Above: the mining town my friend took me too... and insisted on playing catch in.

Hott Stuff

Zong Ke is hot. Just ask the ladies in the club. On Friday I made good on a promise and went out dancing with some friends, who told me I might have to "find my own partner" to dance with. So we're there, and I'm glancing around. One person is staring back. I mean dead drill nail me to the wall staring. She even gives a come hither look. She's not 20. Nor is she 30. Not 40 or even 50 years old.

The woman was at least 65. There is a white haired hand bag carrying grandma bobbing to JZ along with the crowd. And she was hitting on me.

Only in my life.

Chefs

I make a mean dish of garlic-spicy potato strips (suan la tu dou si), but that's about it. Rae is attempting to teach me to cook a couple dishes a week. I generally butcher them, but my fourth try on potato things was pretty good. Good thing Americans won't know the difference.

Re-Entry

In slightly more than two weeks I return to the United States for the fore seeable future. Meaning at least until I graduate from Northwestern. It seems beyond impossible that I've been here almost a year, but I have. I don't expect my re-entry to go particularly smoothly at all, but I'll be fine. That's really the truth: aside from something happening to my family, anything else I'll just push through. Because you know way?

It's a good day if you make it that way.