Chinese Facebook, among other things

Oh, I'm back finally. Do you know why is it so hard to write here every time? Because I have to click *wait 5 or so minutes*, click *wait some more* and so on... just to get to this text box into which I'm typing now. I so hate this firewall thing which makes using Blogger so much of an annoyance. I know, I know, I could use proxy every time I write here but that's also a hassle.

Anyway, I'd like to start (if this still can be called a start) with a quotation from our beloved chairman Mao, who said something like "one is not a true man, until he has stepped on the Great Wall". Well now, I'm going to continue with another will-be-famous quotations of my own: "one is not a true Chinese student, until he has registered on Xiaonei", the Chinese Facebook-clone.

Actually, on a quick glance, they bear so much similarities that you couldn't distinguish between them. But after discovering and fervently using the Chinese version, I've began to notice subtle (and some not-so-subtle) differences. Firstly, when you visit someone's profile, you leave a mark (like it or not), which means you can't stalk on people without them noticing, haha :D Secondly, there are no relationship information available, it's not even asked for. Instead, on the so-familiar left menu, right under the picture, you get one's hometown (because it is quite normal to travel far distances to go study).

And boy, do the Chinese people love to share stuff (links, pictures, videos etc.) on it! My main page is constantly updating (with only some 40+ friends atm). But the main thing about Xiaonei is that it forces me to learn Chinese as I'm trying to stay current with the latest gossips and stuff like that :D That's why I've become a heavy user of some of the online Chinese English dictionaries. Indeed, my Chinese is has improved quickly. Now I wish I had had the energy to get on it earlier. This is a bit too little too late, but still fun!

Last few weeks have been hectic. Not necessarily because of school. I've been growing a bit apart from it, skipping classes here and there (but still almost always returning homework on time). So I guess the trend seen from my last posting was not temporary. I've also been spending a lot of time at the TV station. They are my family now. Next Wednesday, on Christmas Eve, me and some of my dearest TV station friends are going on a late dinner. I'll try teach them some Finnish Christmas traditions, the good ones I learned when I was young. And of course, there will be presents :)

Yesterday, a fellow exchange friend called me. He said, "I just called to say goodbye. I'm leaving today." After I put my phone down I realized that it has started. The decline. The end of the banquet is near. With that realization came the sadness, sending shockwaves through my body. One by one, my exchange buddies will be gone.

Then one day, it will be my turn.

What's worse, I leave behind so many people whom I've learned to call my friends (In Finnish: "ystävä", not "kaveri", there's a huge semantic difference). Well, they still are after I leave, but I also know what distance does to relationships. Like roses, no matter how you tend them, they wither. Slowly and painfully. Someone said to me, "treasure these moments, for we will miss you". How can I treasure them when my heart is full of pain?

I feel like a prisoner, sentenced to death, knowing my execution date. I'll be forever counting the days...

This will be my third and last quote this time around, and it will be in Finnish. It's from a song and I'm sorry if you don't know the language, but you'll have to look it up, because in the process you might learn something important:

"Kuka voisi kellot seisauttaa / ja ajan pysäyttää / kun maailma lainaa kaikkein kauneintaan."

Yes, my time here is only on a loan. And I'll have to pay it back. With an interest...

But despite all this gloom I hope I've achieved something while being here. Rocked the boat. Left my mark. On things and on people's hearts and minds. You can watch one of these marks on Youtube. It's a music video... hope you like it!

Busy times

Whew, I think now's the time to chill out for a while. I was so busy (and wrapped into) shooting a music video for my colleague at the tv station that I let it interfere with my studies. That video will be shown at their department's students' festival. Nothing biggie but I'm actually skipping classes to do shooting. But I guess if the locals can do it, why can't I? And for your information, the video is going to be GREAT! I'll link it here when it's finished :)

By the way, today I got to do one of the coolest things ever here which was to shoot a four-camera live broadcast and webcast of the 2008 campus singing contest finals. The only bad thing? I heard that in the Spring semester it will be a model / fashion show instead of the singing contest. Why god whyyyy!??!??

Writer's blog

A common definition of a writer's block is that the they lose their ability to write due to lack of inspiration or creativity. Me? Sometimes, I just don't write. Period. I should, though, and I should do it more often. Writing clears my thoughts and puts them in a more organized form to be dissected and analyzed. Or whatever.

I participated in an English speech contest here, hoping to actually achieve something here. In the first round (a kind of qualifying one), the texts were given. Or rather, you randomly select one of five or six different texts. Of course it was just my luck to get a overly sugary sweet speech about love. Actually, now that I think of it in retrospect, it seemed more bittersweet after all. Needless to say, I didn't make it past even the first round. Will blame it on the topic.

If you have followed my tweets (Twitter updates, same as my Facebook status messages), you know that some student here committed suicide last week. She (yes, a girl) apparently wasn't afraid of the heights. They say in the school's BBS (discussion board) that the motive is either the high pressure due to exams or problems in love life, both of which are quite plausible explanations.

I guess that just about ruins my earlier plans to talk about how I felt that the Chinese people were so much happier than people in Finland, for example. But it was just an initial illusion I had, being in ignorant bliss and "tourist mode" myself. The more I got to know people here, the more I learn about the stuff beneath the surface and the more I realize how alike all the people in the world are. How similar problems they are all dealing with. It also acted as a harsh reminder that I couldn't escape my own demons by just going to someplace new. The dust has officially settled. Oh, and the nights here are officially colder than in Helsinki.

You may also have noticed from my tweets that I finally saw both Wall*E, the Pixar movie I was eagerly anticipating since this spring, and the Dark Knight, the "second" batman flick (which I didn't quite anticipate, but was just curious about). Out of these two I have to admit that I was soooo disappointed at Wall*E. Maybe all those praising reviews I read had me set ludicrously high expectations for it. A movie about robots, for gods sake! To me, they didn't feel human at all. I even liked Ratatouille better. The Dark Knight, however, was a pleasant surprise. Maybe also because I didn't expect so much of it. It was gloomer than I thought, which is good for a superhero movie. I mean, the Iron Man was just too happy hippy.

Other than the news, my life is still going on the same. School and work still come and go, stuff at the tv station is still interesting as ever, and I still miss u guys at home. Laters...