Nearly Home Time!!

Thanks for the emails and messages - it is hard to write because i am really tired by the time i get home. I was really sick last night and once last week but at least it has gone for me in one day - unlike the others who have been sick with a cold the whole time. - I am taking lots of risks - lapping up every momoent but dieing to come home because i am lonely and a bit over it. 2 weeks is enough - because i am worried that i will start to relax and not take it all in for the last couple of weeks - which is a chame. but only 9 more days until we are leaving!! we are coming up wth plenty of food ideas! lunch involves something like a bakers delight bread roll with butter! cheese! tomato! avacado! maybe some ham! lettuce! ahhh ***drools*** as this is just so different to china. In china, the bread is really sweet and stale, cant eat lettuce or other veges because we dont know what it has been washed in, no such thing as cheese and certainly no butter! Dinner has a choice! lol (sorry about sending the orders already) :) but something like tacos, or maccaroni cheese - cant decide but will let you know! - milk could also be well favoured!Today we taught an english class - first aid - so mancefield used me as the teacher because i know about it. it was so funny - and i was such a bitch telling all the sleeping kids to wake up!we also had Wushu (martial arts) in the morning and chinese in the middle. The day starts at 7:00 here and finishes at 5:30 - dark at both times. the day is so very innefecient but it doesn't matter because i get to leave! their excuse is so that they dont have 5000 kids runnig around the streets!Yesterday we went to the summer palace - but the entire place - lake and all was frozen over so it wasn't really like summer. people were actually walking from one side of the place to the other across the ice! it was so cool - but too dangerous for us.Monday was fairly bland - the smog was so severe that you couldn't see 20 metres in fromnt of you - you should see the huge chimney in the school burning coal!Sunday was a blast! we went to the Silk street to buy anything and everything. It is this huge 5 storey building where pepole can bargain for pretty much anyhting. Charlotte bought a mao watch! i helped davo get a jacket down form 980 to 200 and i got something of my own from 790 to 100! i love it!!!Saturday was pretty boring - selina had an exam because she wants to go to america next year so i got puled along - and because she passed, she has to have another one on Saturday!! - i dont remember much before friday!My family is great - they were so worried when i got sick and they jumped on the case and gave me alot of medicine and hot water (miricale cure for anything). The dad is the most amazing cook -i am brinign back recepies. they cook about 5 or 6 dishes per meal - i will make you an authentic chinese meal one night - if you like egg!There are just so many strange things here which can be challenging but fin to deal with! like the shoer - picture a room - white tiles on the floor and walls, walk in the door, washing machine on direst left, then toilet, then basin then a shower head - no door, just the head - you spray the shower everywhere. My family also seems to think that my shower time is their comunal time so they all come in and watch me! meh, i got over it after the 2nd night!the toilet is normal - thank god! but at school, they are all squat toilets with no toilet paper - we are lucky because these ones are clean but most places arent! you have to take your own stash of TP everywhere you go! - but most toilets make you feel like vomiting because of the smell of the bin next to you (where you put your paper after you have used it). It is great that we are treated like celebrities here - everyone stops to look at us and take photos of us - we should start charging them!Our results came out on monday and we were so happy - i got 43 in hospo and 41 in legal! majorly stoaked! but a bit dissppointed in my A for hospo (no A+) but i can t complain with a 43! We celebreated with large amounts of chocolate - and milo icecream (living of this and snickers)From now on we will eat on the street - at lunch time, all these bikes pulling food trolleys come into the lane between school and international building and everyone eats from there - you can get food from about 50 cents! it is awesome. This morning we had the biggest pancake omlette thing you would ever see for 20 cents aussie!and tomorrow, charlotte and i are going drum roasted sweet potato - they smell so good! - We see it from mancefield's pad! he is on level 14 in the international buildings and we go there everyday instead of going to classes in the arvo because they are pointless (english is too easy and chinese classes we dont understand) - so we just gorge on chips and chocolate there for a couple of houurs - or go for a walk!! I am not getting much better at chinese because they speak english to us all the time and we give in to temptation too easily. But i think my listening is getting much better - fluent in some respects now. And my vocab is getting better - just speaking is staying sub par!
Sorry for the huge ramble, if you want to know more check out www.mikesfunkybunch.whereareyou.net or www.piczo.com/justabitwild as this is photos!!!!Hope everyone is well, miss you and love you all!! SarahThe weather here isn't too bad, we dont think it will snow while we are here - never mind - as if we haven't enjoyed ourselves!!!
Miss and love you all,
Sarah

Wow, I finally worked ths thing out!! (i think)

Well, after this stupid thing being sooo stupid!! grrr i worked it out. But int the mean time i posted photos at www.piczo.com/justabitwild hope this ois ok...... lol, anyway - going to forbidden city tomorrow- should be good - i am actually really excited about it!!also to tiananmen square - the chinese dont know what actually happened here :).

The weather is sooo odd here - the lake iced over so thick that you could have gone ice skating but of course we would have fallen through so we stayed clear. Last night Mancey and use went out to dinner at a mongolian hot pot place - it was delicious!! the chinese and mongols are smart ppl. they learn how to not get bored with their food - by using bloody chopsticks and fishing in the bottom of a big bowl for a round and slippery tomato!! :) as i mentioned, we went shopping on saturday - and we will go shopping again as a group on sunday - the same place probably because the others wanted a chance and it was incredibly fun! - We will also get Mr Unco (aka Mance) on a pair of iceskates to have a whizz around! - (although i am still wearing my bruises from the other day - the mother is a doctor so she gives me this funky medicine stuff - dont worry parentals!! it is fine)
I have abruptly fallen in love with Tanghulu as they are just delicious and about 20 australian cents per stick. But i am also eating a helathy amount of snickers (no mars bars here). On thursday we plan to go to Guo Mao which is the world trde centre. Ther is an international supermarket - I might try and find something pavlovaish for my family.
Loving: the exchange rate - as mance says - 40 cent packet of cigis!!
Hating: the toilets!! grrrr - all squatters!! and our chinese classes with our class as are major boring.
Undecided: weather - somedays too cold - some just right! - today was -7!
Love you all so much! Please keep messaging me - as long as you like - i miss you!
Sarah xoxo

In China!!

I arrived in China last night only to be told that it would be 2 degrese!! It was pretty lonely and odd while we stood at the airport in a Aussie group around all these chinese men offering us a taxi for 30 mins before the driver arrived to take us and the smog is so thick it almost knocks you out!(if the cars dont first!!).
We finally got to the school after an awkward convo where we were all trying to understand the driver!! We were told to announce ourselves! and i quickly met my family.
I forgot the nemes of the parents but the girl is Selina.
The father is hilarious. He wants to learn english so he picks up everything and makes me say it. He also keeps giving me food. The mother speaks no english except 'sit down' and is always giving me water and making me sit down.
Selina is very friendly, she speaks only english to me and the parents will clap if i say something in chinese!
I am looking foward to tomorrow where i can speak chinese all day and learn about the school!
Love you and miss you all!
Sarah