Snake with foot found in Sichuan!

Just couldn't resist not posting this! This is from an expat magazine from Sichuan.


If you remember a few months ago, I wrote about our experiences down south working on a farm. I wrote about how one night in a hostel I had woken up hearing something moving in the wall behind my bed. You can go back and look at the post here . It was in the middle of the night and hearing the sound of animals in the walls wasn't something you really wanted to hear. One of the first guesses I made was a snake, and Karla quickly said she's pretty sure whatever it is, has feet. Again, you have to read the post for the whole story, but we concluded it was rats.

Well... While Karla and her husband were traveling through Sichuan they were reading this expat maganize and couldn't believe their eyes when they saw this article. Its been a big long inside joke for us here, but when they got back they emailed me this picture and couldn't stop laughing. "Maybe... this is really what was behind that wall!?!"

Just had to post the picture and share with you

Staying with my friend for the weekend

Went and stayed at my friend's house for the weekend! I ate lots of good food, hung out with her family, and learned a lot!

Her mom and boyfriend in the kitchen cooking

Her mom's cooking was so good!

Her little cousin, who I had a blast getting to play with! We danced and sang together to a 'sing along' video and chased each other around the house.

So cute! She loved jumping up and down on the bed!

My friend and I

Her mom's cooking!

Another meal!

Went to visit her uncle's apartment and played outside with some of the neighbors! Playing basketball in the dirt!


If you live in this country, you have to know how to play ping pong!

The big meal with her extended family! All gathered around the table, sharing food and telling stories~!

Hot Pot!!! Take all the raw veggies and meat and throw them into the hot spicy soup, and wait for them to cook! I ate so much that day! It was so good!

All the choices! Lamb, beef, tofu (one of my favs) and lots of veggies!

One of the many things I learned that weekend! Washing and soaking your feet at night! Soaking your feet at night in hot water apparently helps you sleep better and helps your blood to flow through your body easier! Something I never heard of. So, I took part with my friends and soaked them in a basin as we watched tv and chatted.

馄饨 （hun2 tun) looks like 饺子 (jiao3 zi) but is wrapped differently and only has meat in it! Another great meal!

包子 for breakfast!

It was such a wonderful weekend!

New Year's Eve!

Krista and I went downtown for New Year's Eve to celebrate and hang out with friends! We went and saw my friend sing - (where I have to mention she is very gifted in and has a beautiful voice)! It was fun getting to see her sing and hang out!

Hanging out before she goes on stage

Then we walked to the city wall and watched people light lanterns and send them into the sky!



The lights that lit up the wall! Also, everyone was standing around watching the lanterns go up

Going to see Avatar!

I was so excited when I found out there was a movie theater showing Avatar with English subtitles and when we got there we found out it was in 3D!

Waiting for the movie to start

My best friend and her boyfriend


Interesting fact: You select your seat selection on a computer when you purchase your tickets and before the movie starts a person comes around to make sure your in the right place

Showing off our shades!

Good morning sheep!

I wake up this morning to head to the bus stop and this is the first thing I saw...

I had to walk around the corner to the front, just to make sure I was seeing correctly

Yep....! I was right. Two sheep tied to the bus stop post. I stood next to them for a few minutes and then just couldn't resist not asking around whose they were. No one knew. Apparently their shepherd had walked away to buy somethings.

Have I mentioned lately that I love where I live and its never a dull day here! :)

Questions I'm asked daily

Literally almost everyday I am asked these questions and almost in this same order, by people on the street, shopkeepers, taxi drivers, everyone:

• What country are you from? (this is usually my favorite question because it can go two different ways)

-I have them guess where I am from, and most of the time they guess Russian
-Or I say I'm Chinese! This is when they take a double look and start to smile and laugh! :)

• "Wow! Your Chinese is so good! Can you really speak Chinese?" (at this point in the conversation I've only said two or three words)
  
• Can you use chopsticks?
• How long have you been here?
• How long will you stay?
  
• How old are you? (where they usually guess I'm between 17-23)
• Do you have a boyfriend? If not, can I help you find one and set you up?
  
• Would you be willing to marry a Chinese guy?
  
• Are you a student here or working?
• Will you be a teacher?
• Do you like Chinese food?
• Do you like/can you eat spicy foods? (the city where I live has very spicy food-which is amazing)!
  
• Do you like living here? and why?
• Can I have your phone number?
• Can I have your QQ number? (a Chinese instant messaging program online)
• How much is your rent a month? (asking about the prices of things is a common conversation topic)
  

Chinese Fire Cupping

Fire cupping is a form of traditional medicine. Its dated back to thousands of years ago. When you get a massage here most people also opt to get fire cupping done too. This is the first time I've seen it done on a street and with wooden cups (instead of glasses).

Light the paper in the cup and decrease the aipressure to create a suction on the skin


The result