Welcome!
(a note for first-time readers)

This blog chronicles my year spent teaching English at the Tibetan College of Shijiazhuang, Hebei, People's Republic of China. That's pretty self-explanatory, right? Well, just in case it's not, I'll go into a bit more detail... My senior year of college was winding to a close and I'd neglected to do anything in the way of preparing for admissions to a graduate program. Oops! I needed something to do with myself because I most certainly would've gone crazy living at home with my family. During my Contemporary Chinese Society class, we had a brief presentation about Drake's CCEP.And that's how I got tricked into going to China...er, that's how I learned about a Chinese Cultural Exchange Program. I could teach for a year in China, I would be reimbursed for my round-trip airfare, and I'd receive a monthly salary. It seemed to be a better alternative than living in my parent's house, so I signed up. So if you're remotely interested in reading further about my year of hijinks, exploits, and occasional fabulous (mis)adventures, I suggest you start at the beginning of the blog, which dates back to August of 2006.

Welcome Back!
(a note for returning visitors)

Well, it's been fun, and the blog is 97% finished . I'm finally settled back into life in the US. I have two jobs, each interesting in their own right. I found the pounds I lost in China. I'm earning more than $350 USD a month, although it doesn't seem to go nearly as far as my salary did in China. I could continue the blog by dishing out all the latest work gossip and relaying all the ridiculous things my coworkers do... But since all my colleagues are now English-speakers, I run a much higher risk of them finding out. Alas, the writing of my blog is 'fini.' The pictures are a different story. My battered white iBook, replete with daisy and unicorn stickers, is stuck in the repair shop. So, as soon as my new hard drive is installed, I shall add a multitude of photos to further embellish my already fantabulous posts. For now, just click on the My Photos link for your viewing pleasure. With all the writing taken care of, and the photos well on their way, it seems that I'm out of things to do...

And with that, I bid you goodnight.

Final Thoughts:
An Interview With the Author
aka I have nothing to do at work, so I'm interviewing myself

Interviewer: We're all dying to know, was it worth it?!
HDubs: Absolutely. While there were a few rough times, and numerous frustrations with Chinese bureaucracy, my year in China was completely worthwhile. After all, I gained experiences that most people will never have. And the fried rice is delish.

I: Interesting! They say hindsight is 20/20; would you have done anything differently?
HDubs: Well I really love hindsight, especially because my current vision is something like 20/40...More to the point, I would've brought toilet paper. Showing up to a TP-less apartment in the Shizz after 24+ hours of traveling was a real dilemma. Also, I wouldn't have brought those extra 10 pairs of shoes. Aaaand I should've done a better job teaching in the early mornings...and the afternoons.

I:Wow! Now, what I've really been wondering is what was your best experience in China?
HDubs: Leaving it. I was lucky enough to go on vacation outside of the country a few times, and the travel that ensued was always amazing. Seriously though? Breaking out of my little American bubble was priceless. There's nothing like traveling abroad to give you a wider perspective of your home country. The food was good too.

I: Such excellent insight! How about your worst experience in China?
HDubs: The train stations. I would gladly never ever return to a Chinese train station ever again. Unless I really wanted to be pushed, shoved, ogled and glared at, all at once.

I: Hmm, sounds daunting! On the brighter side, what was your favorite thing in China?
HDubs: My supportive co-workers... Just kidding! The food was amazing. My students were great and I learned so much about China from them that I never could have learned otherwise. I also really liked my 4 hour work days... and the fried rice.

I: Sounds great! What phenomena did you dislike?
HDubs: Well, dislike is a real understatement here, so I'll stick with 'abhor.' By and large, the Chinese people have no respect for the concept of a 'line,' or as some would say, a 'queue.' I've been cut in front of more times than I've had a Chinese taxi driver give me a puzzled look, and that's a lot! Seriously, the Chinese only stand in line for the ATM. Other than that, there are always, ALWAYS, people cutting in front of each other or even blatantly shoving each other out of the way. Getting to the front of the line at McDonald's was always a hard-won accomplishment.

I: Well, that must've been a bit frustrating.
HDubs: Shut up. Frustrating doesn't even begin to cover it.

I: All righty! If you could change anything about China, what would it be?
HDubs: Nothing. Kidding again!! While I really like staring directly at the sun, their air pollution is a bit excessive. And then there's the spitting. Well, it's really more than spitting. It's more like they attempt to hock their diaphragm out, rather than the gumball-sized wad of yellow phlegm that they actually produce.

I: Yum! The 2008 Olympics Games will be held in Beijing, will you return for them?
HDubs: Negatory. I do not plan on returning to China anytime in the next 5 years. Moreover, I'd much rather pull all of my hair out by the roots than be in China, especially Beijing, during the Olympics. However, I can hardly contain my glee in anticipation for watching the world news coverage of the Games. It will be quite interesting to see the world's reaction when faced with traveling and living in China... and of course all the insanity that ensues.

I: Well it looks like we're almost out of time, any last words?
HDubs: No. Wait... Thanks for reading :)

I'm baaaack!

For those of you who didn't know, I safely made it back to Kansas. Woohoo!! I've been dividing my time between eating, sleeping, and avoiding things like working on my blog and studying. However, I did manage to pull it together (albeit for a short time) and bear through the GRE's. I've also managed to find those 7ish pounds I lost in China. I've spent the last couple weeks getting used to my new jobs and living at home (eeek!). While it's taken nearly a month, my "Journey Home" post is finally up so that you can all read about the horror of my return trip, from the comfort of your ergonomic computer chairs. I've made a vow to myself, which can always be recanted, to finish up the blog by mid-September. I'll be adding a couple more posts and a lot more pictures...so stay tuned.

My Journey to Purgatory
aka My Trip Back to the States
aka I Hate Air China With Every Fibre of My Being
(WARNING: Long Post!!)

July 30, 2007: The time had come for me to return to 'the States,' an event that I'd been looking forward to with oh so much anticipation. I'd battled with my school and won myself a one-way ticket back to Kansas City. I deserved that ticket too - I'd made it through just under 12 months of ridiculousness in China. Yes, ridiculousness is the best word to describe my experiences as a whole. I'll do my best to describe the ensuing journey to the best of my ability, all the while employing my cunning mastery of English (sans my usually impeccable grammar) and appropriately sardonic wit.

'Early' that morning...

10:00 AM Wake-up for a delicious complimentary breakfast in Beijing's Crown Royal Hotel.
10:30 AM Putter about. Think of things we can take from the hotel room, without incurring a bill.
12:00 PM Make our way down to the lobby, with the help of several bellhops. I really like bellhops; they come in handy when you have four 50 pound bags (23 Kg) for just one, small, fabulous person...like me. The entire hobbit family hops into an over-sized van that can hardly hold 6 people and 9 large bags, plus countless carry-ons, and we're on our way to make 4 and 4:30pm flights. If all goes well, I should be home by midnight on the morning of July 31.

The 7th Circle

1:00 PM Arrive at Beijing's Capital Airport...the 7th circle of Purgatory. Somehow we manage to get all of our 9 suitcases/duffels through the main entrance. We alternate keeping an eye on the luggage, as there always seems to be thieves about in China, with squinting at the scoreboard to find our gate. Then we scramble for pens so that we can fill out one of many rounds of paperwork, just to get through to the check-in counters. I part ways with the rest of the fam, as I'm flying all by my lonesome on China Air and those gluttons will be on United, flying business class.
1:45 PM Everyone is checked in, as well as our over 400 pounds of luggage. Yes, we Dubinsky's really like our luggage. Oh, I almost forgot! My 4pm flight has been delayed until 7, and I don't have a gate an assignment.
3:00 PM We've managed to fill out several additional sheets of paperwork, make it through customs and security, and arrive in the International Departures Terminal. What do we have to show for it? A lousy Chinese stamp... After living in China a year, the last thing I want is another stamp. I still don't have a gate.
3:05 PM My father politely informs me that we only have 4 United Business-Class Lounge passes and I'll be waiting outside on the bench. Emily is kind enough to offer to bring back several refreshments so we can have an impromptu picnic on the bench outside the Special People Lounge. I feel like a stalker while I'm sat waiting for her to come back.

Abandoned.

3:50 PM Time to take 10 minutes and walk with my family to their gate. We arrive to find out their gate has been changed to one right across from the business lounge. Coincidentally, all those moving walkways we rushed across to get there are one-way only. Still no gate.
4:00 PM The sky has turned a dark grey-blue and bolts of lightning are filling the sky, accompanied by strong winds and, like, lots of rain. Their flight is delayed indefinitely.
5:00 PM Turns out indefinitely only meant an hour. My family boards the plane. I sit around waiting for their plane to take off, just to make sure they depart okay.
6:15 PM Their plane finally takes off. Good thing I had 'People' to keep me company. I mosey over to the Departures board. It appears I still have a flight at 7pm, but I mysteriously have no gate. My boarding pass has "19?" written in the Gate section, which is less than promising but I have nothing else to do.

What now?

6:16-8:30 PM I manage to scrape together a meal at Starbucks and spend a few hours dividing my time between reading a crappy mystery novel, finishing a Frappuccino, and carelessly abandoning my belongings while briskly walking to check the Departures board.
9:00 PM I hear a rumor that our flight will be leaving from Gate 10 and rush over there to find 98% of the seats filled with fellow passengers of my CA985 flight. I manage to find a seat amid the groups of Chinese who are taking turns sleeping and watching luggage. Air China hands out really scary looking Chinese food for dinner, as though this will alleviate the pain-in-the-assness of our delay. People have begun to gather around the podium to try and find out what's going on. All questions are met with a stern "We are not sure what is happening."
9:30 PM The flight is canceled due to 'weather conditions.' This would be believable, except I can see several flights taking off outside on the runway. Some passengers request that Air China take us to a hotel until another flight can be arranged. The answer is "No," which is unsurprising to say the least. I meet Frida, a Chinese woman who lives in the US, and Debbie, her 8 yr old daughter.

Panda-monium!!

10:00 PM The group around the podium keeps growing larger and people begin shouting.
10:30 PM The shouting continues as one very disgruntled Chinese man starts shouting in broken-English about a petition.
10:40 PM The shouting dies down slightly as Air China personnel hand out packs of cookies and 5 minute phone cards. 5 whole minutes!!
11:00 PM The Broken-English shouter says something unintelligible. Frida lets me know that we have the option to go crash the United Business-Class Lounge. Finally, I get to see what the other side lives like.
11:10 PM Unfortunately, most of my fellow passengers stay in the waiting area and only the shouters, whiners, and complainers follow into the lounge. I quickly throw my things down next to Frida while Debbie and I go scavenge around for food and beverage. Success- I found some peanuts and a Watson's Ginger Ale.
11:15 PM-12:15 AM I frantically try to download Skype, which after 30 minutes of monitor-staring doesn't end up working. The complainers continue to whine to Air China personnel about their need to fly out IMMEDIATELY, due to a number of fictitious health problems. Airport personnel doesn't card. Airport Security is brought in and the noise-level increases noticeably. Debbie is simultaneously translating for me because, of course, none of the personnel present speak English. Debbie excitedly tells me "things are heating up!"and people are threatening to sue. She then promptly goes to fall asleep next to Frida and I am left without a translator.

Why are you still here?

2:00 AM I've been finishing my mystery novel (the doctor did it) and am suddenly approached by an Air China employee who asks what flight I was on and then asks "Do you know about the hotel?" I ask her to explain and she tells me that there is a bus to take all CA985 passengers to a hotel, as we are not allowed to spend the night in the airport. We asked about a hotel at 8pm, and finally get a green-light at 2am. She tells me she has no idea when another flight home will be arranged for us and the hotel is "very nearby."
2:15 AM Since Debbie refuses to wake up and walk, I offer to help out Frida with her luggage. That's how I somehow ended up walking back through Chinese customs with a luggage cart that just happened to have a sleeping 8yr old on it. My lousy blue "Exit" stamp is replaced with a bright red "Canceled" stamp and we all get on board a bus to head to the hotel. The bus smells like really dirty armpits.
3:00 AM We arrive at the "very nearby" hotel, I'm abandoned by Frida and Debbie, and eventually shown to a "very nice" room on the 2nd floor. I shower away the last 14 hours of airport time and crawl into bed, not knowing when, or if, I will be leaving this g-dless country. Dave calls again to make sure I still have my wits about me and wishes me good luck and sweet dreams.
5:00 AM My family finally lands in Chicago and Emily calls to check in on me. They seem surprised that I'm still stuck in China. I, however, knew that I would never get away that easily.

Get off at 8.

7:30 AM After a few hours hours of restless sleep, I'm awakened by a telephone call from a disgruntled Chinese woman telling me "You, get off at 8." When asked to clarify this cryptic statement, she hangs up on me. Luckily, thanks to my months of experience with the art of Chinese conversation, as well as English-Chinese conversation, I interpret this as "Please be downstairs by 8am to board the bus to the Beijing Airport."
8:00 AM I run into Debbie and Frida again, and somehow manage to end up carrying some of their luggage, again. The still-smelly bus pulls away and rambles towards the 7th circle of hell...aka Beijing's Capital Airport.
9:00 AM We arrive at PEK to find out that we have a flight scheduled for "around 11am." I then fill out more tiny slips of paper again, and go through the entire check-in process, again. With some twist of fate, I'm able to get my connecting flights in the US, that I missed yesterday, rescheduled to more feasible times in the immediate future. This small accomplishment leaves me feeling as though Rome was actually built in a day, by yours truly.
10:00 AM We arrive at our designated gate, which just happens to be the crappiest one in the whole airport, and note that we have a scheduled departure time of 11:30am. Everything seems to be on the 'up and up' and I inform Emily of such when she calls again to check in on me. Frida and I take turns watching the luggage as Debbie occupies herself by sliding down stair railings. More waiting ensues.
12:00PM After an hour of glaring at the departure screen, I finally get onto a bus that will supposedly take me to the newly dubbed CA985-A. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the bus actually took me back to the Shizz and I was conscripted into teaching for another term. To my shock, there's actually a plane waiting for us and I'm able to finagle my way into a window seat. So,just 20 hours later, I'm strapped into my tiny Economy chair and ready to fly back to sanity.

Seriously? Seriously.

3:45 PM We've been sitting in the plane, in the same spot on the tarmac, for just under 4 hours. For some reason, Air China thought this wouldn't be a problem as long as they served us lunch after the first 2 hours of stand still. A large, and or course obnoxious, American is walking up and down the aisles attempting to inspire a mutiny. He's threatening to walk off the plane if the so-called "mechanical problems" aren't resolved within the next half an hour. We have been delayed, cancelled, and then delayed again, for nearly 24 hours... He has a good point.
4:30 PM Air China has apparently received the necessary go-ahead for departure, and by go-ahead I mean stamps. China runs on stamps. My fellow passengers begin to applaud as the plane finally begins to taxi towards the runway. I inwardly scream "Why are you clapping when we're taking off a day late?!"
5:30 PM Our plane actually lifts off the ground and my heart nearly explodes from the joyous thought of escape. I take a much-deserved Ambien and drift off to sleep with a half-grin on my face.

And then.

July 31, 1:00 PM I finally arrive in the US, via sunny San Francisco. Praise g-d. All those connecting flights I was lucky enough to get rescheduled? Missed. I've now rescheduled and missed the same set of flights two times. But I have my luggage, and I'm in America; nothing can rain on that parade.
1:30 PM I quickly make my way through customs but somehow don't receive a "Welcome Home!" stamp, or even a simple "Entry" stamp. Oh well. I locate a United ticketing counter and am nearly overwhelmed by how easy it is to communicate with the agent. I forgot how much easier life is in America.
3:50 PM I board my plane and fly off to Denver, but only after a couple trips to See's Candies and reading through the latest trashy magazines. Our plane arrives and I rush off, as much as one can rush off a plane, to make my connection. I frantically scramble towards a Departures Board and pull on my super-cool glasses just in time to see my 9:30pm flight has been delayed til 11:15pm. Oh well, it's only an hour and 45 minutes! For the next couple hours I pass the time by racking up internet charges on my father's phone and try not to glare too obviously at the people who are complaining about an 105 minute delay. It's not an easy task.

Woohoo!!

August 1 2007, 1:20 AM 11 months, 3 weeks and 3 days later, I'm home. Finally.

Thailand... the Third Visit

In the past year I've been lucky enough to visit Thailand three times. No I'm not a trafficker of anything other than souvenirs. But the odds were in my favor and I was lucky enough to have just enough money and a few travelling companions willing to wander southeast Asia with me. This time, as you may have guessed, it was my very own hobbit family. Destination? Operation Koh Samui. Our trip began with a seemingly long series of flights, connections and customs inspections. I've been told they lasted under 12 hours, but I'm rather certain it was an eternity.

We made it to our beach-side resort around 10 pm local time and were shown to a beautiful bungalow. We spent the next 5 days dividing our time between the beach, restaurants, shopping, and mostly watching on-demand movies. We would've spent more time in the pool, providing the resort hadn't photo-shopped it into an olympic size, when in reality it was more like a 'let's sink our portable above-ground pool into the backyard' kind of a deal. All in all, we had a lovely time when we weren't bickering or sulking from sunburn (which didn't happen much because we were too busy eating and drinking...and enjoying the island!).

After Koh Samui, we went for a day and night in Bangkok. We stayed at an absolutely gorgeous Holiday Inn on Silom Road, which left me wondering: Why can't they be that nice in the U.S.? I successfully maneuvered myself (and family) through the Skytrain (thanks to Dave navigating us through it on my 2nd trip), but did make the mistake of purchasing Passion Fruit and Beet Juice. Never again. We made it the Central World Mall with just enough time to purchase popcorn and A & W rootbeer before sitting down to watch Harry Potter 5. Despite a sense of urgency to purchase tickets, the theater was 98% empty. The hilarious Thai previews alone, full of cross-dressing and innuendo, were worth the 160 Baht. The movie itself was magical enough and yet again reminded me that I'm still just a Squib.

We went back to China the next day. The end. Goodbye.

Hi. I'm stuck in China. It's official. I arrived at the Beijing Capital Airport over 10 hours ago and still haven't left. There are no English-speaking airline officials present, so all announcements are being translated to me by Debbie, an 8 year-old Chinese-American. My future is uncertain. I don't have a change of clothes, but I have a toothbrush. Stay tuned as events unfold!

Oh, John!

As some of you may, or may not, have noticed, the blog has been on a bit of a hiatus. Why? Because I've had better things to do. So, as I sit here in the Watermelon Shake that was spilled on me at dinner, I shall recount my most recent endeavors in a prose befitting only the most accomplished and worthy readers...(where did that come from?!)

I finished up my teaching gig at the Tibetan College on July 6th, after a week full of rather amusing oral exams. I then did an absolutely terrible job of packing the ridiculous amount of things that I've acquired. I still managed to fill a giant suitcase, two duffels and two backpacks, even after combing through everything and discarding a fair amount of junk. On July 7th, I headed to Beijing to meet my bestest friend/baby sister, Emily, at the airport. We spent a week travelling about and taking naps in in Beijing, Shijiazhuang, and Tianjin; quite the adventure! The rest of my hobbit family arrived late on July 16th, as their flight had been delayed nearly 7 hours. However, Emily and I only discovered the flight delay after making the hour long trip to the airport at 2 pm. Needless to say, we learned a lesson about checking flight status before leaving. Since the fam arrived, we've been travelling around quite a bit and I've decided that now (since I'm bored and the internet is available) would be a good time to tell you about our first adventure: Xi'an.

Like many tourists, my family decided to visit the famed Terracotta Soldiers. We were up in the wee hours, around 7, and then binged at the complimentary breakfast buffet at the Shangri-La Golden Flower Hotel. Then, with our bellies full of non-kosher items, we meandered to the first floor to wait for our tour group. That's when we met our guide, John. He had great English, but I guess some things must be learned from inside an English-speaking culture and other things just don't translate. By and far, he was the most entertaining aspect of the tour, which is why I will not describe any part of world-famous Terracotta Army (they were made of clay and there were many of them), but, instead I will only recount the sayings of John.

• We arrived the afternoon before to a Xi'an that was thoroughly covered in a downpour and the rainstorms had followed through the night and into the morning of our tour. Once situated in the tour van, John introduced himself and said "You can tell it's raining today...It's good."
• As our van pulled away from the hotel, John said "For now we're making the first turn, you're going to like this" At this point, we were treated to a view of nearly 20 couples practicing their ballroom dancing moves to techno music, beneath a highway underpass. My family was quite surprised, however this type of thing is quite common here.
• John's description of widely varied Chinese Cuisine: "For lunch, you can try any food you like. Spicy, non-spicy, vegetarian, or not."
• Another description, this time of Chinese fruits: "We have all the fruits. Grape and pomegranate."
• After giving us the day's itinerary, John opened the floor for questions. There were only three families on our tour, from three different countries. My family, the obnoxious Americans, had already asked several ridiculous questions, so the torch was passed to the siblings from England who gave a polite "Nothing yet, thanks." At that point, John asked if there were "any questions from Denmark," as that's were the last family was from. For some reason, the Danes thought it would be absolutely hilarious to ask when it would stop raining, at which point John said "I'm sorry, I'll have to call about that."
• John also took the time to point out fascinating landmarks: "Here we got a river, yes."
• John told us about his travels to the US: "I've been there. I went to Las Vegas. I saw David Copperfield, he shook my hand and made me disappear. You can shake my hand, it will be practically the same things as shaking his.
• John also told us about his fondness for American media: "I like talk shows. Have you seen Friends?" He also elaborated on his favorite movie stars, which of course included Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, and a fellow named "Al Passino."
• John's explanation of China's tourism industry: "Everybody wanna be here."

My, that was a long post! I hope you've managed to wade through it and that a few bits were amusing. For now, I shall head back to my bungalow on Chaweng Beach. The next post may take a while, so in the mean time, I'll need some comments on my blog to serve as motivation (was that subtle enough?)!

Grab Bag Anecdotes

(aka Could life BE any more exciting right now?!)

• For the past few months, I've been continually harassed by pamphleteers on my way to work. I'm not sure that 'pamphleteer' is a word, but I like it. Usually it's a leaflet detailing the amazing new discounts at the nearby Purgatory, which doubles as a Supermarket. However, one business has been quite tenacious in offering their glossy booklets to me, the new neighborhood gym. Yes, I'll admit, my washboard abs wouldn't really be able to wash...anything. But, seriously, I don't want to think about joining a gym at 7:50 in the morning when I'm late to class, or at 4:30 when I'm ready to pull my hair out from a day's worth of repeated grammar corrections. After months of my repeated "No, thank you," the new gym managed to find it's one staff member with adequate English to chase me down on their moped, and then walk along side me for an entire block, whilst still on their vehicle. However, every rain cloud has it's silverish lining. Although I've taken a long time to get to my point, without this determined solicitor, I'm certain that at no point in my life would the following phrase be addressed towards moi:

"Would you like to join our bodybuilding club?"

• Today on my way home from my first day of final exams, which I happen to be giving (not taking), I encountered an unusual sight. It wasn't the normal baby peeing in the middle of KFC or that fancily dressed woman hocking a loogie on the side of the street. It was a fire in a trashcan. Not just any trashcan at that, but a trashcan shaped like a panda, which is hugging a trashcan. Everyone knows how those silly pandas just love their rubbish bins! Back to my point, numerous people were walking by and paying no heed to the acrid smoke, until yours truly pointed it out to the management and the situation was remedied with a basin of toxic tap water. I think there's some deeper meaning to this pand-apathy...

• And lastly, I shall share the best Chinese joke I've yet to hear. I'd like to point out that I've heard this from multiple sources, so it must be somewhat popular.

Person 1: How do you get to work?

Person 2: I take the Number 11 Bus.

Person 1: Hahahaha!!!

• What? You don't understand it, you say? Well, please let me explain. The 'Number 11 Bus' is a clever way to say that you walk to work. The '11' is supposed to be your legs. Yes, it's a real gut-buster!!! Be sure to tell your coworkers around the water cooler....

Short and Not So Sweet

Since I've been bored out of my mind in the past couple weeks, I've taken it upon myself to be a little more adventurous than usual. My venture of choice? Trying new fruits. I've had summer melons, miniature cherries, plums of all colors, and today... a lychee. I've had canned lychee before, and they weren't bad at all, I might even say they were refreshing! However, I can't say the same for the fresh one I ate tonight. Opening a lychee, or 'peeling' per se, is an ordeal in and of itself. Firstly, lychee have a dark red skin, with atexture that I can only describe as alien. Bumpy, yet smooth. Firm, yet yielding. It's weird, in a not-so-good way. Secondly, after peeling back the outside, which is more like a shell than like a traditional peel, the fruit itself is revealed. It's white and opaque, in an unnatural, un-fruity sort of way. It has has the feel of a peeled grape that's been injected with some type of firm gelatin. It's basically what I would imagine extra-terrestrial spawn to look like. Then, I ate it. The taste? Meh. At first it was sweet, like the canned variety. But then, it took on an almost savory taste, as though it had been fertilized with something unspeakable... I shall you leave you with that thought, as I now have a week of exams ahead of me, aka a week of gathering bloggeriffic insight!

What's So Cool About China?

As much as China positively infuriates me at times, such as when I'm at the train station, there are a multitude of phenomenon that make it all worthwhile. For those of you that know me, it will come as no surprise that most of these have to do with food. So, let me count the ways...

• The unbelievable dirt-cheapness of everything.
• The pounds of locally grown fresh fruit that you can buy for little more than a dime on every street corner...Come to think of it, there isn't a street corner here that doesn't sell something.
• The pirated DVDs of nearly every American and English movie and television show imaginable, often for less than a dollar a disc.
• The Korean BBQ's on nearly every corner. There are few things more delicious than spiced lamb kebabs at 3 in the morning after a night of debauchery.
• The MSG. While I avoid this in America, that's just impossible here, as it's used just as much as salt and pepper... And it just turns out to be delicious!
• The designer-impostor version of everything. You too can have your own fake Louis Vuitton purse, Chanel No. 5, and Victoria Beckham jeans for less than 15 dollars. For just another couple of dollars, they might even look like the real thing... Did I mention I'm now in love with Mulberry?
• The Sweet and Sour Chicken that is just like that of Panda Express, but cheaper, and in China.

And my two absolute favorites (for the moment, that is)

• The little ramshackle street 'cafes' centered around 12 foot high piles of watermelon. You can pay by the kilo and they'll crack open a fresh melon for you to eat right then and there. Oh, summer!
• I get to learn about Tibet, from real live Tibetans. That's pretty cool.