Tomorrow going to Suzhou, until then laying low and getting ready to get to work.

Finished some errands today like getting my hair cut and buying some essentials, plus downloading and compiling some resources. Starting Monday and until I return to the US in March, I’ll be trying to set a full-time learning plan for some subjects and already have a study buddy to accompany me at a nearby cafe. In the past the Pomodoro technique was useful for long-term studies so I’ll be doing that.

Tomorrow I’m going to Suzhou to the house of my friend’s parents. Train leaves at 10am, gets there at 11am, and I’ll be sleeping in a hostel that night and taking the slow train home on Sunday.

Chess

Started a single correspondence game as black. White opened with c4. Let’s see how this goes.

Things I’m Liking

• Twin Peaks: I just started with the series today and it’s entertaining. It’s definitely a case of the “Seinfeld is Unfunny” trope since it inspired a lot of media afterward. The Fargo-esque Cascadian setting is a great break from the crowded streets of inner-city Nanjing, and the slow development of the english-speaking characters is giving me a bit of social therapy.
• Perry Link - An Anatomy of Chinese: Rhythm, Metaphor, Politics (ISBN 9780674066021): Just read through this and particularly enjoyed chapter 3’s explanation of the language of Mao-era politics. I’ll be putting all the metaphors from chapter two in my pleco flashcards.
• The Korean Language, Hangul: King Sejong of Korea made alphabet for the Koreans in the 1400s. This alphabet is pretty simple, with a system where symbols which mean Consonants or Vowels composition a character which is a syllable. Before this the language was drawn from Chinese, so it makes a lot more sense to me than say someone that never studied an Asian language. My goal is to learn to “read” Korean (but perhaps not understand its meaning) by the end of January.