My Deepest Apologies

Life has been crazy busy here! I have lots of things to blog about, but many have pictures to accompany. I just haven't had time to sit down and load them. I will get on that soon. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Getting up Before Daylight...

So, for the second week in a row I have gotten up before daylight to watch Alabama play football. Last week proved to be an EXCELLENT weekend to wake up at 4:30AM to watch the Tide STOMP on the Auburn Tigers. This week, well, it was great game, but it was still heartbreaking. From the sound of it, I'm the only Alabama fan I know that is mad, but let's not forget I did get up at 5:00AM for the game. 

To all my facebook friends, I apologize for the series of emotional "status updates." It's simply my way of communicating with someone besides myself my current emotions throughout the game.

I am so happy for Alabama's INCREDIBLE season. I look forward to what is hopefully many years of EXCELLENCE. Good luck to the Florida Gators in the BCS bowl. I mean afterall, if BAMA had gone and then a playoff system ever DID get put into affect, they'd just say we didn't actually have a national championship, but that the polls were different back then. We may not have gotten #13 this year, but we still have 12 hanging on the wall!!

Christmas Tree and Holiday Pet Peeve

Friday morning I found a great Christmas tree for just $9 US dollars! It is just a smidgen taller than me and actually looks like one you would buy at Wal-Mart back home. This Christmas shop/ally way was a great find. I paid 152RMB for the tree and enough decorations to fill it up. I didn't have any luck finding good Christmas lights there, but they had alot of other great finds!

Sunday afternoon I went to a little "party" shop close to where I found the tree and found lights very similar to the kind you all get back home. There were white, and the people checked them for me before I left the store and they all worked! They weren't in a box, so I just assumed they were what I wanted. Well, guess what happens when you assume...

The lights are BLINKING lights. My pet peeve...lights that blink, but not at the same time...these don't blink at the same time!! Oh well, they are lights and it's a great tree. It just brings some of the joy of tacky Christmas displays from around town back home!!

I started a new tradition with my tree this year. Some good friends, the Brassarts, told me how they always hang a Coca-Cola can on their tree from when they lived overseas. A good friend of theirs who died had hung one on their tree and they have done it ever since. My can is a Dr. Pepper can, but it's still the same idea! 

Hope you all are enjoying the beginning of the Most Wonderful Time of the Year as much as I am!!

Liquid Love and Other Great Events

So, here's the story. One week ago from today I found out that I could get Dr. Pepper in my city. It had been a total of 6 weeks since I last had one, and my body needed one. I was really considering becoming the founding member of Dr. Pepper-aholics Anonymous here in my city. But alas, hope was restored and I was confident the week would end with fulfillment having come at some point. 

I wasn't able to go on my search for the bottles of love until Wednesday. All throughout my language lesson I could taste the stuff. I got on the bus, went downtown, and found the store where they were. As I was walking from the bus stop to where the Dr. Peppers supposedly were, I had the same expectation I imagine a groom has standing at the front waiting for his bride to come through the back doors. I could picture Dr. Pepper's beauty, imagine how my breath would be taken away as I gazed upon it, and could feel the refreshment as that liquid love ran down the back of my throat. BUT I GOT JILTED!

As a consolation prize I bought Campbell's cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups. I made a fabulous dinner of chicken and mashed potatoes to drown out my sorrows. It was really good, but it didn't replace the longing for DP...I was still hopeful.

The next day was Thanksgiving and was an AWESOME day! We had alot of fun being American and eating and eating and eating. We played games, laughed, and really became family over turkey and dressing! I made a cake and an oreo pie...they were pretty good. Things were going well, until I found out the reason I did not have Dr. Pepper was because a friend had bought them out a few days before. We were not friends for very long.

Then, finally, on Saturday, all my dreams were realized! A friend called from the Dr. Pepper store and said "They have 12, do you want them all?" I only took 4 because I was afraid I might drink all 12 and not sleep again until Christmas. I didn't get them until late, so I put them in the refrigerator until Sunday morning. 

Thanks to justin.tv, I was able to watch the Alabama game, so, at 4:30AM, I was sitting here, drinking a Dr. Pepper and watching the Tide murder Auburn. Can life get any better than this? I submit that it cannot!

Badminton...and Other Exciting Events on a Saturday

I woke up at 8:00AM this fine Saturday morning to go play badminton with some friends. You should know 2 things: I don't do 8:00 AM on Saturday, and I don't play badminton. It was a stellar thing to think about as I fell asleep last night (way too late to actually get up at 8)! But admittedly (shamefully no doubt) I actually had fun. Let me take the time to explain where we played though.

We rolled in to the badminton sporting complex just after 9:00. This place was an old factory turned into a badminton complex. It was about the size of a football field, only a little shorter, and had badminton court after badminton court. I think there were 36 or so courts. When we first got there, there were only 3 other people. By the time we left at 11:00 there were well over 100!! Most of them were men, and a majority of them were playing in their shorts and tennis shoes, no shirts. It was a sight...let me tell you! HAHA!!

The rest of the day was mainly spent in my apartment not doing the things I needed to do, but I did go out for dinner. As usually, my Saturday night meal consisted of beef and tomatoes at the Iron Skillet followed by a lemonade from David's.

While I was walking to dinner tonight, however, I encountered something, that I just hadn't before. There was a little girl, probably around 6 or 7, using the bathroom on the tree just about 50 yards from my gate. I'm just coming to accept that things are just different here!! You have got to love all the wonderful things that you see here that you just don't at home!

Bad Day turns to Good Night

So today was horrible. This morning consisted of printer problems with a schizophrenic printer that led to me having to go to a print shop to print out my language lesson for the day. Afterwards, language was a complete blast, and by blast I do mean ridiculously horrible. My tutor owns a shop that sells crafts, so I go there for language. It is next door to a framing shop that did not stop sawing wood for the entire 3 hours that I was there. On top of that, the last 45 minutes consisted of them listening to some extremely loud music. As though that wasn't distracting enough, the shop downstairs was grinding away at something the whole time. It was the longest 3 hours. As I was walking back to my apt from the bus stop, I was fairly certain my head was going to burst open and language was going to be unnecessary from that point on. 

The night was great though!! It's my 1 month anniversary, so I celebrated with a 5 piece chicken mcnugget meal from McDonalds. It was delicious (as was the first!). After dinner I walked over to my DVD man Adam who speaks perfect English and always makes the world a better place. You might be asking why. Well...DVD's are 6 "dollars" here which comes out to just under $1!! You can roughly get 15-20 DVD's for the price of 1 in the states. I'm addicted!

Are those bunny ears?

My deepest apologies to all my blog readers that I did not take my camera with me to go get a drink tonight. While I was waiting on my strawberries and cream ice shake, I witnessed what might be the best piece of fashion I have seen thus far. I was standing on the side of the street, minding my own business, when a girl dressed in a blue jean skirt, dress shirt, and yes, bunny ears on her head walked by! Rest assured, no one else was dressed up...just this precious one.

Let me share some more favorite

1. A shirt that had in glittery letters: JACK on the back of it. Much like shirts that say baby, sexy, and so on. This one simply said JACK. I don't know what that's about!

2. The other day I saw a girl wearing a cream color shirt with black knit gloves sewn on the front for pockets. SICK

3. If I see another little boy in pink sandals...I'm going to scream

4. I have a neighbor who regularly stands in front of his window in his loungewear at night...yellow briefs and a white t-shirt...THEY MAKE CURTAINS PEOPLE!!!

5. The latest blue jean fashion here is blue jeans that have permanent wrinkle/bleached lines in them. They are worn extremely tight and have wrinkles on the front where you legs bend to sit down, wrinkles on the back at the knee, and wrinkles at the bottom. I will have to get a picture!!

A Minor Soap Box

I just needed to express myself. This isn't really a funny story, but I just wanted to vent. So, I got to talk to my mom and sister last night (or sometime) and it was really fun, but I found out some terrible news! If you don't already know, my sister recently adopted Kennedy from Vietnam. Kennedy is precious and will have just about gotten her ph.D. by the time I get home.  The terrible news though, is that people I don't even like have already gotten to hold her and she's always been sort of fussy when I see her on cam!! I got really jealous this morning on the bus thinking about it! I'm just saying...

Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Hi! I look like a donut. I smell like a donut. I feel like a donut. I was born in a bakery like donuts. I was kept in a plastic viewing box for consumers to see me and desire to buy me. 

The truth, however, is that I am indeed NOT a donut. I'm really just a hamburger bun that isn't sliced through the middle, has sugar sprinkled on top, and a hole in the middle as a disguise!

Two Top 10 Lists

So, it's 11:38 and I can't really sleep so I decided to do 2 top ten lists. And just for the record, there are some really non material things that I would rather have, but what fun is that??

Top Ten Things I wish I had in no particular order:

1. Route 44 Sweet Tea from Sonic

2. Alabama football

3. Dr. Pepper (no really, if offered a wife or a dr. pepper right now, I might end up single for the rest of my life)

4. American television

5. Blue skies

6. Mt. Dew

7. Car (but definitely not on these streets!!)

8. A really soft mattress

9. Ice

10. More clothes

Top Ten Things I'm glad I do have:

1. Skittles

2. Coke

3. David's drinks (this absolutely great drink shop with awesome lemonade icees)

4. Adam's DVD store

5. Internet

6. ESPN Gamecast

7. A/C and heat (definitely don't need the heat yet)

8. Cell phone

9. McDonald's (you can count KFC and Pizza Hut)

10. WAL-MART!!!!!!! But, might I add that one should NEVER, no really, NEVER go to Wal-Mart on a Saturday afternoon. It is to be avoided like the black plague. You may think it's a good idea to go when it's pouring rain because surely "not many people will be out," but it indeed that is FALSE information. I'm just saying...

Stories from the Countryside

Well, Monday through Thursday of this week were spent with a family in a village about an hour from were I live. It was a ton of fun!! I was worried going into it, but it ended up being a great experience! I'll give you several stories to hopefully brighten your day!

Nanny...Not your typical Grandmother!!

There are several people in the family that I stayed with: a man and his wife, his parents, and her grandparents. The most interesting character by far is the little grandmother who might be upwards of 140 or so.  She, like most countryside old women is a sight to behold!!

The first time I met Nanny was upon returning Monday before lunch after we had gone to the meat market to pick up several dead animals to consume. When I walked into the house, Nanny had her feet propped up on her granddaughter's (the lady who owned the house) legs. Not so unusual eh? Well, actually I beg to differ. The lady was scraping/picking/cutting Nanny's corns off of her feet with a sewing needle, nail clippers, and a pair of rusty scissors. Nanny looked as happy as a pig in the mud!

After lunch, which really was quite good, Nanny created another interesting story. It isn't unusual to get meat stuck in your teeth here, or anywhere for that matter. Nanny is no different. Once we had gotten up from the table, Nanny went over to the toothpick jar, got one out, and began to pick her teeth. Well, that is after she took her teeth OUT OF HER MOUTH. Yummy...you gotta love nasty village hands holding your teeth!

Things You Mother Told  You NEVER to Do!

Life in the village is quite slow right now as harvesting time will not be for a few more weeks. However, the man I stayed with is still finishing his house and fixing things up. There were several times that we needed to ride over to the next little town and pick some things up. 

There are no cars, well maybe 1 or 2, in the village, but there are plenty of motorbikes. So, on the motorbike we would get, the two of us, with no helmets. One rather memorable trip consisted of us having to pick up florescent lights and some pvc pipe. Who was to hold this? You guessed it, ME. There I was...speeding down the highway on a motorbike, death immanent, with 3 florescent light bulbs and a 12 foot (NO LIE!) pvc pipe!! I though to myself...Sheryl would have a heart attack! 

My First Squatty Potty Experience!

This story maybe PG13, but one of my favorites. So read at your own discretion!!

I was ecstatic when I got to the village because they had a western toilet next to their squatty potty. Although I have traveled East 2 times before, I had never been in a situation where a squatty potty was the only available option. So, for whatever reason, when I walked into the bathroom, I flushed the western toilet just to check it...it didn't work!

I got to the village on Monday, but it wasn't until I got ready to take a shower on Tuesday that I absolutely couldn't wait anymore. I walked into the bathroom, and went through the routine, but I had one question: how does this work with pants???? Let's just say, for the remainder of my squatty experiences, my pants hung on the hook on the wall!!

10 Things You Experience staying in an Asian Village that You Probably Wouldn't Staying with Someone in the US!

1. Riding down the highway at neck breaking speeds on a motorbike with no helmet.

2. A waterfront property that is literally 2 steps from the lake

3. A man in briefs bathing in the pond on the highway.

4. A little boy standing in the middle of a rice field peeing  and seeing how high he can get it

5. Picking corns off the old lady's foot in the living room

6. Using a squatty potty next to a beautiful porcelain throne

7. 2 days of Kung Fu lessons

8. Sleeping on a plywood board covered by a wooden mat and 2 terry-cloth blankets.

9. Eating meat that you have no idea where it came from and are too nervous to ask

10. Watching an old lady pick food out of her teeth, while holding them.

Cultural Immersion!

Ok, so Friday was an interesting day! Four of us went to a village about 30 minutes outside of the city we are meeting in. You might be pondering how one would get to said village. I myself was pondering that too, and was told by the sweet little lady we went with that we would take a bus. 

We indeed took a bus, some of the way. After about 15 min we got off at one of the stops. This was a little convenient store/tent/structure of some sort. It had drinks, cigarettes, gambling nationals, and of course a meat market. The 4 of us that went were wondering if we would be staying for lunch. That is, until one of the dead chickens became 2 halves of a dead chicken. One went into a plastic bag, and eventually would go into our stomachs. Now, when I say half a chicken I do mean half, all the way from half a head to one chicken foot. (all of which got cooked!!)

So, there we were, 4 white people and 2 nationals waiting to go to the village. Around us were dead carcasses and gambling nations. I assumed we were waiting for the next bus, but oh no! We were waiting for this man who drove a motorcycle/truck/three wheeler thing. The 6 of us borrowed stools from the stand, and up we went into the bed of this automobile-ish thing! It was imperative that we hold on tight. I understood this quickly as we bumped along down the gravel road. At least 10 times my body was thrust into the air at least 6 inches, but for dramatic effect we'll say at least a foot.

It was quite an experience to say the least. The moral of this story I suppose is to expect the unexpected. I didn't have my camera, but a friend did. I will post a pic soon.

Welcome to My Blog

Hey Guys!

I wanted to give everyone the opportunity to know about different cultural things that are happening to me overseas. As I thought about how to best do that, the only person that came to my mind was Pierre. Who knows about culture  more than Pierre? So, sit back, relax, and laugh about all the great things Asia has to offer!

Nathan