Back 2 Cali

No post yesterday - my internetz were broken. I broke them.

Today at the lab there was a one-hour crash course in "survival" Chinese. I've been trying to teach myself a little, so it was mostly review for me. The *one* thing I didn't know already was how to say the name of the conference's hotel in Beijing. Can you guess what I forgot immediately after I left?

Last winter I started trying to teach myself Chinese, mainly as a way to keep myself occupied during long drives. Language CDs are even more absorbing than books on tape and I highly recommend them. So I got a set of Pimsleur CDs from the library and they're very good , but lately the lessons have had an inexplicable emphasis on how to pick up women in bars. Here is a short sampling of phrases I've learned in the past few lessons. For reals.

Would you like to drink something with me?
Where would you like to go to drink?
Would you like to drink some beer?
I would like to go to your place.
Would you like to go to my place?

To be fair, the most recent lesson is all about how to count money, which is certainly useful. But I can easily imagine a scenario in which I desperately need to go to the hospital, but all I can think to say is "Miss, I would like to order two beers." Of course, this is nothing new. I started out in 6th grade Spanish with "La abeja tiene ojos simples y ojos compuestos" and that eventually led somewhere...

I managed to fit everything I need for a month into a 22'' carry-on suitcase, which makes me feel unreasonably manly. Train travel is not so exciting, but that's what was on the menu today. I'm in Arlington now and I'll be in California tomorrow.