Hello Friends and Family,
Well, we got back into the routine today with teaching at the college. It was good to see all of the students after not teaching for two weeks and they were eager to see pictures from our trip to Sichuan. We took in the computer and showed them some pictures from the trip and they quite enjoyed them. This week we are talking about travel itineraries and they are planning two day tours of Nanning for our 'foreign friends' that might come to visit. So if anyone of you could see us, there will be about 100 different itineraries to choose from. They enjoy it and it gets them talking, it also gives us an idea of what else is in Nanning that we haven't seen yet and might want to explore. Kealy made her increasingly famous potato and egg meal tonight with some onions and mushroom flavor thrown in. Delicious! After dinner we went out in the dark and I got creamed by my wife in two games of PIG! We are trying to exercise and be active and regain our strength from the last two weeks. We are also trying to eat fruit for dessert instead of ice cream, but the ice cream here is really good. The fruit however, is also sweet and delicious. There are some great watermelons from Hainan island, a province in the south China sea and some orange/tangerine that actually has a green peel and looks like a lime.
As we continue readjust to our teaching schedule, we are working everyday on having an openmind and observing the interesting things that have happened to us with a positive attitude. Things are very different here, not bad or good, necessarily, just different and we are working hard at accepting and embracing those differences in hopes of gaining a better understanding/appreciating for the country and culture we are living in. Here are some interesting things we have seen that have made us laugh/gasp/puzzled:
-When standing in line for the Grand Buddha in Sichuan, Kealy felt something on her arm and looked down and the Chinese lady behind her was rubbing her arm and admiring her white skin and freckles!
-In the same line, we turned around and there were a group of Chinese tourists snapping pictures of us like we were celebrities or animals at the zoo and when Kealy was on her own on Huanglong mountain, two different random groups of people asked to get their picture with her. I think it is because she is so beautiful.
-On our long hike down from Emei mountain, we came across a man in just shorts in the freezing cold carrying a huge pile of umixed concrete on his back. He was exhausted and tired and a person next to us told us that he would probably make four or five trips up the 3000 meter mountain a day and make about 2 US dollars a trip. It really put things in perspective for us and whenever we get tired or frustrated, we remind ourselves we could be carrying concrete up EmeiShan.
-Traffic in China is absolutely crazy. The only rule is that no one follows the rules, its about getting in position so the car in front of you has to stop or they will hit you. Crossing the street is the same way and honking is frequent. In addition to this, some drivers, instead of taking a test to earn their license, just pay extra and are giving a license to drive. They chinese call them 'road killers'.
-Finger nail clippers are a common tool for fixing split ends in China and cardboad boxes are used for clipboards at the hospital.
-It is concerned 'bad for you' to eat fruit BEFORE your meal. It is considered a dessert.
-One wonderful thing about the Chinese, is that when you are in trouble or there is a crisis, they will drop everything they are doing to help you and will not rest until you are comfortbale or the issue is resolved.
-There is no concept of a line in China, you just have to get closest to the cashier or bus and get on.
-If you have a friendship with someone in China, than they consider you family. There kids will call you 'uncle' or 'aunt' and you are their 'brother' or 'sister.
We are experiencing so many different and new things each day, we wanted to let you know of some. We have many neighbors that visit us each night; geckos, the occassional, yet frequent, rat on our walks at night and tonight, after basketball, we were swarmed by about ten young boys who kept jumping up as high as they could to see if they could reach my head and so we stopped and played with the ball with them for a while. Lots of great adventures! We love you all and we miss you and we are glad you can share this adventure with us. Talk to you soon.
Sincerely,
Ryan and Kealy Thorson
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