A little update

So....I just realized I forgot to tell you a little something about what happened to me in Hong Kong.

I found a restaurant called.....drum rolls..........

Cabbages and Condoms

Uh...yeah.  I know.  WHAT?!?!?!!  hahaha.  

Sorry, I probably found that way too funny.  Anyway, Thailand has been awesome so far.  I've been abnormally lazy, sleeping and watching movies all day.  It's been amazing, definitely what I needed.  I did go to an awesome exhibit the other day.  It's called Dialogue in the Dark.  Basically you become blind for an hour, and experience what their life is like.  You have to figure out how to get around places by using your other 4 senses.  Oh, one of the other cool things is that all the guides are actually blind, so it helps you better experience their life....walk in their shoes kinda thing.  If you have a chance to visit, I definitely recommend it. I did realize that I would make a TERRIBLE blind person.  Usually the exhibit takes about an hour, but because I kept getting lost, the guide had to basically hold my hand and take me everywhere.  Yeah...I'm retarded. 

http://www.dialogue-in-the-dark.com/

That's the link to the exhibit...check it out!

I did a little shopping today....basically I bought just food, and it was amazing.  I bought an Auntie Anne's pretzel.  Wow...I forgot how delicious they are.  I almost died.  I'm pretty sure all the Thai people around me were wondering why I was spazzing out about a pretzel. Whoops! 

Well, I can't think of anything else to write.  I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas!!!

Oh...there is one more thing.....

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well...

So I apparently am terrible at blogging.  Not one of my stronger skill sets....sorry guys!

Well, the last few days in Kunming were amazing; I'm definitely going to miss it.  The Chrismukkah party went really well....well...despite the whole power outage in the beginning.  It turned out ok cause we got some candles and started caroling.  And lo and behold...the power came back!  A Chrismukkah miracle!  hahaha. 

Here are some pictures from that night:

Caroling while the power was out

I'm currently in Bangkok, Thailand right now.  I just spent three days in Hong Kong...I'll be back for another week on Jan. 11th.  I'm not doing too much here, just finally relaxing.  So I'm happy.  I'll probably do a good bit of shopping and eating here.  Probably should get lipo done here too....I've eaten so much since I've gotten to Asia.  I'm a little 胖子 now.  Whoops! 

Well, I don't know what else to say now.  I figured I should just post and not be lame.  Sorry for being lame.  :( 

Chengdu (成都) and Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟)

I just realized it's been about a month since I've written in my blog....whoops.  Sorry.  I promise I have a good excuse though.

Excuse: I had bronchitis for two weeks.

That's a good enough excuse....right?  Maybe?

Anyway, fall break was amazing.  I got to see pandas in Chengdu, and Jiuzhaigou, probably will be one of my favorite places in the world.  Absolutely gorgeous.  Although....I wished I knew it was going to be cold...aka snowing.  When I got there, I was wearing Nike shorts.  Probably not the best decision.  Oh well.  Even though I got sick, the trip was totally worth it.

Below are some pictures I took from the trip. I have a ton more posted on my facebook. So go check out some more there!

Chengdu:

 This is where I stayed in Chengdu.  It's called Kuan Zi Xiang （宽子巷)

It's kinda an ancient town (古镇), but now it's mainly for tourists.

 They have lots of fun 3D murals all around the area.

 Local opera/stage

 In the heart of Chengdu, Mao protects all. 

 BABY PANDAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

 This panda is one year old.  TOO CUTE!!!

 Slly pandas.....

Jiuzhaigou:

This is the Zangzu family we stayed with in Jiuzhaigou.  They were absolutely amazing!

 Me and Luo Bosan.  Most adorable kid ever!

Alright, well, I hope you liked my pictures!  I will definitely try to post again soon, and put up some more pictures!  Until then!

Why I Love Chinaland

I figured this post was necessary.  Truthfully, I've been thinking about what I would put on this post because China is just pretty much the best place ever....ok, maybe not the BEST, but it's definitely up there.  I came up with a few things to put on the list.  We'll say it's like my top ten.

Of course, these are in no particular order.  That would be waaaaaayyyyy too much trouble.

1. Bubble Tea.

I don't know how I lived my life before bubble tea.  It's one of the most delicious things in the world and I don't think I can part from it.  (Actually I can, but I have serious withdrawals)  It's like the perfect pick-me-up whenever I just have a lot of stuff to do or just really stressed or just whatever.  It's the best thing ever.

2. 土家酱香饼

饼 (bing aka Chinese pancakes) are the best cheap snack in China...at least I think that.  It's made fresh throughout the day and you tell them basically how much you wanna pay, aka I can tell them that I only want 1 kuai worth (which is equivalent to like 15 cents.)  Soooo yummy.

3. Chinese Food.

I absolutely love Chinese food.  I don't care that it can be the oiliest thing in the world, it's delicious and abnormally cheap.  And yes, I can eat a lot of 饺子 (dumplings) and we all remember the whole 蛤蜊比赛 (My clam eating competition).

4. Fake everything.

Fake purses, pirated DVDs, fake shoes, what more can I say.  I bought 12 seasons of South Park from 25 kuai which is equivalent to $3.50.   Best country ever.   Oh, and the quality is basic perfect.

5. Chinese Children.

Enough said.

6.  Meeting just random, but awesome people.

It's a big country.  You run into lots of people you know, and you get to meet some pretty awesome people.


7. KTV

While I'm a horrible singer and I tend not to sing in public, when I go to KTV, I become this girl who just doesn't care and sings her little heart out.  It makes me abnormally happy.  hahaha

8.  Dressing up in old Chinese royalty clothes.

Just look how awesome I look.  I don't think this really needs an explanation.

9. It's full of crazy fun and old sites.

I really love traveling, so China is perfect.  And the best part is lots of cities have this awesome combination of old and new, which I love.  Seriously best place ever.


10.  Motherland.

All awesome people come from this place.  Obvi.  hahaha



Hope you enjoyed my list of why I love China.  I'll probably add to it later.  There are so many reasons why this country is amazing.

Oh....so, I got a little lazy, and I never did a post on 黑井.  There are pictures on Facebook.  If there some crazy reason you don't have a Facebook or cannot access Facebook, here are a few pictures below just for you.

Hope yall enjoyed the photos and my really awesome list.  (I just realized that I said awesome a lot in this post....whoops.)  Anyway, Must stop procrastinating and study. Until next time!

KUNMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I definitely lied about the two post.  Internet in China is sometimes sketchy, and I got angry with it which is why there was only one post.  Sorry!  So this is probably going to be one reaaaaalllllllyyyyyyyy loooooooooonnnnnnnggggggggg post.

Ok, so Kunming....

How much do I love Kunming?

A LOT!!!!

The weather, the people, and the places is just awesome! I know for sure I picked the right place to study abroad.  Megan and I arrived in a bright and sunny Kunming, which was a relief, cause the two times I've landed into a Chinese city this trip, it's been raining.  We did, however, encountered the longest line in my life.  Everyone apparently wanted a taxi.

Despite the wait, Megan and I was super excited about being in Kunming.  The kids in the program are pretty awesome too.  I think after the 4 months are over, I'll definitely keep in touch with them.  Oh and my roommate...she's pretty much the best person ever.  My roommate name is Xiao Hongyu (or Helena) and is Hui zu (which is a Chinese minority aka she's Muslim).  She absolutely adorable and LOVES South Park.  WIN!!!!!!

Landing into Kunming, I actually haven't done much.  We had like 5 days of orientation...can we say ridiculous?  But we did get to go to an organic farm, which was actually kinda cool.  Here are some pictures from the farm.

Plants on the farm.

More plants

Megan, Li Ming (Ryan's old roommate), and myself

Yeah, just more plants....but these are red!  hahaa

We also took a weekend trip to Fuxian Hu, which is about 2 hours away from Kunming.  It's the cleanest lake in this area of China aka you can actually swim in it.  I did not swim in it, however, although I did go into the water...just not swim.  It was a really fun and relaxing weekend.  That Friday night was a lot of fun.  Why was it a lot of fun you might ask.  One word, three letter: KTV.  Probably one of the best things mankind has ever created.  hahaha.

On the streets in Fuxian Hu!

Fuxian Hu!

Megan and I!

Sam, Taylor, Jessica, Nick, and I

Who doesn't like a little KTV in their life?

So far everything is going really well in Kunming.  I think I'll probably end up gaining weight instead of losing weight, which will be the first time ever that has happened.  Kunming's food is ridiculously good, and there are like 15 珍珠奶茶 (bubble tea) stores nearby.  I can't help myself.

Alright, so here's the end of this post.  I'll try to post up pictures of my trip to 黑井, which is like the awesome place where there is stuff and like people do stuff and like they have stuff.  You know...like stuff.  hahaha.  Just kidding.  But I'll post soon about that.  Until then!

Nanjing, Nanjing!

So, I kinda suck at updating.  Sorry!  There were be two posts today.  First post....

NANJING!!!!!!!!

Nanjing was awesome.  A little hot and kinda rained a lot, but the people were awesome.  I got to meet the other Ole Miss kids, and make new friends.  (Wow...I sound like I'm four.)  

Seriously though, Nanjing was awesome.  I am now the proud owner of every season of South Park and Scrubs.  God, I love China and the cheap DVDs here.  hahaha.  

My friends and I went to the 1912 district while we were in Nanjing.  The 1912 district is the main night scene in Nanjing.  It's pretty awesome.  Here are some pictures from that night!

The Ole Miss kids (and Bibba who is from Oxford) in Nanjing!

Megan, Bibba, and I!

Silly girls...

Before Megan and I left, we had a nice dinner with the group.  Twas fun.  So glad Megan and I stopped in Nanjing before Kunming!  Miss those kids!

Ok, that's really it for Nanjing.  Next up, KUNMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

北京欢迎我！ Beijing welcomes me!!!!

So, I made it to Beijing a few days ago.  Despite the dreary weather, I was really glad to be back in the motherland.  What did I do once I got settled in?  I got 珍珠奶茶 (for our non-Chinese kids out there --> bubble tea) and 饺子 (dumplings).  How amazing was it?  Very amazing.

I haven't done much in Beijing just because I am working on normal sleeping and eating schedules and I've already done all the touristy things here....except Olympic park, which I did visit.  While it was awesome to finally see the Bird's Nest and the super awesome Bubble, Olympic park was kinda boring and 北京欢迎你 was blasted....A LOT!  At first it was like aww....I remember this song, but after the like 18th billionth time, I was like...new song...please?  Either way, I'm glad I finally got to see the two super awesome stadiums.

Also, I tend to forget how much walking I do in Asia.  I feel like all I do is walk, eat, and shop when I come back.  I'm sure by the end of the semester, I'm going to be abnormally poochy, but have amazing calves.  hahaa.  I took the subway (which isn't too bad.  Not the best, but definitely not the worst.) to 三里屯 (sanlitun) which is this ridiculous shopping area.  It also houses the biggest Apple store I've ever seen.  Soooo ridiculous, I love it.

Well, it's eating time, so I'm going to run and grab some yummy Chinese food.  Tomorrow I'll be in Nanjing!  Yay!  Until then!