Grüße aus Deutschland!

So in order to get around the Great Firewall, I had to download a new proxy server (AnchorFree and my Mac didn't get along too well) called Vidalia (like the onion) and I think it works by routing my internet through different countries...at least that's the only explanation I can think of for why Google, CNN, Facebook and Twitter all think I'm in Germany and occasionally Russia (and Holland, but that was only once). CNN offered to lead me to its international sight, seeing as how I'm in Germany and all.

Anyway, it snowed in Nanjing yesterday! The view from my dorm:

You can't really see the flakes but trust me, it looked disgusting, probably because the snow was dirty and full of pollution. Acid snow? The end result was much better:

















Friday night was our first legit weekend in Nanjing (and by legit I mean we did more than eat at Behind the Wall and go to bed at 10 o'clock). Erin, me, Maxine (Erin's roommie), my roommate, and a bunch of kids from around the dorm went to 1912, which is basically the Square of Nanjing (except it's a street, not a roundabout). We were all walking around (there were about 10 of us) and this guy runs up, points to a bar and says the magic words: "Free drinks!"

The club ended up being a lot of fun and the drinks were indeed free. They started us off with a bottle of Hennessy and then progressively the drinks got cheaper (probably hoping that the more we consumed, the less we would notice). I watered my drinks down with lots of tea (the mixer they gave us....oh China). The night was Lady-Gaga filled and really fun, except for when a drunk local grabbed my rear, resulting in a death glare and a storm off.

Anyway my mom left Saturday, but before she left we had dinner at this Italian place across the alleyway from my dorm called Jack's Place (not to be confused with Old Jack's for the Qingdao crowd). They had my favorite dish on the menu:





















Mmmmm slow woasted pork. They also had this jewel of a picture on the wall:





















Yes, if a train came crashing out of the station window, it would indeed be an "Oh, shit!" moment. Thank you, Jack's Place.

Classes are going well, I think. I really like my 口语 teacher; Erin and I decided she looks like Dr. Lin's younger sister. Our class is about half British, with 4 Americans (including Erin and me) a few Germans, a few Japanese and one or two Russians (and a few people that I can't figure out where they're from).

Anyway, I'm off to get lunch and run errands. Have a great week everyone!