a long time since I have blogged.  I have recently found myself extremely busy at nights when I would normally blog and have just not had the time to devote to it L

Past Few Weeks

Ultimately though, to summarize the past few weeks: I got sick ? that?s about it.  I was miserable at work and when I?d come back to my apartment.  I was so nauseous all the time, my throat was so sore that I couldn?t swallow, and I ended up with so many ulcers in mouth.  It was very painful and for a bit I really wanted to come home.  It wasn?t so much me being sick but the healthcare here could really use much improvement.  I went to the doctor at the clinic here and told Steve what was wrong and he translated to the doctor for me.  She didn?t even look in my throat but gave me about 5 different prescription drugs: Amoxycillin and several others.  Some are not legal in the United States, one cures baldness, and one helps the ?internal fire?.  Needless to say I was not very impressed and actually a bit scared.  It is no wonder the world is breaking out with epidemics of new diseases and bacteria if substandard healthcare like this is the norm.  It was a very eye opening experience for me.  While I do not enjoying being sick I believe it was a tremendous opportunity for me to see from a first person perspective what a sick person in a country with underdeveloped healthcare systems go through for treatment. 

After I was feeling a little better, Tabatha and I went to Zhenjiang after our Saturday work day to have lunch with the guys (and their girlfriends) from the printing lab we have been doing some testing in.  Ben and Stella were there, as were some new friends Felix and Mr. He (pronounced Hu?h with a downward and then back up stress).  It was a good lunch with food of the Sichuan Province meaning it was very hot.  I enjoyed many things and especially liked something I thought was chicken.  After I had completely finished the dish did they inform me I was eating frog and what was currently in between my chopsticks was the frog stomach.  It was a rather interesting experience.  Also on the menu was noodles, fish, squid, octopus, beef, pork, eggplant, green beans, and to make it hot, lots and lots and lots of different kinds of peppers.  All of this food was specially seasoned to burn going down?

After this, Felix and Mr. He went home with their girlfriends and Tabatha, Ben, Stella, and myself went shopping for a while.  It was an exciting time because Ben was proposing to Stella and buying her an engagement ring.  It seems to be very different here in China.  In the United States it is something that is a little more private but here they wanted their friends to come and join them because it was such a happy time for them!  After going to several jewelry stores they finally found a good ring at a fair price :o)  For the rest of the afternoon we just kind of walked around, tried different local snacks and fruits (one of which made both Tabatha and I very sick upon returning home).  When we got back we relaxed and went to sleep ? I more or less just went to sleep because I was feeling bad.  Next day, got up (Tab went back to Zhenjiang for the day, I stayed in) exercised, climbed the mountain, played tennis with Steve, and waited to hear about Tab?s day!

Present

I think I am starting to like China more and more every day.  I think I have finally gotten used to it here.  For the first part of the summer I thought of the paper mill more as a prison than my home.  It was very difficult to talk to people and make friends.  The people at the little restaurant Tabatha and I go to are probably only so nice to us because we spend money there.  It seems to be a trend we have found?

More recently though, the people here have realized we are here for a while and I am starting to branch out a little more.  There is a Chinese girl here that we have met at breakfast and are now good friends.  She is 9 years old.  Her name is Yoyo and she and her sister are both very smart.  Yoyo can speak Chinese, English, and a little Japanese.  Her English is much better than any 9 year olds English in the United States.  Her sister Gigi picks up English very quickly from what Yoyo says.  Gigi is 7.  They also have a younger brother named Popo (notice a similarity in the names?).  They have started to invite us to play with them.  This has been a very good opportunity for us for many reasons.  First, the parents love us because not only are we in a way kind of baby sitting for them but we are also helping the children to practice their English.  We get lots of perks from the Parents (mostly outside food not from the mill).  It is kind of nice I must say.  Also, since they are students learning foreign languages themselves, they are very good at helping us to learn Chinese.  They can tell us which tones to use for works and also they will speak very slowly for us when they teach us something new!  They have a lot of patience for 7 and 9 year olds!

I have also started to make many more ?grown? up friends.  There is another man from the US that Tabatha and I have met recently who has been here for a few months now I believe.  He is a very interesting character but is kind of in the same boat we are.  He lives in Zhenjiang and has a driver take him to work an hour away everyday.  I would not like to do that ? but if that?s what he likes!  I have also made some more local friends.  Steve plays tennis so I am gradually getting better at that sport and yesterday I played basketball with a lot of the guys in my living area.  It was really a lot of fun.  Full court is a workout for a big guy like me but I held through for about 45 minutes.  I was normally the go-to guy because I was big enough to get all the rebounds and no-one could really block me.  You do have the advantage in Basketball when you are a foot taller than everyone else!  I have also gone on this crazy exercise binge to take up some of the extra time.  I was so bored at first because I was not getting out and finding things to day.  I think I will stay busy from now on with a weekly basketball game or two, lifting weights, playing tennis, and climbing that mountain.  It is also helping me to sleep so much better at night (not to mention my pants seem to be a bit loose on me now)!

I am really starting to enjoy myself though.  Even work has gotten so much better here at the mill.  I have a real project now which is very open ended.  More than I really expected.  When we talked with the boss for PM3, which by the way holds the record for the worlds fastest paper machine, he told us to work on ?Shives Problem, Fix?.  That is our responsibilities for the next six weeks or so and it should be really interesting.  We do not really have much guidance so we have an open door to take this project where we would like!

These past two weeks have really been a bit of a moral booster! I am enjoying myself much more than I originally was.  Granted, I have a hard time not being perfectly content just doing whatever.  Its kind of my nature I suppose but it is really nice to have something to do.  Meeting new friends is so great and more especially finally being accepted.  The life, culture, and people here are so nice.  While our cultures and customs are different, the need to need to belong is the same.  I finally feel like I belong.