Adventure is... corn muffins?

Who says adventure has to involve bungee jumping or rock climbing or extreme danger?  In China, there are little street food stands everywhere.  It would be impossible to visit every food place in my neighborhood.  There are that many.  Of course, there is some inherent risk of buying food at these places, yet some of the things they serve are so good!  Yesterday I went out after class with two friends to get some stuff at the grocery store before we move into our homestays today.  We made a stop to get some bubble tea.  Bubble tea here is usually hot milky tea, unlike the smoothie or cold varieties in the US, though the bubbles are the same thing.  I decided to take a chance and made a point at the menu to one that looked good.  I chose very well, the one with bubbles and jelly in it (so good oh my goodness).  We had seen some people get what looked like corn muffins and we saw them at a corner stand.  The girls were wondering out loud and I said, “Well there’s only one way to find out!”  Within minutes we had hot steamy muffins in our very cold hands.  They had a different texture than corn muffins and they were sweeter but oh so good!

Definitely not my most adventurous food selection thus far (actually inspired by home cravings), but there was some thrill nonetheless.  Especially since I had the confidence and knowledge to walk right up to the stand and ask for three muffins in Chinese (literally two words, don’t get excited).  It was enjoying said muffins (in English) with friends who I’m really growing to enjoy after a day of classes and speaking Chinese.  There have been a lot of things to get used to- I’m just trying to learn how to order food, get around the city, figure out what’s expected of me in classes, and get to know the kids I’m spending four months with.  I don’t have any crazy bungee jumping burn the house down stories yet, but hey, look at the title of my blog.  Each day, no matter what, can be an adventure if you so choose.  And sometimes it’s as simple as new friendships and hot muffins off the street after a hard day.

Pray for: meeting my host family (in an hour and a half!), and for the air to clear in Beijing!  Think of a super foggy day.  And none of its water vapor.   You can also say now that you've prayed for Siberian winds (bet you've never done that before), because those are the only ones that actually take stuff out of here.  Beijing is in a bowl geographically, which means the air just sits for days on end and its really not fun to breathe.  Thankfully, lung cells are regenerative.

If there’s stuff you want to know about my experience, shoot me a comment or an email, and I’ll blog about it or answer you directly.  I do actually see blog comments right when they happen because they get sent to my email, and encouraging emails are my link to home here!  Be blessed!