School Skipper

When I got back to the hostel after my dinner outing I was EXHAUSTED and not feeling well at all! I was freezing and stuffy and coughing, ugh! I tried to Skype my Mom (hey Dad, remember me!!!!) I’m only teasing because Skype doesn’t work on his computer at work..booo! Anyway I spent most of the conversation coughing and REALLY feeling awful. I passed out after..feeling crappy! I decided - in my head - I was going to skip school tomorrow. I still set my alarm but decided if I woke up and didn’t feel good I just wouldn’t go! This made it MUCH easier to fall asleep (I was having trouble, counting down the minutes until I had to wake up..)

I woke up this morning and decided I really wasn’t going to go to school. I felt awful about missing it, but the thought of getting myself on the subway was enough to make me feel worse, never mind trying to teach English to Chinese students! I wrote Melissa a quick email asking her to call the school and tell them (I realized I had no way of contacting them..) and went back to sleep! I didn’t get out of bed until 12:30 which was a little bit more than 13 hours of sleep! I probably won’t be able to sleep tonight but it felt so good to rest!

I am feeling ok today; I definitely think it was a good idea to stay home. I couldn’t say more than a sentence without coughing and I know how exhausted the school makes me when I am feeling fine!

I decided I was going to have a lazy American day! I did take a shower to wake up a bit and my day started with my pink American Eagle sweatpants and my Stonehill sweatshirt! I figured since people stare at me anyway, I might as well dress like an American dresses when they don’t feel good.

I gave myself full permission to do WHATEVER I wanted and not feel guilty about it. I did want to get out of the hostel though. I thought some fresh air (or as fresh as you can get in Beijing) would be nice and it would be nice to have a change of scenery.

I went to Costa Coffee to get my blueberry muffin and to blog about yesterday before I forgot. The blueberry muffin was a bit dry, but still delicious! I was starting to get antsy and felt like a hot chocolate from Starbucks, so I was off yet again to another coffee shop! Talk about a nice American day! Starbucks was VERY crowded but it was nice to answer emails and try to figure out which guide I want (it is QUITE a process!)

On the way home I decided I would stop at the more expensive grocery store because I thought some orange juice might help my cold. Now I had bought generic apple juice at the supermarket but it was SPICY! (Just like everything else in China!!!) Since I wasn’t feeling well I decided I would splurge and get AMERICAN OJ (I think it was Florida’s Natural or something like that..) I ended up spending about $12 on this OJ (sorry Mom & Dad when I have to ask to borrow more money soon!) BUT I think it was worth every penny because it was NOT spicy and tasted great! I left the supermarket and was probably quite a sight; pink sweatpants, a sweatshirt and drinking OJ out of a giant bottle!

On the way back I passed the hotel that my hostel is associated with..and there was a CRAZY show going on! This is why you can’t make plans because who knows when you’ll be walking home and want to stop to watch a show! There were about 6 women playing drums and then people dressed up in beautiful costumes. Some women were wearing an outfit that made them look like they were riding a horse! It really was crazy! I still have NO idea what it was for..but at one point there was a group of people that were being “led” through and all had red bags? So maybe it was for them, but it continued on after..so I really don’t know!

I really wanted to call it a night but knew I needed to have dinner..so I decided to go to the Turkish place because 1) it was right across the street and 2) I knew I would like the meal! I got the same table (apparently the table for one! Ha!) but had a woman this time! I decided I would get green tea and pasta with tomato sauce. However, she brought me iced tea (which I really don’t like) and pasta with cheese (it tasted sort of like mac n’ cheese). I even pointed at the things I wanted in case she didn’t understand! It was ok..it was fine for the night but I wouldn’t order either again! When I got the bill, it said I ordered the pasta with tomato sauce and the iced tea. So who knows how it all got messed up!

Hugs and kisses from my bed, where I have spent a majority of my day!

P.S. I have been getting some questions about pictures and mail! So here you go..

My goal was to include pictures with my blog! But obviously that won’t happen until I get to Vietnam and am able to access my blog! I also am looking for good sites (that I can access from China!) to download all my pictures..so that is a work in process and I will let you know when that happens!

I sent an email to find out how I could get mail and it sounds like the only place is in Thailand, which is where I will be from January 17th-February 11th! The address is below..

My address in Chang Mai, Thailand is ;

Prachit Kasemrat c/o Julie Wilson
Viengping Mansion & Condotel (Rm 1003)
52 M.5 Chiangmai - Lampang Rd.,
Rincome Square
T.Changpuak
Muang District
Chiangmai 50300