Dad, why did they build the Great Wall of China?

My friend sent me this, and I had to post it. Dazza, eat ya heart out!




(Click on the picture to make it bigger)

Syndication

On the weekend just passed, Candy, Mega, Yumin and I headed to a dnb party (drum'n bass - it's a style of music) and I've got some pictures to share! The party wasn't overly fabulous, but the music was great, the drinks relatively cheap and the bourbon a-plenty.

Another exciting thing to point out - this was our first time catching the brand new subway line - Line 5. If any of you have been to Beijing in recent years, you may know that there were 3 subway lines - 1, 2, and 13. Yes, Chinese people cannot count. Or they're just quite ahead of themselves. Well, finally we have our Line 5, and it is gorgeous! The inside of the station looks like a museum, it is clean and colourful and very modern. It's so nice, we didn't want to leave.











You may notice that Candy is absent from all the pictures - she is highly allergic to cameras.

Chh-chh-chh-chilly!

Just a quick message - it's cold. Really cold. It was meant to snow today, but it hasn't so far and I'm disappointed. It snowed a tad two days ago, but nothing spectacular. Most nights are below zero now, and during the day it struggles to get above 10. I have also learnt that it is near impossible to blow your nose when both your hands and your nose are numb - I may have broken my nose in the process, I'm not too sure.

That's about all the news I have really. My daily routine is so boring and monotonous now - wake up, class, lunch, return home, do homework, eat dinner, watch tv/movie, sleep. Except for weekends when all I do is sleep, eat and watch tv.

UPDATE - 65 days til I leave, 67 days til I'm eating a Banno Pub parma.

我通过了 (I passed!)

Yes, it shocks me as much as it shocks you! Considering the *cough* mammoth *cough* effort I put in in the lead-up to my exams, I was very surprised to find out this morning that I had passed every single class! Well, the only shock was my reading exam mark. Everybody found the exam harder than performing DIY surgery, and I was one of the lucky ones who just scraped through with a pass. Anyway, my results are as follows:

Normal class - 82
Oral - 83
Listening - 78
Reading - 67

For comparison, a 60 (out of 100) is the minimum mark to pass the course. And for further comparison, anything higher than 80 in Australia is a High Distinction. So I'd like to think that I received two HDs, one D (distinction) and a C (credit).

Needless to say, I think I'll be putting in a tad more effort for the final exams... I might even get the double figures in terms of hours spent studying!

And for those of you who miss me, I'll be back in Australia in exactly 70 days. Better start counting down!

76 days to go

Have I officially caught up on my blogging? I think/hope so! I guess I had better actually write something instead of just posting pictures, and let you know what I'm up to at the moment.

I'm just about half way through this semester - we have mid-semester exams next week which I should be studying for right now (but there's always tomorrow). I think I am finally beginning to like my teacher, or perhaps just hate him less, I'm not sure.

I have some more news to report.
- I successfully completed a Star Wars marathon (13 hours of telly was really a struggle, but I pulled through)... Next weekend we're doing either the Indiana Jones marathon, or the Bourne marathon, which at a measly three movies each will be a walk in the park compared to the six Star Wars episodes.
- (Something my parents may not be so proud of) I drank a whole bottle of bourbon in one sitting. My new classmate Olly (British) threw a hat party a few weekends ago, but I don't really remember much. Good times.
- I have been sick in the past week, so I've been cracking open the snake bile cough medicine. Yes, I even googled it - it is made from the bile of a poisonous cobra, and two random Chinese plants. It tastes and has the consistency of honey, and does the trick, so I'll be bringing a jar home. If you're game, you're more than welcome to try!
- My room has heating! This may not be big news, but for a while I was quite worried I would freeze to death in my room during the upcoming winter like my poor guinea pig. But in the last few days, they have definitely turned the heating on. Apparently the heating system is under the floor, because the tiles are very toasty to walk on. I only realised when I sat down on the floor to clean out the fridge.
- Which brings me to my next point. The weather is lovely! Maximum temperatures of around 10 - 15 at the moment, with the overnight temp occasionally dropping below 0. Also, the sky of late has been blue more often than not. Pity it wont stay like this for long. I wouldn't mind snow for Christmas though.
- Which brings me to my NEXT point (and I want sympathy here) - I have scheduled class all through the holiday period. Oh yes, that involves all the good days - Xmas Eve, Xmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Eve AND New Years Day. Almost everyone I know is already planning on skipping those days, but I cannot afford to miss too many more days thanks to already missing a few classes due to being ill, so I'll probably be the one student in class on those days.

I guess that's it. It's really getting down to the final weeks of my stay, and I've started a countdown on Facebook (a website like Myspace for those out of the loop). As of today, I have only 76 days left in Beijing! I can almost taste the Banno Pub parma!

桂林山水甲天下 - Guilin

I am finally catching up on my blog - it's only taken a few months. So, our next installment is Guilin - a relatively small town (1.3 million) in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. We were there during the hottest part of the year, so it was quite like spending 3 days in a sauna.

(Again, I apologise but my memory is a little foggy, so it's going to be mostly pictures - Dad did apparently keep a little journal, but it's not exactly nearby for me to use).

Fubo Hill - this was right outside our motel







Moon Hill





Two pagodas in the centre of town



Reed Flute Cave



We took an all-day tour to Yangshuo, a nearby town about an hour away by road, but we sailed up the Lijiang river. The first picture is the scene printed on the 20元 notes, which our very excitable tour guide kept reminding us.





Downtown Yangshuo



The grandaddy of all trees



Our little boat ride - with Dad doing the audience participation bit



Dad catching a strain of the Avian flu



More downtown Yangshuo