Temple of Heaven

Today I went to the Temple of Heaven with my friend Sam. We rode the subway, which I am becoming more familiar with by the day. The Temple of Heaven is aligned with the Forbidden City and the Temple of Earth on a north-south axis (according to Sam), it being the southern most of the three. The Temple of Heaven is actually a huge park with various Temples inside where ancient Chinese emperors would go to pray for good harvests and such. The architecture was beautiful, like with most ancient Chinese buildings. In addition to the temples, there were very entertaining sights on the sidewalks of the park. The most notable (and hilarious) was a group of middle aged ladies energetically dancing to the music of Pink (for those of you who don't know, Pink is an American "alternative rock" singer who was especially popular at my middle school in Illinois). It was quite a sight to see them dancing, and while we were sitting gazing at them a fifty-something 外国人 ( wai guo ren, AKA foreigner) came up to us and told us we should go dance with them. We smiled and said, "You first":) Anyway, The day was filled with entertainment and we have decided to explore at least one new place each weekend. The picture I have included was taken a couple of weeks ago at a Chinese history museum we visited with school. To the right of me is Marianne and to the left is Sam. They are awesome!

MEATY MEATY MEAT

So... I just ate meat. On accident. 

Sometimes my dad makes these little loaves of bread stuffed with vegetables inside, so tonight at dinner I took one thinking I knew exactly what it was.

I took a bite, and although it tasted a little different than usual I thought nothing of it. The stuffing looked like it always had... just harmless green vegetables.

A few bites later, I reached the conclusion that my seemingly innocent 包字 (bao zi) definitely had a new, unknown ingredient in it. I looked down to examine it more carefully, and saw two black eyes staring back at me. Yup. Two black eyes. Then two more, and two more and two more. Turns out, there were tons of little mini shrimp things in the bao zi. They were colorless and transparent, which explains why I didn't see them the first time.  

I reacted surprisingly well. I didn't choke, gasp, or scream. I just set the bao zi down, and ate other things. My appetite wasn't even lost. I actually almost laughed, because I knew this would happen sooner or later, and I have to admit it's hilarious. 

Anyway, I guess that was the most eventful thing that happened today. Each day brings a new surprise... haha. I'm going to go do homework now...

Toodles,

苏娥利

Goldfish People!

I am happily munching on my last few (entirely stale yet still delicious) goldfish right now, and thought it would be an appropriate time to write a little blog entry. My heart is cringing a little, knowing that I will not eat any more of these little guys for 7 and a half months. Sad Face. My diet has been rather bland lately, since I am vegetarian AND cannot eat any dairy products due to the whole "Chinese milk is poisoned with Melamine" thing going on right now. I have to say, reading about a Chinese milk crisis and actually having to deal with one are totally different things. I miss yogurt and cheese like crazy. Actually, I miss all American food like crazy. Chinese food is fabulous, but I would kill for a peanut butter and jelly right now. I ate at McDonald's for the first time here last week, and my mouth was in heaven. I feel guilty, but those fries were heavenly. Anyway, I'm going to stop talking about food and go eat dinner. If anyone wants to sent non-perishable food items, just ask for my address! haha. 

Until the next time I get a random desire to blog,

苏娥利