Long story short:
Wake up: 7:00
Breakfast: Today I made my host family an American breakfast. I didn’t expect it to be as hard as it was. For starters, I had to a pan to make toast, so that was fun. I got it down to a science: 30 seconds on one side, 30 seconds on the other. (Tbh it wasn’t really toast—think crusty bread). Next step was cooking bacon, and holy hell was that scary. Not only does the stove have two settings: Satan fire, and wtf where’d the flame go, but also, the grease kept popping on me. I eventually got to the point where I would just turn the stove off as to spare my skin, but my host mom kept scolding me for turning off the stove. She didn’t really understand what I was doing. She ended up cooking the last piece of bacon for me since I was being a wimp. (She also cooked the “sausage” for me rip). The eggs I got to make by myself since all I did was scramble them. Over-all, I think breakfast was a success. (I mean they ate it so yay!)
Suitcases: I video chatted with my family during breakfast, and during that time, my host family tried to give my dad a massive vase of Chinese wine. I told them that it was very nice, but I had no way of getting that back to the US. My host mom kept trying to tell me to put it in my suitcase, and I kept trying to explain I didn’t have room. I then tried to tell her that if I wanted to bring it to the US, I’d need another suitcase, and that the fee for that would be 680 RMB. She then told me that she could make it fit in my suitcase and then proceeded to remove my shoes and tell me: “lol you don’t need these.” After more conversation, I think I managed to communicate that if they could mail it to the US, my parents could pay the shipping fee. (I probs didn’t communicate that clearly rip).
Photos: My host family took me to a photo studio, and for the whole afternoon I got my hair and makeup done and took photos. (Also they did my eyebrows and holy hell do they look good now). It was great, but I question modern Chinese fashion. They put me in a dress that was too short (like an inch away from my crotch) and when I said it was too short they said: “No, this is a good length!” Thankfully they let me change into a longer dress. Also, I wanted to wear my sandals with the white dress, but they told me my shoes didn’t match. Instead I got to wear 7 inch white heels. As for posing, I question some of them. I can tell the theme is cutesy. The second and third photos were taken in traditional Chinese clothes, which I totally dug. The fourth photo set was in my clothes.
Lunch: I had a chicken sandwich…I miss chick-fil-a.
Dinner: My host family + the twins + the cousin + Jessica and I went out for 北京烤鸭. The food was A1.
KTV: I’ve been to KTV at least once every week in China and I’m so happy. We stayed out until 11:30, and my voice is shot.
Gift: I presented my host family with their gift, and they really liked it.
Packing: I finished most of my packing and cleaned up my host sister’s room. It’s really sad seeing the room so empty. I’m going to miss this place.