"Smells like..."

Tonight I was refilling Lelaina's dog food container - I have to admit this is probably my least favorite part of having a dog - the smell to me is almost unbearable. Haha. Reminds me of the first time I walked into a grocery store in Chengdu. I didn't think I was going to survive as I was overwhelmed with the spices. Interestingly, as I'm living in a country not my own there are just so many smells I could try to describe but you wouldn't understand until you really had them waft through your own nostrils. [Things like hot pot or a crowded bus on a humid summer day (where deodorant doesn't exist)] Then there are smells that bring back memories. My first year in China, I received a package from my parents. As I opened it, I cried as I could smell home in every precious gift. Here's a list of some of the best smells to me: freshly baked bread, clean sheets after drying in the sun, Happy from clinique, men's cologne, Christmas!, the air before it rains, babies after a bath, fresh clean air where the sun is shining and the sky is blue. In a city that is almost always overcast and smoggy I often escape to my apartment filled with plants that seem to help clean the air. Interestingly it was one verse that really impacted me on my first trip to Beijing. The verse talks about being a fragrance that wafts to those around us. There is a huge need for special fragrance here - and I mean that in many more ways than the ones mentioned above!