FASHION & TRAVEL: New Years day and my return home 新年天和我的来国家

NEW YEARS DAY Thursday 1st January - Wednesday 7th January 2015
met the girls at forever 21 at nanjing road, before walking round the bund and down through Nanjing East Pedestrian road. Lola and Rosie had brought another girl who is a student in Huangzhou, she's also from London and studies Chinese and Business. the girsl bought some things before we went to the Fake Market "Hancity" near peoples square on West Nanjing road.Lola got a load at the market and we all started using our chinese, the Laoban 老板 in one shop were lola was buying chinese clothes for her family kept calling her friend and saying that if he gave her it too cheap he couldnt eat, only drink water haha! 我只能喝水！ Rosie and I ended up getting some okay noodles there too we then hung out in a "cha"茶 cafe where they got some mik bubble tea. was really tasty! spent ages chatting away, was really nice.
lola left the next morning (narrowly avoiding missing her train) and rosie and I went to Qibao, it was quite busy so we went near the temple and sat chatting for ages, she gave me a letter with a watercolour picture of me from fei (How cute!) and then she gave me one that she bought from Fei, A beautiful Christmas card!
we then went to the fabric market where i bought 15m of different fabrics for 25pounds! got samples and touched so many soft materials! loved it! we then got food and ate it at mine before i left her at the metro station for her train.

The next couple of days were spent in my room revising, had lunch at the cheap but tasty italian shop with kat before sitting my horrible speaking test on the monday (we were given an hour but it only really lasted 30/40 minutes) we had to do 2 topics - typical school day and travel. my mind went blank on travel and i didnt say anything normal like i went to some museums or shops, i just said Beijing, Tiannamen and the wrong word for great wall :( the comprehensive i thought had went well but my score was low, i think everyone did lower than usual. but i think i messed up in the last bit writing about an interesting weekend, i kept forgetting stupid characters, stress makes my mind go blank! I should have wrote about my friend or classmates. we needed 120 characters and I wrote about how my mother came to visit me for 3 days! (no1 woud ever do that!) had lunch with linda and her chinese room mates speaking more in chinese with her, she leaves to study for 5 months in America around my birthday! we tried to post a parcel but it was going to be over 3000RMB to send, crazy! needless to say we didnt send it! hopefully can send via EMS for cheap? back to work and was finishing some head pieces before going to the accessories market and Fabric market on both days. i got some stuff for myself and only spoke chinese, getting square crystals rather than circular, understanding the laoban about the weather and asking for owed fapiao's from the previous month, although i get a bit nervous in class at least i use it out and about ok :)

the wednesday night, Kat, me and the other german and russian girl from our class went to Perrys for ladies night, 50RMB all u can drink cocktails from 8-12I had a white russian and mojito! we danced, and chatted and had a great time, it was good to unwind after the exams!

Thursday 8th jan - Thursday 15th January 2015
spent thursday relaxing, did some sewing and catching up on Game of thrones. later that night kat and I went to carrefour vodka there is as little as 35rmb a bottle! bought some alcoholic "presents" for the family haha baijiu 白酒 we found massage chairs and spent quite a while relaxing on them (heavenly)  had my last lunch in the canteen with Kat, as per usual not so tasty, (hence why we decided it should be the last) some Baozi and bean balls. in work started doing more flowers, they want a belt and lots of hair pieces. On Saturday I went the fabric and accessories market getting gems for them and some fabric samples from the fabric samples. only meet Kat, lina, her bf, Melia and Enelin went with us to the ktv. the others soon followed most giving me a present, even linda who had been to Nanjing to see her brother officially propose to his girlfriend! (turns out you could have more than one child in china during the one child policy if you could pay a "fine") from here things got a bit messy, with my roommate leaving and having to back up everything as shes not paying for her room while she's in the Philippines (oddly her folks are sending her there to learn english...) so i no longer had internet for my phone and my other phone was acting up. so in the end so of the girls went to myst while myself, milia, kat and elina went to space. lots of dancing ensued! spent the rest of the next day starting my packing before realizing that i need another case, and then i got a new roomate from Brazil, how odd! she's only here for a month. got internet sorted and my new roomie got wifi sorted
off on the monday so went with Rebeka and Erica to the fake market, they got backpacks for Thailand and i got a great suitcase with a 360' rotate pull for 160 rmb! bargain, we then went to windows bar on Nanjing West got some tasty Onion rings for 15 rmb! they do cheap alcohol (Baileys 20rmb) and all you can eat mexican and Italian Nights from 50-55 rmb!!!
i then took my new roomate to Carrefour to get her some necessities. she slept her and awoke early around 3 so I was shatteredI then met Kat and us three went to the Bund using my new selfie stick and gaining a contact for events a m18 etc.  had a great dinner near the school of tasty noodles for 7rmb!

back at work i finished my hair pieces and got some more clips and samples front the bind fabric market. i shared a taxi with an american Asian lady who insisted on paying and giving me change, how kind! met Kat for a final cuppa along with Fei who was visiting his parents for the holidays . I got my new books yesterday and been asked questions made me panic, though im fine talking chinese elsewhere. im in A2-5 but Kat got told she was in a2_2 with 2 other students and elina and Melia have not yet been placed, however we can change before the 6th =/ just need to keep up my chinese.  stayed with Fei til round 10 before packing the new bag. until finally it was my last day. i finihsed the flower tags and did some belts been giving free reign. we all went to lunch and they even gave me a present! Pauline asked for what i learnt, some more chinese and had some nice food. she said the past month especially i had come on really well and wants me to keep in touch and if i came back it seems im welcome to intern there afain. which i may just do as the place i was planning to go to replied ot my emial to say that shes having to close!   got some names and sent  a couple emails before bed. up round 7, the ayi booked me a taxi ad chatted a bit to the shifu's, 师傅 my luggage was too heavy so had to put stuff in my hand luggage. struggling some nice  indian men gave me a bag they bought as they pitied my lonely struggle, how kind! slept mainly on the plane and watched a chinese film "the four" before watching "how to train your dragon 2" had to go through security again at london, and released that i was lucky i had phone charge as they take it off you if you dont (bomb scares or whatever) got into Dublin around 7, onto the bus and back home, 5 months went in quick!