Zhejiang Gongye Daxue is a college.

I discovered today that I won't get internet until Monday. Apparently to get internet service in our rooms we must first have our passports processed. From what I'm told, it seems that due to the olympics everyone is checking passports for everything these days. When I went to get a gym membership I had to have my passport, to get an internet connection approved they first want to see your passport and check your visa, to get a hotel room or do pretty much anything it seems you must have a passport. I guess it is safe and a good move on China's part with the Olympics coming, but it sure slows things down.

I have a steadily growing collections of cards; it seems everything in China has a certain card for it. I know have a gym membership card, a card for the dining hall, a program insurance card, and soon I will be getting a bus card, a student identification card (not to be mistaken with my international student identification card I had to get before leaving), and who knows what else. The abundance of cards I carry around with me almost requires a second wallet at this point.

Today was a fulfilling day though, I finally got to get the green bean dish I've been searching for in America for 6 months. I hope that grammar is correct, I am already losing some of my English and writing long sentences is becoming increasingly difficult. They keep seeming like run on sentences of some of the grammar seems awkward. But I digress. Aside form that dish, we also got to go get full body massages afterwards.

It did, however, rain all day today. It has rained every day since I got here, and currently it is Hangzhou's rainy season so it should keep raining every day for another few weeks. The rain itself isn't that bad, I learned how to say umbrella and subsequently bought one, the problem is the humidity that results. It is about as hot as Houston but much, much more humid. All of us white people are sweating everywhere we go, inside or outside we are constantly being besieged by the humidity and sweating. The only place this is a benefit is in the gym. Not only do you think you are getting a better workout than you normally do, but you also get that nice glisten that makes you look like you are oiled up for a bodybuilding competition. Hmmm, on second thought that is just gross.

We took our placement tests today. That is all on that topic, more tomorrow after we find out where we ended up.

I don't have any embarassing stories that come to mind, but I can say it is fun being a leader everywhere we go. I am always the one chosen to figure out how to get somewhere, or who and how to ask certain questions. Additionaly, my room has become the cool hangout. Last year in Beijing Blake's room was the cool place to be, he was on the first floor and his roommate was cool and it was just convenient to all meet there and discuss our plans for the day or the weekend or whatever. This time I got placed on the first floor right near the stairs, so I have the convenient room that we all gather in to plan and hang out in between excursions. I leave my door unlocked as people come and go, and it is really fun to be Mr. Popular until you need to shower or change clothes. Then it gets kinda weird, especially if someone doesn't understand the vocabulary for shower and change and doesn't realize I'm trying to ask them to leave for a moment.

Ooh, and to end on a good note, I forgot to write that yesterday I finally found and bought the "Black Man Toothpaste". I had seen the brand in America after my teacher showed it to me, but apparently they changed the English name to avoid racial stereotyping. That, however, is all they changed. Fantastically enough the cartoon picture of the smiling black man in a top hat and suit is still there, and the "Black Person Toothpaste" is stll written on the box in Chinese. And as an added bonus, a snoopy mug came with my toothpaste. Chinese grocery storse have this fantastic policies of giving away a lot of free things with items that are on special, but it seems the free item always has nothing to do with the product. For example, the snoopy mug taped to the box of toothpaste, or the folding laundry hamper taped to a small vacuum.

WOOO CHINA.