Mid Autumn Festival Weekend

This weekend was great for many reasons....but I have to say my number 1 reason is this: this weekend was our first holiday from school and after this they just keep coming!!!!!!! Incredibly selfish I know...but it is my truth. :)

So the Mid Autumn Festival is a Chinese holiday; other times I'd heard it referred to as the Moon Festival. I know there was a full moon during the festival but other than that, I have no idea what the holiday is about. :( Pathetic as it may be, my research into this holiday ended when I asked my two TA's what the holiday is about and they didn't seem to know either...haha! They're adorable and very funny....oh and I forgot to mention they are Chinese! So I don't feel quite as bad NOT knowing about this seemingly not so important holiday. I do know that during this holiday the big food to eat is called a "moon cake". I did have a parent buy me 2 tins of these things and I thought....when in Rome. So I tried one....and only one. :( The cake part is not bad at all, but inside is chunks of who knows what! I think the one I ate had fruit in it, but apparently they can have pretty much anything in them. Fruit, cheese, meat, vegetables, etc. I'm sorry but I'm not tempted enough to find out. These moon cakes however, are not cheap. So I thought I'd give them to someone who would appreciate them. :) The cleaning ladies in my building work ALL THE TIME so on my way to school one morning....I delivered them a little present. Not a waste after all!

This guy was a true performer! At one point he grabbed the mic
from the stand and threw the stand behind him. Hilarious! 

A lot of people from school went out of town this weekend...myself included. But before leaving, I managed to check out the Taihu Music Festival at the lake/park near my house. I went with my friend Doug and we had a blast! It was definitely an experience where I felt like I was really immersed in Chinese culture. That being said, this culture was not the traditional Chinese culture, but more the culture of young Chinese people. :) The amphitheater where the festival was held was large and very cool and the Chinese people liked to rock! The two bands we saw were both great! The 2nd one, which we later found out is a pretty famous band in China called Black Leopard, was extremely entertaining! We found it really funny because what we would have considered pretty much 80's rock, these young people were all about! I have no clue if this is typical, but when you consider what China has evolved from...who knows!




This is the only show I've ever been to where I didn't understand a word that was spoken except the title of the last song..."Don't Break My Heart".

It was awesome! :)

The morning after the festival we headed to Shanghai for 2 days. I honestly cannot imagine staying longer than that...I was EXHAUSTED!!!!!!!!! We did manage to fit a lot in, especially on Saturday. So, I suppose the exhaustion was worth it. :) Doug and I stayed in a hostel; I hadn't done that since college and it was great. I especially loved hanging my towel and dry clothes in the tiny shower with me. That way I knew they would be clean (and dry) when I was done. :( No...really it was totally fine, but I might write a letter to the hostel suggesting a small little alcove in which you can place things you'd like to stay dry, whilst showering. :)

We had 2 Chinese guys in our room; they showed up sometime  in the middle of the night. But when we walked in the room at the end of the day we were greeted by a Spanish guy sitting on someone else's bed in very tight undies. :) His wife was in the shower and when she came in wearing nothing but her towel, she looked surprised to see us! :) After that though, she went and put on a T-shirt and underwear...that was it! So there they both were, in their underwear, packing stuff up getting ready for their flight early the next morning. :) Haha...they were really nice but it was a different experience for me. Traveling really teaches you a lot about being open-minded and tolerant of differences among cultures. Just because it's weird to me, does NOT mean it's weird.

I did have a first happen on this trip that I could have done without. However, now having "experienced" it, I feel like I really live in China. :) I may have mentioned children not wearing diapers/underwear, etc. and that they pee on the street, on the sidewalk, in the bushes...apparently on the ground in the grocery store!!! Yuck! On this trip though, while walking through an incredibly busy metro station, we were fortunate enough to see a small child, probably 2 or 3...poo on the ground in the metro station. You can't recover from that people!!!!

Anyway...here are some pictures from the trip. We did take a bus tour of the city which was pretty awesome actually. A lot of great pictures passed me by, but it was nice to see an overview of the city, and you could hop on and hop off as you pleased. So when we found a place we wanted to explore...we did!

This picture was taken from the bus tour and I thought perfectly depicted the essence of Shanghai...East meets West. If you look closely you can see an H&M on the corner of a building on the right. :) 

We got off the bus and stumbled upon an old park that was filled with mostly old men, sitting around tables playing games! Some were card games, some were games with tile type things that kind of looked like a version of checkers. They just played and smoked and played and smoked. It was pretty great!

 This picture was taken in a place I will definitely go back to! It's in the French Concession; a very nice area of Shanghai that has loads of good places to eat delicious food. This street was very inviting to me! We didn't stop, but sometime I will go sit here with a bottle of wine and a book and I will either read, but more likely, I will people watch! The perfect place to do it!

 A couple of pictures of The Bund at night. It was cloudy, but I think that made these pictures even more cool! It was very pretty and again...great place to people watch. :) 

One more that I took with my phone. I love this panorama feature it's got! It's ONE redeeming quality!!! :)

After all the lovely pictures I thought I should throw this one in there too. :) This was on our way back to our hostel...really close in fact. And this....is the reality of China. You see this kind of stuff happen a lot! And during this trip I noticed something else. Even in the "nicest" places that are made for tourists, etc. stuff falls apart so quickly! Doug and I were walking in Pudong (the newer part of the city) on a sidewalk made of nice slate-looking pavers and I noticed...a bunch of them were moving when we walked on them! In fact, that happens a lot! Big tiles, bricks, etc....they look nice, but after being there no more than 10 years for sure...they are falling apart! Kind of reminds me of my lovely bicycle. :)  

Anyway....one week of school and then I'm off to Vietnam. I'm so excited! Just 5 school days to get through...I can do it!!!. :)

Peace out...