I've been in China for six months now. I know this because my first visa expired and I had to get a new one (a shockingly painless process in this land of bureaucracy). I've got until September 8th to get out of the country or get a new visa via some crooked agent who knows a guy that knows a guy or something like that. In all likelihood I'll leave in July like I've planned to all along. But until then there are adventures to be had...

This diary has been sitting around on my computer for a month now. I've been so busy doing fuck-all that I haven't gotten around to posting it. (That's a lie, I went to Xi'an in there somewhere)

So without further ado, here's my account of getting the hell out of Beijing to enjoy Chinese New Year in the sticks with Very.

I've returned from Xi'an. I officially hate China Rail... again.

But the real news is that I got a yinzhang! A yinzhang is one of those spiffy name stamps that you see on calligraphy works or letters or anything else that can use a spiffy looking signature. See it inside and take the related poll!

It's been too long since I've written a diary. I've got a backlog of activity that I've been writing about but the going is slow.

It'll have to wait. Tonight, I'm going to Xi'an to visit my friend before he leaves China.

(See inside for a translation)

Well, this weekend is Chinese New Year. Very is still away from Beijing in the small town of Pingquan and she thought it would be nice if I went up there to experience a "real" New Year's celebration with her.

Thus began another adventure with the ticket counter at the train station. (warning: profanity in two, maybe three different languages inside)

Also inside: Chinese people don't mess around when it comes to fireworks.

Very returns from Kuala Lumpur, but all is not well. Five days later she's gone again. All this and more in the latest installment of weihan's adventures in China!

Ok, so perhaps slozo beat me to them, but I've got pictures and translations.

Inside: funny Chinglish!

Well, Christmas wasn't super exciting here in Beijing. I talked to my friends and family back in the states, which was quite nice, but that's about it.

From the look of it, it seemed like New Years would be equally uneventful, so I decided to seek out other options.

Luckily for me, another Hussite made a comment about New Years in Wuxi.

Well, I've gone another two weeks without writing a diary and my friends and family are starting to wonder what's up.

So read on for a loosely organized list of the memorable things that have happened since I last wrote. Inside you'll find (of course) more adventures with Very, an update on Cher, teaching things, and some pictures!

Well, chapter one of my adventure in China has officially come to a close. That's right, I finished my 12-week intensive Chinese language study.

Inside, some pictures and maybe a little commentary... Who knows, I'm shooting from the hip tonight.