春節

I'm kind of irritated because I am unable to upload pictures since the internet connection here is so slow=.= Many people have been asking me for pictures, but it seems like I will have to wait until I go to the U.S. It's a shame though, cuz I have many interesting tidbits that I would like to share (比如説，厲害本地老人在公園鍛煉鍛煉。他們的精神好優秀吧!）

I'm happy to have some time off for Chinese New Year. I was able to sleep in and not worry about my research project for a couple of days^u^ I went with another classmate and his girlfriend to a 廟會. It was an interesting experience for me, since I've never been before. There were many 小吃 stands, so I ate some broiled squid in this spicy BBQ sauce, 臭豆腐 （不好吃><），and some corn on the cob. The food was so-so, but really expensive. It was funny because we were looking for some traditional performances (表演) , and all of a sudden, we heard this Indian music blasting. We followed the sound to it's source. It turns out that they this was another 小吃stand. They had a huge sign that said 阿拉伯牛肉 with a Palestinian guy in traditional garb. All of the people at that stand were dressed up too and dancing and trying to sing along to the Indian music. keke. Other than this small spectacle, there was only a stage with African dancers shouting. I was a little disappointed. I was hoping to see some traditional festivities, like the huge red dragon puppet supported by 3 or 4 men.

This past Saturday, I met up with my host family. I think the school director put pressure on my host family to contact me, because when I spoke with her last Monday (there was a mandatory 10 minute one-on-one chat with all the students to see how they were adjusting to life here) she asked about my host family and I said that I had tried to call them three times (I had an assignment that required me to interview some locals) they either didn't answer or hung up on me>< My host dad picked me and told me initially that we would just be hanging out at the house for 1.5 hours, but when I got there, 10 of their family members were already there. It seemed like they all had been expecting me. I was kind of shocked and embarrassed because there was so many people there. Even though I tried my best not to be timid in front of them, I still ended up blushing (I could feel my face getting hot><) and all I could manage to say was "對，對。“ It turns out that my host family's family were all really kind,endearing people=) This is the first time since I have been here, that I did not feel so out of place, or where other people scream 老外 at me wherever I go. I think it's embarrassing really, because I only wish to be conspicuous when I'm walking down the street>< We went to another 廟會。 This one seemed to be a little less 活躍than the other. There weren't any performances, just a few stands where you could play games or eat. I hadn't eaten anything by this point in the day, so I was starving. I ate some glutinuous, sweet tea mixture mixed with sesame seeds and some mysterious brown liquid that I'm guessing is some form of sugar. It was quite unappealing to say the least, and if I was with anyone else I would have chunked it in the garbage can after the first bite, but since they bought it for me, I was forced to eat everything. They put too much water in there, so it tasted more like congee (粥) only without the rice X_X Congee is fine, but when I'm not sick, I prefer not to eat it. We then walked around and saw different gold and silver antique exhibits. My host mom's sister than bought me 2 good luck medallions, one to hang at the temple for good luck, and another to bring home.

We then returned to my host family's apt. and played a form of Chinese Poker. It was difficult to build a strategy since all of the other players had already had a lot of experience with game. I did alright though=) Everyone then went out to a banquet style restaurant and as soon as we sat down, numerous platters of food were placed upon the table. Since that was my first real meal of the day, I did not hesitate to dig in. kekekeXD I found out that one of my host family's family members is the same age as me and he attends Normal University. We exchanged phone numbers, and promised to hit the bars one of these weekends. He seems nice, but a little too "friendly."><

I returned home and since then have been studying, studying, studying...=________=


Oh, I almost forgot. The firework displays here are amazing!! Seriously. The police don't really care if people shoot off fireworks during this time, so all over the city on the Eve of Chinese New Year, there were fireworks in all directions. It was absolutely breathtaking, but the air quality was that of a packed, smoky bar *cough* I thought about taking pictures, but they wouldn't nearly be able to capture the sheer brillance of those 20 minutes when I along with some other classmates were standing on a walking bridge (過街天橋).Everyday since that time, people have been shooting off fireworks. It's quite interesting to behold.

---

---