I have been on a diary-ring-joining spree as of late, and in a moment of inspiration I was moved to create the Kool-aid diary ring. So, by all means, feel free to click �n� join if you are a lover of Kool-aid. I don�t require any dedication level to Kool-aid, and you don�t have to do any community service. You decide for yourself if you are worthy or not. I will put in that I have collected Kool-aid points several times in my young life and was rewarded handsomely. I am also currently collecting them at this time. Who knows what Kool-aid emblazoned treasures await at the end of that rainbow.

Today as I was teaching one of my classes, I caught a glimpse of my favorite school groundskeeper outside of the window. I often see him out there, but today was unusual because he had stopped his work and was paying attention to my lesson. This made me a little bit nervous; anyone who works with children can tell you that it cramps your style when another adult is in the room. You are suddenly self-aware and you can�t act as freely and (lets face it) moronically as you do when it is just you and the kiddies. Second of all, I know that the groundskeeper (before the quarantine) used to take language lessons in the city at night and on weekends. He is a very ambitious groundskeeper, which is partly why I like him. I was worried that my lesson for today, which was basically �airplane�, �train�, �subway�, �bus�, etc. wouldn�t impress him.

But, I saw him after school and one of the other teachers asked him if he liked my lesson and he said that he did, and that he listened for ten minutes. He has a great smile. You will have to excuse the picture; I don�t think he is used to cameras. That is not the normal winning smile. I always wonder if some of the other Chinese think that I have designs on him because I always wave and say hello (in English or Chinese, we like to change it up). But, I don�t really go for younger men with smaller waists than me.

I had an enlightening conversation today about different delicacies from various parts of the continent.

One of my Chinese partner teachers is crazy for Korea. She always hangs out with the Korean teacher and kind of takes informal Korean language lessons from her and watches Korean soap operas with her and even gave me a note today in the form of a Korean post-card. She was talking about going to a Korean restaurant for her birthday, and I asked her if she had ever eaten dog. She said she had, although she felt a little nervous about it at first. I asked her if it was true that eating dog meat makes your face feel warm. She said that all Korean food makes your face feel warm. I guess that makes sense. Korea is a cold place.

I then brought up cats, and we talked about how the Vietnamese eat cats, and she said that also in the south of China, like Guangdong province, they eat cats and also rats. She said a very expensive luxury in the south is monkey brains. Apparently the way these are consumed is by smashing a live monkey in the head with a hammer and then drinking the brains with a straw. We both thought this was disgusting. We were squealing with horrified laughter at this point.

There is also a dish that involves live baby mice. It is called something like �three cries�, because of the mouse squeeking when it is dipped in the vinegar. She also told of some place where the mosquitoes are larger than average and are fried and eaten. I know that in Laos, a lot of people are into eating bugs, prepared in various ways. I don�t really see myself getting into it, but I�ll let you know. I think it conflicts with my vegetarian ways.

But I do like crunchy foods.

Mwahaha.

It smells like feet up in here. What gives?

ckb

Monday, May. 26, 2003 at 10:25 PM