WO LAI LE! .. and you're not.
It's stinking hot and i'm drinking hot fresh chamomile tea, made with whole flowers, and pretty soon I'm gonna go outside and sit in the pagoda in the middle of the pond and smoke a Double Happiness cigarette. I love China. Some things about it take a lot of getting used to, like the watery jook for breakfast and sleeping on a straw mat and not drinking the smelly tap water and no air conditioning anywhere and nothing cold to drink. But there are so many beautiful things to see, and Shanghai is a trip to stroll through the markets bargaining in broken Mandarin, chatting up the school cooks, washing laundry by hand, and teaching English. TEACHING! I have gotten used to replying with "Shi?" after hearing my name called. My favorite phrase is "tai gui le" (too expensive!) I feel homesick sometimes but fuck that. This is great and you wish you were here. Chinese acrobats, shopping, 20 cent ice cream, cigarettes for 1 american buck a pack, the food is a hit-or-miss but when it's good it's really good. I wake up at 6 and go to bed at midnight. The mosquitoes here are fucking nasty, and I have 17 bites already. We rode a ferry, bus, taxi and train all in one day, had crazy dinner that included 1000 year old duck eggs, had lychee and ginger ice cream at haagen dazs, walked the promenade at the Huangpu River, went shopping on Nanjing road, sightseeing at Yu garden. I am tired and happy every minute. I miss my dogs, my dad, my bed, and my boyfriend. When I get back I won't know what to do with myself.