Back to reality...
Happy belated new years everyone! Ah, back in NY and back into the grind. At least it's my last semester of law school and then I'll be done with school for good.
It's good to be back amongst familiar faces and surroundings once again. I just wish that vacation could have been longer. I spent the majority of my break in China with family and family friends. It's been so long since I've rang in the new year with friends, but I can't really complain... I still had a good time in Shanghai. If you ever head out to Shanghai, I have to recommend the sunday brunch at the Westin Hotel. They have the best variety and some of the best food I've had at a brunch before... they even had caviar and seared foie gras stations, a vodka bar and unlimited champagne refills.
Sure, it was pricey for China standards, but it's still a bargain compared to places I've been to out in the states.
There were quite a few memorable experiences during this trip out to the motherland, most notably the snow in Shanghai. Apparently, it hasn't snowed in Shanghai for over a decade and it made it's presence felt prior to the new year. We had taken a road trip out to this ancient town known as Xi Tang located about 2-hours outside of Shanghai. The town looked like something you'd see in a movie such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The town is a maze of canals and bridges, red lanterns hang from the buildings to light the waterway, and narrow alleys covered in old chinese graffiti criss-cross the town. The somber mood was punctuated by the dark grey skies and steadily falling snow. It was cold... very cold. On our way back from Xi Tang, the roads were covered in snow and ice formed on the roadways. Since it doesn't snow in that part of China very often, they neither salt nor plow the roads.
So there we were, on our way back to Shanghai when the driver suddenly lost control of the car and the car lurched towards the center divider... *crash* I told my brother to 'hold on' as the van spun 180 degrees across the road and the tires hit the curb on the opposite side of the road.
Luckily no other cars were following too closely behind or directly to the right of us or we would've been in some deep shiznit. The roads were a complete mess... big rigs blocked the roadways, mangled cars were scattered alongside the roads. I guess none of them had driven through snow before. At one point, the van got stuck on this overpass... the tires could not get traction. Some of us had to jump out of the van onto the ice-covered roadway to try and push the van. We ended up taking out the floor mats and placing them under the tires in order to get some more traction. We did this for about 200 yards up to the top of the overpass before we could get back into the van again... it was pretty dangerous since the car fishtailed from time to time. Suffice it to say, it was a friggin' long drive back to Shanghai.
That 2 hour drive became a 6-hour ordeal. Thank goodness noone got hurt.
My trip to Beijing was quite nice... I got to meet up with my big sis and her husband. She was looking quite pregnant when I left on Saturday and she's due any day now. I'll be an uncle sometime between this week and next week. It's kind of exciting to be inviting a new member into the family. Her name will be Avery... not the typical name for an asian kid.
I just think it's funny seeing my mom so excited about having her first grandchild. She seems to be happier than usual and I think her grandmotherly instincts are ready to burst out. Oh yeah, if you ever goto Beijing, you should try this one Taiwanese restaurant called Bellagio... they have some tasty food and great desserts. If you like thousand year old eggs and tofu... theirs is awesome. And yes... I eat that shit cuz it's tasty. (I can't believe they had a Fear Factor thing using those things... I could've won!) Just don't kiss me afterwards. Anyhow, it's good to be back in the States. While Chinese food can be quite tasty (especially Shanghainese food), there's something to be said about hearty American fare... now I need to find myself some good ol' American steak.
