Update

            What's up guys? I completed my first week of Chinese lessons on Thursday and feel good about it. It gets me up early during the week and I feel constructive. I know my numbers and days of the week and the months and can tell time with a little hesitation. I also learned a few (two haha) verbs; come and go. I can put them in a couple questions and everything. It's cool. I never thought I'd be learning Chinese. If you had tapped me on the shoulder in 11th grade and told me that I was going to Shanghai upon college graduation I'd probably give you a screw face and ask you to not stand so close to my new jordans.

           So I have class Tuesday and Thursday for two hours each lesson. It is through a company that supplies tutors and it's a cool setup. (Accentmandarin.com) The woman who runs the company is actually the woman I worked for when I was tutoring a few people who were going to the United States to work. She gave me a nice discount on the lessons and I like my tutor. Since most of the people my age who I meet out here are strictly out here studying Chinese I find myself in a good atmosphere to learn the language. They're always going off to study and I can do that now too. Although I don't have too much material to study yet, I have been going over my stuff and it's been sticking so far. It's exciting. Even little things like buying strawberries and understanding how much money I have to pay when the clerk talks to me is refreshing. I don't have to hand them my largest bill and hope for the best (HA! I'm a suckkkkka!) Speaking of strawberries, They are coming into season here and everyone and their mother is selling them (literally). They're delicious too. You can get a nice bag full of them for about a buck fifty. I wash them real good before I eat them though. 

       Training for the half marathon on the great wall has been going well too. I ran 10K the other day and am going to push up to 11K on monday, or Xing qi yi (what do you know about that!?)It might sound crazy but the hardest part of the training is actually my off days. I really have to be careful not to overtrain because when you run long distances you need to let your body heal or else you will crumble. In the States I was lifting everyday so taking that time off is a little tough for me, but it really helps my running. I just bought slumdog millionaire and Che so I'm going to go put one one. Order some Virginia ham and swiss on wheat for me next time you're in the deli. Light mustard, lettuce and tomato. "Yea, lemme get a bag of doritos with that too."