More 1st day Stories!

SQUATTY POTTIES!!
After arriving at our final destination many had to use the restroom. We found “squatty potties”. In China the public restrooms DO NOT HAVE western toilets as we found in the airports. Since airports cater to many who are not Chinese they have half squatty half western toilets. I had to go badly and of course the available stall (thankfully a stall) was a “SQUATTY POTTY”!! It looks like a small porcelin urinal (in a sense) on the floor like a hole. On each side is a place for your foot that is grooved. If you need toilet paper you have to bring your own in China. Thankfully they warned us so I have travel tissue packs (but can always use more in a care package!!) So somehow you have to figure out how to squat to make sure it goes in the right place without falling over and while holding your belongings and pants so they do not touch the floor etc… I believe after this year I will come back with some of the strongest legs you will have ever seen!!

BABY SHRIMP HEADS AND TAILS
After landing in Wuhan airport and meeting our Waiban, Robert, we headed to lunch towards our hotel for the night. Robert ordered us interesting food for lunch. In China you sit around a round table with a lazy susan in the middle. Everyone has a plate, tea cup, bowl, chop sticks and chinese spoon. Many dishes are ordered and it is like family style you just dig in and start eating. You serve yourself with your chopsticks, though they do not necessarily put the food on their plate but directly in their mouth. For lunch we had crispy baby shrimp (with their heads, eyes, tails, and other body parts), fish soup, eggs, meatballs (pork balls covered with rice), tofu, turnips, white rice, spicy beef and vegetables, and lotus root. I ate everything except the fish soup. I did try the baby shrimp surprise surprise!! Was not too bad but the thought of eating the eyeballs and little feelers they have was too much for me to eat more of them. Everything else was very good. Nothing like American chinese food.
Dinner was another story, Robert let our driver order the food. Big mistake!! He ordered more fish soup, eel soup, meatballs, eggs, fish balls, peanuts, pork ribs, 2 other fish dishes, and rice of course! I did not eat much this meal! I am amazed I did keep what I ate down.. I am happy to say that I was daring and tried the eel soup. It was rice noodles, sliced eel (looked like baby snakes), and some kind of red broth.
THAT WAS ENOUGH CHINESE FOOD FOR ONE DAY!!
As of last night I have also included donkey into the latest odd things I have eaten.

FROGGER PEDESTRIAN STYLE
Before dinner Robert helped Jessi and me find a phone to call home to say we had arrived. Well crossing the street here is much like playing a game of frogger on atari. The traffic does not stop for anything in its way. You go too far you get run over. Pedestrians DO NOT HAVE RIGHT OF WAY!!! We thought we were going to get run over!! And everyone thought it was bad that I alone crossed I-95 at South of the Border when I was 8. That was nothing!! But we made it – you know a higher power looking out for us!!

Not too mention everyone staring at us because we are American and some of us are blonde!
All for now!!

The TRIP!!!

Ok so the trip began for me at BWI airport. After checking 3 bags weighing a total of about 174 lbs. and my two carry ons weighing close to another 30-40 lbs. I proceeded to the crying phase. On the phone with Chris and then afterward with my mother. No not a sob fest but a little quiet cry. At the gate I met Virginia another from my orientation group. From BWI (2:45pm) we flew to Denver, CO (3.5hrs) to have 4 others (Carole, Sara, Rusty, and Brittany) join us, 2 of which are in my city. From Denver we flew to LAX (2.5hrs) which is chaos in itself at the international flight terminal!! At LAX we found our terminal finally and saw the rest of our group walking around before security. We were all going for our last food and drink in America!! At this terminal of course there was a McDonalds, chinese food assortments, and a bakery/coffee shop. Where did I go? Do you have to ask? I got an iced coffee and a muffin. Sadly no starbucks. :( The terminal was very warm, kind of a preparation for China. Our plane was HUGE!! Our flight lasted a total of 15 hours!!

STRANGERS IN YOUR LAP!!
The plane was set up 3-4-3. I was in the middle in an aisle seat. No one next to me and a chinese couple occupied the other two seats. After sitting a few minutes another passenger sat in front of me. He immediately pushed the seat back as far as he could and almost smacked me in the face the first time b/c I was leaning forward. With the exception of meal times, take-off, and landing I had approximately 6-7 inches between my face and the back of his chair. I got out of my seat once to use the bathroom, brush teeth, and talk to a group of us near the exit doors. 15 hours is a long time to be in one seat.

2 MOVIES 15 HOURS!
Our 15 hour fight from LAX to Guangzhou, CN had a few entertainment channels. Our choices consisted of 2 chinese channels, 1 british comedy channel, The Italian Job, and Bruce Almighty. These continued to restart immediately after they finished playing. I don’t think I have ever slept so much on a plane!!

After stepping off the plane at our first stop in China to go through customs we felt as though we walked through a mist. It was not necessarily hot but so humid it was like swimming.

Disappearing Acts

My last week in the US is drawing to a close. I had a wonderful last weekend in Maryland! Chris came for the weekend. Friday we went swimming and to Nighthawk. Saturday we went hiking at Carderock and out to dinner in Annapolis Harbor with Debbie. Sunday we went to church and the Baltimore Harbor. In Baltimore we walked around forever and around the entire stadium at Camden Yards. He had to go back to NC today, but I am so glad we were able to spend this time together!



I have 3 full days left and they have me busy.