Chickens and Bamboo

SO I'm sick. It happens.


But, I decided that I needed some good old American medicine.... Noodle Soup.


However, trying to find NOODLE soup...Like the zhende American style noodle soup proved to be a rather difficult task for me. I did however manage to find a Chinese style Chicken Bullion seasoning. Got back to my dorm, and tried to just make some broth out of it. I felt like it was just TOO plain for me to stomach, so I went to the little difang on the first floor of my dorm to find something I could put in it.....This was also quite a difficult task. I dug through several cans of what I can only guess are canned meats....Some packages of pickled chicken feet (which I considered might work) but alas, I managed to find a dusty can of pickled bamboo in the very back of the shelf....

I like bamboo. So I decided I would try it out. Washed the strange red pickle sauce off of them, and cooked those babies up. It's not half bad.

Being a foreigner in a place like China is intensely interesting most of the time. Constant staring...and plenty of interesting perks. (I'm an optimist) And sometimes....it's just downright funny. (click on picture to blow it up so you can read)








The cold is definitely approaching. I say that as if it's not already here, but I think I've braced myself for conditions so intense, that the current lows of ten degrees Fahrenheit aren't phasing me quite yet.

Today I did break down and go to the clothing place to buy some nice under(wear??) You know...those like heavy duty leg stockings you put under jeans...(Hey...I'm from southern California....) I won't wear them till it gets a bit worse as they make people look fat.


I don't think I've ever mentioned to those faithful readers of my blog zai America about China's spitting problem....and throw-up problem...and urinating problem...
To catch you up to speed, basically it's a problem.....people everywhere do it...all day long....right on the street. I've learned how to maneuver these small piles of loogies and such.

But recentely, because of the freezing temperatures everything that is on the ground has become frozen. By that I mean.....All the loogies are frozen. The piles of puke....frozen....
So now...you must watch your step extra carefully...lest you slip on a frozen loogie and die.

I'm not joking...I slipped on a loggie. I saw this other chick slip on....something like a loogie but bigger. Only God knows what it was.

Despite the disease infested streets I still wear my shoes in my house. I am guessing this is why my roommates think I'm disgusting. Only recently have I made the connection of Asian culture and taking there shoes off at the door, and why my roommates face turned green when she saw me set my shoes on my bed....

There is always room for learning.