Well, it’s Halloween once again. It’s shocking how fast time goes by sometimes.
This year, we had the typical fun- carving watermelons (pumpkins in the right shape are tough to find), making masks, eating candy, telling scary stories, and all that.
I dressed up as someone in the American military. That was the scariest thing I could think of! Ha.

Some of the students really went crazy with the costumes. It was a lot of fun. We stood around and talked about scary story, some from films, some from books, and some that were (supposedly) true. It was one of the best English Corners we’ve had in a long time, if you ask me.

In other news, this past weekend I was in Longzhou. On Saturday Kate came down as well and we attended the famous “Delicious Food Street” at Kyle’s school. It was crazy! The place was packed, but there certainly was good food all over the place.
Mmmm… I always enjoy my visits to Longzhou, but this one was particularly good.

So my mother sent a package full of wedding planning stuff and things to make a Thanksgiving dinner. Obviously, it’s a bit hard to find any kind of wedding magazines or books in English over here. I bought one in Chinese, but it’s not particularly helpful. It’s nice to have a load of stuff, but I really wish there was a bookstore near by to find more. I think that’s something I’m already getting excited about for when I get home- bookstores! I’ve still got something like 9 months left though, so maybe I shouldn’t get too excited.

She also sent a box of Little Debbie’s Oatmeal Cream Pies….for Kyle. If you know me, you know how much it is killing me not to eat them. Seriously. I love those things. They’re not the least bit healthy, I know. Somehow, things like that are so much more exciting when you can’t seem to get them, or even see them, on a regular basis. It’s not like home where I can see them at the store and choose whether or not to buy them. They’re just not here to buy.
Kate and I were discussing these Oatmeal Cream Pies though. One major reason why I shouldn’t eat them (other than the fact that they’re supposed to be for Kyle, not me) is that I should probably, since I’m planning on having a wedding next summer, try to lose some weight. However, Kate pointed out that if I eat the whole box all in one go, my body can’t possibly handle all of that sugar/fat/etc, so it can’t have a lasting affect on my weight. It’ll probably make me sick and just pass through me anyway.
So I was considering that….seems like a good idea.

Speaking of trying to lose weight in China….
It seems rather difficult given the amount of fried food that I eat. Most of our food options here are fried, so that’s what I’m stuck with. If I cook for myself, it would probably end up being fried as well. There’s not a whole lot I can bake. Well, once I get some more ingredients, perhaps, but for now, I’m stuck with fried food.
Well, the other week I was talking with Jane about dieting things in China. I was really looking for something like SlimFast or a similar deal. She took me to the drug store near campus. The woman pulled out two bottles and claimed that these are the best two and you don’t gain the weight back too quickly. One she described as a meal supplement that will help me loose weight over several weeks. She said it’s not bad for your body. I took a look at the bottle and found a label in English: Colon Clean.
So I decided not to go for that. I asked about the second one and she said that it’s not very good for your body. She said that it does some bad things to your health. Yikes.
So much for finding something like SlimFast, I guess!