Sorry I'm Late

So, I haven't had much time until now to write a new post. Sorry. My 11-day National Day holiday has officially started, though, and I couldn't be more excited.

Tomorrow, I'm leaving for Qingdao, and on the 5th I leave Qingdao for Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. I'll be back in Shanghai on the 11th. While I'm gone, I may or may not be able to blog (I'm not taking my computer, and I don't know if anyone going will). I can, however, promise a great blog post on the 11th or 12th.

Last weekend, I went with my host dad to the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra’s 130th Anniversary Gala Concert. Lang Lang and Liao Changyong were there to perform, among others. I had a great time. The Symphony played both Western and Chinese selections, including Berlioz, Bizet, Verdi, Lu Zaiyi, and Jian’er, among others. It was really interesting to see the mix of classical Chinese and Western songs right alongside modern political songs like “I Sing a Folk Song to Our Party.” After the intermission, Lang Lang played Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. For the encore, the Symphony played an awesome variation of “Happy Birthday to You” that was written by Lang Lang himself, just for the event. Then, they brought out a huge cake and the Party Secretary of Shanghai came onstage and help cut it.

Of course, I forgot to put the battery in my camera. Duh. Here are some pictures anyway.


The Shanghai Grand Theatre (Source: architectook.net)


Lang Lang (source: LA Times)

The rest of the week wasn't too exciting. I had a Chinese test and a history paper due on Monday. Tuesday was just Tuesday. But vacation started Wednesday, and we partied like it was 1999 at my host family's house.

Dinner was delicious (really, it was pretty good). Here's a before:


And after:


Wednesday was the first time I've ever had to pick my dinner up off the floor because it was running away. All in good fun, though.

After that, some friends and I went out to celebrate China's National Day.


I came home early because I wanted to watch the parade this morning with my host parents. Good choice, because the parade was really impressive. Look it up on Youtube.

Happy Birthday China! 我爱你!