你好！你最近还好吗？好久不见！

It has been a long time since I've blogged. Reasons?... Maybe because the past few months have been extremely challenging personally and that no one likes to hear bad news, and I for one do not like to write material on the sadder side of life especially if it is close to my heart.

So lets extrapolate the good from the bad.

1. Work
Work has been one of the many personal challenges. Settling in has been easy yet tough at the same time. The change in lifestyle has led me to realise that there is barely enough hours in one day to get everything that you want done. You are working from 9-5 (or for me, the last 6 weeks working was like 8-8) and when you come home, you really only have 3 or so hours to eat, do exercise, some reading etc. It is frustrating coming from uni life, and unfortunately that is the life that most people lead. I guess in a way, it forces you to be more organised. Time management is of the essence and being strong enough to enforce the "Work, Life, Balance" way of life. I tired, and I think I was successful enough. Working, and then usually having some social sport at night, allowing me to meet up with my friends who I no longer get to see at uni, as well as exercise.

I found that as work got harder, the only thing that kept me going was the sport after work, or going out for dinner or any activity with friends after work. Though I don't mind staying at home, I'd prefer to be out because it is a change of scene and people. I guess I am cool at home if I got me a book to read.

A plus side to work is that I was offered articles at Sparke Helmore which suits me perfectly! I love the people there, and I don't think there is a more perfect firm for me at the moment than Sparke Helmore. The size of the firm is not too big or too small, and being a national firm, allows various work opportunities to pop up. That was one of my fears of applying to small firms, that the work would stultify and be the same thing over and over again. I must admit I get bored easily, I like seeing the bigger picture... the small details I would bang my head against the wall after a long time. I guess that is kind of bad, since Law is all about the small details.

My boss is super lovely, she has allowed me to take 2 months off before I start articles, and I cannot imagine how I would be without it. I already feel heaps better and I feel like I have been given a chance to sort my stuff out.


2. Social
I've been chilling out with a great bunch of people, mainly the v-ball crew, but also the netball peeps. China peeps have been very busy with uni and their part-time work, same goes to the old uni crew. Everyone from the uni crew have now pretty much left uni and have started full-time work. A lot have been busy with life and are moving on. It is not a sad thing, it is just a... HrmMmm how can I describe it? Another phase of life. I am melancholy for the days of uni that will not return. I did feel the same way a few years ago when uni started and high school ended. But hey, that is life.

It is funny how I felt and most of the time still see myself as being at the peak of my life. I felt like I knew myself completely and that since I have experienced so much in the 23 years of my life there is nothing new to expect, except meeting new people, making more money, moving jobs, getting house, car etc. But this year has proved to me that, that is complete horse shit and an illusion. I must say I have been humbled, and I know that this will be the case for the rest of my life.


3. Sports
Tied into my social circle is my sports. I have continued with the mixed soccer on Mondays with the Bananaroos, (which even though we played better, we have had an unlucky semi and finals in both seasons). I have quit the mixed basketball on Tuesday nights with Captain Seng's to try out mixed netball with Team ROWDY. It has been an awesome season, each game is super fun, and I really really want to improve. Then there is Volleyball on Friday nights, which has taken a more serious turn. We have joined the league and by doing so, the committed ones come and have heaps of fun. I must say, the competitiveness side of me has started to show it's head, as there are times in all these sports where I have felt frustration. Frustration in no improvement. Initially when I start, I don't really care, it is all for fun. But after a season, or a decent amount of games, I begin to expect SOME improvement in skill. Overall it has been ok. Volleyball could use some speeding up though.

I have also started running. O_O Yea... that's right you read correctly, running. I would have never ever thought that I'd be one for this type of exercise. I hated running when I was younger. But after this year's City to Surf, I had heaps of fun. It could be because I had cool running buddies (Thanks to Kev for being nice and holding back to stay with me, and thanks to Adrian for randomly bumping into us and taking the last 4km home with me). Something about running along the pathway at my beach really shuts out the mental chatter I have in my head. If I want my head to stop thinking and to just shut up after a day at work, the run is the best thing.

OOOOOH and what else... I've bladed a few times too! hEHHEe... OK.. twice so far. Thanks to Adaliee for giving me a pair of blades saving me heaps of money! The first time blading was with Adaliee, Kev and Doris around the river starting at the Hyatt and making one loop around through South Perth back to the city. The second time was with Kev, and though it was easier because I wasn't so shaky in the legs and rusty at the blading thing, the wind was killer, and the first half was a mission. Great exercise though. Everything gets a work out, 10km you would hope to get something out of it.

There as been a lil bit of Baddy on the side too... which I am determined to get better at again.


4. Events, Past times etc.
This year has definitely been the year of festivals, concerts, sport and just having fun enjoying the freedom and the money. Godskitchen was awesomeness in a box. First night rave, very eye-opening and enjoyable. Global Gathering was just as awesome, it being my first day festival. The weather was cool, and we were rained on but that didn't stop the fun! Stereosonic was also awesome! Warmer weather, beautiful sunset. All of these have been so much fun, and the music! AH the music is sooo good. After China I have been more open to the idea of Trance music, because Trance was very popular in the clubs, and now, I can happily say that I can add Trance to my long list of enjoyable music.

Chris Brown and Rihanna was a pretty good concert. We were in standing and I had so much fun with team ASS (Anna, Shaz, Sarah)+ Kev and Jesi. Overall I think the Justin Timberlake concert was better, and possibly Gwen Stefani. But that could be because I am more of a fan of the latter two. Chris Brown and Rihanna are still awesome, it is just I didn't know all their songs by heart in order to say...be totally engaged with the show.

Besides the loud/party side of life that has emerged, there has been the quiet side of life too. I have started to read again, and I am desperately trying to catch up to those who have surpassed me. I barely read anything besides textbooks and statutes and lecture notes during uni, up until last year when I decided to take on the Harry Potter series. Ben, Sarah and Kev are all well read. It's frustrating that I am so behind on...I guess you can consider it as useless knowledge. Reading adds colour to the way you see the world, and because it has been a good couple of years since I had read a decent number of books non uni related, I have become a little grey. But... that is changing now. ^_^ My sense of humor is slowly returning, and my personal interests are reemerging to the surface for myself to see. It is strange to realise that things like, work, uni, commitments etc had taken over life so that I couldn't even identify things I enjoyed.

Let me just say randomly that the Beach is awesomeness in a box, and I can't believe how much I missed the sand and water.


5. Memorable Moments
2008 has been no joke, a jammed packed year. I will list the most memorable moments of 2008, in no particular order:

1. New Years Eve in Hangzhou, China. Went to Carrefour with Quentin and James and bought French Champagne which we chilled outside on the Balcony, we then went to "In Club" which opened especially for NYE where it was cheap as chips drinks. I remember I had an awesome time, all our Hangzhou crew were there. Danced the night away with Frenchies, but then felt sad, because I missed the people at home. Had the best phone call to Will and then everyone else who were partying it up at Clem's place. The countdown was non-existent. Was dancing, then next thing I knew it, there were streamers and sticky spray string things going on and people around me hugging. Anti-climax.

2. Lunch at Myth Cafe the day that Megan and I were leaving Hangzhou for Beijing. This was very... surreal. All our Hangzhou crew was there. The day was rushed because everyone wakes up so late, so we had a late lunch and had to rush it so that we wouldn't miss our train. It was sad. I had formed such intense and strong relationships with these people... I loved them... and I was to never see them again. It was sad, but I was detached in a way. They were friends of the moment, and will be forever living in my memory. (Except James of course because he's the other UWA-ian that was there)

3.Australia Day in Beijing. That was awesomeness, the gang plus other Tour Group people just bar hopped and we were screaming out Aussie Songs being proud Australians. Ended up at Vix/Mix, was an awesome night.

4. The Morning it snowed in Beijing. I knew it was going to snow that day. I had a dream, woke up with the feeling and saw the sky. The colour was weird, and I knew it. It was the best day for all of us. We were all innocently, blissfully excited all day, the Guy and the Girls. :)

5. Visit to Hakea Prison. Being so close to criminals was such a shock to my senses and an eye-opening experience.

6. Metamucil Night and the Epic Rain. This is by far one of the most beautiful, fun filled memory that I'll have. Hahaha. Just remembering the moment how we had this false sense of security that we would make it to our cars all fine. And out of no where this random epic rain just hit us. My small Oroton umbrella did very little to shield Kev and I. Jon and Shaz had Farhan's golf umbrella, Jesi and Shaz's friend seemed just as wet as the rest of us. We were all fighting the crazy horizontal rain and wind except for Karl and Viv who had the right idea. They had no umbrellas, they just walked through it... and we were just as wet as them. The experience was fresh, and just one of those moments that would never happen again.

7. Godskitchen - It was the first Rave I went to. Though I found Global Gathering and Stereosonic just as fun or maybe even more fun, Godskitchen was the first. Big thanks to Jesi who stayed with me most of the night and kept an eye on me, Anne and Khang who also kept a close eye on me.

8. Friday night drinks at Hula Bula Bar. This was an unexpected night. Got thoroughly tipsy at work. Met up with Kev who took me to the Korean place in NB near Singapore and met up with Ben and Sarah. It was the first time I met Sarah and we had an awesome night together!!! Getting smashed on that crazy Korean alcohol. Chinny came and we were soo awesome that the people in the restaurant couldn't deal with such awesomeness, and we had to leave. LOL. It wasn't my fault I swear. Such random goodness. We then went to Hula Bula Bar where we met up with Jesi, Wilbur, Mark and others. I couldn't remember this part of the night, but there were heaps of photos the next day. LOL.

9. Yallingyup. This trip was exactly what I needed. Chilling and relaxing with Will and just having quiet time during a time of such turbulence. Listening to cruisy music, cooking and enjoying nature. Was definitely one of the most peaceful times this year. The last breakfast was awesome. :)

10. And last but not least, Graduation. Thanks to Will for making such a special event, that much more special.

Most of these memories are in my blog. Just back track to find them ^___^

6. 2009?
So the year is coming to an end. I must say I can't wait for the year 2009 to come around. This is the first time that I have felt this way. Part of me has this glimmer of hope that the next year won't be so hard as this. The other part of me feels like I should not be so hopeful because it is the year when the REAL work starts. Things that I am looking forward to:

1. Melbourne Trip from December 26 2008 - January 4th ish 2009 with Team ASS, Kev and Jesi. Sensation White for new years eve, and a whole lot of shopping and eating!

2. Summadayze with the vball crew, with a line up that I can say that I recognise a few names now. (unlike the past where I've just been like "meh, just go and see what happens")

3. Thailand Trip from 20ish of January 2009 - till 31 January 2009. With part of the v-ball crew: Sarah, Ben, Thien, Chinny and myself. Will be awesome!! Cheap, relaxing and fun fun fun! The last hoorah before work.

4. Phantom of the Opera - I really can't wait for this. I will fall in love again.

5. More sports, hanging out with friends and sorting life out ... this can never go wrong!

Labels: Friendship, Fun, Music, Party, Sport, Work

It was... epic... the night kept on getting better till the last moments for the huge monstrous finale!!!

It started out alright. I had friday night after work drinks... 2 glasses of white, and I was all honkey-dory. Pretty alright...pretty settled. I then made my way to meet up with Jesi and Kev outside of Myers. Got calls from Sharon and El saying they were going to be a little late. So the trio made our way to Makan Makan. Kev was super awesome for volunteering to drive us... (I had initially planned to take the train all the way home to pick up the car, to then drive back to the city and drive ppl... i wanted everyone to have a good time.) So at Makan makan, we were soon joined by El and Mike... which was awesome because the talk was all engineering... >__< which wasn't too bad, but my involvement level = 0.

Sharon found her way to Makan makan and the crew was set. We made our way to tigerlils which had a mega long line... and it was RAINING! *Augh*. But the wait in the line wasnt too bad, Seng came soon and he was able to get us VIP entry with him, though he wasnt able to get El and Mike in who ended up having to go back into line and wait for a little longer... (Sorry guys). In tigerlils, found Viv, Karl and the other bball boys. Rounds of drinks started... and before we knew it, we were off to Amplifier bar. There was a 20 Buck entry fee. >__< So when Viv left to find his crew at the Belgium Beer Cafe, the V-ball crew (plus, Jon and Co) stayed and just had a few more drinks and enjoyed the live band.

After the last round of drinks, we made our way to Ktv at Hits Studio. It started raining pretty heavy... but we were all still good, we did not let it dampen our mood! Once at Ktv... it was pretty good... but unfortunately the room that I had booked was not big enough. There were people spilling out of our room, waiting around the door >__< felt mega bad!!! But other than that.. was awesome. Farhan, Viv, Karl and Co joined us... and we lasted till like 4am!

Walking out of Hits Studio, I looked at the sky and I think Sharon said "wow, lucky its not raining." I was thinking the same thing. We made our way to the cars and it started drizzling... I had my umbrella, but I also had a jacket. So i offered my umbrella to Sharon and Jon (Jon who only had a cotton shirt on). They were like "nah its ok, we are cool" I was like "ok...".... next thing we knew it *POW* it just started pouring down, big fat rain... sharon and i shrieked... and it kept on getting worse. The winds made it like horizontal crazy rain... Farhan stopped by in his car and lent us his umbrella which was a huge help!!! But the rain just kept on beating down on us. It was soo epic... it came to the point were i looked around and saw us, Sharon, Jon, Kev and I, Jesi and Sharons friend (forgot her name), and Viv and Karl... all of us just head down, fighting the weather. I started laughing. it was hillarious. Something sooo... unexpected, something so... refreshing, a situation that we would never willingly put ourselves in, but it just happened. It was beautiful. LOL. It is by far my favourite memory up to date.

Labels: Friendship, Fun, KTV, Party

Everyone holding thier favorite thing

Heya all, long time no see!!! Now I am in Beijing. We arrived jintian shangwu! But before I tell you how we got here, let me recap on the week that just passed… the last week in Hangzhou.

Xingqiliu 29 December 2007

Megan, Jesse and I had dim sum for chi zao fan, afterwards we rushed to the Shanghai South Train Station in order for me to head back to Hangzhou. I must make a special thank you to Jesse for looking after Megan and I whilst in Shanghai for the week! So I hopped on the train, found the dui cabin and seat and enjoyed the ride back. People are very helpful in China believe it or not, for an example, when I arrived at my seat I had my little suitcase (compliments of Melissa) and this man who was sitting across from me took it and placed it in the overcarry thingo. He then took it down when we arrived in Hangzhou.

I was soon awoken by a phone call from Quentin, he was wondering whether everything was alright and whether I wanted him to pick me up from the train station. It made me smile = ) A few days before when I had told James that I was coming back alone, he offered the same thing. Awww I feel loved. But yea… they were looking out for me, knowing I barely know Chinese. But yea anyways, I told Quentin I would be fine, I mean I have successfully directed the taxi driver “Wo yao qu Zhejiang Daxue, Yu quan Xiao qu, Xixi lu Hou men”

When I got off the train, I followed the crowd like a sheep to the exit. I found the taxi line and waited in it for a looonnng time. When I did get the taxi, awww I was lucky! I had gotten a really nice taxi driver. Initially after I directed him where I wanted to go, there was silence. He then said something which obviously I did not understand. So I smiled nicely and said Dui bu qi, wo ting bu dong. He then laughed and said something which I assumed he asked where I was from. I told him I was Australian and our conversation started from there. I tried stringing words together like Wo xihuan Hangzhou, Wo juede Hangzhou hen hao kan… Wo xihuan Hangzhou-ren. Heheheheee poor Chinese, but he understoold. He asked where I came from (which I only understood after he asked 3 times) and I told him I came from Shanghai and I was there for yige xinqi. I told him I preferred Hangzhou. I also told him wo shi xueshang, wo xuexi Hanyu zai Zhejiang Daxue. There were a lot of times where I had NO idea what he was saying, and there were a lot of times where he had no idea what I was saying, so majority of the time we were passing over my English-Chinese dictionary!!! While he was driving too!!! He was soo cool.

And yes… I successfully reached my destination.

Walking the streets through the campus was sooo nice. I appreciated it a lot more. I felt like I was coming home, because wo ai Hangzhou! It made me sad as well knowing that I will be leaving in one week. I made my way to Quentin’s room where I was greeted by the frenchie! AAAAH I had missed him. I had missed James and Quentin whilst in Shanghai. There were so many “in jokes” which I wanted to pull out, but no one would have understood. Quentin was nice enough to give up his spare bed for the week for me. Hes my hero!!! Wo meiyou qian!!! (I had no more money).

Oh yea… what is it like staying with a guy? Well its ok. Quentin as a roomie gave me the insight of a typical guy. 3 things. Messy, unorganised and carefree. I thought it might have been weird… but it was ok. It was pretty fun, a bit ma fan when I wanted to change and stuff, like I had to go to the bathroom and change, I mean when staying with Megan we get to the point when we don’t care anymore and just change our top or bottoms and make sure the other is facing the other way. Quentin had clothes everywhere, rubbish that had accumulated after months, and yea. But he was sweet enough to have his room and bathroom cleaned by the Fuyuan.


Xingqitian 30 December 2007

That night James, Quentin and I went to CarreFour where we bought some champagne for Guillaume whose birthday party we were going to that night. It was some really nice French Champagne recommended by Quentin.

Afterwards, we wanted to go for dinner, we ate at a place that opened up near Zhejiang Daxue zai Xixi Lu. It was pretty good. Like we chose a plate and they heated it up and served cooked and all. Quentin got James and I on beer, and over dinner and the beer we decided that we wanted to drink the Champagne ourselves and then get Guillaume another drink from the convenient store… we were like “Yeaaa, why not.”

When we arrived at the dorms, we got ready and then popped open the Champagne. The weather is cold enough now that all we did was put the bottle outside on the balcony for an hour or so in order to chill it… yeaaa… all natural coolness! We then got stuck into it… it taste sooo niiiice despite the fact that we drank it out of plastic cups!!! But yea, we had so much fun!!! Afterwards we walked to Guillaume's and Gabriel’s place for the party… that walk was really fun too! Just the shenanigans and the conversations that emerge!!

At the party, everyone was there, and I had a really good time!!! Ive taken some cool photos of the Terrific trio (James, Quentin and I) sharing the love =)

After that we all went to G+ (another club) where I must admit I was sooo exhausted by then, that I didn’t really dance and all I really wanted to do was sleep. We left around 3am and yea… wo xuejiao!!!


Xingqiyi 31 December 2007

New Years Eve!!! Awww… Quentin, James and I awoke really late.. at about 3am we had lunch at a place near Xi Hu where we ordered pizza!! It was really cool, we chilled out, talked and yea… some of the conversation involved Quentin and James going Geek style, talking about physics and shite. (James is studying engineering and Quentin used to study engineering). Hahaha its funny, sad and cute at the same time.

Anyways… it was around this time we got a phone call from Megan who had arrived in Hangzhou with Sam. We then quickly ate our food, and tried to get all the shopping we needed to get done quickly. James bought his Nike Airforce 1s and then we went again to Carrefour to get more Champagne to drink before heading out for new years eve.

After getting ready and drinking the Champagne, we all had more pre drinks in James’ room. Afterwards we all headed off to “In Club” which had an open bar. This club was James’ favourite club of all time which had been closed, and was open only for new years. The club was pretty swish, not as nice as SOS but still pretty swish. I guess the only downfall was the countdown. It was not made as a big thing. Usually in Australia, the music would stop, and then the DJ would be like “10, 9, 8, 7…” But here, the music just ended and then some girls started shooting out these streamers and like spraying this stringy shit on the crowd. People were hugging each other saying happy new year, and so I assumed that was it. This is where I automatically looked around for Will, even though I knew he wasn’t going to be there. But yea… Hugged everyone!!! James picked me up (the crazy boy) even though his back is fractured!!! (actually James still does crazy physical stuff even though his back is a bit fractured… JEEEEEMMES!!! CRAZY!!!)

After some more crazy dancing and partying we all left at about 4am. The best part of the night though, was being able to talked to all you guys in Australia! Even though I could barely hear you all, I still really loved talking to all of you!!!


Xingqier 1 January 2008

Today, we recovered, and then went out with Sam. We took him to get sticky pictures done, and we then went to Xi Hu to take some more pictures and show Sam around. It was really beautiful, different to how it was when Megan and I arrived, but nevertheless beautiful. I can never get tired walking around it. It is so tranquil. I love it! Quentin has taken one of my artistic shots and used it as his wallpaper on his laptop for a bit. (YAY for my camera skills and for my sick camera!)

We then had dinner at the Pizza place that Quentin, James and I went to yesterday and ate Pizza. I was really full at the end of the day, yet we had to take Sam to SOS to show him what this club is all about.

SOS was ok. I have had better nights, but then again it was one of the better nights overall. Going to SOS in general is always good! There were a lot of performances this night because it was new years day. I scored myself a cowboy hat from one of the dancers while they were dancing to Will Smith’s “Wild Wild West.”


Xingqisan 2 January 2008

We awoke, and then had brunch at Grandma’s Kitchen, the place where Megan and I ate the first night we arrived in Hangzhou. It was pretty alright, the food we ordered I think was better than the first time we went. Afterwards, Megan and I took Sam to the train station so that he could make his way back to Shanghai. Megan and I then headed to Hangzhou Da Xa (not sure of the spelling) in order to take more sticky pictures but this time have James in it too. But… James and Quentin being lazy asses did not want to come. So Megan and I quickly bought sweaters from Zara (which was having a sale) and then we returned to the dorm. We then did our washing, Megan moved into Melissa’s room, and then Quentin, Megan, Deddy and I watched a movie I bought in Shanghai on the recommendation of Gulliamue. The movie is called “Shanghai Kiss” and it was pretty interesting. It was just about a Chinese American guy going to Shanghai with no Chinese Skills whatsoever. It made us remember our time in Shanghai, and it also reminded us of all the experiences we had with the language barrier.

Afterwards, Megan, James, Melissa, Jose, Qiao and I went to the French restaurant for dinner. Our lasssst time!!! I love French food. I had the goat cheese again and then I had this chocolate cake as a dessert. YUMMMMM!!!

Afterwards, Megan, James and I tried to watch Blood Diamond, but we were all pretty tired so we did not get a chance to finish it.


Xingqisi 3 January 2008

For breakfast we all went to the other Canteen (Not shitang, but the canteen with the sick dumplings, jiaozi). Here I just ate the dumplings… I eat nothing else in this canteen, just the jiaozi with the vinegar and garlic sauce… YUMMM!!! Heaven! I will definitely miss the jiaozi!!!

Quentin and I then broke off from the group to go to the Zhongguo Yinhang (Bank of China) to get some money. Quentin needed to check his bank account so he needed a bank teller. (He couldn’t use the ATM) and for some reason, this day, the Bank was packed! So we took a taxi to another Bank. Afterwards, we decided to walk back to the campus as it was about a 15 min walk… and hey… its China “yeaa why not!” The walk was fast. We were singing songs and stuff. We sung Pour Qu Tu M’amies Encore which is a French song sung by Celine Dion, but Il Divo did a version of it too. Me loving Il Divo, I knew the words off by heart, and Quentin being frenchie, well he knew it too! It was cool! We had sung it earlier in the first few weeks of our time in Hangzhou, but yea. We also sung “Be Prepared” from the Lion King, as it is his favourite song from the movie. He sung it in French, I sung it in English. Its funny as some of the English words sound similar to the French words.

Once arriving at the dorms, everyone else was chilling, so Quentin and I chilled too. We pretty much just Youtube-d it for the afternoon. After that we attempted to get a massage with the others at the massage place we went to earlier (near the stadium) but it was too expensive at this time. So the group disbursed. Quentin and I had not eaten dinner so we went to Maccas… *Sigh* I tried ordering. I said “San Hao Tan Can” which mean pretty much “Meal number 3” which was the double cheese burger. But I didn’t get a cheese burger, I got a McChicken!!! Augh. The meal was so unsatisfying, and I asked Quentin what would be the first thing he would want to eat when he returned to France. He said he would go out, and then his mother’s cooking. I was thinking at the time that HrmMmM French cheese and bread would be nice… and then Quentin asked whether I wanted to go to Carrefour to buy some French food. HAHA… “yeaa why not” It was an expensive feed, but soo worth it. We have had hardly any dairy products whilst in Australia. We ate French cheese with bread, and then this fromage yogurt thingo with sugar and Banana (a dessert that Quentin loves). It was friggin niiiceee!!!

The experience in Carrefour was pretty good too. Like there were things we wanted to get but we didn’t know the Chinese word for it. So me being a geek took out my dictionary to find the word for Sugar. Tang is the word, but in my dictionary it had Shatang. We got frustrated when some of the Fuyuan did not understand us, but we found one who did. She said “Ah! Baise Tang” meaning “White sugar” and yea… we then found it. We also looked for bowls. I again took my dictionary and found that the word for bowl is “Wan” this was easier than the sugar, we then had to find paper bowls as the plastic bowls were kinda pussy (Quentin’s term) so I found the word for paper Zhi and we eventually found it. This day… I learned a lot of new words. Pointless words, but nonetheless, words!


Xingqiwu 4 January 2008

Today we did 3 things….

Massage, K-TV and SOS.

All were really good! Massage, well not much to write except it was really nice! Qiao, Quentin, James and I were the ones who ended up going. It freaked me out when it turned out that my massage person was a guy! Usually I get a girl, but yea… I was kinda freaked out… but he ended up being really good. He massaged me in ways that the other girl didn’t do last time (ok… that’s not supposed to sound dirty… but honestly, he was really good. The other time, I felt like the girl did a rushed job as I would always finish before the others).

After our foot massages were done, we had to take separate rooms (2 ppl in each room) for the body massages. It was during this time that Quentin and I got to know our massage people better. Quentin did most of the talking. I am pretty shy around James and Co. when it comes to speaking. But by the end of the massage, Quentin had invited the massage people to come out to SOS with us tonight.

Me enjoying massage

The Boys

After massage, we then got ready for K-Tv…K-tv was FUNNN!!! I loved it! I sung Tong Hua which symbolised the realisation of my goal which was to learn that song by the time I left Hangzhou! Megan and I dedicated “Stop” by the Spice Girls to our Hangzhou Crew, James and I did a crazy duet for “I don’t wanna miss a thing” by Aerosmith… and then at the very end, Quentin and I were able to squeeze “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls. It was really cool! Afterwards we headed to SOS which was open barr! But it was a very quiet night. Not a lot of people there, but still I had heaps of fun!!! Everyone was there!

We went to Maccas after SOS… just as a token “goodbye” I started getting emo around this time… I hid it pretty well though. No one knew. It just… well I realised there and then that this was it… I was leaving Hangzhou forever. I will never see these people again (a part from James). *tear*


Xingqiliu 5 January 2008

Our last day. It was really really quick and rushed. Everyone woke up late. I packed away all my stuff and we were all out by about 1.30pm It took forever for everyone to decide where to eat. We ended up going to Myth Café which was recommended by Gabriel and Guillaume . It had a nice friendly atmosphere and yea… it was cool as we were joined by everyone.

On the tables, there were handwritten messages from patrons of the restaurant. One of them said “Girlfriend Wanted.” hHAHAHAh the guy sounded so desparate. So we rang him up, Melissa did the talking… she sounded so sweet on the phone.. it was hilarious especially since her boyfriend (Guillaume ) was sitting next to her.

We then decided to leave our message there. We got a piece of paper, wrote “Hangzhou – Ni xihuan wo, Wo ai ni” and we got everyone to sign their name and where they where from! Megan and I then got everyone to write us a message which was pretty cool…. All heartfelt messages!!! *tear* Those who joined us were:
James, Gabriel, Deddy, Quentin, Guillaume , Melissa, Yongyong, Hannalee, Qiao, Jose, Yukes and Willy.

4.30pm came around sooo fast. I had to rush eating my meal, and Megan and I ended up having to leave early before everyone else was finished. It was a rushed goodbye. Hugs here and there photos… I really would have preferred a nicer way of saying goodbye… but… yea… it was still a nice send off.

James, Quentin, Megan and I now had to rush to find a taxi. It is hen ma fan to find one at this time. We were lucky to get one quickly though, and we were even more luckier to find a nice taxi driver who had agreed to wait at the back gate of the uni for us to take our luggage from the dorms and then to take us direct to the train station.

We got there 1 hour early, but it was good as we didn’t have to rush. Megan and I brought so much shit it was not funny. The boys helped us with our suitcases but even they were complaining about how heavy they were. Quentin made a comment “Girls, you bring more things than me and I am staying here for a year.”

We sat down in the waiting room where we were able to just chill and say our goodbyes. I was really annoyed that Megan and I didn’t have enough time to buy a nice gift for James and Quentin as they had looked after us soooo well! I gave them a little dog toy each as a token of thanks from Megan and I (I had bought them in Shanghai). The dogs are so cute! Small and pocket-able… I hope they look after them! Soon… (too soon) we had to board the train. It was again a bit of a rushed goodbye… it was surreal as it didn’t seem like we were leaving. But yea… *tear*

Quentin and James with our dogs!

had SO MUCH SHIT its not funny. We were struggling. I had my big uni bag, my laptop bag, my suitcase and I was also hand carrying Xiao DaBian. We had to go down a flight of stairs!!!!!!!!!!! Augh! Megan ended up getting a guy to help her most of the way down… I was struggling and then another guy who could speak English helped me down. We then found our carriage, but when we were getting on, Megan drop her chicken little teddy (Falong, named after Quentin as it was his toy initially and he gave it to her) and it fell onto the train tracks under the train! But the train guard guy was nice enough to pick it up for Megan!!!

Walking down the corridors of the train was cool! It reminded me of Harry Potter when they are on the train to Hogsworts. The cabin we had was a soft sleeper meaning that there were beds. The train ride is about 12 hours long, so we were definitely getting the soft sleeper. Some of our friends took another one, I think its called a hard seater, where you sit for the 12 or more hours. Apparently THAT is epic! It was pretty comfortable, the only thing that concerned Megan and I was… who were the other 2 people going to be. Our luggage alone took up 1 bed. And if the other 2 beds were taken then we were going to have to share a bed, or take turns sleeping! We were lucky! As little Jack a 16 year old Chinese boy walked into our cabin and put his stuff down. He had a big smile one his face, and as it turns out, he was travelling to Beijing alone to compete on this TV competition. One part of it was to speak English to Foreigners. He was very happy to see us, and we were very happy to see him! We talked to him in Chinese and he corrected us, and he spoke to us in English. It was SOOO COOL! We were using our dictionaries and everything! We shared food, we shared music… he is a little genius! He wants to study computer science… I assumed this much as he said he wanted to write computer programs.

Xingqitian 6 January 2008

Anywho… we slept at around 11 and then were woken up by Jack around 6am as we were to arrive in Beijing very soon. Jack then said “I think, I need to help you get to your hotel.” = ) What a sweetie!! We then got off the train (hen ma fan man!!) And jack bought us a map of Beijing. We then had to hunt for a taxi…the taxi drivers all wait outside the train station and then they try to cheat you into offering you trips for a set price. We were soo exhausted that we accepted the 2nd offer which was for 60 kuai. But the dooude agreed to take us to our hotel and the Jack to his hotel for a total of 80. Which was cool. Jack instructed the taxi driver, but the thing is, our hotel is a place where not many taxi drivers know about. Its in this little road. But luckily this taxi driver knew. Talking to our other friends who have arrived, mentioned that some had to be dropped near the hotel and walk the rest…etc…

I didn’t want Jack to leave without knowing how much we appreciated his help. So we gave him a bag of candy, a little toy dog (again I had bought in Shanghai) and a handwritten note in English to him. We also paid for the whole taxi fare. We have his email address and all so we can catch up with him and see how his show went.

Me and Jack lost in translation

The school here are ok. There is no exciting buzz as there was at Zhejiang. It is pretty empty and depressing. The rooms are ok. Not as ghetto as I thought it might be, but not as nice as the rooms in Hangzhou. The coolest part is that Our door has our names on it!!! EhEhhEhEhEhee…

Anywho… that’s about it for the massive blog. I’ll see you later!

Labels: Beijing, China, Chinese, Clubbing, Culture, Food, Friendship, Hangzhou, KTV, Movie, Music, Party, Shanghai, Shopping, Sightseeing, Travel

Yea... we have net in our room now, but I have not been able to upload any photos on flickr or on facebook... so ill have to post some pics here...

Labels: Birthday, China, Friendship, Hangzhou, Party, Sightseeing, Sport, Travel

This blog is going to be pretty eventful!

Thursday 29 November 2007

Well, we had Qiao’s 22^nd birthday today. After class we headed out for lunch at a Korean restaurant just around the corner from our dorms. It was pretty good! Pretty yummy! After that Megan, Quentin and attempted to go shopping for clothes and stuff but the style here are kinda weird in a nice way, but being picky, I didn’t buy anything. I wanted to make sure that I would wear it back in Australia. None of us bought anything actually. Megan got her diamontes for her camera (which look pretty cool by the way) and then we decided to get “sticky pictures” (Quentin’s terminology). They were really cool I looooooooooooooooove them… the only thing is that I think we coulda have gotten it for cheaper, but we were all foreigners hahaha.

Anywho after that we had to get Qiao’s present which was a Lazer from the night market. The lazer was pretty awesome… but yea…by this time we were already late for Qiao’s dinner at the “Caribbean.” We raced back home, got ready and made our way to the restaurant. The food was similar but not as good as the Brazilian restaurant (where we ate before and we tried all the crazy stuff like bullfrog).

After that we went back to the dorms for the dorm party. It was held in Jemes’ (James) room… and omg… it went off!!! It was soo good! So packed!! It was pretty cool, I have posted some pics of it on my flickr page. There is this tradition amongst the friends when it comes to birthdays… with the birthday cake… well… no one so far has eaten it… in fact.. it has gone in their face! Megan and I were like… “oommmg… ur not serious…” and well Qiao’s birthday did not break the tradition! Cake was everywhere! On the floor and like get this, it was not just on Qiao… it ended up being one massive cake fight. I was initially ok… but by the end of it… not too cool. It was in my hair, on the dress on my country road cardigan… Augh! But it was all good fun.

I tired a cool drink which we should try back in Australia (Looks at Will… = D ) Here they get Contrieau drink it straight, and hold it in your mouth while someone lights it up with a lighter… it is hellll niiiiceee!! It tastes like orange! Was soo good!

After that, we all headed to S.O.S. (and yes.. I went with the cake all over me, I did wash most of it off my face and stuff, but still had it in my hair). S.O.S was sooo good! It was a Thursday night again, meaning 60 kuai (RMB) for open bar… awesomness!

The night ended pretty much at maccas… it was pretty early as we had the Xitang excursion the next day.

Friday 30 November 2007

8am start. Augh… eyes did not want to open.

We got ready and went outside our dorms to wait for the buses. This was a huge excursion. Xitang is a beautiful, traditional water village. It was featured in the Mission Impossible III movie… you know, the part where Tom Cruise’s character was trying to find his fiancé and it ended up being in this China town… yea it was Xitang.

I must admit I was pretty buggered but looking back on the photos, it was such a nice place to go, very interesting.

We then went bowling… which I sucked at. Gabriel is pretty good… I suck… suck suck suck suck balls.

Saturday 1 December 2007

Bright ant early… had to meet in the lobby at 6.30am. Augh! But yea… maaaan it was cold this morning!

The bus ride was pretty alright, a lot of us just slept and yea… the drive was about 3 hours there. We had a pit stop at this restaurant which we had to have lunch at. The food… well it was… something that you need to have a double take… it was definitely a meal that could cause “liquid shit” as Quentin would say. Oh yea… mate, the toilets were GROSSSS!!! The ultimate ghetto toilets.

After that we made our way to the starting point of the mountain. Here there was a debate as to whether we would climb the mountain or take a cable car up. The adventurous, the brave who dared to climb were Jemes, Quentin, Willy, Qiao, Megan and I. HAHAHAHA… it was possibly the better choice as the scenery was breathtaking… but dooude… that was one bitch of a mountain to climb! Yes… there was a lot of swearing. Hahaha there was a lot of stripping… (from our 3 layers and jackets to shorts and shirts). I really cant believe how Qiao and Willy could still climb the mountain and have cigarette breaks?!?!?!!

It was a mission but definitely worth it. It took about 3 hours to climb. Very tiring… once at the top… augh… cant say it enough… it was beautiful. The accommodation.. lets not go there… it was the ghetto…like no joke. Hostel style, place cold as hell, smelling like pee… that’s enough… lets just say I didn’t get a lot of sleep that night.

Sunday 2 December 2007

4.30 am we woke up to make another 3km trek to see the sunrise… was beautiful, but yea…not as beautiful as the sunset we experienced. We saw wild monkeys…yea… they were pretty scary… got some awesome footage of it… hahahaha.. But yea… pretty much we made our way back to the bus after seeing the sunrise.

Monday 3 December 2007

Umm… yea getting kinda lazy now… we started learning a Chinese song in class called Yue liang dai biao wo de xin. It is apparently an old Chinese love song. Very pretty sounding though. = )

I ended up playing basketball in the late afternoon too which was pretty fun. After that we ended up going to the gym to play badminton.. no success no courts, so we then played table tennis which was pretty cool. Oh yea… we did the laundry too… siiick.

Jemes, Quentin, Megan and I started playing cards later on…we played snap and there was a bet for the loser to wear Qiao’s style of clothing this Wednesday. Now Qiao style is like… hommie G to the max. really baggy pants and jackets and yea… smokes etc… yea who lost…ull find out in the next entry when I get the pics up = )

Labels: Birthday, China, Culture, Food, Friendship, Hangzhou, Party, Sightseeing, Sport, Travel

Drunken Tuesday Night

A lot has happened sorry for not blogging, as it has been a while since I have had the chance to.

Lets recap. Monday Megan and I had our first day of school. It was pretty good. We learned about the 4 tones, and learned some initials and finals. Its pretty cool. The teacher makes us say the words as a class. Never had learned it that way when I learned Bahasa at uni.

Monday night we were having a quiet night, but then James and Quinton invited us out for Badminton. Megan stayed in, and I went out. Its been a LONG time since I have played. Maybe 3 years? It was good! But it made me realise how unfit I was. HAhaha! We walked to the sporting complex at about 9.15pm and since the centre was closing at 10pm and we only had 2 racquets, the lady at the desk lent us a 3rd one! (not usually done!) we played for a while, and then left when the centre closed. We then walked to Maccas… and yea had some food there. The weather. COLD. It was the coldest night yet.

Tuesday, well a lot happened on Tuesday. First we had class. Before class though I went to buy an apple for breakfast. I attempted to use some of the Chinese I had learned… and yea, was successful. I pretty much only said “I want that…” and pointed to the apple. I don’t know the spelling yet, that’s why I have not put it on here. To tell you the truth, the Chinese Ive learned has been a lot from hanging around with James’ crew (for now on, I’ll just refer to them as “the crew”) and Quinton has become a surrogate teacher. Quinton Laoshi!

We then met up with the crew and went for lunch. We tried Korean, Japanese and no such luck as it was packed. So… what did we resort to? Maccas… Here I tried to order my meal. “Shi si hao tao can.” But the girl did not understand me. *sigh* So Quinton ordered for me. GRRRRR!!!

After lunch we walked to the Bank for China (yin hang) where we got our much needed money to pay for accommodation and to pay for our tickets for our trip to Yellow Mountain this weekend. After that we decided to play some basketball. Which was pretty fun.

After basketball, we all quickly washed up, Megan and I paid for accommodation, and we headed for the travel agent to organise our trip this weekend. The deal is, we all are going to climb (walking) Yellow Mountain on Saturday and stay overnight, and then head back on the Sunday. It cost us 360 RMB, which ends up being about 60 Aussie each.

Once that was all sorted, we all decided to find dinner. We went to a French restaurant which was pretty alright… Ah western food! I ordered the Blue cheese pasta and then for dessert, the crème brulee (cant spell) . OOOH Lah laaah… I loved the crème brulee! I cracked the top of it… hehehe was soo cool! Just like Amelie! After dinner we decided to head back to uni and then meet up at the 2nd floor of our dorms to study.

We started studying… I did all my homework. But the thing is, while we were doing our homework there was already a group of people who were playing drinking games, and were well into it. Willy was among that group… they were so loud and were having so much fun… was very distracting. After finishing my homework I went to use the net on that floor because they were actually free. Quinton then tells me “Anna, we will be back, we are just going across the road to get some alcohol.”

O_o and that was the beginning of the end of our study session. LOL. It was all Megan, James and Quinton’s idea! We then played drinking games with terrible Chinese Brandy and green tea *CHIIINA!* It was so funny. The whole 2nd floor became one mega party. People started singing Tong Hua… and for some weird ass reason, beyond me, I knew parts of the chorus!... I cant remember it now, but on the video, I can be seen singing along… Oh yea… there were videos. LOL

One of the videos, shows how we ended up at the SOS club that night! Yea.. we ended up going to SOS as we were well and truly too loud for the dorms. SOS was alright. The rnb room was closed, so we were in the techno room. We scored 2 cds and Megan and I taxed one of the glowing iceblocks that were in Yuke’s drink. Yea… souvenir! We didn’t stay too long, and we ended back at…yes. You guessed it… Maccas. (The shame!) and it’s the same damn Maccas… 3 times in 2 days. SAD!

Anywho. That’s about up to date as to what has been happening. This morning in class was not too cool. Very tired! But the funny thing is that most the class had a big night last night as well. We saw some of them on our walk to SOS. Hahaha. What a random night out.

On Thursday, we have a big night as it is Qiao’s birthday, and then Friday we have our excursion to Xitang which is a Historic water town, and Saturday we have our trip to Yellow Mountain.

We need to buy a backpack for it… we haven’t been shopping believe it or not. Most of our money has been to going out and eating. I do want to buy more clothes, as well. I am getting tired of wearing the same things. And I have no going out clothes. At SOS I wore… no joke, trackpants and my pink hoodie with sneakers.

Well yea… until next time Zaijian!

Labels: China, Clubbing, Food, Friendship, Hangzhou, Party

Sunday Morning rain is pouring…

Well not really… but my tiredness is pouring. I can’t seem to sleep in again… no matter what time I go to bed.

Yesterday (Sat) We got up and had brunch at one of the other uni cafeterias. The food there is super cheap too. For a huge bowl of noodle soup… 6 RMB which is pretty much 1 Aussie Dollar. We also had some dumplings which were really good.

We then headed to West Lake again, but around a different area. It was different experience as we went in a big group. Pretty much the same group from the first night out at Grandma’s Kitchen. I can actually remember their names now… lets list:
James, Jose, Qiao, Anna-lee, Willy, Yoko, and of course Megan and I.

I cant get over how beautiful and tranquil the lake is.

The coolest part of the night… and probably on my top things we have done on this trip is… get this… we hired bicycles and rode them around West Lake! It was mega crazy man! We would be riding on the road, with traffic, against traffic (and China traffic is friggin nazi crazy, like they DO not STOP at a red light.) But after the initial “holy shit I want to die” feeling wore off, it was pretty fun. Riding the bicycle at night all around the lake, screaming shouting…I was singing “Doe a deer a female deer, raaaaay a drop of golden suuuun!” It so felt like the sound of music… all of us riding in the streets.

We took quite a few photos… us being hardcore bikies hehehe.

After that, we went for dinner at a “Mexican” place called… Umm… I forgot. Ha ha… Um…shit.. ok I will get back to you. But anywho, its pretty cool. You sit down at the table and waiters come around your table to shave off different styles of meat and they will keep on coming around and offering you the meat until you say stop. There is also a pretty big salad bar. Interesting stuff, yummo though. I ate the tongue of something… I forgot, but I ate it thinkint it was just a long slice of beef or something. Taste good but. I also tried bullfrog… “Jeremiah was a bullfrog, he was a good friend of mine…” that was ALSO pretty yummo. Chicken heart, yea do-able, it kinda reminded me of like liver… so I yea… edible, but not my preferred choice. OOOH and yea, they did have like “normal” meat too.

After that, we went back to the dorm to get ready for another uni party held at this club called “Black and White.”… Yupp its called black and white because one of the Djs is black and the other is white. It was for some Mexican thingo… so yea… when we arrived… it was all latino music… I… well didn’t really enjoy it that much.

We soon left and attempted to try another place… I think it was called “Reggae club” Music was RnB, but it was packed.

*Note… everyone smokes here, its kinda annoying, it gets bad in the clubs to the point that my throat hurts and my eyes dry up.

After our unsuccessful plight to club, we went to karaoke. OMG!!! Karaoke… rocks my world! We sung out lil hearts out till about 4.30am.

Anyway, here I am now typing this out at 11am. I woke up at 9am, and have not been able to sleep since.


Today we have our first official shindig of the tour. Here is the itinerary:

1.50 – Meet at lobby
2.00 – People are to do their placement test (see where their mandarin skills are at) We will give it a miss as we are beginners but we still need to register with the teachers.

3.55 – Assemble at the lobby again
4.00 – Orientation
4.30 – Free time
5.45 – Results of the placement tests
6.00 – Welcome Buffet

Anywhooo… I will post up pics of yesterday too = )

Miss you all…

A big hug to Will ^^

P.S I am loving this camera Will… check out my West Lake pics… Good thing I know composition aye?

Labels: China, Clubbing, Food, Friendship, Hangzhou, KTV, Party, Sightseeing, Sport

Heya Guys!!!

First morning in Hangzhou!!! Feeling excited and a little bit tired. Yesterday was sooo eventful!

After hanging about at the HK airport we boarded dragon air and made out way to Hangzhou. Megan and I mainly just slept. They had awesome food though ;)

When we arrived in China, I must admit I was still kinda scared, all the officials at the airport looked so scary with their uniforms! But yea, customs was a breeze! Once we exited there was a girl holding a sign saying “CHINA STUDY TOUR – CONFUCIUS INSTITUTE UWA”

So we went to her and met up with the other tour people. We had seen them around HK airport but didn’t really talk to them. Anywho, we made our way to the bus, and then we were off to the campus. Man! The campus was like 1 hour away from the airport! So again Megan and I slept. (Note to Will… yes, I went into Anna’s standard sleeping in car mode).

We arrived at the campus at about 5.30 and it was really dark already! We walked into the lobby which looks like a hotel aye! Very nice. In there we James ( Megan’s uni friend). He is really cool, after we found our room (which is exactly like a hotel room) he took us out to get a SIM card. (Which does not send any sms or phone calls to Australia!! *Augh*) and he then took us out to Dinner at Grandma’s Kitchen with this friends. I can’t really remember all of their names, but they were all really nice. Psycho really… like when we were crossing the street (where we were ALMOST KILLED MIND YOU) they were playing a card game!!! They were like walking looking at their cards and really into it! Not paying attention to the traffic! The green man said go… so we did, but so did the traffic that were turning!! I was like HOLY SHIT!! I am very scared.

Dinner was cool. I kinda wasn’t hungry but it was cool to try the different foods there. I know I had duck tongue, which is quite… difficult to eat… but nevertheless yummo bummo!!! Dinner cost us 60 RMB. James then asked whether we were up for a Dorm party…

Megan and I looked at each other, and we said… O.K
and played the first thing that came to our heads, and it just so happen to be, the best song in the world, it was the BEST song in the world… look into my eyes and its easy to see that 1 makes 2 and something something 3… Ok… I cant remember the song… so sue me!

Anywho the deal was that it was a dorm party… costs 60RMB and get this shit…. UNLIMITED DRINKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO JOKE. So yea. (oh yea… btw 60 RMB is about 10 bucks Aussie…MAAAAIITE!!) So as you can tell… we had a good night. Very eventful night actually. The club was SOOO cool… like the lights were awesome! We weren’t allowed to take photos in the club… but we still did… unfortunately I couldn’t take any fotos OF the club. But yea… did I say eventful… yea… ok. We played drinking games which are pretty fun!!! We then started dancing (we were in the RnB room which played GOOD music!)
OMG… what is it with me and the damn TOILETS!!! Ok.. get this..the toilets are quat… ok… that’s already quite a mission when your drunky. But… OMG I was waiting in line… and this random girl started talking to me… (in mandarin mind you… I was like “I don’t understand…” she kept on talking… yaddi yadda) so anywho… when the door opened, I walked in, and then I went to close the door. She put her foot in the door and was like saying something and pushed her way in. I was like HOLY crap!. Then she kinda indicated for me to go and it would be ok she wont look… was already busting and I couldn’t really be stuffed. So I did my thing. And then I went to the tap to wash my hands and she went and did her thing. Is it the way I look which attracts these toilet hitchhikers?!?!?! (Look at my Singapore entry. U’ll see the similarities)

After the toilets, Megan, James and I went to the dance floor, and one of James’ friends started pushing him around and yea… there was a fight.. a lil one. In the process James punched one of the bodyguards… and then all of a sudden we didn’t know what was happening… the club people were taking him down this corridor and then to this lift… his friends followed, shouting stuff. Megan and I had noo idea… and when they went in the lift Qiao told us to just wait there. Which we did. After a few mins they came back down. James had to explain to some of the club people what was happening and stuff and all was good. *fewf*

After more dancing on the dance floor, I decided to sit. I tried smsing Will knowing there was a good chance he wouldn’t get it, but I thought I might try. I then felt something next to me. All I saw was a white shirt!! This tall black dooude with cornrolls was like leaning into me and just staring and me with this smirk. I shouted “WHAT???!” and he asked “why are you no longer dancing?” “I said, I am buggered, and I am messaging my boyfriend.” He kept on looking at me. He then sat next to me and asked me where I was from. I said Australia. He didn’t believe me. I asked where he was from he said he was from Africa. I asked what he was doing in China… he said “modle” I was like “HUH?” he then said it again which I understood … “Model.” I was like “Oohh”

Eddie and Laura (James friends) then moved over my way and said “C’mon lets dance” and yea… they saved my ass! After a while… Megan walked off the dance floor and layed down on the couches… James and I were like “are you ok?” and she said she needed to rest. I decided to go get water… I walked to the bar and shouted “can I have 2 waters?” the bar man just blankly looked at me giving me a “what are you saying?” look. It hit me.. crap… they don’t understand me! So I turned around to the closest person to me. “Can you speak English?” the girl shook her head. So I turned to the guy next to her “can you speak English?” the guy said yes and I asked him how to say “water”. He told me “Sh-er-way” (that’s how it sounded) and it worked! The guys at the bar gave me the water in a martini glass tho… which was nothing… so I asked the guy next to me if he could get me a jug of water. The bar man gave him a bottle of green tea. I was like.. I have no money! He said not to worry as he would cover it!

The good Samaritan’s name was Titto (Jackson 5 baby!) and he was from Mexico! I think he sympathised as I had explained that a friend of mine was really sick.

After that megan wanted out. So we headed for the doors. But we had to wait for James to grab our coats. Megan kinda sat on the floor and lean on the wall… the bouncer guy was like “no no no” speaking in frantic mandarin and pulling megan up. I was like… “no no no!! She wont be sick!!” he gave me a blank look. I then said “We are going home!” again he gave me a blank look. I tired to remember the mandarin I had learned on my ipod a year ago… “wo cher…. Crap what is home?” I eventually did some actions… I pointed at megan, then I made a yaking gesture and then said “no no no” he then understood and left us.

After that… well… it ended as a normal good night would end. Home.

Labels: China, Clubbing, Culture, Friendship, Hangzhou, Party, Travel

Last night I had my going away shin dig at Luxe Bar in Mt Lawley.

I must admit, it is quite a trek to get there, so I thank everyone who made it! I really appreciated you all coming and I was thrilled to have gotten the chance to see all of you before I leave. Yes... in a nutshell I feel special.

The cocktails at Luxe Bar are pretty good! I really enjoyed most of the drinks I had there.
Thanks again to all for coming! I can't say it enough!

Here's just some of the pics taken. There are more on my facebook = )

Labels: Friendship, Party