The Traveller's Hut

2006-09-13T23:11:00.000-07:00

When Waiting Gets Boring...

Now that everyone's gone, SF seems more peaceful and silent than usual. I really can't lock myself up in my house in order to finishing reading the course catalogue, not even the part relevant to my interests. Who made those books so thick, even a reader like me has to despise it? Vivian helped me finish the scarf, my first knitting project. Now I'm working on another one for my mom. I've been reading a lot of articles on traveling. I think I really want to travel around the world - let the dream come true, than rotting away in this boredom. May be Costa Rica would be a great place for this Xmas.

2006-09-07T22:57:00.000-07:00

"Hey, you stole my money!"

I wanted to scream at the vending machine. It just stole my money! Instead, it sounded the alarm and "chased" us out of the post office. I went there to buy air mail stamps. Just after I got my package, when it was supposed to return my dollar change, it displayed, We're sorry, "your credit is lost." Just like that, it "ate" my money. I couldn't believe this was happening. Dex kicked the machine. He thought it would help, but the vending machine started shrieking, ringing, alarming... Massive noise filled the tiny post office. We felt that we attracted the attention of everyone in the park outside and of course, the ones inside the office. Dex pulled me signaling that we should leave. The alarm was still perfectly clear across the park. This was how I got ripped off by a machine.

2006-09-01T14:33:00.000-07:00

Reflection on the Trip to Japan

Oh boy, that was a wonderful trip! Today I wrote a postcard to my host family in Kyoto. They are wonderful people who have invited me to visit again. I am hoping to go back next summer through a Stanford summer session. I have one regret, and only, from that trip: I didn't bring enough souvenirs back. In fact, I bought nothing except for a few postcards (the ones of the Golden Pavillion are absolutely beautiful though!)and one or two rosaries. I especially wish that I brought quite a few amulets back. They are such beautiful things and they vary a lot from temple to temple. Silly me!

2006-08-29T17:23:00.000-07:00

Little Miss Sunshine

If you are looking for laughs, this is the best movie for this summer. I listened to the recommendation of friend to see Little Miss Sunshine, a brilliant movie with many jokes and dark humors. It made me laugh from the beginning to ending - it's a bit unusual because endings usually turn tragic. In this movie, the ending is especially unexpected and funny. In this movie, you can expect a gay scholar, a crazy grandpa, a chubby little girl with big dreams, a touchy mother, an arrogant father and a quiet Nietsche fan who hates everyone.

2006-08-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

Everything went smoothly today in San Francisco: the plane landed safely, and I got out of the airport quickly, except that luggages arrived very slowly. Leaving mother has never been easy. This time it wasn't so bad because we both have things to do on either sides of the Pacific. I haven't enjoyed the 11 hr. flight much. It always becomes dry, crowded, and stuffed. Now with the new security measure, I can't bring any moisturer for my bloody nose. Fortunately, it occurred in neither of these two flights across the ocean. Now it's the time to work hard again.

2006-08-24T22:08:00.000-07:00

I'm in the Chengdu International Airport heading towards Beijing to catch my flight back to the US. This time, and for the first time, I'm flying first class with my mother. Who knows how good the service can get, I just can't wait to find out. So far, it has been great - I got a special line at the security check where there's no line at all. We passed the check quickly, and now, I'm chilling in the 1st class waiting room with free internet, food and drink. I can't say the couch is particularly comfy, but it's nice enough. Ciao.

2006-08-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

Chinese Tea Culture in Chengdu

Chengdu is the perfect place to get to know Chinese tea culture. In the US, it seems that Japanese tea is better. Ever since I went to the Chinese Tea House in Chinatown, I firmly believe that there is a lot more to Chinese tea culture. There are thousands of tea houses in Chengdu, prices ranging from very low to extremely high. At The Heavenly Fortune，天福茗茶，I got to taste several oolong and green tea for free because my mom often shops there. Tie Kuan Yin, or Iron Kuan Yin, is fairly well-known in the US, but few people know that this kind of oolong tea can go as high as 2000 RMB/Jin or more. 2000 RMB = 250 dollars, and Jin is a Chinese unit. Long Jin, or Dragon Well, on the other hand can exceed 8000 RMB/Jin = 1000 dollars/Jin. It's very difficult to imagine the quality of these selections to the ones offered in Cantonese restaurants in SF. People in Chengdu spend a lot of time in tea houses which is also known as the No.1 relaxing place, the No.2 office. All kinds of groups gather in those places: friends, business people, families - both young and old. It's interesting how I used to hate tea with a passion, but now, I love the way Americans drink their tea - drinking tea leaves from all over the world, the way the Japanese drink tea - drinking all kinds of smooth, bitter and soothing green tea and developing green tea culture to the top level, and especially the way people in Chengdu drink their tea - drinking Chinese tea and especially the best Chinese tea. Chinese tea probably has the most poetic names: Dragon Well, Iron Buddha, Green Bamboo Leaves, Silver Needle, Brown Dragon (oolong), etc.

2006-08-20T00:30:00.000-07:00

Chengdu

It's hard to love Chengdu when there is so much pollution, but there are things that make it a very extradinary city in western China. Few Americans have heard of it, but Chengdu has long made its fame. It is the home of pandas. I've been to the "Panda Headquarter" to see where all the pandas come from. I even carried a 3-month old in my own arms. It is also said to be a great place to relax and play. Koreans, Japanese, Americans, British have all made Chengdu their homes. Just yesterday, I've heard two Koreans at a spa. They speak pretty good Chinese. Despite the pollution, there are some great tourist points in and near Chengdu. Ju Zai Gou has long been a favorite for Chinese and international tourists.

2006-08-17T00:34:00.000-07:00

I safely arrived at the mysterious place about five days ago. I celebrated a fabulous 20th birthday with some relatives, including my dear mother and three cousins. The food here is more than excellent. I had a great time until I fell sick because of the heat and pollution. Now I have a cold and fever, and will have to go to the hospital three days in a row to receive appropriate treatment. For quite a while, I wasn't able to access the internet especially not my blog. Now, I can update again. I air-mailed 9 postcards yesterday. They are due in a week or more. I couldn't find any postcard here so I used the ones I brought from the US. At the postal office however, I found quite a few on sale, so I think I'll mail a few more when I feel better.

2006-08-09T22:39:00.000-07:00

Why so Mysterious?

Many have asked me why wouldn't I tell of my destination of this 2-week trip. My theory is that it is like you make a wish on your birthday, and you won't tell anyone else of the wish or else it won't come true. That's why I don't want to tell yet, because I'm very afraid that it is too good to be true. People will soon find out from the postcards I will write though, so no need to worry.

I had some crappy time these two days though, ironically, before this exciting trip. I got into a fight with my mom (very unexpected) and dad. The bad situation has made me very tired and unhappy - really unexpected. Sigh. Then someone crashed into my dad's car earlier this morning and made him touchy all day long. Of course, he let the anger out by being pissed off at me all day long. Thanks dad, so much for a parting gift and a 20th birthday gift.

2006-08-09T01:05:00.000-07:00

Out into the Wild

Dear friends and others,

I will be out of town for 2 weeks, and I won't be able to keep in touch with anyone. I am very very sorry. Pleae leave me your address if you want a postcard from me. I'll try my best to mail one. Addresses should be sent to my email: my main one is preferred, if you don't know it then send to dilys99@gmail.com

Dilys

2006-08-07T10:48:00.000-07:00

Knitting

Every Waldorf kid knows how to knit, right? Well, I don't because I didn't go through the grade school. It's a nice skill to have - I have making presents for people in mind. During the weaving class in high school, I made a scarf for mother's day, and mom was very pleased to receive that. Then I like the idea of DIY, Do It Yourself, even more.

The almighty knitting master Vivian Jensen has taken the teacher position to help me. Now, I'm already working on my first project, a scarf. The Japanese yarn we used turns out to have great colors and styles. I love it~~~

The funny thing is that my dad was all for me learning how to do some housework, but he freaked out when he saw me knitting, "Dilys, it's good that you're knitting, but you know... you're not that old yet." He made me laugh.

I'm arranging my vision quest journal entries and pictures to make a fancy Vision Quest album. VQ was a great time!!!

2006-08-05T01:43:00.000-07:00

Life Has Made Another Joke on Me

I went to a boarding school for three years: two years of middle school, plus a dreadful high school entrance exam and less than a year of high school. I hate almost every minute I spent in that school, and years later I still have nightmares every so often about things and people from there.

There's a Chinese blogger that I have known for years. We never really talked about our schools until recently when I mentioned a book on my blog. The book is about this Chinese girl who got into Harvard from Chengdu, my hometown. It is supposed to be her mom's book about how she has raised such a genius kid. Well, I don't really believe that she actually wrote that book, plus that book isn't well-written any way, so it means little to me. I take special interest in that book because it described my old devil teacher as a benign angel, and I want to read that part again and proably spit at it.

Shasha, the blogger, commented on my blog saying that she knew this Harvard girl through school. And my nightmare devil teacher dissed on this girl in front of my class, bragging about how her angelic influence had crafted this Harvard masterpiece, who was orginally very very ordinary. The devil said this Harvard girl went to our school. I asked Shasha about her education then. It turned out that we were from not only the same city, but also the same school. The most astonishing of all, her main teacher also taught me for a year until her retirement. For a big country like China, this is what the proverb says, "Fishing for a needle in a vast sea." In other words, it's freaking impossible.

We both agreed that the years in that boarding school were exceptionally harsh, and the teachers gave us quite some shit, but we pulled through and really came out strong after going through such hectic trainings. Man, I still hate that freaking school. That is probably why I love Waldorf educaiton so pathetically and sincerely - the Waldorf teachers are the highest angels compared to those in China.

2006-08-04T22:31:00.000-07:00

Postcards

My collection of postcards is growing and it makes me happy. Today dad and I had dinner in Juban grill at Japantown. After that I went to Kinokuniya Stationary to get all kinds of stuff, including my favorite notebooks and postcard albums. I can't believe that the Japanese actually design such a thing - postcard album! I thought it would be useful, so I bought two different styles of them. Lots of people are now willing to send me unique cards. I only wish that i don't have to remind some them so much. It makes me feel as if I'm begging for postcards.

I often think about the Vision Quest these days. That was some once in a life-time crazy shit.

Tomorrow, I'll challenge my knitting skill by studying with Master Jensen, Vivian. The first project is suposed to be a simple scarf! What if I fail something so simple??? Haha, well, I also started to learn ironing clothes today. See, i spent my childhood handling computers instead of housework, what do u expect?

2006-08-03T19:46:00.000-07:00

Blogging

Blogging doesn't seem that important in this country, but it's definitely popular in China. In fact, the popularity is amazing.

Statistics of Sakeya (my chinese blog), since 2004.5.31:

total of hits: 13996
today's hits 12
this week's hits 100
this month 650
journal entry total 88
comments 508
author 1

My blogging history is pretty long, too. I have had six or more blogs since 2002, when I first arrived in the US.

2006-08-03T00:12:00.000-07:00

Chicle Chicle - Gum Gum

What if I am in Lima, Peru, and kids try to sell me gum calling out, "Chicle, chicle, seniorita, chicle!" I would surrender my money in no time to prevent my heart from breaking. After all, I even wanted to hug wild dogs in Mexico, when I saw how flea-infected yet love-deprived they are.

Dexter and his friends managed to listen to a chicle kid for 30 minutes without giving away. They were nevertheless startled when that kid tried to jump into the van they got in, still trying to sell gum. Once again, I would have given away way earlier.

Today, Dexter and I got together, eating, talking, walking around and then ended up in Grove cafe. For me, it's the second day in a role when I ended up there. It's always so much fun talking to Dexter about philosophical things. Again, we talked about flaws of Waldorf, people's power plays and the world's power plays. If my dad would stop calling me every other second, I would stay there much longer. On the other hand, it's surprising that dad only called me instead of freaking out and starting to yell.

2006-08-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

Back to the School

I woke up very late today with a bad headache. It was past soon, and I needed to find a place for lunch. I had already been through all my favorite restaurants in the neighborhood so I decided to visit Vivian at the high school and grab some lunch from Caesar's. It turned out to be a good choice that got me together with Vivian and Julia Q, and a nice BLT for lunch. The school seemed very empty today - too bad, I hoped to see more people there. Eli is coming back from Costa Rica today. I very excited about that. We haven't seen each for a month or so, and we used to spend every other day together. Henry is probably celebrating his 19th birthday with Rebecca at Covolo. Wish him a happy birthday. I, on the other hand, will turn 20 on August 13!!! 20! It's so exciting and scary. We have quite a few leos in the glass: Henry, Ceiwen and I.

2006-08-02T00:28:00.000-07:00

I identify myself as a passionate reader, who reads a wide range of books. And there's nothing better than sharing my favorite books with others. Book Crossing is a project that people leave free books at random locations for others to find. Joanna first introduced to me to it, and soon I released my extra copy of kite runner.

I really love the Grove cafe on chestnut and fillmore. It's such a cute, cozy cafe with wonderful food and lovely people. Why would I go enjoying drinks at a place where the people show a lot of attitude?

Lucy and I hung out today at Grove, and drank a little in my house. The photo booth feature of the macbook amused us both. As a result, we took tons of weird pictures.

http://www.bookcrossing.com

2006-07-31T16:10:00.000-07:00

Today I met up with like five people at Stanford, when my dad decided to spoil me again with a Macbook Pro. Man, this time, if Chris E. calls me spoiled I won't say a word of complaint. On the other hand, I probably also need a tool to survive those Stanford years ahead.

I bumped into two co-workers by chance, but I had to leave them before lunch because both Harry Whitney and Joanna Y. would meet me at Tresidder Union. Harry's studying in a genius jazz program there. There turned out to be a lot of people from that program - they occupied all the tables outside the union, that's something.

After lunch, we went to the Leland Stanford Jr. memorial chapel, which is an astonishingly beautiful place. Just walked around a bit, dad dragged me away soon by calling me none stop.