I want to start out this post by saying that after a lot of soul-searching I have decided that I appreciate Harry Potter movies, but I can completely do without Twilight. That being said, there are some foods here in China that I appreciate, and there are others whose odor could down a charging rhinoceros at 100 meters out. Please bear in mind that I said "foods here in China" and not Chinese food, so when I tell you that my favorite place to eat here is a Korean restaurant there won't be any confusion.

On the subject of foods let me tell you that I currently live in the dormitory of a boarding school; thus, I eat primarily in the school cafeteria (note: everyone here, including foreigners of China, seem to call a cafeteria a canteen, but canteen makes me think of Desperado or that thing you fill up when you're out doing survival training.). Now, one thing I have discovered during my time here is that eating in a cafeteria in China is very similar to just about every experience that I have had eating in a cafeteria in the States. By that I mean that most cafeteria food sucks, and that seems to be an international rule. Peace has got to start somewhere right? Maybe we can build off of that. Now there are a couple exceptions to the cafeteria food rule in most cafeterias, and that remains true here. I find myself overjoyed when I step into the cafeteria and realize that they are serving either: a)fried chicken (yes, I'm from the South) or b)stewed tomato and egg. Both of these dishes are done quite well here, and they are often signs of a good day.

Apart from the obvious presence of McDonald's (which doesn't exist in my city), the two major western food chains in China happen to be Pizza Hut and KFC. I'm not particularly fond of KFC (try the shrimp cake sandwich sometime), but Pizza Hut operates significantly differently here than back home and I'm a fan. You see, Tuesday nights are half-price movie nights here, and my friend, Nick, and I have spent many of them gorging on stuffed crust pizza and assorted appetizers followed up by whatever western movie appeals to us the most or turns us off the least that week.

Despite my appreciation for pizza about once a week, my favorite restaurant in Haining, China is a Korean restaurant around the corner from a dance club in which I've embarrassed myself on multiple occasions. They cook various dishes right at your table (generally we just go for pieces of pork and beef that are then wrapped in lettuce or eaten over rice), but they also have something called guo bao ruo, which means deep fried pork. The guo bao ruo is served as hot as the sun and has a honey type glaze, and I might cause physical harm to someone to get to it.

Finally, if you don't like snacks then you might not be Chinese. There are myriad shops, stalls and carts at which you can purchase an amazing variety of snacks. If I'm ever walking downtown and I get a craving for duck heads or necks, that's not a problem. Do you want random grilled meats on a stick? We've got it. Oh! You say that you prefer chicken feet? I can take care of you, but far and away my favorite snack is choutofu, which is literally translated as "smelly tofu." It's name is exactly what it is, and it lives up to the hype. I can honestly tell you from a block out if there is any of this "delicious" snack in the area. Choutofu is tofu that has been cooked, left to sit out for a day and cooked again to be eaten. At least, that's what I've been told, and it truly haunts me in my waking hours.

Well, that's all for now. I'm not really sure how this is going, but it's going all the same. As always, fire away with any criticisms, because I really don't know what I'm doing.

Peace