In only two short weeks it already feels like I'm leaving home to go to Wuhan. The noise of kids playing basketball outside of my apartment all day and night has become as normal as the Oklahoma wind was two weeks ago. I will miss the wrinkly and toothless folks who spread hopeful blankets of fruits and vegetables out every morning for us city folks to peruse. I hardly feel like I've been here long enough to appreciate the American jewels that cheese and coffee will be. I've noticed their absence only vaguely in the insignificant number of days since Yichang became...home.
I'll be in Wuhan until Monday, and then on Tuesday I'm heading to Enshi to visit Nate and Jess and Dave!! I'm overjoyed to see those great friends, and I'm sure they are equally joyous to receive the pasta, cheese, and movies I'm bringing them.
Today a girl helped me find some sunglasses in a store, and then told me that she wants to be friends with me, and gave me her phone number. I haven't even started teaching yet, and the number of Chinese friends I have is growing steadily. I've never met such friendly and helpful people in my life. I was playing the "ungame" with some of Zack and Elizabeth's students, when the question I drew asked, "What is your purpose in life?" What a great opportunity! I wonder if someone powerful had a hand in that.
"Everybody has to leave, everybody has to leave their home and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons."
-Donald Miller Through Painted Deserts
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
我叫卡铁
Here's the irony of the situation. I figured out how to make chicken noodle soup today in my apartment. Today, for the first time in four days, I can breathe, I'm only coughing occasionally, my fever is gone, and I can walk without thinking I'm going to pass out. Why oh why couldn't I have discovered this greatness one of the last four days when I felt sick every time I put something in my mouth? Sorry (Sammie) that there haven't been any updates lately. All I've done is lay in my apartment and watch movies and try not to die. Life hasn't been incredibly eventful. I'll try to do something a little more interesting for you to read about tomorrow. Maybe I'll go bungee jumping off the three gorges, I saw a place for that the other day. Just kidding Mom.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
我是美国人
So yesterday I woke up to the most beautiful blue sky and sunshiny day only to discover that I had a fever, headache, sore throat and all kinds of sinus issues. Needless to say I did not enjoy the sunshine at all, instead I laid in bed and felt sorry for myself pretty much the whole day. Elizabeth did take me out for a strawberry smoothie at the place called "Drinking Cool." That was really sweet of her. Then we watched Gilmore Girls and were utterly lazy. My fever got worse last night and I'm still feeling pretty horrible, but I went to lunch with some new friends today. One was an Aussie from Perth, who is here teaching at a foreign language school, and the other is a wonderful, sweet Chinese girl whose English is better than mine. She told me very excitedly that she was studying last year from a good book, and that she really wants to learn some more. I'm looking forward to studying with her. Well I'm going to go back to bed and try to get rid of this sickness so that I can feel like a normal person again.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
早商好
Last night I went over to Zack and Elizabeth's and we made...
...get ready for it...
NO BAKE COOKIES! I don't think you quite understand how incredible and exciting this is! It was perhaps the happiest moment imaginable. Butter is very rare and expensive here, the milk is questionable at best, but cocoa from America makes everything better. I tell you I was deliciously overjoyed. It sure doesn't take much to make me happy these days.
My favorite part of today was totally the Chinese guy with dred locks. I never thought I'd see that. I wish I could show you a picture but the bus was moving too fast. Well on second thought my favorite part might have been the bus driver pulling a jug of water out from under his seat when the bus overheated and pouring it in the radiator like this happens all the time. It probably does.
Today after lunch I just hopped on bus 23 and took it downtown and after shopping a bit I hopped on bus 10 just to see where it would take me. It went across the river to this beautiful spot that helped me appreciate why the University is called the Three Gorges University. I didn't stay long because it was getting late and I was gettin hungry but I will be back! What a gorgeous spot.
Went over to Brad's apartment today where Amy showed me how to make fried noodles, a delicious Americanized dish that I can easily make here. I'm stoked! Met two really amazing Chinese students, and had a blast. We even got to talk about some important stuff with them.
I have one major complaint. NBC.com somehow knows we are in China and won't let us watch the Office! There will be a mutiny if I can't see the new episodes this season. I realize that Chinese people are notorious for pirating shows and movies, but I am an American citizen and I am being discriminated against! I won't stand for it!
"Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted."
-John Lennon
...get ready for it...
NO BAKE COOKIES! I don't think you quite understand how incredible and exciting this is! It was perhaps the happiest moment imaginable. Butter is very rare and expensive here, the milk is questionable at best, but cocoa from America makes everything better. I tell you I was deliciously overjoyed. It sure doesn't take much to make me happy these days.
My favorite part of today was totally the Chinese guy with dred locks. I never thought I'd see that. I wish I could show you a picture but the bus was moving too fast. Well on second thought my favorite part might have been the bus driver pulling a jug of water out from under his seat when the bus overheated and pouring it in the radiator like this happens all the time. It probably does.
Today after lunch I just hopped on bus 23 and took it downtown and after shopping a bit I hopped on bus 10 just to see where it would take me. It went across the river to this beautiful spot that helped me appreciate why the University is called the Three Gorges University. I didn't stay long because it was getting late and I was gettin hungry but I will be back! What a gorgeous spot.
Went over to Brad's apartment today where Amy showed me how to make fried noodles, a delicious Americanized dish that I can easily make here. I'm stoked! Met two really amazing Chinese students, and had a blast. We even got to talk about some important stuff with them.
I have one major complaint. NBC.com somehow knows we are in China and won't let us watch the Office! There will be a mutiny if I can't see the new episodes this season. I realize that Chinese people are notorious for pirating shows and movies, but I am an American citizen and I am being discriminated against! I won't stand for it!
"Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted."
-John Lennon
Monday, September 1, 2008
我要水
Ever played the video game Frogger? I'm the frog trying to cross the street.
There is a no-honking rule in YiChang apparently, which means that people lay on their horns every other second instead of continually. Lucky us!
We found a restaurant that has English on the menu so we can point to what we want, so we've eaten there three meals in a row now. It's a lot better than getting surprise food when you point to Chinese characters. I found out that YiChang is famous for their spicy food though. I couldn't feel my mouth after I ate the potatoes for supper. That could be a good thing.
Breakfast tomorrow with Ed before we sign our contracts. I'm excited. It's going to be a good year.
Supposedly here is how you call me if anyone is interested. 011-86-717-139-8674-9214.
I haven't had anyone try it, so who knows if it works or not.
There is a no-honking rule in YiChang apparently, which means that people lay on their horns every other second instead of continually. Lucky us!
We found a restaurant that has English on the menu so we can point to what we want, so we've eaten there three meals in a row now. It's a lot better than getting surprise food when you point to Chinese characters. I found out that YiChang is famous for their spicy food though. I couldn't feel my mouth after I ate the potatoes for supper. That could be a good thing.
Breakfast tomorrow with Ed before we sign our contracts. I'm excited. It's going to be a good year.
Supposedly here is how you call me if anyone is interested. 011-86-717-139-8674-9214.
I haven't had anyone try it, so who knows if it works or not.
Friday, August 29, 2008
中国
I'm in China! Already I have had quite a few adventures. We left Monday and arrived Wednesday, I never got a Tuesday. Tuesday's gone. ;)
I don't even know where to start. The airport in Hong Kong was beautiful, you could see the ocean on one side and mountains on the other. We flew to Wuhan, had some strange seafood creation for breakfast on the airplane. I thought we were going to be spending a few days in Wuhan before traveling on to YiChang, but when we got there, our Wai Bon was waiting for us with a van so we loaded up five of us in five seats with bags in the floor and drove 4 or 5 hours, I'm not really sure. We stopped for lunch and I had my first attempt at eating with chopsticks, (other than Pei Wei in America). I'm horrible at it. I dropped everything I picked up, but eventually I managed to get enough food in my mouth and it was good food too. You don't order your own individual meal at restaurants, you order a platter and everybody shares off of it. Also, lanes mean nothing here. I don't even know why they bother to paint them on the road. Everybody drives wherever they can fit and even where they can't and that includes the wrong side of the road. Well we finally made it to YiChang, and Jian showed us to our apartments and told us to meet at a little restaurant we had passed in an hour for dinner. So I showered and left, and promptly got lost, but I made it there, and I was still on time too. A word of advice...if you ever get the chance to eat eel, DON'T! It was the worst thing I have ever had the misfortune to put in my mouth. Trying to swallow and pretend like I liked it was not an easy task, that's for sure. Well after dinner, I treked back to my apartment and stuck my key in the door and turned it...and it broke. Now I'm holding a half of a key in my hand, with the other half still stuck in the lock, and it's dark outside, I don't have a cell phone, and I don't know anybody except Zack and Elizabeth. Luckily they happened to be with me because they wanted to see my apartment, so I spent the night with them. They have three bedrooms so it's no big deal. I am REALLY glad I got a shower before I went to dinner. The next morning we had our medical exams at 8:30, and that was another adventure. Then we went and got our bank accounts set up, and went grocery shopping. My favorite part of grocery shopping was the live fish they had for sale in tanks on the wall. It smelled horrible though. I had to buy an umbrella because it has been pouring all day and I was completely soaked. I could not have been more wet. It hasn't stopped raining since I got off the airplane. Oh yeah, and Jian had someone come fix my lock so I finally got back into my apartment yesterday afternoon. I went to an ATM only to find out that it declined my card. I'm not sure if it's a problem with the bank in Oklahoma or the fact that I'm in China, but I need to get that figured out as soon as I can. Zack and Elizabeth came to my rescue again and gave me some of their cash until I get paid, which isn't til the 10th. Yikes! But I ate supper last night for about 16 American cents, so I think I'll be okay. My apartment is really nice, it's got wooden floors, two TVs, a mini oven, a microwave, all kinds of neat stuff. I also get internet for free, so I was super excited about that. I have to plug it in, but that's okay. Zack and Elizabeth have wireless but I'll take what I can get. I still don't have a phone though, and it might be after September 10 until I get one, after I get paid.
I don't even know where to start. The airport in Hong Kong was beautiful, you could see the ocean on one side and mountains on the other. We flew to Wuhan, had some strange seafood creation for breakfast on the airplane. I thought we were going to be spending a few days in Wuhan before traveling on to YiChang, but when we got there, our Wai Bon was waiting for us with a van so we loaded up five of us in five seats with bags in the floor and drove 4 or 5 hours, I'm not really sure. We stopped for lunch and I had my first attempt at eating with chopsticks, (other than Pei Wei in America). I'm horrible at it. I dropped everything I picked up, but eventually I managed to get enough food in my mouth and it was good food too. You don't order your own individual meal at restaurants, you order a platter and everybody shares off of it. Also, lanes mean nothing here. I don't even know why they bother to paint them on the road. Everybody drives wherever they can fit and even where they can't and that includes the wrong side of the road. Well we finally made it to YiChang, and Jian showed us to our apartments and told us to meet at a little restaurant we had passed in an hour for dinner. So I showered and left, and promptly got lost, but I made it there, and I was still on time too. A word of advice...if you ever get the chance to eat eel, DON'T! It was the worst thing I have ever had the misfortune to put in my mouth. Trying to swallow and pretend like I liked it was not an easy task, that's for sure. Well after dinner, I treked back to my apartment and stuck my key in the door and turned it...and it broke. Now I'm holding a half of a key in my hand, with the other half still stuck in the lock, and it's dark outside, I don't have a cell phone, and I don't know anybody except Zack and Elizabeth. Luckily they happened to be with me because they wanted to see my apartment, so I spent the night with them. They have three bedrooms so it's no big deal. I am REALLY glad I got a shower before I went to dinner. The next morning we had our medical exams at 8:30, and that was another adventure. Then we went and got our bank accounts set up, and went grocery shopping. My favorite part of grocery shopping was the live fish they had for sale in tanks on the wall. It smelled horrible though. I had to buy an umbrella because it has been pouring all day and I was completely soaked. I could not have been more wet. It hasn't stopped raining since I got off the airplane. Oh yeah, and Jian had someone come fix my lock so I finally got back into my apartment yesterday afternoon. I went to an ATM only to find out that it declined my card. I'm not sure if it's a problem with the bank in Oklahoma or the fact that I'm in China, but I need to get that figured out as soon as I can. Zack and Elizabeth came to my rescue again and gave me some of their cash until I get paid, which isn't til the 10th. Yikes! But I ate supper last night for about 16 American cents, so I think I'll be okay. My apartment is really nice, it's got wooden floors, two TVs, a mini oven, a microwave, all kinds of neat stuff. I also get internet for free, so I was super excited about that. I have to plug it in, but that's okay. Zack and Elizabeth have wireless but I'll take what I can get. I still don't have a phone though, and it might be after September 10 until I get one, after I get paid.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Colorado and back
I did one of the stupidest things I've ever done on Tuesday and I got up at 4am and drove 15 hours by myself to Salida, CO to pick Sammie up. Part of the stupidity comes from the fact that I was already sleep-deprived from the week before so driving that long was painful. The other part is that I made the mistake of assuming that the interstates would be faster than country highways. WRONG. So what was supposed to be a 12 hour trip turned into 15 and I was fighting to stay awake and alive by the end of it. Add that with the fact that my windsheild wipers sometimes decide they don't want to work, and you come up with a pretty miserable day. But at the end of it I got to hang out with some of Sammie's Trek buddies, we went to Mama D's and then bowling, where I bowled my best game ever. I even doubled Sammie's points (which wasn't hard to do). Maybe I should always go bowling when I'm sleep-deprived. Then we went back to the barn and watched Top Gun, which surprisingly enough Sammie fell asleep in the middle of but for some reason I, the one who wanted to go to bed hours before, couldn't sleep until 2am Oklahoma time. Then we got up at 5 because Samster and I were gonna bag Mount Massive before we hit the road back for Oklahoma. I only got two days off work so it was a short trip. Well by the time we actually got around to climbing we decided we weren't gonna summit, plus there were clouds around the top since 9am. Must be the hurricane effect or something but I doubt anyone summited that day. We just went for a short little hike instead, which was sort of disappointing but oh well. Then we drove to the Springs to REI some stuff and it was like 3:30 before we actually headed back toward the home turf. I made Sammie drive the entire time. I couldn't keep my eyelids peeled open. I actually drove for 30 minutes while she was on the phone and then I gave up. I'm a loser and I just couldn't do any more than that. Good thing my sister loves to drive because I'm no help whatsoever. So we got back to good ole Norman at 3:30am and then I went to work at 8:30. They say you never recover from the sleep you lose, but I'm sure gonna try.
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