Hangzhou or Seattle? Hard to Say

Everyone knows that image of the cool hipsters sitting in a cafe on a rainy Seattle afternoon, typing away at e-mails and listening to really cool music (for this example we'll use Sufjan Stevens), well that is the vibe I get from this cafe I'm in now. Its not raining and our cool music isn't nearly as obscure (Red Hot Chili Peppers), but good company makes for good times.

YoYo, Li Fang, and Dan Lin, have come with me to relax and enjoy a nice day by the lake, which is something we haven't done nearly enough of to be honest. I've really jumped head on into this blogging thing, I find it to be the best way to A) keep up on modern life (read Western life) B) Find interesting reads and info that otherwise would be next to impossible to do, and so on and so forth.

Next week is the week of our midterms and I'm interested to see how that goes as none of the tests, save for Newspaper are written tests. What's more, the idea of us already having reached the mid-point of the semester is somewhat mind-boggling. Really? We've been in China for six weeks already? How is that possible, I need to take more advantage of this place as it is so gorgeous, so fun, and still so new to me. Here's to hoping that I'm back here this summer.

With the idea of taking advantage of my experience here on my mind, I set out this morning to find some activities for myself upon my return from Mongolia (the week after midterms). I've found an art show from Oct. 30th until Nov. 5th, which is only featuring work of the students of Hangzhou Art Academy, and it is all for sale, both prints and the originals. How cool is that?!?

My family friends, the Goldmans, have some of the coolest houses I've ever seen, one in the Poconos, one in Doylestown, and one in good ole' Midd, but their location is only part of the reason they're so spectacular (and that word is not an understatement). The best reason is that everything from their houses has its own story. I hope I can have something similar. I want to be able to say, "Yea, interesting story behind that painting, it was done by a student at the Hangzhou Art Academy, and I bought it there on my study abroad experience."

Life is what you make of it, and I want to make it really interesting.

Hey, quick links, a couple new articles I find interesting
1)http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/11/opinion/11zizek.html?em&ex=1192334400&en=c7419da773843f10&ei=5087%0A
2)http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/opinion/09brooks.html THIS ONE IS PARTICULARLY INTERESTING
3)http://kissmesuzy.blogspot.com, Referencing the infamous Joe Namath trying to kiss Suzy Kolber, moreover a great blog.
4)http://rononmiddlebury.wordpress.com/ This is Ron Liebowitz's (Middlebury President) blog, really good insight.

Until next time!