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July 5, 2008

Today in China, it is the 5^th, but in the USA, it is actually July 4^th!!!!!!! And because so, here’s a little message,

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

And for you other folks,

Happy 4^th of July!!!!

Unfortunately, Independence Day doesn’t qualify here. So, there’s really not much to talk about today. Except for 2 things.

My mom’s friend took her entire family over here today. That includes her husband and her 21-year-old daughter Zizi(who just came to China after a small surgery on the leg in Canada, where she goes to College) They and my grandparents talked about all sorts of things while Michelle, Zizi, and I went in the other room to talk about school life and our plans for China. This event also led to them having lunch with us. We went to this reseraunt5 min. away from our house. My grandpa had ordered a room on the upper floor, but when we got there, the room was FREEZING COLD!!! The air conditioner had been on since the moment the restaurant opened! But after eating the 10 dishes my grandpa pre-ordered, we were all feeling pretty warm. After a HUGE lunch, we parted on good note and Zizi said that after her leg fully healed, she’d take me and Michelle shopping!

Tomorrow, my aunt is going to take me and Michelle to this old Buddhist temple where a bunch of people go and pray for good measures, and whatever else they do at temples. I’ll find out though, so stay tuned to read more about my ASIAN ADVENTURES!

^ u ^

Pictures vs. The Photographer

July 3, 2008

I love taking pictures, that’s what the artist part of myself says. But there’s also a princess part of me. That part says ‘I love being in photos!” Today, my sister, Michelle and I went to see a bunch of professional pictures we took 3 days ago. We took like a MILLION pictures, but each one of us could only pick 20 to be in our album. The whole thing took about 2 hours!!!!!!! Can you believe that?! Two whole hours just sitting in a room looking through millions of pictures on the computer. They were all so good (then again, they should be, after all, my aunt’s paying 1000 RMB for them!) unfortunately we could only pick 20. Three days ago, while taking the pictures, I got to wear a Tibetan outfit with a SUPER COOL hat! I wish I got to keep the hat…..*frowning*

But after all the criticizing and debate, my sister found her 20, and I found 22 that I just HAD TO HAVE!!! So, in the end, my aunt paid 100 RMB for the 2 extra photos. I also ordered a necklace to have a picture on, so she also had to pay extra for that. No wonder my grandma always says that whenever she takes me outside, she ends up spending money. It’s not my fault that there are so much cool stuff in China! But as I clicked my way through the many photos, I started recognizing some of the photography rules I learned in Photography Class last semester. I got to see professionals use it and turn an ordinary portrait into an extraordinary one. I guess the class paid off after all!

On the other hand, aside from my picture experiences and connections, my dad’s birthday is tomorrow!!! July 4^th!!!!!!! If you don’t think that’s cool, I’d like to know what your idea of cool is. The really neat thing about having your birthday on Independence Day, is that when the fireworks go up, you can always say that they’re also for YOU! So, since I’m in China right now, I won’t be able to wish my dad a happy b-day in person…or see fireworks for that matter, so stay tuned to see some colorful fireworks on my blog tomorrow!

Sights...and Gross Sights

July 2, 2008

Hi peoples who might be reading this post right now! I just started this blog to keep you guys up to date on my adventures in the fantabulous city of Beijing! So far, I’ve been sightseeing and shopping in the many skyscrapers here. For a girl who grew up in the rural area of Charlottesville, it’s pretty surprising to see so many tall buildings. If you’re the kind of girl who likes shopping like me, next summer, buy a ticket to Beijing! There are more malls than I can keep track of! And, each mall has at least 4 or 5 floors! My grandma jokes that every time she takes me outside, she’s going to have to spend some money. ^ - ^

Of course, lately I’ve also seen a sight that’s not quite as pleasant as the landscape in the park…..or the many stores in the mall…….or the countless rows of food in the restaurants. Haha! But this sight was quite gross in my opinion. Two days ago, while walking my grandpa’s adorable puppy, Hei Li, I looked down while resting and saw that off to the side, was dog diarrhea! GROSS, RIGHT?!?!?! I was about to barf up my lunch! And talking about barf (here’s another gross sight) yesterday, while walking Hei Li (again) I saw a kid about 5 years old toddling next to this really fat guy who was leaning against this lady. You could pretty much tell that the fat guy was drunk. And let me tell you, the lady didn’t look like she could keep supporting him. When, all of a sudden, the guy lurched forward and started puking in the grass. Great…-_- Even the dog wanted to go somewhere else rather than watch July 2, 2008

the drunk guy puke. I have never in my life, seen a fat person puke, not that I’ve seen skinny people puke for that matter.