Letter from Shenzhen.

Nick, Jenny Clack's little boy sent his mum a nice letter that she forwarded on for us to see. Like this...!

From: nick clack nickclack@hotmail.com

Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2008 06:16:11 -0700

Oh a miracle happened....I found cheez-its here!

I was so excited. Let me paint a picture if I may. I'm strolling through Carrefour, the french supermarket, listening to my Ipod. I've already grabbed almost everything on my list wheatabix, Pita chips, corn flakes, Granola bars, OJ you know the usual. But every time i go into the imported foods section i have this little beam of hope that i'll run across my favorite cheese snack cracker. I'm on my way to get some yogurt, when what should my eyes cast their gaze on? Those tasty morsels of cheesy deliciousness, that's right, Cheez-its. A sheepish grin of victory came over my mug, some might call it a grinch like smirk. The two chinese girls perusing the imports saw my delight at this monumental discovery. They could see the pure joy in my face at the sight my favorite treat from back home. I hastily grabbed two boxes of the robust snack cracker. When the girls saw me snatch the crackers off the shelf, their eyes caught the price, which was of no relevance to me. They could have been charging $10 a box and I would have bought them. I did later do the math, and for one of the small boxes you can buy at the store in the states for like $3.00, i paid $6.00. But it was worth every penny, who cares if i could buy two of my usual delicious meals at the turkish restaurant i frequent, beef Kebab. Or that i could have eaten for almost an entire week of local soups, twice a day, from the stand down the street. The good folks at Carrefour have moved up like 10 notches in my book.

I guess when you're in china half way across the world, to find a little piece of home is pretty nice.

Nick.

*********
I thought, as I read it. "Just a kid who hasn't travelled much" then I thought back 70 years or so.

What a great letter Jen,

Nick seems to have settled in now and is taking it all in stride...and having fun at it. It's probably not the prettiest place in China but it's all there for the young school teacher. Got any plans to visit yet?

Cheezits's whood a thunk it! Mind you when I first went to live in a foreign country I remember feeling the same, although it seems so long ago now. When I was feeling the need for civilization I used go down to a pseudo English Pub called the "Mucky Duck" get my English Beer, have a fish and chip dinner and but some cheese or something from home. So I know how he feels.
Then I'd make the long drive back from Wiltshire Blvd in Santa Monica to Playa del Rey in Los Angeles. :>)
It's all relative innit!

Got an email from my Jen this week. She'd just returned from taking a school trip to "Mongolia" Fantastic. I was jealous I've been wanting to go there since I was a kid and saw a movie about it.
Some of her pics here.

http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c116/1scouse/Mongolia%20Montage/?action=view&current=1.jpg