A Few Pictures...

We're having a great time here. Here are a few pictures from Malaysia: first, the Cameron Highlands, where we spent 3 days; second, Langkawi, where we will spend 3 more days.

Click the picture below to see more...

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In Malaysia

We are currently in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia; and we are enjoying it even more than we expected we would. This place is the perfect retreat for people who have spent the past year and a half primarily in China. The temperature hasn't been below 50F or above 70F; the culture is completely laid back; the skies are blue; and the grass is very, very green! And, of course, the food is delicious... $5 (that's for the both of us) for the best Indian food we've ever tasted!

Today, we headed into the rainforest, which was full of amazing flowers that neither of us had ever seen. We had a great guide and learned a ton of cool stuff about the jungle. We are loving just chilling out and seeing the Creation in ways we've never seen it before!

Unfortunately, we can't post pictures from this hostel, but maybe we'll be able to do so from our next place. Until then, thanks for your thoughts; you are in ours, as well.

Leaving this Ghost Town

Living in a university city is great for what we do, but it sure does get deserted on the holidays. All the shops, grocery stores, cafeterias, and restaurants on campus are closed; and even most of the restaurants near our university are closed. Today, it took us and some friends three failed attempts riding around town before finding an open restaurant for lunch.

This all being said, we are happy to head out of here for a short while. We'll be heading south of the border for warmer weather and meeting up with some good friends from the States along the way. Once we return to China, we plan to visit a friend in his village in another part of the country. (Just to give you an idea of the vastness of China, it's a 40-hour train ride between our cities!) After the visit, we will travel back with him, along with millions of other students as they head back to college campuses across the country.

We say all this to say that our Internet connection may be spotty while traveling, so we're not sure how often we'll be checking email or posting to the blog. Definitely some, but not so regularly. Please keep us in mind as we travel and enjoy this time.

The Exodus

Students finished exams yesterday, and the term is officially over. Oh, the craziness this brings.

Apparently, before leaving the campus, every student must obtain an official piece of paper saying that they have been given permission to go home. (I don't know why... I think everyone is granted permission.) In any case, they must give the paper to security guards as they exit the gate.

After getting this paper, the journey has just begun. Imagine every person within the city limits of Knoxville (nearly 200,000 people) trying to leave the city within two days. This is what we are seeing. Buses are packed so tightly that we refuse to even attempt getting on one, and taxis are impossible to find. Students with rice bags and suitcases fill the sidewalks and streets, making biking feel like navigating through a maze!

It's crazy, but it's the China norm.

There are a few students lingering here until tomorrow, and we'll hang out with a couple of them today. We wish all of them a Happy New Year Festival, and look forward to seeing them again in February.

Hotpot

Saturday night Amy and I went out for hotpot with a couple of friends. Hotpot is a dish from the province of Sichuan, whose cuisine is famous throughout the country for its fiery food. I am convinced anyone can cook Sichuan food, provided they throw enough hot peppers and peppercorns into the assorted meat and vegetable dishes. Naturally I love it.

At a hotpot meal, a large bowl filled with oil and peppers is brought to the table and placed over a gas burner. When the oil reaches a steady boil, the food is ready to be cooked. As you can imagine in a city where few buildings are centrally heated, a meal over a gas burner is quite popular in the middle of the winter.

The foods placed in the pot are fairly standard: mutton, beef, potatoes, cabbage and pig veins(?!!). While I have tried hotpot before, the pig veins were definitely a new experience for Amy and I. The Sichuan native at our table assured us that it was very popular in her hometown, and stated that the pig veins just needed to boil for a long time. The pig veins did boil for a long time, but in my opinion, it was to no avail. The sensation was roughly akin to gnawing on a bicycle tire slathered in Tabasco sauce. Fortunately, the remainder of the food was fantastic, as was the time with our friends.

UNO with Consequences

So, not much is going on with us these days. Our friends are pretty busy taking final exams this week and next, so they don't have quite as much free time to hang out as usual. We are still able to meet up with them for lunch, but all other time is pretty much devoted to study. So, although we don't have much to say, when I was cleaning files off my camera, I found these videos. They may need some explanation...

In China, group games are a big part of entertainment. Unlike games at home, anytime someone loses or messes up, they must be "punished," which is basically another way of saying, public humiliation. The more humiliating, the better. Let us just say that when you know the loser will end up dancing in the middle of the room to the newest Chinese pop song, it puts a whole new competitive spin on a friendly game of UNO.

Just to give you an idea... here are some punishments during games at a recent drama competition. One guy is doing exercises while balancing an orange; the other guy is doing sit-ups while reciting poetry. Keep in mind that there was a crowd of about 200 people.

Jiaozi

Some of my freshmen girls came over yesterday to make jiaozi (Chinese dumplings) at my house. I've had lots of girls over to do this before, but these girls had the tastiest jiaozi so far. As only 18-year-old girls, this was their first time to cook without their mothers. They were very proud of their success! Here are some pics, along with a funny video of the girls explaining how to make jiaozi.


(I think the video will give you a good idea of the Chinglish we see everyday!) :-)

Happy New Year!

It's been a crazy week since Christmas. We had two late Christmas parties on Friday and Saturday. And then Amy began giving final exams to her students on Monday. She has a holiday today and tomorrow for the New Year; however, she has to make-up Friday's classes on Sunday. (It's a strange way they do holidays here; I don't know why they even bother!) So, her exams will actually finish on Sunday. She was very happy to learn that she will have the same students next term as she has been teaching this term. We both really enjoy these students and look forward to deepening our friendships with them next term.

Matt's been finished with classes for about a week and a half now. He's been taking opportunities to meet up with Chinese friends and practice speaking Chinese. At some point, the conversation usually turns to English, but he can usually get nearly an hour of Chinese practice in before the language shift.

We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary yesterday by avoiding the cold weather outdoors and cooking in. It seems unbelievable we've lived in China for about half of our marriage!

The Christmas Wrap-up Post

We love you all and hope you had a great Christmas day! Click on the album to see some pics from our Christmas celebration here:

A Chinese Christmas