Eggplant

I went this morning to the big outdoor vegetable market to buy some groceries for dinner.  On my way out of the market I saw some eggplant that looked inviting to eat.  Here's my conversation with the veggie seller.

ME:  How much is that eggplant?

SELLER:  30 cents for 1 pound. (Then points to a stack of old and ugly eggplant), but I'll give you some from this pile for 14 cents per pound.

ME:  ok, I'll take two eggplants

SELLER: (starts filling up a plastic bag)

ME: wait, I just want half a pound (seller keeps filling the bag) um...okay, I'll just take one pound ...

SELLER: what?  you want 3 lbs?

ME: no, no, I just want 3 eggplants...

SELLER: (finally stops filling the bag and puts it on the scale)  that will be 30 cents please

ME: (surprised at how much eggplant he is giving me for such little money!) Oh? Yes! Thank you!

Seller: (smiles with delight)

The Sound of Death

Yesterday morning the 'sound of death' started.  My apartment window looks out to the front door of another apartment complex.  There was a man sitting on a chair playing his horn.  He sat next to a large green army tent, a large flower wreath, and a big yellow paper horse.  I stood staring out the window for a long time watching this man play his horn and seeing people walk in and out of the apartment building, paying their last respects to whoever just passed away.

...all Saturday this man played his horn.  More wreaths were brought and set up around the large green army tent....

Sunday morning, 9am, I was awoken to the man playing the horn.  A second man came playing his horn too.  The men would play for about 10 minutes straight, then they would take a 10 minute break, before playing again.  Alternating the same tunes over and over again.  The tune is squeaky, really loud, depressing, hits me deep in my soul.

I eventually learned it was a funeral and the horn would continue playing for three days!

My family is so tired of the horn and this depressing tune.....but what can we do?

What?!?

I was sitting on a bench, inside a big hospital, waiting for the doctor.  Sitting next to me was a grandmother with her grandson (one year old).  The mother was pacing around to make sure she didn't miss her turn when the nurse called her name.  I was fiddling with my cell phone, when I felt something splash on my shoe.  I looked down and the grandmother was holding her grandson just past her lap and encouraging him to pee on the floor right in front of us!  Without missing a beat, the mother grabbed a mop from the corner and cleaned it up.  Then she laid down a piece of tissue on the floor to catch his poo!

I don't get culture shock too often, but I couldn't help my jaw dropping to the floor.  I stood up and stared, with a "you gotta be kidding" look on my face.  I mean I knew about split pants and how kids pee outside or in corners, but I never imagined a parent intentionally letting a kid pee right there inside a public building!  So gross!

Snow

The first snow fall hit us on Monday.  I woke to Ben and baby coming inside the apartment with cold noses and eagerly announcing to me that it was snowing outside!

Crackers

I've been experimenting with making crackers, as it's been a challenge trying to find solid food that baby enjoys eating.  This cracker recipe has been a hit in my house, as it's super easy to make, plus it's highly addictive due to its tangy yoghurt flavour balanced with buttery goodness.

- 1 cup of plain whole yoghurt (or how ever much is left over from breakfast!)
- 1/4 cup of butter, softened
- 2 cups flour
Mix together.  Use your fingers or a spoon to spread out thin on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Here is the original recipe, from which I modified mine:  Rich Whole Grain Crackers from The Nourishing Gourmet 

4th of July

Cooked carnitas, pico de gallo, and tortilla chips in honor of Ben's birthday.

Panda Bears

Check out the panda bears! One is eating bamboo and the other is on her daddy's back.

Avatar

I watched Avatar for the first time last night. I don't understand what all of the hype was about as I didn't think it was that great. It was cool, but I've seen better movies.

Tea Plantation

Went on a mini vacation to do the 'touristy' thing - pick tea. Our tour guide's family still lives on this tea plantation and invited us in for lunch. They cooked up a BIG spread of assorted dishes, including a glass of tea from their farm.

Sweet Rounds

Tang Yuan (Sweet Rounds) are my new favorite treat! It's rice cake on the outside and sweet filling on the inside. Sweet filing such as black sesame seed or strawberry. They are so good! Click here for a picture.

The Courtyard

It turned hot outside. Not the humid sticky hot, rather the dry intense heat. The hot that makes you feel like you're running a fever after being outside for a few minutes. The sun is intense, especially in the middle of the day. But when the sun starts setting it gets cool again, and that's when I like to go outside.

This evening I went outside to sit in the courtyard. It was right about the time when the neighbors come out to relax for a while. I watched kids playing basketball. Grandparents sat around chatting. A monk was working on starting a fire in the center incense burner. Kids were running to find small sticks to add to the fire. Ladies sat and talked on their cell phones. Other kids were playing jump rope. Another monk was sitting at a sewing machine sewing a big piece of fabric (guess the weather and lighting were better outside???) Then a thunder storm started to blow in and everybody cleared out and went back inside.

True Confession

I don't take medicine in capsules. Many doctors try to prescribe them to me, but I've been known to not take them. Sometimes I tell the doctor that I don't take capsules, but that usually ends in an embarrassing lecture. I often think I should get over it and just take the capsule.

Yesterday a doctor prescribed me antibiotics. Not knowing the culture or language I accepted the medicine, which was a HUGE capsule. I attempted to hide the fact that I had no intention of taking this horse pill. BUT I've been sick for so long now, that my husband pointed out that I had no choice this time as I really needed this medicine to get better. I stared at this horse pill for about 24 hrs, trying to figure out what to do....

Then my friend came over, who called her friend to stop by the local pharmacy and get me some medicine that was easier to take. It was love at first sight -- Amoxicilin granules! I pour this little tea looking packet into water and drink it down. It's grapefruit flavored and tastes so good. And this story can get better because my seven day course of antibiotics only set me back $8. Why should I start taking capsules now???

The Chair

So I was given money over a year ago (when I was pregnant) to purchase a rocking chair. I've been looking all over town for one, but haven't had any luck yet. Being practical, I settled on getting a nice office chair, as baby's nursery shares a room with my office. I found an extremely comfortable office chair that both rocks and swivels.

Today I took Ben to the store where the office chair was at. I bargained for a good price and even asked for a new chair from the back store room. The shop keeper gladly gave me a new chair and assembled it right there in front of me, then let me test it out.

Next challenge was getting it home. The sales lady said no problem this chair will fit in a taxi. So Ben rolled the chair out of the store, carried it down the stairs, and out of the building. We had to walk, about a block, and cross a busy street before finding a taxi. First, we tried the trunk but the chair didn't fit, so then we tried the back seat, which it barely fit. The taxi dropped us off at the door of our apartment. Ben and I stood there for a minute cracking up that we were carrying this assembled chair all the way home. Then proceed to carry it up four flights of stairs to our apartment.

Now my new chair the most comfortable seat in the house! Ben even considered using it at the dinner table and in the living room to watch a movie.

Candy

I have a few interesting candy stories for today...

1. I wanted to make a popcorn cake, as I was told that popcorn and marshmallows were available in town. Ben texted me the characters for marshmallow on my phone and I showed them to a lady in the big supermarket. The lady took me the bulk candy section and pointed to a big tub of marshmallows where each marshmallow was individually wrapped! Plus each marshmallow was flavored differently. These ladies don't mess around, so I had about 10 seconds to make up my mind as to which flavors and how many marshmallows I wanted. I got a 1/2 pound of pineapple flavored marshmallows. Turns out that inside the marshmallow was soft and gooey pineapple candy. It was so good and worked well for my pineapple flavored popcorn cake.

2. I walked into my American friend's house. She had a big smile on her face as she asked me if I wanted to try some candy. The box said 'Colon' in big English letters. I gave her a look, trying to figure out if she was serious. She handed me a piece of 'colon'. It was a small cylinder, about the size of my thumb. I hesitantly put it in my mouth and chewed; all I could think of was the word 'colon'. It had a dark brown shell and soft chocolate inside, with a nice smooth chocolaty taste. To my surprise it was good, it just needs a new English name!

3. The same friend handed me a small packet. It felt like powder inside. The wrapper was brightly colored and appeared to be some sort of candy. The only English word on the wrapper said "Poison". No idea what this was and I didn't want to try it to find out.

Small Change

On my way home from the big supermarket, I stopped by the green-grocer to buy some vegetables. My vegetables cost me 10Y, but I only had a big 50Y bill and the vegetable seller didn't have any small change to give me. So I told him I'll go buy something else from the store next door and come back with smaller bills.

So I went to the noodle seller as I figured I could just eat a bowl of fresh noodles for lunch. I bought my usual 1Y bag of noodles, as it's more than enough to feed two people. I apologized to the noodle seller because I didn't have small change, while secretly being glad to break my big bill. BUT my plan backfired because the noodle seller decided to give me my noodles for free! I tried to argue with him and insist on paying but he refused my money.

So I had to go to the next store, which was like a mini 7-11. I had been sick all week, so I thought some peach juice would be nice. I had to get the big 3 liter bottle in order for the shop keeper to break my big bill.

Finally, I had my small change, so I went back to the vegetable seller and paid my 10Y for my vegetables. All that trouble just for a few vegetables!

I had to call Ben to help me get home, as my supermarket groceries, my 17 lbs baby, 3 liters of juice, noodles, and vegetables was way too much to carry!

Snow

It snowed the other day. I woke up to a good amount of snow falling from the sky and an inch stuck to the ground. But by noon all of the snow was melted and the weather outside was warm. Nothing says "April" like a good snowfall.

Yushu Earthquake Relief

Check out: http://yushuearthquakerelief.com

Earthquake

Earthquake hit this morning. We are fine, but many are not.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010vbaf.php#details

The Shower

Which one would you choose if you could only have one in your shower:
a) Hot Water b) Shower Curtain c)Shower head?

For the past year we haven't had hot water to shower with. Last week, we finally got our hot water heater fixed and can now take hot showers. It was too good to be true because shortly thereafter the shower curtain rod broke. I tried to buy a new rod, but it was too short by 20 cm. Then a few days after that, the shower hose sprung a leak and the shower head fell off. Tonight, Ben bought a new hose and fixed the shower head. Now all I need is a curtain. I guess two out of three is pretty good.

Parenthood

We have been baptized into parenthood with baby throw up. Baby caught a stomach virus and threw up just about every time she ate for about 48 hrs. Baby feels much better today and is eating well again.

New Toys

Baby has adjusted to her new home. I'm sure she was delighted to find lots of new toys waiting for her here at the apartment.

Lunch

It was a sunny beautiful day this morning. Baby and I went for a short walk to buy some vegetables for lunch. Ben was cooking lunch today. This past week we received gifts of bags of potatoes and apples, from three different people. So the goal of lunch was to use as many potatoes and apples as possible. Ben made a delicious lunch of garlic mashed potatoes, fried apples, squash w/ onions, and carrot salad w/ raisins. A nice southern style lunch.

Around 2pm, a huge wind and dust storm blew through. The dust was so thick that we could hardly see outside of our window. It blew for a good two hours. Rumor has it that at the end of winter, but right before spring, wind & dust storms occur every afternoon. I guess I'll plan to go out in the mornings.

Grocery Shopping

Today we went grocery shopping at the "big" super market. I put baby in my hip sling where she wouldn't miss all of the new sights. She sure did make LOTS of new friends. On the bus ride over, the lady next to me was tucking baby's jacket down, ensuring she could breath well, as well as gently touching her hands and feet commenting on how tiny they were. At the grocery store, at every aisle ladies and grandfathers stared and smiled at baby. One lady even went as far as taking picture of baby with her camera phone, as this was the first 'foreign' baby she had ever seen. I often hear people commenting how pretty baby is and what big eyes she has.

We're Back

I would post some pictures from our trip, but I seem to have misplaced my camera. It's some where around the apartment, just not sure which pile of stuff it is in. It's been a week since we got back to our apartment. This week has been filled with visiting old friends, meeting new friends, unpacking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and getting over jet lag. It feels really good to be back. I forgot how alive I feel out here.

Music Video

It was late, the buses stopped running, so we took a taxi home. You just never know what it will be like inside the taxi. This time the driver was young and hip. His rear view mirror was replaced with a good size video screen on which he was playing music videos. We came in on a Destiny's Child music video, but the song didn't go with the video.... Either way it was pretty cool entertainment for the ride home.

Annoyed

It was one of those days today where everything seemed to annoy me....

.....My freezer is so cold (without any way to turn it down) that if I want to eat my Ice Cream, then the night before I have to put it in the refrigerator in order to 'defrost' it.

.....My teacher continues to use an empty dry erase marker to write on the board. She brought a spare marker and ink refill bottles, but it only lasts for a few minutes. No ink does not stop her from "writing" on the board. I try hard to use my imagination, but really I have no clue what she is pretending to write on the board. (She has been "writing" with no ink for weeks!)

.....The road outside of my apartment has been dug up so many times that it's this long dusty, bumpy road. Last night it rained, so it was about a half mile walk in the mud.

Meat Market

I ventured to my least favorite place...the meat market! But today I brought along Ben and some friends to help me overcome my aversion to raw meat. There were tons of meat stands to choose from, all looking the same - big dead carcasses hung all round and big chunks of meat spread out on the tables. You point to the piece you want and the shop keeper weighs it and bags it for you.


I couldn't even think about food, but I guess the shop keepers are used to it, as this lady seemed to be enjoying her lunch.

Classmates

When I first met my korean classmates, they were pretty excited that I was half korean, half mexican. One of them eagerly told me she LOVED mexican food, especially burritos. So we made a deal that I would cook mexican food in exchange for korean food.

The other day I had my whole class over for lunch, even my teacher came (the one in the green shirt)! I made a big spread of chicken fajitas, beans, rice, tortillas, and salsas. Those korean girls can eat, we cleaned up the table!

In exchange my classmates brought kimbop to class the other week, she cooked duk-bo-gee at my house, and today she brought me a package of instant ja-jung-mein! I think I got the good end of the deal because these girls can cook!

Did you know they eat cheese in korea?!? They melted cheese on top of the duk-bo-gee....they said it was good for my health....that's a new one to me, but it actually tasted pretty good!

Dish Market

I wish I had my camera when I stumbled upon the dish market! There is a big vegetable whole sale market next to my school...it's on the walk home. Usually I only stop when I need to buy a lot of veggies. But this day I decided to walk around and explore only to discover this was the dish whole sale market too. There were plenty of shops with hundreds of ceramic bowls, plates, cups, and spoons. Despite my heavy grocery bags I couldn't resist wandering around the isles of colorful dishes. Upon entering a shop, my eyes could hardly taken in all the different shapes and patterns. It was even more beautiful as none of the shops had shelves, but rather they were all in tall stacks on the ground! The best part was the price ranged from a few cents (for spoons & cups) to a few dollars (for large serving bowls & plates). Beautiful and cheap, how do you beat that?!?

(This picture is one I found on the Crate&Barrel website because it looks similar to the dishes at the market -- only difference is this dish costs $33 and the market's dish costs $2.)

Dancing

Today a friend called me and told me to come outside because there were dancers performing in my apartment complex's courtyard. I never figured out the reason these people were dancing or if it was some sort of holiday. But it was fun sitting around with my neighbors watching. They wore colorful robes with all sorts of jewelry. Their sleeves were extra long such that they flapped gracefully when they were waved their arms.

Rain, Rain...

It's hard to say 'go away' to the rain, as it rarely rains here. But tonight as we were walking home from dinner it started to rain. It's such a dry and dusty town, we could use a lot of rain to wash things down.

Not much is going on these days.....

My New Class

I switched school classes last week. My new class is a pure conversation and listening class, which is exactly what I needed. Now I'm with the Korean class (the university usually separates the Western students from the Korean students, as different text books and learning styles are used). It's extra challenging, as the teacher and the text books do not use any English. Reading characters is stressed and used over the phonetic alphabet. It will be a work out, but should be good. And today they added two more students, so now there are two Koreans, two Japanese, one Mongolian, one Hungarian, and me. We chit chat in Chinese because it's our only common language!

Peep Hole

We have this HUGE peep hole on our front door. It's good because I can clearly see outside our door and into our neighbors apartment. But it's bad because outside people can see into my apartment. So today I covered up the peep hole, but not without Ben first taking a picture.

Flowers

I was invited to attend a baby shower today. I decided on taking flowers, as I had no clue what to bring or where to find baby stuff. There's a whole sale flower market located down the street from my house with discounted flowers. It was an easy decision to go with Orchids, as they were only 60 Cents per stem! I got four overflowing stems, two purple, two white. Check out the picture on how pretty these flowers where. It's nice to have a husband that knows more than me about flowers and arranging them.

Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns,
Hot cross buns,
one ha' penny,
two ha' penny,
hot cross buns.
If you have no daughters,
give them to your sons,
one ha' penny,
two ha' penny,
Hot Cross Buns


I ate some for the first time today because somebody told me it was tradition.
I think I'm turning British.... I even ate it with a cup of tea....

Home Cooking

Ben's been cooking me breakfast and dinner recently, as I've been tired of cooking. The other night we had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, glazed carrots, and watermelon for dessert. Last night we had tuna fish sandwiches (it's not easy to find tuna or bread in this town!) with an array of fresh veggies. Breakfast I usually get hash browns, fried eggs, toast, and oatmeal. Ben often makes me milk shakes too...tonight I got one with a little bit of chocolate in it. It's funny to eat so much American food here, but I'm not complaining because I sure am eating well!

Swimming

A friend took me to the local gym to go swimming. Everybody in that pool swimming laps only did breaststroke! I guess it shouldn't have surprised me because last week I asked my teacher to translate the different stroke names (freestyle, backstroke, butterfly) and she only know how to say breaststroke. I thought that was odd, but I guess if that's all people do in this town, then it makes perfect sense...

Holiday

Monday was a holiday. I think it was something similar to veterans day / memorial day. Then Tuesday our teacher had some important matters to take care of and canceled classes. It was nice to get a little break.

I used the break to get caught up on my grocery shopping. There is only one store in town where I can find decent beans and a different store to buy spaghetti noodles. Both of which happens to be located on the complete opposite side of town.

Different Cultures

Being here not only exposes me to Asian culture, but also to many other cultures from all over the world.

Last night I had dinner with some friends from the UK. The discussion turned toward how the British love their tea. Stories then went around of traumatic events and how tea soothed their shock.

- a water pipe in this girl's dorm room broke and her hall mates rushed in to help her get her stuff out of the room and stop the water. Afterward the British girl made a big pot of tea and had her hall mates over for tea.
- there was a terrible train wreck in the UK a while ago. The neighbors in the surrounding neighborhood rushed out of their houses with tea pots to serve the victims tea.
- a lady in the hospital was just diagnosed with cancer. A nurse rushed in, after the doctor left, to serve the patient tea.

I was told that people from the UK grow up learning that tea w/ sugar helps prevent a person from going into shock. Plus it is a practical way of doing something helpful during a traumatic time.

It just made me wonder if any other cultures had such a strong and common item for dealing with stress? I like tea and all, but I think I would want food too...bring on the soup and rice!

The language learning continues...

Most of the time learning the language is pretty intense. The teacher usually only speaks chinese and only writes characters on the board, unless we are at the end of our rope and have no clue what is going on...which maybe happens daily.

We sometimes unknowingly say offensive things in chinese and the teacher pretends she is offended, until we correct our word choice / tones to our intended meaning.

The other day was the best, as one student was so excited that he understood the teacher, but didn't think about what he was saying to her. Below is the dialog. This day in the class room, our teacher wrote some new words on the board and was using the words in sentences until we figured out the meaning and proper usage.

This dialogue took place all in chinese.

Teacher: Eternal.

Teacher: The mountain is eternal. *long pause*

Teacher: See the mountain outside our class window, that mountain has been there and will always be there eternally. *long pause*

Student#1: Yes!!!! I eternally love you!!!

Teacher: No! *turns around and write on the board* I love you eternally.

Student#2: Really???

Student#1: Oh no!! *turns red*

Whole Class: *Laughs*

Elevators

I needed to get up to the ninth floor in a 24 floor building today. I was warned ahead of time that only one of the six elevators actually goes to the ninth floor. When I got to the lobby I found a crowd of people waiting for each of the six elevators. I asked one lady which one will take me to the 9th floor...she pointed in the other direction. So I went to another elevator and asked another lady, who then pushed her way to the front to show me the small sign listing which floors each elevator goes to. That elevator only went to floors 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10. The lobby finally cleared as the crowd made its way into their respective elevators. I found the one elevator that went to floor nine, only to realize that it was out of service! I hopped on the elevator that took me to the eighth floor and found a set of stairs to get me to the ninth floor. I felt like I had solved a complex math problem....or maybe this is Frogger II: the elevator challenge.

Pineapples

I was surprised to find it's pineapple season, as there are plenty of fruit vendors selling pineapples at a very cheap price. Plus the pineapple vendor peels and cleans the whole pineapple, then weighs and sells it. Such a sweet and tasty treat.

Cookout

Some Swiss friends invited us to cookout with them for dinner. Our apartment complex is located on the edge of town, and we walked less than five minutes down by the river before reaching a suitable site to build a fire. Sausages, homemade bread, potato chips, and french fries were served. So close to our city home, yet surrounded by trees we felt like we were really out in the woods on an adventure. We had just enough time to eat, chat, and enjoy before a storm started blowing in, signaling the end of our cookout. We quickly packed up and ran home, just in time before the rain started. A lovely evening.

Train Trip - Part#2

Next stop was another 24 hour train ride to Kashgar. This town was like stepping back in time, as it had the feel of an old city seen only in movies. Old style houses, small alley ways, vendors pushing carts of food along streets, men barbecuing mutton kabobs along the sidewalks, and women in colorful scarf head coverings...were all sights from this town. The people were mainly Uygur Muslim, speaking a form of Turkish. Such an amazing place.

Pomegranates were plentiful in this town and many local vendors sold small cups of freshly squeezed juice. Later we realized that these small cups were rarely washed. As we walked through the alleys of the old part of the city, many kids begged us to take their picture, not sure why, but it was a quick way to make a small friend. Visited a local Muslim cemetery still in use today. It seemed that each family owned one plot and underground there were many chambers to bury many bodies. The bazaar was a world of its own - a sea of people filled the street selling and buying just about everything. This guy was selling sliced pieces of melon. The other guy on the left was making fresh noodles. I sat and watched as he was cooking a bowl of homemade spinach tortellini for me.

Train Trip - Part#1

Before school started we caught a train up north to check out some of the sights that we long heard about but never had the opportunity to see. Our first stop was Urumqi. It was a 24 hour, non-stop, train ride to this city. It was my first experience with sleeping on bunk beds three rows high. Time passed quickly and we eventually made it. Urumqi is a much bigger and more diverse city then where I currently live. There is a lot of color and history close by. Here are a few of the sights that we saw by order of the pictures to the left: Pic#1: We first ventured to a park located high up on a hill... Pic#2: ...where we could see the whole city. Pic#3: The park had all sorts of cultural items... Pic#4: ...and cultural scenery. Pic#5: The next day we took a bus just outside the city to a small town known for their grape vines and Uygur people. It's supposed to be a fairy tale city in the summer time, but things were sort of dead and cold during the winter. Pic#6: There were plenty of grape / raisin drying houses located around the city. Pic#7: We checked out a UNESCO old city site... Pic#8: ...and posed for a group shot. Pic#9: It was the remains of a civilization a long time ago. Since it was off season, we were the only people looking at the site. Pic#10: On the drive back to Urumqi we passed by these wind turbines located in the middle of dessert.

Hot and Cold

The best and worst part of being here is you really never know what's going to happen next. This morning it was our hot water. Water runs hot for 5 seconds, then cools off, and runs cold for 5 seconds, before heating back up and repeating the cycle. So taking a shower looks like: Wet hair, stand back and count to 5, lather, rinse hair, stand back and count to 5, wet hair again, stand back and count to 5....etc. Turns out it's happening to our neighbors too. Maybe it will start working again? I don't know, but such is life.

I'm Back

It was about a 40 hour trip, door-to-door. The trip was uneventful, which is usually the best kind. It was a 3 hr flight, 2 hr layover, 15 hr flight, 17 hr layover, 2.5 hr flight, 0.5 hr ride back to our apartment. We spent one night in a hotel during the 16 hour layover. The set up of the room was like any standard hotel, BUT the shower had ALL glass walls (with pull down shades when actually taking a shower). So from the toilet, you could see straight through the shower to the bed and outside window. Such a pretty room. It was nice to be back in Asia, and in the morning when we went to the airport at 6am to catch our last leg flight- we found many restaurants open and serving hot dishes and soups. There is nothing as satisfying as a big bowl of noodles for breakfast! We arrived back at our apartment, finding it just as we left it. This week has been filled with cleaning, re-arranging our apartment, registering, signing up for classes, and reconnecting with friends. It's been good to be back.

Going Home

So I'm going home for a few months. This will be my last post until I return. I'm looking forward to seeing friends and family. Especially to get away from this cold weather and thaw out a bit. Drop me an email if you would like to get together and hear more stories in person!

Bus Ride Home

Another part of normal life is taking the bus around the city. Most of the time it goes well and routine.

But today I got on a bus going in the wrong direction. It's a common mistake. After a few minutes of riding a crowded bus, I realized my mistake, and confirmed it with the lady standing next to me. So I got off the bus, crossed the street and got on the right bus, going in the right direction.

Almost home, the bus broke down. The driver told us all to get off and wait for the next bus. Fifteen minutes later, still no bus, but the bus driver fixed the bus and we all got back on and were on our way home.

Just another day in the city.

Tastes Like Candy

Have you ever made a big glass of Tang, put in more mix than directed, and it tasted so sweet, yet so good?!? That's how these oranges taste!

A group of locals were hoovered around a cart filled with little oranges. They were eagerly buying BIG bags. One customer said to me, with a huge smile on her face, "tian da!" (tastes sweet!). I asked how much and she said, "liang kuai yi jin!" (40 cents per pound). The salesman confirmed what she was telling me, so I dug out 40 cents from my pocket. They are so sweet that I can't stop eating them!

I never agreed with using the expression "it tastes like candy" when describing fruit....until now!

Ice Skating

Some neighbors were taking their kids to the park today.
All they had to say was 'ice skating' and I was in.

It was the first time I skated on open water, instead of an inside rink.

It was a big park with a large frozen lake in the middle.

The lake was sparse, just a few speed skaters practicing around a track.

The ice was clear and smooth. I could see down through it. It was such a nice day to skate.

OOO

At random times either the water, electricity, or gas is cut off at my apartment complex. It's pretty amazing how it's still possible to be almost fully functional during the outages. It's just a normal part of life.

Sublimation

I'm at such a high altitude and it's so dry here that snow rarely sticks - it just sublimates (goes straight from a solid to a gas). Check out the USGS site for more about sublimation. <http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesublimation.html>

Progress

Recently I've been tired of school and feeling like I haven't made much progress. Until today when I went shopping and the shop keeper insisted that I sit down and have a conversation. Four months ago I wouldn't have even known that he wanted me to sit down, now I can actually chit chat for a few minutes. I think that's progress!

Relationships

It's all about relationships here. Relationships are the key to survival in a country with so many people. Whether you want cheaper deals on vegetables, the last seat on the train, or a respectable job. But building relationships takes so much time.....

Tree

I came home from class around noon to find that the electricity was out. A friend told me that it would be out until 10:30pm. While Ben cooked lunch, I poked around in the hall closet that contained many miscellaneous items that were left from the previous tenants. To my delight I found a Christmas tree along with a complete set of decorations! I pulled it all out and decorated. It is such a cute, five foot, skinny, artificial tree.

Freebies

Grocery shopping can sometimes be a little overwhelming here. Try going into the supermarket and buying toothpaste without reading any of the words on the boxes and not knowing any of the brands. Do you get the one with Jackie Chan or the smiling baby on it? What do Jackie Chan or babies know about frozen dumplings anyways? The other day I wanted yogurt, but there had to be about 20 different types. I couldn't tell them apart, so I made the logical choice. Since they were all about the same price, I picked the one that came with a free item! In this case a free cloth grocery bag. So far we have gotten two cups, a spoon, and a bag for free!

Road Trip

Since it was the week of Thanksgiving, I decided to take a little break from school and go on a road trip! I've been keeping so busy since I arrived here that I haven't had the opportunity to get out of the city and sight see. So when a friend invited me to go out of town with her, I just couldn't say no. We traveled roughly 240 km to a village. It was close enough that we only had to spend one night there and we could return the next day. We left the city in the morning by car. The previous day we purchased bus tickets, but at the last minute we were offered a ride by an expat who had a car and was heading that way. This was great because the bus would take four hours, while the car only would take 2.5 hours. It was a very comfortable 2.5 hour ride with plenty of great scenery and conversation. Arrived at the village around noon. Over a simple lunch, my friend introduced me to one of her friends. Afterwards, my friend had to run off to her meeting and attend to her business for the rest of the day. I was in luck because my new friend had lived in this village for many years and spoke English, as well as the local languages. She gave me the grand tour of the town, complete with a history lesson and insider information. Then, took me to a local family's house to see their lifestyle and culture. Afterwards, we learned that this day was an auspicious day and there was to be a festival in the monastery within the center of town- which meant to me that I was able to freely walk around the monastery (versus buying a ticket to enter and having a tour guide show me around, which westerners usually have to do). I was also able to watch the traditional dances that only occur annually. After I got over the beauty of the art work and how the town was situated within the mountains, my next impression was for being such a poor village, the monastery was very rich. I just couldn't seem to understand why the people would offer so much food to be burned while so many people across the street were starving- it just didn't seem right. Then we went back to the house where my friend and I were going to spend the night. It was a beautiful house with most of the comforts of home, excluding running water. The heating was a coal burning stove. The bathroom was a carefully constructed Asian style outhouse. The water was carried in from outside and stored in a pitcher. My bed was comfortable with a huge stack of blankets to keep me warm. Caught the 9am bus the next morning. The bus took four hours to get back into town, as it had to stop very often to pick up passengers waiting alongside the road. It felt like the longest bus ride ever, but we eventually got home in time for lunch. Over all it was a great and relaxing trip!

Happy Thanksgiving

I had a great thanksgiving holiday. An American family invited about ten Americans to celebrate the holiday together, including Ben and I. A 10 lb turkey (imported from America) was served along with all of the proper fixings: green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, rolls, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie, and a bunch of other dishes. Dinner was served early and the rest of the evening was spent playing games and hanging out. It almost felt like I was back in America!

Morning Exercises

yi, er, san, si, wu, liu, qi, ba......

On my way to class, I often hear large groups of people counting out loud and see them all doing group morning exercises. Everyone from small elementary school kids to grandmas and grandpas are out in the squares doing thai chi or other sorts of aerobics to start off their day.

But this morning was special. As the construction crew was busy preparing to start their day of work and surveying the large canal that was being dug, the backhoe was sitting still on the side of the road getting it's digging arm all warmed up and ready for the day. Like a hand, it was stretching, then curling, in a nice smooth motion, similar to what I often see the people doing in the square. It was the first time that I ever saw a backhoe doing morning exercises!

It's Cold

It's a weird feeling to have winter come so early in the year. It's only November and I already have my big down jacket and thick gloves on. It's already snowed here a few times. It all melted pretty quick in the city, as the pavement is pretty warm from the intense sunlight. But looking out to the hillsides, the peaks of the mountains are covered with snow. I've heard stories from travelers that the roads are icy and snowy, which caused long traffic backups. I also read a news story of nomads and their yak being stuck out in the grassland because the snow was so high; it was up to 130 cm. The common chit chat around town has been informing me that this is nothing yet, compared to how cold it will get in a few months. Thank goodness for good heaters!

Random Thoughts

It's been a while since I last posted, as I've been without internet for the past two weeks.

Some random thoughts:

1. Moved into a new apartment, that I will be able to stay in for as long as I want. The apartment is fully furnished too with really nice stuff! Very comfortable!

2. There was a 6.5 earthquake in a town northwest of me. It was far away enough that I didn't feel anything. But some friends who live on the 11th floor said their building swayed and dishes rattled. I don't think anybody was hurt by it.

3. My language class was too big, so it got split up into two classes. My new teacher is very good and makes us work very hard. I have learned more in one week than I have learned in one month in the other class.

4. Was invited to see a 'variety show' last weekend. It featured all sorts of traditional and modern music, dances, and fashion. Gave me such a good overview of the culture. I even got suckered into trying to dance the traditional dance on stage! Very fun!

5. My neighbor makes shortening (for pies) from scratch. I didn't quite understand the whole process, but she turns pork fat into shortening. I guess my theory about shortening growing from a can was incorrect.

6. I've been wondering how to cook a turkey for thanksgiving in my tiny toaster oven. Do turkeys come that small???

7. Even after all the eating that I'm doing, I seemed to have have lost 15 pounds in two months. I guess it's from all of the walking that I've been doing. I think I need to eat more so I won't have to get new clothes. Too bad the girls here are super duper skinny and I still wear XL in the size scale here!

8. When asking for the price, if you see somebody hold up eight fingers that means it costs 5 bucks and 3 cents...not 8 dollars. I tried paying 8 bucks but I only got laughed at and given my proper change. Number gestures. Very embarrassed.

9. My new apartment is the last building, located on the very edge of town. Very good view of the river and of trees and mountains. But the city is planning on expanding, so in a few years my apartment will be part of the really nice and trendy area. Much construction of roads and underground work is going on outside. One day it will be very convenient.

10. There is a nation wide contest for the cleanest city going on. The city I'm in is aggressively seeking to win this award. Many of the little street vendors have been closed down and moved into permanent shops. It's starting to look very clean!