The freshest thing in my mind right now is book-study. Our book-study was moved to Monday because our overseer is not here this week, so another overseer came over and conducted our book-study on Monday, I assume he will conduct his own book-study on Tuesday. So today feels a little bit like Tuesday.
Other than the oddness of the day of the week, the book-study was like any other. Revelation was as confusing as ever in Chinese, I have an especially hard time when the conductor asks extra questions and clarification questions, at that point the topic of further conversation is lost to me. But it won't be much longer and we'll be done with the Revelation book and all of it's interesting, yet difficult symbolic illustrations.
After book-study the commonly-after-book-study tasteless fungus in a clear watery soup was served in abundance. I was handed a heaping bowl of it by a dear older sister, so how could I refuse? A common occurrence in my new life. Naturally the new sister Pu, who enjoys antagonizing me, asks me across the room "Do you like it?" I noticed she had none, she had somehow managed to avoid it, as she had avoided the burning sour juice a few weeks ago. I did not vocalize an answer for her, I glared at her instead. Which made her laugh.
After a most of them went home, one of the sisters was talking to me about my skinniness, again, and another sister reached under the couch and whipped out a high-tech looking bathroom scale, complete with electrodes, which I did not use. I weighed myself at 81.4 kg, (179lb 20 pounds less than when I got here) with everyone looking on. Of course when one of the sisters weighed herself no one was allowed to look, despite her tininess. So self-consciousness about their weight among women is universal any size, weight, language, or country.
After book-study my room-mate and I stopped for fried rice at a near by food shop, he ate his fried rice with a soup spoon while I ate mine with chopsticks while one of the local gods overlooked us from a few feet above. This god, I always thought was Buddha, a really fat bald laughing man, but Fantian told me he was the god of money and richness. Learn something new every day.
Also today, back from the weekend some of my class-mates watched Kungfu Panda. The teacher asked them about it, how it was, in Chinese, and they said it was funny and that they "missed Marc" watching it. Which was at first flattering, since they had invited me, until I realized that the term "missed" is also "thinking of" in this case they thought I was a lot like the Kungfu Panda, he reminded them of me, not quite as flattering. But I guess it could be worse, if you're going to remind people of an animal better a ridiculous cute and fuzzy Panda than something slimy and gross. Although now I'm a little afraid to watch it.

The freshest thing in my mind right now is book-study. Our book-study was moved to Monday because our overseer is not here this week, so another overseer came over and conducted our book-study on Monday, I assume he will conduct his own book-study on Tuesday. So today feels a little bit like Tuesday.
Other than the oddness of the day of the week, the book-study was like any other. Revelation was as confusing as ever in Chinese, I have an especially hard time when the conductor asks extra questions and clarification questions, at that point the topic of further conversation is lost to me. But it won't be much longer and we'll be done with the Revelation book and all of it's interesting, yet difficult symbolic illustrations.
After book-study the commonly-after-book-study tasteless fungus in a clear watery soup was served in abundance. I was handed a heaping bowl of it by a dear older sister, so how could I refuse? A common occurrence in my new life. Naturally the new sister Pu, who enjoys antagonizing me, asks me across the room "Do you like it?" I noticed she had none, she had somehow managed to avoid it, as she had avoided the burning sour juice a few weeks ago. I did not vocalize an answer for her, I glared at her instead. Which made her laugh.
After a most of them went home, one of the sisters was talking to me about my skinniness, again, and another sister reached under the couch and whipped out a high-tech looking bathroom scale, complete with electrodes, which I did not use. I weighed myself at 81.4 kg, (179lb 20 pounds less than when I got here) with everyone looking on. Of course when one of the sisters weighed herself no one was allowed to look, despite her tininess. So self-consciousness about their weight among women is universal any size, weight, language, or country.
After book-study my room-mate and I stopped for fried rice at a near by food shop, he ate his fried rice with a soup spoon while I ate mine with chopsticks while one of the local gods overlooked us from a few feet above. This god, I always thought was Buddha, a really fat bald laughing man, but Fantian told me he was the god of money and richness. Learn something new every day.
Also today, back from the weekend some of my class-mates watched Kungfu Panda. The teacher asked them about it, how it was, in Chinese, and they said it was funny and that they "missed Marc" watching it. Which was at first flattering, since they had invited me, until I realized that the term "missed" is also "thinking of" in this case they thought I was a lot like the Kungfu Panda, he reminded them of me, not quite as flattering. But I guess it could be worse, if you're going to remind people of an animal better a ridiculous cute and fuzzy Panda than something slimy and gross. Although now I'm a little afraid to watch it.