Mouse Loves Rice on Yak Night
"wo ai ni, ai zhe ni (I love you, I am loving you)
jiu xiang lao shu ai da mi" (As the mouse loves the rice)
So the inevitable happened. I went to KTV, which you probably know as karaoke, with a few of my classmates. Before I tell you about my experience let me just preface it by saying that there is a reason I chose to be a social studies teacher. Christina A. has more musical talent in her left tonsil than I have in my whole body.
That being said, I can tell you that I belted out a song that I have just learned in Chinese (Mouse Loves Rice) and several American favories. I was a Rhinestone Cowboy with Glen Campbell, I Want[ed] it That Way with the Backstreet Boys, and I Just Called to Say I Love You with Stevie Wonder and it all sounded like a duck gargling with gravel.
After several hours of KTV we went to a Tibetan food restaurant where I soothed my aching vocal cords with yak butter tea. Have you ever made
macaroni and cheese and added too much milk? The liquid at the bottom of the pan tastes a bit like the tea. I wasn't a fan, but others liked it. I also had baked yak meat bread (It must've been yak night.) and fried yogurt. It was all pretty good.
After that we went to a restored older part of Chengdu that houses the tomb of an old kingdom emperor. I was almost hit by a bus on the way over. We were in the middle of the street and I looked behind me. Just then a man said "Run like a rabbit!" to me in Chinese and I looked up to see a bus slamming on the brakes in front of me. I darted out of the way just in time, it was a little too close. I didn't go see the tomb because it was late but the street was beautiful with much of the artistic talents here in China at one location. There was silk screen art, puppet shows, and calligraphy to name but a few.
After that we all grabbed a cab home because we were pretty exhausted.
By the way, if anyone is interested in talking with either Michelle or I for free we have Skype now. If you have a computer with sound and a microphone it will work. Also, we love to get email from back home so feel free to drop one to either Michelle or myself anytime!
Photos:
First, is the large statue of Confucius that is in the middle of Sichuan Normal University.
Second is also a statue. I liked the way it looked so I thought I'd share.
Third, we have the SNU PC Posse in full effect. We were waiting for an announcement from the administration. It was hot out there, as it always is. There are a couple of training volunteers in there too.
Fourth is Derek getting in touch with his emotional side at KTV. You can really see the depth of his feeling. He is reading the Chinese lyrics.
Finally, the last one is a photo of the restored old part of the city you can see all of the lanterns hanging from the walls. Just like everywhere else in China, there were tons of people. I should have taken a picture of the guy eating his corn on the cob and then spitting it to the koi in the pond. That would have been nice too.
10 Comments:
sound like somebody's going to be starting their own Indie "Project" when they come home. Glad you exploits are going well, and i'm proud of you for drinking yak butter tea and yak meat bread??? (not sure how the mechanics of meat bread work, but maybe some day i'll reach enlightenment on said topic.)
Hmm...perhaps the wording could have been better. Bread with yak meat inside. Yes, that will do.
Completey unrelated to anything Mr. Ross, but I've purchased a unicycle and will learn to ride it solely for you. The yak meat bread reminds me of crispito day back at LCHS where I'd stuff the innards of a crispito into the dinner roll.
I would also check to see whether Tina still has her tonsils intact. If not, you could nab one and bestow magical singing abilities upon yourself.
I do have my tonsils greg. thanks for asking. haha... i wish i could have heard you sing karaoke mr. ross. and the fact that its in chinese is even better! maybe i should learn some chinese karaoke. hahaahh. oh and i love the fact that the man yelled: run like a rabbit! instead of just 'run!' or 'move!' i think ill say that to somebody today. i'll let you kno how that goes.
Hi this is Tim Djernes. I just wanted to say hi, and that China looks pretty groovy.
I love you thad?
yak? was it like beef....texture..color? taste?? DETAILS!!!
Greg: So a 6'4"(?) person riding down the street on a unicycle? Nothing strange about that!
Christina: Let me know how the rabbit thing goes. Singing in Chinese is easier than speaking it actually. You don't have to worry about the tones. Some of the songs are quite catchy too.
Tim: Hi there. China is groovy. Very very hot though. A hobo would have to wear shorts here.
Niki: Yak meat is purple with green fuzz on it and it tastes like licorice. No it is pretty similar to beef. It is a little tougher and has a small hint of venison to it.
Anonymous: Thank you?
You're the only one who ever guesses short, and that's what I like about you Mr. Ross. 6' 5" as of late. I only hope the seller has enough sense to ship my uni from his Washington adress instead of the one in Jew Jersey.
Post a Comment
<< Home