OK, I'm like, a total pig tonight.

[cheryl_ann]

Tonight we went for spicy lamb kebabs 羊肉串and pita bread (I don't know how to write pita bread in Chinese) and la mian 拉面 (pulled noodles) at the Uighur/Xinjiang restaurant down the road from the hotel near the Shenyang railway station. It was such a raucous, crazy night!! There was this whole party of Han Chinese in there, about 10, and after we 5 from the Consulate came in, another 8 Uighur guys filtered in. So in this tiny little room that was about as big as my parents' bedroom in the house where I grew up, there were like 25 people altogether, plus the tables, chairs, and the little pot-bellied stove with the big teakettle on it. Everyone was laughing and talking, and the Uighurs were laughing because our newest colleague couldn't speak Chinese worth a darn (I don't know how he tested 2/0 out of FSI!). The Han Chinese were getting blind drunk and yelling at each other at the top of their lungs (friendly yelling, but yelling nonetheless). It was very renao as Doug says - hot and noisy - and so much fun!

I am feeling SO FAT right now, though, I have SERIOUSLY gained about 6 pounds since I got to Shenyang. I had just finished losing those! How annoying. Anyway, I will be glad to go back to Beijing, if only because I would easily become a big balloon again here. I worked out last night, but man, I need to get back on it when I get back to Beijing, because this is ridiculous. The food is too good here. Maybe I should follow xaustraliax's example and become a vegan.

There will be more posting later! I miss my cat back in Beijing though.