Cheese Me

     Maybe its a weird blog post title, but I am seriously starting to jones for some foods that I can't get here, or that are far more expensive here - not the least of which is cheddar cheese. I guess its not really a stereotype that Asian people tend to be lactose intolerant, because cheese really does not exist here, unless its ridiculously priced at an imported goods shop, along with the outrageously expensive Doritos and frozen pizzas.
     I have been able to cook here, but only after going several different places, including one of my favorites - the Avocado Lady. According to Fabi, the woman who has a fruits/veggies shop not too far from my house started importing food items herself, after receiving a lot of requests from her foreign customers. She has nutella, spaghetti sauce, and even tortillas, along with a whole refrigerator full of cheese, which pretty much makes it my mecca. I doubt anyone knows her real name - she is just known as the avocado lady, but all the expats in shanghai seems to know her. I think I even glimpsed "The Avocado Lady" brand of copy, which means she stuck some coffee in a bag and sharpied it on, but I admire her entrepreneurial spirit.

     Since my last blog, I have started Chinese classes again at a different Miracle Mandarin campus, this time at one closer to my house. Ironically, even though I switched campuses, the guys from my last class are in my class at this new campus too! Needless to say, we've now earned a reputation at two campuses for being loud and crazy. We have one extra new student in our class, a girl from Tennessee, who fits in quite well. However, but study habits haven't changed too much, and several days ago and my teacher told me in Chinese that I wasn't very hardworking, but I was smart, which helped me. The sad part was I couldn't exactly disagree with her - I've never been spectacular at studying - I just didn't know EVERYONE could see my laziness.

     Perhaps I have an excuse though - in addition to going to school 20 hours a week, I teach English for about 20 hours a week as well, so anytime I don't have class or work I just feeling like flopping on my bed and reading or having a mini Modern Family marathon, which has been mostly what I've been doing.
     I do enjoy my tutoring sessions slightly more than when I teach younger kids (who tend to scream and throw things and poke each other). For instance, I took one of my students to an Italian restaurant and had him try a couple of dishes - including Tiramisu and mozzarella sticks. Some other girls that I tutor asked me for recommendation on where to shop when they visit the States next week, and begged me to bring makeup next week so they could see how to use it - being 15, they aren't allowed yet to wear it, which makes them absolutely fascinated. They live a bit far away but have a fantastic view from their apartment of the Oriental Pearl Tower.

     My mom comes and visits on Friday, just in time to bring my winter clothes, and in time for my one week October holiday break from school and work, which means I have a lot more time to do a lot more things; including hopefully going to the Shanghai Zoo, and lots and lots of sleeping in :)