dajiangyou 打酱油

i've learned to say hello, goodbye, and i have come back in shanghainese. i forgot how to say i love shanghai. in the anhui province dialect i've begun to learn sort of unsavory phrases that boys teach you and then hastily tell you not to actually say to anyone.

today a chinese man showed me the elaborate book of stamps he had collected from each pavilion and very seriously explained to me what better city, better life means to him and his hopes for world peace. i stamped his book on a separate page set aside especially for the united states, because it is an important country in the world and he did not want it lost amongst all the other stamps.

on the bus home from work a baby kicked me with it's small foot, which will become a big foot, which will stomp on the earth.