China

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Let's fast forward 5 months from my last post to today, as I write this blog. A lot has happened since October - including a lap top that needed repairing. I will try my best to piece together the last few months with some pictures and whatever stories I can muster up for entertainment purposes.

Now, let's back up 3 months to Christmas. Sadly I had to work late hours on Christmas Eve but high tailed it to Pamela's and spent the night with her and another sweet chick from Texas. We laughed and cried and I think sang a little..

Christmas day was a little snowy which was nice and I made sure to make the phone call rounds to talk to everyone at home. We had a fun, festive dinner with friends in Apujeong and somehow made it back for a drink in the gu before the subways closed for the night.

I had fun and it was great to be with friends but it turns out that no matter where you are in the world, or who you are with, Christmas is still the most depressing day of the year. If you don't agree, well you are drunk or 12 - because it is. Of course this is after I was mistaken for a European prostitute by a 50 year old man who was drunk at the bar on Christmas Day night.. but that is bygones and almost laughable now.

I went to China with Pamela a few days after Christmas, which was awesome. We had a great time and made some great memories.. I definitely loved China more than I thought I would, especially Beijing. It's dirty and chaotic and has a great big history that would take much longer than we had to fully appreciate. I think we did well though. We hit the most important spots: Great Wall, Forbidden City and Tiannenmen Square. We stayed with Pamela's former co-worker, and my new friend Karen who was a ball of laughs and good times.

We made a stop in Shanghai for New Years and our last few days and really lived it up. First night, we tried to be low key and stay in a hostel..but it was booked, then we went to find a recommended hotel but it was something out of a horror movie and was appropriately named 'murder hotel' for the rest of our trip. Thankfully we made it through the night alive and ventured out to find the HYATT because.. well.. 2010 in China only comes once!

We spent New Years Eve Day walking around the Bund, looking at Chinese people and things and enjoying the last few hours of 2009. New Years Eve was spent in the hotel with a bunch of rich people, dancing to Madonna and drinking champagne into the wee hours of 2010! It was wonderful and I'll never forget it!

Hope you're all having a wonderful new year so far!

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Photos

Beijing
Karen's school was all decorated for Christmas

reunited
Karen and Pam

Photo 61
Our breakfast place.. quiant.

Photo 16
Across the street near the Forbidden City