Chinese Style "Dryer"

My Beautiful Apartment

Qi Pu Lu: Fake Designer Brands Galore!!!

A couple weeks ago we visited the well-known qi pu lu to pick up the latest in designer handbags. What started as an innocent shopping trip soon became something along the lines of a Taken movie (without the being "taken" part). One of the first shops we went into was quickly evacuated after the police showed up and started yelling at the vendors. We stayed for about thirty seconds and then realized we didn't want to be around when the hand cuffs came out, so we silently scooted away in search of purses that weren't being pursued by the fuzz. About an hour later we run into a woman wandering around with pictures of purses in her hands, but she doesn't seem to have a shop- just these pictures. She asked if we were interested in her merch. Well at this point we were all a little frustrated because the fake purses we had been finding were all terrible quality, and we were looking for something that could pass as real back in the States. We decided to take a gamble and follow her. She leads us to this locked door and pulls our a huge set of keys. The first door opens toward us and underneath is another door that slides up and then a heavy curtain is revealed and behind the curtain is a last door that opens to reveal a dark room. We stare silently into the abyss when suddenly lights fly on revealing the most beautiful fake Prada and Channel we have ever seen in our lives!! It was quite an exciting find.

Lantern Festival

Last Saturday Elizabeth, Yan Ran and I made the two hour trek to Yan Ran's house in the "countryside." We were technically still within the city of Shanghai and there was no shortage of buildings in this town within a city, but there was the peculiar addition of little farms interspersed between homes and shops. Yan Ran's hometown is very clean and beautiful, and looked nothing like the Shanghai we are all used to seeing on the TV and Internet. Elizabeth and I got to see trees for the first time since arriving in China which was certainly a sight for sore eyes. It was a short drive from the subway stop to Yan Ran's house (her mom picked us up in the family car). Yan Ran and her parents live in a nice apartment complex complete with a million beautiful portraits of Yan Ran. It is pretty common for parents to become very involved in their children's lives since the onset of the One Child Policy. We spent most of our time at a friend's house which was VERY spacious although sparsely furnished. Over the course of several hours we consumed most of a ten course meal. The homemade dumplings were DELICIOUS and Yan Ran's family and friends even taught us how to properly eat sugar cane (it involves a lot of chewing and spitting). The best part of the evening was playing Mahjong with some of the aunts and uncles. Everybody gathered round to watch the white girls struggle to keep up with ancient traditions, but it was definitely entertaining for all who were involved. After several rounds I was asked if I had become addicted to Mahjong and I answered with an enthusiastic YES! Which is true by the way...I still don't fully understand the rules and if you sat me at a table with a pile of tiles I would not know the first thing to do with them, but nonetheless I am addicted. We ended the night with a fireworks display that could rival those at Disney World...keep in mind this all went down in a drive way surrounded by trees, buildings, and small children on roller skates. I let our a scream when the first fireworks started exploding from ten feet in front of me. Elizabeth and I had not expected to be thrown into a war zone that night. The men of the family piled all the fireworks next to each other on the driveway and then proceeded to smoke and mingle within feet of the explosives. There were also a variety of handheld fireworks (which were always pointed at someone when being lit), baby fireworks, sparklers, and of course the infamous Chinese fire crackers. There were times I feared for my life and limbs, but at the end of the night I was just so overcome with joy. There were about twenty to thirty people gathered to celebrate and everyone treated us like family (we even got to hold the newest member of the family- a tiny/fat baby who giggled and drooled whenever Elizabeth and I tried to explain to her that we were now her American aunties). Yan Ran's mom even told us to consider her as a mother and we should visit on weekends whenever we have the chance. She also sent us off with a TON of sugar cane for our apartment.

Lantern Festival Festivities of Celebration and Happiness

I have some pictures and stories, but these will have to wait till another night when I have more time. So I will leave you with this cliff hanger for now :) XOXO

Note to self:

Never assume packaged goods are NOT expired. Is that a double negative? Well you can do that in Chinese... Apparently you can also continue to sell anything well past its expiration date as well.

Here we go!

Classes are getting a tinsey bit harder now, but still not bad. We have our first test on Friday. Bring it on. Dinner at an AMAZING hot pot place. The best hot pot I have ever had was in Dongbei last semester, but this comes pretty close. That is impressive because I am very picky when it comes to hot pot, but then again Jayson will tell you I'm picky when it comes to life. Lunch was wonton soup. I didn't even realize they had wonton soup in China, I thought that was an American Chinese buffet thing, but I guess not. Regardless, these wontons were to die for. I talk a lot about food, don't I? Well part of living in China is just becoming immersed in food culture. It is all about making friends, meeting new people, developing guanxi (relationships, particularly professional relationships), and just enjoying life. I think Americans need to adopt this banfa (method). Meal time equals happy time. Done.