"You are very graceful." 09.22.08

Today, I went to Chinese cooking class. One of my goals was to learn how to cook a Chinese dish. A bunch of Chinese home stay mom's came together and taught is how to make Jao Zi's or dumplings. It was pretty easy and fun. We also got to eat them while we were preparing them.

After cooking class, I went to Chinese dancing class. We got an angry email from our director last week saying that no one who signed up for the dancing class showed up. I apologized to her and told her that no one informed me of the time or place. Anyway, so I went today. I was the only one to show up. We waited 15 minutes, and I even tried to convince people to come so that the teacher wouldn't feel bad. No one wanted to come. Everyone was busy studying for their test. I have my test Thursday.

It was just me and the teacher. On the way to our dance room she asked me, "Oh so you like to dance." I said, "Yeah, I like to dance to hip-hop, dance, electronic, etc. She said, "Oh you mean like this," as she moved her pumped fists away and towards her body in a kind of lame dance move from the 70's. I laughed and said, "yeah, just like that." Then she asked me, "have you ever danced Ballet?" I said, "No, never." She laughed and said, "Ohhh."

We arrived to the dance room. For some reason, I didn't really think anything of "have you ever danced ballet?" Nonetheless, the dancing we were about to do was ballet!

The only reason I signed up for a Chinese dancing class is because I want to be able to dance the traditional Chinese dance if it were to ever come up in a business party or a Chinese wedding. I would like to prove to any future Chinese partner that I know something about their culture and tradition. Chinese are very impressed when foreigners display knowledge of their language, culture and traditions.

Instead, I spent 45 minutes practicing my ballet posture and practicing ballet moves. The posture was pretty hard. The moves are hard to explain, but what ever you are picturing in your head right now, I'm sure will suffice. After doing the moves for a while, she says to me"wow, you are very graceful."

Yeah, I was like, "What!" I laughed. It was fun, but I just don't know if i''ll have the time to commit to one hour a week for something which really won't help me in business dealings with the Chinese. Next class, I'm going to ask her to teach me traditional dancing or any dance style that could be found in a party environment.

Fun and interesting day. The best part was when I showed my friends over here the moves I learned. We laughed for a good 10 minutes.

Putuoshan Island Sept. 19-21st.

Monks were seen in the temples, as well as out in the town.

Putuoshan Island translates to Lotus Flower Island in English. Above you can see a Lotus flower.

The Nine Dragon Wall. Dragon represents loyalty, and nine is the biggest odd number from 1-10. Therefore, the Nine Dragon Wall represents the utmost loyalty.


The above two pictures are from the beach. The 1st one is my Chinese name, Bai Long fei, which means White Dragon Fly. The 2nd picture says, Wo shi Meiguo ren. Transaltes to I am an American. We were just playing around.


This is a rock in the shape of an Ox. Buddhist believe that if you touch it or lay down on it, it will bring prosperity throughout the year. I layed down and spread my arms, and as soon as I layed down the Chinese lady next to me laid down and put her head on my arm. In the picture you can see me laughing. It was a bit awkward.



The locks are locked in chains to signify that a couples' love is locked away for ever. They carve their names on the locks, throw away the keys, and hope for the best. No divorce. haha.





U.S.M.C. Military base on the Island. They have a pretty sweet track!

The group. I'm blinded by the sun.


This is the Pantuo Rock. "It's name literally means a huge stone on a mountain. The rock appears to be hanging in the air and seems ready to fall. However, it has been there for thousands of years. The sotne is actually attached to the mountain/rock. The characters were written on the stone by the famous anti-Japanese-pirate General in the Ming Dynasty" (Guide book). I don't know if I believe this, but who would go through the trouble of cementing or somehow attaching this huge stone on top of another mountain. I don't know...







This is a chimney. Buddhist burn fake money for their ancestors. You can see the smoke in the picture.

Trailing up the mountain. It was a good workout.





Beach. The picture doesn't do the scenery justice.

The Buddhist also believe that rubbing a dragon will bring them good luck. I had to do it, because I'm the year of the Dragon. Actually, I really don't know if i'm a rabbit or a dragon. My blog says I'm a rabbit, but every calendar says I'm a dragon. Let's just say I'm a dragon.



Nanhai Guanyin. She is Buddhism's goddess of compassion. 108 ft tall.





Sweet album picture cover.














Monk just chillin.

People throwing coins into this structure for, you guessed it, good luck!

Yao Ming Restaurant

Drinking Jack on the rocks. I really hate Jack Daniels but Tony loves it.


Yeeha! is the name of the restaurant. This is a bad picture, but you can see it on the left.

I asked Tony, do Chinese really watch NFL games? He said, "hell no."
NFL was being advertised to Americans. Shanghai is a really westernized city. Some of the bars, clubs, and bars I've been to have more American and European customers than Chinese.


They had a section of basketball cards. I took one of Grant Hill because I actually met him.
Go ContraVest! haha


These fries were DA BOMB! The best American food I've had in China.
The beers on the side are Tigers. Tiger is a beer from Singapore. It's pretty good, and it was the cheapest. 35 Yuan for a glass, which is $5.

Brings me to my next point, you can still blow a lot of money in Shanghai. Mixed drinks and beers at expensive bars and clubs average out to 50 Yuan per drink. Cheap bars and clubs sell the same drinks for 15-20 Yuan. There are also a lot of "all you can drink" cover specials. Usually around 80-100 Yuan. Pretty good deal, but just like in the States, they water down the drinks and put way too much coke or mixers in the drink. Usually, you have to settle for beer. Not a bad deal though.

Funny story. Last night Tony and I were at Muse (an expensive club) and we ordered 2 Tsingtaos (Chinese beer). I asked how much, the bartender said 90. I said what!
Tony and I bucked and went across the street to a convenient store and got 2 cold Tsingtaos for 6 Yuan, which is 88 cents. haha. That's what I call shopping around.

Chinese Wedding 09.12.08

Nice table setup. Those bottles on the right with the white foil paper on top are the fanciest most expensive beer in China. They're Budweiser. haha

My host parents and I at our table.

The newly married couple.

My host dad made go up on stage. It was some kind of karaoke contest.
I had no idea what was going on, but it was fun. The MC told me to speak English to the crowd so I did. I felt like a celebrity of some sort.


The first thing you'll notice is that I'm not dressed up for a wedding. I was going to dress up, but my family told me not to. In China, dressing up for weddings is not a common practice. However, I felt really under dressed in this picture.

The cake.

Candle decoration.

The hotel ball room ceiling and chandeliers (don't know if that's how you spell it).


The wedding was a great time. The food was the best I've had in China, and it competes with any other food I've had in the States, Mexico or Venezuela.

Everyone in my table was surprised and glad to see me eat and drink so much. Don't tell my mom I said that though. haha. They were happy to see an American really enjoy their nation's food. I didn't refuse anything except cigarettes. But, after I noticed my host dad's disappointment in his face, I said yes to the next time he offered me one. Everyone in China smokes, especially in an event such as a wedding. I sucked it up and smoked two. No biggie.

My favorite was the Duck soup. It reminds me a lot of my mom's posole. But of course, my mom's posole is better. haha. Oh, I also ate snails. Didn't like the taste one bit. On top of a disturbing taste, they were sandy.