Happy birthday to me!

As if I need more excuses to shop and party here, Sunday was my birthday, and with all my friends and family on the other side of the planet it was entirely up to me to make my own fun. I had originally planned to go see the Dazu rock carvings, a UNESCO world heritage site and one of Chongqing's top tourist destinations, but after my sightseeing experience the other day I thought better of it. Instead I had a lovely shopping spree financed by various family members (many thanks to you) and bought myself some cute new clothes and hair accessories. I also succeeded in locating a western-style café and tasted my first cup of real coffee in almost a month - hard to find, confusing to order, and it cost me 30 Yuan, but it was a perfect cup of coffee. Totally worth it.

Later I went with the roommate and some friends for a somewhat surreal hotpot experience at a large franchise Hotpot restaurant. Halfway through dinner, some loud Chinese ballad started pouring from the speakers and the staff all assembled in the dining room to show their gratitude and respect for the customers with an excruciating dance routine. Afterward we had cake, cookies and bad Great Wall Cabernet from paper cups in the lobby of the foreign students’ dormitory, and then we checked out the Blue Bar, a crowded, beer-soaked little smoke pit just off campus that all the foreign students go to. I disobeyed any shouts of "ganbei" and went to bed with my dignity intact.

I got some pretty sweet loot, too. Along with the coffee and clothes I bought on my shopping spree, my roommate bought me a hat, and Paul gave me a couple of badass reproduction Cultural Revolution propaganda posters which I’ve been coveting forever. My awesome new friend Benson, who’s been helping me lots with my Chinese and teaching me calligraphy, made me a seal with my Chinese name inscribed on it. Overall, a very successful birthday was had!

Chinese lesson of the day:
祝你生日快乐！
Zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè!
Happy birthday! (lit. "wish you birthday happy")