it's only green lights and all rights

i miss ripley. look how cute she is.

i rode my scooter to bobo's today! i knew i had to just get out and do it at some point, and it finally stopped raining this morning and bobo only lives down the street (down kind of a big street, but close anyway) so i just hopped on and went. i'm not so fantastic at turning, but it doesn't seem impossible. so that was the big excitement. i rode around the empty park for a while after class and tried turning a little more. i just need more practice.

jerry and i continued on our mission to learn chinese this morning and i think we're doing very well for two blonde kids from america. jerry studied a lot this weekend and i think he's surpassed me in vocabulary knowledge. i need to hit the flashcards. but i win on day to day use. i speak chinese all over town.

what else.. talked to dad this morning, mom and jeff in the afternoon and i just got off skype with gram and spanky. they're sending me a box full of things i neeeeed like candycorn, ovaltine, and baking soda. i am ridiculously spoiled, in the best possible way. but i think i'm set until christmas after this.
jeff, spanky and dad

and the book update. i finished siddhartha. i'm working my way through Without Reservations, Harry Potter 2, Going Dutch in Beijing (about how to be culturally correct around the world), Notes from a Small Island anddd what's the last one.. i just started one in taroko called The River at the Center of the World about a guy who travels up the Yangze and tells all about chinese history. it's pretty interesting. so on that note, time to go read.
i dream of my bed at home. even though it lives in the pink room at the lake now, it's still the comfiest place on earth.