A few images from around town. I finally got them off my phone. You may notice a visual representation of Gator Football this this year. Sadness.
And some chickens at the mall food court. Delicious.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Slacker Blogger
Yes, I am a blogging slacker. I got busy. It happens. Suddenly four weeks of my life have disappeared and I have no record of what has happened. So, for those of you still reading, here’s the highlights:
1. Cross-stitch is alive and well: I went shopping recently at a GZ institution, Haizhu Square. It is a warren of little shops and stands. I went in search of cheap Christmas decorations and I was not disappointed. Apparently 90% of the world’s fake Christmas trees are manufactured in Guangdong. Who knew? I found green trees, flocked trees, trees that looked like toilet brushes, purple trees, Santa, Rudolph and Frosty. Any kind of Christmas decoration you may ever have imagined is available at Haizhu Square. I came home with three mini-trees and 30 disco ball ornaments. Who couldn’t use a few tiny, glittery disco balls on their tree? Exactly. As I wandered back into the bowels of Haizhu, I was surprised to discover no less than 30 stores dedicated to cross-stitch kits. It was mind blowing. And, in the middle of all of this, I saw the face of Chairman Mao staring back at me from some 14 count cross-stitch cloth. It was pretty amazing. I didn’t buy it, sad to say, but I have a feeling I’ll go back for that one. Everyone needs a Chairman Mao cross-stitch.
2. Turkey in Chinese: Did you know that the literal translation of Turkey in Mandarin is “fire chicken?” how awesome is that? Additionally, to buy a turkey in Guangzhou, you can expect to pay $7 per pound. It’s not a cheap bird. We all know turkeys can’t fly by themselves, so they have to come in on planes from North America, and thus the high price tag. But, Thanksgiving was celebrated and turkey was consumed. I also made a caramel apple cheesecake pie, which was divine. I’ll be sure to have Thanksgiving again despite the sticker shock on the turkey.
3. Crochet class – each teacher at my school has to offer an exploratory class. I chose to teach 11-14 year olds how to crochet. I was a little nervous at first. There was a lot of yarn and frustrated looks. Plus, I crochet backwards, as if I were left-handed. However, thanks to the internet (crochet how-to videos) and a few determined souls, I now have 12 avid crochet practitioners. My heart swells with a little pride every time they whip out their crochet hooks. I was worried we would just have tangled balls of yarn and tears. Not so!
Ummm…that’s all I can think of at the moment. I know a lot of other stuff happened in the last 4 weeks, but it’s all kind of a blur. Funny how that happens…
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
A Little Birthday Yak
I had a birthday this week. I was very glad when I awoke to a cat-free apartment. I am certain that at some point, with my advancing spinsterhood, cats are going to spontaneously materialize in my house. I won’t invite them in; they will just arrive, meowing incessantly, reminding me that they are my destiny. But not this year. I was relieved.
When I arrived at work I found a sign above my door that stated, “Come hug the birthday girl.” Brilliant. I’m leaving that up all year. I also found gifts stashed around the office and in my box in the teacher lounge. Much Coke Zero was involved. Apparently I have a reputation for drinking the stuff (OK, maybe I did send out an angry e-mail at the beginning of the year when someone took one out of the refrigerator that I have yet to live down, but that no reason to label me an addict…) I digress. Middle school is definitely the place to celebrate a birthday, as birthday wishes followed me around the whole day.
I decided, in case the cats had appeared while I was at work, that it would be best to go out for dinner with friends. I made a reservation at a local Yunnan place. Yunnan is a region of China close to Tibet, famed for its food and (awkward, when forced to participate in a theme restaurant) regional dancing. I visited this restaurant early in the year when the new staff arrived and I remembered warm feelings of camaraderie and lots of delicious food. Or perhaps the warm memories stem from the lack of air conditioning at the time. In any case, there were warm, fond memories that induced a desire to return. And, I must admit, I was very excited about the prospect of yak on the menu.
I had never eaten yak before. I was uncertain as to what Yak meat would taste like. Chicken? I thought not. There were numerous yak options on the menu. Braised yak, boiled yak, stir-fried yak with cashews. It was a yak-a-pallooza. I settled on ordering the dried yak with chili peppers, kind of a spicy yak-jerky. I must admit I was a little leery about consuming yak, but when it arrived on the table and I picked it up with my hesitant chop sticks, I discovered that yak is delicious. And as the yak was passed around the table, it quickly disappeared. Everyone liked the yak. Success! Three more plates of yak were consumed and gobbled up as festivities lingered into the evening.
It was a successful birthday. No new gray hairs appeared. The cats stayed away. Yak was served. Friends were present. A good time was had by all, especially the birthday girl
When I arrived at work I found a sign above my door that stated, “Come hug the birthday girl.” Brilliant. I’m leaving that up all year. I also found gifts stashed around the office and in my box in the teacher lounge. Much Coke Zero was involved. Apparently I have a reputation for drinking the stuff (OK, maybe I did send out an angry e-mail at the beginning of the year when someone took one out of the refrigerator that I have yet to live down, but that no reason to label me an addict…) I digress. Middle school is definitely the place to celebrate a birthday, as birthday wishes followed me around the whole day.
I decided, in case the cats had appeared while I was at work, that it would be best to go out for dinner with friends. I made a reservation at a local Yunnan place. Yunnan is a region of China close to Tibet, famed for its food and (awkward, when forced to participate in a theme restaurant) regional dancing. I visited this restaurant early in the year when the new staff arrived and I remembered warm feelings of camaraderie and lots of delicious food. Or perhaps the warm memories stem from the lack of air conditioning at the time. In any case, there were warm, fond memories that induced a desire to return. And, I must admit, I was very excited about the prospect of yak on the menu.
I had never eaten yak before. I was uncertain as to what Yak meat would taste like. Chicken? I thought not. There were numerous yak options on the menu. Braised yak, boiled yak, stir-fried yak with cashews. It was a yak-a-pallooza. I settled on ordering the dried yak with chili peppers, kind of a spicy yak-jerky. I must admit I was a little leery about consuming yak, but when it arrived on the table and I picked it up with my hesitant chop sticks, I discovered that yak is delicious. And as the yak was passed around the table, it quickly disappeared. Everyone liked the yak. Success! Three more plates of yak were consumed and gobbled up as festivities lingered into the evening.
It was a successful birthday. No new gray hairs appeared. The cats stayed away. Yak was served. Friends were present. A good time was had by all, especially the birthday girl
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