I’ve become a YouTube addict. YouTube.com is a website to which you can upload your videos (of anything) and claim your stake on the web. There are some creative and hilarious people out there. Seth showed me a video a couple of months ago and I found it on the site. Just follow this URL – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg – and you, too, can enjoy the madness. Next teaching term, I’ll start posting videos of different events on YouTube, so my Chinese and Americans friends alike can see my life in action.

Number of views as of this blog entry: 2976.

I arrived in Muskogee at 3:30 AM. Dad and I drove from Wheaton, IL to good ol’ Muskogee, OK. It was a quick trip save one part on construction on I-70 that took ONE HOUR to go A MILE AND A HALF. Crazy! We also drove right behind the storm that hit St. Louis. We saw all the areas of the city with no power. Read more about the story here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13954663.

I’m just really excited now that Wheaton classes are over! With my summer being half over, in 5 short weeks I return to China. I’m looking forward to getting some late morning sleeps though. I’ll probably be in Muskogee until the beginning of August then go to Tulsa for the rest of the time.

In the meantime, it’s Relaxation City.

Number of views as of this blog entry: 2951.

Interesting conversation this morning at breakfast:

My friend Ben pipes (very spontaneously at that), “So your blog’s really going to pot.” My fumbled response is, “Well, there’s really not much to talk about.” However, my brain is screaming, “What? My READERS are commenting on my LACK of blog comments. This can’t be! I’m such a note-worthy blog…and my Internet value is plummeting. Must…write…more.”

Needless to say, my digital self-esteem was affected by this perceptive blow, so I’m now “picking up the pace” and blogging like there’s no tomorrow.

With that said, I have nothing more to add – other than the fact that if you, oh dear SonMan Is In China! blog reader, have any comments for me, simply post them by clicking the “Add a comment” link on the bottom of any blog entry. I’d so loooove to hear your comments, such as “So your blog’s really going to pot.”

Number of views as of this entry: 2920.

So I’m four weeks into my summer and six weeks out. Amazing!

I just finished my two 2-credit courses. They were killers. Each teacher pretended as if they were the only class we had. I had an absolute TON of reading to do (and have thus finished). Just Saturday I finished the grammar take-home test (worth 40% of the final grade) and a 10-page class lessons with rationale papers (worth 30% of the final grade). It was rough but I survived many nights with only 3 to 5 hours sleep. CRAZ-ZEE!

This week is only a morning class, so I’m enjoying some rest. I actually have time today to simply surf the Internet. It’s not exactly a good use of time, but I just don’t care!

Anywho, I’m enjoying my break and the anticipation of some major relaxation next week. My heads actually hurts from all this learning. But I’m doing great.

Number of views as of this blog entry: 2910.

Well, what can I really say? I’m still at Wheaton, still doing massive amounts of homework, and still not getting a lot of sleep. Life has been put on hold while taking classes. I am learning a lot and class times are often enjoyable. This is all I have to say for now. <Ugh, bad blog entry!!! L>

Number of views as of this blog entry: 2858.

Yeah, I know it’s been like FOREVER since I’ve updated – and yes, I am alive. Wheaton College has been fun and difficult as the same time. There’s been a lot of “ma fan” (Chinese for trouble) with getting books, figuring schedules and GETTING INTERNET ACCESS. We haven’t been able to connect in our apartments where we are on campus, so I’ve finally found the library and am able to update.

It was a nice trip with my family getting up here. It has been beautiful weather. Right now it’s about 78 degrees with cloudy skies and a light breeze. The Wheaton campus is gorgeous. It’s so finally landscaped and the buildings are well-kept. Our apartments are nice because they have a full kitchen, A/C (which isn’t too great), beds, and a shower that I DON’T have to duck underneath to wash my hair (tall guys understand).

The classes are stiff. I’ve taken classes for my Intercultural Studies core, but I have not taken any for the TESOL side – and there’s a lot of terminology to know. My two professors are great (both Drs. and nice personalities) and know their material. In my Reading & Writing class, we’re having Farsee lessons (Iranian language) while in my Grammar course we’re diagramming sentences. (Yeah, fun! L)

FYI: just right now I discovered that the computers in the campus library have headphones that is streaming Christian music (Kutlass’ Sea of Faces no doubt). I was wondering if someone had a loud MP3 on or something, then I realized it was right next to me. Aaaah, I just love grad school at Wheaton. More to come later.

Number of views as of this entry: 2808.