I'm Going to Make This Place My Home

To be read listening to Home by Phillip Phillips and Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes and Home by Mumford and Sons.
Okay. So, I have been here for three weeks. I'm still alive and maybe a little rounder in the middle than I ought to be. As my squishy stomach would suggest, the food is quite tasty. Just around every corner or every alley, there is restaurant or a street food vendor. Unfortunately, there is also stinky dofu around many of these corners or down these alleys. The smell is so terrible it makes me cringe and bury my nose in my hair. I'm told it tastes much better than it smells, but I am still wary of trying it. Once you get over the awful smell, there are some rather pleasant aromas. Breads, potatoes, fried rice, meat on sticks, little barbecues, fruits, and vegetables. Across the street from our apartment is Crown Bakery which has an assortment of sweet smelling- and probably tasting- breads. Two of my favorites from this bakery are rolls that have cinnamon sugar and buttery stuff on the inside and flaky pastries that have custard and fruit in the middle.

Down the alley right next to it you will find tang su li ji (sweet&sour pork), potatoes and beef, noodles, fried rice , dumplings, Boazi (steamed buns with meat inside), some bread that tastes like pizza, and much more. Everything is rather cheap and sooo tasty. I usually get boazi because it is only one kuai per bun and they are delicious and filling. My favorite of course, is tang su li ji. Incredibly tasty. 

On the way to school we (the foreign teachers at my school) usually stop at this wonderful bread lady's shop. She smiles at us and gives us three smallish buns that are usually warm and have bottoms with a sugar and sesame glaze. Since everyone knows how I love sweets, it is no surprise that I eat the top part first and save the delicious bottom for last. It's like the opposite of a muffin.  

Just around the corner from the bread is a drink guy who speaks some English. He's pretty nice. Kelsey, Steffie, and I stopped to get some drinks today and as I was looking in the cooler for something good, a high school boy came. The shop guy said, "Lady first. k?" haha it was funny. I got a sprite in case you were wondering. Pretty shocking since I never drink pop in America. Unless its Dr. Pepper or grape :)

Moving on from food... There are dogs and cats everywhere! It's adorable! Except for the really ugly dogs... It is amazing though, the dogs are rarely on leashes. They simply follow their masters at their heals or maybe a little ways ahead or behind, but they are never too far away or getting into trouble. And I've never seen a dog chasing another dog or even a cat. My favorite is when the dogs ride the scooters with their masters. Amazing. Yesterday, I saw a lady get on her scooter and start to go and then she said something to her medium sized, brown poodle and the dog hoped onto the scooter by the woman's feet, sat down, and nestled into her legs. It's just wonderful how these animals listen. All dogs must be Chinese and that's why in America they need leashes and don't listen very well... 

Last week Jonathan and I were walking to the bus stop and I saw a small dog and his friend, another medium sized dog crossing the street. by themselves. I was terrified for them. Let me tell you a little bit about traffic in China. It's insane. They all must be really good drivers or they are all the worst drivers ever. I'm fairly certain that lanes and light signals don't mean anything to the Chinese driver. And cops don't seem to care about the crazy things they do. I was riding in the car with a friend (who is a good driver!) going down a one way She missed my apartment so she started doing a Y-turn. I don't think a single person yelled or honked at her. They simply went around her and she was maneuvering. And there was an officer right there and he just went around her! She didn't even show a sign of panic. Mind-blowing. They also use horns like nobody's business. Not in an angry way either, but in a "hey I'm here" or " Behind you" or "could you move?" or "watch out I'm going to hit you" kind of way. 

It's very nosy here with all the horns. 

So many times I see cars driving and I marvel at how they don't hit anyone or cause accidents. And people cross the streets where ever and when ever they want. you just aim for the gaps and hope the bus won't hit you. It's kind of terrifying to me. I hate when I get stuck in the middle of traffic and there are cars on both sides of me. eeeeek. My heart is always racing when I have to cross the street, but so far, I have not gotten hit or had any near death experiences. for the most part....

Hmm... Other things to talk about... Oh! Last weekend I went to Yellow Crane Tower with David, Kelsey, Andrew, Jonathan, and a man named Jerry who teaches at Andrew's school. It was one of the most beautiful days so far in Wuhan. They sky was actually blue and you could see a long way: All the way across the river and maybe to the building next to my apartment! And well beyond that even. After that we went to the famed Breakfast (or Snack) Street where I had some spicy potatoes, peach smoothie (which wasn't very peachy...), fried banana, and chocolate fish! And yes. Chocolate fish is exactly what it sounds like. A waffle in the shape of a fish with a melty chocolate center. :) The fish was probably my favorite. David bought a squid on a stick which I was going to try, but decided I didn't want to ruin the delicious flavors of fried banana with spicy, chewy squid...

Sorry that I don't transition very well to the next topic of discussion, but the next topic will be friends.

First of all, I made my very own friend. I call him Josh because that's what his Chinese name kind of sounded like. I met him on the sky rail when I was coming back from the Visa place yesterday. He asked me if I could help with his English. And then he texted me today and said he was so excited to meet me that he could hardly sleep. haha. It was very nice. And speaking of funny texts, a different Chinese friend, who shares a name with my favorite lead singer, told me that I need to "work harder... and not sleep too late." bahaha. He clearly knows how lazy I am... I'm hoping that these friends will hopefully want to come to study soon and we can talk about even more wonderful things. 

We had our first study on Monday. It was a topical one: an intro to Xnity. I am so excited to have a variety of different topical studies with our friends. I know that it will help them grow and answer confusing questions and it will also help me grow.

Finally, my school: I have three co-teacher. Two I love and one I would very much like to flick on the nose every five minutes. I have three hundred students. Most of them are super cute and well-behaved. Is it bad to have favorites? Because I definitely do, but I don't treat them special in class. I just make faces at them when my teachers talk in Chinese and I'm bored. Spring yelled at me once and told me not to talk to them, but now I am merely more discreet. haha. Maybe someday I take pictures, so you guys can see how cute they are. I have one boy named Jackey who reminds me of William Wakeman. He is so cute and sweet. The other day he leaned over and kissed Amy (another adorable student) on the cheek and then gave me a huge grin and kept playing with her hair. It was precious. He is definitely one of my favorites. 

One day when I was walking home, I heard a little voice call my name and I looked up and Jenny was waving to me with a giant smile on her face. And Belle saw me yesterday with her mom and stopped to talk to me (In English). It is just a great feeling to hear my kids use their English words that I have taught them. And for them to use them properly especially. Once I asked a kid how he was and he said, "Hello. My name is..." So sad. 

It also makes me very sad when the Co-teachers are yelling at the kids in Chinese and I have time to think about random things. I often think about how sweet these kids are and how so many of them don't know the best thing in life (JC) and they are doomed to a meaningless life of sadness if somebody doesn't share HIM with them. The saddest part of everything is the millions of lost soles (yeah. I do know how to spell it correctly) in Wuhan that I see daily and know that I can't help most of them. The hope is that some of them I will be able to help and guide them to HIM who will give them hope of a future :)

So I suppose that is all for now. I'm going to go make a PB&J because it reminds me of home and is soooo tasty.

XOXO

Also. There will probably never be one this long again. whew.