Day eleven-- I learned that cafe Americanos at Starbucks are worth $2.50!

Highlight (and maybe the most exciting part) of the trip so far: Amy Reagin, my counterpart in crime here!, ate a "100 year old egg". Yes, it was absolutely impressive. I watched in slow motion as she grabed the slimmy yellow egg with her chopsticks. All six of our Chinese hosts were watching, which doesn't help when you are at the mercy of two tiny sticks to grab something slimmy. Finally she got a piece into her bowl. And trying not to think about the experience she was just about to have I watched as she put it in her mouth. Words hardly describe the look on her face, but all of the following were clearly, if for just a few moments, all displayed on her face:

Petrified... distraught... dismayed.... concerned... disturbed...

In the next moment she did and very extrodinary ritual that not until later did I fully understand. She ducked her head behind my chair very quickly and then popped back up with a nervous smile on her face. I thought she had been leaning over to tell me about the experience but later I found out how unfortunate it would have been if she had gotten close to my ear. The egg apparently was not too happy about being swallowed and neither was her body too happy about her swallowing it. But alas, her will conquered and the egg stayed down!! A story I gladly with let her boast about!! Impressinve is the meat she tried that night - but the egg surpasses all!

This blog was intended to share with those who are interested in our work here in Chengdu, China. I think this is a less presumptuous way of letting people know what's going on half way around the world then mass e-mailing. This should not be considered a complete picture in anyway of all of China or even all of the city of Chengdu for that matter. I am one person living one life in a huge city of over 9 million (all of which I think have tried to run me over in a car, a motorcycle, or bicyle...hehe). Please take what I write as just that... one person's perspective of what's going on. In general people tend to see what they want to see but I hope to have my eyes open to what is around me and give an accurate account of what I experience and see. Please be generous and forgiving with my punctuation and grammer. I may start to slip into Chinglish (the only excuse I have for the lack of learning all those grammer things in 7th grade... sorry Jo and g-ma!).

We are at Starbucks this afternoon planning our workshop for tonight, which is more of a discussion group with undergraduate students who are interested in practicing English and learning about American culture. Resolved: Will learn more about there culture too. Will ask good questions even though we should generally stick to topics of animals and the weather.

Explaination of the name of my blog and intial thoughts on my experience will come later.