Numbing Spice, and Everything Nice...

I was a weird kid. There’s no way I can try to deny it. One of my more peculiar idiosyncrasies growing up: I loved it when my arms or legs would fall asleep. I thought it was cool that I could touch the “sleeping” appendage and I would not be able to feel the sensation on my skin. (Looking back, I’d like to say it was because I had a desire for empathy; I wanted to experience what other people felt when they touched me. But let’s be real… I was a kid; it was cool that I could pinch myself and it wouldn’t hurt.)

Even now, as an adult, paresthesia fascinates me (and as an adult, I know fancy-pants, science words). In China, I find tables are just not an adequate height for a tall waiguoren. I often cross my legs under the table, which inevitably leads to the moment when they fall asleep. The worst is when the pins-and-needles feeling is too intense, and it crosses that boundary from agreeable to painful. In China, you can get that exact same feeling in your mouth with the “flower pepper”—花椒 hua jiao.

This oral paresthesia has been one of many firsts for me in China. Those who have been following my journey since the beginning may remember that I wrote about the Sichuan numbing pepper after my first experience with hotpot. Despite the translation and my insistence on calling them peppers, they are peppercorns that, when you munch on them, create that same tingling sensation. In my previous post, I describe it as analogous to putting your tongue on a nine-volt battery.

After PST in Chengdu and my long train north to Lanzhou, I never got too many chances to enjoy hua jiao. While common and plentiful in Sichuan, unless I order specific dishes at my site, I will never taste the tantalizing tingle. While this is a personal woe for me, it should be noted that I am in the minority. The average PCV dislikes it, with some crazy individuals actively despise it.  

The question remains: why am I nattering on about hua jiao?

Drive-by Shooting: the Sequel

I had two realisations the last time I did a "drive-by shooting": it was pretty simple to do and it was really well received.

I wanted to do it again, and this Friday was a unique opportunity. Over the weekend, I flew to Chengdu (which is my excuse for not having last week's BlogThings up in time). I took a taxi to the Lanzhou airport, which meant this instalment gives you a taste of the barren lands outside of the city proper.

A writing exercise?

Some of my friends who completed this BlogThings post had disclaimers at the beginning of their stories. I am fairly nervous about what I have composed, so I feel motivated to do the same.

As I mentioned last week, this week's prompt is to choose a song and write a short piece of fiction inspired by it. My added challenge is to focus everything within the context of this blog—my chinadventures.

Chinese literature has been in the news lately, so I thought I would attempt some of my own. Then I realised I'm not a great writer; instead I started developing ideas about China-themed writing. At the same time, my iTunes library blessed me with some inspiration.

I wanted to use this song, as well as conversations I had with my students, to inspire my writing. The goal is capture some of the emotions and feelings my students have toward life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I hope you enjoy it.

PCV Cribs

In an attempt to return to my social-outcast, over-achieving roots, I am going to go above and beyond the BlogThings prompt. I’m not going to take a picture of something I see on a regular basis; I am going to take nine pictures of something I see on a regular basis! (That’s not entirely true; really, my desire to take more photos is an attempt to usurp the topic and post a blog I mentioned wanting to write a year ago.)

I see many things on a regular basis, but the most common—besides the trash heap outside my building—is my flat itself. If you followed the link to my post from a year ago (nearly to the day, believe it or not), I mentioned wanting to create a post about my humble abode. 我的家.

Firsts...

It probably goes without saying, but I’ve had a multitude of firsts since arriving in China. I’m still pretty proud of my first blog, teaching my first class and cooking for the first time, but for this first BlogThings prompt, I really want to tell another first story…

Before coming to China, Chinese food was never my favourite. We rarely ate it at home, and the one in my college town wasn’t very tasty. I’ve mentioned before about how I regularly visited my grandparents in Tennessee. Every visit, one of our traditions was to go to an elaborate Chinese buffet that everyone really liked. (It was still American Chinese food; so don’t let my use of the adjective “elaborate” fool you.)

I always prefer a fork.

Without fail, every time we ate at said restaurant, my brother would rib me about my refusal to use chopsticks. I told him I didn’t know how; he told me I’m embarrassing. You know… the usual. For years, I told my brother I had a fork, so using chopsticks seemed like an exercise in futility.

Did I miss the mark on that one, or what?

BlogThings 2012

I have some exciting news from the blog front! In an effort to improve the quality and content of my blog—as well as keep myself super busy as I keep writing my summer series—I have begun an endeavour with some of my friends they’re calling BlogThings 2012.