chinese new year

Hi Uncle Jimmy! Sorry I haven't updated in so long.

I am on my vacation time again, and I just got back from 3 weeks in Indonesia. My friend from college is living there this year, she's teaching too, so I went to visit her. It was fun, and very hot. Spent a lot of money on traveling around the country though. I'm back in Shenzhen for a couple days, then I'm going to Vietnam for one week. Man, I came from like 90 degree weather down there, and I got back to china and it's freezing! It's like into the 40's here. And our apartments don't have heat and the insulation is bad so it's freezing inside the house too! I went from wearing shorts and a t-shirt with a sheet for a blanket and still being hot, to last night when I wore long socks, pants, a tshirt, and a sweatshirt, and 3 blankets! Man it's so cold. I also got back to my place and the tiles in my kitchen back area are kind of raised and I broke one of them cuz I walked on it. I don't know how that happened but I guess I'll tell my school once school starts in a week and a half. it's so cold I don't even want to take a hot shower because I dread the minute I have to get out of the shower and freeze. haha.

Today is Chinese New Year and last night I went to a small cafe with 2 friends who are still in china. This is a cool little cafe where the owner is a cool lady and she speaks pretty good english and has foreigner friends so it's a friendly place. They have really good sandwiches too. one of the only places you can get a good real sandwich. but I guess it' s more european style because like baba would say, "it only has like 1 centimeter of meat and 2 inches of bread!" Anyway, her mom is in town for new years and she had a little dumpling making party/dinner so we went and helped make dumplings and her mom cooked Hunan food so it was kinda spicy. but she made good eggplant. Today went to walmart to buy oranges and went to the bank to get more money for the next part of my vacation and now I'm at starbucks because my internet at home isn't working. I"m going to my 10-year-0ld student from last year's house for new year dinner tonight so it should be good. Gong Hay Fat Choy!