well then, what do you like?

i like when things get better. 

 

confession:

recently, i have been having a pity party.  it's been going on for a while, and ultimately ended with a giant three day festival called "amy can't quite bring herself to get out of bed", at which point i realized that i was being ridiculous. sure, i'm a bit homesick: culture shock is setting in.  yes, the weather is changing, and teaching english is a little challenging... oh, and chinese is not the easiest thing in the world. but really, i need to put things into perspective. or at least start looking on the bright side of things. 

 

so. the pity party is over. now begins the "buck up amy g, you have a fantastic life and people love you and you are trying new things and your country elected a new president who seems to have a heart and also immaculate articulation" party. okay. on wednesday (because of the time change) i sat in my bed (this was during the pity party) and watched obama's speech probably 8 times (not all the way through- i was just waiting for it to load) and cried. i was in a fragile state already, but i am a sucker for hope and passion. and elocution. i am excited/hopeful. but, as a woman (so rudely) pointed out to me in a coffee shop the other day "not EVERYONE is excited", so i am staying more quietly glad, and hoping that mr.obama will do things that will earn the respect of his detractors. 

 

some of you may be wondering something like "amy, you're away from everything you've ever known, including: your family, your best friends, the ocean, normal bread, convenient dairy free options, and stores that stock your size of shoes. how on earth are you not having a pity party all the time??"

 

 

let me show you:

 

 

reason i am not having a pity party #1.

 the food is too good (and cheap) to be sad for too long.

these 面条  (noodles) are handmade to order. 

this is a piece of sheep stomach. and also some lotus. i ate both of them at...

HOT POT!

i love hot pot. i am now the proud holder of a v.i.p. card for the hot pot restaurant 2 minutes from my front door! 

 

reason 2. the plant market.

i can go here whenever i feel sad, and walk around in the enormous greenhouse. and buy things.

my friends joel and jesse help me transport my bounty. 

 

3. fall colors happen in china, too!

 

my weekly scrabble challenger lives down this little alley. there are apple orchards on the other side of the trees. i like to walk here. 

 

we went on a camping trip here, and while the experience was laughable at best, 

the trees were changing, and that was cathartic in itself. 

 

number 4. children. 

this it the sports school near my house. these children start at seven am. i like to watch them play soccer and basketball, and yell things like "foul" "traveling" and "nice pass". 

i met these boys in the alley behind my favorite market. they buy these crawdad creatures from the seafood vendors, then they race the animals. 

this girl was on vacation. i was going swimming, she was a twirling fairy. 

 

 

5. glamour shots.

 

reason 6.  beer testing.

 

we were walking past the beer aisle one day... and decided to try them all. 

pabst: highest alcohol content of all contenders.

the contenders:

pabst

snow

chill (carslberg)

pineapple beer

ginger beer

lychee beer

pabst knockoff

harbin wheat

another ginger beer

the winner: ginger beer. but we hear lhasa beer is good, so we're holding our breath and hoping. 

 

7. nice people who help me.

this is my roommate. her name is Tseba. she is an ultra smart girl: besides her heart language, tibetan, she also knows english, and chinese. she is a translator. also i am becoming a cleaner person, because she likes clean space. 

 

this is my chinese teacher, Sheila.  she also has a lot of languages: chinese, qinghai dialect, english and korean. she is a teacher at my school, and she is ULTRA patient. 

 

reason 8. you know... chinese things.

hey halal festival!

 

this baby goat thing loved me. it wouldn't come to it's mother's bleating, and i think i should have taken it home. see how much it trusts me. 

 

these are polite chinese fingers. it is what classy chinese ladies do to get the men, and the respect. i do not have delicate fingers, so it is a tough thing for me to get the feel for. 

 

 

 9. it is getting too cold for this sort of thing.

which gives me a reason to dress cozy cozy. 

now i have a new jacket, and i am working on my "keep the heat in" outfit. last year it was

  -50ºC. yikes. 

so. the pity party is over for now. here's hoping it doesn't try to repeat itself anytime soon. tomorrow i am going to dinner at a middle school girl's house- i met her at an english corner that i help out at. we just got done texting, and i'm hoping that my "i like to try new things: surprise me" response to her query about what i'd like to eat was not a mistake. her grandparents and parents will be there- i need to not lose face. she is ultra adorable too- she just texted me:

 

AMY~i hope we

can have a good time

tomorrow right?

and i am so excited

just can't go to sleep. 

 

 

i know. so sweet, so honest, so direct. it is lovely. 

wish me luck. love you.