TGIF! What an exciting day it has been. We began the day with 3 hours of Chinese and a test, our second, and once again it was all in Chinese characters. I was so happy that I understood everything, and Matt and I both passed. We were only a few points shy of an A!
We ended our day with a date. It has been so nice to go on dates again. I took going out for granted, but now I cherish every moment alone with Matt; especially away from home. We rode our bikes together for the first time, dodging taxis, buses and other bicycles along the way. We decided on Pizza Hut because I really wanted a salad. I got my salad and Matt got his pepperoni pizza. I even had a piece of pepperoni for the first time in 2 years… and oh it was gooooood!
Making a salad in China is no simple feat. I think some people must go to some sort of salad building seminar in order to perfect their salad structures. It is very important to get as much as possible into the bowl and along the rim because you only get one trip to the salad bar. There was a very serious salad artist at Pizza Hut tonight. She began when we were being seated, she was about ¼ of the way done when I made my salad, and about the time we were ordering desert she finally finished her masterpiece. She carefully placed carrot sticks along the rim, all jutting out about an inch beyond the edge. Cucumber slices were positioned atop the carrots, then watermelon, pineapple, etc. All the small things like corn and peas went on the inside. It was a site to behold. I wish I’d had my camera. My salad was not so complicated, but it would have been an embarrassment in America.
We ended our date with a trip to Wal-Mart. Matt was very happy to find some coffee beans (hope they taste good) and I was just happy to be shopping without Gracie. She is so cute and of course everyone wants to touch the foreign baby. She hasn’t met a stranger yet, so that really ags them on. I usually have to wash her hands about 5 times during a visit to Wal-Mart. It’s very hard to shop when you’re trying to make sure your child is not sucking the germs off someone else’s hands… yuck!
So, we got our fill of American food, shopped til we dropped at Wal-Mart, and rode our bikes back home dodging cars, motorcycles, and other bikes. It was, as always, an adventure. On our way home we even saw two little boys running around buck naked. They didn’t have a care in the world. They were just having a ball – hineys shining!
Ah, China. Love Y’all - Jenny
