inside Rhodes » Christine

Livin’ la Vida Madrileña

Christine — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:09:55 +0000

Hey guys,

I hope this new post update finds everyone well. I’ve just been chilling in Madrid this week(end), but it’s been quite wonderful the things your can do just around the city. For instance, a couple of friends and I went to go see the Temple of Debod, this Egyptian shrine that is 2200 years old. What. At first I just couldn’t fathom the age of it, but then, I got to thinking. What was an Egyptian temple doing here around 200 BCE? Anyway, here are some pictures:

And since the temple is sort of at the edge of the plateau on which central Madrid basically sprawls, we got a sweeeeet view of the sunset.

Thanks to the “sunset mode” on my camera, the reds and oranges are super vibrant! One more:

What else have I been doing other than basking in the gloriousness of nature? I told you I’d put up some volleyball pics. Here they are!

Action shot:

Off to intercambios! Hasta luego, amigos!

It’s so beautiful my soul aches a little.

Christine — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:49:01 +0000

So I lied. It’s been a little more than four days since my last post, but I am ready to tell you all about Sevilla. The first surprise came in the form of a petite, sweatshirted mass of sonrisa known as Meghan, a fellow Nebrijan Meredith, Shadi (the girls I was traveling with) and I met at the bus station. Five more girls I knew from Nebrija came along, and it was quite an entertaining bus ride!

When we got there, much unpacking and eating ensued. I got churros con chocolate–it was delicious! We tried to go to the Catedral, but it was closed, so we walked around a bit. Saw the Torre de Oro (a watchtower-like building because Sevilla was the big port city back in the day).

And as we were passing by the cathedral that night to go back to our hostel, we noticed the cathedral door was open. Apparently there was an Ordination of Deacons going on, and since Shadi is Catholic, we all felt it was necessary to attend such an event in the LARGEST GOTHIC CATHEDRAL IN EUROPE. Yeah, its beautiful.

Couldn’t really take pictures during the actual Ordination, but once it was done, I definitely snapped a blurry few (sorry, fotos sin flash kill me).

On Saturday, I went on a walking tour of Sevilla, which was perfect because the weather was AMAZING. We saw some cool Roman ruins

some examples of the world famous Sevillan patio

visited the Judería, the historically Jewish neighborhood, in which there was a massive massacre during the Santa Inquisición. There’s a story of one Jewess who was dating a Christian soldier. She had converted to Catholicism and so had her father, but he still wanted to organize a rebellion against the Christian authorities. Susona, the daughter accidentally told her lover about it, and he, in turn, got his men to kill her father. Susona, completely broken, becomes a nun, and when she died, asked that her head be mounted in the window of where she used to live. It stayed there for 200-300 years until it was replaced with this plaque:

There are sooo many cool pictures to share, but I feel the album wouldn’t be complete without one of the cathedral in much of its glory:

And one of the Giralda, the prayer tower that remains from the Mosque that was there before the cathedral was added on

Then a new buddy of mine, David, the Quebecois (I learned all about Quebec and how it’s different from Canada; it’s quite the story) and I went to rent bikes

and explored Plaza de España, where some of Star Wars II was filmed.

It was lovely, and on the way there I met up with – wait for it – yet another of my friends from Madrid, Louise! She was there on vacation with her boyfriend, and we hit up a few tapas bars afterwards where we encountered a bunch of musicos who were kinda enough to perform the whole time we were there!

When I got back to the hostel, the owner invited us to a typical Sevillan flamenco-ish show. The proprietor of the establishment was a famous Sevillan singer, and when she belted out those wild Andalusian melodies, my soul hurt–though not a bad pain, kinda like the good muscle ache of working out, but for the alma. It was that lovely.

The next day, Meredith and Shadi returned from Córdoba ( I didn’t go because I was feeling a little under the weather for a 7am bussed daytrip), and Shadi insisted on Plaza de España again–she’s in love with Hayden Christensen. I’m glad we went. It definitely vale la pena.

From there, we hit up the Alcázar (Remember the previous one in Segovia? It means castle/palace mix), that was a mix of Roman, Arab, and Catholic influences. I absolutely fell in love with the Mudéjar part of it. The details were exquisite. Soul ache, part II.

Here’s another of the courtyard:

Afterward, since the Cathedral was finally open to properly visit and go up the Giralda tower, we checked that out. Here’s the alleged “tomb of Christopher Columbus.”

And the view from atop the highest point in Sevilla? Breathtaking.

Hope you guys enjoyed that chock-filled picture post! Hasta luego!

SEVILLA AND CORDOBA IN TWO HOURS!

Christine — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:49:06 +0000

Pictures in 4 days. Get stoked, kids.

Ay, los Americanos y sus Fiestas! Ejemplo Uno: Halloween

Christine — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:46:00 +0000

Buenas noches, mis queridos amigos.

Honestly, I didn’t realize that I was typing in Spanish and the majority of my audience would have no clue what I was talking about till I got past the pleasantries. Yay for full immersion! Anyhoo, I didn’t get to make it to London because I was terribly stupid and miscommunicated with the airline. My bad, self.

To distract myself from my utter failure, I threw myself into the Halloween festivities as I imagined I would have in London. There were several parties celebrating the (primarily) American holiday over the course of the week, and by last night, the actual All Hallow’s Eve, I was exhausted. Still, I went out and took many a photograph of costumed Spaniards, realizing that even though Europeans give off an air of cooler-than-thou, they really know how to work a costume. Here are some of my favorites:

This man was toting around a huge poster as “Youtube.” It was great!

The last one’s not a Spaniard, but the ever fabulous Dwight, staying true to his role within the Village People. Couldn’t forget him.

I hope this post-Halloween post finds you all well. Now I’m off to read some Miguel de Unamuno. I read some of his stuff in English for an Existentialism class last year. He’s amazing-er in his native Spanish. Go get a copy of Niebla.

What if life were a Metro? I imagine I’d miss a few stops. Regardless, no pasa nada.

Christine — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:12:18 +0000

Hey y’all! Aren’t you excited for another update from Spain?

This week has been rather lackluster in comparison to the previous few. I mean, time to recover from a fantastic 27 hour extravaganza of a 21st birthday was necessary, but for a whole week? My constitution can handle more.

And it did. I had a volleyball game (yes, I AM part of the Nebrijan team) on Friday and then another this past Wednesday. I forgot to bring my camera, so pictures of our wonderful team (in our cute little uniforms) will have to wait till next game.

I also went to the Prado for a look at a few El Greco’s phenomenal works for my “Arte en el Museo del Prado” class–yeah, that’s right, where else can you have a class solely focused on art in the Prado? I love Madrid.

What else? I’ve been hitting up El Tigre, this tapas place that deals out HUGE portions of the Spanish appetizer-ish snacks for the purchase of only one drink. Please note our happiness:

I also realize how in love I am with the Madrilenian public transportation system. Metros are the way to go, people. To commemorate such love, I decided to take some pictures. Sadly, due to our foolhardy American/British-ness, my friends and I caught many a dirty look while snapping a few fotos on the metro, but no pasa nada. (BTW, no pasa nada is my favorite phrase in Spanish. It basically sums up the laid-back mindset they have here of “no worries, hakuna matata.”) Here are some of the fruits of my labor:

Kay, I cheated. The second one is actually inside the destination of said Metro ride, a certain New Garamond (excellent discoteca), but everyone just looked so happy, I had to incorporate it.

What else? I’ve been enjoying chilling at my friends’ casa a lot. We’ve been celebrating our downtime with WAR matches. Yes, those are THREE tens that called for an epic “I declare war” round:

Much napping also ensued (after the strenuous task of moving Molly’s mattress to the family room, which, in turn, led to a wondrous giggling fit):

I’d like y’all to know that I took this photograph while feigning sleep. What I do in the name of art…Chyeah, I’m baller. Molly, not so much. (JK, chica!)

Anyway, sorry for how crazy tangential this post was. Hope you enjoyed the random happenings of my life this week! Count on more when I return from a visit to London next week!

It’s okay; you’re on holiday!

Christine — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:11:34 +0000

This post is definitely for those of you (hey Mom!) who have been raggin’ on me for not updating. Given that I turned 21 two days ago, that whole three-day block of October 14-16 was definitely not suitable blogging time, and I needed most of today to recover from the festivities. No excuses, though, right?

Anywayyyy, how was Barcelona? Absolutely magnificent. I honestly would like to go back in time and have a chat with Antoni Gaudi. That man is such a genius. La Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera, Casa Batllo, and (closing my eyes in rapture) Parc Guell are merely the four works I managed to view that exemplify this man’s vision of beauty at its most natural. Here are some snapshots of these ecstasy inducing places:

My camera died on me before I was able to get some Parc Guell action, but believe me, it’s something you MUST see if you’re in Barcelona.

Given that we WERE in Barcelona, of course my friend Katie and I went to the beach (my first time seeing the Mediterranean, woot!), and in between heavy sight-seeing, we were also able to make friends. Among them, there was this guy who kept telling me (in response to my type A personality need to be constantly doing something useful), “Don’t worry, Christine. Take it easy; you’re on holiday!”

Obviously, this person was not of the Christine Lu “I’m-gonna-wring-every-last-bit-of-culture-out-of-Barcelona-that-I-can-in-my-four-day-visit” school of thought. Thank goodness I learned to relax a little. I think my last day at Parc Guell would not have been as fantastic had I not appreciated that I was, in fact, on holiday.

I did some other stuff, too. Katie and I took many a stroll around La Rambla, the huge (touristy) market street where we purchased matching fire-etched twig bracelets proclaiming that “K+C (heart) BCN” for me and “C+K (heart) BCN” for her. You’re hiccuping cute, right? I know; we’re precious.

We also got to gawk at all the goodies on display in this huge open-air market full of all sort of fruits, candies, veggies, and fungi:

There was also the requisite jumping in front of the cathedral picture–here’s Katie’s:

With a little dancing action we witnessed while ambling about thrown in.

Here’s a little love for Senor Colon, the man who “discovered” America. The Spanish must have felt they should honor the guy who “found” all that gold.

And finally, to end on a happy note, some beachy happiness:

This guy’s ^ sand castles were legit. Oh, and speaking of legitimate castles, Katie and I hiked up Montjuic (literally translated, Hill of the Jews) to see the Castille. The view of Barcelona was breathtaking. I want to go back.

How ya doin´, good lookin´?

Christine — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:18:57 +0000

Hey guys.

First week of official classes started this past Monday. My classes (basically all Spanish literature ones <3<3<3<3) are quite enthralling. One thing I absolutely love about the schedule here is that I don´t have classes on Friday. That, combined with a Monday holiday, yields a four day weekend. I felt the need to take advantage. Consequently, I´m in Barcelona right now.

It´s a beautiful city. I´ve seen the Mediterranean, been to numerous museums, gawked at all sorts of Gaudi creations (new favorite architect), and been gawked at by men of all ages.

What, you say? Let me explain. I´ve found that many Spanish men are very free with their compliments. A little boy who couldn´t have been more than six years old daringly sidled up to me with a “¿Hola, que tal, guapa?” Such bold advances by such a leeeeetle chap ceased to surprise me when another gentleman (who could not have been younger than 60 years old) made this teeth sucking sound at me that my Spanish friends informed me signified interest. There was also something disturbing about the way he was waggling his bushy eyebrows.

More fun stories later. Will update with pictures when I get back to Madrid.

A Week at the Beach, and I’m all Chilled Out

Christine — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 11:15:00 +0000

My dearest friends,

It is with a most fulfilled and happy heart that I writing to you today. Why, you ask, am I not my normal prone-to-complaining self? Well, darling, I think that a week (not really quite a full week, but I’m so content, I’m rounding up) at la playa, quite like an hour in the presence of a bouncy, non-colicky baby, is enough therapeutic relief to amerliorate a month’s worth of stress. Since I’ve been living a relatively easy life here in Madrid, this surplus of chill has rendered me quite giddy ALL THE TIME.

Anyway, here’s what happened. September was dedicated to the “intensive spanish language learning course” that I felt compelled to take because after all, I’m in Spain to learn Spanish, not just have a good time. Final exams and papers were on Monday, and I had a good week to sleep in before classes were to begin again (tomorrow).

Perfect time for a vacation? Absolutely. A few friends and I decided to nightbus it to Cadiz (in Andalusia, on the Costa de Luz of southern Spain). Here’s what ensued:

Four days of beaching. Dips in the Atlantic? Why not?

^From a visit to the Torre Tavira, an ancient watchtower with this Big Brother-like camera oscura which facilitates the spying on of neighbors in real time. If the tour guide wanted, she could probably have zoomed in on some guy picking his nose on the other side of Cadiz. Pretty neat-o.

The catedral of Cadiz is pretty nice.

And any visit wouldn’t be complete without a goodbye sunset foto. Too bad it was cloudy. Wondrous nonetheless.

OH, I meant to write about the Rastro before I left Madrid. It’s this open air market that sells a bunch of cool handmade/hippie stuff. I bought the leather bag I’d been lusting after for couple weeks. Great way to spend a Sunday morning. Sure beats blogging. JK.

Now I’m off to do laundry. I think I might be on my last pair of clean underwear, so it’s quite a [de]pressing matter. Hasta luego.

There’s a muscle in my thigh…twitching.

Christine — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:44:27 +0000

Buenos Martes, y’all.

You know how I grew up in Houston, right? Houston is completely flat–devoid of any changes in topography whatsoever. Great for the lazy; terrible for driving. Spain (or at least the cities I’ve been in) is the exact opposite, and Toledo, the capital of Castilla La Mancha, one of the autonomous communities in Spain (I obviously just took my Cultura test, huh), is known for its hilliness.

BUT I’m jumping ahead. First let’s go through my week. Monday I went to the Reina Sofia. World famous museum with Nebrija provided guides. ‘Twas magnifico. I’m personally in love with Salvador Dali, so seeing his works was so incredibly…what’s the word for it? Oh yeah, surreal.

There was this lesser known artist, too. I think it was, ummmm, Picasso? He painted this mural called “Guernica.” Maybe you’ve heard of it.

The rest of the week was pretty grueling. I had a couple of midterms (What? This early in the year?) since I’m involved in some sort of intensive Spanish learning course for September.

My mind got a little exercise, and on Saturday, my body did, too. I am referring, of course, to the excursion to Toledo, city of three religions and (seemingly) endless hills.

It’s got Arabic, Christian, and Jewish influences.

I tried to go for the panoramic, but people kept on moving (myself included), so there are def repeats.

After visiting the mosque turned church, my stupid camera died on me, so there isn’t any more documentation of Toledo. Once people start tagging me on Facebook, I’ll definitely put more up. The Cathedral was UNREAL.

Saturday night, when we got back from Toledo, was La Noche en Blanco, Madrid’s “let’s all go out and not come home until really early in the morning and the museums are free but you have to stand in long lines” night. The streets were packed, the plazas more so, and I don’t think I’ve been more tired in my life. The cumulative effects of hiking (pretty much) through Toledo four times (to be explained) and dancing in Plaza de Espana were a little much. The back muscle of my left leg was been sore to the point of spasming on occasion.

Why was I forced to traverse Toledo so many times? There was a biking competition known as la Vuelta going on at the time we went to visit. It’s a sort of Spanish Tour de France. Wait, no lie, it is the Spanish Tour de France. The bikers went through Toledo so some of the main roads were closed. As such, the bus couldn’t come get us and we were forced to endure an hour more of Toledo’s glorious fairy-tale castles and such. I know, my life is soooo cursed.

Good news is that Sunday, when the bikers were going through Madrid for the last part of their race, my friends and I got to cheer on their spandexed, super toned cuerpos as they pedaled past us. My friend Jess, a Dutch girl, got really excited seeing her home team compete. I had no idea if there was even an American team there. My bad.

Kay, off to dinner with the girls. Updates soon, te prometo!

There’s Magic in Spain, Te Prometo.

Christine — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:35:16 +0000

Hola kids,

What did I do this week? Welllllllll, there’s been so much going on that I’ll actually have to consult my moleskine to remember. This past Tuesday, I went to the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) on a visita coordinated by Nebrija (the universidad I’m attending). Since we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, here are a couple of the royal court.

After a grueling paseo through the palace, my friends and I were craving some carbs, so we went to go eat at this wonderful place that serves huuuuge tapas gratis when you order a 3 euro cerveza.

Delicious, it was.

On Thursday, I was lucky enough to participate in an intercambio between native Spanish speakers and Spanish learners who were more than willing to share whatever mother tongue they could (namely extranjeros like me). Conversation was lively, and I can’t wait to go back this Thursday.

Saturday was the Salamanca excursion. Oh, I forgot to mention this, but when I went to Segovia last weekend, magic happened. I faintly heard someone query, “CHRISTINE LU?” turned around, and guess who it was? Kathryn Vernon, Rhodes student, good friend, and awesome hallmate (last year). She’s studying in Salamanca but was in Segovia on an excursion just like me.

That’s not all, folks. More Disney-like was another, “No way. Christine?” I then rotated 90 degrees to find Amy, one of my high school friends, also there on the Segovian plaza, also studying in Salamanca, and also visiting for a day trip. The extremely low probability of the chance meeting of two classmates (from TWO DIFFERENT SCHOOLS) in a foreign country ellicted high pitched, barely understandable squeals from me. My two friends responded in such a manner that would have made Animal Planet proud–that is, our combined decibel levels drew many a disapproving glance from passersby.

Okay, sorry. The mention of Salamanca prompted this extremely long stream of tangential goodness. Anywayyyyy, back to the visit. Salamanca’s freaking awesome with it’s old universidad (it’s the most ancient university town in Spain). Here’s the fachada:

And here’s one of the group admonishing me for making the very loud, redundant mistake of “mas mejor.”

Oh, and there’s la Catedral de Salamanca, tambien. It’s (if I remember correctly) the only cathedral that has the entire structure of the old cathedral with the new built on top of it. I’m just so amazed at the complexities of the carving at such high altitudes.

One of my favorite places was the Casa de las Muertes, which could have been thusly named for the skulls on it’s facade

OR it might have something to do with a cheating wife whose furious, cuckolded husband killed her lover, got wounded himself, and managed to kill his disloyal wife before he died from severe loss of blood. I’d like to think it’s the latter. Makes for a better story. Here’s a quick reenactment if my pithy synopsis was too confusing.

Finally, I’ll end with a foto of a little porcelain doll. Fooled ya, right? She’s a real girl! We saw her while walking through an old Salamancan university quad, traditional Spanish costume and all. Isn’t she precious?

Hasta next week, chicos y chicas!

Touristy Madrid and Segovia (con Fotos!)

Christine — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:29:58 +0000

Hey guys.

Since I’m feeling incredibly lazy right now, I’m just going to do a quick photo update of my recent travels in Madrid and Segovia. Here’s Plaza Mayor, the sort of downtown area in Madrid. There’s a statue of some alcalde on a horse (I think it was a mayor, at least) who did a lot for the city. It’s a great meeting point for us international students.

Here’s the Catedral de Madrid. It’s Romanesque, I believe, making it a lot older than the one you’ll see in Segovia, but (in my opinion) substantially less pretty. Who am I to judge, though, right?

Here’ s Carlos III sitting up near Sol, a touristy hotspot that is only a km (mas o menos) from Plaza Mayor. It’s a shame there’s so much construction in the area right now, but if you visit, this is the other man on the horse that by the statue of the bear and the tree (un Madrono), symbols of Madrid.

Just this past Saturday, I got up in time to catch a 8:30 bus to Segovia. Trust me, the Spaniards are nightowls, so an early Saturday morning is nigh impossible for most everyone. We woke up to cafes and churros con chocolate at a little cafe near los acueductos.

There are soooo many legends in Segovia concerning just about everything, and our prof who was tour guiding told us this one about how the story is that Romans apparently didn’t build the aqueducts, but rather el Diablo. Some village girl made a pact with the devil to build some sort of water transport system so that she didn’t have to haul buckets of water the 17km (I’m making that up entirely; it’s some super long distancia for sure, though) back home from the stream.

Another leyenda involved a mother whose two twin sons were forced to fight in order to see who would rise to become the chieftan of their valley village. She offered her life so that neither of her sons would die, so God sent a huge snowstorm in the middle of the summer, preventing the deathmatch that would have determined the next leader. When the snow melted, the tribe realized the mother’s sacrifice and dubbed the mountains “La Mujer Muerta.” If you squint real hard, you can kind of make out her head, her clasped hands, and her knees.

Here’s Juan Bravo, a Segovian (or legit Spanish) hero from la Guerra de las Comunidades de Castilla.

Below is a typical Spanish street (only NOT because you catch a glimpse of the Catedral de Segovia). The two lovely ladies next to me are Jessine and Stephanie, from Holland and Germany, respectively. Our lingua franca was incidentally not Frankish in nature, but the English that drew many an odd glare from older Segovians around. What can ya do when you’re a tourist, though, right?

The Alcazar of Segovia (a mix between a fortified castle and palace) was said to have inspired Walt Disney’s magic kingdom creation. I was more impressed by the fact that Isabel and Ferdinand lived there.

Close by is the Iglesia de la Vera Cruz. Knights Templar founded it. There are bones (foto incluido!) just around the front door. Steph found a tooth. Jess found a joint bone.

See?

I’ll leave y’all with a snapshot of the Catedral de Segovia, one of the prettiest cathedrals I’ve been in. It’s said to be the last Gothic cathedral built in Spain. I always feel either really sleepy or really spiritually lifted in religious buildings. I got a hit of my “opiate of the masses” Saturday.

Wow, that took a long time. I’m exhausted. Hasta luego, guys.

Exhaustion has taken on a new meaning

Christine — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 11:37:10 +0000

Gosh, I love Madrid …BUT…I absolutely abhor traveling with luggage. Having to lug 40-50 lb. equipajes around a metropolitan city (regardless of how amazing the public transportation is) requires more muscle and patience than I currently have. Thankfully, I found my flat within a day and am settled in and conversing with my flatmates today. They’re the nicest people ever; they’ve cooked for me, are extremely obliging with everything, and work hard to understand (and fix!) my sub-par Spanish.

Before all that loveliness, though. I made a couple of bad decisions–for my health at least. First, I decided against going to bed at a proper hour (the best way to combat jet lag) and signed up for a pub crawl that my hostel had organized. I figured, due to the 7 hour time difference, 1am in Madrid would be around 6pm in Houston, and that was certainly too early to be going to bed. Instead of staying hydrated with water, I decided to consume bebidas of a different sort, causing an early morning downing of Fanta after a particularly physically taxing night (Bad decision #3). Then, instead of staying in bed, I decided to get an early start on moving in and whatnot. With all my muscles protesting, I slowly trudged (luggage in hand) the 5 minutes to the Metro Station and the 10 minutes to the flat in excrutiating pain. Thank goodness all is now well and settled.

I have had a great time so far regardless and still can’t believe how easy it is to make friends here.

Here’s a pic of the hostel room where I stayed (if you ever come to Madrid, stay at Cat’s; they’re so nice and se habla ingles).

Stay tuned for more Madrilenian updates!

Takeoff in 3, 2, 1…Hours

Christine — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:19:38 +0000

I’m headed to Madrid, guys. Sorry about the lack of updating since I got back from China, but frankly, there wasn’t all that much to talk about.

The highlights in Houston? I went to a couple of concerts, hung out a bunch with my high school friends, and worked. It was altogether quite meh.

To tide y’all over till the next (Madrilenian) post, I’ll put up a couple of pics from China/this summer.

Here are my friends Jill and Alyssia from Shanghai. (Jill incidentally also goes to Rhodes, and we had an excellent time enjoying the Shanghainese nightlife. Here’s your shoutout, Jill. Hope it suffices.) Yes, we found that strange creature’s head just sitting on a chair in some arcade.

Here’s another fun snapshot of me with a few friends. These kids are my church buddies. We’ve gotten together for a Luau-themed sharing meeting.

I leave the house in 15 minutes. I’m terrified. Terrified I’ll have way too much fun. JK, but in all seriousness, there’s a lot of pent-up anxiety, anticipation, apprehension, and excitement just waiting to let loose once I land in a country where everyone speaks another language. It’s ‘kay, though, I asked for it. Complete language immersion? Bring it.

Mother Nature, I Stand in Awe of You.

Christine — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 02:05:03 +0000

I’m back in Houston, guys, so that means:

1. Unlimited Facebooking (The Facebook checking opportunities in China were few and far between, especially because access to the site is sporadically quota’d.)

2. Unlimited Youtubing (I’ve never been that huge of a YouTuber, but since its completely banned in China, it makes every second of that new Bo Burnham song more enjoyable–don’t go checking; I’m JK. He hasn’t updated for four months.)

3. Unlimited Blogging (Theoretically, this could really happen, but as I clearly updated more often in China when I had limited access to the more luxurious aspects of living at home, I’m not sure more Internet time will actually yield more blog entries. We’ll see.)

Alas, folks, I have digressed before even biting into the meat of my original blog idea. Mother Nature, was it? Ah, yes. On July 22, 2009, I witnessed a complete solar eclipse. The next one will occur in 2132, some 100 years from now, so I imagine I gots a one-up on you guys. Since I’m such a nice girl, I figure some video action will be a nice stand-in for the real deal–provided you weren’t somewhere in the eclipse’s path from India to Japan.

(Okay, so I tried to upload my vids, but somehow keep getting this “file too large” message. Will upload when I figure out how to deal with this.)

::EDIT 17/09/2009::

Moving on.

The second wondrous gift of Mistress Gaia came in the form of a rodent creature. Imagine my surprise when after two months abroad, I arrive home to find my car covered with mice/rat droppings. Four hours of hardcore vacuuming and severe Wet Wiping later, I emerge from a poop-free car. The culprit? A bag of rabbit food (for my bunny, Basil) that I forgot to take out of the trunk. Apparently the pest had claimed my entire car from wheel (the greatest concentration of feces was on the driver’s seat) to trunk as its domain.

Props to that little parasite. Not many creatures can extract four hours of my life without agonizing retribution.

Time for bed. I’m slowly getting over this jet-lag thing.

There’s This Saying…

Christine — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:24:39 +0000

I’m still in Shanghai (or to be more precise, in Nanxiang, a suburb of Shanghai proper) and lunching with relatives ALL THE TIME. “Free Chinese food nonstop? That sounds awesome!” you might think, but here’s the downside–I think I’ve gained a good ten pounds since I got here.

Now, I’ve never really had a problem with my appearance. Sure, there were bouts of hair and skin disapproval, but overall, I’d say I’ve been pretty satisfied with my looks. Here, it seems, I’m always too fat, too dark, too foreign. My mother has slowly morphed into the worst critic of my slowly expanding waistline, and yet everytime we lunch with relatives, she watches with amusement as relatives drop lipid-drenched morsels into my ricebowl. I try my best to politely refuse; I really do!

“Auntie, I’ve really had enough.”

“Grandpa, you should have this choice piece of meat.”

Somehow I always end up fed with whatever that Auntie or Grandparent wants me to devour, garnished with a “No, no, no, there’s this saying in China…” Let me try to recount some of those aphorisms for y’all.

There’s “when you’re by the mountain, eat of the mountain; when you’re by the water, eat of the water” which basically means eat whatever’s around. Don’t be picky.

Another adage is a command to “lao ben” or get your money’s worth. The thinking is that, well, Christine, I’ve already paid for this. You might as well make to most of it [in your belly].

Finally, there’s the saying (and this was gleaned from a Rhodes student and peer who happens to be in Shanghai at the same time as me) that every grain of rice will result in a blemish on my future husband’s face. Not desiring a pock-marked, potentially leprous spouse, I now dutifully clear my ricebowl of any offending tidbit.

The worst, though, comes when my grandpa gets to talking about how bad it was during the Communist takeover when he had to walk 20 miles in the snow uphill both ways to look for a single grain of rice. He then goes on at length about totally unrelated miseries and how I’m supposed to uphold the family honor. [Cue 'Reflection' to start playing in the background.]

Thanks to my vast database of experience lunching with relatives, I now know just to shut up and eat whatever’s on my plate. That way I only end up with a bad case of food coma, no two hour lecture bonus.

Here’s me Vanna White-ing.

Evidently my performance was not enthralling enough to warrant a Get-Out-of-Face-Stuffing-Free card. Boo.

In spite of all that, I’m still having a great time in China. Headed back to Houston on July 27th. Can wait.

China, Pt. II: Guangzhou, Guilin, Zhuhai

Christine — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:44:05 +0000

After Beijing, Mom and I headed for Guangzhou to meet with some relatives and check out all the southern metropolis had to offer. We dropped off Phillip in Shanghai with Gramps due to my brother’s becoming more and more of a pain during our travels in Beijing. Understandably, climbing the Great Wall is a bit much to ask of a ten-year-old. He was a bit miffed when we told him that his reward for a day of hard climbing was a trip to some garden.

In Guangzhou, we hit up some parks–the highlights being the statue of the five divine rams that purportedly brought good luck and fertility to the city

and countless koi that swarm visitors at the slightest wave of a hand.

I gotta say, the shopping in Guangzhou is quite enjoyable. Of all the places I’ve been in China, I have yet to see such steeply discounted prices for remarkably attractive products.

Then, Mom and I took a break from the urban sprawl and jetted to Guilin, known for its devastatingly beautiful mountains and rivers. Noteworthy places we visited were:

Elephant Mountain,

the scaleable Gudong Cascades,

Silver Cave,

some sort of tribal reservation where the natives were especially friendly,

and a raft-level view of the awe-inspiring Li Jiang which winds through Guilin’s seemingly neverending mountains.

(I’m not terribly good at taking panoramic shots, but I’m sure you get the idea.)

From Guilin, we went on to visit yet more relatives in Zhuhai, a developing city that borders Macau. I was hoping to catch some rays in this beach-flanked town and got more than my fair share playing in the sand with my little cousin.

We took home matching shells and sunburns.

It’s been a glorious month of sightseeing, relative visiting, and culture appreciating. I still have until the 27th to experience more of China and will report back with stories as soon as I go collect some adventures.

Hope your summer is floating along nicely!

China, Pt. I: A Picture Update of Shanghai and Beijing

Christine — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:00:22 +0000

Howdy kids! It’s been a while since I last updated; I’m gonna blame the lack of public computers around tourist hotspots in China. Anyhoooooo, now that I’m finally back in Shanghai (where most of my relatives reside), I can finally blog.

As I mentioned in my last post, there was much concern over the H1N1 virus’ possibility of epidemic-ness, so there were forehead checkers (to quarantine feverish fliers) who swarmed the plane upon our arrival in Shanghai. One of these Swine Flu fighters was kind enough to pose in full regalia for me:

My mother, brother, and I were lucky enough to be sitting four rows ahead of someone registering a slight fever. My dad just happened to be sitting in the row behind us, within a three row radius of someone registering a slight fever and was carted away, according to the new regulation set by the Chinese government. Thankfully, he was released after a day, when officials determined post-finals stress to be the culprit of our feverish flier’s raised temperature.

With all that mess behind us, the whole fam decided to head out to a shopping mart in Shanghai frequented by a group of people we now unfortunately fall under–tourists. It’s known for its distinctly Asian wares and smells.

Much eating ensued. I vividly remember after a wonderfully delicious dinner, the entire family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins included) posed for snapshots by the Huangpu River.

A week later, Dad left to go back to Houston and the tedium of work while Mom, Phillip, and I flew to Beijing. We checked out remnants of bygone days and more recent architectural feats. The first night, we visited the Bird’s Nest (which housed many events of the 2008 Olympics). My mother was under the impression that the Bird’s Nest would be much more dazzling with pretty lights and everything at night, but I think she failed to consider the difficulty of photographing figures in the dark. Here’s the result:

Then, we hit up the usual must-see sights–Tiananmen and the Forbidden City:

The Great Wall:

Tian Tan (I think that’s the Pinyin for it) or the Temple of Heaven:

and some TV tower (CCTV is apparently a big deal in China):

From Beijing, we flew to Guangzhou, then Guilin, but I think I’m gonna have to fill you in on those adventures tomorrow. It’s almost midnight here, and I’ve developed the sleeping habits of the elderly. Goodnight, and stay tuned.

Don’t Quarantine Me, Pls!

Christine — Thu, 28 May 2009 06:26:34 +0000

Here I am, making my last adjustments to the already brimming suitcase my mother has allocated to me (the other one American Airlines allows me has been filled with gifts for relatives back home), and I get the bright idea to blog about the gazillions of concerns scampering through my head.

Will they like me back home (in Shanghai, my birthplace)? Will real, bonafide Chinese people see through my Asian exterior and find my inner person much too American for their tastes? And most importantly, will the government see fit to quarantine me given the recent swine flu scare?

I found this tactic the Chinese government has of detaining not only people who register a fever attempting to enter their country but also that entire plane most laughable. Then, about last Wednesday, I caught some sort of virus. I ran a 101.4* fever and – most terrifyingly – skipped two meals. Yeah, it was bad. My mom, being overly worried and motherly, took me to the doctor the next morning only to find out that I just had a normal flu. I’ve been on exorbitant quantities of antibiotics and herbal supplements since.

The suffering caused by the sickness pales in comparison to the barrage of emotional distress that has plagued me all week, though. My parents, at the slightest hint of a cough, will immediately caution me to mask my infirmity, hinting that not only will I be responsible for the detainment of my family and myself, the entire plane will be finger-wagging at me as we’re sequestered in a window-less, miserable, stuffy room for a week. As if there were monitors for the Chinese government lurking around the couch as catch the latest “So You Think You Can Dance.” When I respond sarcastically, citing illogical reasons for wanting to get sick or pointing out that I’m getting all my hacking out of the way before I face the inquisitors, the parentals bewail their fate, asking God why they were cursed with such a shameful daughter.

If any of you have read any Amy Tan, you’ll know what I mean when I say I swear I’ve been thrown into one of her novels. It seems as we move closer and closer to departure, my parents grow more and more culture conscious, practically morphing into caricatures of traditional Asian parents. If I hear any mention of dishonoring ancestors, I will throw a fit.

On a brighter note, I don’t have H1N1, so I will (hopefully) be in a whole ‘nother country! Hence, I can entertain y’all with vivid pictures and colorful stories of the booming Shanghai and Beijing (there will be a little traveling involved). Looks like alotta people are abroad this summer. Check out Chelsea’s blog to hear about her adventures in France!

Till I can find an Internet cafe, zai jian!

Let me sing you my Summersong…

Christine — Thu, 14 May 2009 04:36:30 +0000

I’ve decided. I absolutely love summer. What other season is entirely dedicated to pursuing your desires? It’s just a loooong breath of freedom after finals.

Lemme just recount to you what I’ve been going through the past few days so you can see what I mean. Exam week was quite dreadful; I’m not gonna lie. I didn’t even have that many orthodox finals, but the papers and projects due on top of my two in-class exams were a little hard to juggle. Time management has never been my forte, so when I had an unlimited-time, open-notes, open-book Econometrics final and Finance project due on the same day, I decided that preparation beforehand wasn’t quite necessary. Needless to say, there was a reason said ‘Metrics final was unlimited-time. My dearest lover, Sleep, with whom I have had myriad scandalous PDA sessions (in class, on elevators, at the library), left me for a while. We both decided it was a good time to take a break.

That mess was all over Saturday, though, so I packed up my things into my little Sentra (Eleanor, I call her, for she has a rather unfortunate looking face) and readied myself for a grueling nine hour drive. I was so ready, in fact, that I packed (and locked) my car keys into dear old Eleanor and required the services of a good locksmith in the early hours of the morn. I also find out that I’m out of cash to pay him, so I end up borrowing some $$$ from a good sorority sister. Mind you, the sprint to an ATM and discovery I didn’t know my own PIN number beforehand occurred in the rain. How very FML-appropriate, no? No worries, it gets even better…

I chug along for the entirety of Sunday, and about an hour away from home decide to gently roll into a parked truck at a red light while checking to see at which intersection I needed to turn. The pleasantries of respective car evaluation, uncomfortable acknowledgment of the situation, and insurance information are exchanged.

“Moving?” he inquires.

“Oh, I’m getting home from college.”

He looks bewildered, so I take a look at my dangerously stuffed car and agree, “Moving, yeah I’m moving.”

He runs a hand over his pristine bumper while I kick at my crumpled license plate, “Well, I’ll call you if anything’s damaged.”

Nacogdoches, TX will never be a happy place again.

I get to Houston. Finally. Pass Out. Reboot. Start: Summertime

Janis’ Summertime (Right click, Open in New Tab this, I wanna set the right mood for the rest of my entry.)

Monday I begin unpacking my college things. Molting my extraneous clothing, accessories, knick-knacks. Tucking flyaway feathers away in closets as I step out to greet the joyous season of sun, fun, and bikinis. I do outrageously summery things like washing the car, sunbathing, swimming, reading books for enjoyment and watching my little brother’s baseball practice. How much more blueberry-pickin’, beach frequentin’ A-mur-ican summer can I get? Oh yeah, I also buy a bunch of records and have some Beatles blastin’ as I chillax on the porch swing. You can almost smell the BBQ goodness drifting through the mosquito netting, right?

Oh, yeah, and what summer would be complete without a little traveling? I’m leaving for the Motherland on May 28th. Will be there until almost August. If you’re gonna be there, comment/email me so we can stand a better chance of meeting than not. China’s a big country. Shanghai’s a big city.

As of right now, I’m content. Summer is decidedly the best season. I used to be a fall fan, then winter lover, and spring was so fresh! in my mind. Yet, all those seasons have a restricting, flight-preventing, structure to them. This summer, I can work if I want. I can make that T-shirt quilt I’ve been planning. I can choose to sit on my lazy butt and soak up the rays. All I know is this little bird will be trilling her heart out for a while.

Yo, Check It.

Christine — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:42:01 +0000

Hey y’all! Quick update on my life: been Mock Trial-ing for the past weekend. We went to Des Moines, IA for the National Championship and came back with a trophy. Correction, two trophies. Granted, they were for 14th and 15th place, but for a school of less than two thousand, I’d say that getting two teams in the top 15 is quite remarkable.

Details? We went up against Yale, Stanford, Michigan, and Cornell. Split, lost, split, and won those respective rounds. I wish I could be more descriptive, but after getting back, I’ve been using the vast majority of my brain CPU to finish the homework/paper writing/studying that missing two days of class creates.

Dinner after the tournament might have been the best part of the trip. People (namely our wonderful seniors) decided to wax poetic during toasts, and tears were generously shed.

Here are some action shots from the weekend:

Here you can see us adding approximately thrity years to this beautiful young lady’s…hair. Appearance is important!

Here’s the neatly organized table with our three lovely attorneys right before a round.

And, of course, what would a Mock Trial post be without a team picture? Oh-so-professional, no?

I’m on a Boat.

Christine — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:40:08 +0000

I wonder how one would go about proving she has SAD. Given the empirical data I’ve amassed (all five incidents worth of data), I’d say I have a pretty intense case of the sun addiction. I love sunny days. I detest cloudy/rainy ones. Today, for instance, I woke up to grey skies and went through my morning in a foul mood. Then, after a brief three hour nap, the sun came out, I went to crew practice, and I felt magnificent.

There’s an obvious connection between the amount of sun I’m exposed to and my mood, right? The nap/physical exertion/absence of class clearly had nothing to do with it. In all seriousness, though, I really do think more sun can only render me a happier person.

Here’s some footage of the Mississippi.

Look at them row!

Speaking of joyous occasions, my weekend was quite an enjoyable affair. Our two Rhodes Mock Trial teams both got bids to go to nationals in mid-April, finishing second and third in this weekend’s tournament. Here’s a snapshot of our other team (who, btw, had a 7-1 record) lookin’ mighty fine:

Gonna go ride some dolphins and do some flips. In my flippy-floppies.

So, how was your Spring Break?

Christine — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 07:51:37 +0000

Wow. Who knew that getting back in the groove of school after only a week off would be this difficult? Spring Break, I believe, is the most inefficient use of break time ever. Sure, it’s wonderful for relaxing and forgetting about that exam and those papers you have piling up, but then you get back and WHAM, you’re back in the grind of things.

A week is the perfect length of time to effectively forget all things academic and lull your body into such a state of lethargy that you’re fighting your own laziness and the laws of physics (INERTia, YO) to get back into a state of motion. Two against one. Not fair, life.

This, I forgot to mention, is entirely my fault. I could have done homework and studied and written papers while I whiled my hours away poolside, but apparently working on my tan was more important than working on my Econometrics problem set. I’m a winner, y’all guys. Totally got my priorities straight.

When I got back, I did everything in my power to put off schoolwork. This includes cleaning my room. I did housework to avoid cerebral stimulation. Result? My t-shirts are folded and filed in my drawers–by color. JK, I would never sort my shirts by color; they’re obviously sorted by material blend, DUH.

Here are some pictures from before Break that I never got to put up:

These are some of my sorority sisters helping out at our philanthropic event, Strike Out Arthritis, benefiting Arthritis research.

What better way to raise money than by hosting a Wiffleball tournament? Let me just say, the competition got fierce. Bruises happened. Voices were raised. Action shots were snapped.

Now back to work. It’s gonna be a long week. Good news, though. The weather’s been feeling particularly divine recently. As a self diagnosed victim of S[easonal] A[ffective] D[isorder], these longer periods of sun availability is doing wonders for my mood. Gotta make sure to go outside for my daily dose of vitamin D and happiness tomorrow.

Let’s Give Up Losing for Lent

Christine — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 08:17:41 +0000

As promised, I’m gonna be updating y’all on my life (including, but not limited to, my experiences with the Vagina Monologues). I’m sure you’ve read Philly’s take on Eve Ensler’s masterpiece. Thankfully, my experience with “My Angry Vagina” was nowhere near the level of raw emotion and agony that Philly’s was, but I certainly derived a sort of indignation from talking about the ridiculousness of tampons, thong underwear, and gynecological visits. The V-logues were a wonderful, moving experience in which I feel honored to have been involved. Here’s a pic of the entire cast and staff:

What else? I then had a grueling week of exams or, as my Finance professor likes to call them, “celebrations of knowledge.” Those celebrations took place in both Finance and Econometrics (what is that subject? I don’t even know yet), but I was able to struggle through to Mardi Gras. As the season of festivities ended with a most enjoyable Fat Tuesday, I celebrated the weekend in New Orleans with a few Rhodes friends from the area. Don’t we look like we’re having a great time? I assure you; we were.

Woooooooo. Float! Beads galore!

Then, I had to get down to business. Mock Trial style. On the van ride to Columbia, MO, where we were to compete in the Trial regionals, my captain said what I then considered the cheesiest thing ever. “Guys,” he deadpanned, “let’s give up losing for Lent.” I burst into a series of snorts and guffaws, but at the end of the tournament, guess which team did indeed give up losing? This one:

Our 8-0 record was pretty impressive. More impressive still? That Topher (Oh captain, our captain) had called it. Our other Rhodes team also did remarkably well–qualifying for the next round of competition (to be held in our own Memphis, TN). Aren’t they a good looking bunch as well?

Another thing of import. We Rhodesians have received gratuitous amounts of snow and ice. It’s kinda cool. Lie. It’s bitterly cold. (Keep in mind that this is coming from a gal who grew up in Houston, TX.) A snowball fight does a body good, though.

Aaaaand I’m out. It’s sleepytime. Peace, homies.

Future?!? WHAT?

Christine — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 06:38:35 +0000

I remember this time last year I was madly scrambling to turn in my PA and Diplomats applications. As a high school senior, college apps were already excruciating for me, so all these miscellaneous other applications that I had to crawl through to wear the coveted “ASK ME” or rugby shirts were a little…much. It’s a matter of personal preference, I guess. I just can’t stand the tedium of filling in endless blanks. I wish there were a way the administration could just glance at you and instantaneously deem you un/worthy of supporting Rhodes’ stalwart name on your lowly shoulders.

That’s something that really strikes me about college/adulthood, all the planning. Not only are you looking into the next few week[end]s, there’s next month, next semester, and – check this – a whole 365 days from now. I submitted an application to study abroad in the fall. Destination: Madrid. Hopefully everything works out, and I’ll be well on my way to a Spanish minor. We’ll see. That was app number one. Not too painful.

Then what do I decide to do? I’ve always wanted to be an RA. No, legit. I’ve had cool, super-chill RAs all TWO years I’ve been here, and I just want to add to the cool super-chill love. BTW, Sarah happens to be my current RA. I know, small world, right?

(Keep in mind I probably won’t be in Memphis in the fall because of study abroad. So what is this application-ing for? That’s right–next year.) The RA application is pretty intense. Sure, it’s got nothing on college apps, but I sort of had a deja vu moment when I had to reach into the recesses of my heart to dig out a kernel of actual emotion for a couple of questions ~~(quite like the #3 essay question on the Common App)~~. I kid. I have absolutely no memory of college applications.

All this applying got me thinking. I’m acting like such an adult. I make lists all the time now. Seriously, there’s a shopping list right next to me. Apparently I’m low on contact solution, snacks, and feminine products. Woohoo.

I’m only twenty and listing already. Gah, what’s next? Resume drafting? House hunting? …Investing?!? Actually, my Finance professor did mention something about starting early. Hemhem. Different tangent. Fun things I’ve been doing:

OHOHOHOH! I had the privilege of being part of Rhodes’ Vagina Monologues. I’m tired, though, so we’ll hold off on how awesome that was (WITH PHOTOS!) until later. Philly was also in it, so stay tuned to her blog for V-logues stories.

Hasta luego, peeps!

Finally. Some Downtime.

Christine — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 02:48:55 +0000

To anyone who frequents this blog, I can only issue a most heartfelt, “My bad.” You see, I’ve just been so caught up with the new school year, and over break, my parents decided to do the whole Disneyworld thing for my little brother (I think nine’s the age Disneyworld loses the magic–or maybe just the last year you can get tickets at the discounted children’s price).

Anyway, let me innundate you guys with some wonderful photos:

Here some action from Orlando:

I felt it was necessary to include snapshots from all four kingdoms. Also, please inspect each family member’s reaction to the Dinosaur! ride at Animal Kingdom. My mom’s expression is especially hilarious. I’ve never seen such apparent terror in my life.

Here’s one from Los Angeles, where Rhodes got 5th place (out of forty teams) at UCLA’s Mock Trial Invitational.

More updates later!