Sleep Deprivation

Right now would be the IDEAL time for an ambien.  It's 1:30 am and I've been laying in bed for the past 2 1/2 hours trying to fall asleep and failing miserably.  Nutella and facebook have won the battle tonight.  But I did have quite an interesting day so I'm going to write about it since I have nothing better to do.

1. I called the water people today and asked for water and told them where to deliver it all on my own and all in Chinese.  AND.... it successfully made it here meaning I didn't screw up my Chinese the first time it really mattered.  Hooray for me.

2. Went to dinner with my student tonight (last night?). Nothing major happened, but I did get to know her so much more than I expected to and she taught me some really practical Chinese.  We went to a Burmese restaurant and the food I got was spicy and I drank the water because I needed to and so far I'm still ok so I think I'm in the clear on that one.  Once I was finally able to bring up her paper we got to talk about a lot of interesting things.  She shared her beliefs and I shared mine.  A year ago her mother passed away from cancer.  She told me how angry she was and how hard it was.  I guess people in her area think that cancer happens because of something you've done so she was angry that they thought her mother deserved it.  It was a really good opportunity to share.  She didn't ask too many questions but for a first meeting I think a lot was put on the table.  I couldn't believe that she shared so much with me.  Somehow, in the midst of everything, I ended up agreeing to dance at a party for the foreign language department next month.  How many people will be there you're probably not wondering?  Only 4-5 HUNDRED.  Yeah. A LOT. Massive. Crowd. I'm already nervous. Maybe that's why I'm still awake 3 hours after I thought I'd be asleep. UGH.

On our way back we went to the bookstore that everyone tells me about. They have an english section but it's on the second floor in the very back of course.  They have classics like Pride & Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, Harry Potter (ha), and many others all for around $3.  Some of them are even in both chinese and english.  I will be purchasing many books this year and hoping I can stuff them into my suitcase to bring home.  (I also want to bring home my wonderful comforter that I am constantly raving about to a few lucky people.  It's like a giant pillow that I get to wrap myself in every night... even though it's failing me right now and I'm a bit angry with it.)

As we walked back I asked her how to say a few things that I think will be very helpful and I made sure to write them down.  

-Wo bu hui shuo zhong wen. (I don't speak Chinese). 

-Wo zhi hui yi dian dian zhong wen. (I only speak a little Chinese).

-Qing, gei wo yi ping shui. (Please, bring me a bottle of water.)

-Ni shi shei? (Who is this?)*

*During dinner some random person started texting me in pinyin and I have no idea who they are. They said hello and asked if we could be friends and I said 'Sure. Who is this?' to which they said something that google translate told me was 'embarrassed liver busy' but I got it to finally tell me something along the lines of 'i don't have any normal rituals.  You can meet the Chinese'. So... I have a strange Chinese friend via texting.  Not sure what to do about it.

Time to go fight sleep again. Tomorrow is kind of important and I'd love to be rested for it but I'm doubting that I'll get my wish.  Bummer. Sorry for another post within a 24-hour period.