at the moment i am...

studying Chinese and eating French toast.

A few weeks ago my friend made French toast, and I didn't realize 

until after I had eaten 1 1/2 pieces 

that I was sprinkling baking soda on top instead of powdered sugar. ha.

In our cabinet downstairs, every little sack of white powder with Chinese writing looks the same! 

I thought there was something a little strange about how it tasted. :)

Word of advice- don't eat baking soda. It's pretty gross. 

Living in another country makes me thankful for marketing. 

At least when there's a picture on the package you can try to guess what's inside- which is what I do most of the time when I go to the grocery store. 

Chinese flavors throw me for a loop sometimes, though. 

LOTS of foods here are meat flavored... crackers, chips, you name it, there's probably at least one version that tastes like meat.

A sample of Chinese potato chip flavors for your reading pleasure: 

lamb barbecue, 

beijing duck,

prawn cocktail,

spicy crab, 

five spice fish

I, personally, am a fan of 'American flavored' (original).

Did you know

that a Chinese first grader has to learn 800 Chinese characters by the end of the year? 

plus English, 

and math and science, 

AND how to read and tie shoes and say thank you and sit still all day...

I'm impressed.

I think their little brains are quite amazing.

Speaking of brains, 

I better go cram mine with pinyin.

Zaijian