My Chinese Class (我的中文课)

I was talking to one of my friends from Chinese class a couple months ago. I told him that since I'm leaving the school this year, it would be awesome if he drew something for me. I suggested he draw a dragon exploding with hearts around it with the phrase "Camille is amazing" on it. We laughed about it and continued on with our day. Yesterday was my last day of school and Chinese is my last class of the day. My 老师 （teacher) had the students who were leaving go up and say our goodbyes. I didn't know what to say so I did my best to advocate to everyone how much I love them, even though when I first met them , I thought they were all crazy. After the last person finishes speaking, a student who isn't leaving goes up to speak with a piece of paper. He says " I have been holding this for a month so I can give it to Camille." He brings me this piece of paper and it's the picture I asked for. The awesome thing is he had all of my friends sign it;even the people who aren't in my Chinese class. Everbody left me personal messages and it was just so heartfelt and genuine. The most awesome people at my school truely love me. This is the best suprise I have ever had.

To my Chinese classmates:
I love all of you sooooo much. Even though you all are crazy, you have grown on me. I'll miss all of you and don't you forget about me <3 我爱你！
-陆可梦

1000 VIEWS!!!! (☆_☆) \(^-^)/ (☆_☆) \(^-^)/

I have finally reached 1,000 views!! That's so amazing!! In 4 months, I have opened a blog, posted on said blog, developed an audience through social media, and have reached viewers that span over 5 countries. That is so awesome. Globalization is fantastic. Thank you so much for supporting me by reading my posts. I love all my viewers <3 (Thank you to my mom for clicking my blog 1,000 times lol)

(Good) Discomfort

I really don't like discomfort. By discomfort, I mean anything that has potential to upset me. I don't like scary movies, over aggression, or getting upset. All of those things cause me to have great discomfort. My class requires us to study the Holocaust. The Holocaust is an awful event that took place and its horrific to think about the evils that humans are willing to commit against other humans. I understand that we have to learn about it yearly to prevent this type of repetition in history. However, I still don't enjoy it. The word alone has the ability to glaze a room full of rowdy teenagers in wave of discomfort and sadness. It was suggested that the class watch Schindler's List. I know personally that I wouldn't be able to handle that. There's a huge difference between reading about the horrors and having to sit back and watch them take place. Fortunately, we were allowed to watch Life is Beautiful . This movie is also very sad from midpoint on. What I like is that the film creators didn't feel the need to show you the gory horrors, rather, they allowed the intelligence of the human mind to fill in the gaps of the unseen violence. This movie centers in on the love an innocent man has for his family and how much effort he puts into preserving his son's innocence. It really shows that life is beautiful and the love that this one man has is almost enough to help remove all the hate seen in his environment. So even though the topic of the movie made me feel uncomfortable and sad, it was necessary. Not a necessary evil, but a good discomfort.

Supression

I was having an excellent day. My hug quota was filled, I completed an interactive lab, and I was wearing  my awesome Los Angeles, California sweatshirt. I'm in the middle of a test and I feel something hard hit me in my ribs. I look to see an obnoxious baseball player and some of his groupies trying to suppress their laughter. He immediately says "Oh, it flew out of my hand" and laughs some more. I'm thinking, Sure it did. Something can accidentally fly 5 feet in my direction. Speechless, my face starts to burn. I assume this must be because I am embarrassed. I hear the white noise of one of his groupies try to defend his immature actions, but I can't focus on anything she is saying because I can feel my blood pressure and body temperature rising. It continues to escalate as I think of how compassionate I've been the whole year allowing this junior to act like an immature buffoon. It's suddenly getting higher and hotter as I realize that this guy is a thief who has stolen my education time by being so distracting with his inconsiderate behavior (not just today, every single day). I feel the pressure fill the room like helium fills a balloon. Ready to pop at any moment. I'm in a pot of water that's boiling on the fire. This boy has foolishly lit a fire in a field of straw and little does he know, I am ready to light him up. That causes me to realize that this burning in my face wasn't embarrassment, this was the burning of my red hot furry. I don't know what I want to say so I just blurt out the first thing that comes to my mind when think of a guy like him. I yell out "Are you being racist?!" The confusion in his face defused the bomb that almost killed him. I almost feel bad about my comment until he starts getting mad and trying to discretely talk about me. I don't really care about the talking about me because I personally get nervous when people aren't talking about me,but for some reason when this boy does it, it just makes me angrier. I am not a violent person so I removed myself from the space and sat in a different seat. I took one breath and I felt like someone had ripped my heart out of my chest. I felt so tired from the anger, while still being angry. My anger started to express itself in the form of acidic tears. I stand up and walk to get tissues from my teacher's desk. I can tell she thinks I am upset about the test, however the minute I look up and align my watery eyes with hers, I feel her heart sink into her stomach. I know that she knows that something happened to upset me and her eyes tell me that she wishes she could help, but knows that there's no way she could help me in the way that I require. I tell her why I'm upset, but don't ask her to do anything about it;why ask for something that I know she doesn't have.
Had I expressed my feeling of irritation with this person earlier in the year, I wouldn't have to had all this suppressed anger for him to uncap.  The thing is I don't want this kid to be punished for immaturity. I want him to understand that his behavior is inappropriate and that I shouldn't have to tolerate it. However, just like everything in my life, there is a brightside. At least, I have another story to add to the book of my life.

Starting anger

Increased anger

COME AT ME,  BRUH!!

Apprieciation (Goodbye) Cards

I am transitioning a lot at this point in my life. I'm transferring schools and changing volunteer jobs. I'm doing more independent travel. I'm coming into my adult self more and more each day. Due to all the change, I made special people special goodbye cards. All of the cards have different styles in the way they say thank you. I also attached a piece of candy to the card so that the card receiver may have a lasting thought that I am sweet (like candy). I handwrite all of them and make sure that each card is personalized to the individual. I have been fortunate enough to meet and develop relationships with the most amazing people. Since I have benefitted so much from these relationships, I feel that it is my responsibility to make others aware about my feelings of fondness towards them. The only thing uniform among all my cards was the amount of love I put in them and my suggestion that receiver keep in contact with me. Although I stay busy, I never forget those who invested in me whether that investment be financial, an investment of time, or an emotional investment. I could only hope that they wouldn't forget about me. As this chapter of my life comes to a close, I want it to end my style. I want it to end happy and sweet.

A Month Without Electronics - Hypothesis

In about month, I will be entering an immersive Chinese program in which I will not be allowed to use electronic devices because all of my devices are programmed in English. I will have a month of no cellphone, no social media, and no blogging (so depressed). I'm excited to embark on this new adventure, but since my current life is filled with so much technology, I assume the adjustment may be a little harder. I know you can't miss something you don't have, so I predict after the first week without personal electronics, I'll be well adapted to this pre-Apple lifestyle. I think it will also help me make friends faster because all of us will be focused on furthering our Chinese learning and making memories without having the distractions of our phones. The program prefers we write letters back home as an alternative to the use of cell phones. I'm sure our letters will move slower than our texts, but I have a feeling that our letters will be more meaningful than our texts. I also enjoy the idea of writing home because it will allow me to practice my writing skills. This is my basic hypothesis of how lack of electronics will affect me. I'll write up my results after I finish the program.

Survival Guide : Living with 10 Girls Part 4

Tip #11: Appreciation
Develop an appreciation for the small things like getting to eat at the restaurant of your choice or amazing things like being by yourself. When living with 10 people in a small living quarters with no kitchen, you develop the magical ability to hear the exquisite sound in silence. It's so beautiful and subtle; the inaudible sound that fills the air when you're alone in your over populated living quarters. It happens so rarely that when you realize no one else is home, you may just sit and listen to it. It's important to appreciate the small things because it keeps everyone grounded and humbled. Appreciation forces you to recognize that as a person, you are not entitled to anything and that you should be grateful for everything.

Tip #12: Desensitization
I highly suggest developing a desensitization to things that may be typically viewed as vulgar profane, unorthodox, and simply inappropriate. For these things are indeed inappropriate, but they are of common teenage lingo so it's best to be desensitized to some things that you may hear. Teenagers are immature and may make jokes that are stupid. They may also play in a way that is silly, noisy, and inconsiderate. It's best to remember that they do not intend to fend or incontinence anyone, they more don't really recognize the disturbance they've caused until after the fact. As mentioned previously, teenagers are immature so if something is really offensive, just publicly express your offense in a calm tone because it embarrasses them. They will stop.

Tip #13: Share
Sharing encourages others to share with you. That sharing may consist of food or of personal feelings amongst each other. Either way, the sharing promotes bonding and that is extremely important when living with 10 girls. Plus, if you don't share, they won't care, and take some food regardless. Easiest way to remember is sharing is caring. 

Tip #14: SQUAD UP
Everywhere you go, squad up. You must always be with another person, especially in a foreign place. Everyone else will protect you just as you protect them. There is safety in greater numbers. Plus, when you travel in squads, your group selfies are that much better.

Tip #15: Learn To Love Them
In the end of all the sleepless nights, the endless random hairs, and the possessed Blanka orangutan screaming matches, it's important to learn how to love them. They are extremely annoying a lot of times, but they are still biologically people and require to be loved as so. Different individuals need various types and degrees of love and affection. Moving into a room of 10 girls, it's natural to be unaware everyone's individual requirement or limitation of affection. By the time to move out, you have learned how to properly love others as they have learned how to properly love you.

Survival Guide : Living with 10 Girls Part 3

Tip #7: Know Yourself
When living with 10 other sources of peer pressure and stupidity, it's important to know yourself. Having knowledge of who you truely are will allow you to know when you shouldn't be somewhere. It will keep you aware of personal boundaries and limitations. Abide by these feelings to have the best time.

Tip #8: (Gut Feeling)
The term "gut feeling" is put in parentheses because it's not always something obvious. Sometimes it may be a quick pang or it may be a drawn out sense of dread. Either way, it's important to listen to the "gut feeling" because it's usually right. These feelings are natural instincts sending signals of "I'm in danger", "I'm hurting", "I need to help", "I can do this", and "This is it." Ignoring said feelings can and will create great unexpected inconviences. The degree of the inconvience varies with the degree of the situation.

Tip #9: Don't Yell First

Blanka (Street Fighter II) = Angry Females

Refering back to previous tip of maintain patience, an important part of maintaining the peace amoung 10 girls is not to yell, speak with attitude, or cause irriation. Naturally, this is not going to happen and people will get angry, say rude things, and cause serious mass agravation. The key is don't yell first. Just as with fighting on a school premises, the one who swings first is the one who starts the fight.  This same rule applies to yelling or using angry profanity. Whatever you do, don't be the one to drop the F-bomb first. All that does is ignite the already angry etrogen filled crazy oragutans and transforms them into wild screeching monsters like Blanka from Street Fighter II. Take heed to this piece of advice. DO NOT YELL FIRST.

Tip #10: Boys
If there are boys involved, that usually means trouble. Not that all guys are trouble, but what accompanies them does bring inconvience. In my case, guys bring simplicity (which is good), immaturity, and alarm to adults. This is an inconvienance to me for having to feel like a mom and controlling their childlike behavior. It's also very inconvient for the adults to be alarmed when males and females are in the same vicnity. The adults become annoying because they tend to display their clear distrust of young minds and their constant hovering ruins the fun of having a diverse group in the first place. Boys may equal trouble.

What I Did To See The Hollywood Sign

It's been said that people do crazy things for love. I think comparing all my efforts to see the Hollywood Sign to the crazy things people do for love, I measure up with the craziest. I had to take 3 taxis, purchase 2 tickets and climb 1 ginormous mountain just to catch a glimpse of the Hollywood Sign. I also had to avoid angering the under informed and non existent supervisors while keeping track of 14 other wild gorillas (aka 14 other teenagers).

STORY TIME
Everyone is up and ready to go to Los Angeles, California at about 8 am. We are delayed long enough for me to get a sandwich and for the adviser to hear about our plan which was already in progress. We all climbed into 3 different taxis and went to the train station. We are purchasing one way tickets and our advisers force everyone to buy a 2nd ticket so they know for sure we have a planned mode of transportation home. One of the people had to go back early so he bought an earlier ticket and I decided to go back with him so he wouldn't travel alone. We also realize that our supervisor is livid due to the lack of information provides as well as the lack of permission requested. We all sit to wait for the train near the tracks and then some creep takes out his phone and starts snapping pictures/taking videos of us. We walk to get on board and he is following us with the camera on his phone. One girl yells at him to stop recording us and he cowers away like the creepy coward he is.  We arrive in LA and attempt to all stick together on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Hollywood Walk of Fame was not fun just because you can't really enjoy the stars on the ground. The excitement of seeing something you've only seen in movies is diminished with all the tourists, hustlers, impersonators who charge you to take a picture, and the creeps. Thus the reason our attempt to remain 15 people united only lasted for all of 3 seconds. The Fab Five (the five loudest roommates) wanted to stopped at every single star, another group wanted to go to the Hollywood Sign, and another group just wanted to eat. We all had to disperse at lunch because half of the group wanted to go to In-N-Out Burger (which we went to yesterday) and everyone else wanted to go to Subway. The Subway group finished eating first so we all ordered taxis to take us to the Hollywood Sign. My taxi made it and the other taxi went to an observatory on the opposite side of town. This is awful because the other person who had an early ticket to the train was in the other car. While waiting for the other taxi of the Subway kids, my group entered a restricted area to get better pictures with the Hollywood Sign. That was great and really cool, until we realized that I should find the other person who was supposed to leave early. They couldn't find us and we couldn't find them. We were also in the mountains and the reception was atrocious. We literally spent an hour trying to find them which included 3 walks up and down the mountain. So the In-N-Out group rolls up in their taxi and they start yelling about how they saw the other Subway group down the mountain. Everyone started yelling so loud that a woman exited her home to ask if there was something going on. So at this point, I'm so pressed for time that if I don't make it down the mountain in the next minute, I'll miss my train. I beg the taxi driver to take me and he refuses. Ignoring the white noise of everyone screaming at each other and using profanity,  every song on the radio as our taxi driver accumulated traffic and speeding violations. An hour and half later, the other person and I ring the doorbell of the lady we disturbed and used my charm to have her give me a ride down the mountain. I reunite with the other person leaving early with 10 minutes to catch a train that I know is going to be at least 20 minutes away. Our taxi driver offers to take us back and we take the offer. I was singing/rapping and I made it back to the hotel.

So yeah, I went through all of that to see the Hollywood Sign.



This selfie was so worth it.

Seeing a Prostitute for the 1st Time

STORY TIME:
So I go down to the market in our hotel which is across the street from Disneyland and I get in line to pay for my food. All of a sudden, someone enters from the door that says "KEEP CLOSED" and yells "I'm cold!" I turn around to see this prostitute. This is not at all how I imagined my 1st prostitue sighting would be and she looked nowhere near what I expected prostitutes to look like. The tracks in her hair were completely exposed and the extensions/ wig she had attached to said tracks almost looked like they were purchase from a dollar store. One side of her hair was orange and the other platinum blonde. She had on extremely short shorts and spaghetti strap crop top in 50 degree weather. She looked dirty as if she hadn't had access to a bath in a year. She was profusely scratching herself and could not stop moving. I noticed she really alarmed the people working in the market. She started to touch everything and walk quickly throughout the store changing direction with every scratch. I wasn't in awe of her nor was I scared of her. I actualy walked away feeling sorry for her because she is clearly not taking care of herself and she's selling her body for money and drugs.

Survival Guide : Living with 10 Girls Part 2

Tip #4: Patience
When living with 10 other people, patience is key. You have to wait for everyone to go out, you have to wait to use the restroom (the worst), and sometimes you have to wait to talk. Everything will require some sort of patience (unless you get there 1st). There will be times when you're not necessarily being patient time wise, but more being patient with others. People are annoying and there have been a lot of times when I've had to be patient and not get frustrated with everyone.

Tip #5: Orangutans

These are orangutans

Living with 10 girls is equivalent to living with 10 orangutans. Everyone has so much hair and they shed so much. There are strands of hair everywhere. These random strands can pop up anywhere such as on clothes, on the bath soap, or in the sink. I had never seen that before because my family doesn't shed like that. They also behave like wild apes pretty often. I suggest developing a love for orangutans.

Tip #6: Stay Chill
10 people means 10 different personalities and 10 variables. Many times, things don't go exactly how originally planned so my group tends to make loose plans and go from there. Every time it has worked out pretty well and we stick together. Every time one person gets irritated, they cause a change reaction to irritate everyone else. The key to having a smooth life with 10 other people is to stay relaxed and be patient.



Survival Guide : Living with 10 Girls

I can not even begin to display the struggle of living with 10 girls. At this point, I'm shaming myself for complaining about living with 3 other girls at states. Living with 10 other girls at nationals is ridiculous, crazy, kind of gross, and a lot of fun.  However, I realize that if I'm going survive living in such an estrogen filled environment with a bunch of wild gorillas, it's my social obligation to create some tips for any other people who may be in this situation in the future.

Tip #1: CLAIM YOUR TERRITORY
Girls typically are very nice at first, so if there's a side of the bed that you prefer or you have a preference for more closet space, claim it and QUICKLY!

Tip #2: Be 1st
If you are the first person, you have 1st dibs and whatever you are getting is untouched.

Tip #3: Invest in Headphones
There is nothing more beautiful than your music blocking out all of the wild teenage girl raucous when you are trying to focus. Headphones keep you on task and out of trouble. Headphones are also the universal signal for "leave me alone" and it can help you avoid uncomfortable and awkward conversation. Headphones are life and you should observe them as so.

Becoming an Unexpected Translator

Today I went to the airport to go to California for nationals. As I was standing in line to check my bag, a woman behind me says in broken English that she's from Beijing while trying to talk to the person behind her in line.  I started talking to her in Chinese. Speaking with a native must have made me nervous so I ended up having messy grammar and apologizing for such things afterwards. So I begin to check my bag and she comes next to me to check hers.  The attendant is clearly oblivious to the fact that this woman doesn't speak English and she doesn't know how to operate the machine that is only in English. I take my 2nd chance at using my Chinese and ask her if I can help her (我帮你吗？. She says ＂对＂ meaning correct. She gives me her information and I check her bags in for her. Then I tell her "it's nice meeting you" (认识你很高兴） and I continue to my destination. Later on the plane, I hear report that she didn't understand one of the attendants when she was trying to ask about the whereabouts of her luggage. When our plane lands to drop off some people in New Orleans, I mouth to her to （请坐）please sit, for we have not yet gotten to our destination. As soon as we were approved to stand, she ran to me and I asked her (你好吗？） "how are you? Are you good?" And she starts talking about her luggage. I told her that her luggage would be in California when she got there. I then directed her to the restroom and she looked very grateful. We finally get to LA and she made her way to baggage claim and she came up to me and said "my husband" and points at a man. She asks me where I'm from and where I learned to speak Chinese so well. Eventually, we both find our luggage and she gives me a hug. That was the most amazing experience. I was able to  utilize the Chinese to actually be able to help someone. Every minute I spent studying in intensive language programs was worth it just for that one experience.