Archive for March, 2011

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Smoker’s Lungs

March 14th, 2011 by Manda | 5 Comments | Filed in Travel

In a city where breathing the polluted air alone is the equivalent of smoking three packs of unfiltered cigarettes a day, I’m pretty surprised I haven’t come down with any lung-related ailments yet.

Beijing, I love you, but fact that I am passively smoking about a zillion packs of cigarettes a week1 has me worried I’ll return to the States with a set of smoker’s lungs!

  1. The air pollution, combined with the amount of secondhand smoke I inhale when going out at night, is most definitely damaging to my lungs in every possible way. [↩]

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Employment Options for the Summer

March 12th, 2011 by Manda | 9 Comments | Filed in Travel, Work

In a remarkable change to my summer unemployment dilemma of 2009, I have two very excellent employment options for this summer. The only problem is that I have to choose which one I want; due to the location of each position I can’t do both.

As I would say in Chinese, 怎么办？(“What’s to be done?”)

Option #1: Interning at a PR firm in Beijing
Internships are obviously a great thing to have listed on a resume, and interning at a first-class PR firm in Beijing would be pretty damn amazing. I’d get tons of work experience in my field and also get to know what the industry is like in another country, and how PR strategies and such differ from country to country. As a full-time intern, I’d be fully immersed in my work environment and would have awesome opportunities to improve and expand my skill set. This internship would be the most related to my field out of all the work experience I’ve had so far.

But there are cons, of course. I’d be an unpaid intern, and I’d have to cover living expenses out of pocket. I also wouldn’t be able to use much, if any, of my Chinese at my internship because of the nature of the company and my position. Yes, I would still be able to use my Chinese in daily life, but not being able to use it (or improve it) in a professional setting is a little discouraging.

Option #2: Teaching English just outside Shanghai
I have never taught English before, but I would make bank doing so in China. The teaching gig I’m looking at is a pretty sweet deal, too. I would get paid to teach and receive free room and board as well as free Chinese lessons. Three of my friends are also considering this employment opportunity, so it would be all of us working at the same school this summer.

My issue with this is that it is not in Beijing, a city I have grown to love. It isn’t even in Shanghai either, but right outside it. I like everything that a big city in China has to offer, so I am a little skeptical of how well I would adjust to not living in the city.

I have to decide between one of the two soon, and I have no idea how I am going to be able to make this decision. Input, anyone?

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Breakeven

March 7th, 2011 by Manda | 2 Comments | Filed in Relationships

They say bad things happen for a reason
But no wise words gonna stop the bleeding
‘Cause [he's] moved on while I’m still grieving
And when a heart breaks, no it don’t breakeven, even, no
- Breakeven, The Script

I can say with confidence that the best part of me is not him, despite the fact that he is a huge part of my life, but that doesn’t make the situation any less painful. Or complicated.

It should be fairly straightforward – boy breaks girl’s heart, girl moves on. But life is never that neat and tidy. Or simple.

Tom: Did you ever even have a boyfriend?
Summer: Of course.
Tom: What happened, why didn’t they work out?
Summer: What always happens? Life.
- (500) Days of Summer

It’s one of those things where you know you deserve better but you’re afraid you won’t find better. So you settle, and you hate yourself and the boy for it, but you can’t bring yourself to do anything else.

This is what defines “pathetic.”

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