Countdown to Sichuan

No big collection of pics... sorry, but here's an update on my life.

Today was THE MOST hectic day. In between last minute Sichuan Team meetings, getting the camera set up and trying to get in interviews for the documentary, and last minute arrangements for the Journalism documentary (because I'm one of three producers) - people said I looked "stressed," "tired," or "ready to cry."

But oddly enough - I was running on adrenaline all day! I guess my face betrays a lot - stupid face.

So yes, less than 24 hours and I'll be on the train to Sichuan. I just finished about a half-hour ago on the journalism class documentary. I planned it so that we'd be completely done by 11:15 pm - and we did! Mostly because our interviews did not take as long as I planned it, and setting up took longer than I planned - so it all evened out. Thankfully the bulk of the work is done for that project.

Tomorrow will be another cramped day. And I'm kind of sad about that because I won't be able to have time to eat lunch with friends before I leave. =( But we have three weeks after I return!! Gah - and I need to try that Muslim place at the back gate, seriously.


That's my laptop. Why a band-aid you ask? WELL - what happened was: remember my red plastic protection case that I had for the laptop? It was a bit too near my desk lamp one night - and my lamp has no lamp shade - and so the bulb melted the plastic - right through to my computer! There was a huge rough bump on the outside of the computer (hence the band-aid) and on my display screen there is a dark gray ring. It used to bother me, but not so much anymore.

Here are some select pics of Huangshan. Basically it was all mountains and valleys, and we went to the small village of Hong Cun, where they filmed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon





Hong Cun:

Sorry for the Delay...

I have a lot of pictures still left to upload - I'm almost a month behind!! But as an update, there was Guangxi, and then I went to Xiamen. Beautiful place! Then recently I went to Huang Shan - or Yellow Mountain. We hiked up the mountains of Huang Shan, but it wasn't very rigorous because we climbed up stairs rather than actual rocks. And there were a lot of tourists. What I did, along with a few others, was skip the stairs and hike up the rocky dirt path alongside the stairs - it was faster, less tedious, and much more fun. Huang Shan was definitely a beautiful city - small one, but still. And the air was clean too!

And for the first time, I returned from a trip without getting sick!! However, I did lose my voice - and I don't know why...

This past Saturday we had a fundraiser for the Sichuan Relief - Dong Xi Palooza. It was SO SUCCESSFUL! I'm so proud of everyone who was involved! Annie, along with Nancy and Janice and Tina and Lei and Melissa...(and the list goes on), spearheaded the cultural event. We had games and performances, karaoke, poker and mahjong tournaments, and ping pong. And I was the emcee for the performances and the NYU date auction! Yes - we sold our fellow classmates! to other fellow classmates... Except two people - local ECNU students bought two of them! That was ridiculously fun and exciting! We also made a lot of money so it was definitely a highlight of the weekend!

I'm leaving for Sichuan in a couple of days - almost nerve-wracking! But it's so close! I can't wait - I'm ready to expect the worst, even though I know it's not going to be as bad as it sounds. The only thing I'm worried about is the safety of the film equipment and the money.

I also got a haircut! Finally - a haircut in China! It wasn't much - I just trimmed the ends (but my hair is still long) and the stylist cut sideswept bangs for me - they're nice, but a little short. Otherwise - it was 30 kuai! Or about $5! Woo! I might do it again before I leave. It's really weird - they sit you down in one of those chairs where you'd usually get your hair cut, and instead of having you lay back over a sink, they shampoo your hair sitting upright. They have a bottle of water squirting onto your head, and then they have foamy shampoo and wash your hair. You only sit back over a sink when they rinse it off. I went for the cheapest of the cheapest options - hence the 30 kuai haircut!

I owe you all pictures! I know it! >_<>

And I hope you guys have seen my email on Sichuan Relief - please donate! Shout out to (Ce-Kim-Ma) Auntie Julie for the donation! =D

Cooking Lessons - Guangxi Style

Yes, I cooked all that by myself.


And after we got back, we ran to KFC and got us some real good soft serve ice cream!!!

River Rafting

(Xiaoxia is eating some skewered baby crabs)

(The guy was running along the river half naked - I think that was his way of exercising)

Bike Ride and Moon Hill

So I can't ride a bike.

I crashed into a stoop and knocked over another bike, and then a little ways further on I crashed into a pile of bricks.

So I ended up sitting on the back of the truck that followed the rest of the group biking. Yay! But I took a lot of pictures so it's ok. =D

But I need to learn how to ride a bike. Seriously.









(the old lady was a trooper - she carried a heavy water cooler full of bottled drinks up the mountain with us - and it wasn't an easy climb)

(Moon Hill - from below, at night, sometimes you can see the moon through the hole created by that mountain)