Sorry for taking four days off but I’ve felt as if there hasn’t been much to blog about lately.  Good things are happening with Lent and I’ve been praying for various things, but I haven’t felt too motivated to write.

(Finally) language study will start up again soon…and to be honest I can’t wait for class.  I never thought those words would come into my thoughts or roll off my tongue, and yet there they are.

Since I’ve had some time for reflection lately I have noticed that I have begun to see slight hints that I’ve been adapting to my culture.  By culture I mean both the Xining-variety Chinese culture I have been immersed in and the ex-pat Western culture of which I have joined in community.  Here are some obvious clues that signify:
You Might Be An Ex-Pat Adapting to Life in Xining

   
1. You talk in great seriousness (and in detail) with your ex-pat friends about the last time you and your family de-wormed.  (My last de-worming took place after we got back from Thailand.  You’ll be happy to know I think I was worm-free.)

   

2. You pay babysitters in Nestle’s Instant Hot Chocolate instead of currency…and they’re completely happy with that.

   

3. The foreign affairs office of your college notifies you that they will call you either today, tomorrow, or Saturday to give you your class schedule for the next semester.  And, oh yeah, classes will start on Monday…

   

4. You catch a cab to one of your favorite restaurants called the Black Tent.  Upon arrival at the restaurant site you notice a small green tent set up on the sidewalk.  The tent sits in front of an empty lot which used to house a restaurant called the Black Tent.  You shrug your shoulders and go to the next restaurant on your list…  (We decided not to try the "green" tent.  It looked a bit too much like a refugee shelter.)

   

5. Your 2-year-old points at a piece of food she wants and says, "that one, daddy! Mistaking your hesitation for confusion, your two-year-old rephrases the request "zhe ge" in Chinese.  You get really excited, then really jealous of her effort-free capability.  (I didn’t know she even knew that word!)

   

6. You expect price negotiation…even for your daughters’ pre-school tuition fees.

   

7. You decide three or four "wears" without washing your jeans is OK.  (Arguments for extended wear:  Who’s going to notice on the street?  If I wash them, it will be four days before I can wear them again due to the slow-dry factor.  And "they’ll just get dirty again anyway" fatalism.)

   

8. You talk glassy-eyed with your ex-pat friends about Chiang Mai, Krabi, and other Thai cities like they are long lost friends or beloved pets.  "Chiang Mai is the best.  Did you see him in February or March?  Yeah, we stopped in then, too.  Serves the best coffee…and so easy to get to know…really polite."

   

9. You see a boy "relieving himself" on the sidewalk and it raises questions…about his age.  The poo-ing is not the problem, you’re now OK with that, but you wonder at what age it might be frowned upon to do this in full view of the passing traffic.  "He’s got to be about 6 or 8 I would imagine?  And now his dad seems to be assisting…uhh, I didn’t need to see that!"

   

10. You understand why reasonably sane people would be compelled to eat at KFC weekly.