In which I begin to talk about books - Around the World in 80 Days

So I've been crazy-busy since I last posted, and I've only read a few more chapters of Around the World in 80 Days...which is lame because it is not a long book.  I just want to summarize some of what I've been reading until I have more read.

The basic plotline so far:  Mr. Phileas Fogg is a respectable English gentleman who does respectable English things.  He goes to his social club, is very punctual, and expects everyone around him to be exact and punctual as well.  When we meet him, he has recently hired a new servant (because his last one was not exact enough).  This servant is a Frenchman named Passepartout.  On the day that Passepartout is hired, Mr. Fogg enters into a bet with his friends.  He bets a substantial amount of his savings that modern travel can get him around the entire world is 80 days.  Once he leaves, the entire country is in a temporary uproar, everyone with their own opinion about the likelihood of his success.  Then, it surfaces that around the time that he left there was a major bank robbery in London.  The first major stop on his journey is the Suez Canal, where there is a British officer waiting to try to arrest him...fortunately for Mr. Fogg, things don't go according to plan.

My thoughts:
1.  I'm not sure if I love or hate the fact that Passepartout sounds like "Passport".  Google translate also tells me that his name means "happening everywhere"...which is sort of what the character wanted to avoid.  Passepartout sought out Mr. Fogg because he heard that he was the most constant person in all of London.  Once he enters Mr. Fogg's employ, he does nothing but travel and worry.

2.  At first glance, it seems like Mr. Fogg's actions are very out of character and unpredictable, but after thinking it over, his story reads just like any other cliche adventure - the unlikely hero enters into a bargain (a bet, orders from a superior, etc) and must travel outside their comfort zone to faraway places to accomplish their goal.  Where Mr. Fogg differs from these other travelers is that he takes no pleasure in his journey (thus far).  He does not venture above deck on the steamship, he does not converse with others (even the people that he plays cards with).  He acts as though nothing has changed, even when his entire way of being has dramatically shifted.  Between predictability, cliche, and peculiarity, Mr. Fogg just might be one of the more interesting characters I have read about in a long time.

That's all I've got for now.  Hopefully I can get some more read this weekend.

Until then.

Language and Life

Note:  This post falls under the categories of "life" and "language/culture":

So I have been studying Mandarin Chinese for six years, including three years of Honors and one year of AP.  I plan on completing a minor in Chinese.  Chinese has sort of been a big part of my life.

Ever since I started studying Chinese back in middle school, I have wanted to visit.  I almost had a chance to do so in high school but it got too expensive and the group of interested students was too small.    Another thing that I have known for a very long time is that I want to study abroad.  Originally, I was going to go to Ireland or England, but in the past few years, I have become very adamant about going to China.  Even though it's been a thing that I have wanted, going to China has always seemed like one of those dreams that never actually comes true.  Like, in my head, everything is great - I meet cool people and have adventures and have no problems adjusting.

Just today, I started my application for a combined study abroad/international internship program and the whole concept has gotten a lot more real.  It is really starting to hit me that I will be half-way around the world for roughly six months.  I won't be able to come home for school breaks.  I will struggle with the language and probably some culture-shock.  I might become a hermit, though I really hope not.  All in all, I am a lot more nervous now than I was before, but I'm not entirely certain that it's a bad thing that I am worried.

I guess it all just boils down to the old adage - Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  Here's to some venture, and hopefully some gain.  Wish me luck as the season of applications begins!

Until next time.

Some Introductions are in Order

I am an engineer.  We, as a general rule, enjoy our science and experiments.  So here we go.  Experiment time.  This time, it gets literary.

Some time ago, I had a blog.  I won't lie, it felt good, even if no one was reading.  I never was good at diaries and journals, and I got to add pictures to my blog...a definite bonus.  I was very good about blogging (for the most part).  I kept to a schedule, felt a real sense of loyalty to my readers (okay, my best friends...shush).  It's that part of the process that I miss.  So here comes the experiment.

Aside from being an engineer, I love literature, art, language...the works.  Unfortunately, I don't have much time for those things.  So this blog will hopefully be an outlet for that.  My plan is to read, look at art, study some language...and keep a record here.  I cannot guarantee that engineering and life won't spill in along the way, but we'll see. 

So lets get started.  I am currently reading Around the World in Eighty Days (an experiment in ebook reading).  I'll be setting up a posting schedule soon, but thoughts on the story will be coming out soon...and maybe some history and background, who knows.

Until then.