Last night I at pig's huff. Fantastic! Aside from the huff, I've also eaten such exotic items as:
A variety of intestines, chicken, pig, cow, and I think goat.
A variety of stomach linings, mostly pig and cow.
Eel.
Pig's ear
Pig's brain (My host mother says "Pig's head is good for your head!")
Fish eyeballs
Pickled chicken foot
Duck foot (very different from chicken foot, due to the webbing between the toes)
The root of a lotus plant
Pickled duck egg
Tofu that smelt (and tasted, i think) like gym socks
I am pretty sure I haven't eaten dog yet, although I can't be certain. It's quite popular around Guizhou, I've heard.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
A walking tour of Xingyi
My mum always said that running is the best way to discover the ins and outs of a new area, and I whole-heartedly believe her. There is something about foot traffic, pedestrian pursuits, that allows you to gain a fuller expereience of an area. For starters, I suppose, you are not in the bubbled, enclosed, airconditioned atmosphere of a four-whevehicle. Secondly, you're moving at your pace, slowing when you want to see something, and speeding up when you want to escape the fumes of a street vendor's wares. Lastly, when you run, or in my case briskly walk, you can go pretty much anywhere. Humans are built for long walks, and the world around us is built to be walked upon.
I have been exploring Xingyi mostly by foot, for the idealic reasons above as well as the practical reasons enforced by the PC and the environment. I can't ride my bicycle until I recieve my PC issued helmet, I can't ride a motorcycle at all due to PC safety standards, and I can't communicate with taxi cab drivers well enough to get anywhere in a decent amount of time and for a decent amount of money. Long story short, walking is a great last resort.
A few days ago I grabbed my camera, my money, and my aviators as I headed out for a walk. The skies were semi blue, and I hoped to get up to a park in the middle of the city that would afford some good views of the surrounding area. Xingyi has a few parks, and this one is by far may favorite. Its a limestone peak, not a mountain and not a hill, in the middle of the city. Its rather developed, with terraces, wide staircases, two pagodas, something that looks like an abandoned temple, and small grove of statues commemorating (I think) influential Chinese individuals. The photo to the right shows some of those statues, with the nicer of the two pagodas in the background, and a lollipop salesperson in the foreground.
The pagoda was really neat, to use a worn colloquialism. Its three stories tall, with a steep spiral staircase acting as its spine. Every inch that isn't covered in terra cotta tiles is decorated in vivid geometric hand painted designs. Very cool. Furthermore, the pagoda reaches up over the treetops are offers a five view of parts of the city. The pictures below show the view and the designs, respectively.
I have been exploring Xingyi mostly by foot, for the idealic reasons above as well as the practical reasons enforced by the PC and the environment. I can't ride my bicycle until I recieve my PC issued helmet, I can't ride a motorcycle at all due to PC safety standards, and I can't communicate with taxi cab drivers well enough to get anywhere in a decent amount of time and for a decent amount of money. Long story short, walking is a great last resort.
A few days ago I grabbed my camera, my money, and my aviators as I headed out for a walk. The skies were semi blue, and I hoped to get up to a park in the middle of the city that would afford some good views of the surrounding area. Xingyi has a few parks, and this one is by far may favorite. Its a limestone peak, not a mountain and not a hill, in the middle of the city. Its rather developed, with terraces, wide staircases, two pagodas, something that looks like an abandoned temple, and small grove of statues commemorating (I think) influential Chinese individuals. The photo to the right shows some of those statues, with the nicer of the two pagodas in the background, and a lollipop salesperson in the foreground.
The pagoda was really neat, to use a worn colloquialism. Its three stories tall, with a steep spiral staircase acting as its spine. Every inch that isn't covered in terra cotta tiles is decorated in vivid geometric hand painted designs. Very cool. Furthermore, the pagoda reaches up over the treetops are offers a five view of parts of the city. The pictures below show the view and the designs, respectively.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Basketball and hot pot
No classes today, so the morning was little lazy. Here's an adventure from the evening:
At four, after my nice, long, daily nap (they are mandatory), I woke up and donned my basketball gear. I'm getting pretty good, and the sport has more or less eclipsed running for me here. The streets are HECTIC and the pavement is a little slippery, so running is extra adventurous. Anyways, I went down to the courts, shot around, and waited for the usual "Holy-crap-there's-a-foreigner-playing-basketball-lets-go-watch-and-play-too" crowd to show up. We got some good three on three going, it was a good few games. I'm not that great at the sport; I make dumb passing mistakes, my shooting is a little off, and my ball handling is akin to that of an enthusiastic but uncoordinated child. BUT, I am large, tall, and rowdy, so my lay-ups looking more like bowling then they do basketball, and my usual position is directly under the net, hands skyward, catching any rebound God sends my way. These tactics have delivered limited to adequate success.
Anyways, after the games I showered up, and headed out to get me some food. I was planning on going it alone; the site mate was elsewhere and I had no other plans. Some of my students/basketball team mates grabbed me, though, and took me out to bean hot-pot (delicious) and took me for a walk (relaxing). I love China.
Thats all for now. More... later.
Played that for a while, went back to the flat, showered, and headed out to get some food alone. One of my students/team mates saw me, and we managed to communicate the idea of "dinner" through our mutually broken chingrish (chinese english, I'm not sure where the "r" come from). We met up with about 7 others, all of which were extremely delighted to meet and speak with a foreigner. Right now, there is only about three of us in the entire city. Got to restaurant, they took to long, so we straight bailed, walked right out, and got to another spot that served a local delicacy, Bean Hot Pot.
At four, after my nice, long, daily nap (they are mandatory), I woke up and donned my basketball gear. I'm getting pretty good, and the sport has more or less eclipsed running for me here. The streets are HECTIC and the pavement is a little slippery, so running is extra adventurous. Anyways, I went down to the courts, shot around, and waited for the usual "Holy-crap-there's-a-foreigner-playing-basketball-lets-go-watch-and-play-too" crowd to show up. We got some good three on three going, it was a good few games. I'm not that great at the sport; I make dumb passing mistakes, my shooting is a little off, and my ball handling is akin to that of an enthusiastic but uncoordinated child. BUT, I am large, tall, and rowdy, so my lay-ups looking more like bowling then they do basketball, and my usual position is directly under the net, hands skyward, catching any rebound God sends my way. These tactics have delivered limited to adequate success.
Anyways, after the games I showered up, and headed out to get me some food. I was planning on going it alone; the site mate was elsewhere and I had no other plans. Some of my students/basketball team mates grabbed me, though, and took me out to bean hot-pot (delicious) and took me for a walk (relaxing). I love China.
Thats all for now. More... later.
Played that for a while, went back to the flat, showered, and headed out to get some food alone. One of my students/team mates saw me, and we managed to communicate the idea of "dinner" through our mutually broken chingrish (chinese english, I'm not sure where the "r" come from). We met up with about 7 others, all of which were extremely delighted to meet and speak with a foreigner. Right now, there is only about three of us in the entire city. Got to restaurant, they took to long, so we straight bailed, walked right out, and got to another spot that served a local delicacy, Bean Hot Pot.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
So my sitemate, Homer Wells, and Dan Brown walk into a bar...
Here in the PC, some volunteers serve at post with another volunteer. These volunteers are referred to as site mates, because the inhabit the same post. Living with a sitemate is often dependent on the school's need for teachers and the PC's ability to meet that need. That said, let me tell you a story...
So, I have an awesome sitemate. PC rules state that I can't tell you her name on my blog, its a secret, but I swear she exists. She lives upstairs in a flat that is enarly identical to mine, but with a few minor differences (my kitchen is better stalked; her ceiling looks cooler; she has a washing machine that doesn;t sound like its about to explode, attack you, or both). We share stuff, like English books and bad ideas, and sometimes we cook meals together if we really don't feel like braving the street of Xingyi.
So yeah, she's awesome, close to me in age and situation, and I think that we've developed a solid working relationship. I'm talking about the kind of relationship that lets you share embarassing college stories, fart in each other's proximity, and drink from the same bottle of wine, sans cup. When we need help, I think we are there for each other. For instance, if I need help lesson planning, I know she'd be there. And if she needed help breaking into her appartment becasue she looked her keys inside, I'd be there for her. Well, actually I was there for her. When she did just that. Yesterday.
Yup, my awesome site mate was locked outside, so she came and grabbed me. Of course, I was glad to help her after a momentary laugh. Actually, I was super stoked onthe situation; I grabbed some twine, some laundry clips, a beer for us to share, and said "Hells yeah, lets get these keys!"
We stood on her outsie, 4th floor patio and surveyed the situation. The keys were across the livingroom, on a table of sorts, gaurded by an Ipod and a set of speakers. The windows were open, but barred for safety (damn safety...). We tied the laundry clips to the string for weight, and started shooting for the elusive keys After the better part of 40 minutes, my sitemate decided to change position and toss the keys from a different vantage: the window above the locked door. She climbed on a chair, stuck her head and arms through the window took aim and...
said "Hey, I can reach the doo knob from here." And she did. Very anticlimactic. Moral of the story: there is fun to be had everywhere.
In an unrealted note, I just finushed John Irving's The Cider House Rules and Dan Brown's The Davinci Code. Both were good in their own rights. I've rediscovered my love for Irving's prose, and I want to reread A Prayer for Owen Meaney. I finished Brown's book in 24 hours, and I'm kinda proud of that.
So, I have an awesome sitemate. PC rules state that I can't tell you her name on my blog, its a secret, but I swear she exists. She lives upstairs in a flat that is enarly identical to mine, but with a few minor differences (my kitchen is better stalked; her ceiling looks cooler; she has a washing machine that doesn;t sound like its about to explode, attack you, or both). We share stuff, like English books and bad ideas, and sometimes we cook meals together if we really don't feel like braving the street of Xingyi.
So yeah, she's awesome, close to me in age and situation, and I think that we've developed a solid working relationship. I'm talking about the kind of relationship that lets you share embarassing college stories, fart in each other's proximity, and drink from the same bottle of wine, sans cup. When we need help, I think we are there for each other. For instance, if I need help lesson planning, I know she'd be there. And if she needed help breaking into her appartment becasue she looked her keys inside, I'd be there for her. Well, actually I was there for her. When she did just that. Yesterday.
Yup, my awesome site mate was locked outside, so she came and grabbed me. Of course, I was glad to help her after a momentary laugh. Actually, I was super stoked onthe situation; I grabbed some twine, some laundry clips, a beer for us to share, and said "Hells yeah, lets get these keys!"
We stood on her outsie, 4th floor patio and surveyed the situation. The keys were across the livingroom, on a table of sorts, gaurded by an Ipod and a set of speakers. The windows were open, but barred for safety (damn safety...). We tied the laundry clips to the string for weight, and started shooting for the elusive keys After the better part of 40 minutes, my sitemate decided to change position and toss the keys from a different vantage: the window above the locked door. She climbed on a chair, stuck her head and arms through the window took aim and...
said "Hey, I can reach the doo knob from here." And she did. Very anticlimactic. Moral of the story: there is fun to be had everywhere.
In an unrealted note, I just finushed John Irving's The Cider House Rules and Dan Brown's The Davinci Code. Both were good in their own rights. I've rediscovered my love for Irving's prose, and I want to reread A Prayer for Owen Meaney. I finished Brown's book in 24 hours, and I'm kinda proud of that.
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