National Day

Here's a generalization of Chinese people I made to a friend here.
The dudes look like chicks.
The chicks look like dolls.
The kids look like vegetables, particularly radishes.
Let me explain: Many Chinese men get very feminine haircuts. Sometimes, I can't instantly figure out the gender of guys walking around. As for the women, I've seen a lot of them in little girl dresses; cute is in. Also, there is a hairstyle I have seen on some toddlers with three mini ponytails sticking out of their heads. It's better than the rattails I have seen here, but not by much.
A lot has happened during my National Day vacation, celebrating the foundation of the PRC. Lots of other foreign teachers went abroad (Vietnam, Philippines), but I decided to stay in Shenzhen. I needed to get used to the city, especially the bus routes. There are so many buses because the city is so big and still expanding. That doesn't mean I sat on my ass and watched tv. For instance, I explored the downtown area of Shenzhen, called Dongmen. A friend guided us to this secret door in a mall that led to a bootleg dvd store. We joked about being led into the Russian slave trade; it was that out of the way. The dvd quality and selection was excellent, better than Walmart! I bought all four seasons of 'Coupling' and five of 'NCIS.' They even had all of ‘Blackadder,’ which I didn’t buy.
On National Day, nine of us went to Macao, which is part of China and yet not part of China. That is a concept that I have yet to understand. I guess means I have not become Chinese yet.  Why do I need to go through Customs and Immigration within China? I'll run out of pages in my passport soon with all the stamps I get in one trip to Macao or Hong Kong. Anyway, the trip was amazing. We wandered around hotels exclusive and expensive enough for 5th Ave. and casinos fit for Vegas. I have never felt so poor in my entire life. It took me a trip across the world to visit my first casino and gamble. I lost. The good thing is I didn't even lose 1 USD. I also saw the last night of an international fireworks competition: Australia and China. (Australia's was better. China's was a slow-going story) The event was outside, and as part of the fun we all bought cotton candy. If you ever get the craving for cotton candy in humid China, think again. The water in the air actually dissolved the cotton candy! But it was still tasty.
The next day Ben and I went back to Shenzhen to be kidnapped by a Chinese coworker for the beach. She is the most cautious driver in all of China, and that scared me. I was expecting a fast-paced, aggressive style. She used her turn signals and kept at the speed limit. She only got her driver’s license three months ago! I did hear about the large number of new drivers in China, but this was my first shred of proof. The beach resembled ones back home, like the brownish water. But there was a lot of trash. It was nothing like needles, but the idea was still not good. If people want to keep their beaches, they should focus on cleaning them up. That night, Ben, our coworker, her husband, her friend, and I stayed up late playing cards and chatting. We talked about our dreams and the upcoming election. The three Chinese people were Obama supporters, support I welcomed. Basically, they liked him because of his appearance. Our coworker is a political science teacher, but we focused on American politics.
The rest of my vacation was slow. I hung out with the other teachers from my area of Nanshan, called Xili. Xili is the boonies, so we bond whenever we can. You know you’re deep in China when you walk passed a restaurant with a shaved, cut-in-half dog in the window display. Yum! Note: as of yet, I have not tasted dog. I’m not sure I want to.
That is a summary of the past week or so. I hope you all have enjoyed reading my mini-essay.