4 months later... and bread.

So i've been in China for four months. well. in 2 days, but I left the states four months ago today. This whole last week I've been going through this "I really hate being here" phase. And I'm aware that it's a phase, though it doesn't stop my from stuffing my face with chocolate etc. while watching my $3 copy of Sex and the City(for the whole series, woot). But yeah, just generally have been miserable, from the same old smell of sewage that welcomes me on my walk up the hill to my house to an attempt at being overcharged for my Chinese classes (at a school I also teach at nonetheless!). Finally today I was starting to feel better. My Chinese teacher is awesome and she laughs at the bad jokes I make and whatnot. So class was good, and we had a great swim this afternoon. Low tide so couldn't do much swimming, but did some running around and splashing, and it was very invigorating. So good class, good swimming and a good coffee and chat afterwards. On my way home I stopped by this bakery to get some bread.

As a refresher, bread in China is generally sweet (though we found some great stuff in Harbin!!), and the texture is generally spongy. occasionally you'll stumble across a Wonderbread-type loaf but that's rare. Also, there is often a hotdog in the middle of what appears to be a danish. Or a sweet dinner roll with 'meat floss' on the top. (meat floss is well, imagine cotton candy made out of beef jerky.) And for a girl who likes multigrain and whole wheat breads, or sourdough with a nice hard crust, well, it doesn't exist. But i've found a place that has something akin to wheat (i'd actually call it less white, not quite wheat) that I use for toast and sandwiches.

Okay, so that's that. I have one place to buy bread at, where there is one kind that is almost kinda reminiscent of wheat. Well, the other day I found another bakery where they have this really nice Italian-like bread. It actually tastes like something you'd find in a bakery in the states. A 6 inch loaf is about $.75USD, my new breakfast after I work out.




So anyway, I go there this afternoon, pick up a couple of loaves and I see this:

That's right, those are seeds and grains on the outside, multigrain? could it be? have I found my lost love?

I get home and dive in. MMMMMMMMmmm, the texture isn't quite there but the taste is amazing, just like 12 grain from home. I'm already planning all the breakfasts I will have with this scrumptious delight. And then, to my horror, I get to the middle and taste ham. HAM? REALLY?? I look, and sure enough, in the middle of my whole grain loaf of bread there is a piece of ham wrapped around some nasty piece of cheese (cheese here just isn't the same either).



I was able to eat the outside of the roll, but disappointment still reigns. And this bread is a perfect example of what gets me down about being here sometimes. I get excited about something, because initially it looks fun/good quality/good value etc. And then, ham.