Host

group of people

The first thought that pops into my head when I think of a host is a viral swarm of protein crushing the life out of a tiny organism just before apoptosis.

In microbiology this lysis, or splitting apart, is the ultimate fate of the once proud organism known as the cell. During Pre Service Training in the Peace Corps, the host family is another form of cell. It is an essential, a need and a privilege to have one.

Thankfully there are Chinese families in Chengdu who welcome the chance to ingest budding PCVs.  It happened for two months during Pre Service Training, a critical time of development for our English teaching and Mandarin skills. I was especially lucky in that I was taken in by these folks. We did everything together.

4 people smiling on path
Me, Kevin, Yu & David (in front)

from hopelessly tasty two hour long meals

https://christensun.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/img_0631.jpg
+ friends

to visiting the world’s creepiest panda

https://christensun.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/img_0533.jpg
Soon.

For nearly two months it was a maelstrom of Chinese everything. We spent a lot of time practicing Chinese, eating Chinese, watching Chinese television, celebrating Chinese holidays. I also got some great Chinese encouragement from time to time.

One night Kevin, my host brother, said “I think you will marry a Chinese girl.”

And I said, “Haaha… ehem.. will you please excuse me.”

Turns out I had just eaten a large clump of coagulated duck blood.  Kevin said, “I didn’t want to tell you before you ate it LOL.”

FvPmGsf

That was the last we ever heard from Kevin.

Duck blood is actually quite tasty. Like many things in China, just add a little oil (or a shitload) and it transforms from gross to gucci.

https://christensun.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/img_0640.jpg
https://christensun.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/img_0640-copy1.jpg
“hehe… you ate blood… heh”

My time with these lovely people was short, but sweet.  Oftentimes I would come home from training and we would eat a meal together as a family.  From my heavily sweat imbued stank to my not so infrequent bathroom scuffles adjusting to the food, I still had people who wanted me around. Talk about encouragement.

Chow Chow even stayed with us for most of the summer.

IMG_0555

The relationship I had (and still have) with this family led us on many adventures.  They had had five other Peace Corps Trainees stay with them in the past.  They knew what they were doing.

https://christensun.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/dsc00755.jpg
A river outing.

My little brother David was definitely braver than I was when we rode our first rollercoaster together.

https://christensun.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/dsc00682.jpg
At ‘Floraland’ aka China’s ‘Disneyland’
DSC00604 (1)

I was lucky to have such a welcoming host family.  That is not the case for everyone.  I am grateful to them for all that they did for me. Unfortunately our own cellular lysis came too soon.  But the results?

https://christensun.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/dsc00581.jpg
Great food.
https://christensun.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/img_0566.jpg
Great fun.
https://christensun.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/img_0668.jpg
Great fellowship.

Now that’s better than any viral infection. I hope to visit them as much as I can during my time in China.  After all Chengdu is only a hop, skip, three-hour bus and seventeen hour train ride away!!


Originally posted on an old blog.

My Peace Corps timeline of service.

296 Replies to “Host”

  1. Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive learn anything like this before. So nice to find someone with some authentic ideas on this subject. realy thank you for beginning this up. this website is something that’s wanted on the web, somebody with just a little originality. helpful job for bringing something new to the web!

  2. Hi, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your blog site in Chrome, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, superb blog!

  3. I have been exploring for a little bit for any high-quality articles or weblog posts in this sort of house . Exploring in Yahoo I ultimately stumbled upon this web site. Reading this info So i’m glad to convey that I’ve an incredibly just right uncanny feeling I discovered just what I needed. I so much undoubtedly will make certain to don’t disregard this web site and give it a look regularly.

  4. Aw, this was a really nice post. In concept I want to put in writing like this additionally – taking time and precise effort to make an excellent article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and in no way appear to get one thing done.

  5. Howdy are using WordPress for your blog platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set up my own. Do you need any html coding knowledge to make your own blog? Any help would be really appreciated!

  6. I really love your blog.. Very nice colors & theme. Did you create this web site yourself? Please reply back as I’m wanting to create my own personal blog and would like to know where you got this from or just what the theme is named. Many thanks!

  7. Having read this I thought it was very informative. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this informative article together. I once again find myself personally spending a lot of time both reading and leaving comments. But so what, it was still worth it!

  8. Wonderful blog! I found it while surfing around on Yahoo News. Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News? I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Thank you

  9. obviously like your web site however you need to take a look at the spelling on quite a few of your posts. Many of them are rife with spelling issues and I in finding it very bothersome to inform the reality on the other hand I will definitely come again again.

  10. Hey! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with SEO? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good gains. If you know of any please share. Thank you!

  11. Hiya, I am really glad I have found this information. Today bloggers publish only about gossips and web and this is actually frustrating. A good web site with exciting content, that’s what I need. Thank you for keeping this website, I will be visiting it. Do you do newsletters? Can’t find it.

  12. F*ckin¦ tremendous things here. I¦m very satisfied to look your article. Thanks a lot and i’m looking forward to contact you. Will you please drop me a e-mail?

  13. I will right away seize your rss as I can not find your email subscription link or e-newsletter service. Do you have any? Kindly permit me know so that I could subscribe. Thanks.

  14. An impressive share, I just given this onto a colleague who was doing a little analysis on this. And he in fact bought me breakfast because I found it for him.. smile. So let me reword that: Thnx for the treat! But yeah Thnkx for spending the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love reading more on this topic. If possible, as you become expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more details? It is highly helpful for me. Big thumb up for this blog post!

  15. Hi there, just became alert to your blog through Google, and found that it is really informative. I am gonna watch out for brussels. I will appreciate if you continue this in future. Many people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!

  16. Whats up very nice blog!! Man .. Excellent .. Superb .. I will bookmark your site and take the feeds also…I am satisfied to search out a lot of helpful information right here in the post, we need work out extra techniques on this regard, thanks for sharing.

  17. Thanks for sharing excellent informations. Your web-site is so cool. I’m impressed by the details that you’ve on this website. It reveals how nicely you understand this subject. Bookmarked this web page, will come back for extra articles. You, my friend, ROCK! I found just the information I already searched all over the place and simply couldn’t come across. What a perfect web-site.

  18. Great – I should certainly pronounce, impressed with your site. I had no trouble navigating through all the tabs as well as related info ended up being truly easy to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it at all. Reasonably unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or anything, web site theme . a tones way for your customer to communicate. Excellent task..

  19. I like what you guys are up also. Such intelligent work and reporting! Keep up the superb works guys I?¦ve incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it will improve the value of my website 🙂

  20. I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post…

  21. of course like your web-site however you need to test the spelling on several of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very troublesome to inform the truth however I’ll definitely come back again.

  22. Thank you for any other informative website. The place else may I get that kind of info written in such a perfect manner? I’ve a project that I am simply now running on, and I’ve been at the glance out for such info.

  23. Hey! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new iphone 4! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the fantastic work!

  24. Wonderful work! That is the kind of information that should be shared across the internet. Disgrace on the search engines for no longer positioning this submit upper! Come on over and talk over with my site . Thank you =)

  25. Hi there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it’s truly informative. I am going to watch out for brussels. I’ll be grateful if you continue this in future. A lot of people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!

  26. It is appropriate time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I’ve read this post and if I could I desire to suggest you few interesting things or advice. Maybe you could write next articles referring to this article. I want to read even more things about it!

  27. Thank you for another informative site. Where else could I get that kind of information written in such an ideal way? I have a project that I’m just now working on, and I’ve been on the look out for such info.

  28. Woah! I’m really digging the template/theme of this site. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s challenging to get that “perfect balance” between user friendliness and visual appeal. I must say you’ve done a fantastic job with this. Also, the blog loads extremely quick for me on Safari. Excellent Blog!

  29. Together with almost everything which appears to be developing within this particular area, your opinions tend to be very exciting. Nonetheless, I appologize, but I do not subscribe to your whole idea, all be it exhilarating none the less. It seems to everybody that your comments are not entirely rationalized and in simple fact you are generally your self not even fully convinced of your argument. In any case I did take pleasure in reading through it.

  30. I have to express my appreciation to the writer just for rescuing me from this dilemma. After looking out through the online world and seeing notions which are not helpful, I was thinking my life was well over. Being alive minus the answers to the difficulties you’ve solved through your entire blog post is a critical case, and the ones that could have negatively damaged my entire career if I hadn’t come across your website. Your good mastery and kindness in touching all things was invaluable. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t encountered such a subject like this. I can also now look forward to my future. Thanks so much for the high quality and sensible guide. I will not be reluctant to endorse your blog to anybody who needs and wants counselling on this matter.

  31. I haven?¦t checked in here for a while since I thought it was getting boring, but the last several posts are good quality so I guess I will add you back to my everyday bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂

  32. I must show my thanks to this writer just for bailing me out of this type of incident. As a result of surfing around throughout the search engines and getting concepts that were not beneficial, I thought my entire life was gone. Being alive minus the approaches to the problems you’ve resolved by means of this blog post is a crucial case, and those that would have badly damaged my career if I had not encountered your site. Your actual capability and kindness in playing with the whole lot was valuable. I’m not sure what I would have done if I had not encountered such a subject like this. I’m able to at this moment relish my future. Thanks so much for your expert and result oriented guide. I won’t think twice to refer your web blog to any individual who ought to have direction about this situation.

  33. Someone essentially help to make seriously posts I would state. This is the very first time I frequented your web page and thus far? I surprised with the research you made to create this particular publish extraordinary. Fantastic job!

  34. It’s actually a nice and useful piece of info. I’m happy that you just shared this useful information with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.

  35. That is the proper blog for anybody who wants to seek out out about this topic. You notice so much its nearly onerous to argue with you (not that I actually would need…HaHa). You undoubtedly put a new spin on a subject thats been written about for years. Nice stuff, just nice!

  36. This design is steller! You most certainly know how to keep a reader entertained. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Fantastic job. I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!

  37. Hi there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any problems with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing a few months of hard work due to no backup. Do you have any solutions to stop hackers?

  38. It is appropriate time to make a few plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I’ve learn this post and if I may I wish to recommend you few fascinating issues or tips. Perhaps you can write subsequent articles relating to this article. I desire to read even more things about it!

  39. I conceive this site contains some rattling great info for everyone. “I have learned to use the word ‘impossible’ with the greatest caution.” by Wernher von Braun.

  40. Hey this is somewhat of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding know-how so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!

  41. I have been exploring for a bit for any high quality articles or blog posts in this sort of house . Exploring in Yahoo I finally stumbled upon this web site. Studying this info So i am glad to show that I have an incredibly just right uncanny feeling I came upon exactly what I needed. I such a lot definitely will make sure to don’t forget this web site and provides it a glance regularly.

  42. We absolutely love your blog and find nearly all of your post’s to be just what I’m looking for. Does one offer guest writers to write content available for you? I wouldn’t mind creating a post or elaborating on a number of the subjects you write in relation to here. Again, awesome website!

  43. Hi my loved one! I wish to say that this article is amazing, nice written and come with approximately all significant infos. I¦d like to look extra posts like this .

  44. Sight Care is a visual wellness supplement that is currently available in the market. According to the Sight Care makers, it is efficient and effective in supporting your natural vision. The supplement is also said to have effects on different issues that affect the body like supporting the health of your brain, protecting the body from oxidative stress, and many more.

  45. Fitspresso stands as a scientifically validated weight loss formula intricately crafted from potent ingredients, aimed at enhancing the body’s metabolic functions. Tailored to support the circadian rhythm and ignite the fat-burning process, this supplement is conveniently available in edible pill form for daily consumption.

  46. Fitspresso is a brand-new natural weight loss aid designed to work on the root cause of excess and unexplained weight gain. The supplement uses an advanced blend of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to support healthy weight loss by targeting the fat cells’ circadian rhythm.

  47. Fitspresso is a brand-new natural weight loss aid designed to work on the root cause of excess and unexplained weight gain. The supplement uses an advanced blend of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to support healthy weight loss by targeting the fat cells’ circadian rhythm

  48. Dentavim is a dietary supplement formulated to support oral health and improve dental hygiene. With increasing awareness of the importance of maintaining good oral health, Dentavim has emerged as a popular choice for individuals seeking to enhance their dental care regimen. This article provides a detailed overview of Dentavim, including its ingredients, benefits, potential side effects, and overall effectiveness.

  49. Fitspresso is a brand-new natural weight loss aid designed to work on the root cause of excess and unexplained weight gain. The supplement uses an advanced blend of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to support healthy weight loss by targeting the fat cells’ circadian rhythm

  50. Fitspresso is a brand-new natural weight loss aid designed to work on the root cause of excess and unexplained weight gain. The supplement uses an advanced blend of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to support healthy weight loss by targeting the fat cells’ circadian rhythm

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *