HOT DAWG!

Yup! Finally got to try dogmeat in China, and I haveta say, it's...not great. The meat is tough, and even with a lot of spices thrown in, it wasn't all that tasty. But at least I can say I've had dog, so I guess it is somethin' to write home about.

It's pretty common to see someone riding an electric motorcycle, even in some of the poorest areas of China. At first, it was alarming for me to see people comin' outta nowhere without warning (usually, you can hear 'em comin'), but soon their novelty wore off. I did not get used to the traffic, however, and the rules it seemed to go by (or lack thereof). I never thought any place could make driving in Thailand look desirable!

Everyone plays basketball in China. Once again, even in the most unlikely villages, you could find a basketball court. And, of course, everybody everywhere you go knows the name "Yao Ming." A lot of rural village folk got money together and bought satellite dishes this year so they could watch the Olympics.

They have these mosquito rackets (like tennis rackets) here (I've seen/used them both in China and in Thailand). They're so much fun! It's hard to describe the feeling of satisfaction one gets from zapping mosquitoes with these contraptions. It has a screen-like mesh that sparks when coming in contact with "mozzies," as they call them in Australia. So wonderful! What'll they come up with next? Actually, I have some ideas. Like, maybe some chemical that makes them turn on each other, or causes them to spontaneously combust or implode...

I've also noticed that in both China and Thailand, "Playboy" is simply a brand of clothing. You can see people wearing the infamous bunny symbol on shirts, jeans, even plastered on motorcycles (Ours had one on it when we bought it used. Don't worry, we've since peeled it off)! In fact, our cultural advisor had a pair of said jeans. Of couse, he didn't know better.

Thankfully, we had Western toilets most of the time, but squatty potties were prominent everywhere we went. In fact, one hotel that was pretty confidently named (see photos) had a pretty surprising one. It wasn't bad, though, and gave me a chance to perfect my "asian squat."

My Nike's finally fell apart the last week in China. There was this really cool specialty shop, exclusively for repairing shoes. They used some interesting tools, including really strong glue, some metal tools, and a blowdrier. They're as good as new now! Cheapest new pair of shoes ever!

Well, it was a really good trip! But it's good to be back, too! Lydia is teaching English to some Korean kids now, so she brings back tons of Korean food every week! It's sooo good! God is good to us!