A day in the life of....

Well, nothing altogether interesting has happened lately, but I feel like I ought to post something. So I will tell you about a normal day in my life in China. Here goes:

Depending on the day, I generally wake up around 5:30 am (aka 5:55 am after snoozing for a good 20 minutes or so) in order to catch the school shuttle that leaves at 6:20 am to take teachers from the campus where I live over to the the campus where I teach. Then I eat breakfast. In any country, anywhere, I love breakfast. At first I was weary of Chinese cafeteria style breakfast and preferred to inhale some oatmeal before running out to the bus. This practice was quickly abandoned in favor of the few extra minutes of sleep it afforded me. Turns out the food isn't bad. It's delicious. I usually eat cooked bean sprouts or cabbage, "manto" (I don't know how to spell it, but it is steamed bread), yogurt (similar to yogurt at home but with a much waterier consistency and drank out of bag you rip open with your teeth),and fried dough balls covered with sesame seeds and filled with sweet paste stuff (can't remember the name). When I want the cooks to serve me some, I generally point and make my hand into a fist - universal sign language for "fried sweet dough ball things, please". Depending on my mood and the availability of fried dough ball things (they go fast), I will also occasionally eat a boiled egg (something I had found horrifying in my pre-China life, but now find rather tasty from time to time). So yeah, that's breakfast.

Then class. Which is always extremely educational and usually consists of a game of some sort. I mostly find myself quite entertained by the little rascals (except for when I want to break their necks). I don't really like small children - they sort of creep me out - but my students are funny and generally not creepy. Maybe it's just because I can actually remember being in 7th grade, so I'm amused by their awkwardness. My favorite is this tiny little boy who simultaneously jumps in the air, waves, shouts "Hello Teacher Anna!", then bows and runs away almost every time he sees me in the hall. I see him multiple times a day.

Then lunch. Not nearly as good as breakfast. Nothing exciting to say here. Usually I just eat the rice and maybe some vegetables, and some porridge. "Porridge" is a very watery type soup with a somewhat gilatenous texture that tastes basically like nothing. At first I found it gross, and determined that "porridge" was something that belonged only in Goldilocks. But now it's cold outside, and the porridge is hot and steams so friendly, so I find it quite delicious. I think it's mostly just corn starch in water, but it's hot, and sometimes there are vegetables floating in it. Best of all, we ONLY have chopsticks (i.e. not even a spoon), so we get to drink it right out the bowl, which brings out my inner child. Mmm, this porridge is just right.

Then more class. Then I wait around until 5:30 pm to take the shuttle back, or more often opt to take the public BRT bus. The public bus ride goes something like this: doors open - "oh my god get gotta get on the bus" as thousands of tiny, sharp Chinese elbows are thrown in all directions - doors close, usually almost crushing someone in the process.Then I try to ignore everyone while standing in my 1/4 inch of space on the bus as faces mere inches from mine stare me down the whole ride. I generally just stare out the window and try not to get lugied on. Actually, the bus is only bad if I happen to hit right at rush hour. Usually I am lucky enough to beat the crowd and can sometimes even snag a seat. Those are the good days.

Then home, more food (I've run out of steam for describing my meals),maybe the gym (needs a post of its own), waste time online, read, bed. Which is where I need to go now.

But first I will leave you with one final thought, and that is the lugie. People in China love them. They hack them up whenever possible. Walking down the street, standing in an elevator, standing on the bus, sitting in class, sitting in the teachers office, you name it,there's someone hocking a lugie. It's my favorite part of China, really. The sidewalks are like minefields and I've learned to just not look down. Though I suppose I do take a certain comfort in the fact that, at any given moment of any given day, I am sure someone, somewhere in China, is hacking up a lugie.

So on that thought, I shall go to bed. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.