Acu......TORTURE!!!!

Tell me how it is, that I get myself talked into these crazy things! I guess when I heard the words "lose 3 kilos" everything went fuzzy after that......kinda like when you say "boobies" to a man! ( or beer.....or beer and boobies) Anyway........... We had spent a wonderful afternoon with our Finnish friends, lunch followed by a 2 hr foot and body massage. As we are getting ready to leave our massage we are discussing the plans that the "Fins" had to go for acupuncture,  they suggest we tag along and try it out. Ok cool......again I hear.....weight loss and to a girl with some chub, I have to tell you it's pretty damn exciting!

So we head to the acupuncture place a very beautiful, warm and inviting atmosphere. We take our shoes off and sit at a table and they bring us a cup of tea.  And then we go in........Our friend is having some acupuncture on his back, Deane is having some on his foot ( for pain). And then there's me, as I lie on the table with my shirt pulled up I repeatedly say in my terribly broken Chinese.....bu yao tong! (Translation)  NO WANT PAIN!!!! lol.......Oh he assured me there would be no pain. Then he started applying the needles, which I have to tell ya, felt as though he was throwing darts at my stomach.....18 needles later.....Ok I know the needles are small, but shut up, you try sticking them in your belly!!!! I would so not make a good junkie!

OHHHH it gets better!!!! They hook up what looks like little jumper cables for a car battery to the needles ( which I would like to remind you are still in my flesh) and turn on the electricity. So now that I have made it past the pain of the "darts" thrown in my stomach, I now feel like a piece of fabric in a sewing machine. The needles are not moving but it feels like it.

So now that I am numb with fear and pain.......Dr comes in and turns up the machine!!!!  Seriously!.....NOT COOL! All the while my wonderful "Fin" is happily snapping pictures of my big flabby white belly! So as a kind gesture to all of you I put all of the pictures in black and white to tone down the starkness of the belly. However I'm sorry I can do nothing about the size or the sexy stretch marks. I mean photo shop is good, but not that good!  I only do all this so all of you can experience all the things China has to offer.......through my eyes!

The Machine

Foot Note: I will stop eating ice cream and hit the gym more!!!!

I'm Scared!

It hurt dammit!

I would like to pay tribute to the "Die Gummistiefel" Band. I have no idea why they couldn't have picked a name we could all pronounce! This is a band Isaac and his friends have created. Maddie is the singer, Julius & Jakob are brothers and then there's Isaac.

Bring on the fire!

Okay, so Deane has finally lost his cupping virginity.  So after our foot massage we had some cupping. He was a little nervous at first, as they started to apply the cups I asked him if it hurt and he said "not at all!" I figured he was lying, cause it's no massage. Nope turns out the man I married is a Masochist! ........FREAK! He said next time he is going to tell them he wants it harder.....ummmm judging by the color of the marks I dare say he doesn't need it any harder!

I know what's coming! PAIN

I think he was a little scared! lol

Those ones on the shoulders are a wee bit sore for the next few days!

The Freak and his war wounds.... he's so proud! lol

We do this because it's good for removing toxins...... and by the looks of my husband, he's a little toxic!

A Day in The Life.....Of Me!

I'm sorry my blog has not been updated lately. I have had a busy month with family visiting, first my Mom & Tom and then my cousin Brian and his wife Andreea. On top of it all I have been asked by a few parents to teach English to their children through the summer vacation. So I have started a Teaching English as a second language course, so I have some idea of what to do!  I'm thinking it will be nice to make a little cash........( my massage money) lol. I have been spending all of my free time with my nose to the grind stone.
I wanted to share with you one of my favorite moments in the day. I throw on my headphones and off I go on my daily walk or run......and this is where I go, along the river. Just up the road from our apt. These are the moments I feel I would rather be here than anywhere else in the world. This really is China through my eyes!

Just to let you know, there is a problem google is working on to fix the pictures on the blog......some of them can not be seen at the moment, but it should be fixed within the next couple of weeks.

Shop till ya drop!

This past Saturday we took a trip to Shanghai to the "fake" market......This my friends is every cheapskates dream, and I happen to be a little cheap. Here you can find almost every brand your looking for. D&G, Gucci, Coach, Prada ....you get the idea. Now I have been told that these items are seconds, however China is known for their great ability to "copy" everything! So we hopped on the high speed train that at top speed hits about 350 kms an hr. We can make it to Shanghai in 45 mins.....by car 2 hrs. And then we shop till we drop


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So we were waiting and this guy whips out his shaver and starts grooming himself!

Boarding the train

Outside the train station

Boarding

Isaac on the train

Train speed

All the stalls at the fake market

The attendent in the bathroom, she has a "shitty" job, she must be tired.

Isaac Shopping

A Day in The Life

It was a Chinese holiday "Tomb Sweeping Day" This is a day the Chinese honour their ancestors , by cleaning the dirt and weeds from their tomb and lay out offerings. They believe they should keep their deceased ancestors happy, since they will watch over them and bring them good fortune. Anyway to make a long story short, we went for a hike in the mountains and down through the tea village

Incense burning at Chinese Temple

Now that is some serious incense!

Candles burning outside the temple....note the fire extinguishers!

Always one class clown!

View from the top

My Chinese pose! They all make the peace sign! :)

Isaac and Mom

John, a fellow Canadian working with Deane. And Deane

Tea pickers.....taking a ......I can't say coffee break. In China, they call the coffee table, the tea table .

Tea Village house/restaurant 

I have no idea what this says, but it looks cool.

Tea

I am not sure this dog needed a coat on?

People having lunch on the terrace 

Do I need to say anything?????

I think this should say Gaution, shitty floor......ha ha my spell check is picking up Gaution

A couple having their wedding photo's taken

Family together for the holiday

Finished the day with a foot massage and dinner at a Caribbean restaurant. It was a weird experience, the place was full of Chinese, and the waitresses were wearing cowboy hats. And the music playing was, Shakira and the Macarena. The whole experience felt like a bad acid trip, not that I've dropped acid, but I did watch Alice in Wonderland so I have a pretty good idea! lol

They bring around plates of different kinds of meat. I ate my first piece of cow tongue. It was ok....over all I will stick to the Chinese food, they know how to cook this best. Not to mention this place was buffet style, not what I want here. There are far to many people and kids and open plates of food!