Award...WHY?!?

UPDATE: New videos!

Chinese Rap?

 

AND

Dramatic Chinese Singer doing Cartwheels?

AND

The Chinese Magician (Sorry about the poor quality)

Where'd all the doves come from???

So, I was sitting in our bedroom when Lars came home from school. He was talking on the phone but suddenly handed it to me. I said "Hi" hesitantly...and the voice on the other end asked, "Do you want to accept an award?" I thought it was a joke so I say sure:) The voice (our good friend Jonathan) said okay and to meet him on Monday at such and such a time and to bring a passport photo. Weird.

So due to the lack of details I figured this wasn't a big deal and didn't worry too much about it. But when we got "there" that's when the fun began. We weren't receiving the "award" that day but just registering to receive the award...

I'm in this room with two Chinese guys and Jonathan and they are all talking Chinese. And the big head hauncho Chinese guy is always trying to talk to me. Don't you get it? I no speak chinese. They're asking what my chinese name is and what characters they are....? And that this IS a big deal. The mayor of Nanjing will be there and cameras and news reporters. Oh, and they want you to give a speech...in Chinese. (!)

I'm sure you're thinking what I thought: What kind of award would Spring deserve? 

Supposedly it is a Service Award. A group of Flagship participants go to an elementary school every Wednesday to teach english for 45 minutes. I usually go and do the easy stuff like holding up a pen and saying, "Pen." That's it. Because the kids we teach are in 3rd grade and don't know very much english yet they need lots of Chinese to help them along. Not my forte.

So what am I left to think except that they don't really care about the service rendered as long as they can show-off a foreigner. (Stupid blond hair.) 

Oh well, so we went:

The MC's

Dance #1

This guy seriously read straight from a packet of papers for 20 minutes, in Chinese. 

Singer

Bet you can't pick out the foreigners...

Haha, I thought this pic looked cool all old-like.

and you can see my speech in my hand...

even though I didn't have to give it:)

Listen to the music in the background...

... It's SO Chinese:)

The award up close.

Other awards distributed that night...

I'm just glad we got the smallest ones:) How the heck would I get a flag back to America?

This guy was awesome! So serious:)

Dance #4, you may wonder what happened to dances 2 and 3...until we figure out if we want to pay to be able to load more photos on this blog you'll just have to imagine them - Oh and the magician!!! Hehehe:)

Overall it was a very enjoyable experience.

(Then there was the cold dead fish handshake I received with my award...ugh:)

-Spring

Crabs!!!!!!!

It was recently brought to my attention that Nanjing was featured in the Colbert Report.  Here is the link to educate yourself:

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/365066/november-09-2010/craziest-f--king-thing-i-ve-ever-heard---crab-vending-machines?xrs=share_fb

Crab Vending Machines!

So, this last weekend we decided to go find these mythical vending machines!  It took a little while but we were able to accomplish our goal.

 

The Chinese are as interested as we are.

As you can see, they are a hot item!  All the biggest, 50 yuan crabs are sold out.  So there you have it, proof that you can put crabs in a vending machine.  The saddest part of this is that I have become so accustomed to China that this doesn't seem that strange to me.

-Lars

Xuanwu Lake: in the off-season:(

The Chinese and their Gates:)

When we first got inside we thought about renting a boat to paddle around the lake in but decided against it due to time restrictions. And it was an ugly day for it.

(Oh yeah, another couple matching BTW)

Laohu? 

What happens when you bind and nurture the tree. It is pretty...

When you don't bind and nurture the tree, ugly and deformed. Food for thought:)

Children...? Nah.

The Chinese really knowhow to strike a pose:) I'm jealous!

Cool statue/fountain.

They say that a black dragon was seen in this lake...!

I was pretty curious what the white "X" painted on the door meant:(

This was a GORGEOUS structure! I wouldn't mind having bridal pics taken next to it:)

Cool how the needles seen to grow up or look like it.

Cool twisty balloons:)

You may be thinking...okay so where are the pictures of the lake...? Yeah, there aren't any. I'm hoping we will be able to go again in better weather and season. 

Spring

Zhonghuamen (or the "I better Blog before Lars takes the laptop to school again" :)

Zhonghuamen is the section of the ancient Nanjing city wall that is kept in repair (meaning they can charge crazy prices to allow you in and on.)  

"Zhonghua Men is the most famous and most fortified gate of the wall.  It was constructed with 1000kg vertically sliding doors and contained 27 vaults that could hold thousands of soldiers.  The idea was that if an enemy entered, the doors could be slammed shut. The enemy, trapped inside, would then be ambushed by soldiers inside.  Enemy armies avoided this super-fortified gate in favour of attacking Nanjing via weaker points along the wall."

I know it doesn't look like much on the outside.

Going inside

First thing we see, a shooting range! Bow and Arrow Style:)

Spring Fun Fact: Spring used to have her very own compound bow and would shoot with her Dad all the time:)

So we had a little competition...

Spring won:P 

Entrance to the Bonsai Paradise:) from our last "blog"

Chinese written on the bricks under our feet?

Top of Bonsai Paradise

Lars almost broke his back trying to lift this "canon ball" Tough Stuff:)

Lars and Drew taking a romantic stroll on the wall...

Uh oh, they caught me spying on them:)

It was so funny! This girl comes up to the wall, looks over the wall and then starts jumping up and down screaming something...Yeah, I don't know either...

Howdy Pardners! They were pretty sweet hats though.

Wish I had my bike:(

Climbing back down the wall

The Guards were kind of creepy.

Way to put them on cement bricks to make them look taller than they are:)

"Nanjing City Wall, constructed during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties between 1365 and 1386, originally stretched over 30km which made it the longest city wall in the world.  Now, with about two thirds of the wall still intact it still remains the longest city wall in China.  It reaches all the way from the North end of Xuanwu Lake to the south-west corner of Purple Mountain.  It snakes along the edge of Qinhuai River and heads back north all the way up to Yuejiang Tower (阅江楼)."

 I like to think that this is just a hint of what the Great Wall of China will be like when we visit Beijing:) Exciting!

Spring