Fresh off the Boat

I had a minor case of culture disorientation {shock} today. After living in China for the last four months, so many ordinary things in America seemed alien to me.

The sky was not stained grey with smog. Weird.

I've trained myself to squeeze into packed Beijing metro stations and to weave in and out of little gaps in the moving crowds and today it showed: I became a little too competitive for space in the line at the BYU bookstore. Many people probably also thought that I was snuggling up against them when, in my reality, I was just conserving valuable living space.

Cheese also tasted funny. Was it always like that?

"What is it about 20-somethings?"

New Times Time recently published an in-depth article exploring the phenomenon of young adults moving back home with their parents due to unemployment, nasty divorces, or just plain inability to pay the bills. Apparently my generation has led psychologists to ask, "what is it about 20-somethings?" They shake their heads, perplexed at why we find it so hard to get on with our lives and be respectable like them.These bearded old men conclude that we are maturing at a slower rate than our parents did, as measured by passing the five pillars of adulthood: completing school, leaving home, becoming financially independent, marrying and having a child.

The sad thing is that after I graduate next year, I might just become one these twenty-somethings.

Picnic + Shakespeare at the Duck Pond

Utah Shakespeare in the Park is presenting a series of free Romeo and Juliet plays during August and half of September. They'll be at the BYU Duck Pond on Sept. 2nd and 3rd at 7 p.m. Bring yourself and I'll bring dinner. Who wants to join me?

Modern Day Tiananmen

In Kanas, Xinjiang. 

Sort of a reenactment of the iconic Tiananmen-pedestrian-blocking-tank moment. Except this time, it's a lady ignoring the tractor because she's talking on her phone.