Eggs

Around Easter I was given a simple, yet beautiful gift from my sitemate. She has almost completed her 2^nd year of Peace Corps and will be leaving me in July. It really hit me when she gave me this Easter present. It also occurred to me that while I’m living abroad I frequently ignore holidays from home. I celebrate them on the surface. I will wish people happy holidays, but there’s no heart in it. I can’t promise that I’ll change quickly, but the first step is to acknowledge the problem, or so I’ve heard.

Marty's creation

Because her simple craft had such a great effect on my heart, I decided to do the craft with my class. That next morning I went out and bought 30 eggs. It seemed like a really good idea at the time, and my students loved the break from routine, but now I have 30 eggs that I need to use.

I had 2 of these glass jars full. You should start calling me “Gaston.”

Me.

Lucky for me, I’ve developed a new relationship with French toast.

French toast is a beautiful thing. You start with bread. So simple, yet a luxury in rural China. Eggs. I have a few of those. I like to put a little cinnamon in the egg mixture. In China, they like to use cinnamon with spicy things. Let me tell you, it’s delicious both ways; it’s cinnamon. Finally, if I’ve recently visited the big city, I might even use butter instead of oil to cook the French toast.

You might be thinking, “Ok, Keri Ann. So, French toast is your comfort food.” But it’s more than that. It’s my very own soul food. French toast gives me more than just a nostalgic feeling when I eat it. The relief it gives is better than simply scratching an itch. When I crave it, it’s a craving of my soul. Similar to when I wake up in the morning and my entire body physically craves coffee, but this is an inner calling. My soul cannot function without my French toast.

Unfortunately for my stash of eggs, and fortunately for my health, my soul doesn’t crave French toast every day. Everything in moderation, right? For non-French toast days, I’ll eat the wonderful Chinese dishes with eggs in them. Feel free to be jealous.

A Chinese crepe-like thing. Eggs required.

This dish is one of my favorites and I attempt to cook it frequently.

My jaozi turn out almost as beautiful.
 I like to put scrambles eggs and a type of green, grass-like vegetable on the inside.
Picture from closetcooking.com

But today was a French toast day.

Hateful Creatures

This weekend began as a lovely excursion to the small countryside city of Rong Chang. Population: 850,000.

What a motley crew

It was a lovely day with blue skies and clouds; puffy clouds have become rare gems in my recent life. Valuable little puffs of hope, floating across the sky.

They do exist!

We rode to a nearby ancient village and explored the town and hung out at the river.

Most times, ancient towns are very touristy.
This one looked real. Lived-in. Cozy.

The river was clean and beautiful.

We stayed by the river, pulled out some cards, and relaxed here for most of the afternoon.

We then made our way back for Adam's birthday celebration.

That's when they emerged. I don't know where they came from, but they came when I least expected them. I encountered them last summer; I have no excuse for being so forgetful. Sometimes I block terrible memories out of my mind. Maybe that's why I was so unsuspecting.

These beasts attacked while I was sleeping.

And they seem to have an ankle fetish.

Tidbits

My brain has been really scattered recently. I would like to share a few things I’ve thought to myself, none of which merit an entire blog post.

My hands betrayed me yesterday. They met a piano. Black dots on a page are now reminders of the past. My hands used to be able to effortlessly convert these dots into music. My hands broke my heart and served as a reminder of how quickly time passes in one swift blow.

I would like to announce that I'm a genius.
I put my heater and my dehumidifier in my closet with my just-washed clothes.
They dried in 1 hour.

I put cookies in my pockets more often than any person should.

Numbers are simply arbitrary figures that represent a quantity. They do not inherently indicate the quality of any one thing. Hypothetically speaking, of course, age is not an indication of maturity. The time spent on this earth does not inherently indicate quality. The number of academic articles a professor has published is not proof of their ability to teach. Rank could mean next to nothing depending on the scale. This concept is simple, why is it so easy to forget?

I tell people that I'm a vegetarian partially because of the meat processing in the U.S.
Seeing these animals, it was pretty clear that I'm simply not interested in meat any more.

I detest car horns. Especially in China.

I have been ashamed of the polarized politics in the U.S. Dysfunction and legalized corruption run rampant. Sometimes it makes much of my generation’s apathy look appealing. I turned on my computer today to multiple news agencies (conservative and liberal) lauding the defeat of a Westboro Baptist protest. It made my heart so warm. My eyes may have been watery. That’s right, world! My nation united against blatant hatred. We might have a long way to go, but it sure was a hopeful reminder. The name of the city that chased them out also has a nice ring to it.

I have failed my students this year. I have missed good teaching opportunities because I don’t know how to introduce, or elaborate on, certain sensitive subjects. Why don’t they teach these things in teacher school?

I was never a big poetry fan until recently. A few other volunteers and this girl changed me.

In China, "Leftover Women," officially, are unmarried women over the age of 27. They are generally considered to be undesirable. I have already accepted that I will be a leftover woman in China. Good thing I get to go back to the U.S., but I feel bad for all of the beautiful young ladies I see here who have that pressure. 

Training Paradise

I have recently begun pre-training training for the Great Wall Marathon that I will be taking part in next year. By next year I mean in over one year. I need to get into a training routine before the summer months hit or I will give up. I know myself.

I am incapable of finding motivation to run in the morning. It also happens to be a Chinese habit to exercise in the evening. This means that massive amounts of people are at the track every night. I used to think that Chinese athletes were so good because of the astounding Chinese work ethic. I am now convinced that any Average Wang can find it advantageous to train here. Here’s a list why: 

• -          Between smog and people walking the track with cigarettes in hand, you just might develop lungs of steel.

Beibei is not as bad as Beijing.
Picture from AP

• -          The bikes circling the track make for great competition while working on sprints.
• -          Weaving through constantly moving people is perfect for agility training.
• -          If you’re like me, and get bored running for long distances, the exercise outfits will keep you constantly entertained.

Matching: Necessity; Ruffles: Optional; Heels: Not as rare as they should be  

• -          The lack of outdoor lighting is great motivation for eating more carrots, and therefore being all-around more attentive to diet.
• -          Basketballs and soccer balls rolling in front of you are guaranteed. This works attentiveness and leaping skills.  *If you leap with your right foot the first time, be sure to leap left the next.

I sometimes like to pretend I'm Mario.

For those of you not training in China: Best of luck. You have some tough competition. See you on the wall.