Presenting Models + Taiwanese Card Game

This morning each group presented their respective models to the class outside, and was it ever so humid! Just before it rains here, the humidity gets just below 99.8% and stays that way for several hours before it actually rains and cools down for a bit.

When class was over, it was indeed time for a much deserved nap. I had this feeling as I was walking to the dorm, that maybe, just maybe, the air conditioning would be on just this once... for no particular reason, just because I wanted it to be on [the A/C schedule here is from 7PM to 7AM, we wake up every morning in a sweat] So, just for the heck of it, I pushed the little red A/C power button as I walked in the door, expecting nothing to happen, but to my surprise... it turned on at 12:30pm. Long story short, I got to take a luxurious 3 hour nap in the air conditioning. It was glorious.

This evening in Mandarin class we played a few games dealing with numbers in Chinese. Bingo and pick-a-number between 1-100. I won a game of bingo [Grandma Miller's luck] and will receive a traditional Taiwanese prize next class. The best part of this class was during the pick-a-number game. We got down to a number between 38-40.... so obviously... we said "san shi jou"- 39 and the lady said No. We were all completely confused and laughing in hysterics. The teacher changed it and the game proceeeded awkwardly. To make it worse... this happened again during the same game... You really had to be there...

After class, I ran into some PD [product design] students in the lobby playing cards. They asked me to join in and taught me to play the game "99" or "Jou Jou." Its hard to explain but very simple to play. But to make it a little more challenging, each person had to say the numbers in their opposing language [ie. me in Chinese, them in English]. It was a great learning experience!

Tomorrow morning I'm going with a few Taiwanese girls to the Chinese Clinic for cupping and a chiropractic adjustment. I've been sleeping poorly lately and am in desperate need of a chiro. I might even try some bitter Chinese Herbal Medicine too, to help me relax. We'll see.