I never expect myself to talk about democracy with an American during the tea time. The truth is, I never expect myself to talk about democracy with anybody. Anyway, it’s always funny to share my opinion with someone coming from a different culture, meanwhile, living here long enough to know about my own culture. And there was one line I can’t agree more: The real freedom lies within your heart.

It seems that I am really awkward to speak Chinese with a Westerner. I have never been nervous when speaking English with any native speaker, but when it comes to my mother tongue, perhaps due to the fear of making mistakes, I always struggle in my mind to utter the correct words. It’s really embarrassing. Thank Goodness there was Chinese chess in that tea house so we could play game to make the silence reasonable. I have totally no idea why the subject would go politics. Face it, I really don’t know how to initiate a pleasant conversation with a new friend. However, I did enjoy the chess game, despite that I lost the second set, (I think I played better during that set, still it’s not something to be proud of to lose Chinese chess to a foreigner). Besides, what really made my day was the moment when he was having difficulties with next move, he said ” I hate you” in English. Well, what can I say? I feel more comfortable when a white guy is speaking English, and I even think my brain would react faster in that case. What a weirdo I am!

And of course some English lesson today: Only today did I realize that I had pronounced the word “Geek” in the wrong way, which was quite humiliating. Anyhow, later better than never.

There was a thunderstorm when we were playing chess., luckily I wasn’t caught in it. When walking from the subway station to my dorm, the air was totally clear and fresh. There are only a few moments when I really feel great in this city, and one such moment is captured in this picture: 自由自在，我和我自己。