Saturday, September 22, 2007 -
Kunming... business as usual
Well I've settled into classes and it's really been business as usual! I have 18 hours of Chinese class a week, but only 12 hours transfer, so it's kind of a gyp. Anyway! Not much has been happening. I'm in the process of getting my residence permit and student ID, and taking it easy... napping and doing homework then eating lots of yummy food and watching 90 cent dvds! The only exciting thing I've done lately is get my hair done! I usually judge a salon by the products they carry so walked into the salon next to one of the movie theatres that advertised a lot of American and European brands. I talked to some people there for a while, explaining what I wanted in Chinese. After we all consulted, we were in agreement of what I wanted and then the craziness began! They got me some tea then had an average of 3 people working on my hair at once, with the manager watching over them and a couple random workers watching. At one point I had 7 people chattering around me and lifting up sections of my hair, debating what they wanted to do... I had so much foil in my hair I could have simultaneously picked up HBO and blocked CCTV! Well after the color was done I got a head massage and then the manager guy who they simply called "ershisan" (that's Chinese for the number 23) gave me a trim and straightened my hair while practically the entire store watched. It was hilarious but it was great... I've heard and seen some horror stories with Chinese salons, so I'm glad mine turned out all right! I ended up getting blonde highlights with a couple red pieces underneath to add some punch.
Since then, it's been pretty chill, we got some mooncaks in class which I thought was a pretty sweet idea until it turns out that Yunnan's specialty mooncakes have bacon in them! BLAAAAAAH!!!! CAKES ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE OVERLY SALTED HAM IN THEM! haha... but it's China, and it's crazy.
Christina and I have been clothes shopping but man... girls in China apparently don't have hips so it's ridiculous to try and find pants! I've picked up a couple tops and hoodies that look super Chinesey but I don't care... I think that some of the stuff they have is awesome... just not this:
unless you're a 14 yr old wannabe punk or something! Other than that, all that's happened is Christina and I wearing Jay's hats, Bailin and I building forts in the dorm, and watching the Europeans plan to play the game where you run around "shooting" people with bananas. I don't know, it's just life in China!
Here's the obligatory picasa link!
<3
elisaLabels: hair, kunming, mooncakes
