little bits of life

So I was just thinking: Lots has happened, and while individually each little thing doesn’t warrant its own post, together I think they do. Here are some of the little things.

My retainer broke, so I’m going to have to get a new one made once I get back to the States. This weekend I’m going to get new glasses (finally). The ones I have are almost three years old and they’re ridiculously scratched up. This evening after work I stopped by a bar near where I live called “I Love Shanghai.” It was ladies’ night so I had a free gin and tonic. I downed it and left … all in less than five minutes. My former boss asked me to do more teaching work, but I politely declined. I’ve been listening to a lot of country music lately. I bought two small mangos from the fruit stand across the street. I’ve been eating A LOT of chocolate. The night before last I made myself some macaroni and cheese and then proceeded to feel really horrible – but it was worth it. The weather’s getting warmer. Recently I’ve been taking taxis to school, and the cost of that is adding up fast. I’ve been planning my trip back home, which is making me kind of homesick.

Whew, that was interesting, eh? The below picture is a ceiling detail from Agra Fort … a fort in Agra, India.

a week of 45 celsius

I haven’t posted in quite a long time. And I have a really good reason why. Odd how I always say that, eh? Anyway, if you just peek at the below picture, I think you can guess the reason why I haven’t posted in a while. I went to INDIA. Wow. I can hardly believe that I actually went.

I was there for about a week, and the highlight of the trip was definitely the Taj Mahal. Because … it’s the Taj Mahal, people! Oddly enough, it was smaller than I had envisioned. Still very cool.

It was around 45 C (115 F) the entire week, but it actually wasn’t too bad. Almost every meal was curry, which at the beginning was a bit nauseating, but I really grew to like it, even vegetarian curry (which is pretty big for a Texan carnivore). Plus, butter naan is delicious carb-heavy goodness. When I got back to Shanghai, things felt really weird. I had this jam-packed week-long adventure in India and then came back to routine. Same school, same work, same people, same food. Sigh. It is nice to be back in Shanghai, where things are clean and I have all my stuff, but I kind of miss the excitement and spice of India.

the month of may

May Day and Cinco de Mayo have come and gone. April showers are over and the May flowers are in bloom. And the month of May is going to be crazy as heck.

It’s been a while since I last posted, and all for good reason. I did some traveling with my class, then we had midterms, I got sick, family came, work was annoying, et cetera. The next few weeks are going to be very busy as well, but all’s still well. The below picture is from a temple in Wuxi, China. The city of Wuxi didn’t really have much to offer, but it was nice to get away from the city for a bit.