Hi All,
So last time we talked I got you all caught up on Macau and everything. It has been two weeks since then, though, and a lot has been going down. First off, however, there is a very important message I need to announce.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM！！！！ My mom is the best mom in the whole-wide world. You should all be jealous. ;)
So, the past two weeks...where to start, where to start?
I've actually spent a good part of the last two weeks figuring out my plans for the upcoming year, and I'm really surprised by how smoothly everything has been working out. The big decision I made was the decision to stay at UIC for another semester, and not go back home or to somewhere else in China. It seems so simple writing it down, but it was a big decision and it has been really stressful on my mind sinｃe I got here.
So with that, I've had to decide what my plans are over the winter break, and I've decided to go and spend a few weeks in the northern part of China in a city close to Beijing called Tianjin, with my good Chinese friend Zhong Xin, or Sherry is her English name. (Although I've just taken to calling her my little Pumpkee...(I think that's a Mary word.)) So that will be winter break. My little pumpkee has agreed to only speak Chinese with me the whole break, so hopefully my Chinese will improve super duper a lot by the time second semester roles around.
Then the newest planning I've taken is applying for an internship for next fall in Shanghai at the World Expo. It would be working at the USA pavilion, and it would be the perfect way to improve my Chinese speaking skills and get to see what is going on in the rest of the world, and get out of another semester of class. And all the fees for it are covered. Actually getting the internship might be a long shot, but in proper Mel fashion, I have gotten my hopes up and I'm really excited about the possibility. The internship would go from the middle of July until the beginning of November. Then I could spend some time traveling, and see my big brother in Japan, and then come back to Minnesota and finish out the spring semester of my senior year and graduate. SWEETNESS! I have some good references for it, and so you all should cross your fingers for me.
Alright, enough boring stuff, let me see what interesting things have happened lately, hmmm...
Oh, ok, this is good.
I'm currently taking Global Political Economy, and one of this weeks lectures was on PPP or Purchasing Power Parity. So most of the class was long and technical, but then we talked about the difference in purchasing power between the U.S. and China, and after discussing that I'm telling you all: GO OUT AND BUY ALL THE CHINESE GOODS YOU WILL EVER NEED BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THAT THERE WILL BE ANOTHER TIME FOR THE REST OF HUMAN EXISTENCE WHERE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO BUY THINGS SO CHEAP! (At least, if human progress moves forward, which I hope it does, you won't be able to buy things so cheap.)
The American currency has been overinflated by the Chinese government to keep the Chinese currency comparatively low. So what happens is when the exchange rate between the dollar and the Chinese RMB get closer, the Chinese government sells their RMB and buys U.S. dollars. This means our money is worth more and their is worth less, so they can keep producing shit for us to buy. But when the Chinese stop investing in our currency, the price of their stuff will increase and the value of our dollar will decrease, so everything will be doubly more expensive. So right now is the prime time to buy anything Chinese-made. Also, it's better in my opinion because right now I am living in the heart of production land in China and for the most part you can be decently confident that if you are buying mainstream things most labor laws are being enforced, and most people are making a living wage.
So yes, that is one interesting insight for you. There's a little bit of PPP for you.
Well, I have to go because I have a lot of homework and tonight I'm going camping by the on the beach with the outdoors club.(AWESOME.) AND I was told I can maybe find marshmallows at the giant supermarket in town, so I'm excited to introduce smores to all my friends. Last week we climbed another mountain, so next post I will tell you about that and about smores, and about my Gender and Sexuality class experience this week. I really enjoying reliving these moments again through blogging. Haha.
Take Care!!
