08-08-08

Friday is the first day of the Olympics, and the anticipation is about as heavy as the humidity. (I know that was lame, but adjusting to the tropical climate has probably been one of the more extreme parts of my culture shock.) Seriously though, the build up and excitement for the Olympics surprised me at first, but as I get know more about the Chinese people and their culture, I understand they are very proud and patriotic. The games are a source of great honor for the Chinese. There have been special TV programs featuring ceremony after ceremony all in regard to the Olympics and the pride of China.

The torch just came through Chengdu yesterday in the mid morning. There was relay throughout the downtown, and T-shirts and flags everywhere. We didn't go because of our scheduled training, but we watched a little on TV. Many of the people chosen to carry the torch were those who assisted with the earthquake relief. The earthquake greatly affected this entire area, and it is very common for our students to discuss bring it up in class. There have been several aftershocks since we've been here. Yesterday afternoon there was one that lasted several minutes. And a few weeks ago there was one that registered around 5.0 on the scale. That was in the middle of the night and I awoke as my bed was shaking. It was a little scary.

Other than the Olympics, there is not much else to share. Of course, there are everyday things that are new -- last week we figured out how to eat in the campus cafeteria, which is a pretty busy scene around noon time, and none of the staff speaks English. Nonetheless, I found my new favorite food -- jidanbei. Basically an egg pancake with green onions. Very tasty. And cheap (about 20 cents).

From what I can gather, I am relatively sure my host sister is taking me to her hometown this weekend. It is called Zigong, and is roughly 2 hours SE of Chengdu. Whenever I tell anyone (like my students)I am going there, they inevitably tell me about the dinosaur museum. So my next post will more than likely be all about that.
Hope everyone is well! Zaijian!