Shenme?

So... this past weekend. It was pretty cool, I must say.

On Friday I released my Secretary's early (we had finished final exams) and rushed to the train station so that I could arrive in Nanchang at 5:30pm in order to see Jane Goodall speak. Nathan met me at the station and we took off for the hotel where she was giving her presentation.
The hotel was gorgeous and large. We found some of our friends sitting at one of the tables and decided to join them. In the middle of the room was a large vegetarian buffet which looked delicious. Due to traffic, the event was delayed and ended up starting about an hour later than planned.
After a majority of the crowd had arrived, we each got our turn at the buffet. Jane, of course, went first, then the rest of the tables. The food was smashing. The curry, garlic bread, cheesy cauliflower, and spaghetti were my favorites. I could definitely be happy eating like that everyday. After munching for awhile, Jane stood up to speak. It was a pretty good speech. She talked about her time with the chimps, her childhood, and how we need to work together to save our planet. I'll upload some videos later although I'm not sure how the sound quality will be, it was rather hard to hear her at times.
After her speech, Nathan and I bought some souvenirs for her to sign. I bought two of her books, translated into Chinese (they ran out of the English copies) and had her sign one for Hayley and one for me. I took a couple pictures with her, but the one where I'm looking at the camera is so awful I refuse to show it.

We were pretty wiped after the speech so we headed back to Nathan's place to get a good night's rest.

The next day I had to work at the wine tasting/promotion from 3-8pm. Nathan and I had some noodles for lunch before heading into town and finding the Rainbow Mall. I met Steven, the manager, there and he put me to work right away. Nathan stuck around for most of the event, sampling the wine. I had to pour wine for the customers who came in to sample it, clean glasses, and do a lot of standing. It reminded me of my days at the Marriott. I ended up drinking quite a bit of the wine myself. Pretty delicious.
After five rather long hours, I was free to go. I bid my new friends farewell and Nathan and I headed off to a French bistro to meet FeiFei, Nik, Pearl, and Simon for dinner. Everything at the bistro was half off and we feasted. I enjoyed a nice spaghetti and some amazing bruschetta. I should have had dessert as well, but alas, I was too full.
After dinner we went to a jazz bar with the group, but the jazz music was over and it was karaoke time instead. They sang some pretty depressing songs, and I wasn't feeling it, so we headed home.

On Sunday I had work again. Nathan and I headed into Nanchang early so that we could get some sushi at a restaurant near the Rainbow mall. It was tasty and I hope we go back there again.

Nathan dropped me at the Rainbow mall with my bags, bid me farewell, and went off to do his Christmas shopping. I did the same old, pouring drinks, drinking drinks, and chatting with the others at the wine tasting booth. Steven, the manager, took me to dinner at a Korean restaurant. We ordered a very spicy rice and some chicken which they cooked in front of us. I was worried I would get sick from it all, but I'm doing just fine surprisingly.
After my mandatory five hours I bid them adieu, was presented with some cash and a 400rmb bottle of wine, and went on my way. I grabbed a cab to the train station, was dropped off up the road from the station (the cabs are only allowed up to a certain point on the road going to the station) was given directions by the cabby, and headed off. It was incredibly cold outside, but my bags and red wine glow kept me warm.
I had about an hour to wait for the train, which was then further delayed another 25 minutes. This left me plenty of time to chat with the locals in our quasi-Chinese-English way that we do. I actually had pretty decent conversations with some of the people there, and we found ways around the words that I didn't know.
I arrived in Jiujiang to light snow at 11:45pm. David was my knight in shining car, and picked me up from the station, dropping me off at the door to my hotel.

Today was fairly dull. Jennifer and I went to Nana (a store) to see if I could find some sneakers in my size, but no luck. On our way to the store we saw a toddler get hit by a high school kid on a bike. It was frightening. Jennifer scooped up the little girl and we were surrounded by parents, although none who claimed the little girl. Poor thing was in tears and it took a few minutes before someone came to claim her. Luckily the kids here wear about 8 layers in the winter time, so she was well padded but will probably be a little bruised.

Today was my last secretary class. We watched High School Musical 2. Wow... longest two hours of my life. The freezing cold, can see your breath, classroom didn't help.

Tomorrow.... who knows? I've got to finish up grades, do a little shopping, but that's about it. I'll probably clean my apartment and start packing for Nanchang again.



I forgot how addicting these peanut m&ms are...
This is my Christmas tree. Isn't it beautiful?