Wow. So much to tell so far and it’s only been 6 days (7 if you count that 12-hour layover in LAX) since I started this trip and there’s so many things to tell that I just can’t seem to organize my thoughts. I’ve always been good at doing lists so I’ll make three lists.

Things I haven’t gotten used to yet:

• This one’s easy, squatting toilets. Miao toilets to be exact. My family is probably proud of my ability to overcome the initial shock of having to use a hole with a smelly pool of chemicals underneath it to go to the bathroom. Still not used to it guys, sorry.
• Smiles. Everyone smiles here, staring at the new attractions in town, while saying “ni hao” or “hello.” Their toothy smiles show that every person we meet is very excited to see us. The sad part is when my Mandarin is too rusty to understand what they’re saying- or that they just don’t speak Mandarin at all-and with a frantic shake of my head and an apologetic look, I keep on walking. They still smile.
• The rain. It’s rained almost every day since we got here. However, the views just seem so much more majestic when they’re wrapped in a rainy fog that I really can’t complain about it.
• Having the same food- delicious, don’t get me wrong- for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some fruit for breakfast wouldn’t kill us, right guys? Rice or noodles, or both…take your pick.

Things I have gotten used to:

• All the SOSers. Their sense of humor and overall chillness is amazing. There are little to no tensions between people and we’re all so adventurous that there’s nothing we haven’t tried yet. Bok Choy- Bwok Coy.
• Slack-jaw. Still a bit surprised at the endless hours of entertainment on long bus rides that it provides.
• Being wet yet very happy. With all this rain, flippy floppies have become my best friends. I like to change things up and alternate between these and wet sneakers. Hats off to Miryam and her newspaper-inside-your-shoes-to-dry-them tip.

Things I have collected:

• I’ve always liked bracelets. I keep them on for so long that they start either disintegrating or smelling. I’ve started collecting bracelets in every town that we go to.  So far, I have a red string bracelet from Kaili and a small copper flower that I put around a scrunchy from the Miao Wugao village.
• Three notebooks made with very delicate Chinese paper from Shiqiao. Who knows, I might pick up journaling again. #
• Bug bites. Maybe 10 or 15 around my ankles, being wet all the time really helps in forgetting about them.

Oh! Also found out I’ll be teaching level 4 in Jishou. Extremely excited about that. Dragons forever!

Trying to understand rice and rice wine,

-Arianna

P.S. This is a picture of the view outside our (Jessica and me) window in Wugao village.