Two Pictures from the House....

Upon moving in, there was a little bit of work to do...moving furniture, cleaning, etc.  While moving the cabinet the TV was on, I found this jewel....corn on the cob.  And not just corn on the cob, but nice and black and fermenting corn on the cob.  THAT'S where that stench was coming from!  

Yesterday, I took this picture..around 1200.  My cooking thermometer, reading right at 90 degrees Fahrenheit....32.222 degrees Celsius for those of you who care to know.  The kitchen wall facing out is straight windows facing the east, so in the morning it is toasty in there if the sky is clear.

Thankfully, we have an A/C in our bedroom that keeps us nice and cool at night so that we can sleep.   

--da

Funny Story

So, today, I decided to get back on the bandwagon and start running again. It has been hard to keep a consistent schedule due to lots of moving around and general busy-ness. However, I woke up this morning, got up, donned my running clothes, grabbed my IPOD and headed out the door.

Ran down a road we hadn't ventured yet, but no problem. I was plodding along and enjoying both Collective Soul and some Coldplay when I came to a good turning around point. As I turned, what previously had been a light sprinkle turned into a slightly heavier rain. I wasn't too worried, I just reminded myself that it was like running in the rain in Lbk, which I have done before. However, it quickly changed into a torrential downpour. Literally, I felt like I was in the middle of a tropical storm. The rain and wind grew stronger, but what was I to do? If I stopped and waited it out, I could be out for hours....I was already pretty soaked, why not just keep going?

So I did. It was pretty bad, and then got worse when I continued to go straight (instead of veering to the left ever so slightly) and wound up about 6 minutes away from my house. I knew I was lost, but had no idea just exactly where I was. I stopped, walked, and said these exact words to an old man, "I got up, went for a run, and now I don't know where I live. Do you know where Jing Shui An is? I live there, near Peacock Lake. Do you know where Jing Shui An is?" He replied that he didn't know. So I thanked him and continued to walk. At this point, I could tell where I was, and just trudged home.

Before getting safely home though, I saw a guy try to kill a rat by stomping on it....when it rains a lot, the sewers flood and the rats come up through the grates in the street ("There were rats, Dad."). Instead of freaking out, like I did last week when I saw rats climbing up through the grate, I calmly stepped back into the rain and around both the man and rat, which was still alive. As I neared my house, I was warned by a woman that the water was going to wash me away if I continued on the path I was on (by this point I wasn't paying attention) so I crossed over into the street and then back over through the gate to our apartment complex.

I was greeted by Logan at the door. He had attempted to go out and look for me. Next time I run, I will carry 10 RMB in my shorts....just in case I need to catch a taxi.

--da

Apartment Tour

Apartment de Logan & DA from Nitro on Vimeo.

New Name

Today our teacher gave me a name.  She desired it to sound similar to my real name, and although that wasn't my first desire, she actually found a name w/ a meaning that fits me more than other names that have been given.  

At first I saw that it meant gentle and flexible.  Yeah right.  But upon further reading, I saw that it also means "firm but gentle, an iron hand in a velvet glove."  I feel like that hits the nail pretty much on the head.  

So, Dai Rou it is. 

-da

代柔

New Place

I know it has been a while, but things have been crazy busy. We officially are moved into our permanent home and almost completely settled in. It is perfect for us. We are having a lot of fun with it. We don't have internet so access to us may seem sparse for the next few weeks, but hopefully that will clear itself up soon and we will once again be electronically connected to the west.

A team of seven from Oxford, England are joining us for around two months. They are great and we are having a ton of fun learning some British English.

Anyways, we will do our best to keep you in the loop.

LH

P.B.J. & C.?

This morning in class we somehow got off on the subject of our favorite foods. One of my first responses was the classic Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. Our teacher had never heard of this first-class food, so I then presumed to explained the process of making a PB & J in great detail. Her first response to the simplicity of such a delicious delicacy was... a blank stare. Followed soon there after with a sharp "Can you put some cabbage on it?".

No wonder why "western" food made by Chinese is... lets just say interesting.

Chinglish #3

first trip out

Traveled a bit last week due to our teachers needing days off to give oral English exams to high school students.  Worked out well b/c we had some friends here visiting.  

We traveled out the countryside and got to go to one of the highest ariel bridges in the world, or so we were told.  We skipped the bridge, but the view from the ground wasn't bad either.  We kind of felt like we were on an island (Lost) due to the tropical sounds/lush vegetation.  It was really pretty fun.

The next day we traveled out to a less touristy area...Logan had the camera and took some pictures of a banana orchard...sometimes it is banana trees as far as you can see!  And this picture is of a village right outside of the small town that we went to that day.  The houses in this village, as well as a village that I explored, are built on stilts....and they even fence off a yard and park a car or motorcycle under the house, kind of like a garage.  It is like an Asian suburb, except all the poor (minorities) live in this suburb area.  We enjoyed our trip out, despite our limited language, and look forward to our next trip.  For now it is school for the next two weeks, and then maybe another trip.

down south of the border

Made a little trip down south, but we didn't start in California.  However, this license plate was present in Laos...go figure.  These are just a few pictures of Laos that we got.  It was a fun "quick" little trip.  We spent more time on a bus trying to get there than we did in the actual country.  However, once there, we did partake of an awesome lunch!  Seems like a poorer country, but the people were incredibly friendly and helpful.  

Chinglish #2

Chinglish #2....

"Natural beauty will do you justice."