did you just say crack?

today i went from "english teacher in china" to "world wanderer." that's right. i am no longer teaching english. i taught my last class today. actually, to be more accurate, i gave my last set of exams. for the past two weeks i have been doing interviews with my students-my 500+ students. i spent a lot, a lot, a lot of time hearing about chinese new year (which is most often referred to as spring festival here) and birthday celebrations. it was...well, it was what it was-twenty hours of listening to chinglish on a limited number of topics-no one's idea of fun. but i would like to share one quote that kind of made it all (ok, not all, but at least that day) worth it. in reference to how chinese people celebrate spring festival- "...families have a large meal and then the parents will give the children money to buy crack." he pauses after i give him my 'slightly confused look.' i have given this look frequently in the last two weeks. he goes on to explain himself, "you know the sssss...boom!" me, "oh, oh. yeah. FIREcrackERs." him, "yeah, yeah, yeah. firecrackers." so rest assured. china's opium struggles continue to be a thing of the distant pass. but i made it through and my teaching responsibilities are done. don't get me wrong, my to do list is still a mile long, but i have officially shifted my life status to "world wanderer, searcher of the next step, one who is seeing the journey as the destination." so that's the big news. i will be in my city just about one more week and then randi and i are off for new places and experiences.

on a separate note. cockroach season is in full swing. two nights ago, as i went into the kitchen late one night i was greeted by a big fella who quickly scurried away out of sight, out of reach. last night, as i went to enter the kitchen again, i was actually expecting to see him again. he didn't disappoint. there he was, middle of the kitchen floor. i still had the slippers from the night before by the door so i went for the "throw one ball high to distract them and hit them with the second ball" trick. only i did it with the slippers and it worked masterfully. i was actually trying to pin him down with the one and gone in for the kill with the other but i missed, he got disoriented, i closed and took care of business. now you may be saying to yourself, jake, really? have you lost it? cockroach killing techniques? but i say to you, have you ever tried to kill these things before? they are fast AND agile. and you need a direct blow here. glances to to exoskeleton won't hack it. but this roach, he was a big one. maybe a PR for my apartment. and so i thought i was safe. but as i was typing an email a few minutes ago i saw one scurry by my feet and under my desk from the corner of my eye. looks like the hunter has another challenge before him.