...And, We're Back!

As some of you may know, we have been having some truly annoying internet issues. Apparently, this is common in China. So awesome!

The two main points on my mind:

Butter. Do you really appreciate how good it tastes every single time you take a bite out of that toast? I bet you don't. Imagine if butter were taken from you. What a travesty! So much delicious bread from so many delicious bakeries, and no butter?! The horror.

But then imagine that after over a month of this reality, you discover butter, in the foreign aisle at a grocery store far far away. The cab costs? No matter. WE HAVE BUTTER!!! And it tastes soooo good.

Fish. Now I like fish as much of the next person, and have had fish on many occasions. I'm not a fan of fish that tastes like fish, but fish often doesn't and that works for me.

But now imagine yourself after a long day where lunch only allowed you to either eat or run to the bathroom, and you chose the latter and starved your way through the day. You're helping a student who is munching happily on her snack and, as so often happens here, offers you a "treat."

You see where this is going. It was dried fish. Salty, dried, fish. And I politely chewed and chewed and chewed (and chewed) until I swallowed every last delicious morsel. Apparently this is also common. It's the stuff in the plastic bags I always avoid at the store because it looks scary.

I swear they just have different taste buds over here. I asked some students in the cafeteria once to direct me to the most "delicious" drink. Do you know what it was? Not the coconut juice, the orange juice, or the milk tea. No, it was the lima bean juice. Yes, that's right. My students laughed at the expression on my face. I told them I prefer my lima beans on my dinner plate so I know what to expect! It's like the time Zac's babysitter spit out the jelly beans we brought over from Canada. Seriously?! I don't understand.

Anyways, I know I am suer behind with posts and I come back after ages and tell you about fish, lima beans and butter, but until you live in China, you don't understand how much the little things matter! :)

I'll be back soon to tell you about our amazing week in Beijing. For now, Zac and I are doing great. He attends a club after school every day (soccer, art, bingo and choir) and I am kindof working a ridiculous amount but I really do enjoy my students. I just discovered an amazing grocery store nearby and am getting more comfortable with what to buy, what to avoid, and how to cook (that was always a problem though!).

We celebrated Halloween at the high school today and Zac's school came by to trick or treat (their party is on the 31st). We dropped by the party and hung out with the other teachers and students for a bit, and I am now ready for bed! I don't care if Zac's bedtime is in another hour :P

Hope everyone is well! We hope to chat more now that the net is up and running. Cross your fingers that it lasts!