Today I got excited about it being 37 degrees here in Cangzhou, so crazy!! But I did get to wear my Rainbow sandals out today, they've been neglected the last month. It's been a busy week, considering it's only Wednesday. Monday we celebrated Edwina's birthday, had awesome pizza for lunch then a little gathering and cake at theirs that night. Its always nice to hangout with the TA's outside of school.
About 2 months ago Edwina & Alistair met this guy, Terry, at the passport office here in Cangzhou. He's a Brit, who moved to Australia and is now working in China for a bit. He's stuck in this little (little by China's standards) suburb of Cangzhou called Nanpi. He's invited us all to visit him in Nanpi, where he is bored out of his mind because....well the suburbs of Cangzhou are even more boring than Cangzhou. Edwina, Alistair and Abigael went out to visit him a few weeks about but I didn't go. So we decided to make another visit to see Terry. I had heard about the super slow, crap bus that takes us out there...and yeah it is slow! But that might be because it keeps being filled with people, it seems that no matter where I go in China I manage to feel like a sardine in a can. We heard about a bus crash in Beijing that killed a bunch of kids on board and it reported that the bus was about 50 over capacity. The Chinese seem to think that capacity regulations are negotiable, because if there is a spot to sit, stand, squat or lay down they will keep cramming people into or onto something. But anywhoo, back to the bus ride. It took us an hour to drive, and it wasn't all that bad, well it could have been worse. Minimal staring occurred, there was some squealing about us getting on the bus when we first arrived, one of the works was very excited about having foreigners on the bus. When we got to Nanpi, which was coated in more smog than Cangzhou (if you can believe it) we went right to Terry's hotel and met his wife and just hung out for a bit. It was so great to be with other westerners!! He had been in Australia for a bit and since his wife came over she brought some fun western stuff. They got us each one of those little koalas that's hands clasp. We were so excited about them haha. We had tea at a wonderful tea house, and just talked for hours in English!! And normal English, with big words at a natural tempo, not the stop and go snail like talking we have to do at work, or even sometimes with the TA's and Shishi. It was vocal & auditory heaven!! We've all commented that our speaking skills have gone down hill since arriving, so being around other westerners was refreshing. Terry and Carol, his wife, are wonderful company as well, we all got on great! Edwina commented on the way home that we are all very similar with similar humors and everything so we can talk and have fun without worrying about offending or excluding someone. Being around them though was like being around my parents which was very nice. After tea and more lounging in the hotel room we had a wonderful dinner at the near by hot-pot. It was fantastic!! And I even got decent Chinese beer...didn't think they existed, but Snow does and it is ok. After dinner we just had a nice time in the hotel room chatting, drinking (he had Jim Bean..normal western alcohol haha) and havin' a good time! During the 30 min taxi ride back, we couldn't stop talking about how nice of a day it was! And whats better is that Terry is coming to Cangzhou on Sunday to spend Christmas with us. Carol went back to the Sunshine Coast of Australia and so we invited him to our lovely smog-ridden town, but it beats Christmas in a hotel.
We've been planning Christmas at school for a bit, lots activities and games to plan. And then we are having dinner and a movie night with just us westerners so that will be nice.
With the holidays coming up it's got me thinking where I was a year ago. I was had finished up finals and was getting ready to go to Prague. I was so excited and had an idea of what i wanted to do but still wasn't sure where i'd be spending my holidays in a year, and I never imagined that I'd be spending them in China of all places. I finished my last final at CSULB on December 19, 2012 and exactly a year later I was sitting in China, so amazing! 3 months ago I was terrified about coming here, having crying fits every 2 seconds...well when I wasn't embarrassing myself by doing my "I'm going to China dance" haha. Now realizing that I am leaving in less than 2 months is sort of sad for me. There are plenty of things that I wont miss here, but it does grow on you. I am really glad that I came. Europe was fun and beautiful and western, but it wasn't really a growing experience. Now China, this is a wonderful growing experience! It's not as impacting of an experience as Ecuador but it is teaching me and making me learn new things about the world and people. It is just such a different way of...not just life, but everything here. Just Monday, I saw 2 grown man peeing on the side of the road, a man singing like crazy as he walked down the street, a baby's bare bottom and nearly got killed by the crazy drivers...nothing like it in the world haha.
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