So here's the down low on what's I'm gonna be doing in China =)
I'm so excited!!
June 27th I'm leaving to Beijing and getting there on June 28th
June 29th we're going to Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace
June 30th is our Great wall day at the Mutianyu section of the wall
July 1st we're going to the New National Museum of China and the Temple of Heaven
July 2nd we're going to the Yonghe Gong Lama Temple and then getting on a plane to Chengdu and meeting our host families for the first time =D
July 3rd we get to spend the whole day getting to know our host families!
July 4th is our first day of school, and the open ceremony (And hopefully I'll get to see the fireworks again this year ^-^)
July 5th to July 8th we're in school
the July 9th and 10th is the weekend where we do stuff that they aren't... really... telling us about '.'... weird xD
July 11th to July 15th School
July 16th and 17th Mystery weekend
July 18th to 22nd is more school
July 23rd and 24th another mystery weekend (I know one of these weekends is for the host families lolz xD Which one... well... we'll figure that out later)
Jul 25th to 28th is more school, and the closing ceremony is on the 29th where HOPEFULLY I'll be singing again like last year =)
The 30th is going to be depressing because we are leaving our host families (which always makes me cry like a mad woman =<) and we're getting on a plane to Shanghai
The 31st we get to go to the Shanghai Museum of Art and History, the Jade Buddha Temple and the Shanghai Acrobats =D!!!
August 1st we're going to Suzhou where we'll be visiting the Master of the Nets Garden, the Liu Yuan (another garden), the Silk Museum, and a canal boat trip =), then back over to Shanghai
August 2nd is the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium, the Yu yuan (in case you're wondering, YUAN means garden in this case... and the one before ((liu Yuan))), as well as the World Expo China Pavilion!
Then, out last day in China is August 3rd where all we're doing is coming home =)
So there you have it, and pretty detailed schedule of the China trip!
I'm gonna be leaving in 11 days, so wish me luck =) I'm gonna miss you guys!!
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
Jun 14, 2011
Jun 8, 2011
Leaving You Guys with a Question
Hey guys!!
Again I'm sorry for not posting anything for what seems like the last decade, butthisblog has been the last thing on my mind fir a while. Since I have sone time at the moment I've decided to post a question for you guys, but here's a little background info I've found.
In china, there's a policy set up called the 户口 or Hukou System. What this system does is splits the Chinese populous into two different sections based on where they were born. These two systems are the Rural people and the Urban people. These two differet collections of people get different benefits. For example, the Urban people are allowed higher paying nobs, better health care, and better educations. In short, they recieve a lot more benefits the. Their Rural counter parts.
Now, the big issue with this system is that, people aren't allowed to change what section their are in. So, if someone who what born in Rural China moved to, say, Shanghai, they are still considered Rural people. Their children don't go to the same schools as Urban children, their parents can get as good of jobs, and they are forced to live in poor living conditions.
Now, what my question is, is What is wrong with this picture?! Why would the Chinese government make this kind of policy? Now, I swear this question isn't just come out of thin air. I'm actually writing a 4,000 word Extended Essay for IB on this topic (focusing on more of the educational aspect rather then the jobs or living conditions) and kind of want the opinions of people all around the world =)
And as a final note, I'm leaving for Beijing in 19 days!!! I'm so excited xD and if I can I'll be getting onto my tumbler account as much as I can =)
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
Again I'm sorry for not posting anything for what seems like the last decade, butthisblog has been the last thing on my mind fir a while. Since I have sone time at the moment I've decided to post a question for you guys, but here's a little background info I've found.
In china, there's a policy set up called the 户口 or Hukou System. What this system does is splits the Chinese populous into two different sections based on where they were born. These two systems are the Rural people and the Urban people. These two differet collections of people get different benefits. For example, the Urban people are allowed higher paying nobs, better health care, and better educations. In short, they recieve a lot more benefits the. Their Rural counter parts.
Now, the big issue with this system is that, people aren't allowed to change what section their are in. So, if someone who what born in Rural China moved to, say, Shanghai, they are still considered Rural people. Their children don't go to the same schools as Urban children, their parents can get as good of jobs, and they are forced to live in poor living conditions.
Now, what my question is, is What is wrong with this picture?! Why would the Chinese government make this kind of policy? Now, I swear this question isn't just come out of thin air. I'm actually writing a 4,000 word Extended Essay for IB on this topic (focusing on more of the educational aspect rather then the jobs or living conditions) and kind of want the opinions of people all around the world =)
And as a final note, I'm leaving for Beijing in 19 days!!! I'm so excited xD and if I can I'll be getting onto my tumbler account as much as I can =)
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
May 8, 2011
My Summer Plan
Hey Guys...
So... I'm rather ashamed of myself =/. I haven't really written anything lately that's been remotely interesting, and for that I give my deepest apologize.
On to more interesting notes, I learned today that Blogger does NOT work in China due to the Great Chinese Firewall (Aka Golden Shield Project) that has been installed in China since 1998.
My plan for my China trip was to put up a post, as often as I could, pertaining to my experiences in China. Due to this inconvenience, though, I'll be unable to actually put up any posts on blogger during my stay. I DO, however, have a solution.
I've created a Tumblr blog which, I checked, works in China. (If you wanna check what sites work and don't work, go check out greatfirewallofchina.org).
This will be a blog mostly consisting as a sort of online diary of my adventures in China from June 27th through August 3rd, 2011.
I'll be updating this as often as I can, but it's sometimes difficult to get internet connection in China.
So the Tumblr account is exactly the same URL as this site, but instead of blogspot, it's tumblr. china-and-the-girl.tumblr.com).
I hope you enjoy the new semi-blog =D
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
p.s. I was bored, so I make a picture that's now the new favicon (the little picture by this blogs tab) =) Here the bigger version with text
Tell me what you think about it xD!
So... I'm rather ashamed of myself =/. I haven't really written anything lately that's been remotely interesting, and for that I give my deepest apologize.
On to more interesting notes, I learned today that Blogger does NOT work in China due to the Great Chinese Firewall (Aka Golden Shield Project) that has been installed in China since 1998.
My plan for my China trip was to put up a post, as often as I could, pertaining to my experiences in China. Due to this inconvenience, though, I'll be unable to actually put up any posts on blogger during my stay. I DO, however, have a solution.
I've created a Tumblr blog which, I checked, works in China. (If you wanna check what sites work and don't work, go check out greatfirewallofchina.org).
This will be a blog mostly consisting as a sort of online diary of my adventures in China from June 27th through August 3rd, 2011.
I'll be updating this as often as I can, but it's sometimes difficult to get internet connection in China.
So the Tumblr account is exactly the same URL as this site, but instead of blogspot, it's tumblr. china-and-the-girl.tumblr.com).
I hope you enjoy the new semi-blog =D
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
p.s. I was bored, so I make a picture that's now the new favicon (the little picture by this blogs tab) =) Here the bigger version with text
Tell me what you think about it xD!
Apr 28, 2011
Hell Week has officially turned into Hell Month...
... I not sure how to explain these past few weeks other than by banging my head against a wall ...
For high school students – or maybe just IB students – these past few weeks have been nothing but work, stress and more work! I’ve been going crazy trying to get everything done on time!
Here’s just a few things I’ve had to do in the past two weeks:
I know... insanity... I'm so stressed out right now that I'm pretty sure my brain is going to start leaking slowly out of my ears soon...
Well, I'm off to go study for a Chinese test and History test, both of which I have tomorrow one after another...
FML
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
For high school students – or maybe just IB students – these past few weeks have been nothing but work, stress and more work! I’ve been going crazy trying to get everything done on time!
Here’s just a few things I’ve had to do in the past two weeks:
- Read an almost 600 page biography about William Golding (Author of Lord of the Flies)
- Studying like no other for my IB SL Chemistry test which in 10 days
- Finished an Internal Assessment for IB HL Biology
- Taught Middle School students about Water Conservations and Blood Typing
- Read ‘The Plague’
- Wrote a 1,500 word World Literature I paper explaining how the motifs of hope and death are personified in the novels Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto and Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo
- Taught myself Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration because our teacher is attempting a new teaching method... during the two hardest subjects we’ve learned this year...
- Took the ACTs
- Pulled about 4 all-nighters attempting to finish all the homework that has been piled tediously on top of all this mess of a schedule
I know... insanity... I'm so stressed out right now that I'm pretty sure my brain is going to start leaking slowly out of my ears soon...
Well, I'm off to go study for a Chinese test and History test, both of which I have tomorrow one after another...
FML
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
Mar 17, 2011
100 Day!!!
OMJESUS!!!! OMJESUS!!!! xD Hey everyone!!!
So just a quick update on the China trip. So it turns out that we're actually going to be leaving on June 27th instead of the 28th and coming back on August 3rd instead of August 2nd!!!! Which means that I get to spend two whole days MORE in China!!! SCORE!!!! Also, that means that as of today, there are exactly 100 days until I leave!!! xD I'm getting so excited!! I already have my ticket, a list of all the people I need to bring stuff back for, and I practically have my suitcase packed!!
(If you can't tell, I'm extremely excited for this trip... That actually might be an understatement...)
Update done =) Bye~~~
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
So just a quick update on the China trip. So it turns out that we're actually going to be leaving on June 27th instead of the 28th and coming back on August 3rd instead of August 2nd!!!! Which means that I get to spend two whole days MORE in China!!! SCORE!!!! Also, that means that as of today, there are exactly 100 days until I leave!!! xD I'm getting so excited!! I already have my ticket, a list of all the people I need to bring stuff back for, and I practically have my suitcase packed!!
(If you can't tell, I'm extremely excited for this trip... That actually might be an understatement...)
Update done =) Bye~~~
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
Mar 13, 2011
Gas price panic?!?!?! WTF?!?!
I pre-apologize for writing about this topic. I know that is has absolutely nothing to do with what my blog usually talks about, but I already wrote it on my facebook, and I just wanted to get my opinion out... consider it a random blant ;D If you do feel the need to say I'm wrong, though, feel free to =) I love a good debate! Also, if you have anything to add, I'd also love to hear it!
... okay... so everyone is freaking out about gas prices going up... doesn't anyone know that America has extremely low gas prices compared to most of the rest of the developed world?? For example, in Belgium, people pay over $7.00/gal. People in Denmark pay almost $9.00/gal. People in the Netherlands actually PAY $9.00/gal, and people in Turkey pay almost $10.00/gal... Yes, the price of gas seems expensive right now, but maybe the increase in the price of gas is a good thing. We have such bad habits with using excessive amounts of gas. We use it for EVERYTHING! Maybe if the gas becomes much less desirable, then we will FINALLY begin to take things like electric cars and alternative energy more seriously and actually USES THEM more! Maybe we will finally become a bit more self-sufficient and drill our own oil, or make more of our own energy instead of importing it (which costs even more oil and energy in and of itself)
I was talking about this to my father. And he said that if we stop buying up so much oil for Saudi Arabia and other countries, they will be required to lower their prices for oil because they want to make it a more desirable product. This would, in turn, cause the price of gas for ALL of the other countries to lower. This would just make many countries and their people very, VERY happy.
Now, going back to the reasoning behind why gas prices are so high in other countries, it's time to put on your thinking caps and listen up, cause I have a economics lesson for you first off to kind of give you guys some background information that you’ll need to understand this (cause it’s really… complex #.#)
Have you ever wondered why, even though our country is in loads and loads of debt, we have never been bankrupt? Theoretically, our entire economy should have just collapsed a long time ago because we have so many loans and so much debt. The only reason we haven't is because the US is special. America is unique because our currency is known and the ‘world’s reserve currency’. What this means is that the USD “forms the basis of the world’s financial system” so “it is what banks around the world hold in reserve against their loans.” Now, because the USD is our countries currency, we are “the only debtor in the entire world that can legally print U.S. dollars”. We are the “owners” of the most important currency in the business world, today, so we get special privileges, one of them being that if we owe money, we can simply print more money.
Now you are probably wondering how all of that information ties back into world gas prices. Well, “America is the only country in the world that doesn’t have to pay for its imports in a foreign currency.” This is because items, such as gas, can only be bought in USD. “Let’s say you’re a German and you want to buy oil from Saudi Arabia. You can’t just pay for your oil in German Marks (or the new euro currency), because oil is priced in dollars. So you have to buy dollars first, then buy your oil.” This is what happens to the countries mentioned earlier (Denmark, The Netherlands, etc.) They are required to exchange their currency for the USD, which means that the amount of money they are required to pay is higher then what we, as Americans, need to pay. We do not have to exchange our currency.
So we should be extremely happy that our gas prices are as low as they are. We don’t have to deal with half of the issues with buying oil as so many other countries do. We don’t have to exchange currency, or have to worry about not having enough money because we can just make more. We are so snobby when it comes to gas prices, when we should be using all the angry energy to find new ways to get around using oil. And that is my rant for the day =) sorry it’s so long, but I got a hold of all this information and wanted to share it with all of you along with my interpretation/opinion about it ^_^
Thanks for reading it~~~
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
P.S. All of the quotations are from the research video created by a man named Porter Stansberry. You can find the link to his hour and sixteen minute long video titled 'The End of America' HERE. Please do note, thought, that I just used this video because I found some of the information given in the video to be extremely interesting, and thought provoking... and I am a total nerd child, so this is what I do when I'm bored. Also, I've only watched the first 15 minutes or so, so if there is anything offensive, I'm sorry. VIEW DISCRETION IS ADVISED!!!
... okay... so everyone is freaking out about gas prices going up... doesn't anyone know that America has extremely low gas prices compared to most of the rest of the developed world?? For example, in Belgium, people pay over $7.00/gal. People in Denmark pay almost $9.00/gal. People in the Netherlands actually PAY $9.00/gal, and people in Turkey pay almost $10.00/gal... Yes, the price of gas seems expensive right now, but maybe the increase in the price of gas is a good thing. We have such bad habits with using excessive amounts of gas. We use it for EVERYTHING! Maybe if the gas becomes much less desirable, then we will FINALLY begin to take things like electric cars and alternative energy more seriously and actually USES THEM more! Maybe we will finally become a bit more self-sufficient and drill our own oil, or make more of our own energy instead of importing it (which costs even more oil and energy in and of itself)
I was talking about this to my father. And he said that if we stop buying up so much oil for Saudi Arabia and other countries, they will be required to lower their prices for oil because they want to make it a more desirable product. This would, in turn, cause the price of gas for ALL of the other countries to lower. This would just make many countries and their people very, VERY happy.
Now, going back to the reasoning behind why gas prices are so high in other countries, it's time to put on your thinking caps and listen up, cause I have a economics lesson for you first off to kind of give you guys some background information that you’ll need to understand this (cause it’s really… complex #.#)
Have you ever wondered why, even though our country is in loads and loads of debt, we have never been bankrupt? Theoretically, our entire economy should have just collapsed a long time ago because we have so many loans and so much debt. The only reason we haven't is because the US is special. America is unique because our currency is known and the ‘world’s reserve currency’. What this means is that the USD “forms the basis of the world’s financial system” so “it is what banks around the world hold in reserve against their loans.” Now, because the USD is our countries currency, we are “the only debtor in the entire world that can legally print U.S. dollars”. We are the “owners” of the most important currency in the business world, today, so we get special privileges, one of them being that if we owe money, we can simply print more money.
Now you are probably wondering how all of that information ties back into world gas prices. Well, “America is the only country in the world that doesn’t have to pay for its imports in a foreign currency.” This is because items, such as gas, can only be bought in USD. “Let’s say you’re a German and you want to buy oil from Saudi Arabia. You can’t just pay for your oil in German Marks (or the new euro currency), because oil is priced in dollars. So you have to buy dollars first, then buy your oil.” This is what happens to the countries mentioned earlier (Denmark, The Netherlands, etc.) They are required to exchange their currency for the USD, which means that the amount of money they are required to pay is higher then what we, as Americans, need to pay. We do not have to exchange our currency.
So we should be extremely happy that our gas prices are as low as they are. We don’t have to deal with half of the issues with buying oil as so many other countries do. We don’t have to exchange currency, or have to worry about not having enough money because we can just make more. We are so snobby when it comes to gas prices, when we should be using all the angry energy to find new ways to get around using oil. And that is my rant for the day =) sorry it’s so long, but I got a hold of all this information and wanted to share it with all of you along with my interpretation/opinion about it ^_^
Thanks for reading it~~~
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
P.S. All of the quotations are from the research video created by a man named Porter Stansberry. You can find the link to his hour and sixteen minute long video titled 'The End of America' HERE. Please do note, thought, that I just used this video because I found some of the information given in the video to be extremely interesting, and thought provoking... and I am a total nerd child, so this is what I do when I'm bored. Also, I've only watched the first 15 minutes or so, so if there is anything offensive, I'm sorry. VIEW DISCRETION IS ADVISED!!!
Mar 9, 2011
... oh 老师... How you make me laugh... amongst other things... =/
So... I'm going to blant some more about my insane Chinese teacher =) I quite enjoy this pastime~~ okay... I shouldn't say crazy... more like misunderstood. Don't get me wrong, my 老师 is an awesome teacher. She teacher well, and if you pay attention and do all of the homework, it's actually not that hard. The only problem that I have with my teacher is what I like the call the 老师 Affect...
She has this really bad habit of making things seem a lot worst then they are suppose to... I, just last Thursday, got my first look into the perplexing and sometimes terrifying world of the 老师 Affect. So we had a test on Thursday (which kind of ticked me off a little bit because I'm an IS student so I'm on like chapter 22 already, while all the normal students I share a classroom with are just finishing up chapter 15, yet she STILL making me take those insane tests...). About, oh, 10 minutes before she hands of the test, she's like, oh yeah, on a side note, you needed to have every single character memorized, which I never bothered to tell you, and is something we've never done in the class anymore....... WHAT THE HECK!!!!! Okay, so I know I probably should already know how to write all of the characters... but we've never EVER in three years of taking her class been banned from using Pinyin (the letter version of the characters)... So this was terrifying, so I had to borrow someone else's Chinese book (because lesson 22 is in a different book) and frantically use up about 3 pages of my math notebook to practice writing characters over... and over... and over again...
Then she finally hands out the test... and it's easy as pie =.= no joke... probably one of the easiest tests I've ever taken in that class.... They are really simple questions like, does Wang Peng have a cold.... then you just answer YES! Wang Peng DOES have a cold! I know this because it said right in the title of the three paragraph dialogue and on line one that Want Peng has a cold... thank you for asking us the most obvious question you could possibly come up with... *sigh* Why 老师...? ...Why?
Oh, but this isn't my last glimpse of the 老师 Affect... Just yesterday, I got a chance to ask her how I did on the test... Do you know what the first thing she says to me is?? You do good, but not good enough... W....T...F... @.@ The first thing that starts running through my head is 'Omg Omg Omg I failed the test!!! I totally got like a C or a B and she's gonna be all pissy with me cause I'm an IS student and suppose to get all A's OMG OMG OMF-ingG!!!!!'. So class starts and she passes back all of the tests... she hands me my test upside down and is shaking her head as she gives it to me... I flip it over... and I had gotten a 94%............. =.= Thanks 老师.... way to make me almost soil my underwear with fear!!!! Apparently she was disappointed because I didn't read two of the multiple choice answers fully and didn't notice that one said 我 (me or I) and one said 你 (you)... Also I wrote the character 病 wrong because I added an extra line by mistake a couple times... I did really well other then that...
I'm kind of nervous as to what 老师 is gonna pull out of her hat the next time we have a test.... oh god... scary... scary thought... she's probably going to be like, "Okay, so I want you to memorize every single Chinese radical, and be able to tell me how they are pronounced and what they mean, then tell me all the character strokes in Chinese will playing singing the theme song to Full House in Chinese and balancing a 2 legged chair and doing calligraphy.... Wouldn't.... be.... surprised....
(I promise you, I don't hate my 老师 in any way, shape, or form. She's actually my favorite teacher and is a really sweet lady... just... sometimes... some of the things she does just pluck at my most sensitive nerves... * proceeds to bang head on desk while memorizing how to write chapter 16 characters... just in case...)
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
P.S. Okay... looking back at that title... That's actually can be taken extremely creepily... @.@
And for those of you that never caught on to it 老师 means teacher in Chinese =)
Mar 2, 2011
Guess what TODAY IS!!!!
=D Hey Everybody!!
You'll never EVER be able to guess what today is~~~
...
Did you guess yet?
...
Anytime now....
...
GUESS ALREADY #.#
...
Okay~~ I'll tell you~~~ **drum rooooooooll**
TODAY IS MY 17th BIRTHDAY!!! WOOOO HOOOO
=) That is all~~
You'll never EVER be able to guess what today is~~~
...
Did you guess yet?
...
Anytime now....
...
GUESS ALREADY #.#
...
Okay~~ I'll tell you~~~ **drum rooooooooll**
TODAY IS MY 17th BIRTHDAY!!! WOOOO HOOOO
=) That is all~~
Mar 1, 2011
Why DO I Love China So Much??
Hey Midhun,
This is actually a really REALLY good question, and I have a really REALLY long answer xD So here it is.
I spent the first three years of my life in Italy, learning the language, culture, etc. I grew up bi-lingual during that time, and I feel like that is kind of what sparked my love of the languages which, in turn, sparked my love for the Chinese language.
Okay, so I feel like I should explain something to you all first. Chinese is NOT the only country I like to learn about, or the only language I want to learn. When I was in middle school, I wanted to learn about Japan and it's culture and language. Once I went into middle school, Chinese was one of the language offered, and me being the fan on that area of the world at that time, took it.
Because I was taking Chinese in school, I starting looking up stuff about it outside of school. Then I started watching Chinese TV shows and dramas to help with my reading and listening skills. The I started reading all these articles about what is going on, then China ended up being a part of my lessons in class or I integrated it into my class projects, and everything kind of blew up in a massive ball of (for lack of a better word) obsession of China.
Then, last summer, I got the chance to actually GO to China (my heart almost stopped when I learned I could go). I was finally getting the chance to go and check out this place that I'd been reading and learning about for the past year. Once I was there, I was finally immersed in the culture and everything just made me happy! The people, the places, the sights, the food, the language, everything just seemed as fun and exciting and new as I had imagined it.
Also, because I decided to take Chinese instead of continuing on with Spanish, I was actually about to not only figure out what college I want to go to, but also what Major I want to take, and also possibily what I want to do after college as well! I love Chinese because it had opened so many doors for me in my life and in my future.
So I hope that answered your question, Midhun, at least a little bit~. Thanks for asking it =)
If anyone else has any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to comment below~~
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
This is actually a really REALLY good question, and I have a really REALLY long answer xD So here it is.
I spent the first three years of my life in Italy, learning the language, culture, etc. I grew up bi-lingual during that time, and I feel like that is kind of what sparked my love of the languages which, in turn, sparked my love for the Chinese language.
Okay, so I feel like I should explain something to you all first. Chinese is NOT the only country I like to learn about, or the only language I want to learn. When I was in middle school, I wanted to learn about Japan and it's culture and language. Once I went into middle school, Chinese was one of the language offered, and me being the fan on that area of the world at that time, took it.
Because I was taking Chinese in school, I starting looking up stuff about it outside of school. Then I started watching Chinese TV shows and dramas to help with my reading and listening skills. The I started reading all these articles about what is going on, then China ended up being a part of my lessons in class or I integrated it into my class projects, and everything kind of blew up in a massive ball of (for lack of a better word) obsession of China.
Then, last summer, I got the chance to actually GO to China (my heart almost stopped when I learned I could go). I was finally getting the chance to go and check out this place that I'd been reading and learning about for the past year. Once I was there, I was finally immersed in the culture and everything just made me happy! The people, the places, the sights, the food, the language, everything just seemed as fun and exciting and new as I had imagined it.
Also, because I decided to take Chinese instead of continuing on with Spanish, I was actually about to not only figure out what college I want to go to, but also what Major I want to take, and also possibily what I want to do after college as well! I love Chinese because it had opened so many doors for me in my life and in my future.
So I hope that answered your question, Midhun, at least a little bit~. Thanks for asking it =)
If anyone else has any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to comment below~~
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
Feb 6, 2011
Chinese New Year Disaster!
I have no idea where to begin...
So, my teacher, 刘老师 [Liu Laoshi], has been putting on a Chinese New Years festival for the past three years. This year, all of her Chinese classes were suppose to go on stage and sing a song in China. Simple, right? Wrong... very, very wrong...
So if you read my previous post, you can listen to the song that was assigned for our class to sing. Imagine this, 26 students go on stage. We are all standing there all dressed up and looking so excited to be on stage singing. The lights are in our eyes, the audience is eagerly awaiting our performance. My parents in the third row with the camera and video camera out, ready to soak in every moment of our song. 老师 gives the okay for the tech people in the back to start playing the back ground music, and then!!! **dramatic dun dun duuuuu** The music is going at about 3x the speed it should be, kind of like it was on permanent fast forward!!
So, those 26 excited young Chinese students are just standing there, dumb-struck, looking at 老师 to figure out what to do. That she grabs a mic and starts talking to the sound booth people!! It was pure chaos... They tried like 3 times to get it fixed. Finally we were all kind of just dragged off the stage so that the other people could perform... Oh, but no, that wasn't the end of it!
After THAT we had to stand in the side wings of the stage, waiting for them to fix the music and for us to get our chance to sing. So we wait... and wait... and... wait... It's finally the last performance (which was another class from our school) and THEIR music didn't work either!! It was insane!! So, just like us, they were dragged off of the stage. 老师 then had a brilliant idea!! Why does we send OUR CLASS back out there to try to sing our song again!! Wonderful idea!! Well... that's what we all thought...
So, we drag our feet out on the stage yet again, and we're waiting, and music begins to play. But, oh, no, things can NOT go right for our classes performance!! They start playing the background music for Edelweiss from Sound of Music! TWICE! So, for a second time, we are dragged off of the stage... and then, 老师 goes on stage and says "Well, thanks for coming. I hope you all enjoyed our performance!" ... WHAT?!?!? We had seriously all worked on that song for over a month now, and she's just sending everybody home...... So yeah, we never got to perform it....
Oh ho ho! But that's not the end of it. The reason they had Edelweiss on the CD was because... that was the song that 老师 had picked for me to sing. The way this was going to play out was, I was going to sing the verses the first time in Chinese, and then a student from China was going to sing the verses a second time in English... or... so I thought...
Before the Celebration started, 老师 asked me to follow her, so I do of course. We go into the auditorium and she starts asking everyone "唱歌老师在哪儿?" which mean's "Where is the singing teacher?". A singing teacher? Why on earth would I need a singing teacher?? At first I thought that the teacher was going to help me and the Chinese boy sing the song well, together...Now, this was weird it started getting strange...
老师 led me to this little back room behind the stage with like 4 or 5 Chinese guys... this was kind of awkward... turned out that it was the guys changing room =.= Thanks 老师... love you too! Anyways, to most of the guys were like, college age... except for one... There was this very strange-looking older man sitting behind a desk.... I assumed he was the singing teacher, and I was right. I also assumed that I would be singing with one of the guys that were my age... but no... that would make me comfortable, and we can't have that, now can we?!
老师 starts talking to the old singing teacher in Chinese, and I'm picking up little bits and pieces of what they are saying but can't totally get the gist of what they're saying. Then, 老师 turns on the Edelweiss song and asks me to sing it. (What's running through my head?? Hold on for a second. I'm in a room of cute Chinese college boys and you want me to sing?! GAH!! Okay, I'm good at singing in from of people ON A STAGE! Not in a boys dressing room with cute guys staring at me!!!! And back to the story) So I start to sing, and quite badly at first cause I'm nervous as fudge! Then I start getting into it, and when it came to be time for the boys part... lo and behold the singing teacher starts singing... the creepy, kind of pedo-ish, old man was the person I was going to be singing with.... **GAG**!!!
I don't even understand how he's a singing teacher, his singing is AWFUL!!! I was silently hoping to god that 老师 was going to jump up and yell "Gotcha! You've just been China Punked" but no... the reveal never came... I ended up having to stand on stage... singing with... him... gah........ and THEN he started trying to dance with me!!! That is just where I drew the line and calmly just walked away... quickly...
And that, my friends, is my Chinese New Year Disaster! Don't get me wrong though, it was extremely funny and fun to be there! I got to connect so much more with my classmates than I usually do, which was fun~ And I got to joke around with them in Chinese xD Also, I like dressing up, so I liked that part as well xD
I hope you all had an awesome New Year~ 新年快乐~~~
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
P.S. Sorry for never explaining what "刘老师" meant! 刘 [Liu] is my teachers sir name, and 老师 [laoshi] is Chinese for teacher. So if I ever just use 老师 I'll be reffering to 刘老师~~ (There are other 老师's like Channell老师 or Solak老师, but I'll always put their sir name beforehand)~
So, my teacher, 刘老师 [Liu Laoshi], has been putting on a Chinese New Years festival for the past three years. This year, all of her Chinese classes were suppose to go on stage and sing a song in China. Simple, right? Wrong... very, very wrong...
So if you read my previous post, you can listen to the song that was assigned for our class to sing. Imagine this, 26 students go on stage. We are all standing there all dressed up and looking so excited to be on stage singing. The lights are in our eyes, the audience is eagerly awaiting our performance. My parents in the third row with the camera and video camera out, ready to soak in every moment of our song. 老师 gives the okay for the tech people in the back to start playing the back ground music, and then!!! **dramatic dun dun duuuuu** The music is going at about 3x the speed it should be, kind of like it was on permanent fast forward!!
So, those 26 excited young Chinese students are just standing there, dumb-struck, looking at 老师 to figure out what to do. That she grabs a mic and starts talking to the sound booth people!! It was pure chaos... They tried like 3 times to get it fixed. Finally we were all kind of just dragged off the stage so that the other people could perform... Oh, but no, that wasn't the end of it!
After THAT we had to stand in the side wings of the stage, waiting for them to fix the music and for us to get our chance to sing. So we wait... and wait... and... wait... It's finally the last performance (which was another class from our school) and THEIR music didn't work either!! It was insane!! So, just like us, they were dragged off of the stage. 老师 then had a brilliant idea!! Why does we send OUR CLASS back out there to try to sing our song again!! Wonderful idea!! Well... that's what we all thought...
So, we drag our feet out on the stage yet again, and we're waiting, and music begins to play. But, oh, no, things can NOT go right for our classes performance!! They start playing the background music for Edelweiss from Sound of Music! TWICE! So, for a second time, we are dragged off of the stage... and then, 老师 goes on stage and says "Well, thanks for coming. I hope you all enjoyed our performance!" ... WHAT?!?!? We had seriously all worked on that song for over a month now, and she's just sending everybody home...... So yeah, we never got to perform it....
Oh ho ho! But that's not the end of it. The reason they had Edelweiss on the CD was because... that was the song that 老师 had picked for me to sing. The way this was going to play out was, I was going to sing the verses the first time in Chinese, and then a student from China was going to sing the verses a second time in English... or... so I thought...
Before the Celebration started, 老师 asked me to follow her, so I do of course. We go into the auditorium and she starts asking everyone "唱歌老师在哪儿?" which mean's "Where is the singing teacher?". A singing teacher? Why on earth would I need a singing teacher?? At first I thought that the teacher was going to help me and the Chinese boy sing the song well, together...Now, this was weird it started getting strange...
老师 led me to this little back room behind the stage with like 4 or 5 Chinese guys... this was kind of awkward... turned out that it was the guys changing room =.= Thanks 老师... love you too! Anyways, to most of the guys were like, college age... except for one... There was this very strange-looking older man sitting behind a desk.... I assumed he was the singing teacher, and I was right. I also assumed that I would be singing with one of the guys that were my age... but no... that would make me comfortable, and we can't have that, now can we?!
老师 starts talking to the old singing teacher in Chinese, and I'm picking up little bits and pieces of what they are saying but can't totally get the gist of what they're saying. Then, 老师 turns on the Edelweiss song and asks me to sing it. (What's running through my head?? Hold on for a second. I'm in a room of cute Chinese college boys and you want me to sing?! GAH!! Okay, I'm good at singing in from of people ON A STAGE! Not in a boys dressing room with cute guys staring at me!!!! And back to the story) So I start to sing, and quite badly at first cause I'm nervous as fudge! Then I start getting into it, and when it came to be time for the boys part... lo and behold the singing teacher starts singing... the creepy, kind of pedo-ish, old man was the person I was going to be singing with.... **GAG**!!!
I don't even understand how he's a singing teacher, his singing is AWFUL!!! I was silently hoping to god that 老师 was going to jump up and yell "Gotcha! You've just been China Punked" but no... the reveal never came... I ended up having to stand on stage... singing with... him... gah........ and THEN he started trying to dance with me!!! That is just where I drew the line and calmly just walked away... quickly...
And that, my friends, is my Chinese New Year Disaster! Don't get me wrong though, it was extremely funny and fun to be there! I got to connect so much more with my classmates than I usually do, which was fun~ And I got to joke around with them in Chinese xD Also, I like dressing up, so I liked that part as well xD
I hope you all had an awesome New Year~ 新年快乐~~~
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
P.S. Sorry for never explaining what "刘老师" meant! 刘 [Liu] is my teachers sir name, and 老师 [laoshi] is Chinese for teacher. So if I ever just use 老师 I'll be reffering to 刘老师~~ (There are other 老师's like Channell老师 or Solak老师, but I'll always put their sir name beforehand)~
Feb 2, 2011
... Haha.... So... My Bad :/
I know, I have't really written anything in a long while... oops... I hope you can forgive me.
First of all, I want to tell everybody 新年快乐！！ Happy New Year!! Yes, in China today, it's the 3rd of February. This means that it's the first day of the Chinese New Year!!! So exciting~~
2011 is the 兔年 or Year of the Rabbit~ So, if you were born in 2011, 1999, 1987, 1975, 1963, or 1951, this is your year!! And here's a little bit about people who are Rabbits:
Speaking of Chinese New Year, what New Year could be complete without the Chines New Year Celebration?? My school is going to be putting one on this Friday~! All of the Chinese classes are going to be preforming a song... and ours... well... it's fast as crap!!! Here is a link to the song if you want to hear it. I actually really like the song, cause it's lyrics are funny, and it's just a fun song xD (In case you want to know, it's called 说唱脸谱 by 谢津）
So, again, sorry about talking forever to actually write anything! I've been busy... but not with anything really interesting that you'd like haha~
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
First of all, I want to tell everybody 新年快乐！！ Happy New Year!! Yes, in China today, it's the 3rd of February. This means that it's the first day of the Chinese New Year!!! So exciting~~
2011 is the 兔年 or Year of the Rabbit~ So, if you were born in 2011, 1999, 1987, 1975, 1963, or 1951, this is your year!! And here's a little bit about people who are Rabbits:
"Occupying the 4th position in the Chinese Zodiac, the Rabbit symbolizes such character traits as creativity, compassion, and sensitivity. Rabbits are friendly, outgoing and prefer the company of others. They also prefer to avoid conflict. In confrontational situations, Rabbits approach calmly and with consideration for the other party. Rabbits believe strongly in friends and family and lacking such bonds can lead to emotional issues.So, does that sound anything like the kind of person you are, or is it totally different? I am personally the year of the dog Woof Woof ^-^ So, actually, the rabbit and the dog are very compatible signs! Glad we get along~~ I hope you all have an amazing 兔年！
Their serene nature keeps Rabbits from becoming visibly upset. Because they’re serene animals, Rabbits are easily taken advantage of. Their sensitive nature makes them shy away from aggressive or competitive situations. They’re overall conservative and not interested in taking risks.
Classy, sophisticated, expressive, well-mannered and stylish, those born under the Sign of the Rabbit enjoy leaning about cultural issues and learning about people from other countries. Rabbits are most comfortable being home, and their homes are always neat and organized. Home is also where Rabbits prefer to entertain. Rabbits are conservative in their decorating tastes.
Rabbits should work at building more self-confidence and self-worth so they can feel more secure. The desire for remaining in safe, comfortable environments keeps Rabbits from taking risks which sometimes causes them to miss out on good opportunities." -www.chinesezodiac.com
Speaking of Chinese New Year, what New Year could be complete without the Chines New Year Celebration?? My school is going to be putting one on this Friday~! All of the Chinese classes are going to be preforming a song... and ours... well... it's fast as crap!!! Here is a link to the song if you want to hear it. I actually really like the song, cause it's lyrics are funny, and it's just a fun song xD (In case you want to know, it's called 说唱脸谱 by 谢津）
So, again, sorry about talking forever to actually write anything! I've been busy... but not with anything really interesting that you'd like haha~
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
Jan 10, 2011
Snow Day To-Do List
As you've probably already figured out, today was a Snow Day. One of those oh so rare days where school is cancelled, and it's like a free Me Day. And, on these mericle days, there are a few things that must be done, or else the day is just not complete.
#1: You must sleep in as long as possible. Granted, you've probably been awake all night studying or doing homework that you have procrastinated on all weekend, or it could be that you stayed up half the night practically raping the refresh button on the school closure website and are exhausted anyways, but a good, disgustingly long sleep is the first thing that is needed to start your perfect snow day. Keep in mind though that, unless this Snow Day is on a Friday, don't sleep in too long, or else you're not going to be able to go back to sleep at a decent time.
#2: Pigging out. Who doesn't like the idea of eating a crap load of junk food when you're stuck inside all day long? Chocolate, ice cream, a mountain of Fiber One bars! Blissful. You have the whole day practically to yourself, so enjoy it. Don't let this opportunity go to waste! Though, don't eat so much that it makes you sick. We don't want to have to be making several trips to the bathroom because of over eating, now do we?
#3: Movies! Movies are a must!! Curling up in your favorite chair with your purple fuzzy blanket, eating your high calorie foods, and watching your favorite genre of movie for hours on end with the help of Netflix. I personally love watching foreign (and non-foreign) romantic comedies. Today's movies were Buddy (a Norwegian film), About a Boy (a British film), and Wake (an American film). Out of those three movies, Buddy is my number one favorite of the day, then About a Boy, then Wake.
#4: This is the most important one by far. Just have fun! Do whatever you want to (as long as it's socially and legally legal). Make a nice fire, curl up and read a book, take a relaxing bubble bath while listening to Andre Bocelli! Remeber, this is Me Day, so make the most of it
Hope you liked my To-do list ;D Go forth and enjoy your Me Day~
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
#1: You must sleep in as long as possible. Granted, you've probably been awake all night studying or doing homework that you have procrastinated on all weekend, or it could be that you stayed up half the night practically raping the refresh button on the school closure website and are exhausted anyways, but a good, disgustingly long sleep is the first thing that is needed to start your perfect snow day. Keep in mind though that, unless this Snow Day is on a Friday, don't sleep in too long, or else you're not going to be able to go back to sleep at a decent time.
#2: Pigging out. Who doesn't like the idea of eating a crap load of junk food when you're stuck inside all day long? Chocolate, ice cream, a mountain of Fiber One bars! Blissful. You have the whole day practically to yourself, so enjoy it. Don't let this opportunity go to waste! Though, don't eat so much that it makes you sick. We don't want to have to be making several trips to the bathroom because of over eating, now do we?
#3: Movies! Movies are a must!! Curling up in your favorite chair with your purple fuzzy blanket, eating your high calorie foods, and watching your favorite genre of movie for hours on end with the help of Netflix. I personally love watching foreign (and non-foreign) romantic comedies. Today's movies were Buddy (a Norwegian film), About a Boy (a British film), and Wake (an American film). Out of those three movies, Buddy is my number one favorite of the day, then About a Boy, then Wake.
#4: This is the most important one by far. Just have fun! Do whatever you want to (as long as it's socially and legally legal). Make a nice fire, curl up and read a book, take a relaxing bubble bath while listening to Andre Bocelli! Remeber, this is Me Day, so make the most of it
Hope you liked my To-do list ;D Go forth and enjoy your Me Day~
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
Jan 8, 2011
These are a Few of my Favorite Things: Food
So, when I was in China, food was probably one of my favorite things xD!!! I'm totally and madly in love with Chinese food, and by Chinese food I mean REAL Chinese food. Not that stuff they sell all packaged up that you pop in the microwave or that fast food crap (I have... issues with fast food...). I'm talking about real, true, homemade Chinese food, and boy did I get that by the buckets full!!!
Dinner was what brought everyone in my Chinese family together. Sitting around the table with the food all set out in front of you. Surrounded by 9 people that you feel comfortable calling family... Those were probably some of the my favorite times in China. You see, Chinese people eat differently then American's do (OMJesus what a shocker!! Different cultures do different things?! I'm speechless ;) )
How it goes down is everyone sits around the table and then you have x number of dishes that are placed in the middle of the table. You are given a bowl or rice (or a bowl and get off your lazy butt and go get the rice yourself). Then you just take a piece or two of food at a time, put it in the rice so that the rice gets all the yummy flavors of the food :) (I know this may be a bit of a shocker to some people, but Chinese actually do NOT put soy sauce on their rice. It's not polite. So they use the sauce from the food instead.
Okay! Back out of my total ADD moment! This whole thing is suppose to be about some of my favorite things to eat in China! I have pictures of some of them, but most I'm probably just going to be googling (honestly... I'm not sure what some of the stuff I ate even was '.'...)
Favorite Street Food:
Okay, so this isn't even a hard one to answer!! My favorite food was Jiao zi/Bao zi from the store that was just a 5 minute walk from school!! Jiao zi are dumplings and Bao zi are like buns filled with meat! I loved the smell of the little open air shop, and I loved the taste of the A Yi (aunties) food even more!! If you sat in and ate, the buns and dumplings came straight onto your table in the wicker baskets that they were steamed in. If you were on the run, she would through a bunch into a box and bag it up with a pair of chopsticks. You... GAH! You just don't understand how unbelievably addicting these little guys were!! And, at only about 4 yuan for 10 dumplings or 6 buns, they were irresistible!
Favorite School Food:
Dinner was what brought everyone in my Chinese family together. Sitting around the table with the food all set out in front of you. Surrounded by 9 people that you feel comfortable calling family... Those were probably some of the my favorite times in China. You see, Chinese people eat differently then American's do (OMJesus what a shocker!! Different cultures do different things?! I'm speechless ;) )
How it goes down is everyone sits around the table and then you have x number of dishes that are placed in the middle of the table. You are given a bowl or rice (or a bowl and get off your lazy butt and go get the rice yourself). Then you just take a piece or two of food at a time, put it in the rice so that the rice gets all the yummy flavors of the food :) (I know this may be a bit of a shocker to some people, but Chinese actually do NOT put soy sauce on their rice. It's not polite. So they use the sauce from the food instead.
Okay! Back out of my total ADD moment! This whole thing is suppose to be about some of my favorite things to eat in China! I have pictures of some of them, but most I'm probably just going to be googling (honestly... I'm not sure what some of the stuff I ate even was '.'...)
Favorite Street Food:
Okay, so this isn't even a hard one to answer!! My favorite food was Jiao zi/Bao zi from the store that was just a 5 minute walk from school!! Jiao zi are dumplings and Bao zi are like buns filled with meat! I loved the smell of the little open air shop, and I loved the taste of the A Yi (aunties) food even more!! If you sat in and ate, the buns and dumplings came straight onto your table in the wicker baskets that they were steamed in. If you were on the run, she would through a bunch into a box and bag it up with a pair of chopsticks. You... GAH! You just don't understand how unbelievably addicting these little guys were!! And, at only about 4 yuan for 10 dumplings or 6 buns, they were irresistible!
 |
| The Jiao zi are the smaller ones on the right, and there is one Bao zi on the far back basket. Also, you could put some vinegar on them, but I think they were MUCH better on their own. |
 |
| View of the shop and over to the right is where she would steam everything. |
Another extremely easy choice! Since normal school food is... well... gross in any country you go to... I always got my food over at the school store! There, I found something yummy and amazing called 牛肉面-老坛酸菜 (Niu Rou Mian - Lao Tan Suan Cai)[Beef flavored ramen with sour veggies] which is made by 巧面馆 (Qiao Mian Guan)[Artful Noodle House]. This stuff was SUPER yummy... and... super filling #.# It was HUGH!!! I swear you could talk a bath in one of these bowls!! The funny thing was, I knew if was ramen, but all of the instructions to make is where it Chinese! My friends and I had to go and find one of the students to help us figure out how to make is (lol)
 |
| My friends and I named the dude on the front 'Asian Tony Stark' cause we TOTALLY think we're cool... making our Ironman references xD |
Favorite American Food in China:
Don't judge me, but it definitely has to be the Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino!! Everytime we hit a starbucks, that is always what I got (because my usual London Fog wasn't exactly translatable...). The one thing I HATED about the Chinese Starbucks, though, was that a cup of coffee STILL costs an arm and a leg!! GAH!!!
 |
| **drool drool drool** |
Favorite Food my A Yi Made:
Now THIS one's a toss up... There are two things that my A Yi (Auntie) would make for dinner that absolutely made me wish I had 10 stomachs; 牛肉丝 (Niu Rou Si) [Beef Strips] and 土豆丝(Tu Dou Si) [Potato Strips]. They were so yummy, and the sauce on the Beef was to DIE for! Those two are probably the two foods I miss the most from China!
 |
| 牛肉丝 |
 |
| 土豆丝 |
Favorite Fruit:
Another tough decision... I really liked eating Lychee, but also, the pears in China are 1000x times better then pears in America (Why? The world may never know!!). Also, every night around 9ish, my family would crack open a small little watermelon and eat it around the television outside and that was more of a fun fruit memory that made me like watermelon again~ If I had to choose one though... I'd have to say that Lychee were my favorite
 |
| Watermelon |
 |
| Lychee |
 |
| Asian Pears, which I got a LOT of because my Host family owned a pear farm! We had over 50 acres of pear trees! |
Favorite Veggie:
I really liked a vegetable called 空心菜 (Kong Xin Cai) which literally means Empty Heart Vegetable. It was in season when we were in Xinjin, so we got our fill of it. I was actually really surprised that I liked it, because usually I'm not a particular fan of greens (or most veggies...) But I REALLY liked these =)
 |
| Tastes a lot better than it looks, I promise |
And last but certainly not least
Favorite Dessert:
I think I liked this dessert, not really for it's taste, even though it is yummy, but for the way it looks... It's a kind of ice cream that is hard chocolate on the outside, then a layer of ice cream, then the rest of the inside is filled with chocolate and popped rice (kind of like rice krispies). It's called... well.... I actually don't know what it's called... Here's a picture, if you can tell me what it is, you get a gold star!!
Favorite Dessert:
I think I liked this dessert, not really for it's taste, even though it is yummy, but for the way it looks... It's a kind of ice cream that is hard chocolate on the outside, then a layer of ice cream, then the rest of the inside is filled with chocolate and popped rice (kind of like rice krispies). It's called... well.... I actually don't know what it's called... Here's a picture, if you can tell me what it is, you get a gold star!!
 |
| xD yummy AND fun to eat ;D It also comes in flavors like grape!... well... I think it's grape... |
And that's about it. I hope you liked this little blog about my favorite things~~ I'm thinking of doing more, but your feedback is much appreciated~
再见
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
再见
♪o｟＾∇＾｠o☆ ～珊珊
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