We got up early Monday morning to make it to an American bar here called Malone’s to watch the Superbowl. It’s the first time since we’ve been here that we could hear English all around us! It was actually kind of strange…. I also noticed what a distinctive look Americans have. I can’t really put it into words, but there’s just something about Americans that stands out.
This Friday is Chinese New Years Eve and we’ve been invited to a friend’s house to celebrate. It’s the same house we spent Thanksgiving at when we visited Shanghai in November. We’ve been told to come prepared for lots of drinking and gambling, so I plan on doing some practice online Mahjong before then. On 2/14 we’re headed to Shijiazhuang, a city 2 hours south of Beijing by train. One of my friends will be there visiting her family and we are really looking forward to spending a couple of days with them. Most of the people we know here are Chinese Americans, so it will be a special treat to spend time with China Chinese. 
After a couple days there we will head up to Beijing for a few days. It’s going to be pretty cold, but it will be nice to see Beijing and compare it to Shanghai.
I’m anxious to check out the more rural areas of China, but I think spring will be a better time for that. It’s a bit cold now for that kind of travel.
Speaking of weather– the last few days we’ve had an unexpected bout of warm temperatures. The high yesterday was 72 degrees! It was raining, but I didn’t care…. it felt so good to be warm. It’s supposed to get cold again starting tomorrow, but boy was the warmer weather appreciated. Especially since we’re headed north soon. bbbrrrrrrrr!!
Thanks for all your comments. We love hearing from all of you!
Tags: Beijing, Chinese New Year, Shijiazhuang, Superbowl
Was it like watching USC trounce ND while we visited you in the Big Apple? That was a fun family trip. Any idea of the # of Americans or English speakers living in Shanghai?
Enjoying the blog entries Keep it up. We’re all curiouser & curiouser.
We made it to the vanilla bean farm today. I have close to a lifetime supply of vanilla extract (have to make it myself, but the bean will flavor a loooooooong time)
Seen any good gongs in your area? There’s a really nice one with a koa frame/holder at the gallery in Kawaihae Harbor. Great gong sound!
aloha,
roger
So, did your team win?
We have been out of town and I am catching up on your blog. You definitely have a book going here. There as an article in the LA times last summer about how the Chinese visit Ikea like we visit Disneyland. They would bring family and friends with picnic lunches/dinners to spend the entire day at Ikea. The main attraction during the summer is the air condition and the abundance of beds and sofas to nap. Happy Valentine’s Day and Gung Hay Fat Choy (or as Mel would say: “Go Home Fat Boy”)
Did the super bowl broadcast have chinese subtitles?
Gung Hay Fat Choy ! Don’t forget to take your camera.
There weren’t Chinese subtitles, but there also weren’t any American ads! That was the big disappointment for me…
Your apt is very nice even with a few problems but also a nice view.
I’ve always been afraid of using matches to light a stove as well. Brings back memories.
Pics of food looks promising.
Nice that you have friends there.
I’m looking forward to hearing about your New Years celebrations and especially your travels.
Nice pic of Rob.
The waiter that always recognizes us at Waikoloa dim sum is from Beijing. He said Shanghai is much cleaner than Beijing. Was that the case when you visited? One of the other servers is from Shanghai.
We made a reservation for Feb. 14 for dinner. The hostess told me they would have __________ for CNY. I asked if it was vegitarian. Of course, it was, but I wasn’t sure what it was going to be. It was not offered as a special when we ate there on Sunday, our anniversary too. There were no specials offered. The schezwan shrimp had quite a punch. I gave Dad the last one as I was afraid my tummy might rebel against the heat. Dad had taken a pepcid–akamai (smart) aloha, momster