title: Does PyPy translate itself?
body: <p>Am I getting this straight? Does the PyPy interpreter actually interpret itself and then <em>translate itself?</em></p>
  
  <p>So here's my current understanding: </p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>RPython's toolchain involves partially executing the program to be translated to get a sort of preprocessed version to annotate and translate. </li>
  <li>The PyPy interpreter, running on top of CPython, executes to partially interpret <em>itself,</em> at which point it hands control off to its RPython half, which performs the translation? </li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>If this is true, then this is one of the most mind-bending things I have ever seen. </p>