Creepy gentlemen

I love the airport's Internet, it's fast enough to download apps on. I am typing this on the Blogger app. I checked in earlier this morning and had a major freakout. There was a sign that said 30kg max for luggage, and I had 40kg. I was planning the stuff I had to take out already. What they failed to mention was that it's a 46kg limit if you are flying to America as well. So luggage check-in went relatively well because at least I wasn't over the limit. My grandpa hid some of my carry-on luggage while I was checking in because I am definitely over the limit. Hope they don't check again at customs. Anyway, I'm under 16 so I get a person to escort me through immigration and customs. And the nice check-in lady got me a window seat at the front of the plane. She was like to the guy, "and because she's under 16 make sure she's not sitting next to a gentleman" so I guess there's less chance of creeps.

I have to be at the special assistance area by 10:40 because the person escorting me will be there at 11 with my boarding pass. Now the only thing I'm worrying about is my carry-on luggage being over the weight limit at customs and my iPod touch being low on battery, so I changed the brightness setting to really low. I can barely see what I'm typing. Argh I don't like krispy kreme donuts, I had one and a milkshake for breakfast and it really tasted a bit sickening. I hate autocorrect on this thing! It's so annoying. Hopefully I'll be at shanghai at 7:30 tonight (well 10:30 Sydney time). I'll start getting excited when I get through customs! Currently sitting in a chair in the airport, my grandpa's outside having a smoke and talking loudly to someone on the phone. He had to come with me instead of my
Mum because she had to drive the car back and open up the shop. This has probably been a long and boring post but I'm bored...

To forsake the essence of pink

Finally finished packing. Today's been a really annoying day, I had to shop for all my textbooks and stuff. I HOPE I manage to find a secondhand copy of 'Music: An Appreciation 10th edition' because it'll be sad if I have to spend $93 on a music textbook (and there's another music textbook that is like $70 I have to buy as well, but I found it secondhand for $46). And I'm annoyed that I need a 'graphing calculator' for general maths. It's $250. I might switch (again) to Advanced maths just so I can get to use my old Casio scientific.

 I'm really paranoid because I have a couple of items in my carry-on luggage I am unsure about...my pen and pencil (I want to do theory work on the plane and revise some French. Don't laugh). I also don't know about my glitter pink cupcakes hand sanitiser gel. I don't know if a pen and pencil count as sharp weapons, and whether pink hand sanitiser counts as liquid. I don't want to risk the life of my hand sanitiser! But it's ok, if I have to chuck it I will buy heaps more in America. Bath and Body works, here I come!

I'm pretty much all set to go. Two Dogged Dingoes, both of you have to install 'Viber' onto your iPhones. Free calls and texts in America. I hope it works on iPod touch. I can't try it out yet because I don't have wi-fi. I have heaps of entertainment to keep me going if there aren't TVs on the plane. I've got some new Bach concertos to listen to on my iPod. Hmmm and I synced 'Midnight in Paris' onto my iPod as well. And I've got Final Fantasy on my Nintendo if I get really bored. And if I get REALLY, really bored I will memorise some French (I'm bringing the French textbook that year 10 at my new school used so I know what to catch up on). Or I will read and do "Harmonising: Step by Step" or "Melody writing: Step by Step". I plan to stay up really late tonight so I can sleep on the plane tomorrow. I'll probably have insomnia anyway. My plane is at 12pm, so I will make sure to stay awake on the plane long enough for lunch.

I'm slightly paranoid that my luggage is over the limit. I'm not even sure I can trust my travel agent when she told me 46kg because it says something like 20kg on the China Eastern website (not updated since February of 2010 though...not sure which number is more reliable). I've got 5 pieces of luggage (3 carry-on). Both my suitcases that are not carry-on are 20kg each. My carry on is 13kg (yikes it says 5kg on the website) so I will have to hide the main bag behind my mum so they won't get too suspicious and ask to weigh my stuff. That's why I plan to get to the airport early. If anything is over the limit I'll have to just sit on the floor with my mum and remove stuff. I've already got it in my head a list of what is going first (The Kmart lollies, then the really ugly jacket, then the school vest, then that pair of shoes...maybe some of the fish oil). I'm going to be wearing a really really thick coat, pullover, long sleeved shirt, my thickest jeans, heaviest boots tomorrow so I may look suspicious. Otherwise there is no way I will fit everything into the suitcases, they look ready to burst.

I'm really not looking forward to customs tomorrow (before I get onto the plane in Australia). It'll be so hectic and crowded and everything. Yuck. And who knows what will happen to my special glittery pink hand sanitiser :( Hmmm I wonder if they check your carry-on luggage at the place they weigh your main luggage or if they check it at the boarding gate (because what do I do then? Run out and wait for my mum to come pick it up and hold up the plane?)

Huanglong, Sichuan (China)

The attack of the fish oil

I've only just started packing now. It's actually not as fun as I thought it'd be. I got my two crap computers back from Harvey Norman, finally (I brought them in about several weeks ago because the warranties were almost up and thought I might as well use the warranties). One of my computers had an earphone problem (wouldn't play sound out of earphones) and the charger was broken. The other computer had pretty big issues because I accidentally dropped it on the floor and after that incident it kept screwing up. Well guess what? My mum's English is hopeless :( She said no to them backing up my files and somehow managed to agree to them restoring all the hardware completely. So now everything on a laptop I've been using for two years is gone. Poof. All my stupid assignments from year 7 onwards, all my music, all my movies. Boo hoo. Even microsoft office and norton antivirus are gone. It literally is like a brand new computer on the inside. It doesn't even know my name anymore :( I'm now 'User' instead of 'Joanna'. Thank God for my trusty Macbook.

Ok enough about my computers. It's 3 days left for me! Tomorrow will be a bad day, I've got 5 more kids and 2 and a half hours of my own piano lesson. But after that, everything will be awesome. Olivia and Claudine, you guys have to take pictures of yourselves at the formal and all. Sharna's leaving on the 29th!! Woo hoo.

I've got SO MUCH junk I need to pack in my suitcase.Yesterday we went to Chinatown and bought tonnes of souvenirs. Approximately 18 jars of Lanolin cream and I think 12 large jars of fish oil capsules. And two huge sheepskins and all the baby formula and food and there's probably more too. It'll be so confusing, I don't even know what souvenirs to give which relatives. To top it off, my grandpa will be going to Shanghai in January and he's bringing even more souvenirs. It's insane.

I think I'm bringing the following:
-2 large suitcases (both with clothes)
-1 medium suitcase (full of the previously mentioned souvenirs)
-1 large duffle bag (My carry on, it'll be stuffed with food and stuff to do on the plane)
-1 small bag (To carry stuff like my wallet and camera and ipod. Basically the essentials)
-1 laptop bag
-Also my mum wants me to bring her laptop to China to restore the software to Chinese or something. I don't think I will.

That makes 6 pieces of luggage I have to make sure I don't lose at the airport. It'll be so embarrassing carrying so much luggage by myself. And it'll be annoying having to keep track of it at the airport, and also at customs.

My mum keeps showing up outside my room with random pieces of clothing she insists I take. She is making me take my school vest. Ah well at least it won't be too bad if I wear it in Shanghai. Just kidding. But seriously, I've seen people wear their pyjamas in the city, so I guess a school vest isn't too bad.

Before...

And after. My room is currently in this state. And this isn't even half of the stuff I am taking. Yup, packing is certainly going well. 

Doing all the subjects I wanted to!

My orientation today wasn't actually that bad, it was alright. Definitely not as awkward as I thought it'd be. There's 7 new girls next year in year 11! I'm not alone! And this other girl got a full scholarship too, so there's less pressure on me. I met my buddy but she had to go to the school mass because she was a singer in the choir. She's really nice, but I don't think we'll be that good friends because you can just tell she's one of those types of people that are so good at everything and a bit too nice. She's like some sort of captain next year, she's so outgoing and friendly (even to my mum) and she's super smart too, I can just tell. She's doing extension Maths and extension English next year and physics and chemistry too. But as I said, she's nice so homeroom with her won't be too bad. Anyways, because she had to go to the mass, this other girl from my future homeroom showed me around the school. She's super nice too, and really easy to talk to but unfortunately she's leaving next year to go to her sister's school or something. My homeroom next year will be tiny. There's around 10 people in it. The homeroom teacher I can tell is slightly strict but she tried to be nice. My house dean is so nice, nowhere near as annoying as um you know who. I'm still annoyed about the lockers, they're smaller and they are combination locks. I guess it solves the locker key problem. There's 7 lessons per day which is a lot. Except for Thursdays when school ends at 3. The school is HUGE. Everyone says it's like Hogwarts and apparently there's lots of doors that people don't open and there's random stairways too.

I went to one class with my year group, which was French. The teacher was alright but a bit strict. She gave the class a huge lecture and made them sit in silence for 20 minutes after they talked (not even that loudly) during this French youtube video she showed us. Jeez if she came to our school she would have a heart attack at the amount of noise we make. She reminds me a lot of the year 8 French teacher we had. You can tell that she's a good teacher though, and everyone does so much work. They're a bit more advanced in French than I am, but a girl offered her French books for me to keep so I can have a look at the stuff they've done. All I can say is that it is DEFINITELY not a bludgey school, everyone actually does work. Now I'm scared that I'm a bit behind in all my subjects. Oh and there's a resident school cat! It's like a Russian blue that likes staring at people from its spot outside the music building.

I'm in a kind of good mood because I got all my subject choices, every single one of them! So happy about that. I got asked at least 10 times today about the subjects I'm doing next year. I'm doing:

-English extension
-English Advanced
-Religion 1 unit
-French continuers
-Legal Studies
-Music 2 (everyone was like, 'really? Music 2 is so hard' I really don't get that, surely English Extension is harder? There's 3 people in my Music 2 class next year, but they're still running the class separately from Music 1 which is good)
-Modern History
-General Maths (I changed to general, I can't handle advanced. Unfortunately out of all the new girls I'm the only one doing general).
-And I have a free study period

So yeah, I'll be able to do all the subjects I wanted to do which is good. I got a free USB with the school crest on it but I'm still trying to work out how many GB it is. I got my booklist as well, and thankfully the books look slightly cheaper, but I still want to buy them online. I think my new school is less advanced at English. Maybe that teacher who said "You know we get better English results than them' wasn't joking after all, so hopefully English will be the one subject I'm not behind in. Hmmm I think I will be sticking with Extension English, because the texts seem much easier at my new school so I think English will be easier. For Advanced it's 'Othello' and 'The Kite Runner' (which is not a classic, so surely easier than 'Tess of the d'Ubervilles'?) and for Extension it's 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' (Which is a classic but surely a classic is easier than Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew) and also the film 'Thelma and Louise' which ahem is only $18 so I might buy that from the school. And a 1991 film would probably be easier than 'My Fair Lady' from the 60's. So looks like I might continue with Extension English after all. 4 days to go!

Pearl waterfall, Nine Villages Valley, Sichuan (China)

The endings before a beginning

I LOVE YOU GUYS, you're the most awesome bunch of friends ever and I'm going to miss you :( I love the card, I can imagine a 35 year old Joanna reading it and remembering the nice old days. My year 12 graduation will be so depressing, I'll only have known everyone for 2 years. Looks like I'll have to remember to gatecrash you guys' graduation.

I'm nervous for tomorrow. I should be in bed by now, I have to be up pretty early. But the following does NOT sound very appealing and welcoming, does it?

8:20 - Please meet in the college boardroom
8:30 - 8:50 - Your daughter will meet her buddy (from current year group) and go to Homeroom with her buddy. Joanna should wear casual clothes and bring a paper and pen (what, to write down math formulas?)
8:50 - 10:10 (period 1 and 2) - During the course of the morning your daughter will be taken on a tour of the school, meet their house coordinator and some other key staff (yikes!), finalise timetable and attend some classes with their future year group (shivers)
10:10-11 (period 3) - New student to accompany buddy to period 3 class (at least I have someone to sit with in class. Whoop de doo)
11 - 11:30 - Morning tea is provided by the college for your daughter (I'm not sure I'll have much of an appetite)

Help me, someone!

Onto more exciting things. I went shopping today and bought a bunch of stuff (namely food). My mum got me 'Inheritance' but I don't think I'm bringing that massive book onto the plane.

Desserts in Sichuan last year. That big one on the right is roughly the size of my head.

The food I'm taking overseas, with Mr Bear longingly pining for it in the background.  Thank goodness Shanghai customs is not tight on security at night or with planes coming from Australia. This collection might certainly look...dodgy in my suitcase. 

Memories of the lost Chai Latte and Japanese Spitz

Double French today was AWFUL. Actually doing work for two hours as a loner is not fun. At least we're having crepes tomorrow and watching Moulin Rouge. Damn you Claudine for getting to miss out on the double today. I visited Juliet during French(we had a break because it was a double). Thought I should let you guys know that Juliet made me touch a weird grey wet clay thing. With a very suspicious smile on her face. And Olivia, I waved to the back of your head and you never turned around :(

Ok, I feel like I'm in the mood to do a 'things I will do on the plane' post. I LOVE plane rides. That amazing feeling you get when you're about to board a flight. I remember this time during the term 3 holidays in year 7. I was at the airport near all these stores and I saw my english teacher in the newsagency. That was a bit awkward, especially since the day before I'd explained to her my crappy excuse for changing schools (too far from home). I didn't actually speak to her but I think she saw me. Yup, I'm the only type of person with enough luck to be at the airport at the exact same moment my English teacher is. And to have to avoid her as we waited for the plane around really close waiting areas. And to top things off, I bought a chai latte (my first ever chai latte) about 10 minutes before I boarded my flight. I couldn't finish it because they made me throw it out. How sad. Still mourning the loss of my chai latte. So people, don't buy hot drinks just before you board a plane.

Onto things I will do on the plane. Thanks Georgia for the iPod tip. I guess I could upload movies onto it just in case the plane doesn't have TVs. I think my biggest fear is that I'll have someone sitting next to me that is a complete weirdo or freak. Or worse, weird and doesn't speak English at the same time.  I don't know about movies, but so far I will read 'Hush Hush' on the plane. It's definitely NOT the type of book I would usually read. But I got it for really cheap so may as well, especially as I have the sequel. I may visit the bookstore on Saturday to check out some other books. I'll probably go to Chaterhouse Books in Shanghai, which is one of the few English bookstores, but it's located in the old French Concession so prices are really expensive. I guess they might have some books on sale I can read on the plane to America. I remember buying 'The Book Thief' there last year for 98 yuan (20 dollars) which wasn't too bad.

My mum rang some of my relatives today. I just found out that my great aunt, the one with two dogs that I want to walk in Shanghai, had one of her dogs stolen recently. It was the pretty white Japanese Spitz that was stolen. Thank God it wasn't the ugly Jack Russell that was stolen, because chances are if the pretty dog was stolen then it would've been sold to a nice caring owner, not eaten, whereas the Jack Russell...he probably could've been killed. Such a shame, I was looking forward to walking the Japanese Spitz. I'm not a huge fan of the other dog, it looks slightly less well-natured and I think it can be a bit vicious. But maybe we can bond and it'll end up liking me, even if it is ugly.
My mum asked my um...well this is complicated. I think she is my grandfather's older sister's granddaughter. So I don't know what to call her, but my mum asked her if there was anything she wanted from Australia and guess what she said? Barbeque sauce. She wants loads of barbeque sauce because she heard it's tasty. My suitcase will certainly be interesting. Bottles of barbeque sauce, tins of baby formula, two sheepskins and about 10 boxes of chocolate. I will bring my cousin TimTams. We give the weirdest souvenirs.

Musn't forget my daily photos of China last year:

Weird water rats at the Shanghai zoo eating carrot. This is a tribute to Miso Soup. 

Bird's nest where the 2008 Olympics took place, Beijing.

The wraparound kilt

I got my new uniform today. Left for my new school at approximately 3:20 and got there at 5. Traffic was SHOCKING. I was so hot in the car I felt nauseous. And I was looking forward to getting picked up. I actually kind of like the greenish-grey kilt, it's unique and cool...in its own Scottish way. I mean how many schools out there have kilts for a senior uniform? It's literally a wraparound kilt with a buckle thing. My mum was like, "Isn't that some type of English skirt? It looked like a pile of nasty coloured crap when we bought it but it's actually not that bad on". The blouse is a weird colour. Somewhere between beige and off-white. 

Unfortunately, the collarless blazer and beige socks are NOT cool. Ugly :( and the pullover jumper was so ugly that when I looked in the mirror I had to try hard not to laugh. You know, to keep from hurting the uniform staff's feelings. It's not their fault the school's jumpers are randomly red. It's like an almost brightish red colour with a grey stripe around the collar. At least I didn't have to buy one because they didn't have my size in stock. 

I'm taking the kilts to China to get the length right. I know it looks like the right length in the photos but I literally had to pull the kilt right up to my chest. It reaches my ankles if it sits around my waist where it's supposed to go. In China it will cost about 2 Australian dollars to get both my kilts fixed. The woman who lives in that dodgy slum-like (but not that poor exactly) alleyway near my Uncle's place does a great job with her clothing alterations. Last year I gave her 5 dollars to shorten 5 pairs of jeans, and they looked totally perfect and seamless when she was done. And my great aunt was like, "Joanna, you so got ripped off. You could've gotten those 5 pairs of jeans altered for about 2 Australian dollars". 

It actually doesn't look that bad. Similar in ugliness to our school uniform. Until...

...I put on my blazer that is. Or 'regulation crested jacket'. Add in a pair of brown shoes (which I haven't bought yet) and that's what I'm wearing for the next two years.

 Meanwhile, look who visited my desktop! Chucky the (not so hairless) Persian! I set my desktop background to 'change desktop picture everyday' and I was pleasantly surprised to find Chucky appearing today!

Another photo of China last year:

One of the many Louis Vuitton stores in Shanghai. They're all quite interesting. I love this one, it's literally a Louis Vuitton suitcase-shaped building.

Joanna has a sore foot :( and is not a bank robber

I received an advertisement today in the mail from Allan's Music. They're having a sale this weekend! 20% off sheet music which I'm assuming would include theory books as well. I need to do extra theory practice on the plane. Sad, I know. I've just done my piano time for today and my right foot is sore and tired from that song requiring some really rapid pedalling where I have to lift my foot up and down like every second (or at some points probably more than once a second). Who would've thought piano practice can be an actual workout.

I was thinking about what to pack, especially in terms of shoes. Because I can actually start packing shoes now seeing as I am unlikely to be wearing boots/runners until I leave, whereas I can hardly pack that pair of jeans I might wear this weekend. I have a 46kg suitcase limit for China, and I have like eight pairs of shoes I am thinking of packing. Because I'll be doing a LOT of walking most likely. I also collected my winter gear. As in scarves, gloves and beanie. Took some snapshots of some of the stuff that I am already chucking in my suitcase because you know...procrastinating again, this time for English.

I can't wear the beanie right! It's always crooked and weird.

I know. These black gloves+beanie=bank robber. But these are fingerless and warm so I can practise. Clever isn't it?

Really really warm boots. 

Weird ugg crocs. These are so comfy and warm but for some reason the left shoe is just the right size and the right shoe is too tight. Strange. Probably won't bring them.

I don't know which one out of these to pack.

The average temperature in Moorpark, California (where I'll be staying in the USA) will be 12 degrees and the average temperature in Shanghai, China will be 7 degrees. On the 22nd when I leave, the temperature in Sydney will be 19 degrees and it will be 11 degrees when I get to Shanghai. At least I can wear warm clothes comfortably in both cities on that day.

Had to add in a photo of Shanghai Zoo's most awesome pelican. He takes great pride in his appearance. I'll be back to see him soon!

Reminiscence

Three kids down this week, three more to go. One's coming tomorrow so I have two left today, starting at 12:30. Thankfully the two remaining today are both pleasant kids. Unfortunately can't say the same for the two horrors I had to teach earlier this morning. Every 10 minutes "Am I done yet?", "How long do I have to go", "Can you tell mummy I was good so I get extra Xbox time", etc...next week is the last week I have to teach them before I leave, yes! Will probably quit those two kids next year.

I was going over my photos (love iPhoto! It makes me feel so organised) and found hundreds of photos from last year's trip to China. Looking at those again makes me feel so happy I'm going back.

Great Wall of China

Shanghai!

Nine Villages Valley, Sichuan. Most beautiful place I've ever been to in my entire life.

Ruins of yuanmingyuan, Beijing. This was a maze for the emperor's concubines and they had to get to the center where the emperor was.

Love Beijing!

Gingerbread families and whipped cream

Meanwhile I think I will just post about random stuff. Not necessarily related to my travels. I'm going to try and do my itinerary today so I can plan everything for China. Not sure about America but if I have time I'll do that too. Procrastinating by not doing my French assignment. At least I won't be around to see my mark. I hate my computer's USB ports. 2 ports side by side. If I stick in my fat Vodafone mobile broadband, I basically have no free port. Which is lame when I want to update my iPod. Even lamer when that stupid octopus USB hub I bought from Smiggle doesn't work after like two weeks. I got this weird case for my iPod touch. I like it except it's incredible bulky and heavy and thick. I got it off Etsy. Oh well I guess I can't get any practical use out of it but it's pretty cool:

It's a mixture of plastic rhinestones, and various dessert items made from polymer clay. I like the mickey mouse shaped pretzel in the middle. And the gingerbread family! Mummy, Daddy and Baby gingey. The whipped cream is made from soft silicon-y like material so it's squishy and weird.

A shot of my ugly, malfunctioning and dead octopus from Smiggle with a backdrop of Math formulas. I suppose he occasionally arises from the dead. But not very often.

Joanna

12 days left...

I’m leaving on the 22^nd for Shanghai, China. So I guess I’ll do the first entry for a blog thing, because I’m the first to leave. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think the list goes like this:

Joanna – 22^nd November (Shanghai, China) 25^th December (Moorpark, California)

Juliet and Georgia – 29^th November (New Mexico, USA and other states?)

Olivia – sometime after Christmas (Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand)

Sharna – sometime in January, not yet confirmed (Seoul, South Korea)

So we all need to write stuff in case we get bored at the airport or some other place with internet. And what better stuff to write about but our travels? AND we need something interesting for Claudine to read so that she can feel like she’s there with us!

Ok, so I’ve pretty much got what’s going to happen in my head. I need to get rid of several major things before I can leave, though.

-Piano practice 2 hours daily in the sweltering heat. Joy.

- French assignment (webquest). The assignment is to…make an assignment for an imaginary group of people. And yes, that is even lamer than it sounds. I’m meant to be doing mine on French castles. The beauty of it is that I don’t have to do the research, I provide the guidelines for someone else to do it. I’m sure asking people questions about French castles in a PowerPoint will take me far in life. I’d rather do an exam that actually tests my knowledge of French, or a ‘cultural’ task where I learn something from DOING research.

-English assignment that is technically not an assignment because it is not going towards anything. I wouldn’t be doing it, except I don’t want to leave for China and one week later have my mum call me telling me my English teacher informed her I haven’t handed in a ‘major task’. Don’t want to leave this school on a bad note. But I can’t believe I have to hand in an ‘assignment’ 10 days early. I suppose that’s what I get for leaving a week before school ends

And then…onto freedom. Two months of freedom before Year 11 when everything hopefully won’t be going downhill. But you never know. So I need to make the best out of these two months. I’ve been waiting for them all year. Whilst I was studying groynes for the pointless School Certificate for the most pointless subject, Geography, the thought of that kept me going. Oh God I sound like I’m quoting directly from the English exam. ‘The memory carries me along…’. How corny. Enough about the exams though. I’m going to buy those sweet n sour lollies for the plane in watermelon, purple grape and lychee flavours. Remember that raspberry liquorice type thing you bought in the city, Juliet? I want heaps of those types of long gummy candies. I have a craving. When it comes to candy I have a thing for grape, lychee, pineapple and apple. Even though I hate eating those actual fruits. And I need mint jellybeans from Happy Lab! I know what you’re thinking, you guys who dissed my mint jellybeans. But I loved them! I’m going back for more. I’ve got travel guides that I’ve only skimmed through so far due to exams, but I know the stuff I’m definitely doing.

Onto what I know for sure I will be doing:

-Shanghai Zoo. I love it and will go there at least two more times. I’m going to visit my favourites, the cockatoo that combs its crest and the monkey that (voluntarily, to all you animal lovers) performs acrobatics whilst holding a mandarin. Oh and the pelican that preens itself and likes making its feathers stick up in all directions.

-Buying stuff. I want a cheap clarinet from China. I don’t care if it’s a boring instrument, I am learning it next year. Hey guys, what do you want in China and America? Or I can bring back a lucky dip of souvenirs. And no, Claudine, I’m not getting you a ZhuZhu pet from Toys r Us in China when you can get one at Kmart here.

-The usual tourist attractions in California. Disneyland, Hollywood, etc. Maybe San Diego Zoo and Seaworld if I’m lucky.

-Shanghai museum is really boring. But it has awesome toilets. Even cleaner than say the ones you’d find in Westfield here. And that is a rare sight to behold in China. So I’m going there for the toilets. Free entry, wooo.

-One other thing. I will be practising piano 4 days a week in both China and America. My cousins have a piano in America, and my grandpa’s friends will let me use their piano if I arrive before they go out for mah-jong in the afternoon. Sad, I know. I can never escape from it. At least I have 2 new-ish pieces to practise that are a bit more exciting. ‘Toccata’ from ‘Trois Pieces’ by Poulenc and ‘Aufschwung’ from ‘Fantasiestucke’ by Schumann. The only pieces that I haven’t spent more than a year perfecting. Go check them out, and know that when I am playing those pieces, chances are my fingers are about to freeze off. Whether I’m in China or America.

You guys better write your own travel blog things. And yes, even you Claudine. We want to know if a satellite hits Sydney or something. ESPECIALLY you, Olivia, seeing as it was your idea. 

Joanna