Deathbed in Beijing

Okay, I suppose I might exaggerate a little. It's about day 5 and I woke up feeling like shit. Every part of my body was aching and by the time it seemed I had a temperature, I finally got off my lazy butt and dug up my Nyquil. By the time breakfast finished, I was drugged up and ready to pass out again. Ahhh the wonders of Nyquil.

I'm still trying to figure out the cause of my sickness. Azusa always said that stupid people don't get sick, which I guess it seems I'm not entirely stupid after all. Well one main cause might be from the fact that yesterday I took a cold shower in the morning (as it only had cold water and it was using solar powered energy). Or it could be from the fact the AC is on in the room 24/7 and it feels partially caused by the bad air from the AC. I'm a big believer in not using the AC unless in extremely hot conditions (as I can survive high temperatures) and not using the AC back in Jersey and now all the time might also be a factor. I'm trying not to think about the comment one guy made about how he had heard China's tap might also contain hepatitis; I don't drink the shit but I do brush my teeth with it, shower, and occaisonally drink tea at restaurants with it. It's getting even harder not to drink beer with a meal just due to the sanitation factor. Well enough about my analyzation of illness, I've been wasting the past couple of days shopping, walking around, and watching Dharma & Greg. I feel like I want to do something else while I'm here, but overall, I know I have 4 1/2 months to do all the touristy things. Getting sick today made me have a split second of reconsideration again about changing my plane ticket and flying home right now. Back to DC where I belong, salvage whatever is left of my friends and begin the new semester with them. Then I had to consider the fact that I'm supported right now by 2- 5 grand scholarships for just being here, would have to pay a lot back if I did fly back to DC, not know what courses to choose, and skip all the fun pampering in China. Due to financial considerations, I guess I'll stay here. The thought of returning after new years and just skipping my volunteer time in Thailand also crossed my mind as well. But I really need it to boost my Fulbright application. blah.

As Prof Sun said~ China isn't the third world~ in a worried questionaire from a fellow classmate, it's true. But it doesn't mean China is a dirty dirty place. Hutong is getting it's pavements and there is an obscene amount of dirt particles floating everywhere. People are spitting all over the streets, if not sometimes in restaurants. Just the preparation for the spit sounds disgusting. I found 2 strands of hair in a cold noodle dish. I'm usually okay about hair in food since that's what ususally happens in my own cooking, but somehow that just bugged the heck outta me. I'm trying to find some good with China besides cheap clothes and pampering, but currently I am finding it difficult. I want to get past the stage of living in a youth hostel and really start my time learning. And I have a feeling vegetarian restaurants hate me: I tried to find 2 different vegetarian restaurants in one day~ one moved to who knows where, the other one couldn't be found. It's difficult to find clean restaurants (so far I only found one and I've been sticking to it like glue) that have the food I eat, and the appetite to eat it. Oh well I hope tomorrow is a better day.