China: Part III

Last time, I said I was going to Xitang, but I'll not talk about that in this post, maybe later...
Let's continue with the third week, which is probably the worst of all, or maybe the best after all.

What happened? One day, I came back to my room and saw my roomate lying on the bed with his sunglasses on, he was probably crying. He told me that his girlfriend in Canada is mad that he's sharing a room with a girl and she'd rather break up than to let this continue. In my head it was like, I feel sorry for you but this is not my fault, so if someone has to move out, that person is not me. Then, he went to talk with Antoine and Eric to see if they could switch so that he stays with Antoine and I stay with Eric. Then all three came in my room to "talk" but it was more like forcing, not physically but mentally. I felt like they are all against me, as if it was my fault and that I should help william...It's because, william is just my roomate, and who's gonna help me then? I didn't even wanna talk and just walked out.

If I had to be in the same room as Eric...really i'd have nightmares...It's like a punishment. Girls, here's my advice, if you wanna pretend that you are not jealous, then pretend until the end, if you cannot, then just admit that you are jealous, you will make people's life easier. And Boys, I have a piece of advice for you too, do not trust your girlfriend if she says that she trust you, this statement is only true when you are in her field of vision. Sad but true!

During that week, I just went out a few times with Kevin (the guy I met last week). My roomate came back late everynight, probably trying avoid me. So I felt kind of bad for him and I cannot live like this for two months seeing his stupid crybaby face everyday. So in the end, I agreed to change roomate and my new roomate is...Eric. It was thursday I think and luckily Eric was going to Beijing for the whole weekend. I heard he steals shampoo and stuff like that so imagine how I am going to live! When he was away, I tortured his bed and his clothes and I'd put weird products in the shampoo in case he steals mine (I have another one for myself obviously).

That weekend, I went to Coco again and I met another guy! His name is Jay, a korean student at the same university but in another campus. Nothing special happened with him, but I felt bad for Kevin (the guy I met last week). Kevin thinks that I'm his girlfriend and I cannot blame him for that. He is a good guy, he's sweet and innocent. I really didn't wanna hurt him, but I did it, that's how stupid I am.

Back to Jay, that's him:

He is so cute with his small little eyes. That night, I went home really late, or really early I should say, around 5-6 am (the clubs close around 5). He promised to call me, but waited until the last week, he was probably shy...most asian guys I met in China are pretty shy. We met again at SOS and I did something really wrong. It happens often, but that time, I was TOO stupid. But that's not the point of this post so I'll skip this for now.

I think it was on sunday night, Eric came back from Beijing and we had a fight (not physically of course). Here’s what happened. I came back to the dorm and he wasn't even studying, he was talking to someone. So I just decided to watch TV and 2 minutes later he says that he wants to study and tells me to turn the TV off. It's like hello, you think you're the king or what! If you need to study, I need to entertain myself too. The TV can't be moved but you can, so who's gonna move? Then, he just went to unplug the cable. I was so mad, so I said to turn the light off because I wanted to sleep even though it wasn't true, I just wanted to piss him off. In the end I lost my temper and threw his stuff outside and blah-blah-blah so I had to call Duan Laoshi and he said that he'll find me another room tomorrow. God...that's what he should've done since the beginning. After, I heard Teedah saying that I'm rude. I only yelled at Eric, not at her. Plus, I don't even remember talking to this girl before. Teedah, are you trying to make yourself sound more interesting? Maybe you can just say that you're jealous, you'll might get more attention.

The next day, I moved to the international building, the one where Kevin lives. By coincidence, my room is not only on the same floor as Kevin, but in the same wing too! I don't know what to think, because that would mean that I'd probably see him everyday. The room is tiny but there's everything exept annoying canadians and cockroaches. Honestly, I was a bit scared to sleep alone, maybe not scared, but I'm not so used to that. Oh, but I love it because I can sleep NAKED!

That's the room:

Here's something I don't like from the Concordia Program, it leaves us little chance to interact with other students because Concordia student all live on the same floor and take the same classes...I know that's the most logical thing to do, but...there is something missing in the whole experience. So yeah, I was saying that it was probably the best week, because I got away from it. The international building has a different atmosphere that I really like. Ok, both buildings are for international students but one's for americans (mostly) and one's for asians (mostly). In the american building, even if they can speak chinese, they'd still communicate with you in english. In the asian building, people only speak their native language and Chinese, so I was able to interact in Chinese a lot more and meet other students. I felt like I was becoming Asian on the inside. Even though my skin is yellow, that was the very first time I felt the asian part of me and I absolutely love it!

China: Part II

So let’s start from where I left off last time. We arrived there on Saturday night I think? Or maybe Sunday…I met a guy named Lucky on the first few days; we went to eat at a seafood restaurant. I don’t know anything about that guy, he seems nice but I always felt that he had bad intentions. Once at Coco, I said I wanted vodka and he bought me a whole bottle. So you see why I am suspicious? But whatever, it doesn’t matter because nothing happened. We went out a few times and had a few beers together during these 2 months, but I was never game to drink too much in case something bad would happen haha.

So during the first 2 weeks, I mostly hung out with William and Antoine. Antoine liked to wake up very early and go jogging with his roommate Eric. Sometimes, they would come to my room and ask William to join them, but that lazy guy only joined them once. Then, we would go for breakfast somewhere in the campus. Antoine is a very nice guy, he is very ambitious. William is a nice guy too; he has a girlfriend and seems to be very nice to her. He is also very simple is his head…I’m not saying that he is stupid, but he really thinks life is that easy, maybe it is because he is not from the city. And Eric, no comments.

From my balcony:

Antoine and Eric

I was placed in the second level of Chinese, but I didn’t know any pinyin (which is the base), so I couldn't even read. However, that level wasn’t too difficult for me. So someone decided to be a hero and told the teacher that this was unfair to me and to let me be in the first level. Then I thought, that wouldn’t be a bad thing, I won't need to study and get an A, it would also help me review. You might think that would not be as meaningful because I would learn less, but there is a lot that can’t be taught in a classroom. Also, there are many options for Chinese courses in Montreal, I didn't go to Hangzhou just for to learn Chinese. Plus, if I always had to study, how would I be able to enjoy my stay? I do not regret my decision because while they were studying in their room, I was having fun.

The first week went just fine, I was very happy to be there and I was enjoying it at 100% (except for the fact that I got lost a few times and that I had to wait until I get back to the dorm to pee). During the first weekend, we went to shop. We got our bikes from the Prada mall of downtown. I got a pink one with a basket in the front. We shopped around and William got a few things for his girlfriend. I think I got a few things too. Oh, and in China, we have to bargain especially for foreigners. One time, we got 2 belts for 45 Yuans in total but they were trying to get us pay something like 200 Yuan for only 1. Bargaining can be lots of fun!

That's the place we went to: The Night Market


If you wonder where the cute chinese guys are, they are usually there and at other market places selling stuff. I don't think those guys go to school:









During the second week, things went a bit awkward. Once, when I came back to my room, I saw that b*tch Cielo on my bed. Maybe it is animal instinct or something like that, I just hate it when other girls sit on my bed, unless they are close friends. Plus, this girl always says “Hi Elaine...” with that attitude…That is just so annoying. It’s okay if they chill in my room, since it is also William’s room, but not on my bed!

Then I just went to Raphael and Alex’s room to chill. Later, we went to the Mexicans’ room on the 3rd floor to drink more. That was the first time I got drunk in China. I drank a lot that night.

The boys and the girls:




Then I got back to my room and accidently hit my head on the corner of the table. I was bleeding so badly, I thought I ruined my face. Luckily, our doctor William was there with his magic plasters to rescue me. That guy is really not that bad.

What I did that weekend? I believe I went to Coco with Raphael, John and Alex. Alex is the most handsome guy of the trip and he is very tall, so of course I had naughty thoughts. John is a Chinese guy we met at the pools in the village next to our campus. Supposely, he does not make a lot of money but he bought us 200 Yuan of beer and paid the taxi. I find that very weird and didn’t trust that guy so much. I know he is very nice to me, but sometimes I feel like he is lying. He even gave me cakes and made me jello in form of apple.

So about Coco, it is a club frequented by many foreigners, Mexicans, Russians, Arabs, Koreans, Japanese, Africans, Americans, etc. That night I just wanted to get a guy honestly. I saw a cute one but there was girl next to him, I still got this picture so I could show to my friends in Montreal hehe.

That's him:


Then I saw another guy, he was tall and wasn't bad looking. I went to him and just said Hi. Then I danced on the stage and asked him to join me. At first he didn’t want to, but his friends kept pushing him so, he did. He looked so shy.

That's him:


It was the perfect chance since my roommate is in Shanghai. Oh, by the way, his name is Lee Won Woo or Kevin, an exchange student from Korea. He’s been studying in China for a year and he is in the fifth level. I dragged him outside to talk and found out that we study in the same campus and he lives in the building right in front of mine, the one where most of Koreans live. It was hard to communicate with him because my Chinese is not very good, and I don’t understand a word Korean. But his English is better than most of the Koreans I met during that trip so it wasn’t that bad. So in the end, he left with his friends. It's asian culture...I didn't want to act like a slut.

I went home with Alex and I asked him if he was hungry and we decided we wanted to go to McDonald’s. He came to my room to take William’s bike. I should’ve pushed him on the bed and he wouldn’t been able to resist. But no, we went in front of the international building to get my bike and guess who we bumped into... Kevin and his friends -_-! So just naturally, I asked Kevin to come with us, and Alex decided to not bother us. So yeah, after we ate, we went back to the dorm and I kissed him on the cheek before I left...and yes only on the cheek. When I looked back, he was turning around and he was still looking and confused. He looked like those guys in Korean movies, he is a good guy and the boyfriend that every girl wishes to have, but after a while, I realized that he was not for me.

When I got back into my room, I saw Eric lying on William’s bed. I was so angry! It’s like, no one gave him the permission. I felt like someone invaded my territory...probably animal instinct again! That day I didn’t sleep and went to Xitang with the group. I was so exhausted!

China: Part I

Today we are the 26th of august and it’s already been 2 months since the end of my trip to China. It would be so unfortunate to forget about that beautiful place, all the stories and the people involved. I remember on the day before the trip, I didn’t sleep (May 1, 2008). It was just impossible to do so for some reasons. I was going to be on the other side of the world the next day! I wasn’t exactly scared, I was uncertain I guess. However, I was sure that I wouldn't regret. My mom asked me to talk to my dad before I go, which I did. I cannot forget about the past but I know how much he cares about me. Maybe what he did wasn’t right, but he is still my dad. He drove me to the airport and as I left, I almost saw tears coming out from his eyes. I told myself…why am I so harsh with this poor guy, just let him be happy…but that doesn’t mean that he can control me, I’m old enough to know what I need. I’ll just let him talk and not argument…by doing so, everyone will be happy right?

…14 hours flight is quite a pain in the ass! I was sitting next to Tania, she was nice and fortunately she didn’t talk a lot and didn’t stink. I would die if I had to sit next to a fat ass guy for 14 hours. I sat next to the window, it was good because I could enjoy the view, but I hate to bother people to go to the bathroom. The worst is that I had my period! I kept the window closed during most of the flight since I got to sleep/watch movies. When I decided to open the window…guess what I saw…the Verkhoyansk Mountains! They looked like a flat surface at first but of course they are gigantic. It looked like there were no end to this snowy and icy place. It was simply beautiful, I instantly thought…life is so beautiful and there is just so much to discover. I want to be everywhere and see what life has to offer!

I often hear people say that the most beautiful and precious things/people are already by our side…but I don’t think that it is true. I think those people just prefer the confort and the safety of a familiar surronding.

An hour or two later, I saw China’s yellow earth. I was getting tired and my back hurted so much! I’m glad we finally arrived to Shanghai! We took the bus for another 2 hours to Hangzhou’s Zhejiang University Yuquan Campus. I met my roomate, mister William Daigle. I went straight to the bathroom and took a shower…ahhhh…I still remember how bad I wanted to shower. Then we went to the international students’ cafeteria to eat. When we arrived there, we didn’t even know how to order. I was with william and annie I think, I don’t even remember but we looked lost and "laowai". Then we saw two white guys laughing at us and guess what! They are from Concordia too, but arrived a day earlier, they are Raphael and Alex. We had a beer each. It was the big bottles of Tsing Dao…I read 10P of the label and I was like…danggg. But strangely, I didn’t even feel tipsy. Because guess what, it wasn’t 10 percent but something less than 3.6 percent! I still don't get what the P stands for, but whatever. Apparently, Chinese get drunk easily. Ok so after the dinner I went to the store with Raph to get a telephone card so I could tell my mom...I got to China safe and sound!.. but it was so complicated because we need 2 phone cards to make international calls, so the mission was unaccomplished. I went back to the dorm to pee and my roomate went for a walk. I was so tired that I felt asleep within 10 minutes!

(Building 31, Room 419)

The room's not bad right? There's even a balcony, a television and a queen size bed!

(may 5th, 2008): That day I got up at 7am. I thought, I don’t even need a clock or alarm to get up now that I am in China, but it’s probably jet lag. So that morning, me and william went out to eat since we did not like the food from the cafeteria. We walked on Xixi Lu but didn’t find anything since we don’t read chinese and didn’t want to risk our lives in suspicious places, but at least, we found a store to take passport photos for my roomate. Then we just walked around and discovered a few places like the gate to the mountain.

Me and Antoine decided to climb to the top. It only took something like 1 hour. The view was good, hangzhou is like a city built in the nature, it is something that montreal doesn’t have and that I really like. Everything is so beautiful and green.

Then we went to the orientation session and that guy explained everything pretty much. We then went to shop at a market near to our campus. I wanted to look for bikes, we didn’t find but I almost got killed a few times by bikes. My roomate was so tired that he went to sleep and he slept for 14 hours haha.

I only wrote about the first few days and I already wrote that much...seriously, I don't know how am I going to write about 2 months...so I will stop here for now. Hangzhou is very beautiful, especially the West Lake, but what makes a place attractive is its people I think. I still miss Hangzhou so much because of the people I met. I also loved the culture and I wish montreal was like that but that's just not possible. People are very kind. Westerners might say that they are noisy, dirty and all, but I think chinese people feel good in their own skin and they are simply the way they are, they are confident. They don't care whether they "look"/act weird or cool, that's how they are confortable with themselves and they actually care about each other, they make me feel home. The world is really upside down. Montrealers are too individualist and cold. The guys of montreal...Pffff seriously, I don't need to say how perverted and gay you guys are. Life was so different in China, I was just living my life the way I wanted it...I was happy. I didn't think a second of that stupid asshole, there's a lot more than useless shit like him. You see those are just little problems in life and once you step out of that bubble, you'll discover that there's more in life and you'd wonder why you were so stupid to not move on.

If you think you can't live without XYZ...it's just because you're living in a bubble so please step out. Honestly, I thought about him, I mean it's impossible to not, but it was more like...oh yeah there's him in Montreal, so what.

I met a girl and she said that she didn't want to go back to her country because she didn't want to go back to reality, which means to get a job and all. And I thought, does this mean that I am trying to escape the reality? I thought about it and the conclusion is no. Is what I am living not real? Do I have to go back to Canada, get my bachelor degree, be an accountant and get married? Is that "more" real? It's about how I choose to live my life and make what i like become real. I don't know if that's because I'm immature but that's really how I feel.