孩开始改变，变成女孩喜欢的那种，嘴角挂着坏坏的笑，玩世不恭或者幽默 。
　　开始学会说甜言蜜语而不是心里想说的话，开始学会假装关心，学会给女孩送小饰物讨好她，学会如何追求，如何把握爱情。或者看破红尘，游戏情场，成为女人恨恨的那种男人。
　　他们可以很容易俘获女孩子的心，但是他们也会在黑的夜里叼着烟流泪，心里有爱的时候，没有女孩，有了女孩，却永远没有了爱的感觉，在听到女人抱怨世上没有一个好男人时候，他们不会再去努力做个好男人，只是微笑着擦肩而过。

 

Thank you 韩颖 for this brief but concise excerpt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

明晚终于可以去501了 - -;;...下星期去日本拉要礼物的holler >_<!!!

Recommend you guys finish listening to this song, dedicated to those graduating in the year 2007!!!!

 

Back to Shanghai Feb. 24th!

 

No more 榴莲and甘蔗了。。。

永远都不要妄自菲薄

Remember:

Sometimes the innocent are slain to make way for a grander scheme

 

Nightwish - Passion and the Opera

 

Holy shit 黄金甲最后45分钟太精彩了。。。用的color scheme实在是太完美了，更让我有感觉是想起当时5月份我去横店的时候，也看见这个城堡和一大堆黄色的花布满了院子，他们说是为了拍下一个电影用的，没想到竟然就是满城尽带黄金甲。。。不过当时他们吃饭的方圆桌还在建设中。。。

再过几天偶就要回上海了,这暑假对我来说真的感觉好有意义.我从小到大都是和我2个姐姐,2个弟弟一起长大,而且加上偶尔过来的哥哥,感觉都是在一个热闹的家庭里长大的.当然,我父母奶奶爷爷也都是这么觉得,而这次回来以后更是能够让我体会到他们这种想法.真不知道我这次回去我奶奶要怎么渡过,毕竟这20年来她都是照顾着我们这些孩子们长大,而今年我最小的弟弟上大学住宿了,二弟也要搬出家,我在上海,二姐在LA,大姐在日本,就等于完全不会有任何人在这热闹的家庭里了.这暑假是我们六个"小孩子"在这三年来第一次全部聚在一起,大家都蛮感动的呵呵我自己都觉得感觉真棒,不过现在即将要结束了.希望我们以后也有机会再度全部在一起,包括奶奶.我虽然很喜欢上海和我在上海交的所有朋友,但是家人就是家人,不关你做了什么他们都是会接受你的,所谓有难同当有福同享,再也适合不过了.我知道很多人读了这以后会觉得我实在太sentimental了,但是我还是觉得我能够有这么多兄弟姐妹又这么的接近我年龄,大家都有话聊都可以一起玩在一起实在是一件不太容易的事情,当然这也是我上了大学以后才领悟出来的.以前偶都是觉得和朋友在一起比较好玩比较少和家人出去除非必要,但是所谓"you'll never miss it until it's gone" really holds true here. 吼吼吼接下来欣赏一下偶家人的相片^_^

 

T - minus 4 days in counting.

 

ps 推荐你们看一下偶兄弟姐妹他们都变的好可爱啊>_____<!!!

 

pps 前天和一大帮朋友玩Texas Holdem, 有一段时间赢了120多块,结果到最后输到输20多T-T玩的太不保守了

 

ppps 昨天和两个弟弟的朋友和我的朋友arrange了一个 dodka party (Dota + Vodka), 结果最后体会到酒和weed 真的不应该一起实用...怎么死都不知道...

 

pppps 要是你想要看一个又搞笑又有一点刺激的电影,就看 "Snakes on a Plane" hahahahahaha

 

ppppps 好想念我所有的家人，尤其我那两个弟弟啊～～～～～～～～～～咔。。咔。。。。

So all 6 siblings of the Hou family has finally reunited under this household, and what an unfortunate reunion it was....first of all Christina didn't come home until late friday night so I didn't really talk to her much, and then Cheryl didn't come home until Saturday afternoon but by then we were already golfing at Eaglemont, and let me tell you Eaglemont is HELLA far away and we played shotgun start, so it took 6 and half hours just to complete the tournament..........................now here's where it gets bad. So I was driving Larry and Matthew back home and Jay Jay too, and I dropped Jay Jay off at QFC to get picked up by his friend. On our way home, I fucking ran out of gas!!!!!!!!! That was the FIRST TIME i've ever ran out of gas in my car EVER EVER EVER in my whole entire life, and I totally didn't expect it too either. I guess I really don't understand my dad's new car that much.....usually I mean when the light turns on, there's still alot of distance it can cover and it didn't even turn on until we were a ways away from Eaglemont. Anyhow, we stopped really close to home...like around 30 yards so it was really close and we had Matthew go get some gas. He came back with it 25 minutes later and I put it in and we were on our happy way home, and when we got home the 6 of us talked and joked and laughed, until my dad called and told us to pick him up. Jeremy decided to take the Benz out, and that's when we found out that Matthew didn't bring premium V back to me....he brought... premium diesel fuel.........KUANG YUN!!! I had no clue that he got me diesel fuel though because it was in a container that we usually use to store fuel....and then Jeremy's car stopped just a bit after it got out. Matt went on the GMC Envoy to pick up my dad and that's when he realized that shit.....he got the wrong gas. Diesel fuel is terrible for an engine that doesn't accept it, and it potentially damages the engine....so when my dad got home I thought it would be all happy but down came the wrath of god. He was so mad when he stepped in but I guess who can blame him? It is his "favorite" toy, Mercedes Benz S600 and all and then he started yelling at all of us T-T....well he yelled at me for not getting gas, Matthew for putting in Diesel, and Larry for not reminding us because he thought larry just wanted to get home sooner...the 6 of us were originally planning to play poker or go out for midnight bowling, but I guess that's all cancelled. My dad hasn't yelled at me in 2 years and I guess Matthew feels bad because he was the one who got the wrong fuel, and now we're afraid to go out because I think that'll put our dad in an even worse mood -_-;.......well anyhow I'm done showering and we're waiting for Matthew to finish showering before we decide what to do. It's 12:37 in the morning, KayJay out~.

 

Actually let's see...these last few weeks have been really fun, hung out w/ alot of people and played mad poker and saw quite a few movies...went shopping for Victoria Secret bras which was a very awkward experience....shit so many hot girls just coming up to you and asking "how may I help with your underwear needs" lol........Tiff Wan finally called me back and said she and Tiffany HOm wanted to go have brunch but tomorrow's going to be entirely family day since Christina is only back until Monday morning. I'm planning to take a trip to Las Vegas somewhere around the line as well, that should be fun and going to go golfing again with Anne and Duncan Tuesday, meet up w/ Tiff Wan Wednesday. Yeah it's been a long time since i've updated so I don't even know where to start...ahhhh I guess I'll just end here my fingers are tired and plus Matt is done w/ the shower XD POKER TIMEEEEE

 

HOpefully dad won't be mad tomorrow...I know that alot of my China friends know my dad...but the image of him that you guys know and the image of him when he's angry is completely incomparable........in Chinese terms, 完全完全的盘若两人.......恩我觉得我前面两个字极有可能打错了....