#was supposed to have hotpot yesterday with a friend

[throwing-roses-into-the-abyss]

Hate still being disappointed and upset when friends cancel plans with good reasons

[dootdootwriting]

hihi! can I request a romantic kazuha x reader fic, when he returns home from wandering around? thank you!

with love,

-🧊☕️

i leave for so long and when i get back i have emoji anons...... this is the best day of my life clearly i've made it as a writer/hj

also i have over 700 followers now i dont know how THAT happened but i'm glad u guys like my words!!

sorry i've been gone for so long :,) turns out finishing high school is kind of a big deal ?? but i'm back now so :) hit me w ur requests and im so sorry again LMAO

..

pairing: kazuha x reader; platonic thoma, ayaka, & ayato x reader tw: mentions of loneliness; uhhhhhh inazuma quest spoilers i suppose????, beidou lifts an entire anchor by herself because listen to me when i tell you this woman is BUILT. wife. this isnt a trigger but it IS important. type: written, (angst to(?)) fluff, this is SO cheesy somebody shoot me PLEASE my brain is ROTTING pronouns: NONE LOL :D

KAZUHA had left only a day or two after the vision hunt decree had been lifted. Though he was no longer considered an enemy of the state, he'd told you he'd still felt uncomfortable, that people still trailed their gazes after him, and that he still hid instinctively sometimes from Kujou Sara and her men.

It made sense, of course. And since he'd been helping aboard captain Beidou's ship for so long, she'd gladly offered to let him tag along with her crew for a while longer to help take the edge off things. Kazuha was grateful, and though he promised he'd miss you (and you knew he would), you could tell he was relieved when he boarded the ship one more time.

It had been around four months since he'd left.

Letters had been delivered, written full of everything he'd seen and sometimes delivered with foreign flowers that had reminded him or you or trinkets fashioned from grass or tree bark in his spare time. From the words on the pages, you could tell he was making the most of his journey, and that taking in so many new places was, for him, the best of vacations.

For you, however, it meant loneliness.

You had your friends, who you would meet up with from time to time at Komore Teahouse. You would engage in ridiculous hotpot games with the Kamisatos and Thoma. You would pet Taroumaru's obnoxiously, adorably fluffy pelt. And while these were excellent pastimes and helped get your mind away from Kazuha for a few moments, your thoughts always circled back to him in the end.

So when finally, after three and a half months of waiting, you got a letter saying he was on his way back, you were overjoyed. You told everyone you could think of. Ayaka laughed with you and gave you a bear hug (then quickly coughed and apologized, though you told her she had nothing to worry about). Taroumaru barked happily and wagged his tail, too polite a dog to jump on you. Thoma congratulated you loudly from his seemingly permanent abode of the bathroom, and Ayato smiled sincerely at you, which seemed to be about the most he could do without laughing at Thoma's predicament (poor guy).

And all this led to you now, feet planted firmly on the docks despite your nervous stomach seeming to be in your throat, eyes trained desperately on the horizon for any sign of the Alcor and its fleet. News had come yesterday that it would be arriving shortly, and, being so kind and incredibly connected, Thoma had delivered the news to you.

Finally, after what seemed like days but was most likely just over an hour, something caught your eye. It seemed like just a shadow at first, but it quickly became more visible, and with it the sound of a whistling tune only one person could make. Kazuha sat, as laid-back as ever, in the crow's nest, a blade of grass in hand at his lips. The lookout officially on duty tapped him a few times on the shoulder and pointed at the docks, and Kazuha quickly sat up, eyes darting around to find you.

It wasn't long before he did, and with the Crux coming in so quickly, you could spot the exact moment when he spotted you. Kazuha's entire face lit up into a grin so wide you'd probably only seen it on him once before. His hair whipped about into his face and out into the wind, and he waved with both hands stretched as far as he could, letting go of the blade of grass he had been playing just a moment before. It danced out into the wind, and by the time you couldn't see it anymore, the Alcor had pulled up to the dock, and Beidou waved to you before hoisting the anchor overboard.

Kazuha wasted no time. Almost like a cat, he leapt from his perch and hit the deck of the ship so hard you almost worried if he'd injured himself. You didn't have the time to, however, because as soon as his feet touched the Alcor, Kazuha was running toward you at full speed, swooping you up in his arms and laughing to the point where, if you were able to catch a glimpse of his face while yours was buried in his shirt, you would have noticed tears.

"I missed you," he said, and it wasn't loud. It was almost whispered, so quiet that only the two of you could hear it.

"I missed you, too," you replied, and without another word, Kazuha grabbed your face uncharacteristically roughly and pressed his lips against yours. It felt like he kissed you for almost as long as you'd been waiting for him to come back. Though the world moved along outside, the two of you were in your little bubble, as if the archons had been so merciful as to grant you a little pocket of immortality to enjoy just this once.

Kazuha pulled away after a few moments, cheeks flushed as red as the autumn leaves he adored so much. You felt heat rush into yours as well.

"Do you want to do anything now that you're back? I can help you carry things if you need," you offered, your hand finding its home holding his.

"Let's just go home," Kazuha answered, his own hand squeezing yours in response.

After all this time waiting, you think, you are more than happy to oblige.

[ootori-sibs]

The Ootori princess

Chapter 7: That dream

Kyoya was very pleased that his friends liked his new room, and he had been happy to show them around the rest of the garden. After they'd seen everything Kyoya was aware of, they sat in the garden, drinking lemonade and eating sugar cookies. It was different from how they usually hung out, there wasn't any purpose to this, they had no goal in mind. They were relaxed… it was new to Kyoya to be so calm and still with the hosts, with his friends.

It was Kyoya's first time in the back garden, and it was very pretty; there were a couple of big flower patches, some lovely looking fruit trees, and a little vegetable patch tucked away in the corner. The thing that surprised Kyoya, however, was the chickens, Yuuichi hadn't told him there were chickens. This was amazing, he had a hen on his lap at that moment, he wasn't petting it but he wished to know its name. The other hosts definitely enjoyed the presence of the chickens as well, playing with them happily. Kyoya liked the garden, it was very nice. There was a lot of sun- the mansion was angled in such a way to catch the sun.

It wasn't Kyoya's fault, he closed his eyes for just a second. He hadn't expected to find himself in a flowerfield, with chickens running about among the undergrowth. It was a lovely scene, with the sun shining brightly down on him, not burning but simply warming him. Kyoya felt so incredibly free; the flowers and grass brushing against his bare skin felt great, he almost wanted to twirl- and there was no one around to see him, so he did.

He rushed around amongst the flowers, the chickens quick on his heels. It felt amazing, everything felt so amazing. It was almost like the welling in his chest when someone told him they were proud of him, but so much better. There wasn't even any lense flare in his glasses for once- which was an incredibly rare occurrence for Kyoya. He simply ran and ran and ran- never seeming to get tired for some unknown reason.

Until he did see a lense flare.

It didn't come from his glasses, no, it came from something in the distance. So Kyoya ran towards it naturally, the chickens began to make louder and louder squawks, clearly just as excited as Kyoya- although for what he could not say.

He finally reached the object that had been calling to him, it was a large, floor length mirror, somehow suspended in midair. It was gold and extremely intricate- though that wasn't what made Kyoya stop in her tracks.

She was wearing a sundress, a lovely white one with a gold belt of a soft and shiny fabric, her hair was so long it reached her shoulders, held out of her eyes with an alice band. The dress was short and flowing, rippling in a breeze that was evidently there now. The girls nails were painted white, they matched her dress nicely, as well as the little white dolly shoes. There was something about the girls face; her lips were a light violet colour and her eyelashes so pleasantly done, her eyebrows were smaller and perfectly neat, she was positively glowing.

There was something in her eyes too, something that Kyoya never had- Kyoya couldn't tell you what it was, in her eyes, but the girl seemed to know- Kyoya wanted to ask her. She was so radiant, so beautiful. She was the kind of girl everyone would fall in love with, she was the kind of girl people would want to be around, she was everything Kyoya failed to be.

...and he loved her.

Kyoya must have fallen asleep, because when he woke up, the sun was in a different position and the hosts were all happily talking to Yuuichi. Wow, he must have been asleep for a long time if Yuuichi was home already. Yuuichi seemed to notice Kyoya was awake and smiled, "did you just leave your poor friends to entertain themselves while you took a nap? Honestly Kyoya, I can't leave you alone for five minutes can I?" He was clearly joking, hands on his hips and he was smiling, but Kyoya felt a jolt of panic hit him as he realised he had done just that.

He sat up straight, scaring away the poor hen that had been resting on his lap, adjusting his glasses, he hung his head in shame, "ah, my apologies. In my defense, someone should have woken me."

"Senpai are you mad?" Hikaru blurted out, looking at him in kind of annoyed shock, "have you seen what you're like when you've just woken up?? We'd rather not die thank you very much."

Kyoya supposed he had to concede that Hikaru had a point, he wasn't the best person when he just woke up. Yuuichi went back inside- presumably to make dinner, whilst everyone else resumed whatever they had been up to. Kyoya didn't get any time to process anything that was happening when Tamaki sat opposite him at the table, smiling, "so what was your dream about?"

Kyoya's dream? Well- oh… what was that about?? Kyoya barely remembered anything from his dream, only… that girl. Kyoya had a sinking feeling he knew what that dream had been about. "I, uh, well I don't really remember," he lied to Tamaki, hoping the king would drop it.

“Aw, shame,” he smiled, taking a sip of lemonade through the straw, “dreams are very important, my mother used to say that they could show a window into the soul!” He beamed, unaware of how his words made Kyoya’s skin crawl… surely it’s just more of Tamaki’s nonsense, the dream was senseless imagery- nothing to dwell on… right?

He just nodded, “a real shame.” He and the hosts headed inside, finding their way to the living room. Yuuichi was letting them play his video games, so they all positioned themselves around the sofa as Tamaki and the twins grabbed the only three controllers. They were just playing some dumb racing game, Kyoya wasn’t really paying attention but it was fun to see the boys get so competitive. He just leant back and relaxed with his drink, picking the feathers from his trousers as he was watching them play.

But he couldn’t relax, he couldn’t stop thinking about his dream. He could only remember one thing; his reflection, that damned girl. Tamaki had said dreams were important but Kyoya didn’t really want it to be. He’d had the nagging feeling that something was wrong for a while now, he realised, it had only been amplified by Haruhi coming out. Kyoya remembered all the times he had worn a dress for a club theme, all of two times; the first had been when they dressed in drag for Tamaki’s dumb scheme to keep Haruhi, then the second time was when he dressed as the black queen for the wonderland theme- he remembered Tamaki helping him with the corset, he remembered the feeling of the skirt before the frame was put in- it was wonderful. Kyoya hated to think about how he’d looked in the mirror, with his hair extensions and his wonderful makeup, he had adored the way he’d looked, it had made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. He had tried on the dress yesterday- the green one. It had made him feel the same way; that warm and almost glowing feeling- it had terrified him to his core.

He was half tempted to ask Haruhi to explain the gender thing again, but he knew that it wouldn’t help- it would just panic him further. Kyoya knew what the issue was, he’d known it for a while he thought- every time he wore something even remotely feminine, the way how heart swelled and he felt a strange sense of belonging; like everything about him was screaming out that yes, this was him, this was who he was supposed to be. Kyoya was terrified of what he wanted to be.

After a while, Kyoya got to relax a little, as Maddie had come to inform the hosts that dinner was ready. So they made their way to the dining room, where Yuuichi had made a large hotpot containing all the best foods. The hosts were very excited by this, sitting down and happily chattering amongst themselves, Yuuichi joined the talking, happily telling them how his work had been doing. Kyoya was quiet as his friends and his brother talked, he just quietly ate his food. The lovely sound of his friends enjoying themselves did serve to make Kyoya feel a lot better, so he shook the thoughts from his mind and let himself enjoy the time he got to spend with his friends.

The food was great, Kyoya always found food a good distraction from troublesome thoughts. He glanced up from his food to see Yuuichi and Tamaki getting along, oh that was good, Kyoya did feel glad that his big brother enjoyed the company of his crush- always a good sign. Tamaki was telling Yuuichi about some of the themes the club had done, Kyoya was utterly surprised by how approving Yuuichi was of most themes- only showing concern when Tamaki mentions the costumes that had the hosts shirtless, making sure they were all happy with it. Kyoya did think about that… he wasn’t sure if he liked being shirtless, he especially didn’t enjoy getting oggled over by the girls. He definitely preferred the themes that allowed him to wear shirts and- oh no, Tamaki had brought up the wonderland theme, and by extension; the dress Kyoya had worn.

Yuuichi had paused when Tamaki mentioned the dress, and the hair extensions, and the makeup. He’d looked at Kyoya with a strange look in his eyes, one that made Kyoya very anxious before turning back to smile at Tamaki, chuckling, “ah, I’m sure that was fun…” the way Yuuichi trailed off made Kyoya highly uncomfortable, he glanced away as the conversation continued. Kyoya felt like there was someone terribly wrong with him, and he couldn't help but feel as if Yuuichi knew.

After dinner, they had some lovely sponge cake, one that Yuuichi had made just that morning. It was nice, sitting there as his friends talked, it almost made him forget the horrible nagging feeling in his gut. Almost. Nevertheless, the company of his friends was comforting, letting Kyoya let his guard down even further. After that, Yuuichi bid them farewell, as he had work to do and retired to his office. The hosts made their way up back to Kyoya's room, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. Kyoya breathed a sigh, shaking any dregs of worry from his mind, the hosts made everything better.

As they walked, Kyoya found himself beside Tamaki, the king smiling happily at him when he looked over. "This is a really nice place Kyoya! Are you having fun here?" Kyoya just nodded in response, looking around the corridor, Tamaki paused at his response, "well you seemed to have something on your mind recently, what's up, mon ami?"

Kyoya paused, not realising his crisis was so plain to see. He definitely didn't want to share his fears, he couldn't imagine how Tamaki might laugh- he hadn't laughed at Haruhi, but that's different… besides, it wasn't like Kyoya was experiencing the same thing he was, it was just a stupid thought. He sighed, shaking his head, "it's nothing Tamaki, don't worry."

"Are you sure..?"

He glanced away, damn Tamaki for being so caring, "stop it Tamaki, I'm fine, everything's fine." Tamaki clearly didn't believe him, but sighed, nodding slowly and walking in silence.

They sat around the room, both Tamaki and Kyoya sat on the bed, Tamaki was hugging the curtains as the twins talked about some sort of nonsense. They'd started on school gossip he thought, oh goodie, Kyoya was excellent at this. He pulled out the drive of information on his phone, joining the conversation quite happily. Finding some very interesting rumours about their clients as he did so.

It was so nice, just to let his guard down around his dear friends. Kyoya knew that a mere two years ago and he wouldn't dare even smile so genuinely, now he was open enough to chuckle. He loved them so dearly, he'd trust them with anything… wouldn't he? The doubt hit him like a little tap on his shoulder, creeping up into his spine as he shivered. No one noticed so he breathed a sigh of relief, laying back on the bed.

Madeline brought them some hot chocolate later on in the evening, it had cream and marshmallows, though Kyoya's had dark chocolate chunks, so he was happy. It was really good hot chocolate too, it instilled Kyoya with a sense of something unlike anything he'd ever felt before. Honey spoke up, smiling, "this is really good! Almost as good as how my maids make it!"

"You guys don't even make your own hot chocolate?" Haruhi was once again surprised by rich people things, bless his soul.

"Of course not, that's what maids are for," was Hikaru's rebuttal, rolling his eyes at the poor commoner.

Haruhi had mumbled something about rich people being morons but Kyoya didn't pay much mind to it, just staring up at the canopy over his bed, there were little silver stars embroidered on it, just over the canopy and not the curtains. He thought it looked really good, Kyoya wasn't one for novel things like that, he hated feeling like a wasteful child, but this was a really nice touch and Kyoya actually found it had helped him sleep the last two nights.

"They're very pretty," Tamaki seemed to read his mind, laying next to him. Kyoya felt his face heat up slightly as he glanced over at Tamaki; the boy was beautiful, he had perfect bone structure, a symmetrical face, large, bright eyes, he definitely used lipgloss- no one's lips are that soft and shiny naturally. Kyoya wondered if he should start wearing lipgloss, but that thought could wait. "Hm?"

"The stars," Tamaki clarified, he must think Kyoya hadn't understood, "they're very nice, who did them?"

"I'm not sure, one of the maids I assume?"

He nodded, "that makes sense, do you like them?"

"I do."

"Good," Tamaki smiled, he had such a lovely smile, "they remind me of you, in a way?"

Huh, that didn't make any sense, "how?"

Tamaki sighed lightly, glancing at Kyoya before returning his gaze to the stars, Kyoya did the same, "well they're not exactly golden, and a lot of people would prefer gold- those people are shallow. Silver is just as good as gold and is honestly a lot more versatile. Stars are underrated too, but in a different way; they can only be seen as little specks, pretty little fairy lights of the sky, but if you were to look closer you'd see how bright and unique and powerful they are. Stars aren't actually shaped like that either, those shapes are man made and man formed, I don't understand why they came up with that shape and I don't pretend to understand it, but I still think it's wonderful in every way." Tamaki was staring at him again, Kyoya noticed, there was something in the boy's eyes that resembled stars themselves- or at least what stars were seen to be. "I just think they're really cool, and they fit your room."

Kyoya had listened to the entire thing, taken aback by this, it sounded almost like something he would say to charm a guest, but this was different, something about this felt separate, more intimate- and Kyoya couldn't help but blush. He let out a breath, not sure what to say, or if he should even speak.

"What are you two talking about back there?" A voice, Kaoru's voice, called back from the sofa. Both boys sat up, Kyoya taking a few breaths to compose himself as Tamaki rolled his eyes.

"We were talking about how nice the bed is, why?"

The twins shared a knowing look, smiling mischievously, Kyoya knew they thought they knew something. He hoped they were right. As the others were distracted by Haruhi telling them stories about commoner things, Kyoya felt himself sink into the circle, the sense of safety and comradery comforting him. The crisis could be ignored for now, as long as he had his friends.

[ella-randolph]

Part 3: Food

你好！It’s been a truly wild trip so far, but I can say half of what’s made it so interesting is the food!

For breakfast we usually have fruit, an egg sandwich, tea/coffee, and one other thing that Jiang’s dad switches around. Two days ago was he dragon boat festival so he made some traditional brown sticky rice just for it that was delicious! Yesterday he made fruit egg tarts which were to die for, and he said we could have them again today if I liked them so looking forward to that! For lunch for the festival, Jiang had family and a friend come over, and I ate so much but I honestly have no idea what most of what was on my plate was! I only recognized the rice, cauliflower, & edamame, but it was all delicious! Her family was also very sweet but spoke limited to no English, but her friend Fox did so I talked to him for a while! He told me a story from his hometown, Luding, too where there’s a bridge that’s very difficult to cross, and once the red army somehow crossed it to the enemy’s side and now there’s a memorial, but it was super interesting to hear about! But back to food! That night Jiang’s dad’s friend’s came over and taught me to make dumplings! It took a while to get but once I understood I loved it! Yesterday we went to a huge shopping center and had hotpot for lunch! I felt like it may have been spicier this time but the other sauces cooled the food down a bit and it was to die for! After that we went to Kuanzhai Xiangzi (or Wide & narrow) Alleys which were surreal! I tried a fruit drink and learnt they love peppa pig here (featured on the drink). I also had these dough balls that they threw against a drum which then landed in seasoning!

I think that’s all the food talk for now so I can get into other things I’ve noticed about Chengdu!

1) They think talking about politics is inappropriate. Jiang’s friend Fox asked a question or two but said he didn’t want to ask more because he wasn’t really supposed to.

2) They don’t say anything when someone sneezes.

3) The reason I often can’t understand the language is that many people speak in the Sichuan dialect instead of in mandarin.

4) They have a good amount of cold water which I didn’t expect.

5) When they drink, they toast before every time they have a sip.

6) Ear cleaning is popular in Chengdu.

Another little fun fact of the trip! I’ve been trying to say yes to as much as I can, and at the shopping center they had something called the Ghost school that Jiang was terrified of and for good reason! I went through with her friend Chen and it’s without a doubt scarier than any haunted house I’ve been in!

That’s all for now, so 再见!

[honeyed-ambrosia]

It feels a little weird being here, if I’m honest. In a hospital bed that’s quite a bit longer than my own single bed at home. There’s a massive window right next to me, that is open, to let the breeze and sunshine in. I can smell the food being prepared down the corridor and feel a little hungry, but the number on the scale yesterday makes me feel queasy, so I decline when the nurse offers me a meal.

‘It’s Sunday today? We’ve got a lovely hotpot and roast potatoes for you? The Apple crumble is really tasty as well?’ She pleads. Every fibre of my being wanted to say no, but I smile and accept the meal anyway.

I thank her when she places the large tray of food in front of me. Plastic cutlery so I don’t try to hurt myself. It tastes a little bland and I can’t say that I’m enjoying it, but I’m grateful for something to do. They gave me a sponge bath this morning and I changed back into the tracksuit and full sleeve t-shirt that my sobbing mother had dressed me in two nights ago, in front of the unfazed ambulance crew, but now I feel a little too hot, covered by the blanket in direct sunlight.

I put my headphones in and listen to an audiobook while I nibble on a kidney bean. The lady in the bed across from mine slurps her soup loudly and it dribbles down her chin. I wonder what she’s in for? The bed next to me is an elderly lady who broke her shoulder. I saw the purple bruises on her back when she went to the toilet. It all feels surreal. Like I’m not meant to be here, as if I’ll wake up and it’ll have been an all too slightly specific dream. But it can’t have been a dream? I felt the pain when they pushed needles inside me to give me fluids or to check my blood and sugar. Ten oddly placed needle pricks along my arm tell me that I am, most certainly, not dreaming.

At the same time, this feels like deja vu. Listening to the mental health team telling me that it gets better, and asking me the same thousand questions with the same thousand answers. No I do not drink excessively. No I do not take recreational drugs, no I am not a risk to anyone and no I do not know why I overdosed on my medication. I push away the half eaten hotpot and try the dessert. Sweet things have always been a weakness of mine but even still, I only eat the lukewarm custard. The nurse comes along to check my vitals and she looks disapprovingly at my only half empty plate. I assure her that I ate most of my pudding and I’m just really not that hungry anyway. My blood pressure has increased, she tells me with a smile. I smile back, not really knowing what to make of that information.

The tea trolley comes around, and another nurse asks if I’d like a hot drink. It feels a little like the lady from Harry Potter. I ask for a cup of tea, which she remembers I like with milk and one sugar. My fourth cup today, but it brings me comfort anyway, as if I can soothe away this numbness with a scalding cup of chai and a few of the biscuits my sister packed for me.

The bathroom isn’t even ten metres away but I shakily make my way over. I pluck off another sticker, from the ECG I had at some point beyond memory, and pop it in the pedal bin with the yellow bag. While washing my hands, I hum happy birthday twice, make sure to scrub for exactly 20 seconds before washing. It must be someone’s birthday today. Someone out there is probably blowing out their candles, and making a wish. In a months time, it’ll be my grandad’s birthday, or maybe my uncle’s? I can’t remember.

I turn off the tap and spend a few moments scrunching my nose at the frizzy haired girl in the mirror. My eyebrows need doing.

Back to bed to drink my tea,

I contemplate that I’m supposed to be going home today. I know what’s going to happen. I’ll apologise to my family, I’ll laugh and comfort them, I’ll probably tidy my room a little? I remember I left it in mess. Then before bed, I’ll plan the class I’m teaching tomorrow and set homework assignments to some students. Maybe I’ll call a friend if I feel up to it? Then I’ll fall asleep. Ready for tomorrow to bring back the dull rhythm of routine. And I’ll settle into that routine. One day after the next, and the next, and the next. I’ll be treated like a fragile porcelain doll for a while, and I’ll keep smiling and apologising for the trouble, knowing full well that I’ll do the exact same thing at the next minor inconvenience that leaves me thinking I’d be better off dead. The seasons maybe be different, the medication I use might be different but, all in all, the way I feel won’t change. It hasn’t, for at least the past ten years, and I doubt it will for the ten after this. It’s just a fact of life. Like the spot on my chin or the sun rising tomorrow, I’m going to feel like this forever. I take a sip of tea and push that thought away.

My tea has gone cold. I don’t think I want it anymore.

[buquinnnan-blog]

Posts from the past #5

From August 9, 2016

This should have been posted about a week ago, as should have my next blog post, but I’ve been busy with finding out and visiting my permanent Peace Corps site. I’m actually writing this from my new apartment right now (stay tuned to find out more!). Without further ado, an anecdote:

In Chengdu, and I believe many areas in Sichuan and beyond, it is a very common practice to walk around at night after finishing your meal. The track on the SNU campus becomes packed with people of all ages, running or strolling, starting at 6pm and going much later than my bed time. Every time I see this the crowded oval, I’m struck by how many people take advantage of something that often goes ignored in the States.

Over the past month, I too have become accustomed to such evening strolls. After we eat dinner with the family, we relax for about a half hour and then its off to walk around another part of our campus or the surrounding areas. Sometimes my host dad and brother join, but often times its just my host mom and I. Additionally, my host mom (the well-connected woman she is) will often call up one of her friends to join us, last minute. I am, of course, always happy to chat with her friends, especially the delightful Tang Laoshi (Ms. Tang) who, when I first met her, startled me with her strong, crisp, and perfectly fluent British English. She is an English professor here at Sichuan Normal and always enjoys talking to me about anything that may arise.

However, as regular as these walks have become, they oftentimes include unscheduled additions, alterations, or elongations. What may start off as a 20 minute walk easily melds into a two tour. Alternatively, what may start as out as a walk make quickly become another activity altogether! This is change in plans is something all China volunteers have had to get used to this summer. For example, Two days ago, when my host mom asked me to go for a walk I quickly ran to change into my running clothes and ran out the door with her. Recently, I’ve taken up jogging at the track after our walks- looking for some way to burn off the mian and baozi. However, as we were leaving our apartment complex, a quick invitation call to Ms. Tang changed our plans from exercise to joining her for (her first, our second) dinner. After a long day of training, such changes can definitely bug you, but above all, life here is about going with the flow. While I didn’t quite get the exercise I desired (and rather consumed many more calories than intended), the night was wonderful. We ate chuan chuan – a type of Sichuan dish similar to hotpot, where sticks of raw meat and veggies are boiled in giant vats of oil and peppers- and practiced what I had recently learned in my Chinese courses.

Yesterday night was also an example of a evening stroll gone awry. After having a fellow volunteer, Carolyn, over for dinner, we went for a walk in Ms. Tang’s neighborhood (Wan ke), to enjoy the evening’s cooler air. As we walked, we came across a square with many stores that residents of Wan ke use. As we were walking, we came across a Chinese Massage place and stopped to look in the window. Out of nowhere, my host mom invites both Carolyn and I inside and quickly starts chatting with masseurs in Chinese. Next she turns to us and says, would you like a massage? Confused by the abruptness of the whole transaction, Caro responded in Chinese “we don’t have money” with a nervous laugh. To this, my host mom responded with, “well don’t worry! I actually prepaid for you to get one, so please lie down on the bed.” And thus began an hour long Chinese massage session. I’m pretty unfamiliar with the different styles of massages as this was my first, but it’s hard to imagine that they can be any more painful than what we experienced. I was pulled, twisted, and even just plain punched more times than I count. The massage was done by a blind man, which is apparently relatively common in the area (I’m not sure the reasoning or anything, but most massage places will have several blind people) and what he lacked in sight, he made up in brute force and knowledge of different pressure points. At one point, Carolyn, on the bed next to me winced, and my host mom asked her if it hurt. She confirmed that it was slightly painful to which my host mom said in her slightly devious Chinese-accented voice “…good. It’s supposed to.”

Though I have bruises today, the massage made me feel much better. I think I’ll need to find a place at site where I can get similar massages- as often as my body can handle them!