我不忙

In my blog I try to limit the stories and descriptions to the most interesting ones for the sake of space; not because I don't love to write, but because I think I will lose my extensive reader base if I bore them to death with details. I've noticed that I mostly tell stories though, and that it's difficult to fully grasp the environment itself. Obviously, I cannot possibly describe the surroundings well enough for you to truly understand, but I will attempt to give you a glimpse.

A vast array of sights, smells, and sounds assail your senses in China. Since China is the most populated country on earth, it's natural to expect a sea of people everywhere you go. Perhaps something I should have associated with so many people and so much walking is the sight of umbrellas, but the idea never occurred to me. In the rain, this makes sense, although I did not dream I would see so many everywhere I looked. But maybe one of the funniest things I've seen are the countless umbrellas in the sunshine. You see, while you are paying $30 a month for skin cancer that you think is attractive, the Chinese are running away from the sun rays like they are contagious. Women buy whitening cream and hide from every drop of sun. They are constantly complimenting me on my beautiful white skin, something I don't cherish very much. I find mirth in watching a Chinese girl run from shadow to shadow to avoid being touched by the deathly rays. Lucky for them it's not an every day issue, since the sun seems to be as scared of showing itself as they are of seeing it.

You can walk up and down any street swaying to horribly off-key karaoke and holding your breath when you pass the fried tofu stands. Students swear to me that the tofu tastes great, but I can't master the art of getting it near my nose. For those of you fellow Edmondites or OCers reading this blog, you understand well the dog food smell that constantly wafts through the city on a hot summer day. Well believe it or not, that is NOT one of the things I miss about Oklahoma (though admittedly that list is small). Somebody upstairs must have thought it would make me feel more at home to bring that smell to China though. Elizabeth and I were not overjoyed to discover that reminder of our college days.

After class this morning, Elizabeth and I went to Beishan Life supermarket, in an attempt to buy enough that we can avoid going grocery shopping every day, like we have been doing up until now. I've given up on trying to stay away from the supposedly tainted food I hear about on a regular basis. First it was milk, then it was oranges, now eggs. I refuse to do without any of those things, so I might as well just ignore the warnings. I'm going to die one of these days, so bring on the melamine! Every time I neglect to carry my camera with me to the grocery store, I kick myself for it later. We discover something new every time. I saw sticks of cinnamon the size of my arm, pink squids, and one of my favorite sights today was the strawberry-flavored cheetos. I've tried blueberry chips, and some of the other strange flavors the Chinese love, but the strawberry cheeto is one adventure I think I'll pass on.

I just finished an awesome study with a really sweet girl I met at the coffee shop. We have a great King, don't we?

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."

-J.R.R. Tolkien