So, this is Easter.

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Easter Sunday, yes, yes, it's Easter. This morning I had a pretty nice time reflecting on Easter, reading, and had a nice conversation; however, the rest of the day was, well, less than desirable (some of it was quite nice).

I went to lunch with Ms. Jenny (Australian lady who also teaches at my unversity), Ben (British guy who also teaches at my university), and Ms. Jenny's friend Joy (Australian). We went to a really nice restaurant, and the food was really good! I ate some kind of strange bug thing that made me feel adventurous and not so bad about eating western foods like salmon and cake. I always enjoy spending time with Ms. Jenny and Ben so that was nice, but they're still not the same as my old friends--it's like there is this gap, you know? We can only talk about so much before we hit this wall, because our lives are so very different. I hope to get to know both of them better, because, hey, we all have our humanity in common.

On days like this I long for my old gang and the wonderful fellowship we had. There is really no one here who I can just be myself with, who I fully trust, who I can just sit down with and talk all day about the only really important thing in this life. I guess I didn't realize it as much until I saw an Australian guy with a 'He's my Homeboy' shirt on tonight. My heart jumped (not in that love kind of way...in that excited, oh, oh, I've been asking to meet someone who knows Him kind of way), and I know he saw the excitement on my face. I heard Ms. Joy say something about his shirt and I ran up to him and said, "Hey, hey, are you a...?" He definitely laughed and said no...gosh...yeah. Later I found out that he nominally ascribes to Cath., but....yeah, not the same.

So, tonight I went to this Bar-B-Que that I was kind of dragged to (well, I didn't have the nerve to run away from) at Ms. Joy's house. This is where I met the Australian guy. I also met a lot of other foreigners, even 2 Americans. I must say that I didn't really like one of the Americans that I met, because she wasn't very friendly at all. The other American was ok to talk to but only for so long. He really reminds me of one of my childhood friends. They sat around talking about getting drunk and going to clubs, and I felt pretty darn bored and awkward. I can totally understand having a beer or glass of wine at dinner but getting drunk (every night)?? There were a couple of Chinese girls there, and I pretty much spent the whole time talking to them. In many ways I like Chinese people much more than I like Western people--in many ways I don't, though...I guess we all have our goods and bads. I like Ms. Jenny and Ben, but it's hard for me to talk with other Westerner's.

Oh, yeah, everyone always asks me what I eat on a daily basis and what strange things I've eaten here...so:
---Strange things---
Pig's Blood
Pig's Stomach
A fried bug
frog (though that's not too strange)
Pink milk tea with black glutonous balls in the bottom

---Daily Basis---
Fruit (strawberries, oranges, pineapple)
cabbage
eggplant (everyday, yum!)
tomatoes
Egg
Canteen food (not so sure what's in it)

I eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables here, because they're so expensive at home. I want to make the most of the amazing fresh produce prices while I'm here.

So, yeah, life is good, but I long for some other family memebers to come along.

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