Cliffnotes of the last 2 weeks

Back in Beijing with the world at our fingertips. Big dinners with the Liu family. Attempting to transcribe and translate an hour-long Spanish documentary. Going for teaching interviews just because I can. Getting lost…multiple times. Being at the mercy of every person on the street. Getting pointed in wrong directions over and over. Walking into the wrong school for an interview and getting offered a job there as well. How many students does it take to help me figure out where the heck I am? Answer: 4. And a smart phone and a headmaster who knows English.

Toying with the idea of teaching in China. Getting dropped off at the wrong building to go grocery shopping and an hour later finding the right store, shopping, and proceeding to walk over an hour and a half home due to the absence of any open taxis. Oh wait! There’s one! …but he does not know where I’m trying to get to. Even with a map. So out I go, walking. And walking.

Going to the open-air market. Whole pigs and chickens and ducks. And stacks of their dismembered parts. Rows and rows of vegetables. Fish and sea food tanks, eggs, fruits, food shops, anything you could want. Getting everything to make a Thanksgiving dinner.

Melisanda and I. 16 dishes. 15 hungry people (who didn’t make a dent in the food). A day of cooking. Some Spanish studying. Spanish, Hungarian, Chinese, German, French, American (just Justin and I) peoples represented. Tons of leftovers. Mafia. Which version? French? Russian? Spanish? Chinese? American? How bout all?

Meeting an incredibly sweet friend on the Subway…too bad we don’t speak the same language.

Traveling teachers of Buddhism. Learning about meditation, hearing and watching it take place. Fearlessness seems to be the end of the diamond way. Enjoying life to it’s fullest and spreading that by simply living (although if the goal is nirvana, ceasing to exist, and total absence of desires, I’m not sure how that works together)

Thanksgiving potluck. Such good food. Again, a multiethnic crowd. The north African made some of the best apple pie I’ve ever had. He had practiced the whole month prior J Watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade….from 2012. And seeing how irrational it is. Then band practice (so. So. Loud.) Then home. Researching churches.

I was planning to go to one branch of this church, but I met Zinnia on the subway (a beautiful woman from England) and ended up tagging along with her to a different branch of the same church. It was a pretty young church, but people were friendly and seemed genuine. A pretty western church. Lunch after. Some of the people were very cool. Real. Some seemed a bit odd, but it didn’t matter. It was just good. Then meeting Justin at a different subway stop in the “hipster” part of town (we were going to busk but didn’t get around to it really). Walking through the throngs of people. Meeting up with Cam, FINDING FROZEN YOGURT (which was so so good), bubble waffles, scorpion on a stick. So much going on there. Walking around the beautiful lake. Bars everywhere. Serenity for a moment. Back into the chaos. Incredible dumplings with 10 other people. Singapore, US, Madascar, China, Canada, Thailand, ect. Walking to the lake, music with the guitar, singing, lots of drinking (don’t worry, I still don’t like or desire to drink beer), merrymaking, breaking a bike by putting 3 people on it, lots of laughter, catching the last subway train.  A late night.

Finishing the translation, passing my placement test, going to bible study at a girl from church’s apartment (Romans of course).

Working in the studio. Transcribing and translating another much shorter documentary into Spanish. Dumplings in a friends apartment. Playing a show with Justin at the VA Bar. Racing to catch the last subway home. Meeting another new friend on the subway.

Learning how to put subtitles on the film. Mr. Pizza’s Love for Women (stuffed crust pepperoni). Hong Kong mango dessert. Darian pancake. Oddly textured frozen dessert. Making burgers and cookies with Lotus.

Many adventures and more to come. Whatever the location.