Becoming Ashes

Hey. I realize I don't write in the blog as much as I used to. I'm just feeling a bit negative these days. I'd rather have happy things to write about. Last Saturday I did absolutely nothing. Talk about a bump on a log. The internet was down all weekend so I didn't even have that. It's depressing to even think about! I guess I didn't realize how much time I spent online til I didn't have it anymore. I didn't go out til later that night when we all went out bowling. We've declared Saturday night as bowling night. It's always a good time.

Sunday I hung out with 2 of my students, their friend, and their art teacher. We went to Chikan (another district of Zhanjiang). It was gorgeous and peaceful! And there were flowers everywhere. Inside the park was a small zoo, which was pretty depressing. Sad looking, malnourished animals in cement cages. The zoo included pheasants, horses, and a turkey too! I wanted to take the turkey home with me so I could have something familiar for Thanksgiving, but I don't think the zoo would have appreciated that. The horses were the worst sight ever. Almost made me cry. I had to just move on. We stayed for the little animal show. They had two little "happy" dogs do some tricks, and a fierce (not really) German Shepherd --reminded me of Rudy. It's crazy cuz they think big dogs are so ugly. I guess that's why they eat them. RUDY!!! They also had a black bear do some tricks, a poor little monkey and a tiger. The show would've been cute if the jerk-of-a-trainer would've quit abusing the poor animals. I wanted to whip him! So much for the zoo. But we managed to enjoy ourselves despite the cruelty we saw. Even my students were disgusted. Our next stop along the trails of the park was a roller skating rink. Who knew I'd be skating in China! I spent most of the time helping one girl from falling. Not too great with ballance, that one. I kinda used her as an excuse to get away from these creepy guys with no shirts on who wanted to hold my hand and skate with me. "I have to help my friend!" It was an outdoor rink, so the sun was beating down and we were all drenched in sweat. It was pretty gross actually. But again, we managed to have a good time.

So the park was great. Better than the parks here in Xiashan (our district), in my opinion. After the park we had lunch at a "western" restaraunt, which wasn't western at all, they just called it that cuz they serve steaks there and have pictures of white people on their menus. So we all had steak. But this was not steak. It was the worst excuse for steak I've ever seen. Myron, you would be so horrified! I don't even know how to describe it without triggering gag reflexes. But of course, my students are treating me to this food and it's not cheap for Chinese standards. I had to eat it. It made me think of how in the States we probably butcher Chinese food til it's not so Chinese anymore; they do the same thing to Western food. It's sad. And I still have that taco craving... it's evolving to an enchilada craving, or a straight up Mexican food craving!

Tonight I went out for dinner with some of the Chinese English teachers again. They are a lot of fun. The food was relatively normal, and very tastey. Mrs. Liew talked all night about her daughter studying heart-transplant in Canada. I think she's a tad proud, but with good reason.

I haven't gotten much sleep the past few nights. I don't know what the deal is. It could be a combination of having a hard-as-a-rock bed, stressed out, and a brain that just wont give me a rest (constantly thinking about a thousand things at once, and can't focus on just one thing). Hopefully tonight will be different.

Goooooood Night.