Mom wasn't sure if I was being serious about Phil. I was.

But today was not a day full of Phils. It was a day full of a different variety of wonders. I met a guy on the bus last night. He started talking to me because I was an obvious foreigner, but reading a book written by an early 20th-century Chinese man. Within a few hours, I had taken him up on an offer to eat jiaozi at his & his girlfriend's place 40 minutes away. Not only did we have a fantastic time making and eating jiaozi, but we climbed a mountain (a small mountain... a domesticated hill, really), we went grocery shopping together so that they could show me the exact spices they used for lunch, and we grabbed my favorite type of dinner off the street: 地瓜跟米邦 (sweet potatoes and corn on the cob) - plus they introduced me to some very interesting sweet pastries. My favorite of the three was the one with pork rather than the ones with veggies ~ I think because it had the most salt.

This was a natural awning of flowers & leaves above us on our walk. I love how something is always in bloom in Zhuhai. I hope I remember that when the weather is a sultry 99 degrees Fahrenheit and unrelenting in its humidity.



This was a surprisingly large bird that flew across the path.
Can any avid bird watchers identify this for me?
Umm -- Mom -- I have included a special version of this picture for you below:


The hill we climbed is named Rock Hill because of the huge rocks that grace its facades amongst the trees. I guess "Stone Mountain" is an equally accurate translation, and a lot cooler sounding... but it is not a cool mountain. It is a tranquil family place where even old people can take the day to climb to the top without needing to bring a bottle of water along. So, in my head, it is more representative of what I experience to call it Rock Hill.

And this is the roller coaster that can take you down the mountain. I couldn't get pictures of the cars going down, but you may notice the English on the green sign to the right: "Turn Way, Reduce Speed". Yes ~ each roller coaster seat has its own handy dandy hand brake so that every rider is in control and fully responsible for her or his own safety.

Things like this make me wonder every day whether American standards of safety are something I should be grateful for or be disgusted at. Depending on the day and the matter, I may be either or a little bit of both. Regarding roller coasters... well, let's just say that I walked down the little mountain the way I came up.