"Andrea's gagging worse on a prune than I did on pig's blood." -Lauren Harrington

Lauren has become the guinea pig for all things weird. She volunteered and insists that she will try anything. Yesterday at breakfast, gelatin pig's blood was the morning conquest. We didn't know what it was, but we saw plenty of Chinese folks getting it. Lauren sat down and popped the whole 1" x 1" square in her mouth. She immediately started gagging and tearing up, but gritted to swallow it like a champ, earning herself a BA Badge. "Salty and rotten, it was the worst thing I've ever tasted," she claims.

There's so much going on, it's impossible to know where to start! Yesterday the Aussies finally showed up, and we had a good time getting to know them. I will have pictures, soon. They go to Queensland Tech (QUT) and seem really, really fun. We enjoyed spending the morning together on a campus tour. CUC has several English-speaking Chinese students that volunteered to show us around. They were exceptionally friendly and helpful and were very interested in talking to us about our experiences in the American school system. We learned where there is a couple more dining halls, supermarkets, and a convenience store (with beer & ice cream!) on campus.

After the tour, we needed a Wal-Mart run. Megan, Val, Lauren, Traci, and I headed straight for WallyWorld while everyone else & the Aussie's hit up the Silk Market. (No worries, we'll hit that soon enough.) By subway the Wal-Mart is just a couple of stops away. One of the CUC guides wrote the Chinese word for Wal-Mart down on a piece of paper so we could easily ask for directions on the street. When we finally found the place, we were SO excited!

It was an underground Wal-Mart beneath a giant skyscraper building. You entered at the street level but immediately took a flight of stairs down to the store. The actual shopping experience was everything you would imagine. A few album photos will tell the tale. We picked up some essentials, including some imported snacks and Chinese beer.

Laoshan beer (like Laoshan Velodrome), SNOW beer, Tsingtao beer, Olympics beer, Laoshan again, and Cowboy beer

For dinner, we trekked it over to Pizza Hut. I know, I know... we only made it 2 days. I realize, but it was absolutely amazing to eat something that was the least bit familiar. We're not making a habit of it, though. Only when we can't handle the mystery meat and rice will we venture over to the Hut.

I have noticed several interesting things about the Chinese people, and I'm sure there are plenty more to come! First and the weirdest for me is the fact that there really is no such thing as "personal space." I guess with 1.3 billion people, that shouldn't be such a surprise. The subway gets crowded, obviously, like any major city. However, the difference is that when people get off and space opens up, remaining passengers do not spread out and create breathing room! They just stay right up in your grill!

Subway habits are very interesting to me. We noticed that getting a seat on a subway train is a high priority for these folks. Instead of hopping in a full car and standing (except in the super busy times), people will wait outside for the next car so they can sit down. It's not a crowding issue, it's a seat issue. When people get up from a seat, the next person has already moved in before the first has taken a step!

Gotta get rocking, miss you all!

XOXO