Halloween or Christmas?

I understand that the Christmas holiday is still a little new and foreign for the Chinese people, but I think they are a little confused.  When I went to the market on Christmas Eve I saw something that more resembled Halloween then Christmas...

This mother was pushing her child around the grocery store wearing slippers and bunny pajamas with a hood featuring ears and all.

The girls that worked there were also wearing costumes matching whatever product they were advertising.  Here is the Nescafe girl.

The Lipton Tea girl

The Ramin Noodles duo

The Hershey's Kiss girl (there was also a Dove Chocolate girl, but she had to go do something before I could get over for a picture.)

Finally, the Cupid "I Do" engagement ring guy/girl.  Nothing resembling what I think to be Christmas.  However, Later that night I finally found...

Santa!!!

The 5th Austin Holiday RPS Tourney

I missed my families 5th Annual Holiday RPS Tournement this year.  You should read all about it though on my sister Bekah's blog here

Christmas, Pandas, and More Bizarre Sightings

Well the Christmas season is in full throttle and the holiday has made it's way to China.  My friends that have been here for a few years tell me that they've seen it more this year than ever before.  It appears that the local businesses have seen the opportunity that exists to milk the holiday for a little money and they are taking advantage of it.  Santas, trees, and Santa hats started appearing around town starting  before Thanksgiving week. 

Being over 8,000 miles from home this year will certainly provide a new experience, and I'm excited about it.  With less than a week left in country I'm looking forward to spending the day with some of the great friends I have made during my time over here.  I will also be celebrating this Christmas closer to where it all started than ever before.  The season has also presented an incredible amount of opportunites to share about the orgin of the celebration.

This creepy statue has been standing in our grocery store the last few weeks.  It appears that they don't have an Asian Santa Claus yet.

This post is a little disjointed and should probably be split into multiple posts again, but oh well.  I have a few more interesting signs to share.

I love this sign for multiple reason  1) because wildlife is definitely food with fruit, vegatables, and animals, and 2) because this sign was placed infront of a bush...Have they really had many occurances where people have stopped to snack on their bushes?

This sign was in front of one of the panda exibit, so it really doesn't need any explaining.  I just like the language usage and want one for my apartment.

This picture is of a height chart that was posted on a mirror at a clothing store nearby.  I love that it only goes up to 164 cm (for those of you that haven't been using the metric system lately, that's right about 5'5", I'm 193 cm).

I couldn't help but stare at his guy for a while...(luckily staring over here is completely socially acceptable) he stood in front of the TV taking pictures for about five or ten minutes.  What was on the TV?  Panda Bears.  That would not been so unusual if there weren't dozens of live Pandas just outside the door...

Some of the baby Pandas being caried around like children

A Red Panda, which looked more like a fox than a Panda

I will finish with my new favorite sign.  1 Yuan ice cream cones at Ikea (that's about 15 cents USD and they were typical size).  Unfortunately, I didn't discover these till my last week.

I will be leaving China next Thursday and spend a few days in Taiwain before heading Stateside.

I'm a Sign Reader

One of my favorite activities over here is reading signs that have been translated into English.  I have yet again been taking numerous pictures to compile into a post and couldn't locate a couple really good ones.  There were also some that caught me without my camera.  However, I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

This one is a little scary to read while walking past a large mountain.  The fact that it says "that flying stone" makes you look quickly to find the one it is referring to...then "note" it as it impacts your skull.

This is a pretty minor mistake, and if it was found on a single sign it wouldn't be worth noting.  However, this mistake was made on nearly every road sign I saw in numerous cities.  I saw 2st, 3nd, etc etc.  I found it to be funny because it wasn't just some mom and pop business, but the government that made the mistake.

This sign has been posted on my blog before, but it's my favorite!

This is a another favorite of mine.  I have found these above multiple urinals in men's bathrooms.  I just get really encouraged and believe in myself so much more with that little panda bear cheering me on.

This is a good one!  The greatest parts being "when" the fire occurs, not if.  I'm guess it is a regular occurrence at this establishment, which makes sense since probably 80% of Chinese.  At least in my part of China.  The other thing I love about this sign is that it appears Yoda from Star Wars wrote it. 

National Park Visit

This post will just be another photo dump.  I recently returned from my last trip into the mountains and at the end of the trip a group of us went by a world famous national park located in the area.  It is definitely in my top 5 of most beautiful places I have ever been.  No camera could really capture this scenery, but my camera was especially inadequate.  I hope you enjoy anyways!

We had to climb over multiple fences as they blocked off the majority of the park for the winter.  It only added to the adventure.

 

The park had the clearest water I have ever seen.

Double Takes

Since arriving in China, double takes have become a daily occurrence.  I constantly find myself seeing things at a glimpse and thinking, "That couldn't have been, they couldn't have been, or no way" then taking a double take.  I honestly believe I could have a separate blog site all together just devoted to the t-shirts I see people wearing.  Nearly all of the clothes are in English, and people have no idea what they mean.  It is pretty normal to see guys displaying "Girls Rock" shirts or old ladies displaying Playboy bunny ears.  However, bizarre t-shirt choices are nothing compared to some of the random things I see on a daily bases.

Like trees with IV bags...

I'll give you a closer look.  That is a tree with some kind of IV bag attached a tube and needle stuck into the trunk...

This was a little unusual...all of my meat the other day at lunch was in the shape of South Carolina.  Not one piece, like all ten.

This picture displays bizarre moments that my roommate and I classify as "Oh China" moments.  It is kind of the equivalent to "Bless her heart" used in the Southeast US.  This is a PAPER sign stuck to a painted bench.  What does the sign say?  "Wet paint, don't touch"...yep...didn't think that one through.  I saw a nearby bench where they tried to remove the sign...the only paper that came off was that not touching the wood.  (Not to mention this bench went from natural wood to bright yellow)

Another quick example of an "Oh China" moment would be that they just painted the trunks of all the trees on my street with white paint...why?  Jobs.  (Believe me there is much more, but I will move on.)

(Unfortunately, I couldn't find most of the pictures I have collected over time for this post. So I will have to share more at a later date when I find them.)

This was probably my most recent double take.  I went out to get Chinese food with a local friend two nights ago and this is what they put before me...steak, pasta, and eggs...it was delicious, don't get me wrong.  Just not EXACTLY what I expected.  My friend actually wasn't satisfied with me cleaning my plate and ordered me a second round.  Ha ha, I love these people.