Back from Lanzhou

Well, my site visit was hen hao (very good). I loved the reps from my university--they were more than accomidating! I have a "counterpart" teacher, who is a lot of fun and happy to help me around the college and town. And I was able to meet my sitemate afterall! He returned from his travels and invited me out to dinner with his friends. I ended up spending most of the rest of my time with him and his friends. He's been super and is looking forward to helping me settle in.

Great story: my last morning in Lanzhou, I woke up early to meet one of the Foreign Affairs Office people, Amy, for breakfast. She wanted to take me to a famous restaurant in town for beef noodles (a Gansu specialty). It's only open from 6am to 10am, so it had to be breakfast (different, I know, but that's another topic for another day). But as I'm waking up, I realize I can't feel my bottom lip. I reach down to touch it, and it's swollen. So I grab a mirror close from my nightstand and see that lip is 8 times its normal size. This sends me into a panic, and I almost call the PC doctors in Chengdu. I looked pathetic. But it was funny (and yes, I do have pictures). Luckily it went away by the time Amy and I reached the restaurant. Don't know if it was a spider or mosquito bite or an allergic reaction. Amy doesn't think it's a mosquito bite, as "mosquitos don't kiss lips." I guess I'll never know.