A little bit of this, a little bit of that

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January 9th 2010

Published: January 9th 2010

It's been a busy week and a half since the new year and things are in full swing... and swinging in many directions.

I spent Jan 1 and 2 recovering from the celebration.

Sunday the 3rd, Candy, Dylan, and I met and went out for Indian food. It was fantastic. Candy had never eaten Indian food and was excited to try everything. I wanted to order the whole menu. I managed to keep myself in check and stick with an old favorite, dal and roti, while splurging on masala tea. Candy asked what it was, so I told the server to bring her one as well. She loved it.

After dinner, we wandered around the local mall and took silly photos in front of left-over Christmas decorations. There's something impressive and tacky about a huge, one-and-a-half story golden reindeer. Dylan and I were explaining to Candy how we thought the models looked Russian in some fur ads. Then we started talking about how you can make your outfit "pop" and trying to find examples of it. (To explain: if you wear dark colored pants and a shirt, but then add a brightly colored scarf, the scarf is the pop. Large jewelry works, too. I used to do this with shoes.) Candy understood and thought it was fun, and helped us find people who had good pop, too much pop, and a few... well, we didn't know what they were wearing.

I've become a bit more interested in Asia fashion as of late, probably due to my extensive time with Dina and Denise, who are from NYC. I always read fashion magazines in the US, but they tended to focus on American and European fashion. In my reading and perusing of online photos, I discovered that a store whose windows I like to peek in is Japanese. I'd never gone in, thinking it was Chinese. (Many Chinese clothes are poorly made unless you pay top dollar for them. I neither wanted over-priced, poor-quality clothes, or to look at clothes I could never hope to afford.) So upon discovery that Uniqlo is Japan's answer to the GAP (which I loved in the US), and the discovery that they were having a sale, I dragged Dylan and Candy in with me.

The clothes were brightly colored and nothing was pastel. For those of you who know me, I used to joke that it was time to do laundry when I ran out of black shirts. Since moving to China, I've slowly started adding in pops of color, but always in small doses. Suddenly, I found myself wanting to buy everything in the store. I managed to restrain myself, but not before buying a bright green hooded sweatshirt. Unlike most sweatshirts I've found in China, this one was thick and a bit fleecy on the inside. Dylan also got a green hoodie, but his was a bit more electric in color. I was amazed we both found warm clothes that were big enough (Dylan is over six feet tall and has broad shoulders). I vowed to return.

So between Uniqlo's website and talking to my former Japanese teacher in Chicago, I learned about Heattech. Essentially, it's like putting on a lightweight t-shirt or turtleneck, or leggings or socks, but with the warmth of sweaters and jeans or fluffy socks. I did end up buying a few since they're on sale for the end of the season. It's one of the few stores that has clothes that fit me while still looking good. I doubt I'll ever be the Asian fashionista, but at least now I'm feeling cute (vs frumpy) and comfortable... and warm!

After our buying binge, we went to Starbucks for Dylan to buy some coffee for home. We explained the process of making coffee to Candy, who has never made coffee. She was surprised that unlike tea leaves, you can only use coffee grounds once. (Good tea leaves can be used at least 5 times.)

Then we set out to tackle my newest problem: I needed a new name. I've been SunKeTing 孙克婷 since college and never really loved the way it sounded. But since it was given to me, I considered it a gift, and dealt with it, finally growing a bit fond of it. When I first arrived in China Anthony tried to give me a new name, but I wasn't emotionally ready for it. Now I am. KeTing is based off my full name, Kristin, that I don't use and don't much care for. With a bit of work, Dylan and Candy came up with good characters for me using the sounds Anthony had suggested over a year ago. I am now SunKaiLi 孙凯莉。No, I will not change the address of my blog again. I was inspired to come to China and came to China as SunKeTing but have changed into SunKaiLi. I will always have SunKeTing in me.

I now have one week left of teaching. I generously offered to let the other teachers have my classes to help the students prepare for their exams next week. I've had a few takers and I'm hoping for a few more. Mentally, I've already left.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

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