I got my lessons switched today from group to private lessons. I didn't really know the difference when i signed up, i just thought i got a great discount if nobody else was in my class, i got 1 on 1 lessons, right? that's actually not how the thinking goes. if you're in a group class, you're considered a group even if there is no one else. thus, you can't take time off if you have to leave town or work comes up, or whatever. you just lose those classes. you can also fall way behind doing that as well, so, i finally decided that it was best to just sign up for the private classes, which will probably teach me better pronunciation anyway. with private lessons, you pay a bit more, but, you can take time off whenever you want as long as you give 24 hours notice. there's also no shortage of people available to be tutors here, i'm almost positive that i don't have to pay one if i want one either, which is kinda cool. it's more likely though, that i'll just harass random people in coffee shops and restaurants, that train of thought amuses me, and must be acted upon.
Have you ever noticed that those who live in China then return to the USA or Canada tend to be much more confident, or possibly egotistical (depending on your point of view)? I think i finally understand why. Every woman you meet here seems to laugh or giggle at you. I've come to the conclusion that it's because i'm highly desirable attractive, and they all want me. It's the same reaction you see in middle or high school when a girl likes a boy. this train of thought probably has zero basis in reality, but...reality is what you make it, after all!
i was headed down in the elevator today to go start a serious amount of errands, and a girl started running towards the elevator, yelling "please hold!! please hold!!", i held the elevator, and she was absolutely shocked! when she got in, she said, "i'm so lucky you're not chinese!!". i thought that was funny as well as true, a chinese guy would have been rapidly pressing the close button. i think that when i'm really bored one day, i'm going to see if i can switch the wiring in my building elevator between the open and close button and see what happens. i know that it will push someone over the edge, i'm betting the resulting explosion will be pure entertainment. thinking about it now, i'm betting that that's just about the one thing that i could do to get myself kicked out of this country.
i got my bank stuff all finished off today, by tomorrow, i should be able to log on to the internet banking, and actually pay my rent by online banking. i find that rather handy. the interesting thing, i thought, was that i showed up without an appointment, and my normal account rep was out of town. one of the other account specialists cleared part of his schedule for me, and helped me get everything done, as well as adding some features to my account that he wasn't supposed to, to make it easier for me to get things taken care of online. the difference in service between HSBC Canada and HSBC Shenzhen is absolutely staggering. i noticed a comment form, and filled that out while i was waiting for them to convert money from CAD to RMB, pointing out the positive experience that i have had from this bank, and they grew even more helpful, if it can be believed. They will actually go out of their way to do everything possible for you, including getting you water, tea, coffee, or espresso while you're signing documents. this is how banking should be....being treated like a valued customer is a different mentality entirely in a bank.
I've lost i think about 5 or 6 pounds in the past 2 weeks that i've been here, and i think it's purely the amount of time you spend walking and sweating. because it's winter, you need to wear a jacket. it's 28ºC outside, but, you need to wear a jacket because it's winter. i don't get it, i accept it, and i sweat a ton! additionally, i don't drive here (and will not, because i still possess a little sanity, making me incapable of driving in SZ), so it's either walk, or use the metro. i think i walked an easy 3 or 4 miles this afternoon, and have a pile more to do going in search of stuff for my new apartment. i'm just writing while waiting for rush hour to go away so i can take the metro to the mall. i'm also pondering where in the world you go to buy a safe. perhaps google knows?
i got lost in underground Shenzhen today. There's a map, but it's not very helpful unless you know where you are and where you want to go. perhaps the chinese writing on it will tell you something. i thought it was just an underground way to go across the street without getting hit by a bus, but, it also connects to the metro station, and i think some sort of underground mall. i was running up and down stairs, and through all kinds of places, popping up above every now and then trying to figure out if i was going the right way or not. i think it would be helpful if i had had a compass....or better yet, make the walkways straight instead of curving randomly and making it difficult to figure out which direction you're going.
looks like i'm off for Coco Park, perhaps i'll drop by my apartment and make sure that my key works, as well as figure out where the apartment is again, i'm not sure that i can remember....should be fun. If nothing else, i may see how my friends are at one of my favourite games. "i'm going to describe a place. now you guess where it is, and then see if you can figure out how to get me to where i need to be." seems like it's always an adventure here!
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