chih and white people

(Last night)
Me: Does so-and-so meet?
Chih: Caucasian-ally.
Me (doing a double-take): What?...
Chih (looking up and laughing): Oh....I mean 'occasionally'.

(A few weeks ago)

Chih (to me and Marilyn): Sometimes people don't understand me.
Marilyn: Huh? White people don't understand you?
Me and Chih (laughing): I guess so...

(Mar's current Facebook status:)

'Marilyn Roth caucasionally misunderstands what Chih says and means.'

chih-isms

So I have a housemate named Chih. She's from Taiwan, really fun and cute. Partly because English isn't her first language and partly just because of her personality there are so many times when she says something and it's just really funny. She makes Marilyn (my roommate) and I laugh all the time. So I'm going to have a part of my blog dedicated to Chih-isms. Here are some of them that I can recall:

1) Chih's ghetto talk. She's been picking up on (mostly) North American slang ('it's all good', 'that's jacked up', etc.) so there'll be conversations like this:

Marilyn: Chih, let's go to KFC.
Chih: Word. (But she says it with this Chinese-British accent, so it sounds like 'Wohd'.)

2) The universal Chih response: 'Heh?'

3) Chih (in all seriousness): 'Earl Grey gives me bad dreams.'

4) Chih (to another housemate): 'Fee Ming, how to spell "retarded hand"?'

some of my favorite things

The ironic thing about living in this crowded city is that one of my favorite things is being able to walk/wander around in places where there are barely any people. It's probably because it's so crowded, it's nice to get a respite from all the people. And it's fun to meander in these twisty streets, partly because you're not sure where exactly you're going to end up. But you always stumble upon a nice park or green square with benches and daffodils and other flowers welcoming you to sit down and enjoy the quietness and pleasantness of it all.

So as I was walking around today, I thought about all these little things about my neighborhood that I'm thankful for. Yes, it's kind of ghetto and it's kind of rough around the edges, the people could be classier, the housing could look nicer, but still, I thought of some of its redeeming qualities:

1) the canal - it's hidden away, just a bit north of my flat, but such a nice surprise to discover it. One of the best things is walking along it on a sunny day, to see the sun shining on the water and it's even better if one of these old men with beards and captain hats who look like they stepped out of one of my children's books decide to drive their ship down the canal. (Btw, there are so many instances in this country and in Europe when I see someone and they are so quintessentially characters from my books or from those old-fashioned movies or like from Masterpiece Theatre...but the thing is, they're not putting it on -- it's just how they are without much effort. Completely different from America, where style always seemed to be consciously studied and reproduced. For example, some people just look 'professor-ish'. They have their tweed jackets, round-ish glasses, cardigan, and shirt, but the thing is, they don't mean to be like that consciously. It's not like they go to J.Crew to imitate a past style. They actually are it still. That's what I love about England. It's so historical and the people are too. Ok, that was a long tangent but back to the list.)

2) the little park near where we live: I used to think it was ugly, small, and dark, and wondered why the one ugly park in London was in my neighborhood, but then, someone decided to plant daffodils and these little vibrantly purple flowers all along the grass areas, and they've all started to blossom. Everytime I walk by, it makes me happy now.

3) chapel market: Also kind of ghetto, British-style - kind of like the beginning scenes of My Fair Lady, with sellers yelling about their goods with their Cockney accents - 'That'll be 2 quid, love' - but way less picturesque It's kind of dirty on the street, smells like fish near the fishmonger cart (btw: I always wonder what kind of people work there and how they and their loved ones handle them smelling like fish everyday.), and isn't that cheap. But I like how the Indian fruit/vegetable seller chose 3 nice plantains for me and how I can buy tulips and daffs for a few pounds. There is also the random Chinese food market. It's on a side street, across from a costume shop that rarely opens, and I can walk in and buy Pocky. I don't though, since I can't bring myself to buy over-priced Pocky, but that fact that it's there, along with Lee Kum Kee Oyster Sauce and Kokuho Rose Rice makes me feel that life is indeed possible here. Then, the posh-y Indian buffet for only 3 pound 50 (take-away) that only opens ~3 days a week. And then, there are those loud schoolgirls who flood out of the college at 3 pm and crowd the fried chicken/kebab place (only in London). Throw in a short, round, bald British guy selling CDs playing everything from ella & louis to gene autry to reggae, a tattoo parlor, a Jamaican Jerk restaurant, a couple posh bakeries, and a handful of electrical appliance and DIY (do-it-yourself) stores, and you get an idea of just how random and mixed-up life is here.

epiphany

I just realized that I actually have school spirit. It's taken a year and a half. I've usually spent more time comparing and complaining about it: how old it is, how small it is, how inefficient it is, etc. rather than appreciating it. Of course, I've always appreciated it academically -- I'm constantly learning from (and feeling totally inadequate compared to) the professors and grad students I'm around.

But then, yesteday, I noticed that there was a small bunch of flowers laid in the place where the penguin statue at LSE used to be. All that was left was its feet. At first I laughed, thinking it was a good prank, and then I was hit with a pang of guilt for laughing because it was gone and gone forever. That penguin had been there my whole first year, and everytime I walked by it, I was always slightly amused at how random it all was -- where it was placed, not quite directly across from a bronze elephant made around the same time (probably the 60s), and not quite in the center of campus (just in front of Waterstone's), and the absurdity of it being a penguin and an elephant, neither of which is our mascot (which is a beaver, btw). (This is a picture of it before the incident):





I made fun of it, but I liked it. It was comforting to see it. It made LSE -- super-academic , busy, full of ambitious people rushing around, anxious about their futures -- more accessible. It was fun to have a random penguin there in front of the bookstore, showing that we don't need to take ourselves so seriously. There are things in life that one can enjoy apart from books and intellectual conversations -- like a penguin statue.

So I'm sad that it's gone, and probably forever. I hope they replace it with another one, although it had been a gift from someone.

I guess, somehow, I'm beginning to appreciate aspects of school and life in London. It's sad that I only notice them when they're gone.

Goodbye Penguin. You will be missed.

For the article and picture:
http://thebeaveronline.co.uk/2009/03/penguin-statue-wrenched-off-campus.html

beginnings

So I've been thinking about starting a blog for awhile now. Kind of like Sharon -- 'all my cousins are doing it' -- and plus I find them interesting to read. But even more, there are all these moments in life that are so good - happy, funny, important, or none of the above but still good --that I tend to forget since I'm really bad at remembering things that happen in my own life. So in an attempt to capture some of these fleeting moments and put them in a safe place, I'm starting this blog, with hopes that I will continue writing in it somewhat consistently, unlike the half dozen diaries or so that I've begun pretty much since I was like 8 yrs old.

Other reasons why I'm writing a blog:
1) I'm partially inspired by all these personal papers I've been reading for my research -- Churchill's letters, the Foreign Secretary's letters to his sisters, the other Cabinet Minister's diaries, etc. It's important to keep a record, I've realized. Of course, it's much more important when you're high-up in politics, but still, I think this is one of the things I can learn from.

2) Diversion. Basically I need something to do to distract myself from my research. So I guess I'll write more the more boring my work is.

Btw, the picture above is from London, St James' Park. I guess it fits with the theme, Phoebe in London, for lack of quintessential London pictures of Big Ben, Parliament, Red Buses, etc.

Ok, we'll see how this goes...