Saturday, May 3, 2008

Mini CRAZY Shorts (Stories that is!)

Double Takes
We finished picking strawberries a few weeks ago and ate lunch at a nearby restaurant on the edge of town (DJK - Danjiangkou). As we (Jessi and I) were waiting for bus #2 with our Waiban, Robert, and a student a truck was coming towards us. It drove past us a few feet, stopped, and backed up. I said to Jessi they must have missed the turn onto the dirt path we had just come from (where the restaurant is). NOPE! She was right, they backed up just to stop and stare at the two foreign blonds!! After sitting there staring at us for a minute or two they continued on there way. Just something else to remind us we CAN'T BLEND IN!! :)
MINI OLYMPICS?!
Our school has a Sport's Meeting annually for which classes are cancelled for 3 days! During this time the students and some faculty compete against other departments (Science, PE (not allowed to compete), English, Chinese, and Math). I do not teach freshman so I was not asked to participate much. I was fine with that! However the last day we went to watch Rusty do shot-put and they asked me to do Tug-O-War. 16 on 16 for each department (8 women and 8 men). Rusty was one of the men and they asked me to be one of the women. Why, you ask, well I am about the size of 2 Chinese women! Women are generally very dainty and not very strong. I'll leave it at that! We won against the Chinese department which was a big deal! YAY!

A Bug's Life
...is very short in my apartment!! A few weeks ago I went to the market to buy groceries and returned to find swarming termites all over my bathroom and kitchen. Luckily I had closed the kitchen door. But this did prompt the entire scrub down of my kitchen. At first they did not believe me but I finally convinced them so they came and sprayed pesticide. It helped but did not solve the problem. Then I found them crawling out of the wall, in mass numbers, in the room where my "front door" is. They came again, drilled holes, more pesticide, took the ceiling out of the bathroom for more as well, and then put putty in all the holes. This seemed to take care of it, until... this weekend when they started creating new holes and coming through more cracks! Woo Hoo!! I have also found millipedes, worms, roly polies, stink bugs, and fruit flies! Needless to say I am almost on my fourth can of RAID!! the fun things tend to go for a swim in my toilet after enjoying a nice "raid" shower!!

Unchartered Territory
We found a new market in town. They were NOT used to seeing foreigners! Boy do I love to be stared at and followed while I shop. I am not sure what I will do when I come home and have to shop without being the center of attention and with no one following me.

Sunny Sunshine
The weather here has made a drastic turn. Have I told you that spring here lasts for about one week. Two if you're lucky! All week long it has been in the 90's. The sun has been shining with a pretty clear sky (at least clear for China)! Jessi and I have found that we can go use the roof access on Rusty and Brittany's building where we have found a corner that is generally hidden from just about everyone. We like to go out in the sun and read, at least those are our intentions! Usually we just end up talking of course, as girls do! It's nice to enjoy the sunshine and not feel like we are on display... it's also great for a tan too!! We all are already feeling the heat of Chinese summers!! Be thankful in the states that just about everything has AC, here it is a rarity, but my apt is using it!! Confused about one thing - why are they still wearing jackets and layers?!?

Knuckle-sandwich - I WISH!!!
The thing I worried most about coming over here was... my teeth! I know it sounds odd but I always have problems. I have BAD teeth! This has definitely given me some interesting experiences here in China. Some I wish I didn't have to experience but am nonetheless and trying to make the best of it. If you have been reading then you know I already had one broekn tooth with a not so great experience with a dentist here in DJK. Well about 2 weeks ago I was eating a piece of dried banana (I love dried fruit - a good healthy snack!) and half of one of my teeth broke. I did not feel pain but of course was thinking this is not what I need. So I got in touch with friends that know dentists in our capital of Hubei province, Wuhan. I had 5 of my classes cancelled and left last Wednesday for Wuhan, stayed with some friends, and saw a dentist that surprised me with how well he spoke English. Thursday he analyzed my tooth, took, xrays, and they began working on it. I asked for novacaine, which they gave... and it WORKED!! I did not feel a thing as they drilled. They put medicine on it, basically a root canal. Thursday night I was brushing my teeth and yet a third tooth broke. Just my luck! So Friday I went back and within 15 minutes of sitting in the chair he had it filled! Saturday, Timothy put the posts in my other tooth and fit me for a crown. I go back next weekend (10th) for him to put the crown on. The good thing is dental work is cheaper in China. My filling was only $10! However, my sister Rachel has informed me, that crowns originating in China have high lead content which is causing problems in patients now. So I will have to ask about this when I go back. Please be thinking about this for me!! It's the last thing I need now!!
(TOUCHING THE YANTZE RIVER!!)

$5 or LESS!
Since I was in Wuhan for 5 days, when I returned there was no food other than a potato and an apple in my apartment. I went to my lady at the market. I will miss her smile dearly when I leave China! I visit her stand first for all the food I need to buy. I had Melody with me one day when I saw her and Melody translated that she thinks of me like her daughter. Her daughter is away from home at school, like me in a sense. She knows that her daughter misses home like I do as well. She said she likes to think someone is taking care of her daughter and so she would do the same with me, her foreign daughter! Not only do I enjoy her smiles but she gives me good prices! After I pick what I need/want to buy, she adds extra stuff; a handful or two of garlic, 2-3 bunches of cabbage, a melon, or other random stuff. It's great!!
In the following picture everything on my counter cost me a little less than $5!!!

Darkness Sheds New Light
Jessi, Melody, and I headed to town as the sun was going down. We walked there and arrived soon after it set! Since it was May holiday with no school the next day we wanted to check out the town square action! There is almost always something going on!! We had a great time shopping a little and walking around. We noticed many more people staring at us because we are usually not out at night in town. (Our Waiban, the over-protective parent, wants us on campus by dark and not in town alone due to protests in China against the French. He thinks people may think we are French and attack us. Not true, besides we all know the phrase "Wo shi mei guo ren" = "I am American". We are fluent in that phrase!) Have no fear we are safe here in our city, not a protesting type city, unlike Wuhan. Needless to say we had a lot of fun walking around and watching people dance in the square!! The kids loved having their pictures taken!!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, 2 of us (Rusty and Jessi) have been talked to about English tutoring with the Good Book. Nothing was said flat out but things have been noticed. We are always noticed though!
Tonight is foreigner's movie night here in my apt. We like to get together every so often to hangout and be American!
Tomorrow (Sunday) we have to make up our Friday classes from the May holiday - aka: crazy Chinese holiday schedules!

2 MONTHS EXACTLY UNTIL I AM IN CALIFORNIA!!! YAY!!

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Can you eat those bugs? Chocolate covered bugs and roasted centipedes are great!

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