Looking back, I never knew how much this rotation would influence the rest of my time here. I mean, all the Chinese I've picked up from my friends has been integrated into my daily interactions, and my friends are people I know and can look forward to other outings and shenanigans. If my other rotations don't prompt new friendships...I'll always have iCafe.
With that said, audios iCafe! It's been a treat, buuut I'm gonna go to in-room dining and maybe "have a rest" for a couple weeks. I'm excited for a change of pace, maybe see new faces (and by new, I just mean ones I don't have much conversation with because in-room dining is literally in the same kitchen as iCafe and I see everyone all the time).
This weekend Heather, Tricia, Sarah, Dennis and I went to the beach for a little sunshine. Xinhai square is very big, and right next to it is a stretch of beaches. We strolled down the boardwalk-ish sidewalk and carefully made our way done to the shoreline past gravel and rocks. The beaches here are not quite the smooth sand that I'm used to, but the closer you get to the water, the finer the grain gets. We played a game the Chinese people made up involving- surprise- a chopstick. We made a mound of sand around the chopstick, and then you scrape the sand away until the stick falls down. Loser goes into the water...which trust me...is a huge punishment in itself. The water near that area is none too clean and the harbor contains quite a few ships, that I'm certain leaks various icky things and probably extra limb inducing chemicals.
Other than that, we had a lovely time sitting in the sand, soaking up some rays and enjoying the mild temperatures. After that, we came back to the apartment and I went to a going away party for me at a friend's apartment. A very nice big group showed up and we had a great time learning and playing new card games. I taught them Go Fish, Speed, Kings and a little Poker until the group was too confused to want to play anymore. They taught me a couple Chinese games, and I'll be honest I don't really have any idea how the one game is played. It involved "rock paper scissors", some kinda hand gesture and a lot of hilarity. They also had a feast there of all things I don't normally consume. It's amazing how a beer or two will create courage where courage has never been. I tried chicken liver, beef dried into cubes that's wrapped like candy- but isn't and is very disappointing when discovered. There was also all flavors possible of potato chips, pocky sticks, and chicken feet out the wazoo. Chicken feet resemble feet too much to be edible. Plus they're vacuumed sealed, and really what looks delicious while vacuumed sealed? I didn't eat a chicken foot though because...well I chickened out.
Chapter 1: Two months at iCafe and we have three and a half months left.
Chaper closed.
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