I have just come to realize something.

Yesterday i went out to lunch with some of my Chinese class classmates. it was totaly last minute. i only went because Nana, a foriegn exchange student from Japan, said that we should go. so i went. we went to a place called Imperial Garden, a Chinese resturaunt,

We took advantage that Mann laoshi hadn't gotten there yet, to talk in english. once she got tere, there was to be a minimal amount of english… so i was mostly quiet. i can understand some chines, but not alot, and i know how to speak a little, i just can't find the words sometimes.

We talked, shared food, and laughed. laoshi and i talked about how very similar chinese and mexican cuisine are. and how one of our classmates had hua de xin. flower on the heart. he likes to go after asian girls. it was actually really fun. it was actually quite funny watching one of the class mates trying to pick up a big pork dumping up with his chopsticks. we later went to a Korean market across the street. it was fun just walking around and trying to figure out what was what. the wierdest thing we found was sweet red bean paste popsicles.

But it wasn't till this moment that i have realized that i actually ate infront of people, some strangers to me. i actually interacted with them and talked to them. i was not shy at all with them. although, i was shy with the food. that was the most time i have ever spent listening and trying to speak chinese. and i had fun. there was not a time were i was sad or depressed. i actually felt like i was a part of a group instead of just being there. i laughed and smiled most of the time. i didn't frown.

No, i can't wait till the next time we do that again. or the next time we may have a meeting.