Censorship Problems

Since I haven't posted in a week, some of you must have been thinking that I would be lazy again this semester and not post much. Well, think again!
The VPN that I use is apparently very popular in China and so the Chinese government decided to start blocking its servers, thus not allowing me to use Facebook, blogspot etc. for over a week. Thankfully, my VPN is quite beastly and they have come up with a way to ghost themselves to Chinese censors.

I was unable to make it to "The Place" shopping center but I am going to try again soon.

The one thing that I really missed about China, is the food. There are really just soo many kinds of dishes and styles to try. I recently found a dish that looks and tastes very similar to Lo Mein in America, I forget the name of it. Also, I am trying to make a better effort of eating healthy, and have been stocking up on bananas, apples and oranges. Spring time is also the time of year for pineapples in China, which happens to be my favorite fruit! Many of you know I am quite lazy and so I hate having to cut pineapple up, and in America its very expensive to buy pre-cut pineapple but in China you can buy a half of pineapple on a stick for 2 RMB or about 30 US cents!!!!

From now on, I think I will also be including interesting news articles about China that I think are worth reading and maybe give my opinion as well, if it warrants it.

Here are three:

The first one is about a Tibetan monk who lit himself on fire to commerorate the 3rd anniversary of the Tibetan protests.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article1546272.ece

And the second one, which I am really excited about is the high-speed rail line between Beijing and Shanghai
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90778/90860/7323191.html

The third is a follow-up to the second one, and about the different priorities of the US and China in regard to high speed rail
http://www.dailytech.com/US+States+Abandon+HighSpeed+Rail+as+China+Races+Ahead/article21107.htm

Back in Beijing: New Semester

Hey everyone,

I have now been back in Beijing for little over a week, and I must say that it feels great to be back. The hustle and bustle of city life is really exciting, no matter the city but being in China at this time makes things even more interesting.

My new semester has started and I have three new teachers for my classes. I am so happy too, because last semester if you can remember I said my teachers were terrible, well not anymore. I really like all of my teachers. I think the best quality of them is that they hold the students far more accountable and it forces you to study harder thus learning more.

My apartment situation is great and I don't have much to report there besides a small internet malfunction but I am taking care of that.

I started with my tutor yesterday, and it was nice to see her. I forgot some easy words but I must say that I am really impressed with what I have remembered. I think going back to America for a few weeks helped my brain absorb all that I learned last semester.

With the recent Jasmine Revolution "protests" being big news stories in America, I had expected it to have some impact on my life, but outside of discussions with my foreign friends and my Chinese friends in the know, there hasn't been an impact. In fact, if I didn't have a VPN or had been in America, I wouldn't have even known it was happening. I guess it goes to show that the Chinese government is doing a good job in clamping down on them.

Tomorrow night I am going to a place in Beijing called "The Place" it is a big shopping mall with the largest outdoor LED TV screen. So I will post some pictures of that soon.

One last thing, I came across a combo pack of cucumber, lemon grass and original flavored wrigley's gum. DISGUSTING! Only the Chinese would like that! Ha.