Happy Winter!

Ni hao! Greetings, again, from China. I haven't had much time to internet lately, partially because it didn't work for a week. Plus I'll admit that Misha and I have been inseparable since the night we first hung out.

So yeah, I have a boyfriend. Weird. Good weird, but weird. Can I be girly and gush for a moment? Cool, thanks. He's so sweet! No really, this kid's mom raised him to be a gentleman. It's rad. I'm so used to holding my own, it's nice having a boy who offers to carry my bag for me. I like it when we take the bus together around town. It gets so crowded and bumpy on such trips but I just hold onto him and it becomes better than bearable. Our communication skills get better and better each day, we're always laughing at our little inside jokes.

In Russia, it's a huge no-no to belch. In some places you might be punched or shot. I learned this three days after getting here, when I first met Slava and Dasha and we went out for jiaozi with Kim. That's when Kim and I had the belch duet, and watching Slava squirm in his chair was enough to make anyone choke with laughter. Since Misha has been with me, he'll belch once in awhile and it's funny as hell.

Russian language is interesting to me, it seems very DIY like American English. People make up their own words by juxtaposing other words. Slava was explaining it a bit to me and it made me want to learn it even more. I wish Russia didn't get so cold in the winter because I would surely take an interest in going to study there. I give Misha English lessons and he gives me Russian in return. Already in the past month has his English improved dramatically. Whenever we cannot get our points across he pulls out his electronic translator. Sometimes we have to rely on other Russian friends to help when it otherwise seems impossible.

Another fine point, he'll shop with me. Tomorrow, the company I work for is sponsoring a snow-ski excursion to Beijing. I had to find some ski clothes and he came along, patient as always and honest with his opinions. And he wasn't a constant pessimist either. We spent all day yesterday trying to find a decent coat to no avail, and I grew tired and cranky and pissed off, yet he kept his cool. Sometimes I get short and bitchy, and it's a super plus when the guy can handle it and maybe laugh at me. And today we found what I was looking for so it was all good.

It's getting really cold here. I knew that would be the case, and as it has come to mid-December, I wonder how much colder it will get? I'd say it's been between the 20's and low 30's F these past few days, cold but bearable. Will it drop down to the 10's? The negatives? I can handle it... I can handle it... I think... Once again it's nice having a human jacket.