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Published: September 28th 2007
Monday I started to feel a little sick. We all have some weird stomach thing so it makes it really hard to eat and leave the house. So we have been taking it easy. However Tuesday was the Holiday of the Mid-Autumn festival. This is the day where the moon is the most round and friends and families gather to look and the moon and think of one another. Sarah and I had been invited to celebrate with our friend Bai Hua, the grad student who stopped Sarah and we had dinner with him and his sister two weeks ago. So Sarah, Bai Hua, Bai Hua's two friends and I went to a very nice restaurant to celebrate the full moon. Bai Hua is so interested in talking with us that he likes to treat us each time. He told us that when we are in China it is his treat and when he comes to America it will be ours. He is just so sweet. His friends spoke better English than he does so they could translate. His friends are both graduate students in their first year so they are our age also. One girl is a Psychology major and
we spoke about how uncommon it is for Chinese to visit a Psychologist so her options for jobs are limited to hospitals and teaching. She was very interested in the way we look at social psychology in America. It was great to talk to someone who shared similar interests to find the differences culturally in the field of Psychology. We finished and went to the football field, soccer, to look at the moon. We ate a citrus fruit called a Pomelo, I had never had this before. It is a traditional fruit to be eaten on this holiday. We also moon cakes which are round cake like desserts that are filled with different things. The center is often fig with the consistancy of a fig newton. There are also pineapple, strawberry, nut and even meat filled moon cakes. It was a great way to celebrate and we were glad to be with new friends who were also glad to meet foreigners. Sarah and I met with the rest of the teachers and we sat outside and ate tons of mooncakes our students and collegues gave to us.
We have been going to VOX and having some cheap beer but mainly
to see the entertainment. We went and saw a french rock band, it was interesting. We went this wednesday and saw a girl band from Beijing. Most of the Chinese bands either cover songs in English or cover American songs. Most of the time we can tell either they are yelling too much or their English is too poor. This week they sounded like Heart and the song was like Baracuda but it wasnt the same. It is a fun place to meet internationals and more "liberal" Chinese young people. We arrived home too late and needed to climb the wall that locks us in the building. It is a task so usually Nick with give us a boost and spot us on the ground so we dont crash back down.
Tonight, Friday we are leaving for a weeks journey to Shanghai. We are looking forward to a more modern city. I am excited to see the French Concession that was settled when Shanghai was a treaty port. It isinteresting to see the mix of western and eastern culture. We are all looking forward to eating some western food in hopes that it regulates our systems. The week holiday is
for National Day the day that Mao Zedong declared that the CCP, China Communist Party was officially formed, October 1, 1949.
So we have the week off!
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Knee weee
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I miss you KTB!
Hi Katie!! I miss you tons! Hope you are having an amazing time in China, it certainly sounds like you are! Send me your email address so we can keep in touch, and if you can "subscribe" me to this blog that'd be awesome, Lindsay sent me the link so I've been stalking you hehe :) Love ya <3 Dani