How to Celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.

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We had no classes on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday this week because it is the Chinese mid-Autumn festival. There has been a program going on nonstop in the auditorium. We can hear it every time we pass. And it is like rush hour all the time all over the city.

This is how you celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival:

1) Go shopping! I think half of Chengdu's population was in Chunxi Lu this week. It was stressful. We went with Clare's group of students and I didn't buy anything. I couldn't handle the crowds.

2) Eat! I went to Grandma's Kitchen for breakfast on Wednesday morning. I had a raspberry milkshake and french toast. The syrup is sad. It is clear. I think it is really just sugar water. Chinese people don't know how to eat breakfast.

I went to Peter's for lunch. (Two different groups of people.) I had a children's sized chicken fingers with fries and root beer. I felt sick after eating so much western food. I won't be doing that again. It wasn't worth it.

On Thursday, Clare, Joanna, Kaia, Ryan and I had dinner with Clare's group. They took us to an area that sells traditional items like scrolls, newspapers with Mao in them, jewelry, etc. We had a really good dinner there. Noodles, kick ass green beans, more noodles, mapo doufu. Yum. Spicy and delicious.

Today we went out to hotpot for lunch. The waitress could not understand our pronunciation, so we ended up with a bunch of stuff we didn't know we ordered, like bologna looking stuff and something that was either kelp or skin. It cost a lot. Whoops.

3) Have a party on the roof of the International Students Dormitory.

4) Go to ladies' night at the Shangri La.

5) Do homework in bed.

6) Get creeped on. One man stopped Clare and I outside of the dorm and tried to convince us to spend a month modeling for his company along the Yangze River. 8000 yuan for the month, plus room and board, but I looked up his company on the computer and couldn't find a website with the same logo.

A girl our age stopped us in Chunxi Lu and grabbed my hand and would not let go. She asked me what I thought of her appearance and whispered in my ear so that the Chinese student with us wouldn't translate for her. I gave her my email address just so I could get away.


I didn't eat any moon cakes during the holiday. Maybe I will find some tonight.

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Photos

sad jelly
there, there

Scott's Yak Pie
Before

Comments

[rob]

wow!
anyway, a lot of gay people in Chengdu, that girl could be one of them, be careful :)

[Heather Greenberg]

What DID you think of her appearance?

[Alex Ellis]

YAY!
Hey you! So I have been attempting to find where in the hell I wrote down the link to your blog... And after frustratingly long seconds of not searching, decided to type your name into lovely google and its the first thing to pop up! YAY! By the way I think the creepy girl was trying to hit on you....How is it that you always find the creepers and are NICE to them?! Laura, I'm getting you a tazer for Christmas. I hope you still like Western food when you get back....ooooooooooooh somebody's making fried something in the lounge.... HOLY HELL YES! IT IS ASHLEY FRYING UP SOME TWINKIES! All right Laura, I gotta go... I HAVE TO EAT LIKE AN AMERICAN! Have fun in China! Congrats on being AMAZING!

[lauralisonash]

She looked average Chinese. But I told her she was pretty.

[lauralisonash]

lol
Alex, the url for my blog was in my last Facebook status. Trust me, I still like American food. Probably more that I don't get to have it all the time. This weekend we are going to Subway, which is the only place you can get really cookies here. There is also a restaurant called Peter's TexMex that has the best milkshakes and fries. And there is Bookworm and the Shamrock. All too expensive so we only go a few times a month. Yesterday I had a yak burger for lunch. So good. Fried twinkies sounds disgusting.

[lauralisonash]

Engrish
I definitely meant game