spring

happy spring.

after a cranky morning, i set out to find spring and all the fun things that come along with it. i have spent the past few weekends in yangzhong and the last week cooped up in my room, so i was in desparate need of some spring. and alas, it is on its way. there were men playing football on the pitch outside my room at school and this is the first time i have seen football in china, so i passed with them a little bit before i left.

i found some new movies at the dvd shop and then malted milk chocolates and gummy snacks and strawberry yogurt at a new grocery store and a place where i can buy yixing clay cups and mugs(very cool- this is the type of sand pottery that soaks in the essence of whatever is in it... so if you use the same teacup for a year with tea in the cup, you are supposed to be able to use the cup with only hot water and still taste tea for the rest of it's life.

then orange called and wanted to cook with me- so debbie, paul, kynesha, bonna and poli all came over and we made wontons and dumplings. orange and i bought the pork loin, mushrooms, celery, ginger and onion and took them all to this little woman that put them through a mincing maching that blended them all together to make a minced filling. it scared me a bit because it is just a big machine that sits outside and has minced meat in it all day. and i know no one uses soap. i know i sound like a snob, but i have a weird thing about not washing hands or utensils or anything after they have touched meat... not in china.... but regardless, i am still alive. so we all learned how to fold them and wrapped and filled them... very fun. we had fried, steamed and boiled dumplings and wontons and it was a good time.

i am working on a map of my town. essential to some of the explanations.

good night.


*pitch= field
*football= soccer
*mince=any sort of ground meat product, in our case ground pork