Valentines Day!

... is no big deal here! There were some roadside flower stalls that popped up, but for the most part the Chinese just go on their merry way. Actually speaking of flowers, I saw a super awesome one that had "flowers" with Rochet chocolates as the bulbs. But anywho, I had heard there exists another holiday in the fall that is kind of the Chinese version of Valentines Day.

I had my first, official, honest to god Chinese lesson yesterday with a former coworker. He really is a great teacher, and it's unfortunate he left. But I'm on my way to becoming a less of an idiot in trying to communicate. Afterwards we went out to a coffee shop, and it was the first time I was able to talk candidly with someone about politics and history. In particular he mentioned the "Three T's" of Tianmen, Tibet, and Taiwan. Three things that are really kind of uncouth to talk about here. I'm incredibly ignorant about the situation in Tibet, so I left that subject alone.

I feel like an idiot pointing out something I found at McDonalds, but McDonalds in China puts ours to shame. They have your standard Big Macs and whatnot, but also crazy variations like a chicken and mushroom sub. Mmmm! And their latest offering, a double cheeseburger with bacon and mashed potatoes. Yes, mashed potatoes. You'd never think it would work, but it's frakin' delicious. I will bring this mashed potato condiment knowledge back from the Orient. Also I've seen this awesome car in front of McDonalds several times now:

The coolest car in Xiaoshan

Also, I only knew of two grocery stores in the area. In the past couple of weeks, I have discovered three more. I think this is pretty cool, and it allows me the opportunity to find more Engrish.

Toot toot!