SaucySass's Xanga

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Wed, 14 Sep 2005 16:19:17 GMT

Dear Xanga,

Ok yalls, so I've been in China for about 2 1/2 months now and all I've been doing is posting pics. of how beautiful China is. But there's A LOT more to China than gardens, pagodas, mountains, bootleg DVD's etc. As with any foreign country, you encounter something known as "CULTURE SHOCK." And China is one of those countries where if you're like me...from the "Sweet land of liberty" the U.S.of A., you're not going to be just SHOCKED...you're going to be "Culturally RATTLED & ROLLED!" So let me tell you about some of my experiences...

1a. First day I come to China, my fellow W&M students tell me "you're gonna need a bike." bc in China, a bike is your car...you need it to get to class and anywhere else (unless you walk, cab/subway it). Well...since everyone on campus has a bike, and there's about 30,000+ students on campus, it's not rare to be caught in "bicycle jam." It's to the point where you have to get off your bike and walk with it bc there's too many ppl. with their bikes on the street.
1b. It's possible to get into a bike accident...dear GOD i wish i had my helmet. Chinese ppl. aren't just CRAZYYYY in cars, they're CRAZYYYY on bikes as well. Everyday, I'm inches away from running into another biker or pedestrian...thank GOD for the invention of bicycle brakes.

2. This leads me to another point...Chinese drivers are absolutely INSANE!! And you thought NYC cab drivers were bad...you ain't seen NOTHING yet if you haven't been in a CHINESE cab. I don't know why China has traffic laws or driver's licenses at all!! It's not like anyone follows them. OH yeah and another thing. In America, the pedestrian ALWAYS, ALWAYS has the right of way BUT in China, you're dead meat if you think to cross the street...cars don't slow down ONE BIT and who cares if the cross walk sign is lit up...cars keep driving anyway. When I was in Shanghai, my arm got hit by the side view mirror of a moving car! OK, it was only going like 2 mph but STILLL!!! Who does that happen to?? I was like what just happened?

3. Chinese men like to walk around with their shirts lifted up...leaving their pot-bellies and man-boobs to be seen by everyone! And Chinese men & women just hawk loogies everywhere on the street...I'm surprised I haven't been hit with one thus far. Let's just hope it stays that way!! I want to be loogie-free

4. China lacks the plethora of food choices we Americans have back home. I've been eating AUTHENTIC, Chinese food...none of that kung pao chicken, lo mien stuff...(ahem liv) and since everything is pretty much FILLED w/ MSG, everything tastes really yummy! But I've been eating it for 2 1/2 months now...I just want anything BUT Chinese food. To satisfy my craving, I went off campus to eat non-Chinese food. First thing I see is a KFC. I go inside...there's no CHICKEN!! Everyone around me is eating either dumplings or noodles. So I'm like but then I think, well they'll at least have soda but NOPE...they only have soy milk and tea. So I look outside thinking I'm in the wrong bldg. but sure enough...there's Colonel Sanders and the big KFC letters right next to him. Ohhhh CHINA!!! But all this talk of food has made me crave for the following: a NICE, FRESH salad from Foco de Ciao, Wendy's Spicy Chicken sandwich combo w/ frosty, Moby Dick House of Kabob-chicken & rice, Sweet Water Tavern-baby back ribs and ozzy rolls, 4 Season's-Sunday morning brunch, New Orlean's Steakhouse-juicy, rib-eye steak, Woo Rae Oak-kalbi & mae eun tang, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal & MILK, my mommy's cookin, etc. etc. writing it all out makes me feel like I just ate all these things so sorry if it was a lot to read

5. People spit their food directly onto the table at the cafeterias. If they don't like what they're eating, it just ends up on the table. They need a separate "fuwuyuanr" aka: worker, to walk around with a bucket and rag to get all the ronchy in the ponchy junk off the table.

6. You have to carry around your own toilet paper and napkin bc these things are not provided in public bathrooms or restaurants...well some rest. will give you a napkin but it's most likely only one thin, square sheet.

But other than the people, foods, small things I miss back home...I'm still loving China! I love Chinese and I enjoy the new experiences I encounter everyday. And now, instead of thinking ?? I just chuckle and say..."Oh~ CHINA!"

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Thu, 08 Sep 2005 11:12:52 GMT

Dear Xanga,

Here are some more pics. from my Study Tour and from other places that I've visited on my own...China is sooooooo BEAUTIFUL! Everyone should come here to visit Enjoy yalls! (p.s. haynes, what's your new site? send it to me in an email if you're paranoid of other ppl. stalking u, ok?)

Fishing out a lotus flower petal from the pond in one of Suzhou's MAGNIFICIENT Gardens!

I took this picture...doesn't it look so cool?

Lotus Flowers...they're GOHGEOUS dahling...GOHGEOUS!!

Sitting on a zig-zag pathway, created to keep evil spirits out

Various stages of silk worms at the #1 Silk Factory... fun fact: George Bush wore a traditional Chinese-style robe made from this factory on his visit to China

Silk worms and their doo-doo...HEHE

Process of extracting silk fibers from the silk worm's cocoon

Can you see the silk threads being extracted? Cool right?

Me & workers stretching out silk threads that will later be converted into fabric for human consumption

Next to the Great-Wall, this river is considered China's greatest man-made creations, very important for commerce and transporting goods within China.

Me piggy-back riding a statue...this statue commemorates the men who built this river

The leaning Tower of China...older than the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy

At a clay teapot factory...this is HUGE!

Me & Chinese actor...p.s his beard is fake in case u were wondering

More Chinese performers at a Suzhou Performance hall.

They have a saying in China: "If you want to see China's past, go to Xi'an; if you want to see China's present go to Beijing; if you want to see China's future go to Shanghai" This is a model representation of Shanghai at Shanghai's Exhibition Center...sooooo COOL!

It's hard to tell in this picture, but these are all models of buildings and other landmarks in Shanghai...each building is so intricately designed and modeled to look like the real thing!! They even put bushes and water and trees just to make it that much more realisitc!

Me on a simulation boat ride...I was captain of my ship for the day

In the main lobby of the Shanghai Exhibition Center

The famous "Pearl Tower" in Shanghai

The famous "Pearl Tower" and other corporate buildings

The "Bund" in Shanghai...the architecture of these buildings is magnificient!

This is a hand-painted t-shirt of "xiongma" aka: Panda Bear. I also had the artist paint Emma's name so she can wear it with the panda-bear back pack I got her

These were some CRAZY koi I saw at a garden in Shanghai...I even got to touch one and it felt so slimy!! I wish the koi in my pond would come out and play with me...they always hide under rocks

Once I got back from my study-tour, I got a HUGE box filled with these goodies from my BABY He made a note of all the things I didn't have in China and sent them to me beginning from the top left corner: 1.) Nemo pillow (bc I always sleep with 2 pillows but I only had 1 pillow in my dorm room), 2.) One of my favorite pics. of my baby blown up and signed to look like an autographed picture (signed by yours truly), 3.)school supplies (ie: loos-leaf paper bc they don't sell any in China, folder, pens, index cards, and sticky-notes), 4.) some magazines ("O" bc I can't get my daily dose of Oprah in China), 5.) candy (my FAVORITE JELLY BELLY!!), 6.) an alarm clock (bc I didn't bring one), 7.) toothbrush, lotion, chapstick, venus razors, bandaids, and last but DEFINITELY not least 8.) Portable DVD PLAYER w/ LCD Monitor!!! (He surprised me BIG time with this one...I guess he thought I'd need one to watch all the DVD's I had bought in China)... isn't he AMAZING?!?! I LOVE U RONNY RON!!!

At Yihe Yuan "Summer Palace" in Beijing...one of the most BEAUTIFUL places!!! This is one of the many gardens which members of the Imperial family would come to...think of it as a summer home for the rulers of the Qing Dynasty

Many beams of palaces and pagodas are intricately painted like this...

Hahahaha!! If you walk around China, you'll see almost all the babies wearing either a.) no pants, or b.) pants with a MAJOR opening in the butt...aparently the Chinese don't believe in diapers so they just spread the pants and let the babies do their thang out in the public...

This is an "illegal" picture bc no cameras were allowed, but I didn't see the sign until AFTER I took it

The famous "long corridor"

I walked the entire stretch of this bridge and it was amazing!

Just before our long journey across the bridge

Finally on the bridge...posing next to a lion head

I took a boat across the water to get to the other side of Yihe yuan, and I was welcomed by what seemed like acres upon acres of lotus flowers and plants...I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it was

Dorothy and I walked forever!! But we were surrounded by such GOHGEOUS scenery

It may not seem like it but it was a LONG ways up to that hill.

It reminded me of the scene from "The Last Emperor"

This is a Buddhist Temple at the top of the hill...as you can see, many of the heads near the bottom have been taken off...

Inside a hide-out at the top of the hill...I felt like I could see all of Beijing from the top!

One more picture before climbing all the way down...

Ok I'll post more later...I miss everyone!! Take care

Monday, August 29, 2005

Mon, 29 Aug 2005 22:03:01 GMT

Dear Xanga,

I finally found a site that allowed me to upload some of the MANY, MANY pictures I have taken in China. I have yet to upload my pictures from the Beijing Zoo but for now, enjoy some of my other unforgettable ventures in China

Buddhist Temple in Hangzhou

Scary lookin statues - People worship them out of fear!

"The Humble Administrator's Garden" in Tong Li

Peek-a-boo!

On a boat in Tong Li

On a bicycle carriage after our boat ride

Our bicycle-carriage driver...he's got some STRONG legs!

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Wed, 10 Aug 2005 13:02:47 GMT

HELLO WORLD! I wanted to share this JOYOUS occassion with everyone... My sister gave birth to a healthy, beautiful, 6 lbs. 9 oz. BABY BOY, yesterday *yay*!!! Now I have a BEAUTIFUL, ADORABLE niece & nephew!!! As soon as my sister sends me pics, I will post them up!!! *HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL!!!!!~* I LOVE U!!!

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Wed, 27 Jul 2005 12:34:34 GMT

Dear Xanga!

HELLO!!! It has taken forever long but now I have INTERNET in my room! *YAY*!!! "Wo FEICHANG gaoxing!" No more electronic problems...OK!!! I can FINALLY upload my pics. from my study tour But I'm not able to upload all of them so bare with me as I do some at a time, k? Enjoy!!

On the train to Xi'an...we got sleepers! and I felt like we were going to run off the tracks

Binmayong aka: "Terra-Cotta Soliders" in Xi'an

Xi'an City Wall...my camera captured us girls AFTER we landed, doesn't it look like we had so much fun jumping?

Look at all the steps I had to climb to get to the top of the wall? If my *thunder thighs* don't go away after spending all this time in China...I dunno WHAT WILL

Eating "Huo Guo" aka: Hot Pot... you get individual pots filled with boiling water, and you put thinly sliced pieces of meat to cook into the "hot pot" and a whole bunch of other stuff... so *yummy in my tummy*

I went to this dept. store in Xi'an and there was this Buddha statue on the ground floor...

This is the dept. store with the Buddha...it was a gazillion stories high. I was like *WHOA*!! (HEHE)

The BEAUTIFUL, BREATHTAKING Li River in Guilin...

Random cows along the Li River

Reg, this is what I was talking about...isn't it FASCINATING? How do they balance on that little bamboo raft?

Ancient Cave in Guilin...don't be deceived by the cool colors...they're neon lights

On a ship in Hangzhou right before a major TYPHOON!!!!

Tea Farm in Hangzhou...this is where the BEST GREEN TEA comes from

Demonstration of how to prepare tea leaves after they are dried, before they are packaged for drinking Green Tea in Chinese = "lu cha"

I'm tempted to sing "I'm a little tea pot..." but as yalls can see, it is NOT little!

Pagoda in Hangzhou...sorry guys for having the picture sideways...but it's good neck exercise for yalls

Statue in front of the pagoda...I'm imitating her~ can ya tell? HEHE

I climbed MANY, MANY flights of stairs to get to the top...

...but once I reached the TOP, the view was INCREDIBLE and SOOOO worth climbing
Another view from the top...

I risked my LIFE by hanging myself out of a window to carve this onto one of the roof tiles of the pagoda...it says "2005, RJ+CC="ai" with a BIG HEART around it ("ai" = love for Chinese) see babe...this is how much i LOVE u!!!

I'm eating a leg-of-mutton...it's HUGE!!!! I had to bite it so hard to rip the meat off...oh I felt like such a carnivore *roar*

This is me pretending to kiss a chicken's head ... it was still attached to the body when it came to the table, but we ripped it off

...and this would be the chicken's feet...claws still intact

Ok yalls...these represent about 1/5 of the pics. I took but I can't upload anymore til later so more to come... 'til next time...ZAIJIAN!!

Friday, July 22, 2005

Fri, 22 Jul 2005 13:57:24 GMT

Dear Xanga!!

HELLO!!! Greetings from SHANGHAI !!! I have been touring many different cities in China for the past 9 days and it has truly been an AMAZING experience!!! Everyone SHOULD come to China, there are SOOO many beautiful places here...everywhere I go, I am "WOWED" by the MAGNIFICENT and BREATH-TAKING scenery. Even the rice farmer, standing on his dinky little canoe, rowing and maintaining his balance at the same time amazes me. I've taken TONS and TONS of pics. and I can't WAIT to post them up for my friends and family to see. I wish my dear family, friends, and of course Ron were here to share this wonderful experience with me... p.s. haynes~ even China's country side is beautiful... I want you to visit so you can see :) and why don't you let ppl comment on your xanga?? I was seriously cracking up when I read your email... I'll write back when I get back to Beijing!!! Be CAREFUL girl!!! and Liv, Reg, and Beth~~ Are u girls having fun?? Take care my beautiful girls

<3me

Saturday, July 09, 2005

Sat, 09 Jul 2005 12:16:20 GMT

Dear Xanga,

Ni Hao!! I'm finally in Beijing, China. I forgot to bring a crucial computer part that links the ethernet cord to my laptop so bare with me a little while til my mom sends the part over to me. Then, I will be able to web cam with you Liv, and email everyone else, k? It's really neat over here...so much to see and lots to do but I've been majorly jet-lag so I haven't been able to go out that much. I hope that everyone back home is doing well...write me emails and leave me comments to keep me updated. Even though I'm all the way in China, I still want to know what's going on with yalls ok? I miss everyone so much!!! *moo-ah*!!

<3me

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Thu, 23 Jun 2005 21:50:22 GMT

Dear Xanga,

Ok, so I lied about retiring from xanga...HEHE. This past weekend was absolutely WONDERFUL!!! I hope all yalls who came to my bbq had fun, cuz I sure did
To my "Jhong-Jhong-ee" i'm soooo happy you came and i can't wait to see you again *yay*!!!!!!! and to haynes~ even though we haven't seen each other in ages, it's like you never left everytime i see you. i miss you terribly and i'm soooo happy you came. girl~ you've got some major "GHANG" as my mom said to drive alllllll the way from boston. but thanks for coming!! *moo-ah* !!!!

me & my mommy

me & the girls

group picture

CHEEZN with my favorite girlies!

me, my dorky oppa, & his bride-to-be

me & my "jhong-jhong-ee"

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Thu, 16 Jun 2005 22:25:58 GMT

Dear Xanga,

I found one of my mool-gohgis dead in the pond today... RIP black-headed mool-gohgi

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 14:43:48 GMT

Dear Xanga,

I JUST came back from my LAST business class @ W&M ever. I thought I'd be jumping up and down for joy but it's kinda sad. All the business professors I've had at this school were truly AMAZING and so supportive and encouraging. Despite my non-existent social life in Williamsburg, the professors I've had, made this school worth while .

So I'll be graduating in a couple weeks and then it's OFF to CHINA!! "yinwei, wo yao xuexi hanyu, cuoyi wo chu zhongguo!!" (translation: b/c i want to study chinese, i will be going to china) That's another great thing about this school...had I never come here, I don't think I would have wanted to study Chinese. But now that I have, I'm absolutely in LOVE with the language. Hopefully next time you see me, I'll be somewhat fluent .

But before I go to China, I shall be home for about a month so let's all PLAY!!! cuz once I get back from China, it'll be all work and no play . So since I'll be graduating I don't think I'll be on xanga anymore... so I feel I should say "farewell xanga" Thanks for all the fun times , hahhaa. Liv~ I'm officially retiring my status as "QOC" Zaijian!!! and MUCHHHHH LOVEEEE
<3me, saucysass