something "interesting"...

just finished my 2nd oral english class for freshmen and had them fill out a name card with their partner's basic information and something "interesting" about that person. i tried my best to explain what "interesting" means, and told them to not say "i'm chinese", "i like computer games", or "i like to go shopping" because i know all of that already haha.. so my 2nd class thought of much more "interesting" things than my first class and here's a few of the most interesting things i discovered about them ;)

Kevin: he always forgets his passcode
Rory: she didn't wash her face yesterday night
Heather: she used to be a japanese and can't speak chinese (she was born in japan!)
Melody: she likes boxing
Jeffrey: "yogurt"
Henry: keeping rabbits
Amy: this winter vacation she went to Hainan (an island in the south), it was wonderful but boys there are ugly (so sad!)
Summer: yesterday afternoon she escaped from one class and slept in the dormitory
Gritty: he usually forgets paper (TP) when he want to go to washroom (bathrooms in china don't supply TP, gotta bring your own!)

some of my new freshmen students- the boy in the 2nd to last row looks like the guy from twilight, and his name is edward. perfect. haha

chinese wedding 101

back from my weekend in guangzhou for my 2nd cousin's wedding/first real chinese wedding! while i could probably write a book on the experience, here are just a few highlights and a glimpse into a chinese wedding :)

9:00AM- groom and his groomsmen go to bride's house and she's locked up in her room and he has to persuade her to open the door for about an hour with songs, sayings, and accomplishments of certain tasks- then finally she opens the door!

10:00AM- bride and groom goes to the bride's grandparents house and does a traditional tea ceremony with all the relatives on that side. they offer food and incense to ancestors and then poor tea on the floor (i'm still not sure why.) then the bride and groom offer baby cups of tea and relatives give them "hong bao's" (red envelopes)... this continues for another hour with pictures and video taping

11:00AM- bride and groom and their party depart in a 7 car wedding line up to go to the groom's relatives house and repeat the tea ceremony

12:00PM- off to lunch (dim sum) with a few members of the bride's side of the family... minus the bride.

1-4:30PM- went shopping with my mom's cousin and her cousin... bargained a bunch but ended up not buying anything. haha

5:00PM- arrive at the ritz carlton (talk about ritzy!) and took pictures for another hour or so while other guests trickled in...(some were dressed up.. A LOT and others were wearing jeans, i was somewhere in between that scale haha)

6:30PM- bride and groom arrive into the ballroom with a carriage and then walked down the aisle and then listened to some speeches from their company boss, fathers, and groom

7:00PM- eat, toast, eat, and eat some more of the 12 course meal! :)

9:00PM- bride goes around to each table to offer tea in exchange for more red envelopes!

9:30PM- the night wouldn't be complete without more family pictures on the official stage :)


it's so hard to describe events like this with words and pictures.. it's just not the same. haha so key tips for a successful chinese wedding: traditional ceremony, lots of food, bring red envelopes, and take lots of pictures :)