MY ECON PROFESSOR : ''I MEAN ITS FREAKING COLD OUTSIDE'' (WITH CHINESE ACCENT):D

Oooo wen (turtle's name)

When you start talking to turtles..you know your Chinese is getting better!!!

Oh but I talked to the owners of the restaurant too..don't be like that. Of course I didn't fly thousands of miles to talk to turtles...silly

Hot what?!

In other news.....

I got introduced to quail eggs today. Yes quails lay eggs, they're a type of bird. But I don't blame you, I didn't know people went around looking for quail eggs to boil. It's pretty funny actually, picture a bunch of Chinese rummaging for quail eggs like it's normal. Ok so it is, in this part of the world. The problem is, normal in this part of the world is NOT normal for me. But that's ok, I've had people ask me if I know anyone called Kunta Kinte (I said yes, it's a fairly common name in Africa) so I guess I understand.

I wish I had a picture right now but its on my friend?'s camera, I'll put it up as soon as I have it. The eggs were part of what was to be my dinner if I had braved the storm but you know Fantes are particularly fussy when it comes to satisfying our gustatory cravings. Unfortunately I don't think my friends were happy with this explanation. They said to ''just go with it'' and to ignore ''what it is you're eating'' ''as long as it's edible''... they are obviously not Fante! Or Ghanaian for that matter but its all good. In life its good to be adventurous but to those who get it, the first person to die in a horror movie is never a black person.

So all in all, my ''dinner'' tonight was a hot pot, this boiling bowl set in the middle of the table that serves a soup you create yourself by choosing what goes in it..and all kinds of things went into mine. I'm glad my friends enjoyed it but it'll take some time to get used to soup cooked in 10 minutes (yes, the protein and veggies too).

My real dinner was Chinese nescafe (nothing like ours) and chinese wafers. 

This is what I signed up for, that's why I didn't slack in Ghana. Cheers to the good times!

Humble beginnings

So this is it, the girl is in China. Nobody sent me, nobody punished me, I wasn't threatened or coerced. I simply made up my mind that I was going to come to China. And yes, I felt 3 months of Mandarin lessons were enough to tide me over my 8 months stay. I mean, who needed more than 3 months?!

Ha. Simple as that.

DEPARTURE

Being the crazy 'too-known' chick (literally) that I am, I spent 48 hours between 4 continents prior to my arrival in China. Ghana to Frankfurt, 5 hours sleeping on a string of airport seats (no one saw me I guarantee you) Frankfurt to NYC, 15 hours with family and friends, switching luggage, NYC to LA, 1 hour filled with growing despair at being the only black person at the departure gate, LA to Shanghai..whew!

IN-FLIGHT

Yes, I was the only black person. I got a lot of stares. I wanted to sit by myself but some three girls came to sack me from my self-appointed 13hr throne. So I, in turn, went to sack the guy at my seat. Apparently it's not done, the Chinese avoid embarrassing situations like that. And the guy was with his girlfriend too. I felt so bad the entire flight, like I had beaten him up in front of his kids or something.

Halfway through the flight, the cabin crew switched from English to Mandarin...so I slept.

One thing that pissed me off though, the first and business class ate all the Chinese food on the plane so by the time it got to my turn (in the ECONOMY of Economy class), all that was left was Molasses chicken. Yes, molasses chicken.

Also, a lot of people on the fight were brewing something every minute, ginseng, tea,  herbal remedies..so you can imagine what the cabin smelt like.

At this point, with the smells of different herbs stinging my nostrils, reality sunk in. I was going to China!! I felt like asking for a parachute and crawling my way home from wherever I landed. But I checked the flight map and we were over the Pacific, so I scratched that plan out.

ARRIVAL

I had arrived. I still couldn't believe it. The stares started once more. Everyone stared. I mean everyone. So what did you expect me to do? That's right. I made an ass of myself. With the aid of a trolley of course. I was trying to get my trolley unto the escalator but the entrance was narrow...with no help from anyone, I in my wisdom unloaded my three suitcases and my hand luggage (full to max; Gh style, with bulges and everything), lifted the trolley, and reloaded it. Only to get downstairs and realize that there was an elevator right next to where I was suffering........

Watch out...the chronicles continue......