7:30 am: Wake up and review for daily Chinese quiz (~30 new characters)
8:30 am: Eat breakfast with host mom or dad
9:10 am: Leave for school
9:20 am: Catch bus to school or walk to metro if bus...
People who know me, know I love trash TV. There is nothing like sitting down and watching an episode or two (or three) of "The Mindy Project," "The Bachelor/ette," or - my guiltiest obsession - "Dance Moms." Watching trash TV is my way of winding down after a long day. I can completely tune out everything for 30 minutes and let the story take me away. Before I went abroad, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to keep up with all my television and I'll admit that I wasn't sure I was ready for a four-month hiatus. How would I know if Mindy and the lawyer finally got together? Would Juan Pablo be able to break through the language barrier to ask the ladies to "accept this rose?" Will Abby Lee Miller replace her team for the umpteenth time? I was sure the withdrawal would be too much to handle.
Many people told me I would experience culture shock when I came to Shanghai, but I did not take any of their comments seriously. Last summer, I lived on the Thailand/Burma border doing volunteer work...
I have now been in Shanghai for a week and cannot believe how much has changed since my first night. My first evening in Shanghai was pretty rough, mostly because my plane was delayed in Vancouver for...
Today I looked at the Twenty Most Expensive Cities in the World. Two of the cities on the list I will be traveling to for Spring Break: London, the number one most expensive city, and Stockholm, Sweden,...
It's become exceptionally beautiful and warm in Jerusalem the past few days, so as the weather changes and the academic semester begin, its become time to reflect on my month in Ulpan and shift to a new...
I (and the rest of my family for that matter) am notorious for waiting till the last minute to pack for a trip. I spent 2 months in Thailand this past summer and did not start packing until 6 hours before...
I'm not a huge plant person, even though I'm a biology major. There is one thing I remember quite clearly from my intro to biology course, however: gymnosperm means naked seed.
The term "gymnosperm"...
It's ball season in Vienna. During January and February many Viennese - and tourists - don their best evening attire and dance the night away at a beautiful location until the wee hours of the morning....
Culture shock (n). the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country, a move between social environments, or simply...
