Scorpions on a Stick

I was happy to see Rebecca; we had some good times my last semester in
Jingzhou; and I had never spent any time around her husband--they had
just begun dating when I left, so it was good to get to know him as
well. As it turned out, they were staying in the same neighborhood as
Kelley and I, so we met up by our mutual subway station. However, we
didn't get on it--instead we walked. It would have seemed like a
long, freezing slog if I'd been by myself, but it didn't seem too bad
at all laughing and talking with friends.

We headed to the Wanfujing Snack Street. We walked along Wanfujing
Dajie, a major, modern street, with upscale shopping malls and bright
lights; nothing out of the ordinary until we came to a decorative arch
leading into a narrow side alley. This little street is far from
ordinary. It's crammed with stalls selling...interesting...snacks.
As in grilled starfish, scorpions, some kind of large grubs, crabs,
whole little birds, snakes, sea horses, whole squids, and that was
just the stuff we could recognize.

Jon and Rebecca had tried stuff before, and I, while I have come a
long way from the picky child I once was, am still not that
adventurous. But I did get some good pictures of Kelley crunching
some scorpions on a stick.

After we gawked for a while at what all animals you can put on a stick
and fry, we headed back to Helen's, the restaurant attached to the
hostel where Kelley was staying, and stayed until two in the morning
catching up; it was one of the best parts of the trip yet. And for my
Mom: since it was so late, Jon and Rebecca walked me back to my hostel
so I wouldn't have to walk alone in the dark. Thought you'd
appreciate that.