Thankyou!

During this week I have been very lucky to meet with two other foreign teachers here in the city. Amy and Brad teach at the university and are back here for their third year. Thank you both for your warm welcome and all the handy bits of information. Not only can I now find some groceries that make life easier, but Amy has forwarded on a cook book that the foreign teachers have put together after a few years of experience of living here in Yichang...maybe this will also give me an opportunity to improve my culinary skills. Maybe some of you don't realise, but it is actually very difficult to come across many of the things we are so used to eating. We can only get plastic cheese slices,strange sweet tasting bread usually with bits of sultanas in it, boxes of (cow in the cupboard) milk and it's quite bizzare that many of the drinks here such as instant coffee (are literally instant) the milk powder, sweetener etc are all in the little packet and you just put it in the cup and add hot water. If you want the real stuff, first you have to track it down....then you usually have to pay a price ! I have found one thing I love (thanks again Amy and Brad) ...."Milky Pearl Tea" (see above picture)It's kind of odd drinking a drink with black jelly like balls in the bottom of the glass...but I like it !! I have to mention a special thanks to Amy's friend Salina (a Chinese English teacher here who speaks English very well)who was extremely kind and treated a whole bunch of us to a wonderful lunch today ( I had Mild Chicken Curry) It is so good to get reminders about how many kind, helpful people there are around.