Pineapples and strawberries.  Yes, it’s still winter, but here in Chengdu, you can find pineapple and strawberries everywhere!!  Men and women are in the streets selling pineapples whole (50 cents) or quartered on a stick (15 cents).  Yummy!!!
On my way to the market on Sunday, I was stopped by a young woman who asked, in English, “which country are you from?”  Come to find out, she’s a student at the foreign language college, and has been studying English for about 6 years!!  She “coincidentally” needed to buy vegetables as well, so she accompanied me, talking the entire way – a little Chinese, but mostly English.  She never bought anything, but insisted on helping me carry my purchases back to my gate.  She was so sweet, and it was so good to speak both English and Chinese.  I’m excited to see if this friendship will grow.  It would be so good to have a Chinese friend outside of school!
Incidentally, we’ve eaten all the pineapples and strawberries already, so I get to go buy more today.  We’ll enjoy them while they last!!  😀