weekend plans

it's another smoggy day. and a very slow day at work. but i'm looking forward to the weekend. not the entire weekend becos on sunday we're heading to the park for a picnic with one of joa's interns who absolutely annoys me.

the activities for the picnic include football, hacky-sack, possibly kite-flying and sharing some of our nice food in exchange for something i expect to be cheap from the streets. and i'm not exactly the outdoor kind. my ideal picnic is just a nice healthy picnic basket with sandwiches and fruits, some magazines and a good novel to laze the day away with a beloved person. not struggling to play some games that's going to ruin my makeup and embarrass myself before 20 others.

i'm having a major culture shock. i'm over the chinese culture shock but having to deal with others is a big pain in the ass. i keep meeting pple who in my opinion, say the rudest things to me, egg me on to do/feel things that i am totally uncomfortable with. 4 years in melbourne has turned joa into one of them. or rather, he'd like to believe that he's one of them. and it's a normal trend i see with friends who study in melb. they come back trying to convince us that they've turned australians and cannot accept that they're congenitally asian. it's strange.

but no. he's not guilty of all that i'd mentioned. just that he's going thru a phrase that i hope he'll get out off by himself soon enough. each time he confides in me about his not adapting well to this foreign place, it makes me suspect that i might be abnormal to have gotten used to this crap environment and culture.

some of the most fantastic people i've met in this life are here in china. some of the most remarkable places and experiences i've been to/ had are here in china. i feel most proud to especially be here in 2008, what with the feb snowstorm, earthquake, tibet riots all happening in my backyard. and i'm wondering if he feels the same. i mean, nothing ever happens in singapore. and i'm starting to feel nauseous about singaporeans making a big deal over every slightest darned thing. and worst, that the politicians would play along.

but having said that, some of my worst days are here in china! i've learned not to compare it with any other country. it's just not the same. it's a different world in here.

we've started a taiwanese drama serial. my favourite atm. and it makes me miss taiwan hopelessly. the people, the culture, the shopping. so he suggested we cd perhaps make a trip to taipei early next yr. i'm absolutely delighted!

anyway, my weekend plans: i'm looking forward to saturday. sleep in, go for a nice brunch (i'm torn between sushi and pancakes), shopping at carrefour for a toaster oven, home-cooked dinner and finally watch a DVD. just all day with joa. honestly, i cannot wait. and then it's sunday and i'll have to go thru the mill of early church, picnic with lots of pple and then maybe dinner at a bbq fish restaurant.