Observations

I don't have alot to write about, so I thought I'd write about a few things that I've noticed that are very Chinese and I still don't really understand:
morning fog is bad for your health.
raw vegetables are also dangerous. Especially green beans, they can kill you.
You should not write with the paper too close to your face, it is bad for your eyes.
Your age is a secret, but it is OK to talk about someone being fat or thin.
Chinese people are also the biggest hypochondriacs I have ever seen. If you have a little sniffle from being outside in the cold, they will say you are sick. And people go to the hospital for everything! Like a bad cold could hospitalize you for a few days.

All these things are things that Chinese people really and truly believe/do and I have seen in many different places. I'm sure there is more to come, but that's all I can think of now. I was just thinking about this today because I heard it in a few places. Laura and my language partners that we meet with on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons were telling me that it was bad for my health to get up so early in the morning because it is bad for you to breathe the morning fog. I thought this was interesting because whether you are up or not you are still breathing the same air. Then I made chaomian for dinner for Laura and I tonight. Li Juan came home while we were eating and tried some. She said it was very good, but warned me that I had to make sure to cook the green beans all the way through or they were "dangerous". I told her not to worry, I had par-boiled them first. I have also heard this from my teachers at Sichuan PengChuan (the culinary school). I haven't figured out why yet, but I'm working on it.
Speaking of my cooking class, tomorrow is my last class. After class we are all going out to dinner at a fancy restaurant and we get to go see the kitchen and learn about how to prepare a banquet. I'm excited for that.
I also got more packages today! Mom you are crazy, but thank you so much. I love getting them. I didn't open them because they are Christmas presents, I didn't even read the green tags. Laura read one because it fell off her bike on the way home and got run over by a car and we wanted to make sure it wasn't fragile. She assured me it wasn't. I can't believe Christmas is almost here! It's going to be hard to wait.
Sorry for another blog with no pictures, I keep forgetting. I'm not a very good photographer.