Things constantly break here- specifically, our dryer. It lives on our back porch, right outside my bedroom window, and has dried its last shirt this week. But we have another "broken" dryer that has been sitting on our porch for years I think. So now this broken dryer sits on top of the old one and every time we put clothes in it, we have to take about 3-4 strips of this heavy duty foam tape and tape it shut. It works so I'm not complaining- it's just funny. I feel like this is something freshman college guys would do.

In a room that I was in today for a few hours, out of nowhere, sparks started flying and booming sounds started resonating from the wall behind me. Just your usual electrical short on a rainy day. It continued for over an hour. Every red spark and boom forced me out of my seat and into my friend's lap. The Americans were the only ones moved by this extremely dangerous electrical hazard. Just more evidence of this country's low priority for safety.

Oh and as I type this, my glasses are taped together with white tape above the nose. They just snapped on me tonight. I'm so thankful that this country loves glasses and they are readily available in our city! Looks like I'm going spectacle shopping tomorrow.

It was ridiculously cold today. What makes this weather so unbearable is the moisture in the air. It's like every piece of clothing you put on and take off is wet, and cold, so pretty much it feels like you're wearing an ice pack most of the time. And there is no central heating in this country- only heating/cooling machines in some rooms of a house, depending on what you can afford. So we have heaters in our bedrooms and den, but they are turned off when we leave the room/house. Oh and our walls, ceiling and floors are made of cement and tile. So it just traps the cold. Ugh! I'm beginning to rethink my desire to live in a cold city in America one day. This year here will either break me or make me ready for it. We'll see.

Another thing about the culture- people just head for the hills when it gets the slightest bit cold or the slightest bit hot. More so in the cold than the hot. I went walking to the store today around 3 pm- there was not a soul on the street. Our normally bustling street was empty. Life shuts down here in the winter, and apparently it only gets worse. And it's the same for my roommates and I- instead of going to the gym today, we worked out to a 1990 Paula Abdul dance workout in our den. And the winter is the rainy season for this part of the country- so it rains nearly every day. It just keeps getting worse....if you're reading this and you live in America- please go outside today and just stand there for a minimum of one minute and just be silent and be thankful for what you have. I'd appreciate that!

Last weekend I ran my second half- marathon in a year! I have to say the first one in New Orleans last year was almost like a fun run compared to this one in Asia. I was so glad to be finished with training- I've loved being forced to run and stay healthy, but the burden of having to run 10 miles on a rainy Sunday night at 8 pm is not so fun. I traveled with my roommate and some other girls from around the country to a beautiful city that is near the coast. This city was incredible- it is known for its large lake which is supposed to be the most beautiful lake in the country. There were huge oak trees lining the streets and they hung over and covered the road surrounding the lake. There were so many Western-ish restaurants, cafes, and shopping - which we didn't get to experience a lot of, but it was enough to give me the fix I needed! Our run was on Sunday morning, so all day Saturday we walked around the lake, rented bicycles, toured the city, and took a boat/canoe ride out on the lake. That night, we sat on the rooftop of this nice restaurant which had gorgeous lanterns and lights everywhere and you could actually see the stars out- so exciting because I have seen maybe three stars since I've been here- our city is a smog hole. It made me miss American life, fine dining, enjoying a dinner and sitting around a table with a nice atmosphere and having good conversation. I cherish these few and far between blessings.

So Sunday morning we traveled down to this giant stadium ( not sure what goes on there still, but it was huge) and started preparing to run. I have never seen this many people in one place before. There had to be about 5,000-6,000 people there ready to run. Our race was a combination of a family run, a couple's run, a 10K, a half-marathon, and a marathon. My first half-marathon maybe had 400 runners. I was overwhelmed to say the least. As soon as the race began, people put their elbows out and started plowing through. There were no rules to this race. And no dress code either- Asian people do not usually run in running gear, unless they are pretty serious. Some ran in Converse sneakers, some in blue jeans, some in sweaters. I actually saw this guy limping across the finish line after running the half-marathon- he had Converse on- I think that will destroy his body permanently.

The run was a beautiful run, and it was a beautiful day - sunny and probably 75 degrees. But it started to rain, pretty heavily, for about 20 minutes in the middle of the run. Regardless, Lyndsey ( my roommate ) and I ran the whole thing without stopping- and made it in good time.

Since last weekend, I have not run one time. Maybe because I'm tired of running- or maybe because the weather has abruptly become winter this week. Our race was just in time before the cold weather hit! The temperature right now is colder than Alabama was at any point last winter. I'm realizing I didn't pack warm enough clothes, so I'm thinking of going shopping. The only problem is that everything is too small and too short for Americans. I guess I'm going to have to keep running to be able to buy some clothes over here!