yeah, so still in Wuzhou

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Every time I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel it turns out to be a train speeding towards me. I am, of course, talking about my ongoing battle with getting photos uploaded onto my blog. I have won a small victory, the photos are now saved on a computer at the school. The problem that the internet connection at the school is so slow that they will not up load. I can say this with some conviction after 2 hot and frustrating hours of trying. And before you state the obvious, yes I made the files as small as I possibly could without making them look like a magic eye trick. Humph.

School is going well, I am slowly learning peoples names and I think I am learning how to make the lessons a little more interesting. If only just a little. This weekend we have lots of fun excursions planned so I will have plenty to say.

I have eaten 4 kilos of lychees in the last week. I really like lychees and they are soooooo cheap, less than $1 a kilo. Unfortunately after several kilos of fruit, lots of spicy noodles and random animal parts my stomach is beginning to complain.

I had two very interesting encounters with random animal parts this week. On Monday I went to the school canteen for dinner later than normal (and by late I mean 6pm) and the only food left was something I didnt recognise. So, hungry as I was I pointed at it and it was shlept into a bowl for me. After a few minutes of scrutinising, and a tentative taste, I realised that it was segments of animal bowel, probably pig. I didnt manage to eat any more after that. I know we eat intestines all the time in the shape of sausages, but, for some reason, when you take the mince meat and othel and breadcrumbs out of the middle and have just the rubbery rings of intestinal tract, it seems a lot less appetising.

On saturday night I went out to dinner with Cherry and Yolanda (my chinese friends) and had egg soup. It tasted great until I got to the eggs. I didnt recognise what they were so I asked, and they said "you know, chicken eggs". Hmmm, they didnt look like chicken eggs. They were small and yellowish and rubbery and had red veins all over them. Then I saw a whole clump of them, various sizes, joined together by a purplish piece of tube. And it hit me. They were the undeveloped eggs from inside a dead chicken. A Wuzhou speciality. Out of courtesy and curiosity I at one. It didnt taste like much, just rubbery and kind of powdery. But the idea of it got the better of me and I nearly retched.

Other than that the food has been divine. It is so nice to have people to order for me so I dont have to point and hope.

The other funny thing is teaching all my student to say "G'day, how are ya?" in an "Aussie" accent. They love it. I wish I could record it for you.

Thats about it, I'll write again next week.

Chow

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