adventure is out there

is it possible to put into words my first week in weihai?

these nine days have stretched into what feels like years.

from 33 hours on planes and in airports, 

to landing in the greenest, lushest place i have ever seen.

i had my fair share of culture shock for the first few days,

hating my life & wishing for a mattress and AC more than anything.

today, i'm used to the weather and i don't mind sleeping on wood too much.

i love china 100x more than i did nine days ago.

i love what it's already given me:

the chance to feel like a celebrity everywhere i go,

and to dance the macarena on a stage in the town square, for a crowd of picture-snapping chinese people.

to eat things and have no idea what they are, and to discover a love i have for pigeon.

& to eat pounds of rice every single day, and enhance my chopstick skills.

i have found the best fried chicken in weihai,

been to the beautiful beach,

climbed thousands of stairs (quite literally: every time we go home, we climb 237 steps),

and played with baby white tigers.

i've touched turtles, giraffes, tigers, and elephants at the zoo,

i've climbed to the roof to watch the sun set,

stood in awe of a pagoda,

become terribly frustrated at internet censorship,

and laughed my face off at chinese t-shirts that try to have english sayings on them. (i.e.: "ya got no acne").

i've become a teacher,

and fallen in absolute love with 48 first and second graders.

i've listened to 7 year old asians sing "baby" by justin bieber.

and i've named 9 chinese children: dean, mack, milo, tasha, poppy, liz, sam, jones, and teddy.

they own my heart.

man, all i can say is that it's true.

adventure is out there.