永久

I'm really, really missing my bicycle today.  And when I say "my bicycle" I really mean Sarah Le's bike, which got passed on to me and then to Rachel, or Nick's bike, because when I loaned my bike (Sarah's bike) to Rachel I straight up took Nick's bike.  Which is pictured here.  (thanks, Nick...for the picture and the loaning of your bike.)

Its a very sturdy bike.  And when I say sturdy, I mean it has to weigh like 20 pounds.  Maybe not, but it is truly heavy.  And by its name 永久 (YongJiu) (Forever) you know it has been around forever (since the 1940s) and will probably be around forever, due to the massive amount of steel that its made of.

As it neared the time for us to make the journey back to America, I got excited about driving around in a car again....air conditioning, music blaring and the ability to sing along w/o anyone hearing you or looking at you strangely, etc.  Now we've done for that a few months, and although still enjoyable, and still the mode of transportation I prefer for making the trip from Kentucky to Texas that we'll make in 3 weeks, I do miss my bike.  I miss riding around on palm tree lined streets w/ my headphones on, weaving in and out of traffic.  So I'm looking forward to doing that when we return.

--da

What I like about Louisville #3

Good coffee.

I wouldn't really call myself a coffee snob.  However, I think that Logan has educated me enough to really know how to appreciate good coffee.  So..we have scouted out the coffee sites in town, and my favorite place here in town is probably Quills Coffee.  Their menu is small, but not b/c they aren't capable of making all kinds of drinks.  Its more along the lines of they are very specific about what they are willing to make.  In other words, you won't find some blended drink w/ whipped cream here.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm not knocking your frappuccino...I have to be honest and say I've been known to enjoy one as well.  But its kind of like growing in maturity in our love for food.  Eventually you move past chicken nuggets (unless we're talking Chick-fil-A here) to more grown up food like cordon bleu.  With coffee it should work the same way.  Eventually that frappuccino is just not going to be as satisfying as an americano w/ an extra shot and room for cream.

--da

(I got the above image from the Quills Coffee website.)

Honking Etiquette

In China, and maybe in lots of Asian countries, it is not considered rude at all to just lay on the horn.  Honking is more of a "I'm here, don't run over me"or "I'm turning now across 4 lanes of traffic, get out of my way."  In China, we honk and pull out or turn, and you better watch out, because if you hit me, its your fault.  None of this is rude.  Its just expected.  Its the norm.  And when you are honked at, don't be offended.  The person honking at you probably would buy you dinner if you asked them to, and really, I don't think many Chinese people can drive w/o honking incessantly.

In America, honking is usually rude.  At least I feel like it is kind of a loud, "You big idiot!" Or, we'll do it occasionally to get someone's attention, like at a stop light and we see someone we know beside us in the next lane.  But today I totally honked at the guy in front of me at a stop light because it was green and he was obviously not paying attention.  I know honking in this circumstance is not absolutely abnormal for Americans, but it did remind me of how differently we use the horn here compared to how its used in China.  I wish I had a traffic video for you so that you could hear and see what I'm talking about, but I don't.  Maybe that will be something I work on when we go back in July.  Maybe, we'll see.

--da

What I don't like about Louisville #2

I know it is ridiculous....but there are no Rosa's here.  I really can't wait to get back to Texas and, on a Tuesday night, partake of a plate of tacos for only $3.69.  There are Mexican food restaurants here, but really, can you honestly beat the amount of food you get for the price you pay at Rosa's?  I don't think so...

--da

Can someone mail me some tortillas?

What I like about Louisville #2/What I don't like about Louisville #1

Okay, I'm having a hard time keeping up the desire to write.  My 500 words a day is not happening, even if  I average out all that I write in a week.  But here's a quick post b/c I know I need to write.

I love how green it is here.  West Texas just can't compare in the department of naturally green grass (no one is watering their lawn here), trees that bloom into all shades of pink, and tulips that are just vibrant in color.  Logan and I took a walk yesterday evening around 6:00, and I was amazed yet again by the colors and beauty of spring.  Plus, it isn't incredibly windy here.  And, the humidity is nice...my skin isn't cracking and my allergies aren't out of control in a humid environment.

On the other hand, this has a flip side of what I haven't enjoyed about Louisville...it is just now getting warm.  When we finally hit 55 degrees a few weeks ago, everyone was just gushing at the beautiful weather we were having, and how warm it was outside.  Granted, I know that temperature is all relative, and when its constantly hot, you long for 55, and when its constantly cold, you also long for 55.  Regardless, I was not warm, or convinced that 55 was beautiful.  Yes, it was better than 32....but I was still comfortable in long socks, a scarf and a coat...in the house.  Coming from living in a climate for two years where it was at least 80 in your house most of the year makes 55 seem not incredibly warm.

Anyways, there's really no point in comparing two different places on the planet.  There's naturally not going to be a lot of overlap in what is the same, and inevitably you find things you like and dislike about the place.  Making comparisons also shows me just how discontent I can tend to be in any situation.  Contentment is something that is learned I think, and I am an incredibly slow learner.  I do hope to say one day soon that in whatever circumstance I find myself in, I am content...even little silly circumstances like slightly uncomfortable temperatures.

--da

What I like about Louisville...#1

One of the things I really like about Louisville is the ease of recycling.  We have a small bin at the house, and throughout the week we toss anything recyclable in it.  There's no need to sort either!  On Thursday night, we take our trash can and our recycling bin out to the street, and early Friday morning its picked up by two different trucks.
Texas isn't so recycle friendly.  Growing up, I remember having loads of paper that we would have to hold onto until my mom and I would take our every 6 week trip to Plainview to buy groceries.  At that point, we would load up our paper and drop it off at the only recycling collection place in Plainview.  (There may be more locations..but not that I know of.)  Friends in Lubbock who I know recycle keep 4 or 5 big plastic trash cans in their garage so they can sort and then carry their own recycling to a collection place in Lubbock.  Its a lot of "mafan" as we say in Chinese (trouble, inconvenience) to recycle there.  

In China, you can recycle (have to take it to a recycling place yourself) but we never did.  People will walk around and go thru the public trash cans, and the trash cans in apartment complexes, and take out plastic bottles and bags, aluminum cans, cardboard, etc.  Mostly we saw homeless people or retired people doing this....the latter out on their morning/afternoon/evening walk w/ a big bag to carry their finds back home.  Eventually they will go to the collection place and actually sell by the weight what they have.  I figure that in this case, we don't have to worry about sorting, and someone else who might need that cash benefits.  Win/win.  

--da

(Kentucky/Louisville are, obviously, different from Texas/Lubbock.  Some things I really like...some things I, well, don't.  So here's the beginning of writing about a few obvious differences that I've noticed.)