Shell in China

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Er-shi-ba (28!)



Shengri kuaile! (Happy birthday!)

Today was my 28th birthday and my first one in China. (Although not my first away from home. Christmas was a bit tramatic because of that, but the birthday was easier since between college and the Dominican Republic, I have missed several of those.)

This morning I got to talk to my family back in Idaho. Melissa got a fancy new laptop for her birthday and wireless internet, so they all met at her house to call with the videocamera. It was the first time I have seen the kids or Shannon since I left home in June, so that was wonderful. Kels and Keegan are got getting so big! Kels is really tall and her hair is growing super quickly. Keegan is just babbling away about Kunkle Matt (lalala) and happy feet (penguins) and tools.

I opened my birthday gift from Mom and Dad while I talked to them also. It was a wonderful long-sleeved shirt from Old Navy. Pink, of course! I love it and will probably wear it out between now and summer!

After I talked to everyone yesterday, we hung around the apartment for most of the morning. Then we had to do some cleaning, since people were coming over in the afternoon. Thad went into town to get the cake while I cleaned. He also tried, one last time, to find a birthday gift in Chengxian, but it just wasn't happening. No biggie though...I'll extract my birthday money from him in a month when we are in Thailand! haha!! :)

In the evening we went out to hotpot (huoguo), but it was mini-hotpot. Instead of one giant pot in the middle of the table, everyone has their own little bunson burner thing with their own pot to cook their food. I was bummed the place we went didn't have o (lotus root) as it is yummy, but other than that it was good. We will definitely be taking anyone who comes to China to hotpot. (Although, you will need to practice up on your chopstick skills ahead of time, because it requires fishing stuff out of a soup with them. Someone start teaching Mom now!!! Make her eat all of her meals with chopsticks!)

After dinner we stopped by the store to pick up a few things. Thad was super excited to see they had REAL Pringles! They were the sour cream and onion kind, so he got a couple of tubes. Well, when we went to check out, they wouldn't let him buy them because they were not in the computer yet!!! haha!! This happens fairly regularly. The store puts things on the shelf before they are in the computer, so you try to buy them and they tell you to come back tomorrow! Thad wasn't a happy camper about that one.

Then we came back to the house for cake. It was a white cake with about an inch of whipped cream on the outside. On top of that there were strawberries (totally out of season...not sure where they got them!) and kiwi! It was really yummy. Another bonus is that there were no tomatoes on it! (On Monday when we had Tomas' birthday, his chocolate cake had mini-tomatoes on it as part of the decoration!) The lovely crown is provided with the birthday cake, as are some of the skinniest candles you've ever seen. We are learning to be really fast about lighting and candles and singing "Happy Birthday," otherwise the cake is covered in wax drippings.

Overall it was a very nice birthday. It was very low-key, but I enjoyed spending it with friends and family (via Skype!). Now, the waiting game begins...less than a month 'til Thailand!
Michelle, 7:20 AM

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Blog of a Peace Corps China volunteer serving as a TEFL teacher in Cheng Xian, Gansu, China.

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Name: Michelle Ross
Location: Chengxian, Gansu, CN

In America, I teach 8th grade English and reading and really enjoy spending time with middle school students. Some people think I am crazy for it, but Marsing has a great group of kids and I love being a part of their lives as they grow up! Right now I live in China and teach English and teaching methods to students who want to be teachers. I am here through Peace Corps, which I think is a fabulous experience and something that more people should look into doing! The application process can be a bit of a pain, but it is well worth the time and effort. Check out Peace Corps and give something back to the world that has given you so much!! Teaching runs in the family, as just about everyone is involved in education in one way or another. My dad is retired, but he was a teacher, counselor and principal for 30+ years, my mom is an elementary counselor, my sister and husband are both teachers and my brother will finish his teaching degree this next spring! "Those who can, do; those who can do magic, teach!"

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