Amy Adoyzie

A couple weeks ago, I was treated to a foot massage by a former field director, Josh. In the course of the massage, the woman rushed her hand up my thigh and her fingers brushed against my nether regions. I couldn't help but mention it.

“I think she touched my taint,” I said. And this, of course, prompted Daniel to argue with me about the proper name of the taint. He prefers to call it a chode or ABC, ass-ball-connector. I argue that a chode is a fat wiener.
We are stupid fifth graders.
I realized that while we were debating the correct term for the taint in English, but what I really wanted to know was what it's called in Chinese. Luckily, one of our Chinese friends in the group knew.
Hui ying (1st tone, 4th tone for those of you who are studying.) Literally translated, it means in between shadow.
I felt like my stock in the Chinese language had just doubled just from learning that word.

Daniel, Kate and I visited the world's largest sitting stone Buddha today. It was hot and muggy, and I was drenched in sweat as we climbed up and down steep stairs to get a good view of the Buddha's big toe, which was the size of large truck.
By the time we got back to our room, we were both delirious from heat and in a general ridiculous mood.
Daniel dared me to punch his taint. I told him that I wouldn't do it because it would hurt him. Fifteen minutes later, we were seated across from each other on our beds. He was tucking in his money belt, which held our passports. We were fully clothed and under the spell of complete idiocy.

“You can't even do it,” he mocked me. “You don't have the balls to punch my taint.”
I stuck my pointer finger out, aimed squarely at his ass ball connector.
He squirmed and closed his legs.
“See?! You're the one who can't handle it!”
“I can't do it unless I get to punch your taint too.”
“No way! You're gonna hurt me.”

This is absurd. I know. We're discussing the act of punching taints.
He assured me that he wouldn't actually punch it and stuck his finger out at the crotch of my jeans.
Poke.
We bowled over laughing.
Daniel flipped onto his back, his legs were held in the air.
“Go, go!” He was frantic.
My right index finger felt the fabric of his pants.
Poke

We laughed harder.
Now we're hui ying xiong di, Taint Brothers. Like blood brothers, but not.

I didn't pack face moisturizer and my cheeks are angry at me.
The first day of the horse trek was gorgeous, but the bright yellow sun left pink rims around my eyes and at the top of my cheeks.
I shouldn't have been so stingy with room in my pack. Pack moisturizer, kids. You never know when the rays from a flawless Tibetan sky will leave your face with a soft dryness and hot blush.
Sichuan has me for another six days and I'm contemplating whether I should visit Wuhan for a few days before returning to Changsha. I'm burned out on traveling. I have sat in enough bumpy, icky, soot-ridden buses to last me a lifetime. I have inhaled enough types of stenches to fill up the world's largest W.C. I hate that I can't do this with some of my best friends (G+M, CMW).

My cheeks are sunburned and I'm burnt out.

Thus far, it's been this:
Chengdu for panda fun -> headed west to Kanding -> Tagong for horse trekking and camping with Tibetan nomads -> back east to Kanding -> now in Leshan to see the largest stone Buddha statue in the world.

I had two slices of street vendor watermelon tonight, and managed to only get yelled at by one of the vendors because she didn't want to make change for my 10-kuai bill.
“You know what I wouldn't want to be in China?” Daniel asked.
I shot him a look.

“Amy Lam.”

I'm presently bumming around Tibet and haven't much time for a proper entry. So here's a short note.
- The pandas were awesome. But we're still reeling from the fact that they might be related to raccoons.
- Tibet is incredible and it makes me wish Gus and Marah were here with me eating all sorts of yak foods like yak butter, yak butter tea, yak yogurt, yak meat, yak hair sitting on top of foods. I had an emo moment where I teared up when we rode through a valley and over a small hill and were treated to a spectacular view of lush greens and clear blue skies.
- My ass and back are sore from our overnight horse trek. We stayed with a nomad family, in their yak hair tent and helped them herd their stock of yaks. My hair, skin and eyeballs smell like yak.
- I've been eating lots of Pepto too.

Daniel and I arrived in Chengdu yesterday afternoon, and ever since we stepped into Sichuan I have been plagued with exhaustion.
It'd mid-day and all we've managed to do was to visit the historically preserved area of Wenshu Monastery. We walked around restlessly, and all I wanted was a nap. The highlight of that visit was eating fresh-made vegetarian Sichuan noodle dish. Yumtastic.
Last night, I got a hair cut and we went to a show at the famed Little Bar where we saw a very popular (not to me) Chinese band Second Hand Rose. Then I got a mosquito bite on my mosquito bite. Which is to say, that a freakin' wen zi bit my right boob. Hurrah.
We're gonna get off our lazy bums and head out early tomorrow to check out them pandas then we're off to western Sichuan, or Ganzi Kham Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Yippee!
But right now, all's I want is some caffeine.