#370 - End of hiatus

Hello hello :)
I am back to blogging!!! Got back 2 days ago but just wanted to recuperate at home and be a hermit for the next two weeks ....luckily I went out today!
Thank you to all the dear people who showed up and made an effort.
Thank you to everyone who wrote the sweetest birthday cards.
Thank you to A & R and everyone else who organised.
Thanks to everyone for creating a fun day out for a social butterfly (thanks Bitter^^ for the term)! 
Today was a lovely surprise I (and my dear W) wouldn't forget in a very long time :) 

Catching up with people you feel really comfortable around, and reading the sweetest birthday cards detailing the most intimate and quirky moments of your friendship really makes one elated that one of the best and simplest things life has to offer - people caring about you - is something that is attainable, free and just requests you to be yourself! I vow to keep all those I treasure close, and put effort into whatever friendships I have now and the future ones I will pursue. (Luckily I've made a renewed start! :P) What I do know is that whenever I am feeling down in the dumps, I will always go back to those handwritten and precious cards, for I know that they will certainly lift my spirits up.


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Now that was deep and meaningful. Haha :)
Okay an update of my ["exciting"] time overseas, continuing from last post:
- I realised I love my aunt on my dad's side very much (my fave aunty) and wanted badly to communicate with her, but alas! there was a language barrier of different dialects and my barely existent Mandarin. Now I want, and need  to master Chinese.
- I helped French tourists order food!!!! =D
- I saw real snow!! SH snowed lightly, and it was soooo cold - I won't ever call Australian winters cold again. Nevertheless....I was delighted :)
- Books are paid for according to weight in some shops
- Went to Shanghai Ocean Aquarium & Era of Time (an acrobatic show): AWESOME, especially the latter. Must see - I only paid $16 for a back seat, and it was a fabulous show!
- Visited Zhouzhuang (an ancient water town) and Hangzhou through a tour guide - tour guides are shit in China - they take you to places where the salespeople badger you buy their wares and goods.
- Went on a bullet train from SH to Suzhou to go pay my respects at my paternal grandparents' grave...and witnessed my dad crying :( Made me sad too...I wished I knew them.   
- Am seriously not digging the way that every time I sit down for a meal, my Canton relatives call me stupid or idiot who doesn't know how to eat well, and compare me to my cousins who are so smart at eating simply because I do not enjoy eating everything they like - abalone, shark fin soup, pigeon, pig feet, water turtle, duck liver, and other "fabulously exotic animal products". Different taste, alright? Back off. 
- Money can't buy class. The way in which people dress, behave and act in society are a testament to my statement. It's unbelievable. 
- Yes yes, I'm a gwai mui - now get over it!! That's the way I was raised, culturally and socially, and I'm damn glad I am one since I can see both ends of the spectrum.    
- Adapted extremely well to uncensored internet. Meh, I can live without FB, YouTube (haven't used / accessed and for 1 month and counting! woohoo!) and other social mediums just fine :) Just can't get over my infatuation with blogger though - so glad I can read blogs again! 

- CNY is a big deal in GZ. Fireworks, fire crackers, pinwheels (blowing away last year's bad luck) and people holding flowers (means you're looking for a hubby...haha) are all abundant. Tangerines, red money pockets, even number of dishes, and kowtowing to a shrine are also expected. It was an interesting experience... overall