Back in Shanghai!

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Feels so good to be back!!! I got home and immediately passed out after taking a hot shower! The next day (Tuesday) we woke up late and went to RT Mart to stock up on some essentials. I got laundry detergent and softner (I'd been bumming off of everyone for the first few weeks) and some cleaning supplies. I got back to the dorms and went to town cleaning everywhere. I also started on some laundry. I had class all afternoon, so I just continued the cleaning afterward. A little later Elinor and I decided to study in the library but over here the library closes early I guess, so we ended up in one of the unused classrooms downstairs in the dorms.

Classes went well this week, we have a dictation on Friday covering the first three chapters but I'm pretty comfortable with them so I'm not worried. I also went and got a gym membership this week. I convinced my friend Chris to be my workout buddy so we went together to a gym about a five minutes walk away above a McDonalds (ironic huh?) We got one month for 200 kuai, so I figure it was a pretty good deal. The gyms are not as nice as back home, but it was pretty decent. It has a ping pong table and a pool table. We worked out right away for about 2 hrs (I could've gone all day, I felt awful after not having ran in about a month). The bathrooms are squatters and I will never shower there, but overall for a gym in China it was good. The stragest part was that there were two cats wandering around the weight room. Kind of odd, but I'm so used to weird stuff like that happening that it didn't really phase me haha.

After working out, I am no longer afraid of anyone in China!!! The girls mostly just hang out on the treadmills but they only walk. I haven't seen any with their hair up and about half of them wear jeans!! When they do try to lift weights they don't really do much, so I don't know why they bother. Even the guys aren't very physically active, many don't know how to lift weights properly and they often go in jeans and loafers! Chris said he saw one guy just bench for about 45 mins without doing any other excercises. Kind of makes for an awkward body!

This morning I went and worked out again after going to RT Mart. I got a bunch of snacks for my room, but ended up giving them away to little children beggars on the street. I was annoyed with myself for giving it all away so I went and bought some sort of weird packaged pastries to keep in my purse to give away next time instead of my nice chocolate!! When I got back I put up my artwork that I got in Youngshuo! A weekend in Shanghai will be nice, Meaghan and I are planning to go to the textiles market where we can get clothes custom made, so it should be fun!!

P.S. Dad- tell KR that her postcards are coming! I have some to send, I just have to suck up enough courage to brave the post office!!

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Comments

[Charlie]

beggers
Those kids are not real beggers. Nex time, just ignore them.