Mar 31, 2010

Practicing Patience.

Thanks to my wise Grampsy for reminding me to have patience amidst life's big twists and turns.
What a good word...patience...


“Faith is not simply a patience that passively suffers until the storm is past. Rather, it is a spirit that bears things - with resignations, yes, but above all, with blazing, serene hope.”

Corazon Aquino (Phillipino President 1986-1992).

Mar 28, 2010

Lactard.

This post is all about food. Because I need to rant.

I love Chin.ese food...
But several changes have gone on inside my body that have to be dealt with. The most pressing being...dun dun dun...dairy.

I'm done.

Over it.

Giving up. Giving in.

You win, MILK PRODUCTS.

I'm officially deeming myself a "lactard" and demoting all dairy products to "inedible/non-consumable/run for your life" in my book.

You see, back in my USA days, I used to loooooove a big bowl of cereal, a cup of Yoplait, perhaps some yogurt on fruit or granola. Normal, right? I never really drank milk, I just enjoyed it (or dairy in general) as a natural part of my diet. And who can pass up Yoplait whips? Sooooo goooood.

Anyways, fast forward 2 years and my now diet consists of little to no dairy. Cheese is practically impossible to find here without paying your first born child (Chin.ese don't eat cheese. so weird) and yogurt and milk products are usually out of date by several weeks. Most people here drink non-pastuerized milk out of bags. The entire milk aisle in the grocery store is non-refrigerated. So naturally, I have stayed away, especially since the dairy scandal from last year was centered around my town. (Those executives have been sentenced to death, btw, these people don't mess around.)

Last year after the scandals died down I started to buy fruit yogurt in portable cups and carry them on the bus in the morning as my breakfast. It was refreshing, light, and a great way to start the day. But then I noticed that as soon as the hour bus ride was over, I would be running to the bathroom sick. Weird. Soon I corrolated the two together and realized that on days I didn't eat yogurt, I wasn't in such a hurry to hit the squatty potty. So, I stopped buying yogurt.

Well Thursday at the grocery store I must have had a brain fart because I purchased a cup of peach yogurt. It was on sale, and glowing at me, and all I could think of was the refreshing feeling of yogurt in my belly.

(here is the culprit...)
Then I came home and ate it with my lunch.

And all hell broke loose. Over 2 hours of laying on the floor in pain that no amount of Pepto could mask. Just pure, unadulturated abdominal pain.

I have been researching the benefits of soy over dairy and there are definite pros to giving up cows milk. For one, cows are treated like crap and it's hard to tell if your milk is coming from a clean source. (but then, you can attribute this cause to just about any animal product consumed by humans). Soy milk is also a complete protein, but it must be fortified in order to give humans any source of calcium. There seems to be no real defining argument that gives either side an advantage in the milk world, except that soy milk does not contain lactose. If a person's body does not have enough of the enzyme to break down the milk sugars, then soy is the way to go. (so apparently, I am missing enzymes? that's cool sounding. Chin.a stole my enzymes.)

So as of today I am going dairy free. No cheese, no ice cream, no pizza, no milk, no yogurt, no coffee creamer.

So where do you get calcium from if you are a lactard?
Well, I looked that up to. Because regardless of the massive amount of fried noodles that I eat, I do care about nutrients. Turns out, it's easy to be a lactard and still care about your bones because calcium is found in all these wonderful things: almonds, broccoli, leafy greens, salmon, edamame, tofu, spinach, wheat bread, oranges, and figs. Well cha-ching because already in my diet regularly are tofu, broccoli, leafy greens, spinach, wheat bread, and figs. So turns out my body isn't suffering/won't suffer from giving up dairy. (shweewwww).

So now I have my trusty box of ready to drink Soyfresh imported from Malaysia to get me through the cold, lonely, milk free nights. I love the bottle because it assures the consumer that it is "Jallal" (kosher in arabic terms) and has English, Malay, and Arabic languages on it. It makes me feel like my fridge is globally minded.


I guess this was just a long-winded way of saying...

Milk, I want my two hours back. And I refuse to waste any more precious Pepto on you.
And if you read all the way through this without giving up, I'm shocked. hahahaha.


Walk slow. xoxo.



Mar 27, 2010

Spring has Sprung.

Last night I recieved a call from a student at 10:45pm. I was at a friend's house for a special showing of "New Moon" on a large screen and decided to pick up the phone even though it's a little rediculous to call your teacher at 10:45pm.

My dear student Yangxue was on the line and asked me if I wanted to go see tulips with her and her roommate today. Every year Hangzhou imports a massive amount of tulips from Holland, and plants them alongside a large windmill in a park by the famous West Lake.

Last year I went with some Chinese friends to view the spectacle (think, 8 million people, babies pooping on the lawn, and crappy landscaping) but I love any opportunity to hang with my students in a less formal setting, so I agreed to meet her this morning.

It was a lovely day. My friend Dan joined us and I bumped into several students along the way! There was even a group of my students on the same bus as Yangxue and I on the way there! I guess when you have had over 500 students, they are bound to pop up anywhere! I loved the coincidence! It was so fun to look down the bus and see my students! ha.

The tulips were beautiful. Not all of them are blooming yet since we have had such fickle weather, so I am thinking possibly another trip to the park is in store for next week. We spent the whole day together and I am whooped!

The funniest part of the day was teaching Yangxue and Apple the phrase "spring has sprung." I absentmindedly said it while we were walking around, forgetting that I need to stray away from idioms while with students. Then it took about 20 minutes to explain it because they kept thinking "spring has sprang". They just couldn't put it into past tense for some reason. It was so funny!

Here are some photos:
Yangxue (right) and her roomie, Apple. Check out those gorgeous yellow tulips!

A bunch of my students. Lucifer, Tony, Jody, Cindy, Michael, East, Fish, and General.
(gotta love self-chosen English names). :)


Dan, me, Yangxue, and Apple, loving the bilingual life.


It was a perfect day to be outside. We saw peacocks, fed carp, and just wandered around slowly for an extended period of time gazing at the flowers. I love tulips! And I love my students! My brain hurts from talking "teacher English" and listening carefully to Chin.ese all day.

I love Yangxue and I's relationship. She is the student that I traveled with way back in October and our friendship has grown deeply. Today we discussed a few things that I had posed to my classes last week. Last week we read the story of "The Prodigal Son" and discussed what it meant to us. I asked my students, "what is more important, forgiveness or discipline?" and "are parents responsible for their children's actions?" These sparked interesting debate in my classroom and Yangxue wanted to continue to discuss these things. It felt good to have meaningful discussion while gazing at Holland's best. I really cherish these conversations because they are so few and far between and they make me feel like my job has some value.

We parted ways and it was taxi change time so there was no way I would get home. So I popped into a nearby Starbucks, got a mango smoothie, and waited until 5pm when I would have a chance at flagging down a ride home. All the taxi's change at 4pm so there is no way to get one because they are all driving home and refuse to pick up passengers. This used to frustrate me, now I just plan my day around the knowledge and do a lot of waiting. Mmmmmmmm mango smoothies. :)

My plans for the night: bedazzle my phone, get hydrated (so totally thirsty), do the dishes, and watch the latest episode of Project Runway online. Livin large. ;)

Miss You.


Walk slow. xoxo.

Mar 24, 2010

lately.

I am trying my best not to be self-absorbed lately. There is so much going through my head that I feel like I am constantly thinking of myself, which makes me sad.

I have no idea where I will live in 3 months. I love my job but feel like my life isn't "progressing" now that I have a masters and have totally figured this thing out. I love my apartment, the location is fabulous and I have it decorated just perfect. There are so many memories in my home of happy people whom I love.

I had my dreams set on a next step that has just come crashing down. I was not expecting this and am taking it as a re-direction, or possibly a reality check. I was planning on staying in Chi.na possibly another 4 years. Getting another degree and perfecting my mandarin. The hope was that after 6 years in Chi.na, a place I feel connected to and have an intense relationship with, I would be set inthe professional world. I would love to teach people how to teach English and use my experiences here as a backdrop for the rest of my life. But, alas, there must be another way.

Well, this option of a degree is now unavailable.

So now I have to make a decision I was unprepared for. On June 30th when my visa expires, where will I go?

I have no idea. And I do not feel prepared to make a decision. I just want to wait and am hoping it will come to me in the next month when I have to tell my job if I am staying.

An obvious choice to me seems like I need to stay here for a 6 month contract, travel next Spring Festival, then hopefully have found a meaningful job in Amer.ica. I don't think that 3 months is enough time for me to close out my life here. I am not mentally prepared to leave my friends, my routine, my home, my purpose here. But I don't really see a point in staying for any pro-longed period of time just twittering away my 20's. I'm so conflicted.

There's two very opinionated sides to this stay or go argument amongst the expat circles.

1. "You are young! Enjoy your life! Make the most of travel and new oportunities because when real life hits, these experiences will not be realistic. Enjoy a life without bills and taxes and learn a new language, experience culture and life like others wish they could. Don't rush real life, learning is everything. And what you learn here will impact you forever. There are so many places left to travel, why bail out now when you don't have to? Your friends here love you and you love them, is it really time to leave?"

2. "Grow up. Don't become stagnant. If living abroad is wearing you down and changing you to become hardened, this is no good. Who really wants to live in a repressed society anyways? If you have the chance to live in fre.edom, take it! Move up in the world, get a good job and make something of yourself. And if you stay here, who knows when you will "settle down"? What if you never settle down? What if you die without grandchildren to tell your stories to? Get a grip and go home. Even if you forget where home is."

So there you have it, little blog.
There's some big decisions to make.

My brain feels crowded. :/





Walk slow. xoxo.

Mar 20, 2010

mmmmmm Poetry.

I love poetry group. We met for over 3 hours today and probably could have sat there for 3 more if some members of the group didn't have husbands and kids to look after.

Some of my favorite women in the world...:


One of today's selections chosen by Francis (2nd from right):

Beggarly Heart by Rabindranath Tagore

When the heart is hard and parched up,
come upon me with a shower of mercy.

When grace is lost from life,
come with a burst of song.

When tumultuous work raises its din on all sides shutting me out from
beyond, come to me, my lo.rd of silence, with thy pea.ce and rest.

When my beggarly heart sits crouched, shut up in a corner,
break open the door, my king, and come with the ceremony of a king.

When desire blinds the mind with delusion and dust, O thou ho.ly one,
thou wakeful, come with thy light and thy thunder.





walk slow. xoxo.



Mar 18, 2010

Rollerrcoasterrrrr.

Hello, little blog. I've been avoiding you. But in the spirit of true self-absorption, I have returned.

So much can happen in one week! Holy Moly.

Sunday night I went to dinner with CBOTW (who is turning into CBOTMonth). We went to a wonderful Thai restaurant and I was excited to practice my two Thai phrases with the dancing Thai waitors. haha. They were impressed with my "kap kun kaa"'s and I wanted to go back to Thailand SO BAD! I ate the most delicious food I have ever had in my life...vegetables served warm in a dragon fruit shell with the dragon fruit melted over top of it. OH MY GOSH, heaven. Absolute genius food.

After dinner I was prepared to go home. I was tired and feeling fat and just wanting to end the night after dinner. Well, CBOTM had a different idea. His friend was getting married and was having a pre-party night shindig at KTV. KTV is a swanky place where you rent out rooms and karaoke with only your friends. And then drink a lot of whisky and green tea. And dance. And it rocks because there is a bathroom in the room and fancy couches and you basically sit and chill and sing with your friends for hours. A jolly good time for all. So we ended up going to met about 20 of his friends at KTV to celebrate a wedding. It would have been good Chin.ese practice and a fun time, if the people had not been stumbling over. Oh well. Around midnight I asked him to take me home. I stuck that experience into the "weird experiences vault" and moved on. haha.

Monday was a really bad day. Like, a "I want to buy a plane ticket home and get out of this hell-hole of craziness" kind of day. I had a particularly negative interaction with a student who approached me after class wanting to attack me for the US's stand on criticizing Chin.a for eating dog. Of all things to back me into a corner about, seriously? The newspapers here highlight the US almost every day about something we are griping about about Chin.a and how we are wrong about these accusations. It is often outright laughable and sad that my students and the general public believe these things and then think I am the person to be rude to about it because I represent my country. He wanted to yell at me to tell me that eating dog is the same as eating pic and cow. I basically told him to bugger off. I did not handle the situation well and I basically never want to see the turd again. But being the nature of my profession, that is not possible. Oh well, live and learn.

So I left work fuming about the general close-mindedness and one-sidedness of my country of choice. I basically hit rock bottom in my head and had a very hard time crawling out of the hole. I then had to grab a taxi and hurry to the university that I am apply to for a PhD scholarship. I made it with minutes left to the deadline and was greeted my a sour secretary who was incredibly rude to me and told me in lamens terms to give up my dream because I don't have the proper paperwork. Needless to say, I needed some Jesus at that point in the day. I had had enough.

I came home, bought a diet coke (the cure) and watched 3 episodes of Project Runway online. One of my best friends in town called and she was a wonderful sounding board of grace and truth and hope. (don't we all need those people in our lives who speak truth?). I then went ot bed at approximately 9:30pm. (a genius idea, ps).

Tuesday I woke up determined to have a good day, to let the disappointment and hurt feelings of the day before leave my mind and to not allow one student or interaction to change how I treat the other 263 students I face each week. Thanks to the One above I had a wonderful day filled with good friends, good classes, and a new purple manicure.

Yesterday was also wonderful. My morning classes were pitch perfect thanks to the wonderful attitudes and work ethic of my students. I had lunch with Jacky who has returned to campus from Weifang (finally!) I missed that kid so much! We ate pumpkin and talked about his future plans. We always have so much fun shootin the breeze. (imagine teaching that idiom, haha.)

I then got a call from one of my fave humans, Dr Xu who was frantic in telling me that he had received notice that he would be interviewing for a fellowship in California today! He wanted to get together. It being St. Patricks day and book club day and having a date with CBOTM, I had NO time, but I prioritized, and told him to be at my house at 9pm, after book club, before going out for St. Patty's day, and told CBOTM to meet me and my friends out later.

Book club was wonderful and uplifting and mind-stimulating. We ate watermelon and discussed redemption and JD Salinger's religious meanings in Franny and Zooey. Wonderful. We have finished the book and are now moving on to Rebecca.

I hurried home and found Stone and Michael in my building waiting for me. They had gotten into the building by pressing the wrong buttons and talking to my co-workers. haha. I love love love them. I got to see pictures of Stone's baby who was born in January and gave them gifts from Ame.rica. (coffee for Michael, baby clothes from Disney for Stone). We discussed possible interview questions and I helped him get over his "Chin.ese modesty" so that he could really stand out. He is an incredible man who volunteers for the Red Cross and has raised over 10 million yuan for orphans in our province. He is an inspiration and the hospital in California would be honored to have him on their staff. We talked until about 11:30 and then I headed out to meet friends to "celebrate" St. Patrick's Day. Any excuse to celebrate any reminder of home. haha. We danced all night and I ended up bouncing back and forth between CBOTM and his friends and my friends at two different locals.

This morning I booked another tutoring job for a Chinese friend's niece who is in high school and wants to take the SAT. We will meet this weekend for a little tutoring sesh. It's more of a favor to my friend than anything. Around here you really have to work to earn friendship.

I am eagerly waiting Dr. Xu's call about his interview. We have been working for over a year on his english for this interview and I can't believe it actually happened. I feel like a nervous little sister!

UPDATE: he just called and told me his face, "was like an apple". haha. He said he did his best and the people were, "very humor." He sounds good about it, so here's hoping they choose him! He said, "bless me that I will get it." haha. Oh what a precious soul. I want this so badly for him.

Well, I am off to shower, then the grocery store and then trivia tonight with friends.
Life is flyin. I miss you.

Here's some picaroos:


Me and Gan Gan, a fave friend and the most perfect dancing buddy. Her affinity for leopard print almost matches mine, which makes us a perfect pair.


The most delicious meal of my life. Thanks Banana Leaf Restaurant for making my fruit and vegetable dreams a reality. And thanks CBOTM for taking me there because there is no way I could ever afford this meal.



Walk Slow. xoxo.

Mar 12, 2010

Everything is Funny.

Today is funny.

I finally went to the doctor because I spent the night barfing (again). Yesterday I was feeling 'slightly' better and decided my soul needed friends more than my body needed bedtime, so I went to Thursday trivia night. When I was there I realize I hadn't eaten all day and was famished. So I made the not-so-wise choice to order the pizza/beer combo. I have NEVER ordered this before. I can't eat pizza because I am border line lactose intolerant thanks to almost 2 years in Chin.a and I have sworn off beer because well....it's beer.

I think it was the 3 tylenol I took before going that made me make this horrible decision. I wanted barley and bread, I wanted something that would fill me up - American style.

Needless to say, after a piece of pizza and a Tsingtao, things weren't so hott. When I got home and 2 hours of puking later I was calling myself a dumb-dumb in Chin.ese.

So today I went in search of a doctor. Because the doctors at my school scare me, I opted to bypass that step and go to a pharmacy instead. Medication is distributed differently here. Doctors make money from the pills they give, so it is usually better to just see a pharmacy, because prescriptions are not needed (for anything). I looked up the word "antibiotics" and "sore throat" and headed down the street.

On a side note, today is an amazingly gorgeous day. You would never know 4 days ago it was 25 degrees and snowing. I even wore a dress and it is the first time my legs have been exposed to air (except america/malaysia/singapore/thailand) in a long time. wonderful.

Anyways, I walked into the pharmacy and this is how the conversation went (translated):

Me: "I have a lot of pain here" - pointing to throat, "Yesterday my skin was very hot," (forgot to look up "fever" haha), "I have pain."
Worker girl: gives me a crazy look.
Me: (pointing to throat, then to the medications behind her), "This is very big and pain, what these things can help me?"
Worker girl: Oh. This. (hands me a box).
Me: "Can I look?"
Worker girl: "yes."

I opened the box and found yellow pills. I bought them for the whopping price of approximately $3 usd and left the store. The people were silent which is weird because usually store workers are friendly and at least try to talk to me. These people were like in shock. So now I have these pills in a box I can't read. I don't know how many to take a day, how long to take them for, if I should take it with food. They are packaged in two's so I am taking 2 at a time and have decided on morning and evening as a safe bet. hahaha.

Let's hope these things work and that I'm not allergic! hahaha....



After I made my purchase I went to the vegetable market because I am totally out of food and want to make veggie soup. I love going there because it is so fun. I love to watch the eels and turtles swim around in their bins. I bought an onion, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, and dragon's eye fruit. It is soo goood. I even saw celery there for the first time. I have to take my camera there one day to show you. After the market I stopped for some dumplings on the way home.

A few school girls were also enjoying some dumps and were obviously freaking out over my presence. So I said hello. Immediately one of them said to me, "Canada and Britain, which is a better country?" I was like, "whaaaaat?" I said, "both are good countries." It's always better to be diplomatic and I honestly have no opinion...um, Amer.ica? The questions I am asked on a daily basis crack me up. Yesterday I was asked, "What is the difference between Chi.na and Amer.ica?" My exact answer was, "everything." And that was sufficient for the asker. Thank goodness. haha.

I now am back home, opting to rest rather than head out to the West Lake or do something else to optimize this rare day with (a tiny bit, nothing like florida) sunshine. The windows are open and my Yankee Candle is burning (appropriately named "be thankful").

Just another day in wonderful, whacked out, hilarious Hang.zhou.

Tonight is another dinner with CBOTW and then tomorrow I am turning in the last of my paperwork for the possible PhD program next year....crossing fingers and whispering pryrs!

walk slow. xoxo.



Mar 8, 2010

San Ba Jie Kuai Le.

(Happy Women's Day).

I uploaded pics and can't figure out how to change the order, so I am going to tell you about my day backwards...

This is going on inside my house right now....


Tonight I went to dinner with a new CBOTW. This acronym began last year from a friend as a description of my social life in reference to men. It stands for "chin.ese boyfriend of the week". Stay tuned about this one. Homeboy is hilarious. And when I told him to choose what we eat for dinner (at this swanky place near my house) he chose...jellyfish. Awesome. I'm currently washing down the after taste with a glass of Welch's juice (more to come on that later).

Then when we left dinner, we were greeted with this...


SNOW!

which was a wonderful chance to brush up on homeboy's english vocabulary including 'santa claus', 'merry christmas', and 'snowman'.

This afternoon at work the foreign teachers were given the women's day gift of four glass bottles of Welch's juice from the foreign affairs office because it is "an Amer.ican brand." I would have been more thankful if I didn't have to lug it across the campus and then onto the bus home and up 5 flights of stairs while holding an umbrella...but that might just be hormones talking (and wishing they would just give us higher pay instead of bribe gifts since our last paycheck was 2 weeks late, leaving us all so poor we couldn't eat). (shwoo sorry about the rant, anyways...here's proof that I will be getting my servings of fruit for the next few weeks:)


Today I taught one of my favorite lessons so far..."how to interview in an english speaking country..." The loveys loved it and I was so proud of them for talking English without my direction for over an hour! Wooohoooo, students! I was practically jumping out of my long johns in happiness over all 3 classes progress today. They rock.



It's been a pretty good "women's day" if I do say so myself. It's been one of those days where I feel like I could live here forever because of the general hilariousness/awesomeness/not knowing what the heck will come next-ness that is life here. It's been one of those days that make me laugh. Don't you love those?

Wishing you were here to play in the snow with me!
(on second thought- nevermind, I don't have heat, my 3 comforters are calling me name...wish you were here to snuggle.)



Walk slow. xoxo.


Mar 7, 2010

Today...

...I am thankful for:

warm boots. long johns. the "modified" version of my pilates tape. H&M. dancing until the sun comes up. long distance calls. the internet. my girls study. the library's collection of english books (new discovery!). understanding of different ideas. words of the month- (march = contentment). cinnamon honey tea. the new Starbucks by my house. rare cloud sightings. my friends at HNU. independence to make my own decisions. spare keys. coke flavored mentos. my polka dot shopping bag. my new water bottle. maps. mattifying facial primer. having a second job. airasia flight deals. friends from India. soft knitting yarn. my VPN. sparkly asian headbands. asian style in general. tea eggs. milk tea. tea farmers. laundry fabric softener. that it's mango season now (!). one dollar manicures. not having a bunny anymore. tampons. the bread man. GermX. sheer curtains. imported Pinesol cleaner. phone charms. my "Sunday" playlist. business opportunities. fun opportunities. scented trash bags. Pashmina scarves from the silk street.

freedom. I'm thankful today for freedom.

Mar 4, 2010

Orange Barf.

I "called in sick" to work today for the first time. By calling in sick, that means 6am frantic text messages to as many students as I have saved in my phone hoping they get the message and don't bike ride the 5 miles to school from their dorms in the pouring rain. I texted the foreign office secretary *just in case* they did a check up on me today, and then texted my co-workers so they wouldn't worry about me when I didn't show up for the bus.

My life consists of a lot of texting.

I then texted my phone company to make sure I had money on my phone and fell back asleep.

For the rest of the day.

I spent the majority of last night barfing up orange puke. I am not sure where this came from because I have eaten nothing orange the past few days that I can recall. I am chocking the whole incident up to bad water and not looking back. The water bottles here are generally pulled out of the trash and re-used by the companies, you can tell because the water goes all the way to the top of the bottle, instead of having that centimeter of room between the cap and the water. I drink water from bottles like this everyday - have for over 16 months now and I have never had a problem. I have had a killer cold recently but that is no reason to randomly start puking your brains out. hmmm. Oh well.

I had a sweet student who I had lunch with yesterday who kept saying she needed to come downtown to see me ad bring me Chin.ese medicine. I was really touched by her earnestness to help me. It really allowed me to see how genuinely kind she is. I felt bad, but I didn't want her making the hour trip on the bus to see me when all I wanted to do was sleep, and there was still some puke around the house I needed to tend to, so I wasn't really keen on her showing up. She didn't understand my, "it's ok" text messages, those translated to "ok, come over" so that was a lesson not to use, "it's ok" when trying to turn down an offer. I had never thought about what that sounds like before. Good lesson.

I feel horrible for missing work, but as long as my superiors don't find out (and they never will) I should be ok. Missing work is like a crime around here, when I missed a few days last semester when I was stuck in Shenzhen with no passport, I practically shook in fear of the consequences! But alas, I realized that no one in the foreign language department has any clue what goes on and my absences went unnoticed. I am glad that I was able to rest today, I am feeling much better tonight.

I skipped out on our first book club meeting, though, and that was sad. Me and 3 dear friends are starting a book club. Because we feel like it. And we want to have intellectual conversations in english, that is something missing from our daily lives as we speak less and less english each day. We are beginning Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger, I can't wait for next week.

Also, reason # 2740928904 why I love my job: I was chatting with an old student online tonight and he asked me, "want to see some beautiful photos?" Well, of course I do, I told him. And fewer than 5 seconds later he had zipped over to me 4 photos of squirrels. Close ups. I find this hilarious. I don't know if its dehydration or what but it is hilarious to me that a 25 year old college student would send his teacher "beautiful photos" of squirrels that he had taken outside. So so so precious. I love my job because I am thoroughly entertained every moment by something random and unexpected.



Walk Slow. xoxo.