Things are weird. As usual. Have some snippets of the week:
~A few days ago I was in the dairy aisle of the corner store when two young children (5-6 years) who were running around the store stopped abruptly when they encountered me.
From 2 feet away the little girl voice shrieked, "So fat! Wow, so fat!" The smaller boy replied, "Fat!"
No one around me in the crowded aisle paid any attention to what was going on, as I looked around in vain for back-up. I just stared at the children with my mouth open. You can't cuss out a child, Jessica. Mouth shut. Mouth shut.
I was momentarily proud of my self-control. But then the tears started. Dang it, they got me. I went through the store and paid for my merchandise with tears streaming down my face.
Luckily, in my nightly mom chat, the every-flowing mom wisdom saved the day. "The devil knows our weaknesses," she said in her mom voice, "You're in such a good place, don't let two kindergarteners ruin it for you."
Wise words. But why can't I just buy yogurt without being verbally assalted by 5 year olds? China, you suck!
~ There is only one type of person I am afraid of in Ch.ina and it's the "crazed man." For the most part I feel very safe here, I walk the streets alone at night and I go places alone often. In 4 years I've only had 2 instances of crud. Once I had my purse stolen in a grocery store and once a random man hit me on the street. Today, I was chased around the bulletin boards at the bus stop tonight by a guy asking for money. I made eye contact with him when I was walking towards the bus stop and saw that he fit the, "crazed man" profile. His eyes lit up when he saw me and I thought, "oh crap." I went to go behind the advertisement and he lept behind it, I quickly swerved around front and he followed. I want to think good of people, but being chased around the bus stop made me nervous. Especially in a society where bystanders don't help. Luckily my bus quickly arrived. I was left to contemplate how I treat strangers, how strangers see me (as a rich foreigner to beg from) and when is the appropriate time to aid and when should safety come first. So many thoughts.
~Work has gotten intense. I now teach 3 classes/sections of the practicum. (I began a year ago with one class). I've gone from 12 to 30 students in a year. This is in addition to working at the hospital and going to school full time. Yikes! It was a choice between me taking an extra 6 students or the program hiring a new teacher and I figured that it would be easier to do the work myself than to train someone. I see it as a financial blessing and a chance to hone my (severely lacking) organizational skills. I'm also thankful that my boss believes in me, that is a strong motivational factor. I believe in doing hard things, so here's another chance to do something that scares me.
~The love calls from distant lands are continuing. This morning I was woken early by a phone call from Dubai where he is on a business trip visiting some factories. I was then told hilarious story after story of him starving because all the McDonald's are closed during the daylight hours for Ramadan. I told him to go the the grocery store. "They have nothing!" he said. Seems like I need to take a trip to Dubai to fact check the food situation for non-Muslims during Ramadan. Ha.
Here's some pics:
Love street propaganda trying to teach manners:
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| "No Dirty Words" |
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| Assembling Worldwide Elites to Win the Future! |
Mojitos with my fave Ukranian:
Mushu has been in awe of the water dispenser the last few days. He is trying to figure out how I get water out of it! He is so smart! Sometimes I get a little bowl and pour him some just so he can work his brain muscles and think about how it appeared. I feel like I'm training a toddler. ha. I know every mother thinks their child is smart, but my baby kitty is a kitty genius! You can see his little face thinking so hard about how the water comes out the machine.
These machines are used in homes for drinking water since you cannot drink the tap water in Ch.ina - lest you die of germs and amebas. When I run out of water in the jug (about once a week), I call a company and order another jug. (this conversation used to freak me out when I didn't speak Chin.ese). A guy loads it on an e-bike and carries it up 4 flights of stairs to my dorm room where I give him the empty jug in exchange for a full jug and pay him 2$ for it. Whenever I return to America I am afraid to fill our dinner glasses out of the sink. haha.
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| smart baby! |
Last week I got a 50%. I did 2/4 of my training runs and skipped out on body pump because my back has been aching. (Today I was back in action). I did not get the guts to run outside. I am giving myself a deadline of September 1st. After that date, no more skipping runs for lazy reasons (or any reasons). I am proud that I at least got in my Saturday long run (4.5 miles on the treadmill). I am feeling emotionally good (besides the kindergartener set-back). My water intake is up and my calories have been where they should be, with the exception of 2 days of eating pizza last week and a slight mojito binge (see above pics) that left me thinking, "I'm too old for this."
Here is the plan for this week, it's a set back week so the mileage is lower. Fine by me:
| Week 7 | Monday Rest | Tues 2 m run | Wed 3 m run | Thur 2 m run | Fri Rest | Sat 3 m run | Sun 50 min walk |
So that's that. Aweek of awkard though expected interactions, work addition, phone calls to faraway places, and kitty cat lovin.
Now remember, no dirty words. :)
walk slow. xoxo.
1 comment:
I need to remember the "no dirty words" mantra. I've been epically failing.
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