Second Official Blog Entry

I arrived in Chengdu two days ago on September 9. I didn't immediately realize the importance of the date until I got in front of a television and saw the news reports of couples all over China commemorating their love with the signing of marriage certificates, the gifting of flowers or the closing of "love locks" onto chain enclosures intended to keep people from falling off mountains. I've made a mental note to turn on the television on April 4 to see if there are news reports of estranged lovers sticking needles into voodoo dolls or asking old ladies on the street to curse their former bed-mates.

We were all hanging out when the news of love all over China came spewing out of the television. I was sort of lying down on the couch (I have a bad habit of making myself too comfortable at other people's place of abode), while Elliott was chatting with his co-worker about the new apartment she just moved into and which we were visiting. There were some really tasty mango flavored potato chips on the coffee table and two guys sitting on the other end of the couch playing cards. I was making conversation with the other roommate who told me she was studying English and preparing for her examination which involved knowing terminology like "valence electrons" and "melting point". I still get confused for the Chinese word for "spoon".

Sometime during the the evening, someone suggested we play the Chinese version of "I Never". The game works just like the American drinking game, but instead of drinking for each time you have done something someone else never has, you keep track of them. Once you get caught five times for doing something, someone gets to ask you any question they like. It's so easy to play this game with strangers that you'll probably never see again, but I don't think I could ever play this game with friends.