This one time... in China

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I went to the market near my apartment today to get eggs and brown sugar.

I think it's pretty hysterical how I get stared at like I'm some kind of being from another planet. People have *literally* stopped while walking and turned to follow me with their heads as I walk past them. My hair is red, my eyes are HUGE, and I'm almost 6 feet tall, Yes... I'm not from around here.

Keep in mind though, the majority of these people have NEVER left their own city let alone China!

Anyway, I brought the eggs back, so hungry, and scrambled them. Oh dear lord... my mouth, my poor poor mouth. These eggs tasted exactly the way I would imagine chicken shit to taste like. WTF? So I cooked oatmeal instead. The brown sugar is made with molasses... a LOT of it. I ate two bites and was DONE...

I'm not losing weight because of all the walking and stairs I do... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo, I'm losing weight because the food here SUCKS!

Ok, it doesn't ALL suck... just what I've cooked. Ooh, that sounds bad. Um... just the eggs I guess. The potstickers have been pretty tolerable. I can only eat one or two at a time though. :-( I'm starving!!!

On another note, I've gotten a few concerned messages from friends who are worried that I just up andd left Dillon. :-) Perk up friends, this is not the case. Dillon is extremely supportive of my decision to be here and is making every effort to stay in contact with me, as I am with him.

Not to fear! I will still have the love of my life when I get home. We are thinking of this as "deployment training".

In other news... I'm feeling much better. Still a little sickish... but shit happens. I'm still getting to work and all, so I'm a-ok.

Also, if any of you want to see where I am working, check out the school's webpage Aston English Aston yuncheng

Of course... I'll be adding more photos in the next few days... assuming I go anywhere :-)

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Comments

[dillon]

It sounds like your the sourse of gossip for the locals, I wonder if the eggs they sold you were the same eggs that they would sell to their neighbor's. Or it could be that they simply are not what your used to. Either way try to find so food you can live off of. I don't want to hug a twig when you get back. And to thoughs that think katrina just up and left me, that just simply is not the case. I just made the unselfish decision that her happiness ment more to me then my happiness. However don't think its all one way either.

[Susan Appel]

food
The forced diet sounds gruesome. Did anyone send you a care package with peanut butter? Can you get decent bread? Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are always good to fall back on. Then there is always plain boiled noodles with butter or olive oil. Can you get those? I can't imagine why eggs would taste bad, maybe it's what the chickens eat. Maybe the eggs are not fresh. It does seem that eggs are a pretty scary gamble in a strange place. But, brown sugar? That's a surprise. How can they mess up brown sugar? Doesn't all brown sugar come from Hawaii? Or do they make it out of something other than sugar cane? Who'd a thunk? Maybe they have decent honey. But, who knows where they get that from? What kind of nectar do Chinese bees eat? Worth some investigation maybe. Hang in there.

[mom]

rice
You can't subsist on air, hon. Although I do, absolutely do, remember the taste of the eggs. It's fish meal. The chickens are fed fish meal because the Chinese have no grains. It's one of the the reasons that I left China - The chickens and the eggs are bad tasting and they have no grains. Try eating the soup from their noodle soup. Also, the rice with chicken and vegetables. (Yangshou chao fan) The potstickers are probably too doughy for you. Also, try to drink some fresh squeezed juices. If you can, look for any type of legumes at the store; beans, lentils, garbanzos... they will help you keep your protein levels up. You need to make sure that you are getting the food groups and in sufficient quantitites. Isn't there a McDonald's there??? Yikes, there is just not a lot that you can eat, is there? No wonder they are all so small. And what do you mean, your hair is red????

[dad]

coffee
is there a starbucks in that city?

[Erin]

Cookies?
So what you're really trying to say is you could probably make an awesome batch of cookies? At least they'd be good for a prank. Anyone you'd like to surprise with a mouthful of chocolate chicken shit chip cookies? lol