Sunday was a really long day. I spent most of the day just trying to upload pictures and videos to Facebook. I was surprised at how much of the day it took, but luckily I got it finished, with my whopping 40KB/sec upload connection.
Monday was a very busy day with classes and all. My 2PM class was canceled again, I wonder if we are still having it. I hope they didn’t choose to change the room or something else half way through. At night I had so more Xinjiang food. It was really quite good.
Tuesday was a little more interesting. In class we watched a movie called “A World Without Thieves”. It is a really interesting movie, and I suggest that you all watch it if you have time. It was definitely one of the better activities we have done in class.
Wednesday saw us teaching kids more english. We sang the “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” song with all of the kids. They enjoyed it, even when they couldn’t quite keep up with the pace that we were singing.
Lately I have been watching a lot of TV and such with my tutor. We finish our classes early, and then since we have nothing to do, we start up a TV show. The main show we watch is called “The Battle to Protect Marriage”. It is a really interesting show. It is about three different families, who all have very different views on families and the roles of men and women. I really enjoy it because it leaves a lot to think about.
On Thursday I also watched the Jackie Chan move “The Myth”. Overall a really good movie, but I wish that it had a happy ending. I must say that I am happy that I watch them with my roommate, or I fear that I wouldn’t understand half of what they said :) It is amazing how many cultural references are jammed into media.
On Friday I tried to play a game with some friends in America, but the Chinese firewall would let me connect to the servers. I was really sad. Saturday saw me playing Volleyball with some friends here, so at least I got to do something with friends over the weekend.
If I had to sum up this week, I would do so as boring. I really didn’t do anything that interesting. Everyone else also seemed to be pretty busy, so I could just relax with them. Sad day.
As for the issue of whether to go home or not, that has been about all that has been on my mind. Luckily I was able to sit down on Thursday with Trevor and talk about it. He helped me be able to get the whole situation in very rational terms. Either choice I make, I will be giving up something of real value, and I need to decided which is more important. The two things we focused on were my Chinese degree vs. my flagship certificate. I can only do one or the other, not both. With this though I admit that I am leaning more to coming home in January. I don’t see a good internship very likely anymore, but I will still wait at least another week before making a decision.
Until then, I hope everything is going wonderful for everyone. Happy Christmas season to all of you!
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ReplyDeleteScott,
ReplyDeleteI hope it's OK if I add a comment here and an opinion. Do with them as you please.
1) Get the degree. Be done with it. There is such value in being done with it. It hangs on the wall in a frame and you look at it and say, oh my gosh, I did it....but more importantly you say....now what? So if there is a "now what?" don't prolong saying it. Just get it done. The opportunities are there when it is done, not in the lag time waiting.
2) CS is and should be your main focus I would think. The Chinese is and always will be the cherry on the cake but not the end all-be all. I have progressed a lot SINCE I received my degree in Chinese. The degree in Chinese is just a side-bar which adds depth to everything else.
3) Family time and downtime between degrees is something you can never have a second chance at if you only have one opportunity. :)
4) Answer this question: What is the #1 priority for me right now. That's where your answer is. The # 2's, 3's, 4's, 5's and 6's all have merit but whatever # 1 is is what you should do. All the rest will fall in place once you know what #1 is.
Good luck.
Liz
Be sure to check my comments on your blogs for October and November. I have responded to all of them, even though I did it much later than the blog date.
ReplyDeleteLiz has given you some good advice this week, so I hope it helps you know what to do. I think you have more at stake here than in China. It's all according to your #1 priority.
What do you want for Christmas? I don't have a clue since you are in China. I love you. ~MOM