Did You Know I'm Korean? Party People All Around

Mama, tamen shi shenme ren?
Hanguoren ma?

roughly translates to

Mom, where are those people from?
Korea?

This was asked by a Chinese person of a group of Americans (including myself), Kiwis, and a South African. And then it happened again about ten minutes later. I know lots of Americans find it hard to differentiate between Asians, but in China, apparently people have trouble distinguishing between everyone non-Chinese. Black, brown, white, they all look the same. And I look Korean.

Haven't been up to much lately, just a few birthday parties and end-of-week parties.

A few weeks ago our recently arrived French teacher had a birthday, and we went to the night market for dinner before Allyssa and I split off for the club. This is one of two in Weihai, and by far the better one. Check out the videos below.





Nadeige's birthday cake and butcher knife:



Making noodles for dinner at the night market:



Yum!!!!!! Deer penis baijiu (aka white liquor, as yes, that long cylinder is what you think it is):



Next came Allyssa's birthday. Here she is getting her head smashed into her cake:



And her second cake [that weird mythical creature-looking thing is a dragon/donkey (Allyssa's favorite animal) hybrid]:


And lots of sushi for dinner:



This Sunday we went for another hike, to a small village outside of Weihai, and the area turned out to be beautiful. Fruit (peach?) trees are starting to bloom. It was one of the first times in a long time I've been able to hear the wind and birds chirp without the background of cars and other noise pollution.




This coming Tuesday marks the beginning of the ninth month I've been here (it's hard to believe). It also marks the day that Matt Merker and Andrew Levine arrive for 10 and 17 days, respectively, as well as my aunt and uncle, to visit me. I'll meet them in Beijing to see the usual sites, then we'll head to Xi'an, home of the Terra Cotta soldiers and Huashan, and then we'll head back to Weihai before Matt departs for home and Andrew and I make one last excursion to Qingdao, home of one of the best beers in China!

I'm sure pictures and stories will abound.

Celebrate!

You have to find your own ways to celebrate holidays in China. Sometimes China attempts to celebrate Western holidays, but usually they remind you more that you're in China than of your holidays at home (see: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs nativity scene at Christmas).

Last Saturday we went for a night of karaoke at the local KTV. Okay, okay, we weren't celebrating Easter specifically, but as our efforts carried over into Sunday morning, perhaps our voices were glorifying. I know the other people at the place
sure enjoyed them, including this group whose party we crashed.








The next day, a group of us hiked up a mountain/hill nearby for an Easter service. We didn't make it for sunrise, but it was early enough. We shared songs, hymns, verses, and stories with each other before taking communion. It was a very nice way to spend Easter, outdoors with friends.



Chinese people also hike the mountain to burn incense. I am not positive of the reason, but I think in this case it honors their dead.




Afterwards we moved to an awesome Xinjiang restaurant that included eating in a tent, laying down on the floor to let the food settle, and watching some traditional dancing. If you're planning on making a visit, you'll definitely be treated to a similar experience.

Finally, I leave you with a picture of two adjacent shops downtown. Is there a (subtle) message here?