Ok. I'm gonna digress for a second. Usually this blog will be only China-related stuff, but as I'm now in Canada, I figure I can go off on a tangent, wha? Anyway, my trip home has been helped immensely by China's next-door neighbour, Japan. How? Well, I was never very good with folding my clothes until I saw this:



My mother saw my clothes, and she figured my girlfriend must have packed them. Ha. In your face...

This next helpful Japanese hint I haven't actually used yet. But I guess I won't be eating much rice while I'm back home in Canada, so I figure I'll use this one sooner or later. Here's how to peel a potato, ninja-style!



Pretty cool, wha? Now that I've come home to Canada for a short trip, there are a lot of friends of the family who ask questions like "How are you doing over there in...China is it? or is it Japan?" There are a ton of people who just don't know the difference. I'm not really sure how to explain the difference between the two neighbouring countries, to be honest.

But why don't I try anyhow, hey?

Picture two high-school girls living next door to each other. Girl A hates Girl B because of a fight they had in kindergarden. Girl B has an iPod, the latest funkiest fashions, and a hot boyfriend (possibly an American James Dean type) who takes her out every evening. Girl A sits in her bedroom staring out her window, a hateful bitter virgin watching her neighbour's every move, as her 8-track cassette player plays a bootlegged copy of some old Blues album. Girl A's parents get involved as well, encouraging more bitter behaviour and the occasion protest on Girl B's lawn.

Well, maybe that's a bit exaggerated... Think so? I'm sure there are some valuable truths in there somewhere.