Well... I've been quite derelict in my Chinablogging duties lately. I tell you, being a social butterfly is hard work!

Anyhow, I've summarized the last three weeks into a nice compact format. Gone are the minute details of the past. Also inside, a blurry picture of the Forbidden City at night!

There is a building in my neighborhood that is being torn down in slow motion. I pass by it every day on the way to the subway station.

She was delicious!

I had a normal week and an exciting weekend. Yet another girl has tumbled into the picture and some old characters are continuing to make appearances.

Inside: not one, but two parties, the new girl, poker, and more!

ATTN MNS infidel : I'm not a bad man, I promise
ATTN calla infidel : I'd like your input on the new girl

This week I've got all kinds of details about the date I mentioned last week, plus the aftermath.

Also inside: more poker and drunken shenanigans.

Well, I finally broke my diary per week habit last week. It's not a big deal really. I didn't have enough to say at the end of last week because it was a total grind.
This week was different. I went out nearly every night and I got food poisoning (or something like it).
Read on for more of my hastily composed Chinese adventures.

Warning: The following diary contains Chinese characters. If the title looks all screwed up, you should install the Bitstream Cyberbit font (Go here and download Cyberbit.ZIP from the linked FTP site). Yes, the file is 6MB. I'm sorry, but one day I'll write up a Chinese restaurant menu cheat sheet that you can print out for easy reference. It'll be totally worth it. Besides, Chinese looks cool.

Below the fold: I start teaching, get into an argument in the grocery store, and go on a date!

Well, my October holiday was not completely wasted. On Wednesday, I met a friend (lets call her Butterfly) at Beihai Park in central Beijing.

Also this week, I ate some good American food (really!) and some Mexican food...

I apologize in advance for this weeks boring diary. I think I slept too much this week.

Below the fold: practicing Chinese with pretty Chinese girls and getting a cold! (sadly, the two are not related) Also, October Holiday and a poll to help me decided what kind of tourist things I should do in the next week.

I mentioned last week during the height of my gastronomic difficulties that I had started cooking for myself at home. My cooking here isn't much different from my cooking at home, I just have a slightly different selection of ingredients to work with. (Also, no oven = no pizza).

This is a small sample.

Well, the first week of classes has come and gone. My Chinese still sucks, but I know several more words and key phrases. I also know a few characters, though I can read more readily than I can write.

Below the fold: details of my classes as well as some selected adventures from my week.