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!