You are far too eager and curious for a hobbit. Most unnatural.

At long last, here is the post where I get to show off my trip to Beijing.

I know I know, I haven't been around. At all. I blog-died again. But...in my defense, my internet has been dodgy, I've been having issues with picture transfers...oh yeah. And I'm lazy.

So...I've got a bunch of pictures. I decided to make picture slideshows with them, because I'm just not devoted enough to post every picture on this blog. I'll also just to get this blog updated all the way, past Valentne's Day, my birthday and such. Hmm...we'll see what happens.


So...Beijing! It was a great vacation, full of surprises and fun. Michelle, my lovable Michi, met me in Beijing from Japan. Yeah, she lives in Japan now.

So my first video is a selection of shots from around the city - beginning of the trip to end. I even put music to it! Because I like music. XD

Note: I'll give you a cookie if you can find the mistake in my captions. LOL






#2: Forbidden City. Well, obviously, if you go to Beijing, you can't miss going here. It was pretty fantastic. This video is really a fraction of the pictures Michelle and I have, but I really only have access to my pictures and most of them are building shots. Interesting for me, but maybe not for you.

Note: The music for this video is Japanese because...well...I just like this song. <3




Okay, it takes frakkin' forever to make these videos. More to come soon. This time I PROMISE.

It's talking, Merry. The tree is talking!

Score 1 for CMSU. They finally got their caboosies (For those lacking access to my mind, this means glutius maximus.) in gear and gave us something useful.

Like teachers' assistants.

And here I thought slavery had been abolished. Heh.

Heheh. This semester is going to be fun.

Can you hear the evil laughter? XD I can.

Since I'm the one laughing.

Bwahahah.

If anyone was to ask for my opinion, which I note they're not, I'd say we were taking the long way around.

Christmas.

Ah, Christmas. Jesus's birthday, Winter Solstice, evergreen trees, mistletoe and ham.

Does that sound about right?

Now, I'm not a native Christmas-er, to tell the truth. My cultural inclination leans more toward those blue and silver stars. And the 8 craaaaaaaazy nights. Of presents.

But I do enjoy a good yuletide celebration as much as the next foreigner, ya know? I can sing Christmas carols with the best of 'em, and did I mention the ham?

Damn, I love Christmas Ham.

Now, Christmas is...well...it's a Western holiday. In some cities around China, it can turn into a big ol' party, but mostly the locals just like wishing all us laowai a "Merry Christmas!", to which I sometimes reply with "Happy Chanukah!" just to get those ever-satisfying double takes.

My Christmas was relatively quiet to say the least.



(Except for this one huge party I went to that definitely involved dancing and Mike in a Santa Hat. Go figure.)







Christmas, in my opinion, is a time for family, love and warmth. For those of you who are especially lucky, it's also a time when all your relatives (blood, marriage, ex-con etc) all flock to your too-tiny house just so they can harrass you all the way up until the New Year. Our new year that is. Not the big red one out in these parts.

I had the great fortune of being surrounded by my new family this year. We came together for a big dinner at the nice hotel down the way from our university and had a delightful Christmas dinner. Students also helped us celebrate by gifting us with decoratively wrapped apples to promote health and happiness during our holiday season. All in all, it was certainly a treat to spend this Christmas here in China.

I even got to eat some of that oh-so-special ham. Score.

But in the end, it’s only a passing thing… this shadow. Even darkness must pass.

At long last, I have returned!

Sort of.

Okay, so my blog died just a little for a month or so there (maybe two), because my internet went nutty, then my computer kicked the bucket. Ugh.

My my. I have a lot of updates to do. So, I'll use separate posts for separate events.

NOTE: These posts will eventually have pictures. Wonderful pictures, full of awesome...awesomeness! As soon as I get my computer running again. *sigh* Haroooold! Save my pictures, plz!


Okay. First thing's first. Thanksgiving.

In true American fashion, (southern american anyway), thanksgiving had all my favorite dishes: potato salad, a beautiful turkey, stuffing, and pie. Really good pie.

The holiday actually began a few days before Nov. 25th, as we were all working hard to make the food for the big shindig. I made my boyfriend's mother's shrimp and corn soup for the first time! Viviane was a huuuge help during this arduous process. Peeling almost frozen-shrimp is not fun. Not at all. I also made some good ol' potato salad, and that was a big hit. The brownies I made though....the brownies went so fast I don't think I even saw people swallow.

The meal itself was held in Pat and Beth's apartment. Soooo many people came. Some I knew, and some I didn't. They brought their own dishes as well. This Thanksgiving was a wonderful combination of traditional American dishes as well as super delicious Chinese food (Example: Himbo's spicy frog dish. Was that frog? I'm pretty sure it was frog...)

Fun fact: Who knew that people ate the soup last here? Usually we eat the soup first, right? I didn't think my soup was that popular until the end of the meal, when it was almost gone! Spiffy!

Really, thanksgiving is about eating. And giving thanks for the food you're stuffing your face with along with anything else you might have been grateful for during the year. My thought for the holiday was that I was damn lucky to be in such a place, eating amazing food with such amazing people. The holidays really drive it home here, how great this experience is, even if I miss my friends and family back home.




Let's pretend it's still November 25th, shall we? Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you had as wonderful a time as I did.