I had a crazy couple of days and will have even more over New Years. Whats planned for next year?

To be completely honest, it’s been an unproductive last week in terms of studying. But I’ve had a lot of fun with friends! It’s a bit too much partying and staying up late for comfort, but classes are done, it’s the holidays, and most of my long-time friends here in Nanjing are going back home.

On Christmas Eve my friends and I went with maybe 20 other foreigners to a nearby Italian place (贝丽妮意式餐厅). The food was a nice break from Chinese food, but in terms of quantity it wasn’t worth the price in my opinion. On Christmas Day we met a friend’s girlfriend from the first time and went to KTV. Afterwards, for a 2am Christmas Dinner, the four of us that were left went to McDonalds. As I talk to my family on the phone, a man sleeping on a bench in McDonalds starts yelling at me to shut up, and throws a cup of water at me. It hits a wooden divider and instead splashes a couple nearby, and they nearly get in a fight. Merry Christmas!

At some point that week we went to a nearby music club, “The Bassment,” and saw a breakdancing competition.

Last night I stayed up until 6am composing a song with two great friends of mine, and watching an impromptu concert in their dorm room. It’s the kind of night I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

Chess

Maintaining a correspondence game with someone from Brazil. They blundered a queen but they’re slowly retaking their lead. I should have listened to John Bartholomew and traded pieces while I was ahead.

Future Blog Posts

These journals are great and all, but I’m thinking that more time needs to be spent on long-form blog posts. Some ideas:

• “South Yin Yang Barracks Street” – The street I’m living on is a really interesting experience. I’d love to do a detailed dive into these 200 meters of road.
• KTV Parlors in China
• A proper “How to Learn Chinese” blog post

Stuff I’m Liking

• The Analytic Challenge of Understanding Chinese Intelligence Services by Peter Mattis (2012): Forgot where I found this, but it’s been fun to learn some intelligence terminology and see misconceptions about Chinese intelligence services.
• SUNMI - Siren (선미- 사이렌): I’d stretch to say that in the language program, there’s more Koreans than westerners. Therefore I’ve been exposed to a lot of K-pop at KTV or just casual listening. Compared to whatever is produced in the confines of Mainland China, K-pop is a lot more creative and fresh and accessible to an outside-country audience. This song in particular catches my interest sonically with the organs that make up the bass, the high pitched synth melody during the chorus, and the double meaning of “Siren.” Really unique!
• The Matrix 2018 Holiday Special: Some form of decentralized networks are probably going to be the future of the internet, especially considering how each country will want to hold onto their messenger date. Matrix looks like a good contender considering France’s adoption of it. This blog post shows how far its come and why I should spend more time looking into it!
• Mormon Temple Architecture: The Mormons design a great church. Take a look at this one near Washington DC.