Happy Birthday to me! (17.03.2012)

Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me-eee, happy birthday to meeeeeeeeeee!

 My birthday this year has been celebrated in a variety of different ways and it has certainly been one to remember!

It started with the monthly birthday party at school where the birthdays of march were celebrated together with cake and a game of pin the tail on the donkey. Embarrassing  photos were projected onto the big screen as 'Happy Birthday' was sung out in two different languages. I certainly won't forget my class laughing at the photos and shouting 'Happy Birthday teacher Jema' repeatedly.

Not usually being one to celebrate birthdays, this year I decided I wanted to have a day doing some things I haven't yet gotten around to doing here in Beijing. So the morning of he big day, I met with Allie and Alex, my friends and colleagues, who proceeded to sing happy birthday to me in a variety of different languages. I was given a new mini camera as a birthday gift, and of course those of you that know me and my love for photography, you will know how happy this thoughtful gift made me. So off we all went to the leo leo chi (bus 667), camera in hand, ready for a day of fun and laughter.

 Our original plan was to head to the Bell Tower, a must see tourist site in Beijing. However, after being outside for less than one hour, we were already frozen due to some freakishly cold weather and decided that the day needed more of an indoor theme to it! So, off we went, full of anticipation, to the 'Beijing Blue Zoo'.

Although not as big as the Beijing Aquarium, the Blue Zoo didn't disappoint. Full of creatures I had only previously seen in books and on TV we excitedly wondered round admiring the beautiful (and not so beautiful) sea life. There was fish, Jelly-fish, turtles (which made me realise just how big mine will become!) Mermaids (no really!) and even sharks! It was all so fascinating, but I have to admit that not all the life living there seemed that happy. The sharks were kept in rather small tanks, had 'unhappy fins' and showed signs of either fighting or mistreatment. But given my anxiety reagarding the Chinese's view on animal care things weren't as bad as I had anticipated.

After the Blue Zoo, we headed to Jashong, a big clothing market in Sanlitun, the famous foreigner area of Beijing. It was here we came for a foot scrub, pedicure and massage, a must try when in China! Having not really ever taken that great care of my feet, I was a little embarrassed to take off my shoes and let some random Chinese lady scrub off all the nasty. My poor foot lady was also ill was some form of cold and was sniffing away whilst scrubbing for a good hour... (I can assure you that the last thing you will want to do when you have a cold is scrub away at my feet, especially in the state they were in!)  A massage from a deaf Chinese man followed the foot scrub and I have to admit it wasn't so much relaxing but more of a rather painful experience. I left initially thinking I wouldn't be trying such a thing again but after a few steps on my newly transformed feet, I felt like I could walk on clouds! I highly recommend trying one should you ever have the opportunity!

Dinner and wine proceeded the foot treatment in Jashong, during which I took a moment to reflect upon how lucky I am to be here and have all that I do in my life. The 28th year is a funny one, (did I say 28th? I meant to say 20th...), your mortality because more apparent and you begin to see that life has a time limit. Creeping ever closer to the big 3 - 0 you also start to realise that you need to start achieving all those things you have talked about achieving and think about your future. It seems like only yesterday you were turning 21 with your whole life ahead of you... However, at 28, I can happily say that although I have lots I still want to do, I am achieving goals I have set, learning valuable lessons and making less mistakes than I used to. Life generally, is good.

After dinner, we headed to the Red Theatre for an evening of Kung Fu!

Of course when in China, at some point you have to make time see some form of Kung Fu show and we weren't disappointed with the performance at the Red Theatre.. The show itself was full of all the flips, turns, kicks, punches, swords, glits and glamour you expect from a Kung Fu show. I left beaming, enjoying not just the Kung Fu but the show itself (I miss London Theatre!). Of course I also decided after leaving that I should become a Kung Fu master whilst here in China and have added it to my 'China to do list' (I will keep you updated on my progress with that one...)

After relaxing glass of wine after the show it was time to make our way home. The weather had been incredibly cold all day (unusual for March) and not long after heading home we found ourselves in the middle of a snow storm! However, I barely noticed the cold (after all the wine) and could only smile as the city around us turned white. It has never snowed on my birthday before, it certainly has been one to remember... By the time a got home and into bed, I was full of smiles and very happy indeed. 

I may be getting older and closer to the dreaded 3-0 but as each year passes I become happier and wiser than the years before. I will look forward to many more years to come!

Happy Valley

Sometimes, life really is what you make it. No matter what country you are living in we are all in danger of falling into the dreaded routine of life. Wake up, go to work, come home, eat, sleep. This has been my life the past month or so, only in Chinese.  醒，工作，回家，吃，睡觉 . So this weekend my friends and decided to break this routine and start to do some of the many things we have been talking about doing for so long.  

My Saturday of course, started with work as usual but I took comfort in the fact that it will be my last working Saturday for the next few months. After work, I met Allie and Meinan (Mexican and Chinese friends) for a trip to the super market. Now a trip to the supermarket in the UK is usually considered an annoying necessity, but to a foreigner in China, it's usually full of surprises, you never really know what you are going to see. The market of choice today was one of the biggest I have ever seen which in China, usually means it's also the busiest!

After wondering for some time, Meinan finding some chicken feet to eat and Allie some yoghurt in a bag, we came across a 'pet' section. I say pet as it wasn't so much as a pet section but fish and turtles in the smallest of containers, hundreds of them! With Mani having left me the previous weekend, I was looking for a fish to keep me company at home and this was the perfect opportunity to tick this of the 'to do' list. I of course wanted to rescue them all and so in the end I came away with not just Phillip the fighting fish but also with Donatello and Rafeal the baby non mutant turtles. 

Now, I do some things without thinking sometimes and it could be said that this is one of those occasions, (after discovering they live to 40 years and can grow to 12"), however, no matter what happens, these turtles will now have a better life than sitting dying in the tiny pots they were previously in, weather I keep them or not.

Phillip the Fighting Fish

Donatello and Rafeal

After dropping off the shopping, we went back out to one of the many clothing markets in town. These markets are again, incredibly busy and you spend the majority of your time there saying no to the hundreds of sales staff shouting 'Hey lady, you want a bag?' (I actually stopped and gathered 5 of the sales staff together and explained that if they were to use the word 'Madam' instead of 'lady', they would get a much better response). But you can get some very cheap knock off clothes at these markets, depending on your bargaining skills (in China there is never a set price, even in shops you have to negotiate a good price). 

Shopping was followed by a Mexican dinner, much to Allies delight! The dinner I was not so fussed over but the chance to have a couple of glasses of real wine, that could not be missed and so a few glasses and some cocktails for the girls later, we left a little merry and in good spirits. A good end to a fun day out!

However, the real fun was to be had tomorrow! HAPPY VALLEY - Yippee!

Happy Valley is much like Thorpe park, but with an attempt to add a 'Disney' feel to it. (I don't think China know the meaning of the word 'copyright'). Being so close to the city it took less than one hour to find our way there and I have to say I wasn't disappointed when we arrived and stepped into the park, as we were greeted with some giant, scary looking rides!

I will never forget the first ride of the day. Meinan, having never been to a park such as this, let alone been on any of the rides, was nervous to say the least. Even myself, an experienced rolla-coaster junky still gets nervous on the first ride of the day and this ride wasn't an amateur event! Still, will threw Meinan straight into the deep end, as we were thrown upside down and in various circles for the next few minutes. For a first go Meinan, well she screamed 'Mamma' several times which for myself and Allie was fantastic, as we completely forgot how scary the ride was and were in tears with laughter! There after though Meinan backed out of none and we proceeded to go on every ride open (being winter still it was cold and so not very busy!)

There was one however, that both Allie and Meinan could not get themselves to go on and I myself did not find it appealing! But, I always think that when scared, you should face your fears and so on I went alone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DowSNAfRr0s&context=C4237d81ADvjVQa1PpcFOhEftBLloE_jLq1KE4IVVYID3d1q6FXfU=

Another factor making things that bit more intimidating was that all the instructions and safety information was in Chinese! So at times, we weren't so aware of any safety tips or general information we might of otherwise needed.. I guess that can be a good thing at times too...! One of the biggest and in my opinion, best, rides of the day was one called the 'Fast Rusher'. it started by throwing you from 0 - 80mph in about 3 seconds, similar to one in Thorpe Park. Only after, you then continue on to more roller-coaster of ups and downs, twists and turns. Ordinarily, I don't find these rides so bad, but without safety bars of the shoulders I felt more nervous than I otherwise would! Needless to say I screamed lot's, but, I did manage to lift my arms into the air and 'fly' for a short period!

We finished, with some 3D theatre, a combination of 3D effects and real life acting. Having not really grasped enough Chinese to have any clue what was going on, I enjoyed the visual and took some rest for half an hour. The sun was setting when we stepped back outside, and it was a beautiful sight and a lovely end to a fab weekend!

So if you are feeling the burn of the everyday routine, take a break from it and do something you have been talking about doing for a while... I can honestly say you will feel much more alive for it!