Chinese Disco!

A few nights ago we discovered the most DELICIOUS noodle shop near where we live. Its this little hole in the wall place and they make their own noodles from scratch! The restaurant owner had a little boy who was running around in circles but when we walked in, (four white people), he stopped dead in his tracks. The whole meal he just stood at the edge of our table staring at us. I don't think the kid blinked once! Haha. I feel like a celebrity here. Its hilarious. Anyways afterwards we went looking around town. As we turned the corner we saw big flashing red letters that read, "Disco." So of COARSE we had to go in! It was one of the greatest nights of my life. There was a huge light up dance floor with springs! The place was packed and there was crazy strobe lights and whatnot. All of the American teachers were in the middle of the dance floor. I met lots of new dance buddies and basically just had the time of my life! I love China and the crazy-spontaneous-life-changing things that can happen every moment! 

Kung Fu- 功夫

This morning we had our first Kung fu class. For those of you that said I would fall in love with a Chinese man while I was here... you were right! His American name is John and he is our instructor. I think he is the first tall Chinese man I have seen since our arrival. He only knows how to say a few words in English. After we had begun learning the steps he motioned for us to stop. He said..."No, No," and he pointed to his chest. "You must have quiet heart." I just about died. I am so in love with this man. Haha. But it is so true, sitting in that class watching a bunch of Americans trying to do Kung fu was eye opening. We stomp and we stumble and we have no balance. John got a few laughs out of us but as class went on I really started to get it. I enjoy those moments when you have to focus on your "inner self." (However corny that might sound)  To us, martial arts is just Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies. But to them it is the way they live. With a quiet heart. Calm and quiet. I love these people more and more every day guys! I might never come home!  

Street Food

Last night we walked the street market in Changzhou. Its amazing how this place lights up at night. They have isles and isles of people with make-shift grills and thousands of different kinds of meat. Most of the chinese food I have eaten so far has been really bland. Just vegetables, meat and rice. But as I was walking down the isle and smelling all the different smells wafting from the woks. Mmmmm. It smelled so spicy and delicious. Just flip them one yuan and you will have the greatest meal of your entire life! I loved talking with the people and playing the little carnival games they had setup. I won a ceramic cup! Its my favorite and now I eat my secret stash of street fruit from it in the morning. 

It was fun walking amongst the people but my favorite part of the night was at the very end. As we were all getting ready to leave, I had fallen a bit behind. An older man and a woman had a tiny little box setup with only three bushels of grapes on it. The woman plucked one of the grapes off and handed it out towards us. The other two girls I was with were hesitant to try it because the other teachers warned us that we shouldn't drink the water or eat the fruit without washing it with our own water.  Not that its bad. It would just make us sick because we haven't been drinking it our whole lives. I couldn't help myself though, they were so cute, so I ate the grape and it was SO delicious. I used one of the only mandarin words I know and just smiled and kept saying "Hao da, Hao da," which just means, "Good, Good!" They laughed and were soooo happy. Then another lady came running over and she said in broken English, "These are my friends, they say you should come back often. Come to visit. Welcome to changzhou." I asked the lady how much the grapes were in mandarin and she was trying to give them to me for FREE! I still paid her and then she squeezed my hand before I left. As I was walking back to the group I couldn't help but think how happy I was in this exact moment. These people. Oh they just have such big hearts. How they survive with so little and give so much... I do not know. But I am thankful.