I Should Be Studying/Old Men and Their Birds

So it's 22:21 on Thursday right now. They go by military time here in China... I'm pretty sure it has something to do with it being a communist state. Oh well, I like using military time anyway. They also only have one time zone... once again, I'm gonna go out on a limb and attribute it to the fact that it's a red country. I should be studying for my Chinese kaoshi (test) that's tomorrow morning, but I can't seem to find my work ethic. Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen it since last semester. I must have lost it sometime between Halloween and Thanksgiving. If anyone finds it, please let me know. For now, I am happy to procrastinate. If procrastination were a class, I'd get an A.

I went to a local park yesterday morning for a field trip. Our mission: to observe old people practicing tai chi, ballroom dancing (some of them are actually pretty good), and whatever other activities old Chinese people like to do. I really wanted to see a laoren (old man) walking his caged bird. Not walking his dog, but his caged bird. This phenomenon is so commonplace, the Chinese actually have a name for it: liu niao, "to take a stroll with one's caged bird." Even cooler, these birds talk. They're a type of mynah bird, which is known for its ability to mimic human speech. I recognized them from when I lived in Hawaii - a bunch of them would perch in the tree outside my window every morning... I never needed an alarm clock to wake up. These guys say stuff like, "Ni hao" and "Ni chi le ma?" ("Have you eaten?") It's the last thing you expect to hear from a bird that looks like a crow.

Well, it would seem that I've caught a second wind. Back to studying. For your viewing pleasure, here is a link to a video I took of a talking mynah a few weekends ago at Bei Hai Park, as well as a picture of said mynah.