This Weekend...

I had a reasonably yet somehow very busy weekend. On friday I did nothing, except knit and lay in bed, I got invited to go to a party but declined in favor of just chilling, it was nice. Saturday morning I went to a supermarket called Carrefour, it is the french response to Walmart basically. It is very similar to a wal-mart except the people who are handing out samples, they are dressed in ridiculous gett ups I think it is to garner attention.



But at carrefour I bought cheese and nuttella and other deliciousness.

On Sunday the far more interesting day I went to the "culture and art street" of beijing with my painting class. I twas really cool we went to this famous museamish type place. I bought some art and bargined reasonably sucessfully, or atleast more sucessfully than I have in the past. I even managed to throw in the pathetic excuse of "We are Forgien exchange studens and we just want to mail presents back to America for Christmas!" It got 30 RMB knocked off of our price.

Sarah and I got duped by this lady that totally spoke english, we were walking around her shopp discussing if the paintings were paintings or just prints. Turns out they are real, and she showed us how to tell. They were just cheaper because they were painted by students.

This is a giant ink well thingy, and it is very giant. Like paint something useing it and then take a nap on it giant.


This is a guy practicing calligraphy by on the street with water, its kind of cool.



So a few weeks ago I mentioned guy with a bag of puppies selling stuff out side the market, well today I had to transfer busses there, and there was ANOTHER guy selling a bag of puppies... Observe. The guy is standing up to chase a puppy that was trying to get away.


And not only that a little ways down from him there was a Lady with a BAG OF BUNNIES.



There was also a Lady selling puppies in the crosswalk. (Which sounds weird, but in China in busy streets, not all of them, but there are underground crosswalks for padestrians instead of having crosswalks at lights. I find them much more efficent and quicker to cross the street with.



They were so cute and it was so hard to walk away from them Puppies were 40 RMB each and Bunnies were 20 RMB... That is like 6USD for puppies and 3USD for bunnies. Seriously it could live in my dorm with me and I could cuddle it and love it. Not even kidding they wouldn't care if Ihad a puppy in my room. Well my roomate might, but thats it.

This past week thanksgiving occured. Because it was not thanksgiving in China I had class. Not only did I have a class I had a midterm. This midterm was 2 hours long. It sucked. I also have class on Christmas... China hates Holidays I think... No thats a lie I get newyears off. But to fend off the fact that Christmas is going to be rather terrible with class and whatnot. I've made a paper Christmas Tree to hang on my wall...


Why yes that is a raddish ornament. And yes I painted it.

Sun Village

So I know that i don't post a ton, but honestly that is because I don't really do anything of interest right now. I mean I'll get around to posting about classes eventually (I think I've been taking pictures at least) But Sunday I finally got off my butt and did something interesting. I went to Church...

Yeah, I know Annie at Church WHAT? well it was because there was this volunteer opportunity to go to Sun Village with the Church afterwards and I really wanted to do get out and do some good, even if said good was sort of borderline missionary work. Sun Village is a community where children whose parents are in Jail go live at. In more than a few cases the kids are there because their mother killed their father because their father in a self defense/they were being abused type deal and then had to go to jail because of it.

We told the kids stories about Thanksgiving and made turkey hands and limboed all in all it was a really great day and I would do it again. Well, maybe not the chruch part, singing about fountains of blood is just a little to strange for me.

I leave you all with some pictures:

Hair cuts

So two weekends ago I got my hair cut, and by hair cut I kind of mean all gone. I asked for a bob and the stylist who of course is Chinese was all "No! it won't suit your face, but I'll cut it that length in a way that will... Well boys and girls I do NOT think this is bob length

I think I was kind of in shock at first but now I'm getting used to it. I mean for someones who hair was this long around 6 mo. ago it's a really big change.
I've also (just now actually) decided to start a picture a day thing again, and maybe it'll help me blog more... or maybe I'm just vain, I dunno.

<3Annie

PS: April that is seriously my favorite picture of us and I can't wait to talk to you on FRIDAY! (Thursday for you)

Beijing Huan Ying Ni

So I have to admit, that I didn't see the begining of the olympics so I never saw them perform Beijing Huan Ying ni (Beijing welcomes you). and I was kind of aware that the song exsisted, but when I got here it was kind of everywhere. Like I climbed the great wall and someone was singing it to their kid everywhere.

This last weekend I saw people sing it at PKU Idol, a forgien students singing contest


And ever since then I have been completely in love with the song, I don't even know why. But I just can't help but sing it. And my roomate and I randomly break out into song with it. Why oh why is it so catchy?

It's like the Hannah Montana of Chinese songs...

<3Annie

weekend update

So this weekend we went out for my friend Dre's birthday and it was really fun. We went and got American food (ie: Burgers) and it was delicious. Then we went to a club, I know... but it was really fun actually, quite crowded, but overall not bad.

Then on Saturday I went with Laurel to her Yeye (grandfather)'s house and got a nice homecooked meal, it was delicious. We also went to a hairsalon to get hair cuts. Well Sarah and I did, and they cut all my hair off. Like it's really short, but oh well, it'll grow out. Pictures up soon?

Sunday was lazy as usual... I think my life is kind of boring no matter what continent I live in.

Election

I hate the fourteen hour time difference, hate it lots, and lots. This is because while the election results are happening and people are throwing victory parties fourteen hours ahead I will be in class. That's right boys and girls I have 8 am class tomorrow. Which is about 6 pm wisco time. That sucks. I really like elections and even voted it was exciting to know that I could vote from China, but the ballot really wasn't all that different from an absentee ballot mailed to Minnesota. oh well, in 12 or so hours I will either be very very happy or very sad when I get done with class tomorrow.

pooh.

Annie

Guang jie

So on friday (and Saturday actually) I went shopping. Friday was the wholesale market where I bought a really cute pair of boots, but thats not the actual story here...

Outside of the market they have people selling things in bags quite literally off the street, and I really wish I would have brought my camera with me, but I didn't. So were were walking past one market to the other, and it was like, people selling scarves out of bags, necklaces off their arms, these were smelly things... then all the sudden BAG OF PUPPIES!!! seriously someone was selling puppies out of like a giant canvas bag. It was ridiculous. and I really wanted one, but then I probably couldn't take it back with me after a year and that was the only thing preventing me from buying a puppy, the were so freaking cute.

Saturday I went and bought yarn, my Kouyu teacher found me a whole sale yarn mart, which is actually like a arts and crafts place where you can get hand made crap, like custom made jacket in the fabric you want? done! Cute sweater dress knit for you painstakingly by hand? Done! Which is really cool, but they also sell yarn which is what I got. The knitting needle sizes here are weired though so I just kind of had to guess what size I needed for the yarn I bought. oh well

<3Annie