Rabbit heads (and a dinner party at Cookie and Leo's house)

I am still getting adjusted to the clinics and surgery here. I am not able to do as much "hands-on" work as I was in Africa, due to medical license issues and the overall way things work here. However, we have definitely had some interesting clinic cases, and I will write more about that in a future post.

I am going to be honest--this week, I have been incredibly tired. Not only physically tired, but a complete mental and physical and emotional exhaustion. I am completely fine and doing very well, but I have noticed this trend when living overseas. I do really well for several days or weeks and feel I am getting so well adjusted, when BAM! I will have a really tiring day, where I just can't seem to get enough sleep. I think this stems from all the energy it takes just to live/survive/be in a foreign country for any length of time. Especially here in China--I can't communicate. Even the most basic things like, "Where is the bathroom?" or trying to tell a story about my life back home takes an incredible amount of energy. Incredible. So it is not just an "I'm kind of tired today" feeling, but rather a "I am completely drained of all energy" feeling. I just take it as it comes.

This afternoon we had our second English lesson. I had prepared some worksheets, some games, etc. They had a lot of fun and we learned all about ocular anatomy! They have the most difficulty with pronunciation, so we were sure to tackle that. At the end, we played "Mystery Box", where I had something in a box and they had to use English to ask questions and figure out what the mystery item was. The first was a toy top, the second an American dollar bill, and the third was an American granola bar. They had a lot of fun guessing! And the winner got to keep the item, so they were pretty stoked about that as well.

After work, Cookie had me, Katie, Michael, Mary, and Laura over to her and her husband Leo's apartment for a homemade dinner. On the walk to her apartment (which is very near my hotel), she told me they had rabbit heads for an appetizer. She wanted to know if I had ever had rabbit head. (I have not). She said it is, "so delicious, so delicious!".  And then all the others chimed in with, "Yes, so delicious!". They were really building this rabbit head thing up for me.

We made it to her apartment, and sure enough, her husband Leo pulls out the rabbit heads. One per person :) First, you put on a plastic glove, and then you munch away on your rabbit head. Honestly, this was all a little tough for me to stomach. But I did take several bites. They consume it all from the eyes to the tongue to the brain. I guess it is a specialty in Chengdu and Cookie surprised me with the following fact: over 2 million rabbit heads are consumed in Chengdu alone each year!

The bag of spicy rabbit heads. You can see the teeth in the upper right hand corner. And there is another head where you can see the tongue (on the very left hand side of photo about halfway down).

Leo, Mary, Laura, and Michael with their plastic glove on...ready to consume the rabbit heads! The glove is worn because the heads are covered in sauce.

Mary, Laura, and Michael enjoying their rabbit heads. They LOVED watching me squirm while attempting to eat it.

We then had fried tofu with hot sauce and fermented tofu sauce, pork and veggies, steamed mussels, preserved egg porridge, and Chinese cabbage. It really was a delicious meal, and prepared ENTIRELY by Cookie.

Mary, Katie, and Cookie preparing dinner.

Steamed mussels

Such a feast :)

Afterwards, we looked at Cookie's wedding photos (she and Leo just got married in early March), played a Chinese game, and had Chinese tea. It was a really fun evening. They all practiced their English so it was a win-win! We all told some funny stories and had some good laughs!



Cookie in one of her wedding outfits. Her husband Leo is a photographer.

 

Liz versus Cookie (this seems to me to be like the American game Othello).

Now it is time for bed. I can't seem to get enough sleep these days. My brain needs a break from the Chinese language!

The group (minus Leo). Laura, me, Cookie, Katie, Mary, and Michael. We are having our after dinner Chinese tea, which, according to Cookie "helps you digest your food and burn fat!".