The pros

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Because I've been homesick and genuinely sick again (my head feels like it weighs fifty pounds) I decided to compile a list of things that I like about China to make myself feel better. So here goes (in no particular order):

1) I only work about fifteen hours a week. Awesome.

2) People here don't have large wardrobes and typically wear the same outfits a couple of days in a row. So, it's nice not to worry about whether or not I've worn a shirt twice in one week.

3) Some of the people I have befriended in the program have the same sense of humor as me and get my obscure movie references.

4) Sweetened Condensed Milk IN A SQUEEZE TUBE!

5) My students. Sure, they're little farts, but they are also really funny. Today I wasn't feeling well enough to go over the Halloween song I wanted to teach them, so one boy suggested 'Simon Says'. He started off, but then the students wanted me to be Simon. So, my first command was to stand at attention. They didn't understand so I demonstrated. They all stood at attention, and then, with impish grins on their faces, about half the class saluted, bowed, then sang the Chinese National Anthem. It was hilarious. Imagine that: nine year olds mocking their own militaristic schooling.

6) The metro. It's clean and close by.

7) Shaded sidewalks. Most sidewalks have trees on one side and sometimes both sides. It makes walking everywhere a little more bearable when it's hot outside (which is nearly all the time).

8) Chinglish signs, of which I have posted many pictures. They brighten my day. I have a notebook that says, "Whenever you may go, you cannot success without resolution." So true. So very true, indeed.

9) Cheap bootleg movies. Why go to the theatre and pay 40 to 80 yuan to see a movie once when you can buy it for 10? Sometimes you can get them cheaper, but then you have to deal with the shadier merchants.

10) Learning Chinese. It's really really difficult, so every time I understand someone, or am understood by someone, it feels like a personal victory.

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