Shanghai Day 1

This is the short story of my weekend trip to Shanghai. It was a really amazing experience because I got to travel completely ALONE for the first time in my life... and I survived! haha. Backtracking a little - I was sent to China for a conference/workshop (for work purposes) so I can finally say that I'm one of those sketchy people who go on "business trips"... haha. But really, I had a great time and I want to show you all pictures... get ready for image overload!!!

So after school, I rushed like a madwoman to the airport to make sure I caught my flight. But when I got there I still had time to eat some fries at Popeye's.

 Once I got through customs, there was still time to spare so I found a ZARA...

...and tried on bird clothes. I didn't buy that but being a dork I took a picture for ART INSPIRATION purposes.

The happiest moment OF MY LIFE (okay, I exaggerate) was on the plane when they served us ICE-CREAM!!!!!!!! The man beside me didn't want his and I was so SHOCKED that someone would decline ICE-CREAM that I was too busy gasping to ask if I could have his share. hahaha.

When I got to the Shanghai Airport, it was eerily deserted.

Now I don't know any Mandarin, so before the trip I got my coworkers to write down all the names of the places I needed to get to (hotel, conference, etc.)... and then during my entire trip I would just hop into a taxi and point at my pieces of paper hoping that I'd arrive at my intended destination. My taxi rides were usually around 30 minutes long so it was like half an hour of me sitting in the backseat in awkward silence with no way of verbal communication with the driver. But I didn't get scammed, so that's a bonus! 

Below is my hotel room which had a surprisingly high ceiling...

clean white toilets (yes... I took a picture to show you all how clean it was)...

...and a huge GLASS SHOWER, which I thought was hilarious because the door to the shower was the same door as the one that locks the bathroom... so basically if you use the shower and you're sharing the room with someone, your roommate can see everything that's going on... all the walls of the bathroom were glass. Awkward invasion of privacy...

Also, the hotel lobby had a painting I really liked. I wish I could paint like that!!!

Anyhow, the next day I was heading to my conference when I saw this weird sign, which really confused me.

I also walked along the longest pedestrian crosswalk ever (and didn't get run over!) Hey, I am not joking when I say that is a HUGE possibility in China...

There are no such things as traffic rules in Shanghai. As a pedestrian, you just kind of start walking onto the street and hope that you don't get hit, and as a driver/cyclist, you skillfully maneuver around every other driver/cyclist. The picture below looks like there's a dozen accidents waiting to happen, but in China it's a skill to be able to drive like a crazy and get away with it.

Many people have bikes or scooters. I always saw rows of bikes lined up along the street.

On my first night of sight-seeing, I went to a place called Tianzifang/Taikang Lu near Madang Rd. Station. It's a quirky little area with a whole bunch of dark alleyways (yes, alleyways!). There's all these little shops and cafes... it's really cute. It was at that moment that I decided to start collecting as many pictures of shady Shanghai alleyways as possible. Here are some for your viewing pleasure...

My favourite is THIS ONE below because I took it with no clue what the huge red words (on the left) said. But I really liked this particular alleyway so I took a whole bunch of pictures and vowed that when I went back to Hong Kong, I would ask one of my friends to translate the words for me.

 Well, when I finally got the chance to ask someone they told me the translation was: 

"THIS IS A RESIDENTIAL AREA. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE PHOTOS"

.... HA! Whoops.

Anyway, in these alleyways they sold little trinkets like these dangly fish decorations...

...while other little restaurants showcased things like crazily-carved fruits and vegetables...

...and still others sold the creepiest row of dolls in the world.

This is one of my favourite shops that I saw... if only for the store name.

I met an awesome bunch of people from the conference so we went to eat Thai food and then ended off the night at this little lounge... I think it's one of the few places in Shanghai that allows live bands to perform. 

So that's a picture update of my first full day in China! Day 2's adventures are full of gorgeous views so I'll get   to uploading that right now because I'm excited to show you! =) 

my birthday weekend

This weekend, I celebrated my first birthday ever away from home. My birthday was on Friday, which is always my busiest work day, so honestly I was just trying to survive and go home to rest. But my birthday weekend turned out to be awesome after all, thanks to my wonderful coworkers, relatives, and people back home.

My coworkers surprised me with a huge mango cake at the office...

...which I consumed wholeheartedly. (I wasn't sure if my friend wanted his face featured on my blog so I gave him a new and improved face lift).

Some of my other friends at work gave me this AWESOME present... they decorated the cover of an art sketchbook (which I will definitely use during moments of boredom). I LOVE IT.

Haha... We've only known each other for a month but they already know my quirks and obsessions (floral prints, random birds, and BURGERSSSSS)...

I love this drawing so much! It so accurately illustrates my continual quest for the perfect burger.

After work, we went to eat ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT SUSHI where they had fancy sashimi served with dry ice?! 

I also got some gifts from people back home... my mom sent me some Canadian leaves...HAHA!

And Randy sent me some Canucks pride (I totally laughed at the random man)...

Then on Saturday, my relatives in Hong Kong took me out for some amazingggg Thai food! I ordered this DUCK DISH just because it was a duck (it's curry in a duck bowl with a baked piece of bread on top). But actually it was REALLY GOOD. So good that I drank the curry sauce as soup... (I tend to do that a lot actually)...

...and my cousin bought me a whole box of MAGIC MACAROONS which were DELICIOUS. 

Oh and this is unrelated to all the birthday things but today (Sunday) during lunch I ate the biggest pizza I've ever seen.

Um... just LOOK AT IT. It doesn't even fit on the table. Look at the pizza dish in relation to the regular-sized plate. Yes... it's a monstrosity indeed. And it was marvelous.

Okay so right now as I'm looking at all these pictures, I just realized that this weekend I had birthday cake, all you can eat sushi, a huge Thai feast, five macaroons (yes I ate them all in one day) and the biggest pizza in the world. People don't call me fatso for nothing. =P

the story of how i got LEFT BEHIND.

Greetings dear friends. This is a long overdue post explaining my extended absence in Canada (if anyone cared to notice haha). It’s been exactly two months since I landed here in Asia for an intended one month vacation, and yet I’m still here sweating away in Hong Kong’s 24/7 hot-yoga-workout weather. And I will be here for the next year. This is the summarized version of how I got LEFT BEHIND in Hong Kong.

The story began while I was on vacation with my family (supposedly from mid-July to mid-August). But somewhere amidst all our holiday escapades, I was given an opportunity to apply as an English teacher at a school in Hong Kong. After much thought, prayer and stress-induced acne, I decided to take the risk, extend my plane ticket and stay in Hong Kong to go through the interview process while my family flew back to Canada. So it turned out that while five of us went on vacation, only four came back. Evidently, these family vacations can be dangerous things.

After all the interviews, I was officially hired and thus is the story of the most random occurrence of my life, to date. The decision though was not random because I honestly knew that God was calling me to stay here for a year to improve my teaching, learn how to be an INDEPENDENT WOMAN (cue in Destiny’s Child hit single) and hopefully become a less awkward/somewhat socially acceptable member of society. Everything during this time was a hectic blur of events blended with a whole stew of bipolar emotions and honestly it was a crazy time for me. The day after I got hired, I attended my first staff meeting, started work right away, and since then it’s been insanity in both good and bad ways. I’m learning to cope with so many aspects of my new life (ie. a new career, culture shock, and constant creepers, just to name a few). But amidst all the new changes, I’m learning to wake up with purpose every day, knowing God will take care of me in His unpredictable ways (ha, forced rhyme).

I miss everyone in Canada but right now I do feel like I’m having the adventure of a lifetime. I think it’s kind of funny because I started this blog with the intention of it being more of a way to share my art, but it’s starting to turn into a means of sharing my life with all of you back home (and the occasional random lurkers who happen to stumble upon this and are welcome to continue stalking). So here’s to a new chapter of my life (oh man, cliché overload) and as quoted from the awesome movie UP, “ADVENTURE IS OUT THEREEEEE!!!” (you know I’m lacking in sleep when the sentences I write start making you shake your head and back away slowly).

Another little moment I wanted to share with you is from a day trip to Stanley - a little slice of Hong Kong nature that is absolutely gorgeous. There's an amazing ocean view with huge rocks and greenery all around. That day was significant for me because I remember that when I was standing on top of that giant rock, it suddenly dawned on me that I might be staying in Hong Kong alone for a long period of time. It was a little daunting to be faced with such unfamiliarity but I also felt excitement about THE UNKNOWN.

I know in the months ahead there will be some days where I will feel like I'M THE KING OF THE WORLDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (unnecessary Titanic reference)...

...and on other days I'll be longing to return to a place of comfort and security.

But I hope that through this overseas experience I'll be able to stand tall and keep on smiling through it all.

I'm stepping out on my own and taking on the challenge of living in a foreign country...

...and I hope that all of you wonderful people back home will send me lots of Vancouver food through the mail because I am massively craving some good sushi rolls and an obese burger. 

Anyway, this is the longest blog post I have ever written but I thought it was necessary to at least say hello and tell you that I’m alive and surviving. So that's my story...although I did contemplate telling you all some far-fetched story of how my parents secretly wanted to get rid of me so they booked me a one-way ticket and left me in some shady Hong Kong alleyway... come to think of it, that's actually not that far-fetched. haha but really... they think it's a good experience for me and my mom joked that even though now I'm 100000000 miles away, we actually communicate more often than when I lived in the next room. Anyway, I know poor Randy has had to explain my sudden disappearance to people so hopefully this long ramble will clarify my whereabouts. I know I didn't even get to say goodbye to any of you, but I shall resurface one of these days when you least expect it... until then, watch out for large, suspicious garbage bags on your doorstep or human-sized boxes on your lawn.

Miss you all!

Laura

i made another birdie

One fine day, I found a little store selling fabric so I bought some dusty rose and cream floral prints because I was determined to be crafty and make something random. Then I went and bought some felt fabric in brown, light/dark green, and tan. Later that day, I plopped myself down on the couch and sewed for an hour to make a long twisted garland of leaves and a cloth birdie. 

sidenote: the eggs were just for decoration and were consumed shortly afterwards.

vintage chalkboard frames

I've been wanting to try this idea for ages (and have yet to try)... but I wanted to share it with you all. This DIY project is SO SIMPLE but the result looks amazing! Basically, all you need is an elegant frame that catches your eye, and some chalkboard paint that you can go out and buy! (okay, obviously tried way too hard with that rhyme, but anyways, let's move on and just look at the pretty pictures that I found on Google, shall we?)

The middle picture is from b*spoke blog. If you want all the details on how to make a chalkboard frame, click here! I actually don't particularly like chalkboards (bad connotations of long screeching nails) but if I had my own home I would find myself one of these giant frames or get carried away and paint a whole wall with chalkboard paint. =)