Eating hot-pot with our tutor Erin (left) and our friend Ray (right). Ray will be our guide to Chengdu this weekend.

Kelly playing a gig for the grand opening of a hot-pot restaurant.

Local pedal powered taxis are eager to have their picture taken.

Our visit to the local gay bar. Too smokey and too loud, we probably wont be frequenting this establishment. None the less, it was nice to be surrounded by our community.

From left to right, the members of Kelly’s band, New World. Ding, Chad, Fish(not in band), Kelly, Allen, Shelley, Frank.

Jammin’ out!

This baby was dancing in his stroller for the entire show. It was adorable!

All the Children watching the New World show.

Some thought our music was too loud. Look at what this child’s sweater says. Kelly wishes she could have one of her own.

Everyone was curious, but only the children had the courage to talk to us.

The one-child policy has made what the chinese call only children little emperors. They are showered with love, attention and most of all, gifts.

When these children grow up, they will realize squatting is really uncomfortable.

A complimentary dinner for the band and their guests after out paid gig. They gave us more food and opened more cases of beer for us then any of us could consume.

We go to the market every few days to pick up the food we will eat that week.

In China there is not as much of a disconnect between people and their food. In the United States everything is packaged and shipped in from all over the world. We have a closer relationship with food and can choose to buy sugar cane, sugar rock, or granulated sugar made right here at the market.

We can buy half a plastic shopping bag full of walnuts for the equivalent of $10 USD. We also buy pistachios, peanuts (to make peanut butter), almonds, and other nuts for very cheap.

We buy jars from a sweet lady at the market for $1-$2 depending on their size. We store beans, grains, homemade juice and peanut butter, leftovers, ect. in them.

We buy cookies from a lady who also sells animal cookies. These animal cookies have all the Chinese zodiac animals.

We don’t have an oven to make a pizza, but we buy this bread regularly for burrito wraps and to dip in the soups and curries we make.

Kids at the market jumping up and down together and laughing hysterically.

These taste similar to donuts. Fried Sweet Potato balls. They are delicious but if they were dipped in powdered sugar, they would be the real deal.

We buy fresh pasta that is done cooking in one minute, and dumpling “skin” to make our own dumplings.

Dozens of varieties of Mushrooms. We have tried all that this vendor has to offer. There are other types at other stands, but we like these the best.

Beans, Legumes, and Grains in bulk.

There are many ways to fold dumplings. We only know one style and it’s not as beautiful as this.

When we get home from the market we start devouring the fruit. This pineapple was about $2 and cut to perfection right when we bought it.

We tried Dragon Fruit, and it was okay, but not as tasty as other fruit around.

Making Dumplings.

We usually make 3-4 different flavors of dumplings. Our folding technique is getting better and better!

Erin and Ray have become our regular hot-pot buddies as well as best Chinese friends.

Another Show for the Student Association. The smoke machine was a drag, but the show was a blast!

After show laughs with the band.

Mustaches

Allen our drummer and “Crazy Lady,” one of our favorite restaurant owners. She is energetic and a champion yeller. Fish, our roadie, is on his phone probably translating a word. He is a champion talker.

These are some of the vendors and restaurants out the back gate. The back gate is always bustling with swarms of people, smells, noises, and visual stimuli.

Busted! What happens when Kelly is impatient and wants cold beer fast, and then forgets about it.

Kelly playing at the Halloween show on campus with her band “New World.”

On our way to the market, we take our moped to the closest village to an excellent market with everything we could possibly need and more.

Children playing in a pool filled with beans and toys. The ultimate sensory experience.

Stores filled with spices, beans, jars of oils, and sauces. We can ask “sweet, not sweet?” “Hot, not hot?” and “Meat, no meat?” to get a vague understanding of what we might be purchasing. It works very well.

So many colorful vegetables, we can buy a week’s worth of them for about $5.

This baby was so happy! The adults around him got him to wave to us over and over with hysterical laughter in between the staged photos.

Blow torching pigs’ feet. Yummmmm (barfffff).

Spices and More. We experiment with new foods, and the vendor helps us figure out what we are buying.

Ducks for sale. Although we don’t eat meat, we appreciate how local the entire process is.

We don’t eat meat but appreciate how local it is in China.

Buy Hao zi (fried buns filled with vegetables). One for 1 yuan (30 cents).

The vendor is very happy to let us photograph him and always happy to see us.

Fill you belly with bugs!

Many stray dogs roam the market streets.

Leaving the market to make our way home.