Possum Town Nuggets...

Mom's



Mine



I tried.

A Christmas Tree or Value Meal?

So, this year I was going to skip decorating for Christmas this year in order to save money for my spring festival trip. Now, you probably think that my decision was ridiculous but after my friend's experience in Harbin I think I need to save as much money as possible. At least 4000 yuan as possible. One day, while shopping for some of my family's Christmas presents, I added up how much it would cost to buy a tree with some simple decorations. Little did I know that this calculation would soon become the hardest decision of the month...

FLASHBACK: A few weeks ago, it was raining. Surprise! Well, not really, it's Yichang. It rains all the time. (Even now as I am typing, it is raining and someone is shooting off fireworks. Why? Oh, I digress...) Because it was raining, I decided not to go out and buy food that day. I thought to myself, "Self, it is raining. Why not stay in and cook all the food in your freezer for your 3 meals today?" Well, when I went to eat breakfast, I found some bread on the table. "Why cook food when there is bread?" So, I ate the bread. I was satisfied. I continued studying Chinese through the morning. At lunch time, I went into the kitchen to find something to eat. I looked in the cabinet and found peanut butter. Mmm, peanut butter. No bread, no jelly, so no sandwich. BUT, I could eat spoons of peanut butter. 1 jar later, I was satisfied. Lunch was over. The time before supper went fast, I was grading papers. Oh how time flies when you are working on boring crap. Finally, dinner arrived. Up to this point I hadn't cooked the food in the freezer, so dinner was going to be nice. I opened up the freezer and what to my wondering eyes didn't appear? But a miniature sleigh and 8 tiny...well, NOTHING! There was ice in my freezer. Yeah for ice. Boo for no food. Oh how I wanted to go get food but I had no desire to brave the rain In the end, I settled on hot water with honey. It worked...for a little while. I though, maybe I can make it to bed time. I did. I went to bed at 10:30 because I wanted to stop thinking about how hungry I was and how lazy I was for not going to buy food.

Unfortunately, 1:15 am rolls up to my sleeping eyes and I wake up famished. I have to buy food - but where? Yes, there is a 24 hours McDonald's. Do I have money? Maybe, let me check. NO! No money on me. Is there money in the bank? Let me check...after braving the rain and checking, 97 yuan. Can't withdraw 97 yuan so I am, well, screwed. I run back to my house. Can I round up enough change? I check my change bowls, there has to be enough. I count it. 50 yuan in coins and coin equivalent bills e.g., a 10 fen coin has an equivalent paper counterpart. Check out the first picture below. 50 yuan would get me there, a value meal, and back. This could work. By the time I was done counting and taping the coins together so I wouldn't have to count them again at McDonald's it was 3 am. I gave up and went to bed. "Self, let's treat you to another random late night McDonald's trip next week. You deserve it."

Fast forward to last weekend. I saw a Christmas Tree and decorations for 50 yuan. Mickey D's or decorations? Which one? WHICH ONE? I gave up the junk for decorations. I am so thankful now that I decorated. It would have been terrible to open my family's presents to me in a sterile room. Oh, by the way, the Christmas package got here just fine. Check out picture number 2. Anyway, with the 40 lb. Yankee candle that I lugged over here to China that smells of fall and the Christmas decorations in my living room, I am set and ready for Christmas evening. Check out the pic's below of the festiveness. That's it. Goodnight ladies and gentlemen. Goodnight.

Oh and my costume...

I was Quail Man! 3 days after the party one of my favorite students ran up to me and said, "I still remember you wore your underwear on the outside of your shorts." I just laughed, I would be concerned if someone forgot that after 3 days. Even I am still chuckling inside about how ridiculous that was. Boy am I glad I wore underwear that I bought for that day. And FYI, I don't wear that kind of underwear in case you were wondering. Oh, and I wasn't the only one wearing underwear on the wrong side of his clothes. One boy showed up with Mr. Bananaman written on the front and Hello Kitty on the back. Katie dressed up as Hello Kitty. Anyway, I loved my costume mostly because I got that stupid belt to stand up on my forehead. You try it!

Halloween Pics...

Finally.

Halloween this year was different from last year in the sense that the students did better dressing up. Besides all of the foreigners rocking out in China Creativity, the students came up with some pretty neat stuff to. You can check out the pics below.

The night began with most everyone freakin' out over whether or not their costumes were up to par. Every student who appeared needed more assistance with get dressed or make-up than I imagined. Of course, they should be cut some slack. Halloween is the foreigners' holiday not theirs. After several students experienced Brad's dead body on the ground, he was resurrected in time for a costume competition. What was really funny about this was the fact that all the students were up on stage to show off their costumes and there were maybe 10 foreigners out in the audience. I can't imagine being a model and showing up to walk the runway for an empty house. Oh well, it was funny to me. My friend Felix does scary-black-clothes-and-white-bloody-face-monster really well. One of Brad's old students looked fabulous in a traditional Chinese outfit. Of course, my old and new English majors were a delight to see. There pirates, monkeys, superheroes, and "who-knows?" among them. My personal favorite was the milk carton. The costume was good but the student is even more hilarious. 3 of Brad's students showed up, one of them being Brad #2. All of them dressed up as Super Bush - Super George W. Bush. Brad #2 (who was the main Super Bush) is just out of control. The night concluded with a "Dead Witch Project". Brad narrated the project while all the students touch different party parts of the dead witch. These parts, thankfully, were made of food. So no worries. We didn't find a dead witch to dissect in China. Enjoy the achievement of making costumes in China!

Day 1 & 2 of October Holiday...

A little late probably, but I know some of you are still waiting to hear about my 2nd October Holiday experience. (Grandma are you one of the "some of you"?)

Well, after a nice little train traveling experience, my friend and I arrived in Liu Zhou. It was in this town that we had to find a bus to Guilin. It wasn't difficult because I was accompanied by a Chinese friend. It was dark when we began our 2 hour journey to Guilin but the sun was up as we came upon the city. Oh how spectacular it was. The mountains in Guilin are so strange. On the main drag, you could pass building, house, store, mountain peak, and school. Put this formula on repeat and you have the drive into the center of town. These peaks are exactly like the ones you see at the Chinese restaurants in America. You know the ones that I am talking about - the pictures that have still mountains and the water is actually moving and making babbling sounds. Just like that. Not so cheesy of course. (And I have no pictures of this actually occurance.) (Oh, and I can't find the word occurance in the dictionary so I made it up. It needed to be made up anyway.)

We spent most of the day searching for travel help to get to Yangshuo (subject of one of the following posts). I paid 200 yuan as a deposit for our tickets and agreed to pay the rest the following day. I mention this only because my friend and I both forgot to pay our remaining portions. Oh well, they charged us like crazy anyway since it was Golden Week Vacation. On a side note, they tell us not to travel during 3 periods of the year. Unfortunately, those are 3 of 4 periods anyone can travel. Even more unfortunate, the 4th period of time is when I come home for the summer.

We walked around all day trying all kinds of cool things. I ate horse meat. Not bad, kind of like thin strips of crispy beef. We found Da Ma Hua. Which is a wonderful treat from another area in China. It is often rare to find and we only found it once while on vacation. I made it last for 2 weeks because of that. Guilin is nice during the day but even more gorgeous at night around the river system. Just check out the pics below. Other than that, no really interesting stories about the first 1 and a half. I did eat stomach lining but that really isn't a new experience. Oh, and that is a waterfall on the front of the hotel. It is a neat concept. Everyday at 8:30 pm or so the waterfall begins and the classical music sings out from the sides of the building. It really is a neat hotel. Just too expensive. Oh well, free entertainment.

Whoa!!!

Cultural discussions are always a blast with the students. Discussion outside the classroom is very good for both me and the students. The students tend to speak more; therefore, I learn more and they practice more. It is a win-win situation. However, I love discussions inside the classroom because that saying "There is power in numbers" rings very true - for my enjoyment. If we are talking in class about something that shocks them, the gasp made by 30 people is just hilarious. More about this later.

The students seem to know a lot about Western culture. Of course, many of their ideas are way off the mark. For example, at English corner last year, both Brad and I were asked if everyone had personal jets. I wish. Now, this is only one example. I am sure there are many more but you get my point. They have ideas about our culture; they just want us to shed some light on some of their confusions. Anyway, I do wish that there were more books out there on modern Chinese society so that I could understand the mainstream Chinese people. I have several good Chinese friends but the closest ones can hardly be representative of the population. (In my opinion, this is the case.)

Anyway, cultural discussions this last week included health and fitness. I let the students discuss Chinese people's obsession with health and fitness then I had them compare similarities and differences with American people's obsession. Naturally, they think American's are fatter. Probably on average our bodies have a larger size but you know that blanket statements don't paint a correct picture. So, in my intrigue I asked my students how much I should weigh. They said 60 kg. I told them I weigh 80 kg. Every single student gasped. There was no air left in the classroom. In response, I asked them if I looked fat and they said no. Now, you may think they were being polite and said no but in some weird irony, Chinese people, the people who can't say many things directly, will tell you when you are fat. So, I believe them. I don't think I look fat. "Well then, why should I weigh 60 kg?" No response.

As skinny as Chinese people are, it is amazing how obsessed they are with losing weight or staying thin. Girls especially think this way and they are especially thin. It is kind of sad that they feel like they should lose weight. I tried my best at a PSA for accepting yourself and they way you look but I don't think it will take.

My main reason for writing is that they students said there are all kinds of weight loss pills in China. As I entered a pharmacy the other day, I noticed a whole shelf of them - all natural ingredients. I wondered for just a minute if it would hurt to take some but that was soon over. English translations of titles can really change peoples minds on things. The one particular weight loss pill that caught my eye was called "Fat Incendiary Bomb". If only my Chinese friends knew enough English to really enjoy the ridiculousity of that translation. I know you do. If you want some, let me know!

The October Holiday Experience...Trains

Like most holiday vacations in China, the trip to Guilin was made by train. Train rides are always interesting experiences; if not for the conditions of the experience, then for the multitudes of children that tend to find foreigners no matter where they are on the train. It never fails, children find me on the train. I dream of riding on trains relaxing in the hard sleeper cabin while reading a book as the scenes of China's countryside whiz by and the clanking of the train cars beats steadily on my ears.

Though this dream has yet to become a reality, it is hardly anything to complain about. The children that I run into on the trains are quite entertaining. It always begins with a small child passing by the berth that I occupy and seeing me in the corner of his or her eye. These children- they see, they pass, they return, I smile, they smile, and then they run away. In no less than 5 minutes, the child returns to pass by once more. He steps further into the berth as if to test the waters. I smile. He smiles and then takes off again. And so begins, a 30 minute game of him and his newfound young cohorts on the train running down the walkway, slowing down enough to look in and smile, and then take off at breakneck speed after I smile at them. The fact that I am a foreigner attracts the attention of many children on the train. At some point, the children, after discussing what to do in their huddle, get the courage to come and talk to me. Maybe they just get tired of seeing my teeth. I don't know. "We're tired of looking at his teeth, let's see if we can get him to talk." In their bravery, they overestimate the amount of Chinese I might know. They come crashing in yelling all kinds of things in Chinese. In my broken Chinese, I try to answer. My favorite thing about this is when they laugh hysterically at the things that I say. It isn't long before I figure out that the responses I provide are not even close to the correct responses to their statements. Children: "Where are you going?" Me: "I like living in China." Children: "Are you from America?" Me: I know, the time is 8:30 pm." One day, I'll get it.

Recently, I have gotten brave with these little children. 60% of the time they want to talk to me in order to practice English. I let them practice, but I can only take general greetings for so long. After my boredom sets in, I proceed to practice my Chinese. In doing so, I always get to the verb for singing. This is my favorite part. I can't have full conversations in Chinese yet, but I can make suggestions. Boy is it fun to suggest that they sing. Of course, they will do it willingly. Something about Chinese culture: people ask each other to perform all the time. When asked, students, teachers, and children will perform; circumstances not withstanding. They are shocked when foreigners don't jump at the opportunity. I wonder if they think we all love to perform because they see so many performance TV shows like American Idol or movies where young people are trying to become famous. Whatever the case may be, the children performed when I asked. "Take me to your heart" "God is a girl" "Yesterday once more" Songs they performed for me. Of course, I was asked to perform in turn. Why do they love "My heart will go on"? I won't complain, I know that song and the first part is easy to sing. It pleases them at least.

After a few hours of interacting with these children, my savior, the mandatory lights-out time arrives. It is time to sleep. I like falling asleep to the rumble of the train and the constant swaying of the train car as it races to its destination slower than we would drive on the interstate in America. Overnight trains are nice because I sleep for nearly half of the trip only to wake as we roll slowly into the station where I will alight. This is the typically train ride - an experience worth having over and over again.

Progress...(Part 2)

In my ongoing attempt to decorate my apartment, phase two has just been wrapped up. I know how pictures on the right side of my living room and pictures in my bedroom. I also have cool new speakers so I can hear my music while I am attempting to cook Chinese food. I am sure the neighbors are enjoying this amplification of my western music where I belt out my lungs singing numbers from Hairspray. Of course, all of this distracts me. It probably accounts for why I get sick every time I eat my food - the food just isn't cooked well enough. Anyway Mom, check out the pictures.

The Beginning of October Holiday...

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to go to Guilin for October Holiday. At that moment, I had not thought of the difficulties that would ensue in my attempt to travel there. In my naivety, I actually thought it would be pretty easy. It probably would have been easy if I had attempted to buy train tickets a few days earlier.

A week before my intended departure, I hiked up the mountain on top of which the train station is located. I was so proud. I thought, "Here it is. My big moment of independence. I will buy the train tickets myself." Well, I arrived after what seemed like a million steps to a line full of eager ticket buyers. My stomach sank. "I bet they all want to go to Guilin too," I thought. If I could speak more Chinese than the little I know, I would have encouraged them all to go to Wuhan. Its always hot there. And they have Metro. Who wouldn't want to go to Metro? After 10 mins in line, I got to the counter. I then attempted to buy the tickets. My heart sank as those 2 well-known syllables soared out of the ticket lady's mouth and landed on my sweaty ears, "Mei you." Oh no. No tickets! No tickets a week before! At that moment, I became more determined than ever. I was going to get tickets to Guilin.

The race was on. I had 7 days to get tickets. I called my travel agent friend. He said no problem. He called back and told me, "Problem." Hard seats for Monday to Guilin and Friday from Guilin. 3 days in Guilin? No way. I took them anyway just in case. My friend Peach had some friends in Wuhan pick me up tickets. We thought they were sleeper tickets for Saturday the day I wanted to leave. Nope. Hard seat for the day before. Seeing as I had to teach that day, I delightfully turned them down and paid for them. They said it would be hard to get tickets but I wasn't backing down. I already had emergency tickets so all was just ok. Jian Qiang looks for tickets all week for me. I am stressed because I am still not sure. I was turning down cheap airplane tickets left and right because I wanted to wait for Jian Qiang. Friday morning comes - no tickets. Friday at lunch I get a text from Jian. I have tickets for Saturday. Prayers have been answered. In the same minute (No lie!) Rufus texts me and says he can't leave on Saturday. I thought about leaving without him, but he too was already excited about going. I have to turn Jian's tickets down and embarrassingly I ask for Sunday tickets. Luck turned my way and for one second I saw that smirk on her face that said, "I love toying with you people." In her compassion, I get 2 tickets for Sunday in a sleeper train. I was ecstatic. I was going to Guilin.

My favorite thing about this whole situation is the continuing inconsistencies I run into everyday in China. Last October, my friends and I wanted to go to Beijing. At the last minute we got 6 sleeper train tickets to Beijing. That was marvelous; but the whole time people kept telling us to go early and buy tickets. We learned later that if we had gone early the ticket sellers would have left and told us to come later. Sometimes, it seems there is no right way. Luck is either for or against you. However, my friends went to Xi'an this year and bought tickets early. Smart move. I just laugh at my situation because in my search, I ended up with tickets for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday to Guilin. Even the connected people (like my travel agent friend) said there were no tickets left and that I was out of luck. Oh well, it seems that most things are possible if you just give it time. And in case you were wondering, I had to pay for 2 sets of the 4 sets of tickets. 1 set of tickets isn't too much to pay to have things work out the way you want them to.

More later.

The Vienna Boys Choir...

Last Thursday, I had was afforded the opportunity to see the Vienna Boys Choir with some of my friends. When I first heard about this event, I was very cynical. After several conversations, I became more comfortable with the idea of the Boys Choir singing at 3 Gorges University. I cleared my schedule and got pumped up for the concert. I mean, I downloaded songs and wikipedia'd info on the Boys Choir. I was going to be prepared for this celebration of the arts...then I got the call. My friend called me after several more rounds of translation errors to announce that it was a ballet from Vienna. Well, all that preparation would have went to waste had I actually done that. I am glad I just went back to my apartment before the Ballet to eat and watch Desperate Housewives.

The 8:00 pm ballet started promptly at 8:36 pm after a few rounds of my friends' own attempts to put on a ballet. (Pictures below.) And what a ballet it was. My student and first good Chinese friend, Sun Zhi, attended this ballet with me and some of my foreign friends. It was not a quality ballet but it was neat getting to experience some culture and sharing western culture with my Chinese friend. There were some good parts but overall it was terrible. However, I did love when the Austrian man and woman tried to speak Chinese. I laughed so hard. That is all I can say. I can't describe it. They kept saying in Chinese: "I love China. I love the Yangtze River. I love Yichang." It just made me laugh. Check out some pictures. These are all from Beth's camera. Check out what she caught with her mad skills.

Progress...

and other stories.

It has been a few weeks since I last blogged. For those of you still reading, I appreciate your dedication. I don't know what I would do if I lost 50% of my fan base. I know grandma reads every now and then but you mom, you cannot quit reading even if you have to read the same articles over and over again. Ha ha. Just kidding. I would give up on me too. I suppose if my brother starts reading he might double my present fan base and learn what good writing looks like. Seriously, send me your papers in the future. I will see what I can do.

Last week was the first full week of school. It was a pretty good easy week. I did intro stuff and finished unit 1 of the textbooks in my Oral English classes. English majors are so nice. I just have to stay on my toes if I am going to keep them motivated to listen to me. They will only respect me as long as I keep them intrigued by me and the English language. If not, they will realize their English is good enough that what I am doing isn't really academic so much as nit picky. "No! You pronounce S-M-I-T-H and smm...iii..th. Mr. Smiss is incorrect. Oh, and company is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable." Does it really matter which syllable is emphasized? I suppose it does to most people but as long as I can understand you, I think you are doing a good job communicating. But this opinion is coming from 1 of 2 people who apparently have communication issues. I think my Dad is wrong. Right, Mom? I suppose he can make it up to us by paying for my master's degree.

English Corner began last week. If you have read Beth's blog you will already know this; if you haven't, then I have the pleasure of telling you that I danced last week with Beth. You see, Beth came over to make me sing to my students even though they wanted her to sing. I said no so the students threw out an alternative - "Dance!" They cheered as Beth was trying to make her getaway. Well, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to give her a taste of her own medicine. (Really, Beth. I am not bitter. I loved it.) I said, "Alright, let's dance. Come here Beth!" So we danced. The one thing I forgot in my rash decision was that dancing requires music. In the end I had to sing. However, singing a Waltz is pretty cool when you make it up as you go. It was refreshing to perform once again...but if you are a Chinese student clever enough to see a blog blocked in China, then know this: I hate performing.

The pictures below are things in my continuing slow decoration and presentation of my apartment: new bed spread and a refrigerator full of veggies. My dream. Really.

New Beginnings...

and some waiting.

A week ago today, I finally arrived back in Yichang with my friends. As I stood at the bus station packing the van which would transport us to the university, I enjoyed the light sprinkle of rain on my face, the scent of construction in the air, and the fear of eating pork tainted by some disease. Oh, it felt good to be back in China.

We arrived on campus in the middle of a rain shower so moving our things into our new apartments posed some problems but eventually the rain abated. Plus, several of our student friends join us in the moving process. Their alacrity was overwhelming. I probably could have just sat on the couch and watched the shifting of houses and the students would not have cared one bit.

I moved most of my stuff into my apartment on Saturday morning with the help of some students. Then I just laid around figuring out why I had brought so much stuff to China that I don't even use. I mean, what I am going to do with 20 piano books? Anyway, I am settled in now. I just have some decorating to do. I can't wait!

This week, I had 1 class. It was nice having the free time to catch up on sleep and the students' lives. It was also good for class planning. However, I wasn't so successful at that. It is now Friday, and I barely have any classes planned. Why can't I be like Beth and get my whole semester planned? Why?

Well, that is the overview of this last week. Future posts should be more interesting. I am really just using this post to figure out my blog once again. Sometimes it is in German and sometimes in Chinese. Proxy servers. Why can't I choose which countries they go through? Oh well, at least I have access to contraband websites and such. (And by contraband, I only mean sites blocked by the Chinese government like my blog. I like being considered an insurgent.) Below are pics of my apartment as of now. Hopefully, it will be more colorful soon. Ciao!

Dragon Boat What???

So for months now, I have heard about a wonderful Dragon Boat Festival that happens each year in a town about an hour north of Yichang. It wasn't until last week that I finally got to experience what all the stories were about. You see, last term, I heard a strong beating drum coming from the Soccer Stadium all the time. In my curiosity, I would go over to see the origin of this noise. Everytime I went to look, I saw 2 rows of strong men paddling with oars in the air. No water. Just men sitting in a boat-like shape swinging those oars to the beat of the drum. I asked my students and they told me about the Dragon Boat Festival. As I mentioned previously, I got to see these men perform last weekend. It wasn't so much of a festival as a gathering of Yichang people who wanted to watch 22 men in a boat plus the navigator and the drummer paddle down the river in what turned out to be an international competition. Team group after team group raced each other. Preliminaries were fun for maybe 30 mins so the gang and I decided to explore the area on our own. Most of us ended up down near the foreign teams because we had students who were translators. It was really neat to see my students or friends making good use of the English.

We got some fun pictures but the ones below were the only ones I wanted to show off. You will see the starting line. Pretty cool. I would like to see my dad and brother paddle that fast. Beth and I were asked to be on Yichang TV, however, we aren't sure that we made it past the editing room. All we had to say was "Yichang Wonderful!" We sounded very articulate as you can imagine. Then there is the group minus Amy. She was relaxing having her own Children-peeing-beside-her Adventure. But my personal favorite is the last one. We are standing in line. Why? The Pizza Hut lady pointed at a sign that said "please line-up". Hey, ok. We were the only ones standing there and how did she know we wanted to go to Pizza Hut? (That was a terribly bad sentence grammatically. So is this one. Maybe...) Anyway, we did what she asked. Then she went inside and laughed. Hmm...what is it about foreignors that makes Chinese people laugh? Enjoy.

Coach, I'm gonna stay on the sidelines...

So, several weeks ago (actually, it feels like months) one of the teachers in the Foreign Language College invited Brad and me to play on the department's basketball team. I just kind of laughed at the whole situation and never confirmed or rejected the invitation. Then last week, I got a call from the same teacher telling me that the basketball games were coming up. I, trying to be polite, told him that I am very busy and wouldn't have time to play. I did this for 2 reasons. 1) I can't play basketball 2) I didn't want to say no directly. Apparently, my indirectness was not good enough. He told me to meet him at the basketball court that day for practice. I then told him I had class that day and on the other days we were playing. (I was trying desperately to get out of it.) I did end up skipping that day after getting off the phone with him, after telling him I wasn't going to make it that day, and after he still thought I was coming. No amount of communication apparently was going to convince him otherwise.

To continue my long rambling, I didn't want to play basketball with them until I found out they were going to give me b-ball shoes and team clothes. Ah, sportswear, there is nothing more attractive than that. Well, maybe skipping the b-ball game to sleep or eat chocolate. Hmm....chocolate. I skipped the first game and attended the following 2. That was fun. I wanted to play more than I did but the team wasn't (and still isn't) accustomed to having substitutes. There were 5 Chinese who were on the team who have yet to play. I, at least, have Brad who just runs off the court and tells me to go in for him. (Maybe not quite like that, but I still get to go in.) So I have played 5 mins in one game and 10 in another. I play until they call a time-out to encourage Brad to come back in. I have heard he is the MVP. I don't know why I am not. I stand on the sidelines talking with all the fans. I mean, they didn't come to watch the b-ball game, did they?

So the championship was supposed to be today but it rained. Imagine my disappointment. But hey, I did something fun. I have new clothes. And most importantly, I have pics. There is one of Brad doing his super all-star thing and the rest are of me doing my thing...talking on the cell-phone, posing for the camera, and being confused. Yes, I went out there and had no clue which way my team was going. Oh, and by a weird twist of fate, my jersey is #12 - my old soccer number. Brad's is #17 his old number. I think the Chinese people did research. Maybe I should be a little bit more concerned.

The Cookout...

A couple of weeks ago we got the chance to grill-out. Beth returned from her secret excursion to Wuhan with a beautiful grill that now resides on the balcony of mine and Brad's apartment. Brad put this thing together and it was beautiful. On our previous trip to Wuhan, we purchased charcoal. We thought we had everything in order but someone realized we didn't have lighter fluid. Ok. We will pick some up. Nope. None here. (Though, we might be able to use Zippo lighter fluid. Who knows?) The bag of charcoal was opened only to reveal what is strangely reminiscent of pieces of coal straight from the earth. Yeah, nothing close to the charcoal briquettes we are used to in America. I am sure they use the same stuff in steam engine locomotives.

After doing some research on the internet about starting grills without lighter fluid, we decided we should come up with a better solution than a chimney starter. (It was too complicated.) Many ideas were passed around...paper? Nope. (Doesn't burn long enough.) Gasoline? Nope. (Too dangerous.) Who-dey? Nope. (We would rather have him in a soup.) What about Bai Jiu? Come on, it's alcohol...albeit terrible alcohol. What better use of this stuff? (Strong start but didn't finish strong.) So, how should we light these coals? Peach grabs a coal and brings it into our kitchen and proceeds to light it over our stove top burner. Not a bad idea actually. The coal is lit after several minutes of loudly vocalized fear from the foreignors. Hooray! Now let's go light the other coals. Didn't work. So we ended up boiling the hot dogs for dinner. (I prefer them that way anyhow.) Not a bad dinner and it was accompanied by a fabulous lightning show. Dinner was saved but we didn't grill because the coals wouldn't light. 4 hours after our attempt, the one coal that had actually started eventually started the other coals and burned them into ash. Well, half a bad of coal gone. We know now to start the grills 6 hours before cook time. Oh China...live and learn.

First Swim 2007...

Well, winter came, settled in, and ravaged Yichang for months. Our winter vacation to Southeast Asia was a nice break from the chilly Yichang weather. (Beth went to Harbin. I guess she wanted to play with the Russians and the ice sculptures.) Spring came and went in maybe 2 days. Now summer is here. Everyday, the heat increases greatly. Right now, I am camped out in my room loving my A/C.

A couple of weeks ago, we decided to go to Xia Lao Xi. It is a neat little place to swim. The swimming area is man-made. They blocked the river with concrete walls and now the water blows through nice and gently. It is clean, cool, and refreshing. It isn't very deep either so it is a great place to relax and wade around. We taught 2 of our friends to swim. I tried but failed. Beth did a better job at it. Before the end of the day, both Peach and Seheno were swimming around like pro's. Well, maybe not pro's, but they weren't drowning. (Good thing too! I don't know CPR and who knows how long it would be for emergency services to come to the rescue.) It was nice and serence for a while...then a 20 Indians showed up. No problem that they showed up; however, they just like to strip down to their underwear and take a swim. No shame. No shame. I suppose we will go swimming there often over the next month and a half. Oh, summer heat - glad you got rid of the winter cold but couldn't you back down just a little?

April Birthdays...

So as you know, I have struggled keeping my blog up to date. Now that I can blog due to the Foreign Affairs Office finally coming through for us, I am forced to think about where to begin. Do I catch you up on everything or pick it up without caring what happened over the last few months? I think it would be a pity not to catch you up because so many neat things have happened and there are friends who deserve to be talked about in this vast and infinite cyberspace.

Here are some pictures of the April Birthdays. Beth and I celebrated our birthdays last month. On my birthday, my friends laid candles out in the shape of 23 down below my apartment. That was cool to see. Beth comes up with the coolest ideas. I have never seen anyone else go to such great lengths to make people feel special. Well, I have seen my Mom go to great lengths...so Beth is the second most creative and giving person I have ever met. My mom sent a Red Velvet Cake (my favorite) to China for someone to cook. Amy cooked it and wrote Chinese on it. Travis told me before I saw the surprise but it was no big deal. It was still cool. AND they let me have the whole cake to myself...thus continuing a tradition that my Mom started my freshman year of college. (And sometimes I wonder why I can't get into shape...)

We celebrated Beth's bday on the 27th. We did Mexican food, ghetto dance party, and special hang out time. That was a good night. Beth dressed up in her new skirt - very classy looking. Mexican was great! (She loves Mexican food. She also cooks a mean enchilada...I am sure it is better than Daniel's. Haha.) (Daniel if you read this, nothing personal. Beth is too great!) Ghetto Dance party...well, I don't dance often and I don't dance well. So basically, if we aren't doing the Macarena or the Cha Cha Slide, then I can't really do anything. Amy did a great job decorating Beth's cake. 76 days! Well, now there is less than 55 or so days. And then of course, there will be milk!