Hello dear friends of my sister Hillary.. While she is gone I update her blog for her, and since I have access to it I decided to do a little post of my own to help out my dear friend and her family. You might notice a little button of a picture with a cute little boy on it.  His name is Cole and he suffers from Dravet syndrome. They are in the process of getting him a dog that will help detect when he has a seizure so someone doesn't have to be by his side 24/7 (yes that means when he is sleeping).  You don't know these people, but I do. I know how much it would mean to them for just a little help.  Thanks!

TRASHMAN

Yesterday I went with some friends from church to visit the "Trashman." He is located Northeast of Beijing and his store is this large building with all sorts of junk and treasures!  He had some interesting things. Some of it was total crap and other things were really neat and beautiful!  I found one item I really wanted and a couple of other unexpected things.  I found a calligraphy brush stand, an old wooden box painted green that I thought was pretty, and two old flags with dragons embroidered on them. The flags are dirty and worn but I hope to take them to the cleaners to see if they can be "beautified."  I would like to have them framed because I think they would look fantastic.  The "Trashman" himself is a bit of an interesting character.  You can bargain with him but there are some things he isn't willing to bargain on. After we all made our purchases he grab random items and tell us we could have them for free. I ended up with a teracotta buddah face that was painted black. The face is a lid and you can put incence inside to burn and the smoke comes out of the mouth of the Buddah. Also, I learned that if you pull out the cash and just give him what you want to pay rather than what he is asking, you are more likely to get the price you want. One of the girls in our group did that for a beautiful black entryway table she wanted and it worked pretty well.  Most of the other laides found some beautiful things - large vases, hardwood tables, wooden buckets, etc... There was a ton of old jewelry and coins, lots of benches, chests, and porcelin.  I found a bunch of old vinyl records of Chinese opera and music and I really, really wanted to buy them but I didn't because it was really hot and I didn't know if they would be okay.  I also liked the old metal xylophones - really beautiful. I think I may have to go back and get it. The problem is getting it back home or where ever else I end up after December. 
After our visit to the trashman we went to see a place called "George's Lamps."  These lamps were so gorgeous. Silk shades and all the bases were made from Chinese items such as Buddahs, tea sets, bird cages, statues, tibeten horns, old necklaces, etc... They were sooooooo beautiful and I decided I must have one but they are quite expensive so until I make more dinero I will just have to wait. He makes them to export so they are made to work in wall sockets in the states and Europe.  My favorite lamp was the red one with statues of Chinese ladies under it.  So beautiful!

CHINESE CANDY

So I think most people know that "candy" in China is a bit different that what we consider candy to be in the west. My assisstant brought me some Chinese candy the other day and watched as I sampled and tasted to gage my reaction.  I ate a small sweet potato thing, a jelly fruit thing with this styrafoam stuff on it that was edible, and a black bean candy.  I liked them all as well as a few others that I tried.  Western candy is much more sugary and sweet. I think the Chinese got the healthy thing down as far as candy goes though with all the fruits and veggies they use for things. You can even buy corn ice cream bars and ice cream bars made out of peas and beans too.  Red beans are used a lot in candy and desserts here.

BEIJING BIRTHDAY

Last week was my birthday and I wanted it to be really cool and fun but I ended up being slightly disappointed.  I threw on my new qipao and went to hot pot dinner with my friends Samily and Earle and then we went to a kung fu show that came highly recommended. It was suppossed to be this vegas style show with cool kung fu but it was too fake and most of the kung fu action was staged so it wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be.  They had all sorts of smoke and then a couple times they had all these bubbles and I was trying to figure out what bubbles had to do with kung fu but oh well.  They had some acrobatics with the people flying around in the long fabric stuff around the stage and there was some dancing too.  Some of the tricks they did with the weapons were cool and the little kids performing in the show had some impressive moves.
The next day was my actual birthday and I wanted to go back to my favorite place, the summer palace.  I wanted to fly my fish kite from the bridge but it was sooooooo hot and sooooooo overcrowded and God decided I could not have wind on my birthday to fly my kite. So my kite just hung over the bridge unable to do anything. Major "bu hao." God did decide though that happy, old, fat Chinese man could play happy birthday on his flute as I walked past so I got to enjoy that.
My friend Sally at work gave me a beautiful gift that I love. It is a silk wall hanging of two mandarin ducks known as "Yuan Yang."  The ducks represent love, fidelity, and the joining of two opposite people to create balance and love. She wrote me a really sweet note about how she hoped I could find my "Yuan Yang" here in China since I was so far from my family! It was really sweet. I got a super cool Chinese tiger pop-out card from my assistant. So my birthday in China wasn't quite what I hoped it would be but still, I got to have my birthday in China which is pretty cool anyway in and of itself!

DANCING QUEEN

I am getting into the habit of dancing at restaurants.  No people. Not that kind of dancing. Sheesh.  Last month I went with co-workers to a restaurant that had a band that played songs from India, Latin America, and Asia. They would play a couple of songs and then there were two girls that came out in traditional costumes to do some traditional dances.  I loved it. The girls would pull people up to dance on stage with them and I joined them gladly.  The second time was at a restaurant where I work. My friend Ryan and I went out for Thai food and there is a group of young people there from the Philipines that sing and perform each night.  They got me out of my seat for "La Bamba" and I joined in the dancing although my movements seemed to be in the opposite direction as theirs.  I think I impressed them that I knew all the words to La Bamba.  So there I was, In China, singing a Spanish song with people from the Philipines, while eating Thai food with my American co-worker.  I also continue to be proof that you don't need alcohol to get up dance and be slightly crazy in front of complete strangers. 
 

KTV

KTV is what we refer to as Karoke in the states.  KTV is EVERYWHERE here in China and it isn't like the states where you go to a bar or club and sing in front of strangers.  KTV here is a business.  It is usually located in a building and you pay to rent a room for a few hours and just chill out with your friends and sing whatever you want like crazy just for them.  I went to KTV yesterday with a few people and I seriously couldn't get over this place.  First of all, this particular KTV venue looked like a fancy hotel on the inside - huge lobby, leather furniture, grand staircase, etc... The karaoke rooms vary in size and in "fanciness."  Ours was like a lounge area with a curved sofa, plasma tv and all sorts of fancy karaoke technology.  Larger rooms have stages and you can even rent banquet halls. Each room has a menu to order drinks and food and the staff bring you whatever you want and there is even an evening buffet.  This was not at all karaoke at some East Texas small town bar folks. This was a fancy gig and we were there for 5 hours just singing and having fun!  My only complaint was the lack of showtunes (ha ha) and I wish I had more of a pop sound to my voice.  

QIPAO

The Qipao is the traditional style dress of Chinese Women.  My friend put on a local Qipao Festival at an art gallery so I got to go and see a fashion show of different styles of Qipao.  I also got to learn a lot about this well-known style.  I thought the style had been around for hundreds and hundreds of years but really it became popular at the beginning of the 20th Century when women of the Chinese elite began to wear the design.  As years passed, others wanted to mimick and copy the style worn by the upper class and eventually it became a traditional style for all Chinese women.  I bought two Qipao tops a couple of weeks ago but they are the typical mass produced kind that you buy at the markets. I actually really like the ones I bought. One is a beautiful blue and the other is black. Both have the same design but I think it is really pretty. I bought a silk qipao shirt a couple of months ago but I wasn't able to try it on at the market and it ended up being too small. Qiapo is traditionally worn for special events  - birthdays, formal dinners, etc...  Here are a few pics from the fashion show