Henry the Duck

Alright. So I am now in china. It feels  so crazy for me to say that. I still don't think it has fully sunk in yet. But that seems almost impossible to believe considering I have eaten chicken feet. You heard me (Well, read me?). With the claws still attached and all. 

I may have been sad to leave HK, but in reality I am loving Shenzhen. Don't get me wrong, there are negatives mixed in with the positives, but I'm trying to approach everything with open eyes and acceptance. I may not like it all, and it may be different from back home, but that doesn't make it wrong or gross. Just different. 

And the funny thing is, the reason it has been so great is because of the five guys from the "hostel" group. Brad has been great about acclimating me (and the group) to everything around us. Ben has been so patient teaching me Chinese (it's going very slow) and the Jacks. I don't know what I'm going to do come tomorrow morning when they leave to go back to Nanjing. Who thought you could become so attached to two 14 year old Chinese boys. 

But never fear, "bad" jack helped me download qq, which is sort of like a Chinese Facebook but more like instant messaging or Skype. We have already exchanged qq numbers and he has invited me (and amber) to visit Nanjing and stay with his family! He may be unruly and crazy, but he has such a sweet heart. 

Ok. So obviously I haven't mentioned Henry the duck yet. But that's because once I start talking about food I may never stop. 

For my first meal in China I got a duck hot pot. That's basically a huge bowl of soup over a flame at your table and whatever meet you get, well the whole animal is in there (chicken, duck, squab...). 

Well we got duck. 

And somehow I wasn't getting a lot of food and I was hungry! The only thing left untouched by the group was the neck and head of the duck (beak and all!). So I took my chopsticks, grabbed the duck neck, and plopped it on my plate. After a few photos of me kissing the duck beak, I just dug right on in. 

Was it strange? Heck yes. 

Was it delicious? Double heck yes. 

Was I freaked out? Of course I was. 

But, since I was eating it, and staring directly into the empty eye sockets of the duck, I decided he must have a name, and thus Henry was born. Well, he was consumed. 

And I didn't stop there. 

My dinner that night was the best I've had yet. I picked up my menu in Chinese. Pointed to something. (was told it had potato) and said yes please. 

Best decision of my life. 

I've even eaten normal foods that I would have never eaten at home: soy milk, asparagus, tofu (yes, tofu. Even crazier for me than the chicken feet), cucumber, fish, peppers. All these things I thought Id never like. And I eat them. And I love them. 

Some things have been done right icky. But at least I tried it. At the end of the day that's really all that matters. I'm trying new things and experiencing a whole new world I didn't know existed. 

I've got one more day of training in Shenzhen before I head off to Gúiyàng. I will miss some of these people so much when we separate, but I can't wait to chat with them on qq and hopefully build lasting friendships.