Still Alive!

Hi there!! Wow, it's been a long time! I finally broke through the great wall and found my way back to my blog! How is everyone? Here's proof we're still alive!

 

A recent meal of bacon, eggs, french toast (with real maple syrup!) and CEREAL at 9:30 in the evening. Cereal is expensive here, and we haven't had any since we got here this summer.  But Jonathan found Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes for 10RMB a box in Guangzhou! Who knew two little boxes of cereal could cause so much excitement?

                                                I also made a new friend. Isn't she cute?

                                                Been working on our badminton skills.

And despite warnings from all the moms back home, we've gotten bold in the last few months and started eating street food, especially shao kao (grilled meats and vegetables on sticks) ! It's actually our new obsession! Don't worry moms, we always make sure to kill any germs and bacteria in the food with beer and soju.

Reunited!

Jeremy gets the prize for being our very first house guest in China!
Who's gonna be #2?

What a feast!

We came back recently from attending a 3-day banquet! The 4 hours it took us to get there was nothing compared to the 62 hour bus ride it took one friend to reach Hong Kong. It was really exciting to see so many friends there. We saw Zeta, who is doing well! It was quite a feast with dish after dish of well-prepared food. We even saw 162 go swimming. What a sight! We left HK satisfied and happy. Sorry, no photographs were allowed.

Until next time!

We had a great time!

Yangshuo - Day 4

Our last full day in Yangshuo was spent souvenier shopping on West Street! It was fun looking at all the stalls selling everything under the sun. We put our bargaining skills to the test! Jessie successfully bargained an item from 280RMB to 75RMB, (see picture of her holding up the bag of goods) and Phil got his item down to 120 RMB from 485 RMB. I think they did pretty well! The best part of the day was lunch! West Street is a pretty touristy area with lots of foreigners, so there were lots of Western restaurants to choose from. We ended up with what else? Pizza!!! It was really good with a thin, crispy crust and loads of cheese and toppings. Just as good as any pizza in...Phoenix! =) Of course, NYC pizza is the best.

Yangshuo - Day 3

Ever wonder what it feels like to be followed by the paparazzi? We found out in Xing Ping when we were followed for hours by middle-aged Chinese women. It all started when the bus pulled into this little town, and a crowd of 6-8 women gathered at the door. We thought they were all getting onto the bus. As soon as we stepped off the bus, they all swarmed around us with brochures in their hands, offering us a great price for a scenic boat ride up the Li River. We quickly told them we weren't interested and walked away. We thought that would be the end of it, but no! 4 of them started following us. Even after we told them not to follow us, they still trailed behind us. We ignored them and went about exploring the town. This is what being famous feels like! They even sat outside the cafe waiting for us when we stopped for drinks and lunch! The funniest part is when a full-blown shouting match erupted between the women and our waitress at the cafe. Turns out the women found out we had agreed to take the boat ride with the waitresses' brother. They accused her of stealing their business. At one point, a lady (she seemed like a person with authority) came to stop the argument and hear both sides. Then she walks over to us and tells us it is our decision who we want to take the boat ride with and the most important thing is to enjoy our lunch and eat in peace. At the end, the waitress told us to take the boat ride with one of the other women instead because she didn't want them to be mad at her. All this fighting for 150 RMB (about $23US), which was the cost for a 2 hour boat ride for all 3 of us! At the end, the boat ride was lovely and peaceful. The scenery was spectacular. A nice way to end a very interesting day!

I finally gave in....

...and bought an umbrella to sheild me from the blaring sun. I think this officially makes me a China girl.