Welcome Home Dinner at 沸腾鱼乡

拌菜(tossed cabbage) Nothing special about this one. It was just really refreshing among the hot and spicy dishes.

I arrived home Thursday 12 am and the next day was a big welcome home feast. We went to 沸腾鱼乡（the home of the bubbling fish??) and I ate my heart out. All was authentic Sichuan food that I had been craving for the past century.

夫妻肺片 (Couple's lungs????) Please pardon my translation... It's not actually human lungs (that would be illegal and disgusting), but beef. Mixed together in a red, hot sauce with garlic, this cold dish stimulates your saliva glands with merely its visual presentation."

桂花莲藕 (Sweet Lotus) This was the cold sweet dish of the night. The lotus was covered in honey and 桂花

I don't remember the name... This was mouth-watering chicken. The restaurant only sells four a day. This one was stolen from another store. Bahahahahaha. The juicy chicken melts on the tip of your tongue and its flavor was completely soaked into the 山药.

Green beans!!! Absolutely different from Yuan Ho's. It's not oily and there is a savory garlic flavor.

麻辣牛蛙 Spicy Frog I realize that it may sound disgusting but it's not. It tastes way better than chicken. This dish numbs your tongue and your lips but keeps you desiring more. "]

Fried Shrimp. Good fried shrimp

馒头!!! You have no idea how thrilled I was! This steamed bun was sweet and instantly satisfied my taste-buds.

排骨海带汤Ribs and seaweed soup. The flavor was just right. 浓浓的肉香

肉夹馍 The buns are on the side and the stuffing is in the middle. Basically you stuff the stuffing inside the buns. The stuffing consists of meat and vegetables. Though they are amazing together, eating them separately is another amazing taste.

水煮鱼Water-boiled fish. This is the star dish of the restaurant. The fish isn't actually boiled in water. Instead its in hot oil. The dish isn't really spicy, but 麻. The fish itself is smooth and goes great with vinegar. You must order this dish when coming to this restaurant.

The dinner that night was fantastic and not just because of the food. My entire family was there along with most of cousins. There was laughter and joy, which made the food even better. I love being home.

You know you're in Beijing when...

1. You almost die while riding a taxi

2. You almost get run over by a taxi

3. You get sardined in the subway

4. Foreigners speak fluent Chinese

5. It's really loud inside the restaurants

6. Traffic pollutes the roads

7. Double parking is everywhere

To be continued...

Home Shveet Home

I'm home!!!!

So after a dreadful 16-17 hours of flying, I'm finally home. I felt unreal waking up in my own bed. There is so much that I want to say that I don't even know where to begin.

My flight was awful. The food reeked of nauseousness. There was absolutely no leg space. Oh how I miss the room in Gilmer 19o during Psych 3005. The girl on my right absolutely would not budge when I needed to get out. It wouldn't have killed her (Christine would point out how much I like to use violent terms) to stand up and let me go to the bathroom. Nope, she just moved her legs to the side which made absolutely no difference at all. So I tried to get out but couldn't. So I looked at her and she looked at me. Talk about awkardness. Someone how I managed to get out and get back into my seat. After 13.5 hours, there was a stop in Japan. It wasn't too bad, but the following four hour flight was. I felt like I was going to die. It was the worst four hours of my life! But then I landed in Beijing, which makes everything worth it.

As I walked out the gate, my sister's first reaction was, "Man, you seem shorter." Oh how much she loves me. When I arrived at home I had an awesome conversation with my parents and splendid meal! Yes, the first thing I did was eat. 有辣椒，干煸四季豆，咸菜和东北大米！(hot peppers, some type of mouth-watering string beans, pickled vegetables, and authentic Chinese rice).

There is no place like home.

I love the people I study/take exams with :)

So, for the last few days I've been slaving away studying with more or less the same group of people. Oh how wonderful are they :)

Tuesday: The Lighting of the Lawn wasn't that spifacular (yes, this word doesn't exist. My friend coined it:spectacular+sth else that I can't remember...) but our TWOB bonding moment was. We began with a photoshoot and then progressed on to watching a chick flick :) We eventually ended the night with apple cider and cold, cold, freezing feet due to the drenching rain.

Wednesday: I spent the whole day with Christy and Vicky. They were essentially the only two people I talked to all day. Our break wasn't a walk around Alderman or a trip to the Pav. We went downtown and stuffed ourselves with food. It was miraculous.

Thursday: I'm going to NOT talk about the psyc 1010 final... That night I finished the ENAM exam.Taking the ENAM exam in the classroom with Twobeane and BFT made it so much easier to get through. We didn't cheat, just danced.

Now I'm in Alderman again and Christine wants to name me the Big-eyed TWOB. I'm still in the process of resisting.

今天觉得很幸福

这并不意味着我其他的时候觉得不幸福。

今天我从Hereford走到 Lambeth的时候听的王力宏的《心跳》。这使我想起了以前在北京上学的场景。早上7点多出门，外面飘着柳絮。我骑着车经过使馆区到达农展馆。之后骑过燕莎、女人街、好运街。最后到达学校。

今天特别想家，可能因为气候像北京。

感谢爸妈把我带回北京，让我知道我的祖国是如此美好。最重要是要我在容易叛逆的时候与主更加亲近了。

我觉得应该不是“今天觉得很幸福”而是“我很幸福”

我有病

有时候真觉得自己有病。没事儿学什么英语啊。写论文都快写死我了。面对着一张张的白纸死活就写不出东西。真是没事儿给自己找事儿。

写死人不偿命

Taking me 24 hours to get home

So as of today I have 19 days till take-off. Just called United Airlines to confirm my reservation and was provided with new information. My flight from Charlottesville is 10:38 am (US time) and usually I'd fly from Charlottesville or Richmond to Dulles International Airport and then directly to Beijing. But not this time. I have a plane change at Narita International Airport in Japan. That does not make me happy. As if flying for 14 hours isn't tiring enough, I have to change planes. I'd love to visit Japan, just not when it's getting in the way of me getting home. Usually I'd arrive in Beijing around 3 or 4pm, but thanks to this stop it'll be 10:15 pm (China time). I'll be travelling for 24 hours. I am not happy.

I wished it smelled like Beijing

I wish it smelled like Beijing.

But it doesn't.

At least not now.

I wish it did though.

Thanksgiving with the Doyles

Thanksgiving with the Doyles and their friends today was amazing. So much turkey and food. Yes, the two categories are turkey and food.

I am thankful.