Traditional Dances of the World

Feeling a little artistic at Central Park on a beautiful day

This is the entrance to the subway station near my Chinese school

I've got quite a few stories since the last one but i'll do you all the favor of trying to only write the most fundamental and entertaining. My fingers always get ahead of me when i'm writing and all of a sudden i've got a mini-novel with no plot or inspirational message.... just me (the protagonist) and a few crazy experiences that I (the writer) think some of you might enjoy.
I moved into a new apartment two weeks ago which is absolutely beautiful. I'm living with another American and a Hungarian girl. We all get a long really well and i've already shared some great experiences with them. The apartment is on the 19th (top) floor of a great building with roof access right outside our front door.

Last saturday, we were all feeling adventurous so we decided to walk to this great park near the apartment. If there's one thing you should know about Asians, more specifically more mature aged Asians, it's that they LOVE to exercise in the parks. So we were walking past huge groups of people doing all sorts of tai-chi type things until we found the group we were looking for: the dancing ladies. They were just warming up when we got there so we cast our purses aside and joined the ranks. We were shuffled among the lines and in no time were mimicking the instructor (having no idea what she was saying) and having the time of our lives. We learned traditional taiwanese dances, hip hop dances ("Who let the FROGS out?!?!") and other popular dances. We danced for over an hour until we were finally finished. We thought. We were just about to grab our bags when the instructor said there was one more dance we should do.... a traditional English folk dance. The english speaking lady who had been helping us told us we'd know what to do, just listen to the lyrics. So we got in a huge circle and the music started. "4...3....2....1.... you put your right foot in, you put your right foot out..." I literally fell to the ground laughing when I realized I was about to do the hokey pokey with these women. I apologize to all the hokey-pokey lovers out there but that's got to be the most annoying song we've got to offer. It was such a relief when we finally got to "shake our whole selves all about" but they thought we loved it so much (because of all the laughter) that they so kindly played it again and we did the freakin' hokey pokey twice. None the less, I'll defintiely be joining these women again.

Halloween at the school.... i was in charge of the "Monster Walk" costume show

Other news: Yesterday I got to check out this lab where they're working on developing drugs for cancer treatment and helping hospitals with disease identificaiton. I really miss the lab atmosphere! They invited me to come by now and then for an internship type thing. I think i'll pretty much be the sporatic lab guest who watches people and askes annoying questions. There was a biotech professor there who invited me to visit his lab where they're also working on developing a drug that specifically kills breast cancer cells. Sounds like it could be a very promising connection. Maybe i'll just cure cancer while i'm here.
I'm defintiely settling in well. I don't feel like a toursit anymore but I still continually encounter things that make my jaw drop, or make me burst out in laughter because they're so extraordinary. I'm making friends of all varieties but I definitely miss everyone from home a lot. This morning, my Hungarian roommate put on Mika's "Big Girl You are Beautiful" which was a classic dance party in the Camelot kitchen song. It's always music that brings you back to the places and people you love. Well, tonight I'm off to a "Thanksgiving" dinner with a friend from Chinese class. We'll see if I remember how to use a knife and fork.