I've been teaching my students a little bit about Halloween because it was the next approaching American holiday. I asked them to tell me what they knew about the day, even though China doesn't celebrate, their answers were relatively on the mark. They knew about trick-or-treat, and some kids knew the date. They also told me about making "pumpkin lanterns" and wearing costumes. The funny thing though is that the only costume they knew of was a ghost...and every once in a while a "monkey king". I explained that costume choices were pretty much limitless and you could be whatever you wanted. It got entertaining when they asked me what I would be for Halloween. As I mentioned before, our students all wear track like jogging suits as their school uniforms. Well, Laura and I managed to get our hands on our own sets and decided to go Siyang Middle School students for Halloween. So, I told my students I would going to be one of them, and they thought that was pretty cool! We even got some sweet hair accessories to complete the look. Fashion in China is...unique, and somewhat juvenile, so we had fun with that.
Anyways, this past weekend we decided to head back to Nanjing to celebrate Halloween with some other Americans. It wouldn't have been too much of party here in Siyang, co
nsidering Laura and I would be the only 2 people in the entire city who would be taking part in the festivities. So off we went. Our friend, Christine, is teaching in a super small town too and needed to get away, so we thought this would be the perfect weekend. We got in on Friday night and met up with everyone, and decided to get dinner at this place called Himalaya. The best Nepalese food I've ever had, and a bottle of booze to go with it. Needless to say we were feeling awesome after dinner and decided to hit the town. After a stop at a favorite bar nearby, we headed out to KTV. This would make it my 3rd time at a KTV and we had so much fun! Actually singing karaoke with people that speak English is hilarious. I think we were out until about 4am. I can't remember the last time I was out that late. On Saturday we headed back to our old stomping grounds and ate at our FAVORITE place, Wu's Noodles and Fried Meat Buns. Then stopped by a DVD store and picked up a ton of movies, including the new Harry Potter. All in all, a successful shopping trip.Finally it was time to suit up and head out for the celebrations. We got into our costumes, Laura and I as students and Christine as Tom Cruise from Risky Business, and went out for dinner. We went to this amaz
ing Italian place, and had one of our best meals in China yet. We were a little self-conscious about being in costume, until a table of about 20 Westerners came in completely dressed up and way more extreme so we calmed down. We finally met up with everyone and had a blast. The costumes were creative and funny and even some Chinese people were dressed up too. There was a house party with a bunch of Westerners and then we were off to the clubs. The evening was ridiculous, and hilarious, and just all around fun. Granted, it really made me miss Madison Halloween. But, the weather was cold and rainy, so that made me feel at home. I swear it's impossible to have a nice night to just dress up and party!We made it back to Siyang safe and sound though, ready to get back into the swing of things and ready to make plans for our next excursion. The plan right now is to head to Shanghai. We might have a day off from classes for mid-terms, and hopefully that will work out, otherwise we may take a personal day and head down over Thanksgiving. Christine is planning to visit sometime this month as well, so we'll be able to show her around Siyang, and hopefully give her another escape weekend from her city.
Time is moving along here. Sometimes faster than others...but, ultimately, I can't believe that it's already November. Plus, it's quite chilly here now, all the way down to 40, I hope that I can adjust :)
No comments:
Post a Comment