On Holiday...

So Wednesday marked the beginning of our holiday. We were able to go to a Chinese wedding on the 30th and experience what that was really like. It's very different that in the States. Wednesday was the celebration for the Bride's side, and basically it was just a big luncheon. There were many rooms with tables and food and the bride, groom, and bride's parents came around to each table and toasted with the guests. One thing that did seem very Western was the bride's dress...it was so crowded though, I didn't get a very good picture. She looked beautiful though!
The food was really interesting, and by that I mean that Laura and I didn't eat much. Apparently a lot of it was really fancy and expensive, but that doesn't really mean that it is appetizing! We were polite though and did our best, but were kind of hungry shortly after, haha.

There are two celebrations occurring over the break, National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival. National Day was October 1st, and is the Chinese equivalent of Independence Day. We got up early to watch the parade that was being televised from Beijing. It was pretty boring actually. The majority of it was the different branches of the military marching past the Forbidden City showing off their weapons and whatnot. Towards the end though there were floats and music and some dancing and things, so that was kind of interesting. There have been firecrackers going off to the last few days to commemorate the event, actually, any event. The Chinese are obsessed with firecrackers, it's a bit obnoxious. But, when in Rome...or China... Anyways, last night there was a special dinner that we were invited to--to celebrate National Day. Like I said before, usually when we go to "special dinners" the food is very authentic and actually not always things that Laura and I would eat. But the food for National Day was so good! We even brought some home. Chen (our friend and colleague in the picture) knew the word "doggie-bag", it was hilarious. But everyone really enjoyed themselves and the food, so this dinner was awesome!!!

Anyways, we are off to Xuzhou to see Teresa, and then heading to Beijing by overnight train tomorrow, so I have to go and pack. We will have a computer and internet access, but I'll be really busy, so you can expect an update after we're home and hopefully lots of pictures!!!!!!